Chapter 260: Ch 260: Leaving Sekwang Station
I opened my eyes.
A dark, clean platform. But beyond the screen doors lay the ruined opposite
platform.
’...The scenery of Sekwang Station.’
Entry successful.
I looked down at myself, once again in my human form, and exhaled
sharply.
’This time, everyone will succeed.’
And I reviewed the plans again.
Meaning, the bureau’s headquarters would no longer have agents and
Daydream employees suddenly collapsing en masse out of nowhere.
– Ah, right. When you all wake up again, you won’t be opening your eyes at
Disaster Management Bureau’s HQ anymore.
– Huh?
– I removed the passageway and pulled it over. You’ll be waking up in a
very safe place...
Even if the place is sealed off, it was shocking how Ho Yoowon had found a
way to extract a piece of the bureau’s exclusive passageway.
’...Considering his single-mindedness, maybe it isn’t surprising.’
Still, since my disappearance might cause considerable controversy within
the Disaster Management Bureau, for the sake of the staff responsible for
me, I left the phrase ’Stepping out briefly for a stroll in a dream. Scheduled
to return.’ carved into the floor of the main hall.
And lastly.
The emergency escape method for the dream, Sekwang Special
Metropolitan City.
Agent Bronze made a face like he would sooner bite through his own
tongue than ingest it, but in the end he accepted it.
Considering the nooses, we couldn’t ignore the danger of becoming fully
contaminated, unable to escape forever, and falling into a coma.
’It’s here.’
I checked that the pill was securely in my pocket, then confirmed that all
the items I brought were still safely in place.
At the same time, I checked the headcount with my eyes.
– Here’s the euthanasia drug you requested, Roe Deer-nim.
– ...!
– It guarantees a peaceful death. Among Daydream Inc.’s products, isn’t it
the most compassionate one?
Two agents wearing Hahoe masks, now rising to their feet on the platform
floor just as I had.
’...They had some friction during negotiations about infiltrating Sekwang
City.’
It seemed they had somehow arranged enough time off to stay until we
rescued Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae.
Agent Choi, grinning in a way that almost seemed natural, and Agent
Bronze, with his firm expression, both radiated a heavy sense of
responsibility.
Still, Black-Tortoise Team 1 couldn’t keep leaving for explorations that
might take several days. If there’s a next time, pulling time off like this
won’t be easy.
But for now, the important part was that they agreed to come with us.
"Heave-ho. Grapes-ie, do you feel alright?"
"Yes. I’m fine."
– For this exploration, government officials should probably sit it out. You
never know how long it’ll take.
– Eh-heyy, we cleared all our leave days for this, Mr. Civilian.
– And... How could we walk away when there’s someone to rescue.
Blue eyes glowing faintly beneath the Hahoe mask looked at me and then
nodded slightly.
And the next lineup...
"Is everyone awake?"
"Yes."
The ones wearing animal masks, dressed in suits.
The current and former members of Daydream Inc.’s Field Exploration
Team.
Section Chief Lee Jaheon.
Assistant Manager Eun Haje.
Supervisor Baek Saheon.
And...
"Supervisor Roe Deer."
Assistant Manager Eun Haje grinned and patted my back.
A previous title I almost felt nostalgic for.
Here I was in a suit, in the intact human form I once had.
[Oh. And of course, I am here as well, Friend.]
Headcount complete.
"Everyone has successfully entered Sekwang City."
A perfect beginning.
"Let’s go."
I nodded.
First...
Sekwang Transit Authority
SEKWANG STATION
The platform we stood on was cold and spotless, as if that moment when
the noose tightened around our necks had been nothing but a lie. As if
everything had been reset.
"Roe, it looks like you were right. Our customer count seems to have been
reset."
"Yes. What a relief."
Normally, when subway operations end, the system shuts down. Meaning
the boarding date stored in a single-use transit card expires after a day and
becomes unusable.
Naturally, this meant we wouldn’t be pursued by those bizarre nooses from
the concourse.
"..."
But just above that staircase.
"...It seems the fog has expanded."
We could clearly see, with the naked eye, that the concourse fog was
wavering just before spilling down onto the platform.
’...Is it because we got captured on the platform last time?’
It felt noticeably more threatening and ominous than when we first came.
And right at the edge of the stairs, something trembled as if about to burst
out.
Those who had hanged themselves.
The exact same form as when we died last time.
"..."
"Do you think the corpses are still there?"
"It would be best not to check unnecessarily."
"Oh. I agree, Sir Highborn Geezer."
Hearing this brutal conversation right beside him, Baek Saheon’s face had
gone pale.
Just like someone who’d walked up to a well and then, right before falling
in, suddenly said he wanted to think it over again, only to get shoved in by
Ho Yoowon, he now seemed to grasp the severity of this annihilation-
sanctioned disaster.
"Alright. Then let’s prepare. Supervisor Goat, is your vision working
properly?"
"...Yes."
He even fumbled over his eye mask and answered obediently.
’He must have calculated it.’
Trolling here wouldn’t help him survive, and the completion reward was far
too sweet.
Ho Yoowon had offered Baek Saheon a Wish Ticket as a project reward.
...Even using me as a witness to prove it.
...But even so. I had no idea how he’d react to this next part.
"In that case, the ones entering the fog first... Section Chief Lizard,
Supervisor Goat, and myself are enough."
"Wait."
"The rest of you can give us signals from where the fog doesn’t reach. So
you can lead us back to the stairs."
"Hold on."
As expected.
"In that case, the reward distribution needs to change. This won’t do. Three
people do the work while the rest only signal? We’ll need to renegotiate."
"Khh-ha. Feels like we’re back home."
– Those who completed their previous tasks safely have all been granted
potions. Right, Mr. Roe Deer?
– Affirmative
Assistant Manager Eun Haje nodded like someone who truly belonged to
the Field Exploration Team.
Baek Saheon appeared to be gauging whether someone would volunteer to
hand over part of their items or rewards to smooth this over.
’Seeing how urgently we recruited him, he must have realized he’s
considered essential.’
If anything, this guy really could calculate quickly.
’He’s not the kind who’ll behave just because the assistant manager reminds
him to focus on escape routes or because the agents have to provide cover
later.’
If that were the case, his nickname wouldn’t be Viper but Owl.
Hmm. Maybe the atmosphere hadn’t been properly set because he joined
too abruptly.
It seemed we needed this, at least once.
I smiled and spoke softly to Baek Saheon.
"Not your style? Then someone else can do it. We already have another
method."
Then I lowered my voice further, smiling gently.
"We can just extract the left eye of another man in his twenties with blood
type A."
"...!"
"Someone else will get the transplant. Don’t worry. Even if someone here
dies from blood loss, they’ll just wake up again in reality."
Baek Saheon instinctively pressed his own eye.
"Want to try?"
"..."
"Think about it. If you intentionally sabotage the exploration, the project
suffers. So we might really do it."
"...N-No."
"Hmm?"
"I said I’ll just go."
"I’m worried you’ll get upset and deliberately give us wrong visual
information. Speak comfortably."
"I said I won’t do that."
"Hmm... You surviving alone only to face all these people again once we
leave, well. Sounds like reason enough not to pull a stunt like that, doesn’t
it?"
"..."
"But honestly, it would be kind of fun if you lied."
"No,"
"Yeah. Sounds fun."
"I won’t."
"It’d be fun though."
"I said no...!"
"Alright. Then do well."
Tap tap.
I patted Baek Saheon’s shoulder.
"Ohh~ What kind of cozy, long conversation are you two having over
there."
"I was encouraging him."
"——!"
"He says he’ll work hard."
"Gosh, thank you, Mr. Civilian."
Baek Saheon wore an expression like he was desperately holding back a
string of curses, but in the end he removed his eye mask and stared into the
fog.
Huu, good.
’Troll prevention complete.’
This sweaty process had been so long overdue it almost felt nostalgic.
I deliberately avoided looking at Agent Choi, whose Hahoe mask somehow
looked like it was grinning at me...
"We’ll go in now."
And the reason all of this could proceed smoothly was—
"Please cover the rear, Section Chief."
"Yes."
—all thanks to Section Chief Lee Jaheon.
I stepped one pace deeper into the fog of the concourse.
Just before this, I had gone to the information sign, copied the entire rule
list and memorized it.
And just like when finding the information board, I pierced the fog using
the sun catcher I’d received from the agents, barely identifying the location
of the ’Single-Use Ticket Vending · Card Reload Device’ and setting our
direction.
"That way."
Up to this point, the process was similar to last time, but...
The approach was different.
We could now choose the safest possible route.
"Section Chief, please follow exactly the path Supervisor Goat takes."
"Yes."
Using his special sight, Baek Saheon looked for the route with the fewest
’dangers’.
And we weren’t using the warding pollock this time.
’It was difficult to obtain.’
And in the escape method we would attempt this time, it wasn’t necessary.
Instead, to obey the rule ’never get separated from the group’, we used two
items.
Nothing extravagant, just items that kept us within each other’s radius.
Chain-less Handcuffs
The invisible chains of these handcuffs prevents wearers from
moving beyond a fixed radius.
Born from Daydream Inc.’s Kind Seed Kit, these belonged to Assistant
Manager Eun Haje.
And as we walked...
"We’ve arrived."
At the single-use transit card vending machine, I pulled out cards.
Seven in total.
"There are six of us, so why—"
"Shh."
I kept all the cards. And then...
Here was the crucial part.
"..."
After carefully confirming the turnstiles, I crossed to the entrance side.
Alone.
And.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep-beep...
I tagged six of the cards I was holding one after another.
And as the sixth card tagged, I passed through the turnstile.
"...It’s done."
I collected five of those cards into one pocket. Then, without running, I
moved at a brisk, urgent pace.
Into the thicker fog.
...Accompanied by the news broadcast that began echoing from
somewhere.
– Another body has been discovered in the ■■■ Forest of Sekwang Special
Metropolitan City.
[Oh. It has begun again.]
Reflexive cold sweat.
I rang my bell and forced myself not to be lured by the news, pushing my
feet forward. Beside me, I could hear Baek Saheon gritting his teeth as he
kept our direction.
"What is this, just what..."
With his danger-detecting sight, this must look like a minefield.
One that was approaching us.
More precisely...
– Don’t you want to give up too?
Approaching me.
"..."
Baek Saheon was desperately steering us along the best possible route.
And once we had moved far enough from the turnstiles, our pace
quickened.
"Uuurk."
Above my head, something thumped—hard, soft—again and again. The
feet of the corpses. They were close. I forced myself to think, to keep from
panicking.
’I did my best.’
All that mattered was getting through quickly.
The more people there were, the harder this place became to handle. A
small team moving without separating was essential.
’That’s why three is optimal.’
Someone to secure a visual on the perimeter.
Someone to lead the way.
And...
Someone to physically destroy things.
– Don’t you want to give u—
They arrived...
"Please get down."
Section Chief Lee Jaheon reached out.
The noose falling toward my head was caught in his hand. At the moment
his arm muscles tightened from the strain, the tough rope shredded apart
thread by thread.
The noose that had tried to seize my neck was ripped and ruined in Section
Chief Lee Jaheon’s hand.
No.
Not just one.
Fwick.
In the fog, Section Chief Lee Jaheon began tearing apart the nooses and
corpses dropping above my head purely with ’brute force’.
It was an astonishing display of power.
"We’ll move faster!"
"Yes."
And even while running, Section Chief Lee Jaheon began crushing
everything his hands touched without hesitation, whether it be corpses,
trees, or nooses.
It was insane. A complete disregard for the rules.
’Crazy.’
So this was the power of a brute force specialist?
The overwhelming force was so unreal it felt like a horror novel had
suddenly become pulp action, and for a moment, even fear evaporated,
replaced by catharsis.
The thrill of choosing the perfect recruit lasted only a moment.
Fwick.
[Good heavens, that one was rather close!]
As we sprinted toward the stairs, I nearly got hanged about three times,
each time narrowly saved by Section Chief Lee Jaheon.
’Ha.’
And finally...
The stairs came into view.
The blade of a jakdu glowing bright blue in the fog.
’We made it.’
Just before setting foot on it—
...
I stopped.
"Are you insane? Get over—"
"Take off the cuffs and go down."
Without a single follow-up question, Baek Saheon unlinked the cuffs and
ran down the stairs.
But...
The fog did not follow him.
’As expected.’
Last time, the fog had chased us beneath the platform because we had been
registered as passengers.
Put another way.
’Only the one registered as a passenger shouldn’t go down to the platform,
and should just hold out until the train arrives.’
In other words, I alone will stand there holding all the cards.
Put simply, I’ll be drawing the nooses’ aggro.
Of course, that’s a perfect way to die.
No matter how much Section Chief Lee blocked, he would also be breaking
countless rules in the process and becoming a target himself. As time
passed, danger would rise exponentially...
"You’ve done well, Grapes-ie."
From here on, everyone else joined in.
From the fog-free stairway, Binding Ropes began pushing back the mist
around my feet, and Glass Handgun rounds fired.
Equipment from the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau, prepared
specifically for this expedition.
"Keep steady!"
As I experience every strange phenomenon that comes with being a visitor
of the ’Forest of Final Moments’, the others strip away as much of it as they
can for me.
And if we just endured like this...
The train is approaching.
"It’s coming!"
The roaring approach of the train echoed through the fog. Standing on the
very edge of the stairs, I twisted away from nooses and held out.
Passengers are requested to board safely and observe proper etiquette.
Endure.
Again.
Endure.
And then...
The screen doors are opening.
"Roe, now!"
I spun around.
Then reached into my pocket and threw five cards down onto the platform
below.
"...!"
The cards landed neatly near the open screen doors.
"Pick them up and get on!"
Exactly.
’It doesn’t matter who tags the turnstile, as long as you have a ticket, you’re
a passenger...!’
So if I delayed the passenger status until the very last moment, and only
threw the cards right before boarding—
’We can make the platform as safe as possible...!’
"Move out!"
We all ran at once.
As everyone leapt down the stairs, grabbed a card, and sprinted toward the
train doors.
I started a heartbeat later, buying a few more seconds before the fog spread
too far. Section Chief Lee Jaheon ran beside me, ripping vines and ropes
away. Splinters, straw, and dry flesh scattered through the air.
"Section Chief!"
Assistant Manager Eun Haje, who had picked up one of the cards, threw it.
Section Chief Lee slapped away a piece of a noose and caught the card,
then hauled me into the train as he leapt inside.
Finally, as Agent Choi grabbed his card—
The screen doors are closing.
Section Chief Lee yanked away the noose falling over Agent Choi.
I grabbed Agent Choi’s arm and hurled him.
Into the train.
Thud.
"..."
"..."
"Ha."
Flattened on the train floor, Agent Choi exhaled.
"We survived."
[The train is departing.]
With a thunderous roar, we began leaving Sekwang Station behind.