Arisu Ryohei was an unemployed young man addicted to video games. His younger brother, seeing him gaming at home instead of attending a scheduled job interview, became furious. Annoyed, Arisu left the room and ran into his father in the hallway. His father told him he hoped Arisu wouldn’t hold his brother back. With a dismissive sneer, Arisu walked out.
He picked up his phone and contacted his friends, Karube and Chota, suggesting they run away together and go for drinks. They agreed to meet at Shibuya Station. Once together, the three debated which bar to go to. As they watched the crowds flowing through the streets, Karube suddenly lifted Arisu into the air, shouting, "Celebrate your independence!" Chota took out his phone to snap a picture. Cheering wildly, they stood right in the middle of the road.
Suddenly, cars began swerving around them. They hurried to the sidewalk just as a major accident occurred on the street. Seeing police rushing to the scene, they feared being mistaken for causing the trouble and ran. Squeezing through the crowd, they hid inside a subway station restroom.
A loud noise echoed outside, followed by a power outage. Curious, they decided to step out and investigate. When they emerged from the station, they were stunned to find the streets completely empty. They split up to search for people but found no one. Sitting together on the deserted road, Karube grew uneasy, while Arisu and Chota felt a strange sense of excitement—no one was around to control them anymore.
Then, a giant electronic screen on a building lit up with the message:
"Welcome, players. The game will now begin."
Puzzled, they followed the direction indicated on the screen.
They arrived at a game building and entered the venue. Following instructions, each picked up a smartphone. A notification appeared:
"The game begins in 2 minutes."
There, they met Usagi and another girl just as the phone announced:
"Registration closed."
The game was called Live or Die, difficulty: Three of Clubs.
The rule was simple: choose the correct door to exit the building before time ran out.
The five entered an elevator, and the game began—they had 2 minutes. They found themselves in a sealed room with two doors: one marked LIVE, the other DIE. They had to choose one to proceed.
As they debated which door to take, Usagi grew anxious and insisted it was the "Live" door, urging Arisu to open it quickly. With 30 seconds left, smoke began filling the room from below. The other girl, choking on the smoke, couldn’t bear it anymore. She rushed to the "Live" door and opened it—only to die instantly.
Time was almost up. Without hesitation, Usagi opened the "Die" door and entered. Arisu and Karube followed immediately. Chota was still in shock from the girl’s death. With only 2 seconds left, Arisu rushed back and pulled Chota through the door just as flames erupted across the room. Karube slammed the door shut. They realized: when time runs out, you burn.
They entered the next room. Time limit: 1 minute 50 seconds. Again, two doors: LIVE and DIE. Still shaken, they accused Usagi of her reckless choice earlier. An argument broke out among the four as the seconds ticked away.
With 20 seconds left, frustrated by Usagi’s nervous chatter, Karube walked to the "Live" door, gritted his teeth, and pushed it open—it was the right choice.
The next room had a time limit of 1 minute 40 seconds. Same doors. Karube urged Arisu to figure it out, since he was good at puzzle games. There had to be a clue.
With one minute left, Arisu was too afraid to try—it was a matter of life and death. Karube yelled at him for being irresponsible and lazy. Arisu fired back, saying Karube was good for nothing but fighting. Enraged, Karube punched Arisu, knocking him to the ground as Chota tried to calm them.
Then, Arisu remembered something from when they entered the building. He realized there was a way to solve this. With 30 seconds left, after careful analysis, he chose the "Die" door—and he was right.
They reached the final room. Time limit: 1 minute 30 seconds. Karube asked how Arisu knew. Arisu explained his reasoning step by step. This time, he again chose "Die"—correctly.
Room after room, using Arisu’s sharp thinking, they advanced. Thanks to his intelligence, they finally escaped the building—though Chota burned his thigh during the last escape.
Outside, a table awaited them. On it was a playing card: the Three of Clubs.
Their phones displayed: "Players who survive will receive a visa."
Each of them received a 3-day visa.
Just then, a man approached, yelling that he wanted to quit the game. He told them it didn’t matter how many games they cleared—his visa expired today. A laser shot down from the sky, killing him instantly.
Usagi explained: once midnight passes, anyone with an expired visa will die. To survive, they must keep playing games...