Seeing how shaken she was, Ava decided to retreat before she pushed her too far. She had only meant to scare her, and she had succeeded. The game condemned violence committed by players, so she could not deliberately harm her herself. Still, accidents happen all the time, and there are more than enough NPCs who could be the perpetrator.

She tapped her on the shoulder but still didn’t let go. What if she ran away?

“Good choice. Now, let’s find a calm place to talk.”

She led her to the cafeteria, a confined space with only a few people since lunch wouldn’t be served for another fifteen minutes. Ava sat her down in the deepest corner, by a vending machine. Scanning the options, she bought one cup of coffee and one of tea, placing the hot tea in front of the player. Her tone was warm, almost too friendly, she said, “No need to be tense. I just want to ask a few simple questions.”

The player clutched the cup, lowering her head. Ava sipped her coffee, eyes never leaving her. “What floor do you live on?”

“The second floor,” she whispered.

“Oh, an honors program student,” Ava said, her smile tight, almost predatory. “So… have you heard anything about what happened lately?”

The girl shook her head. Ava tapped the table once, a small, deliberate motion. When their eyes met, her smile deepened. Leaning slightly closer, she whispered, “Did you go out yesterday? Did you see or hear anything?”

The player froze, as if she had drowned in Ava’s eyes—eyes that gave the impression of seeing one’s own reflection in a dark well at night.

“I… I… I was too scared to go out, but… I kept hearing a lullaby and a baby’s cry. Once, it sounded close to my room.”

“That’s it?” Ava’s voice was soft, probing.

“That is all I know.”

“Are there any other players on your floor?”

“I think so… when I reached the second floor, I heard a door shut loudly.”

Seeing she couldn’t get more information about this level, Ava shifted her approach. “What was the title of your first level?”

The player looked at her, confused.

“This… this is my first level,” she said hesitantly.

Ava blinked, astonished. “You mean this is your first time playing? Did you stop at the lobby before coming? How many people were there?”

The girl answered quietly, “It’s… not your first? The system explained the rules… in the lobby… there was a man, probably in his fifties, sitting there… I didn’t talk to him.”

Ava’s eyes narrowed slightly, processing the fragmented answers, her smile never quite reaching them.

This changed a lot about her perception of the game and pushed her to wonder even more. My second level can be someone’s first… so can my first level be someone’s second or third? How are the levels assigned? How is the order decided—by difficulty?

The system did say something about all the levels in the lobby, but she couldn’t remember exactly.

“ What did the system say about the ten levels?”

“It was something about there being ten levels, and I have to clear one randomly once a week,” the player said.

Randomly? So the levels aren’t numbered or ordered by any particular criterion… they’re assigned based on how many levels the player has already completed? And did my first level include players from another level? The lobby was supposed to be exclusive to players chosen to explain the rules, and I really didn’t go to the lobby this time.

Thinking about it, the players she saw in the last level were only the ones from the lobby. So… were there experienced players or not? And how could any of this affect me? Stop! Overthinking wasn’t good, especially now, with a level to finish. 

She had a whole week to think about it later, so she decided to focus on the important stuff for now.

As the cafeteria slowly filled, she exhaled. “Okay, now the last question… what did you mean by ‘it’s been a while since I walked’?”

The player opened her mouth, then closed it. She stood up, about to leave the question unanswered. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. “Actually… in real life, I… I’m disabled. I can’t stand by myself, let alone walk.

She turned to leave, but suddenly stopped and added, her voice quieter this time,  “By the way… if you don’t want to smile, don’t. No need to endure it with a smile on your face.”

She let those heavy words linger in the air, then left the cafeteria, running as if to let that reality drift away with the wind. 

Ava’s smile faded. She shielded her face with her hands and shrugged. Surely, people of the same mind recognize each other… fortunately or unfortunately, I’m different from most of them. They could dream about it, maybe even try, but I can’t even give myself the leisure to dream about it—if I did, I’d be swayed. She didn’t know all the players, but she was certain that most of them fit the same criteria to be chosen by the game.

Ava woke from her daze to the ringtone of her phone. It was Mia. She answered and told her she was already in  cafeteria B. Mia said she would be there soon.

In the meantime, Ava stood in line to get some food. She heard whispers nearby.

“Did you see him? He came today.”
“Yes… although I usually don’t like him, I really feel bad for him.”

A couple nudged each other in the line beside her. The boy hugged himself in an exaggerated manner, as if to comfort himself. “I really can’t forget the image. I keep dreaming about it.”

“It’s a good thing you didn’t see it yourself,” the girl said, hitting him on the arm. “Otherwise, you’d be calling me in the middle of the night, crying.”

“I’m not a scaredy-cat,” he protested. “Look at his face… he looks like he’s about to collapse. Why did he come to work?”

Ava followed their line of view, only to see an old man in a suit stepping into the staff-only section. His posture was stiff, shoulders hunched, and he moved with a weariness that seemed to weigh the air around him. His face was pale, eyes heavy—gloomy and drained of all energy.

She took her food to an empty  table and opened the game panel. Using the notebook, she wrote down everything she knew about the level: when the lullaby started, how many times the baby cried, and the locations—though one remained unknown.

Infant body… student’s miscarriage… was it related to an employee of the university? Or could it be that it wasn’t a student, but an employee who had a miscarriage in the dormitory, and she is the wife of the man in the suit?

And then there was that suspicious student who had run out of the building when others were talking about the so-called “joke.”

Mia soon joined her for lunch. Ava finished first. She took the key out of her pocket and handed it to her.

Mia thanked her through chewing. Wondering what the consequences of breaking character might be, Ava tried to appear as composed as possible. “You know how busy I’ve been lately. I haven’t kept up with what’s been happening. Today I finally had some free time. I walked around this morning and noticed an unusual gloominess in the dormitory… did something happen?”

Mia put down her fork, swallowing the food already in her mouth. “You don’t know? I thought I mentioned it to you when you came back that night.”

Ava answered without changing her expression. “I must have been too tired. I barely rest during the day.”

Mia’s face showed a hint of sadness. “Janice was found on the verge of death on the stairs of the fifth floor.”