The Author's POV

"This place is fine"

Entering one of the abandoned buildings with Zack, I made sure to scan the perimeter to see if anybody was there before setting up camp.

After settling down, still standing, Zack looked at me in confusion as he asked.

"What do we do now?"

In all honesty, if not for everyone following his orders, Zack would've never have let someone like Ren order him around.

...he really was tempted to just leave and do as he wished, but since it would incur the wrath of the other team members, he decided against doing so.

Glancing at Zack from the corner of my eye and reading his thoughts, I briefly responded to him before turning my attention back towards the distance.

"Nothing yet, our turn has yet to come"

From the very beginning, I could tell he was dissatisfied with me. However, unfortunately for him, I really didn't care.

...in the first place, who told him that he had to do as I said?

Inwardly shaking my head and turning my attention back towards the city, I carefully observed the city from the building I was on. For now, everything was calm and quiet, however, I knew that things would soon change...

Placing my hand on my chin, squinting my eyes as I stared into the distance, I fell into deep thought.

According to my deduction, whoever was going to target Jin was not definitely not going to be the code holder.

With how skilled Jin was, sending their code holder to fight against him would be suicide and may prove to be fruitless.

Thus it was safe to assume that whoever was going to target Jin was definitely not going to be the code holder.

Preferably, I would hope that they send more than one person to pursue him as that would cut off a lot of possibilities, but even one was enough. Couldn't be too greedy.

...now, with that set, I needed to figure something out.

Was the code holder going to hide or was he/she going to blend with the rest just like what I had done with Arnold?

Thinking thus far, glancing at my watch, I immediately dialed a number.

Fortunately, we were allowed to communicate with each other during the game as both teams were given access to a communication device in the form of a watch. It couldn't do anything else apart from that, but it saved a lot of time.

"Jin can you hear me?"

...

-Swooosh!

Stealthily moving around the abandoned houses, Jin quietly scanned the perimeter. Thereafter, like a cat, Jin kept moving forward without making any sound. Fast and stealthily.

[Jin can you hear me?]

As Jin arrived on top of one of the buildings, suddenly his watch vibrated.

Briefly halting his steps and hearing Ren's voice, a slight frown appeared on Jin's face before it quickly disappeared.

Tapping on the screen of his smartwatch, Jin coldly answered.

-Yes

[Alright perfect, I need you to expose yourself so that the other group is aware of your existence]

Closing his eyes, Jin didn't respond immediately. Thereafter, understanding the intent behind Ren's words, Jin nodded his head.

-Understood

[Alright perf-]

-Click!

Turning off the watch, without giving a chance for Ren to respond, Jin quickly jumped higher until he was at the roof of the buildings. Thereafter, he jumped from one building to the other. As he moved, he made sure to be as overbearing and fearless as possible.

...since he knew about his personality, if he acted according to how others thought he would, chances that they would think he was the bait would reduce.

If not for the fact that he was following Ren's plan, Jin would've originally done the mission like this.

...after all, how could others match him in a fight? He was that confident in himself.

-Swoosh! -Swoosh!

As Jin moved from one building to the other, he suddenly felt an extremely repulsive feeling well inside of his body. His mind couldn't help but start drifting away from the trials as a result. Shortly after, recalling something, Jin's fist clenched tightly.

...to think he was following someone else's order.

He, Jin Horton, the proud son of the Horton family, was following someone else's order...

"How repulsive"

Those were the words that subconsciously came out of his mouth as he kept moving forward.

...never in his life had he ever had someone order him around. Never. If not for the fact that the person he was being ordered by had already beaten him, Jin was never going to follow his orders.

Suddenly, as his thoughts paused there, Ren's face appeared in Jin's mind. More specifically, the cold and emotionless eyes back in Hollberg.

...he never forgot that moment. Nor will he ever forget that day.

The day where he truly felt powerless for the first time in his life.

Although Jin hated Ren, that moment back in Hollberg had taught him a lesson.

...that was to never be too conceited as there was always someone better than you.

Still, just because he lost didn't mean he feared Ren. No, that innate pride that had been engraved deeply into his body since birth couldn't just vanish like that.

Scared over a single defeat?

Pathetic.

He wasn't as weak-willed as that.

"huuuu..."

Exhaling as turbid air escaped from his mouth, Jin accelerated as he quickly moved around the buildings.

...Ever since that fateful day in Hollberg, Jin had set his mind.

Be it Kevin, Amanda, Melissa...or Ren.

He no longer cared for them.

He had realized that he was too fixated on the idea of comparing himself to others rather than just focusing on himself.

Thinking of how was currently holding back and working with the others, something that he would've never done before, Jin couldn't help but mutter to himself.

"...How disgusting"

He wanted nothing more but to quickly get this over with. The feeling of working with other people rather than just himself repulsed him to the max. The only reason he was doing this was because he believed that he could learn something from Ren...however as he moved around the buildings, Jin couldn't help but feel like that was the wrong decision.

...How could being a bait help him in anyway shape or form?

"Damn it"

Gritting his teeth, Jin increased his pace even more as he overbearingly moved around the infrastructures around him. Staring at his surroundings as he moved, he coldly spat

"Since my job is to attract the attention of the others, that's just what I'll do!"

...

Standing on top of a building, a youth with long black hair and deep green eyes was currently staring at the city before him. With his watch close to his mouth, the youth softly muttered.

"Have you spotted the enemies yet?"

The youth's name was John Redgrave, and he was currently the leader of his team representing class A-04.

...Being the leader of his group, John took responsibility for his group and was the one responsible for coming up with the team strategy.

Currently, they were inside of what seemed to be a post-apocalyptic ghost town. Since he wasn't familiar with the enemy nor the environment, his first order was to split into three groups of two to scan the perimeter in hopes of finding the enemy team.

He had to get a better idea of who their enemy was and their precise location. Moreover, considering the fact that everyone's strength was the same, John felt more reassured.

But he still didn't let his guard down. Recalling something, he softly mumbled to himself as a hint of worry appeared in his voice.

"...I just hope we aren't against those monsters from class A-25"

If it was them, John wasn't too sure on how to proceed.

...especially against the first-year rank 1, Kevin Voss. If they were up against him, he really couldn't foresee any chance of victory.

[Captain, I've spotted someone...but it's not good news]

After ten minutes of silence, John's watch vibrated. Thereafter as he heard the message, Johns's heart couldn't help but sink.

...could it be that they were truly against Kevin? Was his luck really that bad?

Expecting the worst, John looked at the watch softly said

"What's the bad news?"

After a short five-second pause that seemed to last for an eternity, the voice on the other side of the watch responded.

[It's Jin Horton]

Hearing the name, John froze for a second. Thereafter, a frown emerged in his brows as he thought for a bit. After a couple of minutes, the frown on John's brows lessened as he thought to himself...

'...if it's Jin Horton, then things may actually be easier than I thought'

Shortly after, as the gear of John's mind moved, a smile appeared on his face as he quickly turned on his watch and sent a few commands.

"Alright, I want you to track him from far. Make sure you keep a close eye on him and don't for a single second lose sight of him, understood?"

[Roger]

-click!

Thereafter, turning off his watch, a smile appeared on John's face as he thought to himself.

'We might be able to win this'