Shards of the glass bridge were still stuck in the gaps of the iron net when the men in red dragged the survivors into the passage by the iron chains. The electronic screen flashed red: "The fourth game is over, 31 people remaining."
The iron frame beds in the dormitory shook violently. Deok-su stepped on others' mattresses and jumped onto the table, swinging a sharpened iron bar in his hand: "Whoever gets in the way in the next game will have this thing stuck in his throat!" No one dared to look up, except Kang Sae-byeok, who quietly tucked the knife in her sleeve deeper.
At three o'clock in the morning, the green light swept across every face. Everyone was driven to the circular hall, where plastic cloth was spread on the ground, with twenty beehive-shaped iron boxes placed on it. The voice of the big boss came with a current sound: "The fifth game: marbles. Form teams of two. The one who wins all the opponent's marbles within forty minutes wins."
As soon as Gi-hun turned his head, he saw the old man grabbing his arm: "Let's be a team." Sang-woo scanned the crowd with his eyes and went straight to the office worker in a suit, who was trembling with fear. Kang Sae-byeok was blocked by Deok-su, who grinned: "Team up with me, and I'll keep you alive." Kang Sae-byeok suddenly pulled over Han Mi-nyeo next to her: "I choose her."
The young policeman, mixed among the men in red, stared at the monitoring screen. There were miniature cameras hidden in the marble boxes of each room. Taking advantage of the square-masked man turning around, he secretly took a photo of the schedule on the wall — his brother's number was in the "cleaning team" column.
Gi-hun and the old man squatted in the room full of dolls. The old man stuffed marbles into his palm: "Let's play guess odd or even." Gi-hun won the first round, and the old man smiled, showing his gums; he lost the third round, and the old man suddenly covered his chest and coughed, "I'm getting senile, miscalculated." Gi-hun looked at his trembling hands and stuffed half of the marbles he had won back to him.
Sang-woo forced the man in a suit into the corner, spinning a marble in his hand: "Let's play 10 rounds. The one who loses 5 rounds will be eliminated." He deliberately let the other party win two rounds, and when the other party relaxed their vigilance, he won five rounds in a row. The man in the suit cried and begged for mercy. Sang-woo grabbed the marbles and turned to leave, with the sound of gunfire coming from behind.
Kang Sae-byeok and Han Mi-nyeo squatted in the mirror room. Han Mi-nyeo poured all the marbles on the ground: "I can't survive anyway, these are all for you." Kang Sae-byeok stared at the bruises on her wrist and suddenly pushed half of the marbles back: "Let's play flip cards. The one who wins gets them."
Deok-su pressed his opponent to the ground, and marbles scattered all over the floor: "Pick them up! If you pick them up slowly, I'll kill you!" As soon as the other party touched the marbles, he kicked his fingers to pieces, grabbed the marbles and walked out laughing.
The old man stuffed his last marble into Gi-hun's hand and suddenly collapsed on the ground: "I can't make it... You go." Gi-hun looked at his closed eyes, grabbed the marbles and rushed out. As soon as he reached the corridor, he heard the sound of gunfire in the room. He paused for a moment, but still ran forward.
The young policeman saw the men in red carrying corpses in the recycling room, and one of the corpses had a silver bracelet on its wrist, the same as his brother's. He took off the bracelet and stuffed it into his pocket when no one was looking. The square-masked man suddenly appeared behind him: "What are you standing there for? Clean it up."
The whistle for the end of the game sounded, and the men in red drove the survivors to the hall. The number on the electronic screen changed to 16. Sang-woo leaned against the wall, wiping the marbles. Kang Sae-byeok clutched the marbles given by Han Mi-nyeo, her knuckles turning white. Gi-hun stood in the corner, suddenly thinking of the old man's last look at him, and his stomach churned.
Late at night, the young policeman pried open his brother's locker. There was a diary inside, and the last page read: "VIPs will arrive tomorrow. They will choose the 'Squid King'." Footsteps came from outside. He quickly hid the diary in the ventilation duct. When he turned around, he knocked off a red coat, revealing the cuff of his police uniform inside.
As dawn was approaching, music sounded from the loudspeaker, and colored lights descended from the ceiling. The big boss's voice was full of smiles: "Congratulations, everyone. There will be a special program tonight." The iron gate opened, and a group of people wearing golden masks walked in. The leader patted Sang-woo on the shoulder: "You have great potential."