Building of Social Assistance

It was 8 months after the Sacrifice game, that terrible game that had ruined so many secrets. Shinzo, for his part, remained unmoved by what could have been a traumatic game, and had come through it without a shred of inner emotion. He knew: in this kind of game, it's better not to express your true emotions.

He'd wandered the streets with no specific objective in mind, just to get some fresh air. He still remembered the message he'd received after the Sacrifice game: The games have only just begun. The problem was, he still didn't know why these games existed, or who was behind them. He intended to investigate.

Walking down a rather empty street, he saw Renjiro. He looked slightly terrified. He approached him.

"Hi Renjiro, is something wrong?

Shinzo could see that Renjiro's behavior was not up to his usual standards, and that was a sign of something unexpected. Renjiro approached Shinzo.

"The games are about to start again. I received a message from the game master, and his number was visible, not hidden. It says very clearly that in 2 days, the games will start again, except there's no information or address."

Shinzo agreed with Renjiro, but the organization looked too organized and powerful to even touch him now. Shinzo opened his mouth in turn.

"We're smart enough to take part in the next game, I think. We just have to hold out a little longer."

Renjiro nodded, then continued on his way, still looking slightly terrified. 

A gunshot sounded behind Shinzo, which surprised him, so he looked behind him then rested his gaze on his phone, which had received a message.

"In 30 minutes, new game, meet at Kyoto harbor."

+81 56 67 78 91, an unmasked Japanese number. And then 30 minutes... that's not the same date as Renjiro.

He began to run unquestioningly towards the nearest train, on the way he saw footprints on the ground, 50 footprints, a tall, broad man, most certainly. He paid no further attention to this detail, then continued running while thinking.

"The footprints were... recent and there were two types of footsteps, like two people."

Despite the gunshot, no apparent damage, so could this have been an attempt at intimidation? The culprit and the victim must have fled, except that their footsteps are directed at the same spot... which isn't common. A trap?

Shinzo suddenly stopped.

They could have done it better.

Shinzo closed his eyes, then put his hearing to the test as he heard someone reposition himself with some kind of sniper in a building ahead of him, on the 2nd floor. He looked right at the spot, then saw the man and looked away.

I should have noticed as soon as I saw the footsteps going in the same direction.

Shinzo noticed that the gunman was positioned in such a way as to give him a good field of vision. He sighed.

"Ah... I don't even feel like defending myself... Your gun is a tranquilizer so shoot me, if it's to get me to the next game. No one would target me for any reason. Besides, the message saying it was going to start in 30 minutes is bogus, it forced me to rush to get there."

He raised his arms as if in surrender, then suddenly fell asleep: he'd been shot.

Shinzo awoke to the sound of waves dancing beside him, and when he opened his eyes, he discovered a real island, beautiful as it is: a utopia. Suddenly, someone appeared in front of him: a blue-haired boy in army garb, his hair halfway down to his neck, gray eyes and an impeccable coolness despite his sneer. Shinzo rubbed his eyes, then looked at him, the stranger speaking first.

"You found yourself here for some reason too, didn't you?"

His coldness sent shivers down Shinzo's spine.

This man really showed no emotion whatsoever, and what's more, he looked my age, given his build and his voice, which was mutating.

When the man saw that Shinzo wasn't responding, he continued.

"I'm Riku Kobayashi, and I'm 17, to give you the vivid context of our situation, there are 60 of us on this island, we're all gathered a little further down the beach."

"I see..."

Shinzo could indeed hear the sound of people surprised or others in awe. Riku helped Shinzo to his feet, then they headed towards the group of 58 people. On the way, he saw an electronic bracelet on his wrist.

"You'll also notice that you have a phone in your left pocket I believe. We all had those when we first came here."

Shinzo wasn't really listening to him; to tell the truth, he was looking at what was to his left: tropical trees, deep forest, streams, coconut palms and all that sort of thing.

When he arrived in front of the group of 58 people, Shinzo couldn't help but greet them awkwardly. They all looked at him curiously, Riku being the first to speak.

"This person is Shinzo Tanaka, he's 16 years old, and I think he's the latest member to arrive. The island is made up of several types of terrain such as caves, forests, cliffs, beaches, and, if you cut this island into 3D puzzle pieces, each area has a distinct volume and therefore a particular density."

Shinzo could see from the crowd and certain facial movements that they were already lost in his explanation. Some people in the crowd lowered their heads, their thoughts already elsewhere, betraying the anxiety of a lost understanding. He could see, with disturbing clarity, the hint of impatience hidden in a frown here, the indifference in a blurred glance there, and even the frustration subtly contained in the clenched hands of a few.

It was as if they were yelling at him, "We're not listening to you anymore!"

Shinzo saw from Riku's face that he'd understood the same thing, sighed, then stopped talking.

"Too bad for you."

A noise sounded in everyone's pocket; Shinzo obviously felt the vibration in his left pocket. It was the phone. He picked it up, then looked at the screen.

"Welcome to the 60 players."

Shinzo looked up from the screen and then at Riku, who had correctly deduced that there would be 60 players. Which surprised him. He put his eyes back on the screen.

"There will be three teams of 20 players divided over 3 distinct parts of the island. One group will be on the beach, another in the heart of the forest and then a final group on the cliffs."

He heard someone speaking, and instantly recognized Renjiro without even looking, recognized his mature voice and the speed of his dialogue, which was rapid.

"It's still... a game."

The phone played the text.

"The three teams must reach the top of the Island, the convergence point, but they can only get there by finding a minimum of 5 crystals on the island. There are enough crystals for each team, so you simply have to search or negotiate. The island is divided into 7 Power Zones, each containing an essential crystal or resource. To claim another team's Power Zone, you need to make a psychological challenge against the team in question: you can negotiate, take part in mind games or resolve moral dilemmas where sacrificing a player may be necessary. Each zone has its own speciality:

- The Negotiation Zone: Each team must designate a representative for a game of "word against word". The representative must convince the others to cooperate in order to unlock the crystal.

- The Sacrifia Zone: Two players on a team must be sent into a trial in which one of them must condemn himself so that the other can recover the crystal. Trust is put to the test.

There's also a points system, meaning everyone has an electronic bracelet with individual and collective points. Sabotaging your team earns you personal points, while cooperating and advancing as a team also earns you collective points.

You'll be given missions:

Missions with individual rewards, for which you have to betray your team.

These points are used to buy resources, personal if you have individual challenges, or collective if you have collective points. These are resources that help to complete the game.

What's more, you can betray your team and join another, but this can lead to tension and is a dangerous strategy.

Once the crystals have been collected, the teams who have all the crystals must make a final ascent to the top of the island. Only two teams can have 5 crystals. During the ascent, sacrifices are mandatory. Good luck, your phone will show your team's color, so join us at the point indicated on the map. The island is 9,300,000 square meters."

The rules were explained for 52.69 seconds... and again, the robotic voice was fast.

Everyone already seemed to have forgotten some of the rules of the game, looking confused and lost, and especially surprised by the size of the island. Shinzo, on the other hand, had it all figured out. The problem for Shinzo at the moment was that there were a lot of people in the game.

The team with the smartest players will be more adept at collecting the crystals. Crystals can't be taken simply; they require a psychological challenge. They certainly don't know our lives, so there can be inequalities. But... what are individual points for? Can we reach the top of the island alone?

He looked at his phone and saw the color red. He guessed he was with the reds. Immediately afterwards, a map appeared, a rather complex map of the island.

Riku approached Shinzo.

"I'm red too. The map is complicated to understand. There are perspective distortions. For example, I'm currently on a low part of the beach, so you can only see a small part of the map at my height level."

Riku climbed the beach and headed for the foliage, then shouted from a distance.

"And here we see the foliage map and everything at his height level!"

Shinzo had already understood this, but he pretended to nod. He put his eyes back on the map.

"It's a logarithmic projection," he said to himself.

Then he looked at the faces of everyone around him - the 59 other people. He guessed from their random, panicked movements that they were confused.

If they're confused, it's because they've never played this type of game before.

Shinzo had to be wary of everyone. He recorded the faces of each participant, then received a tap on the shoulder. He sighed and looked ahead, clearly exasperated.

Huff... You bet it's Riku again, trying to distract me into accompanying him back to base.

All along, Shinzo had noticed that this Riku was rather excited... too excited.

To be so naive is worrying.

Shinzo turned around and, as expected, saw Riku. His face was colder, but he was still smiling.

"Can you please accompany me to the red base Shinzo?"

"If you like."

In reality, Riku's coldness was due to the fact that he'd guessed he was disturbing Shinzo. When Riku heard the sigh and saw Shinzo's exasperated look, and the fact that he didn't turn around when he looked so wary, made him think he was getting too excited. Riku knew full well that this was a game where nothing was to be taken lightly, yet this was his only way of winning. He gave a slight chuckle and said nothing more, simply wishing to continue with his plan, which was on the right track.

Shinzo, for his part, couldn't help hating Riku's clinginess, but he certainly didn't show it. He decided to lead Riku towards the red zone. Despite the 3D complexity of the map and the illogical construction of the island, Shinzo knew exactly where the red base was.

Games from this organization do everything they can to complicate our task with simple concepts... I don't think it's in a highlighted area, they want strategy like in the last game. It's a complex, distorted map. Nothing is simple here. Colors, shadows, heights... everything seems to blend together. The island's relief is very pronounced, but... wait... there, that area of magnetic anomaly. Why is this one so blurry? Visual distortion. It's strange, it doesn't match the scale of the other zones. I don't think it's a mistake... it's a message. The base won't be in a valley or on a classic summit. They've probably looked for a place where access is difficult, but also a place that can be perceived differently depending on the angle of view. If I'm at the right angle, I should be able to see something that others can't. It's got to be somewhere between the shadows and the sky. It has to be somewhere between the shadows of the mountain, where the elements are distorted.

He made a whole map of the island in his head in 3D based on the elements already seen. He remembered the small streams he had seen at the beginning, the formation of plants and flora. Water was his first clue. He remembered the streams he had crossed at first, the way the water flowed without haste, almost as if guided by an invisible hand. There were no violent torrents, just discrete currents that followed a peaceful but regular path. This regularity, this controlled flow, he had often seen in the maps: water always makes its way to low areas, like an invisible trace linking heights to depths. The fact that he was only thinking had made his eyes empty even if he continued to move, and this, Riku noticed.

"You look lost, Shinzo."

Shinzo continued to think without answering. The streams he had seen were not too far from the mountains, but they seemed to be making their way to lower parts of the island where moisture was good for plant growth. The plants had also spoken to him. He remembered the thick bushes, roots that seemed to take root in the wet and fertile soil, a land where vegetation glows with water without effort. Where the vegetation was denser, there was probably more moisture, therefore more natural resources.

Shinzo had pretty much figured out and visualized the map and where the red base could be. He went up a small hill and then visualized all from the top of this little hill. He looked at the horizon and addressed Riku, behind him.

"Can you watch behind me, see if anyone is following us...I feel watched."

"Okay."

Shinzo finally saw a small stream coming down and the humidity seemed more present.

"I found the base."

He walked to where the base was supposed to be. Riku looked at him with passion.

"Wow! You're so smart! To use the streams to guess where the base is is ingenious, I saw you looking at the streams on the hill."

Shinzo suddenly stopped.

"Based on the streams? I didn't do any of that. I'm going in random directions."

Riku rubbed his head.

"A human being, instinctively by chance, would not change his position at once. Anyway..."

Shinzo didn't say anything more. Something was bothering him: Riku had said that he saw him looking at the streams to find the red base. Except that he remembered exactly this moment, and Riku had never looked the same direction as Shinzo, because Shinzo had asked him to look behind him.

So that confirms my suspicions. I wanted to check if he was trustworthy because he seemed strangely sticky for the seriousness of the situation, and then I see that he does not look behind me but myself. This game is a betrayal game according to the rules of the game, the excited character of Riku already seemed suspicious. The human tends to make a small betrayal to prepare a bigger one.

Shinzo, continuing on the road, finally came across the red base with Riku. They were the first to arrive.

"You're really smart, Shinzo."

People tell me that a lot.

Shinzo heard footsteps to his right, he turned around and saw three men in their twenties approaching. The one in front, the tallest, about 1.90 m, small beard, piercing eyes, relaxed looking at Shinzo.

So you thought the same thing as us. The stream leads down, and up, the red base is not visible. Also, our base was necessarily located in a natural resource environment. I'm Tatsuya Yagami, 17.

The one on his left, a girl, who looked small, about 14 years old, spoke timidly.

"Himiko Yamada..."

The last one on the right surprised Shinzo greatly, because he had not seen him among the other 59 participants. Shinzo widened his eyes but remained calm and did not betray any emotion. The one who had nearly destroyed his life was back.

"I expected more surprise from you, Shinzo."

Shinzo could have expected anyone, even Namjoon, but it wasn't him. 

It was his father.

Shinzo swallowed his saliva and instantly analyzed his father to see if he was hiding any weapons. Unfortunately, he saw nothing.

I'd rather he had a gun, because without a gun, it means he's planning something in secret.

Riku looked at Shinzo and his father for a long time. He clearly felt the tension between the two, but especially the fear of Shinzo, because he had never seen him spread his eyes like that and he sweated slightly, without moving.

Riku thought : "That could very well have been Shinzo thinking, except here his eyes are not empty. He is afraid of this man."

The man in question approached and then presented himself.

"Shun Oreki, 43 years old, at your service, the Reds."

Riku could see the irony in his voice very clearly. He just played his acting by approaching Shun to shake his hand.

"My name is Riku Kobayashi! 17 years old!"

So... I'm lucky, if even Shinzo is afraid of him, this tool will be useful to me.

Shun's hand was squeezed, Riku felt a huge pressure and his hand was crushed, he had to hold back from shouting. Shun approached his ear while Riku could not move, Shinzo watched.

"It is not smart to manipulate this young man simply because he was written that he was intelligent on his record before the game. You would have done it discreetly, but then, during the whole beginning of the game you did not pay any attention to the newcomers, and now, when Shinzo was there, hop! Change in behaviour and you're a pain in the ass. Be careful and better prepared next time."

Shinzo approached the two men.

"We must lay the foundation, first open the safe behind you."

Shun smiles.

"My son has grown up well, he knows how to hide his emotions."

Indeed, Shinzo now showed no emotion. He approached the chest and opened it, inside were the red headbands. He looked at them for a few seconds and then took several, one that he gave to Riku, the other to Shun, and the others. Tatsuya quickly put his headband on his forehead, but Riku seemed to take a while to wear his headband, in fact he was looking at his headband. Shinzo looked as best he could at Riku's headband to find a clue then turned his head, already tired.

What I find strange is my father, whom I have not seen in the crowd of earlier.

Tatsuya and Himiko discussed together at the same time to go to another chest, with resources in it to build the base. They opened the safe.

"Cool! Resources."

Tatsuya was smiling now, he had already started to build the base without even asking for the others' opinion. Shinzo sighed and decided that he would visit the other territories: if he wanted to succeed, he had to analyze the island and predict the movement of others.

He started to move away, then he felt someone was following him, he turned around and saw his father.

"Why are you following me?"

Shun smiled strangely.

"Oh, I don't know.... I wanted to see how much better you've gotten.

No, I have developed myself; do not think yourself a capable father, quite the opposite.

Shun was now approaching Shinzo.

"I confess to having made mistakes, but from there to treat me like this... you are cruel, son."

Shinzo didn't even have time to answer that his father had thrown his fist at a speed that pierced the air towards Shinzo's face. He dodged an unprecedented grace and quickly responded by aiming at the back of his father's neck with a circular kick that his father blocked.

"I was sure you were rigging the information before the games to win more easily, right? On the news computer, it was written that you were physically weak."

Shinzo was fooled, and fighting back quickly was his only solution: his father is too dangerous to just dodge.

He got me.

Shun took Shinzo's leg and threw him to the ground. Shinzo could not move as the shock was powerful. His father approached.

"Shinzo, I have a question, why did you let yourself be strangled by this girl in the last game? Her name was Ame, I think."

Shinzo rose with difficulty, breathing hoarse.

I took precautions, I can't risk being the powerful one against everyone else and be in everybody's sights. And then I didn't need to use my fists."

His father shrugged.

Anyway, you have to counter-attack, didn't you know that you were going to lose against me now? I'm disappointed. You had to know that physically, when faced with a special forces commando, the highest rank, you were going to lose."

His ironic tone annoyed Shinzo but he did not react, because he knew that this was what his father wanted. Shun looked at the sky, smiling, before turning his gaze on Shinzo.

"This Namjoon, during the game of Sacrifice, what an interesting kid! You want me to tell the story of Tatsuya's past?"

Shinzo was about to refuse but his father wouldn't let him speak.

A few years ago.

Tatsuya walked through the streets of his neighbourhood, looking for something to eat, he was accompanied by his mother. At that time, Tatsuya was 10 years old.

"Mom, why are there violent men here?"

His mother struck him in the head.

"Shut up!" she whispered, "we're going to get spotted."

Tatsuya came out with a little hiccup of pain, but he was silent as best he could.

Once out of sight, his mother began to beat him, cry and kick him.

"You little prick! It's your fault we're here! Fuck you! Go to hell!"

"My mother made me suffer this every day, I thought it was a big human garbage, besides being in a poor and very poorly frequented neighborhood."

"And then, when I was 14 years old, I changed."

Tatsuya, who was being beaten up, had started to have problems with his breathing or his brain. One day he got tired of it. Tatsuya, one night, out on the street, chose to run away while his mother was sleeping. On the road, he came across a gentleman, older than him by only 2 years, he was much taller and older than him, he easily exceeded 1m75, and it seemed like a Korean.

"You lost kid? You know it's not cool to stay here, right? What brings you here?"

Tatsuya, having suffered the violence of his mother, also took it.

"Shut up, I don't talk to pedophiles like you."

The great Korean did not react to the insulting words of Tatsuya, on the contrary he smiled.

"You have tact! You ran away? You have a bad mother?"

He let out his last words with a sociopath's look. Tatsuya flipped, but he kept his cool.

"Uh yes... how do you know?"

At heart, Tatsuya was still a good kid.

"I know, that's all, you want revenge?"

Tatsuya hesitated, but, thinking about everything his mother had done to him, he sighed and then accepted.

Then take this knife that I have in my hand, and go stab it, after all, she has ruined your life, do you not agree with me? It would be the least thing to plant her, you can even decide if she will die or not! But think back to the horrible things she did to you... Second after second, suffering after suffering, it deserves a punishment."

He smiled throughout his paragraph. Tatsuya hesitated even more but recovered and decided to go kill her, to put an end to his nightmare. He took the knife in hand and then moved, trembling, towards his mother who was sleeping deeply. Suddenly, he took the knife with both hands, shouted, then planted the knife in his mother's back, right on to her vital organs. She spat blood directly and then woke up and looked at her son. She cried.

So you... ended up killing me... It's a understandable choice, but I did all this for the good, I lived in evil so you have a better future, understand that... please, Dad, please.

I love you"

He realized what he had done. With blood on his hands, he cried and then began to run away, sobbing, tears taking over his body. He ended up crying all night and was found by the Korean, early in the morning.

"Don't worry... you made the right choice, Tatsuya Yagami..."

He took Tatsuya in his arms as if to reassure him, and Tatsuya was too weak to push him away. All his energy was used to bring out the tears. Over the next year, Tatsuya had been trained in combat tirelessly by the Korean, who had never mentioned his name. He lived a little better even if it was a shitty neighborhood. The Korean, by helping Tatsuya to develop and reassure him about his mother's death, Tatsuya has been brainwashed, and he no longer thought the Korean was a liar. The Korean was taking care of him but was extremely severe and very little present. One day he went to the welfare building, for a little fun, probably the first time in his life, but there, his only hope of finally smiling without forcing was broken, there was a young gentleman who looked like a restaurant waiter, which explained the rules of a Sacrifice game. It was a real psychological game: the goal was to know who had the key without being allowed to touch or search people and sacrifice it. There were 7 days of intense struggle, during which Tatsuya got away with it by having succeeded in the game. He will continue his rotten life, always giving a forced smile to the people he met. And then he ends up here, playing the game of the island of injustice.

Back to the present

Shinzo's thoughts swirled at full speed.

This Korean... it's Namjoon I guess, and he lied about his age at the time.

"Let's say this story is true, the news computer said that Namjoon was 17, not 19."

Shun laughed.

"Ah! Shinzo, you're a fair kid! And if Namjoon was more than just a participant."

Shinzo stared at the ground.

It would be an organizer.

Shun began to move away.

"Anyway, I'm talking about the past but we're in the present, come on, I'm out of here! And you better win this game."

Shinzo thought of thousands of possibilities in a few seconds and kept them all in mind.

Of these thousands of possibilities, only one is good, I must be careful.