Gamblers' GameChapter 31

River sensed Aspen at his side before he even opened his eyes. He could tell someone was sitting next to him and heard the soft, even breathing. FUAtak

It was so quiet and serene that it instantly calmed down all of his raging thoughts and turned them into a soothing flicker.

As for how he knew it was Aspen, he could not say, but he was certain of it. Maybe it was just that most people wouldn’t sit next to you, staring as they waited for you to wake up – what should be unnatural seemed more than normal at the moment. It gave him a sense of unexpected comfort and he sighed before opening his eyes.

Chrysanthemum Garden.

Aspen looked down at him. He sat leaned against the wall and his eyes sparkled a bit as if he was delighted to truly have been pulled into the game with River again. His lips parted, ready to speak, when someone else spoke up first.

“Finally you’re awake, Tian Zhu. I’ve been waiting forever!” x61s0u

River wouldn’t be able to name what caused him the greatest nausea.

The excitement in the other’s voice, the use of his name in this place, or the fact that it was Ling Xian who was speaking.

His brother, intruding into this place that had been his own so far.

He felt his muscles cramp instantaneously. Every inch of his body felt cold and stiff. Next to him, Aspen’s brows furrowed.

River sat up slowly, like he was in a trance. His muscles refused to work well, causing his movements to look like a doll’s – jerking and stiff, not at all smooth.

Ling Xian looked down at him with veiled impatience. It was clear he was excited to finally have gotten what he wanted, experiencing a dream himself, but now he wanted to go out exploring already.

“It’s a surprise you’re here, too”, Ling Xian said, then looked at Aspen and smiled after scrutinizing him for a moment. “Hey.”

Someone like Ling Xian, who had always been protected by his parents, could not notice the dangerous aura that slowly seeped out of Aspen. Like a stupid fawn, he was too naive to realize he was posing in front of an actual predator. EkitzD

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The young man stood up, glowering at Ling Xian as if he hated him to the bone.

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Aspen’s shackles scraped against the wall, making a small sound that attracted Ling Xian’s attention to glancing at them. TLMziG

He might have asked, but at this exact moment River had managed to stand up, so he turned around and focused on his little brother again. With a heavy hand, he patted River’s back.

“How nice to be here. Come, accompany me to explore. I want to see what’s outside of here.”

Apparently, with Ling Xian’s curiosity, he must have looked around the room while River was still waking up. Now that the other was awake, he finally had his shield for the worst case and was ready to leave.

Aspen had fallen out of the area of his interest the moment he did not try to suck up to Ling Xian and wasn’t recognizable as a kid of a rich and powerful family, and so he was ignored. sWNyzr

River lowered his head and followed obediently. He avoided glancing back at Aspen.

His body felt good, as if there was no addiction he was suffering under. It was some relief that at least in the dreams he could move freely. He was thinner, but he always wore loose clothes so it hardly showed, and his facial colour in this place was literally gray. Nothing noticeable.

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Aspen walked behind the two of them, his cold gaze stuck to River. He was observing, noting down every subconscious reaction to Ling Xian’s words. Even the fact that River was breathing shallowly did not escape him.

River hated the dream at this moment. FC k6B

Hated it for catching his interest but bringing along Ling Xian so that he could not relax and play to his heart’s content.

Yet, he could not control himself and looked around.

The world behind the doors was a school. Three floors with countless large windows, a courtyard and a gym at the side. It took River a second to recognize it as such. Nowadays, schools did not look like this anymore, but they had at some point in history.

Schools now were closer to smaller, artsy buildings where few people were at the same time. Many lessons were done online or did not require a teacher at all. gPA7LG

Placing a few hundred teenagers into one area to learn was a weird thought for River, but he knew how it had been back then. Including that there was a schedule with different lessons and breaks a day.

The world outside hinted at it being daytime, and a clock hanging in the hallway confirmed that thought.

“How boring. What is going on? There’s nothing interesting here.” Ling Xian clicked his tongue in irritation, looking around.

River pursed his lips where his brother could not see it. 5yLIs4

This was a completely different time with an authentic setting. Wandering around here could not be experienced by just anyone. They had basically travelled back in time, which was more than anyone else could say they had ever done.

Moreover, it was likely time for class. If it wasn’t, all students would be running around and filling up the hallways, which would lock them into their starting room, unable to go out.

He didn’t think there was a chance that it was vacation time. Under normal circumstances, nearly no one would be at school during this time, and a Play needed people.

River’s brain was already running. M4AN1u

This Play must be cut into several arcs, starting from the lessons – where they could only move around in the building -, continuing to breaks – that would bind them to outside or empty classrooms – and after school, which would give them free reign.

As for the topics…

Bad grades, a shooting spree or bullying sounded like feasible problems that might appear here. If it was a softer topic, which he doubted, it might be a lovestory. He didn’t think it’d be too complicated.

Would shots affect their bodies? If yes, he hoped it wasn’t a shooting. He didn’t feel like running from stray bullets. Even if his general health was back to normal here, his stamina had suffered from the recent malnutrition and he had never been a sprinter. 84VEkf

Aspen’s fingers brushed against his arm, not long enough to feel uncomfortable but enough to catch his attention. A gentle, warm tickle. He looked up to see Aspen’s expectant gaze.

He wanted to play again, like last time. He was waiting for River to tell him his ideas. But-

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“Tian Zhu, come here.”

River jolted, habitually lowering his head and walking forward to join his brother. The other man was looking into a classroom through the small window at the door. Tcx9wv

“Do you see those shadows there? Try going inside.”

River opened his mouth to refuse him, but Ling Xian’s eyes held his.

He felt his strength draining and shoulder slumping. It was useless to go against Ling Xian. Once they woke up, he’d suffer all the more and if he was careful enough, maybe the shadows wouldn’t turn aggressive just yet.

In the worst case, he’d just be eaten and die. It wasn’t like there’d be anything after that. 0DW2 j

Aspen watched the scene and felt irritation bubble up from deep within him.

He had been looking forward to this. He wanted to run around with the same River that he had seen last time – the one that burned brightly and unravelled the setting around them like an entangled string, neatly placing it down into one straight line.

But this other person was in the way. Not only was he acting exceptionally stupid, he also had an annoying voice and was causing River to look even less lively than the first time he had seen him.

Aspen looked around and approached a brighter gray-coloured thing hanging low on the wall. It had a metallic tone with white and a lot of text that he didn’t care to read. There was a black tube on top of it. lWmKXy

Anyway, it was heavy. Aspen pulled it out of its holder and weighed it in his hand. It felt very solid.

With a blank face, he walked up to the unknown man who was staring inside the classroom. River noticed him out of the corner of his eye and took a step back but didn’t warn that person.

Seeing it as consent, Aspen brought up the item and smashed it down.

When River had killed Honey, the sight wasn’t half as gruesome as this one was. d0Cpwe

Ling Xian’s head dented and broke open. He twitched several times, then again when Aspen calmly used the item to smash down again on his face.

His nose broke first, turning flat as if someone had pressed their hand onto unbaked clay. His mouth was open, revealing the white teeth that were falling out under the impact. Some broke into two smaller parts.

The metallic thing that Aspen used wasn’t large enough to cover all of Ling Xian’s head, so his face malformed like a crater. His eyes, pressured too much, lay half out of their holes, looking weirdly flat and liquidated.

Author’s Note xnDBLw

A new game arc! A slightly shorter one this time, though. The next games don’t deal with rape or suicide anymore, for those who are worried about that. They have different topics.

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