The last thing Jin expected on a sweltering afternoon in Shibuya was to watch his best friend collapse, screaming, after tapping a mysterious snake emblem on his phone. But when Jin opens the same app in desperation, he awakens into a world that looks like Shibuya—yet is utterly empty. No people. No sound. And on his wrist, a snake biting its own tail, impossible to remove.
A status screen appears before his eyes: *Player Name: Kanzaki Jin. Ranking: 1,847th. Ability: Delay Collector.* A power s
Darwin's Game: Beyond the Game Over - The Uncalculated Girl — An Operation Meeting Starting from Zero
The day after the hunting game notification arrived.
I—Kanzaki Jin—was sitting on the sofa in the Ravens' Room, the Sunset Ravens' base of operations. Outside the window, it was as bright as the real Shibuya. But this game space had none of the real city's bustle. It was quiet, with a taut, tense air running through it.
"Jin, starting today, I want you gathering intel on Kanehira."
Kaname-san said it while pointing at the map of Shibuya pinned to the wall. His dark eyes were serious, his voice free of hesitation. He was always like this—looking straight at what needed to be done.
"Intel gathering... but I still don't understand anything about this game yet."
"That's exactly why. Your Delay Collection might be better suited to information warfare than direct combat. Shifting your opponent's movements—that can also be used to probe how they'll act."
Kaname-san picked up the tablet on the desk. The screen displayed information on a man named Kanehira Hideaki. Ranked third. Operator of the insurance guild Kanehira Mutual.
"So who am I teaming up with? Ryuuji-san or someone?"
"No—Rain. Kashiwagi Suzune. Nobody in this game can match her when it comes to intelligence analysis. You've got plenty to learn from her methods, too."
Rain. The girl with the black bob cut I'd only caught a glimpse of yesterday. If I remembered right, she was thirteen—a middle schooler. At that age, and already called a genius of intelligence analysis.
"You don't have to force yourself to get friendly with her. Just follow her instructions. Your life depends on it."
"...Got it."
I nodded.
Kaname-san's expression softened, just a little. But his eyes still weren't smiling. Ever since the hunting game notification, he'd been wound tight. No wonder—our opponent was a rank-three powerhouse.
"Stay back, we'll talk later. ...That's what I'd like to say, but today's about intel. Don't let your guard down."
"Yeah."
I stood up.
Unconsciously, I touched the leather band on my left wrist. The snake emblem was cool against my skin.
—Kanehira Hideaki.
The man who might hold the key to saving Shinotsuka. I'd gather that intel with my own hands.
"I'm heading out, Kaname-san."
"Yeah. If anything happens, contact me immediately."
The moment I left the Ravens' Room, the August heat clung to my skin.
Shibuya looked no different from the real thing. The big billboards at the scramble crossing, the entrance to Center Street, the Dogenzaka slope. But the number of people passing by wasn't even a tenth of the real city's.
And every human here was a player.
A participant in a game played for keeps, a snake emblem carved into their left wrist.
"...So where's Rain?"
I headed for the meeting spot Kaname-san had told me about. A Shibuya back street—commonly called "Ura-Shibu." In reality, it was a place where tiny shops crowded into narrow alleys. But in the game space, most of them were shut. Stores with their shutters down, cracked signs, scattered trash.
After walking a while, I spotted a figure in front of a small park.
A girl with a black bob cut. The left side of her hair was pinned back with a small clip. Dull green eyes. A beauty mark under her left eye. A red-string misanga bracelet on her right wrist.
Kashiwagi Suzune. Thirteen years old. A genius of intelligence analysis.
When she noticed me, she glanced my way for just an instant, then dropped her eyes back to the tablet in her hands.
"You're late. Three minutes and seventeen seconds lost. Three minutes in this game can kill you."
Her voice was calm—far too calm for thirteen. Barely any color of emotion. It was like talking to a machine.
"S-sorry. I got lost..."
"Spare me the excuses. It's a waste of time. Let's go."
Rain started walking without waiting for my reply.
I hurried after her.
(Ugh, she's colder than I expected...)
I muttered it in my head. But Kaname-san had told me to follow her instructions. Complaining wouldn't get me anywhere.
"Um, where are we going today?"
"Making the rounds of informants. There are a few people in Ura-Shibu who know Kanehira's guild well. We'll start with one of them."
"Informants... can you trust them?"
"I don't trust anyone. But information has a price. Good intel is worth good money. Bad intel, and the buyer disappears. That's the kind of world this is."
Rain said it without even turning around.
Watching her back, I thought:
(Is this kid really thirteen?)
More than mature, there was something about her that felt like she'd given up on something.
After we'd walked a while, Rain suddenly stopped.
"Your footsteps are loud. Can't you walk more quietly?"
"Huh? I think I walk pretty normally..."
"Normal is the most dangerous thing there is. In this world, the ones who die first are the ones moving normally. Footsteps, breathing, line of sight—you're feeding your opponent information with all of it. How have you even survived this long?"
She looked up at me with cold eyes.
I couldn't argue back.
She was right—I'd only been in this game a few days. The only reason I'd survived was luck and Kaname-san's help.
"...Whatever. Today, just walk behind me. You don't have to do anything. Just don't get in the way."
"...Got it."
Rain started walking again.
I followed a little behind her, just as she'd said.
(Dead weight, huh.)
It stung. But it was the truth. I still didn't know how to fight in this game.
Rain moved through the Ura-Shibu alleys without a moment's hesitation. Every so often she'd stop in front of a shuttered shop and check something. She'd pull a small notebook from her pocket and jot things down quickly. There wasn't a single wasted motion.
(Amazing...)
As I stood there impressed, Rain clicked her tongue softly.
"...Haah. You just thought I was 'amazing,' didn't you. It's written all over your face. Emotions like that get read. If you want to survive in this world, hide your expressions too."
"H-how did you know!?"
"Your face is just really easy to read. ...Well, I guess that's a saving grace, too."
That last part was quiet, like a mutter to herself.
Just then, Rain's feet stopped.
At the far end of the alley, in a dim spot, three men stood.
All in black suits. Snake emblems on their left wrists. And at their hips, something like batons.
"...They found us."
Rain's voice snapped tight all at once.
"Huh? You know them?"
"Not personally. Kanehira's men. The insurance guild's debt collectors. I may have... taken a little peek at the guild's internal documents yesterday."
"A little peek...? They're completely onto you!"
"That's why they're chasing us. ...Don't be dead weight."
The men approached slowly.
The one in the middle spoke.
"Little lady, why don't you come along quietly. How much of the guild's information did you spill?"
Rain took a step back.
"Who knows? How much was there? Your ledgers were full of holes. How you hide the points you extort, where you're holding the people who tried to quit—all of it."
The underlings' expressions changed in an instant.
"You little brat...! Kill her!"
The men lunged all at once.
Then Rain clutched her tablet to her chest and turned to me.
"Jin-kun, show me your ability."
"Huh!? But my power is—"
"You delay time, right? Kaname-san told me. Delay that man's baton. I'll use the opening to make us an escape route."
Rain's voice was astonishingly calm.
I swallowed hard.
(No choice but to do it...!)
The lead man raised his baton.
I dove into his guard and touched the baton.
—Delay Collection.
I slow the time of whatever I touch by a few seconds.
The man's baton swung down slowly, as if moving through invisible jelly.
"W-what the hell!? My body won't move!"
"Now—this way!"
Rain dashed into a narrow alley.
I chased after her at full speed.
"Wait, you little brats!"
Angry shouts came from behind us. But I didn't look back.
My heart was pounding. My breath ran short. My legs nearly tangled.
"This way—turn right. Then left. ...You're slow."
"You're thirteen, how are you this fast!?"
"Being fast is an advantage for surviving. That's just common sense."
Rain turned corners, ran up stairs, and wove through gaps between buildings. Her movements made it seem like she had every back alley in this city memorized.
"Your ability is interesting. Delaying the time of things you touch. Plain, but it depends on how you use it. If that baton had been one second later, your head would've been split open."
"Is that a compliment or what?"
"Just stating a fact. ...But it was outside my calculations."
For the first time, Rain looked me straight in the face.
Her dull green eyes studied me intently, as if measuring something.
"You really are reckless. Charging head-on into an enemy's attack. Normal people don't do that."
"But that was the only way, right? To protect you."
Rain's face went blank for just a moment.
But she quickly returned to her cold expression.
"...Protect me? Are you misunderstanding something? I was just using you. I figured you'd be convenient for testing my own ability."
"Even so, it worked out—we got away. So that's good enough for me."
"...You're weird."
Rain said that and started walking.
I followed after her.
(Weird, huh. Well, I think so too.)
But it was true that in that moment, I'd wanted to protect her.
A thirteen-year-old girl was risking her life to gather intel. Seeing that, there was no way I could just leave her alone.
"We lost our pursuers. Thanks to your Delay Collection, we bought time. ...I'm not thanking you. You did it on your own."
"No thanks needed."
"...But I'll say one thing. Your ability is more useful than I thought. Your timing on delaying that baton was perfect. By my calculations, if you'd been even 0.3 seconds early or late, you'd be dead."
"0.3 seconds!? Seriously?"
"Seriously. ...You're interesting."
The corner of Rain's mouth loosened—just barely.
It was too small a change to call a smile. But to me, it felt like her true feelings showing through.
"All right, let's head back to base. We need to report what we've gathered to Kaname-san."
"Yeah. ...But first, let me rest a bit. My legs are at their limit..."
"Pathetic. You can walk ten more minutes. Get your breathing under control by then."
"Are you a demon...?"
I staggered after Rain.
When we got back to the Ravens' Room, Kaname-san was waiting.
"How'd it go? Did you get the intel?"
"Yes. We obtained fairly detailed information. ...Though thanks to Jin-kun, we did have a rather dangerous moment."
Rain set the tablet on the desk.
Kaname-san looked at my face.
"You're not hurt?"
"I'm fine. Just did a little running."
"I see. ...So, what about Kanehira?"
Rain operated the tablet, projecting the information onto the wall monitor.
"Kanehira Hideaki. Ranked third. His ability is 'Marishiten.' He can create and control up to five physical copies of himself. The copies can even swap positions with the original. In other words, the Kanehira you see isn't necessarily the real one."
"Clones, huh. Troublesome."
"Yes. And since the copies are physical, normal attacks work on them. But defeating a copy doesn't damage the original. We need to find the real body and finish it for certain."
"Where's the real body?"
"A mixed-use building in Dogenzaka. It's where Kanehira Mutual's official office is. But there's a much larger facility underground. That's probably where they're holding the people who tried to quit, too."
"Holding people who tried to quit...?"
The words came out before I could stop them.
"That's right. Kanehira's insurance guild extorts thirty percent of its members' points every week. Anyone who tries to leave gets locked underground and has their points drained by force. Squeezed down to the bare edge of not going negative."
Rain's voice was flat. But deep in her eyes, I thought I saw a quiet anger burning.
"You've gotta be kidding me...! What do they think human lives are!?"
I clenched my fists.
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