"The reasons why ordinary people become evil are not complicated. They include the loss of humanity, lack of responsibility, improper obedience to authority, peer pressure, lack of virtue, and anonymity or deindividuation." — Philip Zimbardo, American psychologist, famous for the Stanford Prison Experiment.
"He was completely focused. What he felt at that moment wasn't mere joy—it was the sensation of exercising control over many living beings." — William Golding, Lord of the Flies
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Before the age of twelve, there is little difference in physical capabilities between boys and girls. In fact, girls, who often develop earlier, might even be taller than boys around eleven or twelve.
Going back further, to around age six, the physiological differences between boys and girls are practically negligible. That's why the instructor observing the current scene wasn't surprised. In fact, he even chuckled.
White Room enforced an almost extreme standard of physical training on its test subjects. The facility's equipment could easily rival that of a professional gym. To an outsider, it would appear to be a top-tier fitness center.
In addition to physical conditioning, White Room also taught close-quarters combat techniques, seemingly aiming to create well-rounded geniuses.
Given that the fifth-generation students were only six years old, the bulky instructors naturally couldn't test them personally. So, a system of internal competition and elimination was implemented.
Initially, Kitagawa Ryo didn't pay much attention. After all, everyone in White Room was used to competition and rankings. But on the actual day of the combat trials, he sensed something was off.
As the person connecting the fifth-generation group, Ryo keenly noticed subtle shifts in atmosphere. But when he tried to ask a few familiar peers, he received vague responses. Even Ichika, the one closest to him, simply shook her head and told him not to worry.
That ominous feeling was quickly confirmed. From the first round of the combat trials, things spiraled out of control. This wasn't friendly competition—it was ruthless. Every move aimed to harm.
Ryo had been exempted from participating by the instructor, citing physical reasons. No one objected. Before he could react, he was already pushed out of the room, forced to observe through a one-way mirror.
Clenching his fingers one by one, Ryo lowered his gaze. He was almost certain this battle was orchestrated by White Room—and that he was the bait.
At the same time, he saw through the illusion he had spent so long constructing. The seemingly harmonious fifth generation was a fragile fantasy. If illustrated, the other students would be shown with arrows pointing in only one direction—toward him.
"Hello, Ryo."
A voice came from behind.
Ryo turned instantly and saw a man in his forties—short, not particularly muscular, and with unremarkable features.
But Ryo's pupils contracted. He had seen this man's photo before—shown to him by Sakayanagi Narimori.
Ayanokouji Atsuomi. The man who controlled White Room. The biological father of Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
"You may call me 'Sensei,'" Atsuomi said, sensing Ryo's momentary confusion. Hands behind his back, he added, "After all, to all the children here, I am their savior and educator, am I not?"
Ryo's thoughts spun rapidly. He hadn't expected Atsuomi to make direct contact so early, but he quickly adapted to his current persona.
"...Can you please stop them, Sensei?"
Pointing to the brutal fight still raging inside, Ryo, enhanced by his [Actor] and [Deceiver] talents, naturally displayed worry and sorrow.
"Heh."
Atsuomi chuckled, amused. He crouched beside Ryo, placing a hand on his shoulder and casting his gaze into the room, where two bloodied children stood in a standoff—a boy and a girl.
"They're fighting over you, you know."
He whispered in Ryo's ear, eyes glinting with intrigue.
"According to the data, over 70% of these matches have resulted in an upset. Human potential truly is impressive."
"Then—"
Before Ryo could finish, Atsuomi pressed a hand over his mouth.
"Silence."
"That's a good boy."
"You're lucky, you know that? From what we've observed, around thirty subjects are dangerously obsessed with you. But that may become a problem as they grow older."
The match inside concluded. Under the watchful eyes of both men, a red-haired girl elbowed her opponent to the ground. She then searched the floor for her hair tie, retrieved it, and tucked it into her pocket.
"Another upset victory."
Atsuomi whistled in delight.
Then, a guard approached and blindfolded Ryo, also covering his ears.
"It's time to wean them."
Atsuomi declared.
"How's the other group? That test subject?"
Taking a tissue from an assistant to wipe his hands, Atsuomi inquired.
"There are some effects, but not as pronounced as here."
The assistant, knowing he referred to Yuki's control group in the fourth generation, quickly elaborated.
"The group Kiyotaka is in has shown accelerating rates of elimination. At this pace, he'll be the last one standing in two years. Meanwhile, Yuki's group has seen slight improvements, but nothing like the perfect retention rate of the fifth generation."
Shaking his head, the assistant added:
"In this round's combat trial, we merely hinted that their individual performance might affect Ryo's status. That alone pushed over 70% of the fifth-generation into upset victories. Even Ichika, who's weaker than Takuya, ended up standing last."
"But in Yuki's fourth-generation group, only about 30% showed real concern."
"Then accelerate Phase Two on the fourth generation. It'll be a good rehearsal for the fifth."
Atsuomi waved off the report.
In the Harlow monkey experiment, infant monkeys continued to cling to their cloth mothers even when subjected to harm. White Room developed a second-generation variation on this:
[By inflicting real harm on the 'cloth mother,' test whether deeper potential can be drawn out.]
All that was needed was a simple logic trap:
Make the children believe that failure to meet a goal would result in harm to their mother.
"We could take it a step further."
Atsuomi added casually:
"Let both sides experience the same. Leverage the information gap."
"Understood."
The assistant shivered inwardly and quickly nodded.
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"Ugh... ngh..."
The violent waves of nausea and dizziness nearly prevented Kitagawa Ryo from standing upright. Like a drunken man, he leaned heavily against the wall, vomiting repeatedly into a trash bin in the corner of the room.
Overwhelming sleepiness and the lingering fatigue suppressed by the drugs surged forth once again. Ryo bit down hard on his lower lip, hoping the pain would help him stay awake.
His throat was parched. He wiped the blood-flecked saliva from his lips with a tissue, then desperately used the remaining half-glass of water to rinse out the bitter metallic taste.
His mouth was filled with the flavor of iron—bloody and sharp. Even the cool night breeze drifting through the window felt sticky and suffocating on his skin. When Ryo looked up, the hanging light bulb above cast a cold, bluish glow over everything.
The White Room was finally revealing its deepest malice.
He didn't know exactly what drug had been injected into him, but after several days, he could clearly feel the dependency forming—the creeping, inescapable addiction.
Even with the support of the golden-tier talent [Perseverance], Ryo knew that he would eventually succumb to the effects. And as someone possessing the [Physician] talent, he also knew the irreversible damage such addictive substances could cause to a child's body. He might not even live as long in this simulation as he did in the one where he drew the [Heaven's Envy] trait.
Overwhelmed by weakness and vertigo, Ryo collapsed onto the bed. The most logical move now would be to terminate this simulation—after all, each chapter allowed five attempts, and this was only the second.
But... perhaps he could use this opportunity to uncover more intelligence.
Gritting his teeth, Ryo forced himself to think. Since the White Room had already resorted to drugging him, they might become less guarded. There might be a chance to access more sensitive information.
If he could discover something truly valuable, it would benefit both the next simulation and real life.
After all, he couldn't guarantee that he'd draw the [White Room] trait again.
Just as he made up his mind to endure it, he heard the door open.
Rushing in from outside was the girl who had been his roommate for over two years—Yuki.
Ryo's deteriorated condition was obvious at a glance. He tried to greet her like usual, but before he could even form a word, she had already thrown herself into his arms.
The gesture brought back memories of the first time they met—but this time, there was no blanket between them. The warmth of her skin transferred directly to his.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."
Terror and desperate relief contorted Yuki's face as she apologized over and over.
"I'll never do it again... I'll never make a mistake again. Please forgive me..."
She kept repeating her pleas—uncertain who she was addressing.
"Hey! Yuki!"
Ryo couldn't take it anymore and shouted her name.
"I'm fine."
He struggled to free himself from her grasp and speak up.
"Ryo...?"
The deep purple eyes that had lost all hope finally found Ryo, and she burst into tears, clutching him tightly.
"It's all my fault... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"
He had clearly fallen into the trap of misinformation. Still, he could piece some things together.
Just like the fifth generation, Yuki must also have been a target of White Room's manipulation.
She had likely been told that if she made a mistake, Ryo would suffer the consequences.
After two years of living together, Ryo understood her personality well. She was almost an outlier in White Room—a girl who, in many ways, resembled a normal child.
Had the violence been inflicted on her, she wouldn't have blamed herself. This trait was reminiscent of Ichinose Honami. But for someone raised in the White Room, kindness was either a foreign or long-extinct quality. That's why Yuki seemed so unusual.
After much effort, Ryo finally managed to calm her down. But he couldn't speak further.
He was sure they were being watched via surveillance cameras, and any unnecessary words could immediately end this simulation.
"It was my own mistake."
"It wasn't Ryo's fault. In fact... thank goodness you're here. I wouldn't have survived alone."
Ryo's heart sank even deeper. Only now did he realize with horror just how far this girl—who was technically a year older than him, yet felt like a younger sister—had drifted from who she used to be.
Yuki clung to him tightly, her eyes filled with dependence, like a small animal that had finally found its mother.
"I love you the most, Ryo."
A line delivered flawlessly, without hesitation—like it had been forged through countless trials.
Ryo, pale-faced, accepted what was possibly the most haunting confession he'd ever received.
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