Time’s Running Out

Having laughed her fill, Lana said, "Tag and Capture the Flag—classic childhood games. Tag has endless variations, but Capture the Flag has simpler, clearer rules. We all think the latter might be better suited to us."

I rubbed my chin in thought. "True, Tag is more straightforward, but the fewer the rules, the less room there is to strategize. Capture the Flag might pose similar challenges, but it's less extreme."

Carl, riding high from his recent success, eagerly raised his hand. "So, shall we go?"

Lana intervened, "Let's strategize first. If we don't get a chance to talk tactics after entering, we could be in trouble."

So we—mostly Lana and I—huddled up and put a plan together, feeling a bit more prepared as we stepped through the door.

Despite mentioning the possibility of some infinite game, my years of touching grass made me suspect we were simply stuck in some abandoned building, at the mercy of a real-world group or government.

However, after facing the Courage trial, I couldn't shake the feeling that we might actually be caught up in some supernatural event or alien game. And what greeted us next only reinforced that suspicion.

Beyond the door, the surroundings shifted once again. One moment, we were in a nondescript room; the next, we were standing on a bustling urban street. It looked like a city in China, but the buildings here didn't give away the exact location.

'A Capture the Flag game here? This is getting interesting', Just then, a voice sounded in my head:

[Final Challenge: Capture the Flag. Retrieve the flag from the top floor of Oriental Pearl Tower within three hours. To aid you, your unique abilities have been unlocked.]

'Oriental Pearl Tower? Is this even a real building? Not that it matters—the most intriguing part is the last line…'

"Unique Abilities?" My heart raced as I closed my eyes, focusing.

Sure enough, I sensed something indescribable within me—a formless, invisible power that was completely under my control. I clenched my fists, eager to test this new power, but restrained myself, 'Now isn't the time to show off in public. Better to find a secluded spot to discuss this with the others.'

I turned and spotted Danny looking just as excited, practically dancing with joy, but our other three teammates were nowhere in sight.

Before Danny could start displaying her powers in the open, I grabbed her arm. "Hey, hey—hold on! Let's find somewhere quiet first."

A guy walking past us overheard and gave me a strange smile. I shot him a look—'hey, keep those thoughts pure, will you?'

I led Danny into a deserted alley and whispered, "So, you unlocked your ability too?"

With a grin that nearly split her face, Danny chirped, "I can see elements in the air—not the chemistry ones, the magical elements."

Raising a hand, she snapped her fingers, and a small flame appeared at her fingertips. I was prepared for a surprise, but my eyes widened anyway as I checked around, hoping no one had seen us.

Danny looked a little smug. "I can sense other elements too, but fire is the strongest—it's the easiest to use."

"Wow," I marveled, "that sounds like a real magical talent. Almost like an affinity for fire. That's some serious potential."

She'd already figured out the details of her power in just a few minutes—she definitely had a knack for this. Meanwhile, I was still struggling to get a feel for mine. Maybe this was the strength Danny had been holding back in the earlier challenges.

Blushing slightly, she scratched her head. "So, what about you? What's your ability?"

Rubbing the back of my head, I admitted, "Well… I can sense something, but I haven't figured out exactly what it is. Why don't you try calling Lana while I try to get a handle on this?"

Danny nodded, stepping aside to try her phone. I focused hard, extending my right hand and concentrating on the something I sensed. It shifted with my attention, but there was no visible trace of it, 'Is it… force? Energy?'

I began to piece things together. Changing my focus, I directed this sensation toward a water bottle in my pocket.

To my surprise, the bottle wobbled, then gently lifted from my hand, floating just in front of me.

With a thought, it shifted direction, hovering forward.

Fascinated, I played with it, watching as it floated to and fro, 'Telekinesis?'

But something felt off—'this ability isn't as precise or concentrated as pure telekinesis. It feels… broader, more dispersed.'

"A force field? Hmm, if telekinesis is like controlling objects with an invisible hand, my power feels more like generating a 'field' that pushes and pulls in various directions," I mused out loud, feeling a strange compulsion to quote an iconic line from Naruto, 'This world shall know pain'

My focus slipped, and the water bottle dropped to the ground.

Gazing at the bottle, I gestured with my hand. It wobbled, then floated back into my grasp, though more slowly this time. Danny had been watching in awe, and she rushed over excitedly. "House! You've got telekinesis? That's awesome!"

Pocketing the bottle, I felt a slight wave of fatigue. Must be a side effect of using this power—probably drains mental energy. "Sort of. It's more like a mixture of repulsive and attractive forces. Ever watched Naruto? Kind of like Pain's abilities."

Danny spread her arms wide, a mock-serious look on her face. "Shinra Tensei!"

Our gazes met, and we both burst out laughing. I wiped a tear from my eye, chuckling, "Exactly. Didn't expect you to know Naruto, though."

Blushing, she shrugged. "Just a bit. That technique's pretty famous."

"Fair enough," I grinned. "Oh, by the way, any luck with the call?"

Danny shook her head, frowning. "No, I couldn't get through, but I did manage to pull up our location."

"Shanghai? Wow, a city with so much history. Heard of any Oriental Pearl Tower here?"

Danny shook her head. I pondered. 'While it isn't far from my college, I'd never actually visited.'

Danny, who traveled here every few years, hadn't heard of a "Oriental Pearl Tower" either. Eventually, she located a possible match on the map—a skyscraper in Shanghai that somewhat matched the description.

Twenty minutes later, we flagged down a cab and headed there. We even stopped at a store along the way so I could finally get some real shoes instead of slippers. Once we arrived, the city's bustling streets and towering buildings stretched as far as the eye could see. In the center of a square stood an impressive high-rise.

"Danny, something about this building feels… different. Are you sure Shanghai has a Oriental Pearl Tower?"

Danny frowned, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "I've been here before, but in real life, this building was called something like the 'Shanghai Tower.' Never heard of a Oriental Pearl Tower here."

'Strange. Are we mistaken, or was this version of Shanghai different from what we knew?'

Just then, Danny received a message from Janice, and we followed her directions, weaving through a few streets until we spotted Carl standing beneath a tree not far from Oriental Pearl Tower.

He saw us and ran over, grinning.

"Took you long enough. Got Janice's message? Lana and Janice are waiting at the café nearby to go over our game plan."

Looking around, Carl lowered his voice, "So… what are your powers? Didn't expect this kind of bonus, did you?"

As we walked, I filled him in on our abilities and learned about his own.

When he stepped through the door, he and the others had been placed in the northern part of the city. Lana, who traveled here often, recognized Shanghai immediately. Their target wasn't Oriental Pearl Tower but a place several kilometers away called Century Tower. It looked like this challenge was split between teams.

Carl, delighted, revealed his power—"Hardened Skin." Just as it sounded, he could cover his skin in a silvery metallic layer that boosted his defense and strength.

"Pretty fitting, huh? Coding isn't my only talent. People talk about my abs just as much as my skills on the keyboard," he chuckled, flexing.

His ability suited him perfectly—a surprisingly useful and straightforward power, 'Who would've thought this quiet guy will be a hidden musclehead?'

We slipped into the café, and I immediately ordered two sandwiches and a juice.

Since entering this game, I'd been running on fumes, and the instant noodles I'd eaten earlier barely counted as lunch. Strangely, though our phones had no signal, my mobile wallet worked fine.

This new level of realism only made me suspicious.

In a secluded corner, Lana sipped a black coffee, wrinkling her nose as she watched me devour my food.

She shared her findings, "I scouted the area. Aside from the name, Oriental Pearl Tower is identical to the one I remember in Shanghai. It's an office building, with the top floors occupied by Eclipse Group. Their offices are spread across three floors, and the executive suite is on the top—forty-four stories up.

"Century Tower, on the other hand, is newer. I haven't seen it before in real life. It's partly a shopping center, with the upper floors serving as office space."

After taking a sip of juice, I asked, "Forty-four floors… so what exactly is the 'flag' we're supposed to capture? A literal flag, or some symbolic item?"

Lana tapped her finger on the table thoughtfully. "Not sure. There's no information about it online, and time's running short. Once we split up again, we might not be able to contact each other. So, if there's anything we need to settle as a group, now's the time."

Though she was addressing everyone, her sharp gaze was fixed on me.