"By the way, the 50 King's tea is on you," I say before leaving.
"EH!!?!!!!" Flowerbloom screeches in horror.
"Just take it as compensation for trying to scam me," I say, putting my hand inside my pocket.
"That guy...who in the hell is he?" Says Uzo.
"That what I want to know!...he is more scheming than I am." Says Flowerbloom, biting her fingernails. "I need all of you to help me search for his identity but be as secretive as possible."
"Understood, my lady." They all replied.
I sigh as I eavesdrop on their conversation. Well, I expected this though. I wanted to know who Flowerbloom is at first when she scammed me too.
In the end, she's just some rich daughter of a wealthy family.
That's when I start asking if she's rich, why bother scamming people? Turns out she likes to get things on her own. She doesn't rely on her family. Power, strength, fame, all of it, she gets it on her own.
Now, I should probably go back and collect my tea and check out Reina and Ika.
Hmm?
I walk into the auction centre and see Reina and Ika talking to a familiar figure.
Once they see me, they start waving their hands at me.
"Kar-...Kel!" Shouts Reina.
That idiot almost exposed me!!
"What is it...Ri," I say, with a pissed expression.
"Hehe...sorry. Anyway, we met a friend along the way!"
A friend?
!!!!
Wait...this short girl with white hair and blue eyes. She's En!!! One of the members of Golden Eagle.
Heh...
"This is En!" Says Reina.
En nods at me with her poker face. She rarely talks but is a core strategizer of Golden eagle. The only time she talks is when she really can't convey her strategy to us and she has a really cute voice.
But...is she involved in my death? Was she scheming with everyone behind my back too?
I don't know. Everything happened too quickly at that time for me to even be sure who betrayed me. But one thing is for certain...Aki and the two other guys, I WILL PRESENT THEM A PAINFUL DEATH.
"W-Whats wrong?" Says Ika.
I snap out of it and realise I am releasing a killing intent.
"Nothing. Don't worry. Anyway, you are En, right? How are you related to the two girls?" I ask, knowing that En will not reply.
En takes out a notebook and writes "real life friends" on it before showing it to me.
I nod and say "Do you want to join us?"
"Eh?" Exclaims Reina and Ika.
En stares at me as I stare at her then she nods.
Good, I need to make sure if she betrayed me or not. I don't want to involve innocents in my revenge.
----------
System announcement:
The second stage will be starting soon. Teleporting all players in 1 minute.
-----------
"Karma...you are being weird," Reina whispers into my ear.
"Why?"
"Many players asked to join our team, some is even on the top 10 rankings yet you declined all of them. But then, you invited En...i smell something suspicious. Is she your type?"
"N-No! She is not!"
"Eh." Says Reina.
I am going to suffocate from this death stare of hers.
"Ahem, anyway, welcome aboard I guess?" I say.
En nods and sends me a friend request.
...
I decline it and her eyes widen.
"I'm sorry, I just don't want to..."
En tilts her head to the side in confusion. She writes in her notebook and shows me: "But how are we supposed to know your location?"
"You don't need to. I can take care of myself either way." I say.
En stares at me again and nods.
---------
Teleporting all players
---------
....
....
I wake up to find myself lying on the concrete, dusty floor.
I got up and look around.
Ah yes...the forsaken land.
The second stage is a battle royale in a wasteland...or a post-apocalyptic world. Everything here is either destroyed or in ruins.
I am in a car park that is half sunk into the sand below.
I can see towers and buildings in the distance of the modern era but they are all destroyed, torn apart or blown apart.
There's a reason behind that because...although this is a battle royale, players are not your only threat.
*EEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKK!!!!!*
A screeching sound came from behind and a giant centipede shows up. Its mouth is drooling...looks like it is hungry.
The backstory behind this post-apocalyptic wasteland is that three nuclear atomic bombs are dropped in different areas around this world. And because of the radiation...animals evolved, corpses started moving, there won't be safe water or food to consume, etc...
...and this centipede is also a result.