Doomsday Elevator

The elevator doors slid open to reveal a nightmare carnival. Peeling posters advertised "The Greatest Show on Earth!" in cracked crimson letters. Rotting popcorn carpeted the ground, and a skeletal carousel horse stared blankly from its rusted pole. Ethan stepped into the funhouse stench—cotton candy sweetness layered over decay.

Three other survivors materialized from the gloom:

A twitchy man in a torn business suit

A teenager clutching a homemade spear

A woman with shock-blonde hair and bloodied knuckles

The System's alert pulsed like a strobe light:

Game Rules Activated

Phase 1: Camouflage (60s Prep)

Phase 2: Hunt (600s Duration)

Penalty: Lethal Enforcement

Ethan's body shimmered. Steel crawled up his limbs as he transformed into—

"A fucking lamppost?" He glared down his ten-meter metallic torso. The platform beneath his bulbous "head" creaked ominously.

The others fared no better:

Businessman → Cardboard box (slightly dented)

Teenager → Cast-iron sewer grate

Woman → Overflowing trash bin

"Rules!" the trash can woman hissed. "We need to—"

BRRRRT!

A warped calliope drowned her words. Two hulking figures emerged from the ticket booth—humanoid shapes in patchwork leather, their faces hidden behind grinning porcelain masks. Double-barreled shotguns glinted in the sickly yellow light.

Ethan's lamppost instincts kicked in. He willed himself toward the high-wire platform, steel base screeching across concrete. The System's whisper cut through the chaos:

Strategic Note: Hunter Peripheral Vision Limited to 15° Vertical

"Top shelf it is," Ethan muttered, locking his base to the elevated platform. Below, the cardboard box tumbled behind a popcorn cart. The sewer grate pressed flat against filthy tiles.

CLICK-CLACK

The hunters racked their shotguns in unison.

——

00:01

BOOM!

The popcorn cart exploded into splinters. The cardboard box survivor screamed as pellets shredded his paper-thin disguise.

"Found you~" Hunter A sang, blowing smoke from his barrel.

00:37

KER-CHUNK!

Hunter B's boot heel came down on the sewer grate. The teen's muffled scream ended with a wet pop as iron bent around flesh.

04:12

Ethan's lamppost "head" swiveled silently. The trash can woman trembled beneath a smoldering cigarette butt—some hunter's careless discard. Flames licked at her polystyrene disguise.

"Hold. Still." Ethan mouthed soundlessly.

09:59

The hunters circled back, shotguns reloaded. Hunter A paused beneath Ethan's platform, mask tilted upward.

Don't look up. Don't look up. Don't—

Porcelain jaws split in a Cheshire grin. "Clever little firefly..."

BOOM!

Ethan's glass "skull" exploded. He fell—not with the crash of metal, but the silent terror of a man realizing his legs no longer existed.

10:00

The carousel music died. Ethan's mangled body rematerialized in his elevator, spatial backpack clutched to his chest. The System's judgment flashed:

Result: Survival (Barely)

Rewards: Nutrient Serum x2 / Gold Coin / 50kg Steel Plates

On the blood-smeared blackboard, fresh letters oozed:

Hide Hard. Scream Louder.