A chill spread from the back of the neck, and the eyes snapped open. Darkness. The heart began to beat more, the hairs started to raise, and sweat soaked his back.

A light chuckle, followed with an explosion of upbeat music. A voice that had never been this excited before, like it was finally free, echoed around.

[Welcome, welcome! Ladies and Gentlemen, To. The. Path!!!!!!!]

The ears thirsting for sound in this silent place twitched in fright, and the heart accelerated its pumping. Then, the eyes began to dart around the dark canvas enveloping its vision, followed by the small and hesitant steps of the legs. Uneven, rough.

The hands swung frantically, desperate to tear through the darkness. The hesitant legs became a bit more decisive, and took more firm steps, allowing the hands to feel the edges of the black canvas. Uneven, rough, wet.

[Are you paying attention, my participants?]

[Loot, Destroy, Excavate, Survive. No pressure, of course. I mean who doesn’t die one day, right?]

The voice echoed again, the excitement spilling with each word.

The physical body had somewhat figured out its status, but the mind inside was a different story. All the information collected by the body was too much for the mind to handle.

As the mind ordered, the mouth opened, the lung forced the air out, but the throat felt dry, the larynx couldn’t produce the sound the mind desired.

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Before the mind could try again, the voice continued.

[Now now, pay special attention this time, all right? These rules are very important.]

[First, for slow individuals among you, you’re in a cave! What?! How can this be?! Find that on your own, my dear participants.]

[How will I get out? Bombs! Dynamites! I- We will provide them for you. For Free! We’re giving away 10 for free. How generous!]

[What’s that? Where do I place those dynamites in this darkness? Won't the dynamite kill me in this close and small space? Don’t worry! Our special team of researchers have developed this thing. Here, let me show you.]

The eyes couldn’t help but squint a little as light suddenly appeared in its vision. After a few moments, the eyes could finally see the source of light. 

A shining orb floated on the air scurrying away the darkness around it. With the darkness gone, one could see the body of a young man, slightly squinting his eyes, perhaps due to the sudden brightness of the orb.

The man then hesitantly stretched his hands towards the orb floating in front of him. A slight touch. The orb flashed a bit brighter for a tenth of a second, and started floating towards him.

It felt like the orb wanted the man to hold it. The man, almost like in a trance, stretched his hands again, holding it out for the orb to land.

Through his cloudy eyes, he watched the orb land gently on his hand. A spark went through his body, and clarity returned to him.

Unlike the chill surrounding him, the orb radiated a warmness that soothed him. He grasped the orb tightly, the light green tinted light of the orb blocked partially by his fingers.

[Now that you can see around, let me introduce its next feature. The orb can project a blockhouse that will protect you from the harm outside. 99.9% survival rate from explosion debris, tested and confirmed by our researchers.]

[Now, are you ready? As I’ve said before, Loot, Destroy, Excavate, Survive. Best of luck, my dear participants. Till we meet again.]