Craving Scarecrow

"How the fuck? This is fucking impossible," Radon lost his mind after witnessing all three cards of the manager.

"Oh, you know the rules. Right?" The manager winked at Radon and Xenon.

"You bitch! I refuse to believe it. You must have cheated; there is no way all your cards are matching." Xenon grabbed the manager by her hair.

"Don't throw a tantrum; you know what will happen if you break the rules," the manager smiled.

Radon lifted his hand to throw a punch, but Eero shouted, "Manager!"

Before the punch could land, Radon's hand was decimated like a fly.

"Ahhhhhhh..." Radon started crawling on the ground in pain. Xenon immediately released the manager's hair.

His heart rate increased, his breathing became shallow. Radon slowly started to see circles in front of his eyes as he began stumbling.

"Oh my god, is he going to die?" a person murmured.

"Mom, I wanna go home. Let's go," a little girl started crying as her mother hugged her.

"Those bastards, now they have to fulfill the condition, or else they will die," a woman said to another.

"I hope they die; those bastards deserve it," another woman said, laughing.

All this murmuring got to Xenon, and he started crying like a little bitch.

The manager came and slowly whispered in Xenon's ear, "Now then, get naked, or else look at your buddy."

As Xenon started to undress, all the people around him started to laugh.

"Haaa, look at that dog," a man threw a glass at him.

The glass hit him and fell on Radon's face.

"All bark and no bite. Both of them are pathetic," another woman said, laughing at them.

Xenon was shivering in anger but slowly undressing himself. His face was trembling, and there was murder in his eyes. He gazed at all the people without moving his face.

Another man threw a wine bottle at Xenon, which broke in his face, causing him to bleed. "Don't forget your bastard friend. Make him undress as well."

"You are right! Otherwise, he is going to die as well," another man said while enjoying the humiliation.

"Noooooo, that bitch. I am going to fucking murder her," Radon screamed in both anger and pain.

After getting naked, Xenon kneeled down and started undressing Radon. "You bastard. Don't you touch me, I am going to fuck that bitch right now," Radon looked at the manager in anger.

Xenon squeezed his neck and started beating him until he became senseless. The bleeding stopped because the manager healed Radon's hand only to stop the bleeding with her axe chain.

"Let them die," a man laughed after watching that.

Xenon picked Radon up and started to walk. Before leaving, he said, "I will never forget this humiliation. I will make you and all the people here pay."

"Get going, don't give me that empty threat," the manager turned her back towards them as all the customers started clapping for her. We see a naked Xenon carrying a naked Radon on his shoulder, walking away from the bakery.

Eero and Elena were both unable to look at the manager after what they said to her during the game.

Eero stood up while looking down, "Boss..... I..."

"Don't worry, that happens. Forget it, but as punishment, get ready to work overtime," the manager walked to her counter.

"Yes, ma'am," both Elena and Eero said in a thrilled voice.

A black bird flew outside, and suddenly the light became dim. The place was too crowded. In between the stone walls, there were people drinking and eating, both male and female. The atmosphere was quite intoxicating, filled with the scent of perfumes and spicy wine.

"Hey, waitress, can I get another glass of beer?" A man with a red face and in a condition on the verge of collapse asked.

Freja brought him the order, her dress just above the knee, with a modest neckline. Her dress was silky, shining in the dim light, with details of lace trim and gentle ruching at the waist. Paired with high-heeled sandals clicking the floor every time she moved. Her delicate jewelry matched well with the outfit.

"Here you go, sir. Do you need anything more?" Freja held the tray near her body.

"No, but I think I need you," the man, completely drunk, grabbed Freja's hand.

"You bastard, are you going for another girl?" The girl sitting in front of him slapped him.

When Freja was released, she avoided the fight.

We see Anya and Sofia also doing the same.

We see the day turning into night, and all the girls are sitting together in the bakery, where Elena works.

"What happened to Eero?" Anya brought beer for the five of them.

"He was exhausted, so he went to sleep," Elena rested her elbow on the table.

"So, looking at you, I can tell that you guys are pretty close friends," the manager took her seat.

Anya and the other girls gave a nervous smile, looking weird.

"No, no, no. We only knew each other after we arrived inside the game," Freja waved both palms, facing them towards the manager.

"It's okay. Are there any more people or friends you guys are close with?" The manager released her tied hair.

All the girls there became hypnotized by her beautiful face with those waving silvery-white locks.

"Yes, we came with some friends. One of them died, and the rest of them are in the military," Anya avoided eye contact with the manager.

"You know, I am really happy for you guys. You don't have any betrayal happening among friends, and no fighting going on, unlike the....." The manager kept quiet after her incomplete sentence.

"Do you mean, some people betrayed their friends in the past?" Sofia asked, drinking her beer.

"You are really a clever one. You are listening to every word I said," the manager smiled.

"Oh, thanks." Sofia then finished her beer.

"Sigh! I feel bad for the group. There was a group consisting of four boys and one girl, and the bond between them was strong. They shared their secrets and goals for playing the game, but the girl hid one important secret from the others," the manager started drinking.

"What secret?" Anya began pouring beer into her glass again.

"Actually, the girl sacrificed everything in real life to achieve a luxurious life in the game. She even sacrificed her parents in a game ritual to gain an item. She was actually setting the stage for betrayal. She then went to the Kabandha Tree. The Kabandha Tree can only be found by people who have a strong resolve for betrayal and achieving their goals. She made a contract with the tree," the manager finished her beer.

"Then what happened?" Anya poured more beer into the manager's cup.

"She then framed her friends for assault. The contract gets stronger when the victim suffers more. All of her friends were tortured and sent to battle on the front line. Slowly, the girl became stronger. After all of her friends' deaths, she escaped from this town to another, where she is living in luxury. She is living her best life in both worlds," she finished her beer again, slowly getting drunk.

"Then what happened?" Anya drank from the luxury bottle.

"Oh, she was working here. So, she sent me a message through a talking parrot," the manager created a circle in the air. A parrot slowly flew inside through the window.

The parrot sat on her finger and started speaking.

"Look, mom, a parrot, but why is he not making any sound?" A kid outside the store pointed his finger inside the store.

"I think the parrot can't talk, but he is still moving his mouth," the mother took her child away.

Nobody could hear the parrot's voice, only those four girls could.

"Hey Athena, I am sending this message to you. I know you are thinking of me as a bitch after what I did, but I don't care. I sacrificed everything in the real world. Friends sacrificing is nothing.....love, care, getting married, having children—I don't care about such nonsense. Why the hell would I spend my life for others? I will enjoy my life to the fullest. I have come across girls who also carried the same resolve as me, but they changed after falling in love. In the end, after having a child, they get betrayed. And serve them right. They are bitches who belong in the street. If I come across girls with this half-ass resolve, I will kill them myself. What's the point of keeping love when you already sacrificed everything? For me, they are born to be slaves, and they deserve to be used."

The parrot then broke into hundreds of feathers. All the girls' reactions changed after hearing the speech.

Anya clenched her fists, Elena ground her teeth while the other two started swallowing their spit.

"Hey, I'm sleeping here," Elena mumbled.

The rest also did the same, and they locked the door from the inside.

A person was watching someone from the window.

"Hey, is he still going on?" Sebastian drank his juice.

"Yes, he is really giving his all," Nitin looked behind from the window.

"I think he should give up," Ethan started pouring juice into his glass.

The room was large, located on the second floor. The room had a large circular couch, where many people could sit comfortably. Livio's friends were sitting there, including Ethan and Oliver. Nitin was standing near the window.

"It will be fine, since he is going to end up in the supply team," Nicola moved his right index finger left and right.

"Are you an idiot?" Oliver looked at Nicola.

"What's that? Do you wanna fight, man?" Nicola stood up.

"Are you an idiot? What's the chance of a supply team getting attacked?" Oliver moved toward Nitin.

"Zero!" Nicola followed Oliver's movement.

"He's right. You are an idiot," Luka moved his head left and right in disbelief.

"What?" Nicola got a little bit angry.

"Moron, if you are going on a mission as part of the military, no matter what branch you're in, there is a chance of death. Yes, let's say not a hundred percent, but still, 0.1 is more than enough," Viktor sipped his juice.