CHAPTER 9: Level 1: Fire Game

 "Game start." The AI's programmed, emotionless voice broke the tense fight. A wave of nervous energy spread through the scattered crowd. and few of them clutched their water bottle like a security blanket. The burning heat rays beat down directly on the dried wooden trees.

Small groups of people moved around with no time like a burning fuse, chatting and wandering with other players.

From the corner of the square wall, a figure in a black hoodie spoke, his voice rough and laced with disbelief. "Finn… what in the hell are you trying to do?" A jagged half-moon tattoo peeked from beneath his sleeve as he watched Finn. Finn's jaw was set in grim determination, his hand moving with a relentless rhythm, the sharp glint of a knife scoring deep like a diamond cutting glass, confident lines into the rough wood before him.

He focused on the wood and responded, "I'm making an exit door..." he mumbled, his voice low, but his hands never stopped moving.

.

"What?" Faris's eyes narrowed in concentration on Finn's bleeding hand movements as he tried to piece things together. He recalled the AI announcement again. "If the Gamers reach the midpoint, Game clear...." the chilling voice repeated in his ears. After realizing the game rules, Faris's eyes snapped open like a torch in the dark forest as he called out Finn. "Hey, dude! We have to move! The midpoint of this maze – that's the goal!"

Finn's knife grated, the harsh sound a counterpoint to the growing tension. He was nearing the end of his work. The piece of wood he was focused on, connected to a cluster of twisting branches, hung precariously above him. "Almost there…" he whispered to himself, a hint of anticipation in his voice. With a final, determined cut, the section gave way, crashing down to the dusty ground with a soft thud. A sense of satisfaction washed over him as he wiped the sweat from his brow, knowing he was one step closer to finishing his project. "I did it...." he exclaimed as he hugged the Faris.

Then both exchanged glances at each other as nodding their head in agreement to enter, both stepped into the outer wall. 

Faris' eyes widened in pure unexpected scene, eyebrows shooting up. Mouth falling open slightly, an involuntary gasp, looking in front of the wall.

Behind Finn froze mid-stride, like a statue. "What the fuck!!!!!!!!" he whispered, his eyes wondering and looks up the towering tree just like another side. "It looks exactly like.... a series of interconnected squares?"

"Fuck!!!!!Fuck!!!!!! " Faris screamed, breaking a dead silence wall as his voice echoed the empty wall, his hands rose slowly, dragging through his hair as if trying to push away the weight of exasperation. He half-sat, staring at the ground, utterly defeated.

Finn's eyes shifted towards the timer, which displayed 31:00. Shit! Half an hour gone… I bet my life opening this fucking wall…" His mistake slammed into him, brutally dragging him back to reality. His hand hugged the Faris, "I am sorry, man, I never thought this was another trap...." he apologized with a nod, trying to comfort the Faris. " I mistakenly..."

Before Finn finished his words, "Mistake!!!!!!!!! I told you...." he snapped as a frown etched deep lines into her forehead. He pulled his hand from Finn's grip aggressively. "Fuck! I am not ready for this defeat..."

"We have to move as soon as possible to reach the midpoint," he advised as he pulled out Faris's hand again, returning to the square.

"I am not going anywhere with you again...." Faris's voice was flat, hollow, his body rigid. He pulled his hand from Finn's grip, rooted to the same spot.

Meanwhile, Anna and Zade remained same place after a few searches, their gaze shifting between the timer and people still like them searching for the correct path. "What do we do? Everyone's already in the game just like us, but no one has found the path." Anna murmured in a dull, disappointed tone, leaning against the rough bark of the tree wall.

"Why I still feel dizzy? How did I end up here? Everything feels like a dream to me.... A ton of questions raced through Zade's mind. "It's square, right?" he asked to clarify his doubt, his eyes tracing the impossibly long path until they strained, blurring with the distant heat haze.

" Yes...." Anna nodded quickly, "We start our game wherever we want is the rule. If we reach the midpoint, Game clear," she recalled the rules again and again to crack the code as her brows narrowed in doubt, and she immediately turned towards the Zade. "What was that in the center? If this were a fire game... There must be something...?"

"What if a fire extinguisher were there? "Zade questioned to her.

"Nope... There must be something different?" Anna murmured as her mind was still processing and figured out the possibilities.

No!!!!! Anna, we have no time for guessing the midpoint secret, we need to find the right path....Zade thought and understood the seriousness of the current situation. He made a causal shrug and let out a deep breath, and stood up, extending his hand towards Anna, "Come on, we have to start. We left no time," he asked, his voice clearly urgent and determined.

A subtle flicker of uncertainty in Anna's pupils and a hesitant half-smile appeared on her lips as the same question escaped again from her mouth. "But....what was in the midpoint?"

Here's a more humanized and coherent version of your text:

"Just stop it, Anna..." Zade called out, squinting as a sudden realization struck him. He shifted toward the maze entrance. His eyes scanned and calculated each path—one, two, three, four... up to fifty. It became clear we couldn't examine every maze path. He wondered for a moment, then a new idea sparked in his mind. He turned towards Anna, his face brightening as he excitedly started, " Anna... I found that... If my assumption is correct, each side has at least one path," he murmured, glancing toward the timer.

"What?" Anna inquired, her skepticism evident. "How can you be so sure?"

Zade nodded, a quiet confidence settling over him. "Anna, listen to the rules: 'We can start wherever we want.' A square has four sides. This side, 'A side,' is probably a kilometer long. That's at least fifteen to twenty minutes to walk from one end to the other. If someone tries to check just one side of this maze, it could take forty-five to fifty minutes. To check all four sides? That's roughly four hours to even reach the center." He gestured, mentally mapping out each side.

"That's fucking hard?" Anna arched her brows in disbelief.

Exactly," Zade countered, outlining the stark reality. "We can't even finish one side in forty-five minutes."

"But we left 28 minutes," Anna questioned, as her gaze fixed on the timer, a look of dawning horror etching itself onto her face.

"We need players on our side...." Zade declared as his gaze shifted towards others. Still entering the path, and others returned to the same path. 

"Huh?" air escaped from Anna's mouth.

"Yes.... We want more players to save time and find out the way."

Everyone is busy finding a path in the vast square maze. Outside, heat waves shimmered, but when they get inside the maze, the shadow of trees protects them through a temporary shield from the relentless sun.

At the center of the Maze area, a small women's group leaned against the wall, their eyes fixed on a seemingly closed path. "We are on the A side of the square. What if there's no path on the A side?" A big-sized woman named Marina questioned, her breath catching after their long, fruitless walk.

"A side? Marina, did that voice say this was an A side?" Another woman, wearing bright red shoes, questioned, her brows arching in genuine confusion.