Noah was sitting in a padded room as he held onto a phone. People were observing his every action. Different stares carried different intentions, some looked at him with pity some just pure curiosity. A couple stared at him with doting eyes. These were all made possible by the cameras on the roof of the padded room.

This was the first time he held onto a phone and he couldn't help but touch it. Phones were heavily regulated and the only way to get one was to either be from an influential family or sign a contract with the government. As only phones had the mysterious app. No other devices could get it.

He lived quite a luxurious and carefree life growing up. Everything he had wanted was at the grasp of his hand. His family were very famous players of the Hell's App granting them a lot of power. That wasn't the actual name of the app as it had no name in the first place but eventually, this name had caught on.

It was quite fitting actually. Although the app could reward you with things unimaginable the punishments were also very severe. There have been many stories of people making it rich from the games and stories of famous people disappearing from the face of the earth because of the games. It was a coin toss that placed a bet on your life and those who won would prosper while those who lost would be dragged into the abyss. 

His parents were very good at the game and they reached the Third Rank. No one knew what the highest rank was as no one had reached it before. When one reached a higher rank they would also be subjected to more difficult games but the rewards also increased proportionally.

Unfortunately, the Third Rank was as high as his parents made it. One day while he was playing in his grandparents' house, they suddenly came towards him with a heavy heart and tears running down their faces.

They brought him the most gut-wrenching news he had heard. His parents lost their lives during one of the games, they had queued up at the same time hoping they be matched in the same game. It was supposed to be a joyous occasion when they did match up in the same game. Unfortunately, the game that they were matched up for was a game that wasn't in any of the government or their family's database.

It was called 'Midnight Train'. They had no information on how they should approach it but they were also thrilled. Being the first players in a new game meant they had the chance to get better rewards. The app granted a Pioneer's Bonus as it calls it to the first players that beat a new game.

He felt a piece of him die that day as his grandparents cuddled him into their arms. He knew that the Hell's App was dangerous and that his parents could lose their lives quite easily. But he just questioned why they just didn't pay the cancellation fee. Every time a person wins a game they get a currency in the app called Hell Points.

Hell Points could be used to purchase items in the shop or be used to cancel a game that they didn't want to play. His parents had the opportunity to cancel the game that was filled with unknown dangers but they didn't. As they say, humans die for wealth and birds die for food.

He cursed and blamed his parents' selfish greed as he blamed them for not thinking of the family they had back at home. Those were the only thoughts that ran rampant throughout his first few months after hearing of his parent's death. But as he grew older he also grew more mature.

He probably knew what pressures his parents were facing at that time. Being in the family meant you could only have more voice in it if you grew stronger, they probably took the risk so they could provide more for him. He didn't resent his parents anymore he just felt melancholic and sad whenever he thought about them now.

He lived his life like a reclusive hermit for years after his parents' death and only the warmth and affection from his grandparents brought him out of that state. His grandparents were elders in the family that held quite a lot of power, so he didn't get bullied much when growing up, he just became reclusive by nature.

He had trained and studied very rigorously for his first game. As he was blessed with tools and information that the less unfortunate wouldn't be granted. His body was very developed and could easily break old records a century ago. That didn't mean much in this era where humans could destroy buildings with a singular punch.

All his preparations were because his family wasn't the only ones in power as they had enemies too. Other families couldn't wait to tear them down. If he was weak that would bring shame to his family and his grandparents. The most important reason was that he was mainly doing it for the shimmering hope that he could get something that would help revive his parents.

It was this main motivation that drove him so hard to train like a madman. It was only after his 16th birthday that he announced he would start his first game a week after that. The app had a requirement that only those who were 16 or older could play. Scientists and researchers don't know why but none have been able to bypass that restriction no matter how much they tried.

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Noah observed the cameras above him and felt a bit nervous. This was going to be his first game and it would be quite embarrassing if he lost, especially with his grandparents being here. The games didn't always mean death but the penalties weren't light either.

The reason why he was in a padded room was because there had been reports and true evidence of some people losing their games and bringing horrible diseases or supernatural anomalies back along with them. So if anything goes wrong the elders in the family would be able to care of it.

Clicking on the app he couldn't help but feel amused by the loading bar. It was very app-like for a supernatural game that harbored great destruction. It only took a few seconds before the loading bar finished.

'Detected that User is a first-time player.'

'Please create a username.'

Seeing the words on the screen he couldn't help but be in great thought. Thinking of a name was hard and it became even harder for him knowing that his actions were being observed by many people in his family. It took a long time before he decided on a username.

'Gems Immortal Cockroach'

Gems were his family name and he hoped that his name made him more resilient and hard to kill in these games. He thought that it was a genius name but his grandparents especially his grandfather wanted to slap him right now.

Who would put immortal cockroach next to their prestigious family name? It seemed like he doted on him too much as he had already forgotten common sense. He could only snort and put on a brave front from the teasing of the other elders. All the elders had good relationships with each other but that didn't mean they wouldn't take the chance to laugh at one another.

"Hahaha, I don't know what idiot would use immortal cockroach as their name, that's just raising red flags."

"Maybe he learned that from his grandfather, his grandfather is known to be pretty resilient after all."

Hearing the teasing Noah's grandfather, Albert Sky Gems, couldn't wait to give his grandson a good beating after he came out of that room. The joyous mood slowly died out. On the screen was the match-making interface. They saw Noah clicking ready and waited in dead silence.

'Searching for other players, please be patient.'

'All players have been found.'

'The game that's been decided is...'

'Doll House.'

'Please prepare as you'll be in the game after 5 minutes.'

Seeing the text on screen the room couldn't help but grow even more gloomy. This wasn't a game that was on their database. By some dreaded luck, Noah had queued up for a game that they had no information about. The worst part is that he couldn't cancel the match.

Noah was just a newbie he didn't have any Hell Points.

A dreadful aura exploded in the room as they saw Albert's rage intensify. The floor was cracking and shattering from his immense power. Being an elder didn't just mean seniority it also meant that they also had a lot of personal strength. This was already evident from the fact that despite being over 80 years of age he still looked like he was in his 30s.

His usually clean and tidy blonde hair was now in disarray. As his wife held onto his right arm. No one couldn't say anything to console them. They already knew of the event that caused the loss of their child and daughter-in-law and this event might take their only grandchild away from them.

The dreadful atmosphere could only be interrupted by a youthful voice coming out of the screen. Noah with his black hair that he inherited from his mother had quite the dashing looks. He looked young and had a handsome face that showed his immaturity and didn't look as quite nervous as one would expect.

"It seems that I'm quite lucky grandpa, maybe God's blessing me by allowing me to close the gap between you and me."

Only by hearing the words from his grandson did Albert calm down his soothing rage.

"Brat you think you can close the gap between you and me just because you got into a game that's new?"

"HA!"

"It'll take a lot more than that to close that gap."

Hearing the boastful words that were coming out of the cameras, Noah couldn't help but smile. He panicked a little bit at first because of what happened to his parents but he realized, that games that weren't played before were always bound to occur. The best he could do was to grasp the opportunity to grow stronger from it. Only that way could he have more voice in his family and support them.

"Your grandson has quite the calm disposition, Albert."

"Of course, whose genes did you think he inherited it from?"

Although the heavy mood was lessened that still didn't stop reality from sinking in.

Each second was like a countdown on his life. It was only until the last minute that Noah heard one final message from his grandfather.

"Don't die on me kid, if you do, I swear I'll go to hell and beat you with your grandmother."

He could only smile at that. He didn't plan on dying, not today at least. He still had a dream that hadn't been completed. He wasn't going to let it be crushed that easily.

'5'

'4'

'3'

'2'

'1'

'0'

When the countdown hit 0, Noah was already gone from the room. His entire existence just disappeared, the only proof of him being here before was that he was recorded on camera.

Albert held his wife's hand tightly as stared at the screen. He had no plans on leaving until he saw him coming back.

Staring at the phone that was brought with him it read.

'Welcome to the game, Gems Immortal Cockroach.'

'You're a newly hired cook for the Elizabeth Mansion, your job is to complete your duties as a cook and survive the weekend. The inability to do your ability as a cook will negatively affect your rewards. The penalty for not beating the game is 30 years of your lifespan. As a pioneer of a new game, completing the game will result in more Hell Points than usual, while completing an undisclosed special mission will reward you with a special reward.'

'Good Luck.'