"Classmate rival again?" a low whisper came from someone standing close by.
The girl — her name tag clearly said "Su Mei" — took a step forward.
"Your analysis is half-right," she said. "But you missed the main point. The doll said 'no teams' for a good reason. Any alliance will break the second someone gets scared and moves during Red Light. We can only survive by ourselves. Focus on controlling your own body. Don't waste time trying to play hero."
Li Wei gave her a quick look.
"Su Mei, this is not the time for our usual arguments. People here are already scared."
"And giving them false hope with your leader act will only make things worse," she answered back, voice cold and steady.
The tension between the two of them grew thicker. Around them, the others kept quiet. The yellow line on the ground waited silently.
The two of them kept glaring at each other. Old rivals from the same school, clear as day.
Han Jiang stayed out of it. He just stood near Wang Bo, who was breathing way too fast already.
"Bro… I don't feel good," Wang Bo whispered. Sweat poured down his fat face nonstop. "My legs are shaking bad. I'm not athletic at all. How can I run three hundred meters without tripping over myself?"
Han Jiang put a hand on the fatty's shoulder. He held him steady.
"Breathe slower," he said quietly. "When it says Green, just run straight ahead. Don't look back. Don't look at the others. Just run."
The air felt colder now, Wang Bo's heavy breathing sounded loud in the silence. His legs still trembled under Han Jiang's grip.
Wang Bo gave a weak nod, but his eyes stayed wide open. Pure terror filled them.
While the arguments kept going around them, Han Jiang quietly tested his new body. He dropped down right there on the cold concrete floor. Casual one-arm push-up position, balancing only on his right hand.
Then he started.
Smooth. Controlled. Powerful.
One.
Ten.
Fifty.
One hundred.
He didn't even sweat. His golden-blonde hair moved a little with every push, but his breathing stayed completely even. The black eye tattoo on the back of his right hand pulsed once, faint and quick. Then it settled down again.
No one around noticed at first. The arguments still filled the air. Wang Bo kept breathing hard beside him.
People nearby noticed.
A guy nearby suddenly muttered, voice full of shock.
"What the hell…?"
He stared hard. "He's doing push-ups? Right now? In this kind of situation?"
A girl beside him couldn't look away. Her eyes stayed wide open.
"He's… too handsome. Like, not real. Golden hair, golden eyes… is he even human?"
Another voice came from the side, low but clear.
"Look at those muscles. He's not even breathing hard after a hundred one-arm push-ups. This guy's on another level."
The whispers spread fast. A few more heads turned toward Han Jiang.
Han Jiang stood up in one smooth motion. He brushed the dust off his hands slowly.
He felt all the stares on him, but he didn't care. He just ignored them.
His enhanced senses kept pouring in too much information. He could hear every single heartbeat racing around him. He could smell the sharp fear-sweat mixed with the metallic rust smell from the concrete. Even from meters away, he could see the tiny muscle twitches on people's faces.
His new strength felt endless. Earlier he had gently pushed through the crowd, and no one even noticed how much force he actually used.
Wang Bo still breathed hard beside him, legs shaking.
Just then, the screens flickered.
The doll suddenly popped up again on both huge screens. It sat on the same wooden stool, blue helmet resting quietly in its lap. That cracked porcelain face stretched into a smile way too wide.
"Players~" it sang out in that high, sweet voice. "The first game begins now! Red Light, Green Light — Squid Edition!"
Right then, a glowing number appeared on everyone's forehead. Bright white. Others could see it clearly, but the person himself could not.
Han Jiang's number showed **702**.
Wang Bo's was **418**.
Li Wei's read **289**.
Su Mei's was **157**.
The numbers floated there, cold and steady. No one spoke for a second. The yellow line on the ground waited silently. The air turned even colder. Hearts beat louder in the silence.
People started complaining right away.
"A number on my forehead?!" one woman cried out loud. Her voice shook. "What does it even mean? I can't see my own!"
"Someone tell me what mine says!" a teenager begged the person standing next to him. His eyes looked desperate.
"Yours is 873!" the neighbor shouted back quickly. "What's mine?"
"642!"
Voices asking for numbers rose up everywhere. The whole place turned into chaos. Everyone shouting at once. The cold air felt even thicker now. The yellow line on the ground stayed quiet, waiting.
The doll let out a soft giggle. Its voice stayed sweet and high.
"The numbers are just for me to keep track of my favorite players. Now… remember the rules!"
It leaned closer to the screen. Those glass eyes shone brighter.
"Green Light — run as fast as you can toward the finish line three hundred meters away! No obstacles, just flat concrete. Run, run, run!"
"Red Light — freeze completely! No moving at all, no twitching, no extra breathing, no blinking too obviously. Any movement and… boom! Your body explodes into pretty red pieces!"
It clapped its small hands together with a light sound.
"I will change the lights at random times. Sometimes short green, sometimes long. Sometimes very quick switches. Be careful~ The Lost One is watching who remembers him best."
The words hung in the cold air. No one dared to breathe loud. The yellow line on the ground looked sharper now. Hearts pounded harder. The finish line far ahead stayed silent, waiting.
Someone near the front suddenly moved. A desperate-looking man in his forties stepped right over the yellow line before the game even started.
"I'm not playing this! Screw you!" he shouted loud, walking forward with big steps.
Two others followed him right away, thinking the same thing.
The second they crossed the line, their bodies jerked hard.
**BOOM.**
The first man's torso exploded outward in one wet, messy burst. Blood, pieces of bone, and chunks of flesh sprayed everywhere in a wide arc. It painted the concrete and hit several players nearby with bright red. His head flew several meters before it landed with a heavy, sickening thud.
The other two got the same fate almost at the same time. One woman's legs blew apart from the knees down. Her upper body stayed whole for a scary half-second, then the rest exploded too. Warm gore rained down, sticky and thick. It stained clothes and faces all over.
The smell of blood filled the air fast. No one moved. The yellow line looked even more dangerous now. The doll on the screen just kept smiling wide.
Screams broke out everywhere at once.
"OH MY GOD!"
"No! No! They exploded! Their bodies just… blew apart!"
"I'm covered in blood! Get it off me!"
Panic hit hard. Some people rubbed their eyes like crazy, trying to wipe the sticky blood away. Others bent over and vomited right there on the cold concrete.
"Someone's screaming too loud — shut up or you'll move!"
A girl who had been crying and shaking suddenly noticed her own body was still moving. She tried to stop fast — but it was already too late.
**BOOM.**
Her body blew up in a burst. More red mist sprayed over the crowd.
Right at that moment, a sharp alarm sound rang out. It kept going, loud and piercing, like it drilled straight into everyone's head. The noise vibrated through their skulls. People grabbed their ears tight. Some even fell to their knees on the spot.
The yellow line stayed there, silent and waiting. The doll on the big screens still smiled wide, not saying anything yet. Blood and pieces of flesh stuck to clothes and skin. The smell grew heavier in the cold air. No one dared to breathe too deep.
"Make it stop!" Wang Bo wailed loud. He covered his head with both arms. "My ears are ringing!"
"Too loud!" Li Wei shouted. His face twisted from the pain.
Su Mei gritted her teeth hard. She squeezed her eyes shut. "Endure it… it must be part of the setup…"
Then the ringing cut off suddenly. Just like that, it was gone.
The doll's voice came back, still cheerful as before. "Game start in 3… 2… 1…"
"Green Light!"
The whole crowd rushed forward at once. It turned into a messy stampede.
Hundreds of feet slammed against the cold concrete. People pushed each other hard. Elbows flew everywhere. Some tripped right away and got trampled under the others.
Han Jiang stayed calm in the middle of the chaos. He ran straight, not looking left or right. Wang Bo tried to keep up beside him, breathing heavy and scared. The finish line still looked so far away. The yellow line behind them already felt like a bad dream. Blood from before still stuck to many shoes, making the ground slippery in places.