Hours passed.
It wasn't exactly comfortable, but enough time had passed that the earlier panic had settled, and exhaustion had replaced their adrenaline.
Jin sat near the barricaded entrance, the steel pipe resting beside him instead of in his hands for once. His body still ached from the earlier fight with the sound hunter and the fight with Joon-seok in the break room, but the worst of the shaking had passed.
Across the room, Min sat upright now, rather than barely clinging to consciousness. His face was still pale, with dark shadows under his eyes, but he looked like a person again, not like a corpse waiting for death.
The healer sat beside Seul-ki now, helping with her injured leg.
A faint glow moved beneath her hands, soft and weak, but steady. Seul-ki winced every now and then, muttering complaints under her breath, but the swelling had gone down, and she could at least stand without looking like she was about to collapse.
"That better be permanent," Seul-ki muttered. "Because if I die after surviving this, because I fall over, I'm going to haunt all of you."
Sora let out a quiet laugh from the other side of the room.
"Please don't. We have enough problems."
Even Minho smiled a little at that.
Joon-seok sat near the far wall, still quieter than the others, slowly eating crackers. Every now and then, faint sparks danced around his fingers, making the lights buzz overhead.
Daniel had taken a position near the barricade with Jin, not really talking, just staying close enough that if something went wrong, they would be the first ones moving.
For the first time since the world had ended, they weren't running; that should have felt good, but instead, it felt like they were waiting for the next disaster.
Jin hated waiting because waiting gave his mind too much room to think about the people who hadn't made it. Time to think about who did survive and what they were doing, and time to think about the system and its cruel amusement behind every announcement; they were simply entertainment for some larger force.
Jin was deep in thought about the system and what would happen at the end of the 24 hours when a loud chime broke his train of thought.
"How wonderful."
Nobody moved.
The voice echoed through the room, inside their heads, inside the walls, impossible to escape.
"You continue to survive. I must admit, humanity is proving to be slightly more entertaining than expected."
Its tone shifted, lighter somehow.
"But like humans always do, most of you choose to hide away from this new world I've given you."
Jin's hand slowly moved toward the steel pipe beside him.
The voice continued.
"That will not do."
"If you plan to survive in this new world, hiding alone will not keep you alive."
Minho's jaw tightened.
The voice almost sounded delighted now.
"So let us encourage growth."
A new screen popped up.
[ SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT ]
[Time Remaining: [19:00:00]]
[Introducing: The First Cull]
[Objective: Learn how to kill.]
[Kill a monster or kill a human.]
[Those who have already participated will be rewarded. Those who have not should learn quickly. The more you kill, the higher your ranking. The higher your ranking, the greater your reward. To survive, you must grow. To grow, you must act.]
[Failure to participate may result in consequences.]
Jin stared at the words.
Kill a monster or kill a human.
It didn't care; it didn't distinguish between survival and murder. It just wanted action.
Seul-ki was the first to speak.
"Cull."
She looked at the screen with a cold expression.
"That means they want us to cut away the weak."
Sora wrapped her arms around herself.
Joon-seok laughed once.
"It wants us to be murderers."
Minho stood up too fast, pacing once before stopping himself.
"Wow..." His fists clenched. "Does it expect us to just throw away our humanity..."
Daniel's voice came low from near the wall.
"Some people will."
Everyone looked at him.
"They will. You know they will. Fear makes people get ugly fast."
Joon-seok rubbed a hand over his face.
"Humans were already selfish enough before monsters showed up. Now add rewards for murder?" He looked at the screen with open disgust. "People are absolutely going to kill each other."
Min exhaled slowly.
"And the system knows that no doubt..."
His voice was steadier now.
"It doesn't just want survivors. It wants people willing to do anything to survive."
The healer, quiet until now, looked shaken.
"So what? Should we start looking for people..."
"No," Jin said.
"We're not doing what the system wants."
Minho frowned.
"What if someone else does?"
"Then we deal with it."
Jin stood, picking up the pipe beside him.
"We will only kill monsters. We will not become this thing's entertainment."
Sora looked unconvinced.
"You really think everyone else will make that choice?"
Jin didn't answer immediately because no, he didn't.
When people are scared enough, they will justify anything.
The system had made betrayal practical.
That was dangerous for them, but fear couldn't be allowed to decide everything.
Joon-seok leaned back against the wall.
"So what now?"
Everyone looked towards Jin for his plan to keep them safe.
His chest felt heavy again, but he knew what they had to do.
They couldn't stay here anymore; now he just had to make everyone else accept it, too.