Satan’s Game

"The endless black soil devours all light."

Carlos repeats the line, analyzing it carefully. 

"The first thing I thought of was a cliff."

"Why?"

"Falling into an abyss immediately robs you of all light. It makes sense."

"Then why not a deep cave? You walk in, and everything turns pitch black."

Carlos considers it. 

"That also makes sense."

"That's just a guess-huh."Cillian smirks. 

"I'm not the one who wrote the riddle."Carlos frowns. 

"…Well, you look certainly confident about it."

Carlos continues thoughtfully, "But there's an important word we need to focus on—'black Soil'. In the jungle, there's plenty of black soil: at the bottom of a ravine, or in caves, like you said. But the word 'endless' suggests a certain depth or length. And 'devours all light' implies it's a place completely devoid of illumination, which matches both a deep ravine and a cave."

"But it might not be either of those," Cillian points out.

"Which is why we use the process of elimination," Carlos replies. 

"We should head down this path to search for a cliff or a cave."

"Why this path? Why not double back?"

"Oh, also a guess."

"…Are you not even going to give me a proper explanation?"

Carlos straightens up, finally serious. 

"The rainforest is vast. If everyone wanders aimlessly, they'll scatter. But Satan loves watching people clash, fight for resources, and go to war. So he'll make sure we converge on the same route. Moving forward fits the probability best."

[Live Comments] Carlos might actually be a game NPC sent by Satan to spice up the experience.

[Live Comments] His analysis is making my head spin.

[Live Comments] This isn't guessing—this is deep insight into Satan and the game. Carlos, you're playing with fire.

[Live Comments] Carlos's vibe is so different from past competitors!

Cillian feels convinced. Carlos's reasoning makes a lot of sense.

He pulls out a roasted banana and tosses Carlos the drone controller. 

"Caves are hard to find. Let's check if there's a cliff down this eastern path."

The drone is sleek and compact, with a jet-black body. Its size and color make it easy to blend in, especially in a dense jungle.

Carlos examines the device, flipping it around as though memorizing every detail. Only when he feels confident does he turn it on.

The folded drone unfolds gracefully, its rotors spinning up until it lifts off.

Cillian watches as Carlos maneuvers the drone and flips his drying clothes.

Soon, the drone rises into the air. Carlos adjusts the camera feed, and a 14-inch display lights up with the bird's-eye view.

"Point the camera forward a bit," Cillian suggests.

The camera tilts forward, revealing an endless ocean of green treetops. Carlos rotates the drone 360 degrees. Everywhere, it's the same: an unbroken expanse of forest.

"That's exactly what I was thinking," Carlos murmurs. 

"This isn't the Amazon rainforest—it's a copy of its system."

He gently nudges the drone forward, careful not to strain it. In the jungle, a broken drone can't be replaced. He should be careful.

The drone glides silently, moving deeper into the forest. 

Cillian notices its absence of sound or lights—no wonder Ali found their camp last night without them hearing anything.

After about ten minutes, Carlos pauses. 

"I think I see the cliff."

He lowers the drone and steers it toward a fissure in the forest canopy. Sure enough, a narrow ravine slices between two stretches of dense trees. It's a feature that could only be spotted from above.

Carlos marks the flight path in his memory and recalls the drone.

By the time it lands, Cillian has already finished his banana and dried his clothes. He pulls them on and gets to his feet. 

"Let's move. We're already behind."

"No rush." Carlos calmly packs the drone. "This is a marathon, not a sprint. The fastest don't always win."

"And the slowest aren't always turtles who beat hares."

Even with his teasing, Carlos remains unfazed.

"Carlos, what's exactly your job?"

This infuriating patience of his could drive anyone mad.

"Medical Examiner."

"…That explains a lot." 

Cillian finally understands. A man who works with the dead would have no reason to rush.

[Live Comments] True? Carlos is a medical Examiner?

[Live Comments] Impressive.

[Live Comments] No wonder he's so slow-paced; I'm losing my mind here!

Carlos looks at her curiously. 

"What about you?"

Cillian casually kicks at the damp soil to cover the fire. 

"To be fair, you can keep the drone, and I'll hold onto the flashlight. It's my way of showing I'm serious about our partnership."

"Alright," Carlos agrees, then pauses. 

"Hold on. You didn't answer my question."

But Cillian is already walking into the jungle, leaving him without an answer.

Fine.

Everyone has their secrets, after all.

Once they pinpoint their destination, their pace picks up significantly.

The light drives away some of the jungle's musty, decaying smell, but the temperature rises with it.

The air is humid and oppressive.

Cillian, accustomed to traveling through all kinds of climates, doesn't seem bothered by the heat. He's well-adapted to harsh conditions.

Carlos, on the other hand, is used to the cooler northern climate. 

The combination of the heat and humidity quickly drains his stamina. He feels lightheaded under the sun and even more suffocated in the dense forest.

After an hour of walking, he has to stop.

"Cillian."

Cillian turns to see his pale face and immediately searches for a water vine. 

Cillian hands it to him and says, "In this climate, you'll lose water quickly. Keep hydrating. Don't wait until you're dizzy to ask."

"Ok…" 

Carlos sips from the vine and feels a bit better, but his entire body is drenched with sweat, and his legs tremble.

He collapses onto the grass, too tired even to talk.

Cillian observes him silently, realizing he's far from recovered.

Carlos forces himself to stand after a brief rest, leaning on nearby trees for support. 

"Let's go."

Cillian doesn't move.

Sure enough, after just five steps, Carlos stops again, his vision spinning and nausea rising.

"You're dehydrated. Sit down. I'll get you another water vine," Cillian says as he retrieves another. 

Cillian watches the sky darken slightly and suggests, "This spot is flat enough. Let's camp here for now."

Carlos hesitates. 

"We'll fall far behind, won't we?"

"We can walk at night."

"You don't have to adjust for me—"

"I don't." Cillian interrupts him firmly. 

"We have a flashlight now. Why should we fear the dark?"

"…"

"Besides, if we make a fire tonight, we might attract a certain tailing boxer. If he notices our route, it could be trouble. Better to rest and move under cover of darkness."

Carlos sees his point and abandons any feelings of guilt.

From his perspective, Cillian is cold but principled—a man with a frosty exterior but no malice.

Cillian lights a fire and tosses in the last of his cassava and a bunch of bananas. He rises, stretching his legs. 

"I'm going to hunt for some meat."

Without protein, they'll run out of energy quickly.

If he could settle in one spot for ten days, Cillian is confident he'd build himself a comfortable life—maybe even a small hut with traps for food.

But in this constantly moving game, he has to scavenge on the go, balancing survival with strategy against the competition.

This game sucks.

If given another chance, he'd pick food as his starting item.

After he leaves, Carlos leans against a tree and dozes off. The rest helps him regain some strength.

He wakes up instinctively, thirst reminding him to reach for the water vine.

But the vine Cillian had stuck in the ground is gone.

And there's now someone sitting by the fire.

It's the Medic.

William sits by the blazing fire, occasionally poking it with a stick. 

When he notices Carlos waking up, he says, "I was passing by and saw you didn't look well, so I didn't wake you up."

Carlos nods. "Water…"

"You're dehydrated, right? In that case, you shouldn't drink raw, cold water, or you might get an upset stomach," William says, pointing to a small pot on the fire. 

"The water will boil soon. Just a minute."

"Wow, you really are a medic."

"Actually, I have a weak stomach and can't handle too much raw or cold stuff, so I was forced to pick a pot."

Since he picked a pot, he likely also picked fire.

Carlos doesn't want to dwell on what William chose, but his mind instinctively starts piecing it together. 

Of the three items William likely chose, the already revealed medicine and the pot are two. The last one is probably fire.

The water finally boils. 

William takes the pot off the fire and uses a large leaf to fan away the rising steam. 

"The water will cool down soon."

"Thanks."

The pot is small, but after drinking a third of the water, Carlos feels his strength returning.

"I didn't get the clue. "

"I already know."

"How?"William looks at him.

"Because my teammate got it. When he reached the bottom, one of the boxes had already been opened, and I also ran into the person who got the last clue."

William understood. 

"Swimming isn't my strong suit, and I also moved in the wrong direction for the clue," he said with a self-deprecating smile. "This game isn't easy to pass."

"Honestly you've helped me twice now, so I should tell you the clue. But the clue was not found by me, so I'll need to ask him first if I can share it with you."

William chuckles.

 "You're principled, I like that. I enjoy being friends with someone like you."

Carlos also appreciates William's personality. 

Who says that in Satan's game, there's only betrayal and killing? That it solely magnifies the ugliness of human nature? 

He never believed it before, and now, even less so.

[Live Comments] I'm so nervous!!!! Is William hiding something dark? Is he secretly evil?

[Live Comments] What kind of survival game is this? It's just a drama club at this point.

[Live Comments] I can't figure out who's the good guy. Maybe they're all bad.

[Live Comments] I'm firmly rooting for my sweet Carlos!

Suddenly, the sound of someone moving through the forest reaches them. The rustling leaves part as someone approaches.

Carlos moves his ears slightly. 

"That's Cillian coming back."

William turns to the side and sees a tall, well-proportioned, and exceptionally handsome guy walking out of the forest. 

He's holding a rabbit with brown fur in his hand.

The rabbit seems to have hit something hard. Its head is bloody, and even the hand holding its ears is smeared with blood.