"Nine of Hearts, Part 2" (ハートの 9 パート 2, Hāto no 9, Pāto 2) is the second chapter of the first volume and the second chapter overall of the Alice in Borderland RETRY manga, written and illustrated by Haro Aso.
Summary[]
The six players, forced into the Nine of Hearts game, "Earth Invasion", have successfully survived the first alien attack. Upon entering the second hall, which contains a replica of European landmarks, and seeing how the number of shelters has been reduced to five, they start panicking and coming up with strategies. Kitou briefly summarizes the details they have figured out: only one "LIFE" can be given per hall, which means there are six halls, and the number of shelters reduces in each of them while maintaining the capacity of one person inside, which they confirmed in the previous room. In order to enter a shelter, a "LIFE" card needs to be received, and the game suddenly turns into an elimination challenge, where players have to decide who is going to die next.
Cooperation could be a potential strategy, but the players quickly realize its inefficiency, since there is no guarantee of getting a "LIFE" card from your teammates, because they can betray you at any moment. Moreover, casting someone out could result in a revenge plan, which would be enacted by giving a "DEATH" card to one of the survivors and causing more casualties. Exchanging "LIFE" cards with each other in a circle also proves pointless, since there are still not enough safe pods for everyone to enter, which, as noted by Himari, would result in a stalemate situation. Discarding the "DEATH" card also remains one of the conditions to clear the game, meaning someone has to die.
Taiga suggests drawing lots, but Kitou insists on evaluating whose life is more valuable to keep, which leads to a heated discussion and a rebellion.