CHAPTER 8 – DONGA POLICE
The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting
- Sun Tzu
RECAP:
The following day, Karna unexpectedly encounters the girl he met at the police station. Karna asks for her name after realising he had forgotten to do so. With a soft smile, she replies, "Dharani." Engaging in light conversation, they delve into the DNA results obtained from the previous forest murder. As they examine the DNA, it matches a past case filed years before. Karna's eyes are drawn to a file that lies next to him. The contents of the file reveal information on a retired detective, labelled as the "INFAMOUS DETECTIVE." After a lengthy discussion between Dharani and Karna, they finally came up with the idea of meeting him. With the help of the file's contents, they were able to get to the detective's house. Dharani emphasised the escalating number of killings and the urgency of putting an end to the violence. Nevertheless, their plea was ignored, and the detective stuck to his denial. Hoping to distract Karna from the case and provide a little respite, Dharani surprises him with a visit to a mall. However, their leisurely stroll takes an unexpected turn when the mall suddenly falls into chaos.
STORY CONTINUES:
The sound of resounding gunfire and cries for mercy intensify the senses of the terrified and confused audience, causing them to shiver. The entire mall is packed with criminals and cops. In an attempt to figure out the mystery surrounding their involvement in the horrific game, Karna and Dharani are running around looking for a place to hide. The smell of sadness and fear fills the air. Each passing moment is fraught with danger as the robbers and the police clash, their actions mirroring the sinister design. The shopping mall turns into a war zone with glass breaking, gun smoke, and flashing lights. The participants, both thieves and police officers, starts to display their skills as they move towards each other, each driven by their own survival instincts and goals.
The cat-and-mouse chase between the thieves and the police becomes a display of cruelty, with the boundaries of morality blurred in the face of survival. Watching that atmosphere, Karna and Dharani cling to each other, their hearts pounding in their chests. The mall, once a symbol of luxury and joyous laughter, has now transformed into a twisted arena of fear and survival.
After half an hour of intense chaos and clashes between the robbers and cops in the mall, a police officer takes a shot at one of the robbers. Fuelled by fear for his own life, the officer quickly approaches the fallen body. The lights in the mall turned off suddenly, visibility was poor, and the officer's heart pounded in his chest as he lit his torch to get a better look. To his shock and horror, the officer discovers that the robber's lips have been sewn shut, rendering him unable to speak. The rifle has been mercilessly nailed to his hand, turning him into a mere puppet in this twisted game. As the officer's gaze falls upon the robber's pocketbook, his heart sinks. It's his family's pocketbook, a stark reminder that this man was once an innocent victim, forced into participating in this sadistic game.
The cop realises what is really going on in this horrific event. Among them, there were no actual thieves. All of them were ordinary citizens who were forced to act out of pure fear. Just as the police feared they were up against actual criminals, they thought the police would kill them before realising their innocence. It was a tragic loop of falsehood and terror. In an attempt to reach out and let everyone know, the officer tries to explain the situation to everyone, determined to reveal the truth. But amidst the chaos and confusion, there are no signals to convey his message. He gathers one last ounce of bravery and raises his voice, trying to shout the truth that would destroy their false impressions. But before his remarks can reach their intended ears, a shot rings out, piercing through the air.
Before the officer can convey the truth, his corpse falls to the ground, leaving him silent. A game that feeds on fear and manipulation has innocent lives lost and misunderstood, and the awful tragedy of the situation lingers heavily in the air. The participant's never-ending battle has taken over the mall, burying the truth among the chaos and waiting for someone else to sort through its twisted web.
Karna is prevented from leaving the hiding place by Dharani. "I understand that you're concerned, but actions without plans are pointless. Just think and act; even a small mistake will result in a great disaster," she conveys. He controls himself, listening to her logic as he realises the consequences of making snap decisions. But as they are speaking, one of the criminals approaches them menacingly and points a revolver at them, sending chills down their spines. Without a moment's hesitation, Karna springs into action, engaging in a fierce struggle with the armed criminal. Karna begins fighting without a second thought, determined to protect himself and Dharani. As the lights flicker back on during this battle, Karna catches the startling details: the criminal's sewn-up lips and his gun that was forcefully placed to his hands.
Driven by a mixture of compassion and urgency, Karna manages to seize the rifle from the criminal's grasp. With tools at hand, he carefully removes the stitches on the man's mouth, offering him much-needed relief. Understanding the weight of the situation, Karna tends to the criminal's wounds and provides him with first aid. The criminal reveals throughout their talk that he and the others were forced into playing this role, and if they didn't kill or try to hide, their families would be no more.
Karna and Dharani thought to expose the dark side of the game as they took in the details provided by the person playing as a criminal. The person who started the game hears them conversing and revealing information. The game initiator then pulled a revolver from his pocket and targeted the person who revealed the game's details from a distance. Then he mercilessly silences the person by shooting him dead. Karna was about to confront the game initiator, but Dharani intervened, alerting him, "Don't be a psycho like him." Karna remained calm and hid.
The number of participants gradually declines over time. There are now just two criminals and four officers. The officer chooses not to kill the remaining players after realising that they are just regular people forced into roles and are aware of the true nature of the game. The remaining two criminals, however, cleverly divert and kill three police officers, sacrificing one of their own in the process, driven by the urge to protect their families. There's just one cop and one criminal left.
The surviving criminal attempts one last try to take the police officer's life in a desperate attempt to escape, but the officer quickly responds with a deadly gunshot to the head. Karna and Dharani watch in silence the entire time, their hearts heaving from the horror that is playing out. The police officer is approached by the game initiator, who declares him the winner. Nevertheless, he falsely alleges that the officer cheated by posing as an actual police officer during the game, ruining the victory. The announcer gives the person a kick that knocks his cap off. As Karna spots the fallen hat, his eyes enlarge, realising that the policeman is, in fact, the detective he's been interacting with previously.
As the nightmare unfolds, the entire scope of the chaos becomes a terrible event. The once-bustling mall, now a battleground of terror, bears witness to the game's terrible consequences. Within the mall's walls, almost thirty-five lives have been brutally taken; they were the victims of a cruel game designed to take advantage of their fears and set them against one another. The once-vibrant stores and shiny tiles that lined the passageways are now replaced with eerie reminders of the bloodshed that has stained every inch of the area. The walls and floors were splattered with bloodshots, a horrifying reminder of the tragedies experienced and the lives lost. The once-vibrant and busy shopping complex has been turned into a terrifying representation of the most sinister aspects of human nature. The survivors are now carrying the weight of their experiences as a result of the game's extreme cruelty, which has left a permanent mark. Karna and Dharani are forced to face the terrifying truth that the mall has turned into a cemetery of lost dreams and broken lives as they watch the blood-soaked aftermath, their hearts heavy with sorrow and shock.
The game initiator screamed, "IMPOSTER... I knew it. You are the rat in my plans..." He paused, calming down, then continued curiously, "Wait a second, I recognise you... You disguised yourself as a police officer just to meet me? I can see that look on your face... It barks anger... Are you angry that I am killing all these innocents? It makes me feel sympathetic towards you that you don't understand the excitement, the pressure, the anxiety, the blood..." His smile widened and his cheeks raised, making him appear almost like a maniac. "The chaos, the pleas in my perfectly beautiful game. Ah, if it were anyone else, they would have died by now. But I can't kill anyone other than my participants in my game. So stop looking at me like that."
But the detective just didn't listen and stared at him as if he wanted to devour him whole. Then the game initiator warns, "Those eyes... I hate them. As I promised, I won't kill ya, but I will make sure to beat you half to death." As the initiator clenched his fist to initiate the fight, Karna witnessed a chilling sense, making him feel the weight of his past that he desperately tried to forget.