“All decisions recorded. Calcuting final rankings.”

  ARK’s voice echoed through all three chambers simultaneously.

  “Current Point totals after Trust Scales test:”

  The holographic dispy updated:

  Yuma (01): 1,740?P

  Sakuya (05): 1,650?P

  Komachi (04): 1,510?P

  Ruri (02): 1,390?P

  Hikari (06): 1,150?P (coma)

  Tsukasa (03): 1,220?P (plus debt: 500?P)

  A moment of silence as the numbers sank in.

  Then ARK’s voice, cool and precise:

  “Lowest cumutive Points: Sample?03, Tsukasa Kirijima.”

  “Elimination procedure activating.”

  No, Ruri thought, her heart seizing. It’s wrong. Hikari has fewer Points. 1,150 versus 1,220. She should be lowest.

  “Correction,” ARK said, as if hearing her thoughts. “Sample?06 (Hikari Aizawa) is in coma status. Per protocol β, elimination is suspended pending repcement sacrifice. Therefore, the lowest eligible for elimination is Sample?03.”

  They’re killing him, Yuma realized. Not because he has the fewest Points, but because Hikari is protected by the resurrection protocol.

  ARK is maniputing the rules in real time.

  It’s not a fair test. It never was.

  In Chamber Beta, Tsukasa stared at his wrist?tag. The debt line glowed red: Debt: 500?P. Failure = elimination.

  He ughed, a hollow, broken sound. “Of course. Of course it’s me.”

  Ruri threw herself in front of him, as if she could shield him with her body. “No! You can’t! He chose Sacrifice! He deserves the bonus!”

  “Emotional appeals are irrelevant. Rules are absolute.”

  The familiar whirr of machinery filled the chamber. A segmented mechanical arm descended from the ceiling, targeting Tsukasa.

  “Wait!” Ruri screamed. “I have… I have the Transfer Right! From the first test! I can transfer elimination!”

  Tsukasa’s eyes widened. “No, Ruri! Don’t!”

  “Sample?02 possesses ‘Designated Transfer of Elimination Right’—single use. Activation confirmed. Choose target.”

  The interface changed, dispying the five other names:

  Yuma Sakakibara

  Sakuya Kujo

  Komachi Chihaya

  Hikari Aizawa

  Tsukasa Kirijima

  Ruri’s finger hovered.

  If I choose Tsukasa… nothing changes. He dies.

  If I choose someone else… they die instead.

  Who?

  Yuma? The rationalist who might find a way out?

  Sakuya? The observer who might understand ARK’s patterns?

  Komachi? The witness who remembers everything?

  Hikari? The rebel who’s already in a coma?

  Tears streamed down her face. “I… I can’t…”

  “Do it!” Tsukasa growled. “Choose me! I’m dead anyway! At least let the rest of you live!”

  But Ruri remembered Hikari’s data?chip. The truth about Ark’s real purpose. They needed to survive, to expose it.

  But at what cost?

  At the cost of Tsukasa’s life?

  Her hand trembled.

  Then she remembered something else—something from the first test. Tsukasa had surrendered his hidden water stash to save her. He’d chosen sacrifice, even when it meant putting himself in debt.

  He saved me.

  Now I save him.

  Even if it meant dooming herself.

  She moved her finger toward her own name.

  But before she could press, Tsukasa lunged.

  He spped her hand away, then smmed his own palm against the interface.

  “Target selected: Sample?03, Tsukasa Kirijima.”

  The system registered it before Ruri could override.

  “No!” she screamed.

  Tsukasa smiled, a bitter, broken smile. “I told you, Ruri. I’m not worth it.”

  The mechanical arm closed around his throat.