Live Chat Battle Royale Chapter 1

As our whole class watched the game stream together, the vice president, Caden, sneered at the female player on screen.

“Man, it must be nice not having balls. Just spread your legs and the mission’s done. Wish I was a girl!”

Just as everyone was about to argue with him, we were all suddenly dragged into the game.

【Welcome to the Live Chat Battle Royale!】

【Survive by completing the game according to the rules set by your own live chat comments!】

The moment the voice faded, Caden’s crude comment materialized as a crimson banner above his head.

The next second, his crotch erupted in a mist of blood.

* * *

We were in the international program at Northwood Prep—just twelve of us, all set to head to universities abroad this summer. The usual pre-exam tension was nonexistent. The day before our finals, we were all gathered, watching a horror battle royale stream.

The game was set in an abandoned school. The female streamer was being coddled by her teammates, never having to lift a finger for any of the tasks. My classmates’ fingers flew across their keyboards, flooding the live chat with a storm of complaints.

【What a fucking useless leader, all he does is hide with the girl. Man up and fight!】

【God, I hate it when couples drag the team down. Can’t they just break up before playing?】

【Not to be sexist, but I hate teaming up with girls. So much drama!】

【A true leading lady does it alone. No need for teammates!】

And Caden, the vice president sitting next to me, just had to shout his opinion out loud with a contemptuous smirk.

“Man, it must be nice not having balls. No need to grind, just spread your legs and someone else does the work for you. Wish I was a girl!”

As he spoke, he typed the exact same words into the chat and hit send.

Several of the girls in the room instantly blew up.

“What the hell is wrong with you, Caden? What did girls ever do to you?”

“Did you just crawl out of a sewer? Your mouth stinks. Go brush your teeth!”

But Caden was completely unfazed.

“People just can't handle the truth. It's a fact you girls don't have anything between your legs. Did I say a single word that was wrong?”

He had that smug, self-satisfied look of someone who thinks they’re the only sane person in a world of fools. It made me sick.

But in the next instant, the world warped. The clean white walls of our classroom were suddenly smeared with dark, crimson stains.

“What’s going on?”

“Holy shit, don’t scare me like that…”

“Why… why does this look exactly like the game?”

I lifted my head to the blackboard. In the stream we’d been watching, that’s where all the clues appeared.

Sure enough, glowing green text materialized on its surface.

【Welcome to the Live Chat Battle Royale!】

【Survive by completing the game according to the rules set by your own live chat comments!】