Editing A Simple Survey:Volume2 Reaper02 (section)

===Part 4===

Meanwhile, Rachel was not watching Matsumi and Higashikawa work as she sat on the operating room floor.

She was looking towards her feet.

She was looking at the gap between her thighs.

Rachel was not simply frozen there out of fear. She had noticed something. Something had been written on the operating room floor with a ballpoint pen. She had sat down so she could read it without the others noticing.

Due to her position, it was hard to read.

But her life could be riding on even the smallest piece of information.

The round writing said the following:

''Comparing the weights is an elementary trap, so be careful.

''The trick lies in the principle of leverage.

“…Ah.”

She accidentally let out a voice and briefly panicked over whether Matsumi or Higashikawa had heard her.

Yes.

The principle of leverage.

Scales only worked when the bar extended equal distances in both directions from the fulcrum in the middle. So what if those distances were not equal?

Moving the fulcrum, which in this case was a leather shoe, would be difficult. With two people working on it, someone would notice the change.

But what about the handguns placed on either end of the bar?

Moving their position by just a few centimeters would be enough to lose all equality. The lighter blank handguns could be made to look heavier. Unlike normal scales, there were no plates. It would not be difficult to casually alter the positions of the handguns slightly.

In other words…

If the person measuring it wanted to, they could change the result to whatever they wanted.

They could create fraudulent results.

They could cheat.

(But they have no reason to do that.)

Rachel reflexively denied that dreadful thought that had come to her mind. The five of them were working together to survive and to ruin the organizers’ plans for them. She wanted to rely on that wonderful idea.

But…

''Beware the traitor.

There was the sign beyond the metal bars in the Hell Hospital passageway. Its powerful message flashed in the back of her mind. She could not completely deny the possibility. She wanted to but could not.

There was one reason.

There was one reason someone would do that.

(Matsumi-san can give me the two blank handguns and take the two real ones for herself. Then she will survive no matter which gun I choose at the last second. But in that case, the gun fired at me has a 100% chance of being loaded with a real bullet.)

The organizers would be at fault.

They would be seen as having tricked both Matsumi and Rachel.

And so everyone’s anger toward the organizers would increase, but Matsumi would not be kicked out of the group. Even if she protected herself by creating a situation that ensured Rachel’s death, she could easily deflect the hatred.

“Got it!! The right two have blanks and the left two have real bullets!!”

“Hurry, Rachel-san! Let’s finish this before that woman says the time is up and throws those Molotov cocktails down here!!”

She felt like she was hearing the voices of demons.

What should she do?

Rachel thought for a moment and finally stood up slowly. She approached the operating table to ensure the others did not see the small writing on the floor.

As expected, Matsumi grabbed two handguns and held them out towards Rachel.

She was keeping Rachel from making the decision.

“Be careful. The one in your right hand has a blank and the one in your left hand has a real bullet. …Rachel-san, please don’t mix them up. Just think of it as shooting with your dominant hand.”

“Um…” Rachel slowly spoke up and made a suggestion. “Both of us have one with a real bullet and one with a blank, right? We have the same setup, right?”

“Y-yeah. Why do you ask?”

“Sorry, but could we swap guns? These ones…um…they’re kind of dirty.”

“Fine, it’s the same either way,” replied Matsumi as she held the two guns meant for herself out towards Rachel. “The right one is the blank and the left one is the real one. It’s the same as before, so don’t get it wrong. Fire with your right hand on the signal. Got it?”

“…Y-yes.”

After Rachel took the two revolvers, Matsumi grabbed the two she had given to Rachel earlier.

Higashikawa shouted up towards the upper floor.

“We’ve chosen! How do we begin the attraction!?”

“Matsumi-san and Rachel-san, please move against opposite walls. Press your backs to the walls and aim your guns at each other. If you press the small button on the grip, the laser pointer will activate. Use that and aim at each other’s faces. Failing to do so will get you all killed, so be careful.”

“…”

“…”

Matsumi and Rachel followed their instructions and moved to either end of the classroom-sized room.

Rachel’s mind was filled with confusion as she pressed her back against the wall.

Matsumi had readily swapped out the guns.

If one set had both blank guns and the other had both real guns, that would have been a fatal move.

Was the idea of a traitor nothing more than seeds of suspicion sown by the organizers? Had Matsumi and Higashikawa both distributed the guns properly? If she did as instructed and fired the gun in her right hand, would they clear the attraction with no one dying?

(But…)

A very bad feeling swelled up in the back of Rachel’s mind.

She had found that message written in ballpoint pen on the operating room floor. It had warned of someone cheating using the principle of leverage.

But could she be sure it had been written by the organizers?

In other words…

Rachel stared blankly at the girl wearing a school uniform.

Could Matsumi have written that message on the floor while no one was looking?

Had she intentionally made Rachel suspicious?

Had she lured Rachel into asking to swap out the guns?

She could have divided the four guns into the two blank ones and the two real ones and then given herself the blanks at first.

Her preparations would be complete once Rachel asked to swap out the guns out of the fear brought on by the message on the floor.

Matsumi could fake the outcomes of the measurements with a trick using the principle of leverage. But that still held some risk of suspicion being turned toward Matsumi once Rachel was killed. After all, Matsumi had suggested using scales, Matsumi had taken the measurements, and Matsumi had handed Rachel the handguns.

But what if Rachel made an irregular request?

If that coincidence was added in…

No one would suspect Matsumi of any ill will. If Rachel had not suggested swapping out the guns, Matsumi would have been the one to die. She moved from the position of perpetrator to the position of victim.

Matsumi had lured Rachel in.

And Rachel had fallen for it.

“Wai-…!!” shouted Rachel frantically, but the organizer woman spoke up to cut her off.

“The 2nd attraction will now begin. I will start the countdown. When I reach zero, each of you is to pull your chosen trigger!!”

A calm smile could be seen on Matsumi’s lips.

Was she certain of her victory?

Did she know there was no way she could die?

“Three. Two. One!”

The count continued.

The guns in Rachel’s right hand and left hand both felt horribly empty.

She could not win.

No matter which one she shot, she would only be firing a blank. Matsumi had both real guns. The bullet that flew out along the path of the laser pointer would certainly blast straight through Rachel’s forehead. Even if she swung her head to the side at the last second and successfully evaded the bullet, the organizers would kill her. Molotov cocktails would rain down from above and the flames would burn Rachel to death.

She could not be saved.

She could not survive.

All five of them surviving was the sole means of defeating the malicious organizers. When Rachel had first heard that, she had been moved, but she had been unable to pull it off. The malice leaking out from each of them had eaten away at that ideal.

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(In that case!!)

Rachel gritted her teeth.

She had guns in her right hand and left hand.

She poured all her focus into one of them.

(At the very least, I do not want to end this as a mere puppet!!)

“Zero!!”

The sounds of two gunshots seemed to stab into her heart.