Chapter 262: Ch 262: Midnight Station
Midnight Station.
The place that the train announcement said had a casino was different from
Sekwang Station, which had been spotless from the platform onward.
Red and yellow lights.
The moment we stepped onto the floor, we could see small lights like pea
bulbs glittering, clustered densely on the ceiling and strung out in colorful
lines.
Some of the bulbs were burnt out, broken, or part of severed strings, but
that only created an even more bizarre atmosphere.
The feeling of an old, worn-down entertainment facility.
[Hmm. It doesn’t seem to be properly maintained.]
However, our attention to the facility lasted only a moment.
Because an even more shocking sight was spreading out around us.
The passengers who got off together with us.
The long-term missing persons who had spilled out of the train doors,
forcing their way through, the moment they stepped onto the platform of
Midnight Station after leaving the train...
Their true forms were revealed.
"...!!"
Worn and tattered clothes, decayed coats, hair completely disheveled and
filthy, hollow eyes and gaunt bodies.
The appearance of people who had been isolated and abandoned for a long
time.
Freed from the train’s effect of ’showing the rider’s appearance as it was at
first’, they clearly looked like long-term missing persons.
A chilling shock wrapped around the group.
Still, this level of horror might have been somewhat familiar to people who
had entered all kinds of dangerous ghost stories.
What was truly shocking was something else. For example...
Their bodies were fragmented.
"..."
Arms, legs, sometimes hands, eyeballs, noses, ears, hair. All kinds of
absences were visible on their bodies.
It wasn’t limited to a single part, nor was there any pattern. Some had
reached the point where they couldn’t walk or even move properly.
They tried to move as they once had, only to keep falling over, crawling, or
slamming into the screen doors with dull thuds.
And yet, they kept moving.
Up there.
Toward the stairs, trying to reach the concourse.
’The exhibition...’
The sight before me reminded me of the Manor of the Blind, and the faces
of both current and former Field Exploration Team members, who had
nearly died there, tightened with recalled tension.
But there was a clear difference from the visitors and victims of that place.
The finish.
"...It’s too clean."
As if pulled out of a doll or molded clay, the connection points where body
parts were missing were unnaturally neat.
There were even sections that looked impossible to have been cut by any
human tool, entire portions missing, so that when they moved, you could
see empty air pressing into the silhouette of their clothes.
The strangeness that came from that.
That sight, which madly stimulated the uncanny valley, created an even
more chilling scene in contrast to the long-term missing persons’ usual
ragged, ruined appearance...
And the sense of foreboding.
’...Why did they end up like that?’
What exactly was happening at this ’casino’ station. All kinds of guesses
and keywords brushed through my mind.
All the more so because we were experienced.
"..."
"..."
"Please wait for a moment."
We responded with silent agreement.
As Section Chief Lee Jaheon, whose glove had once again returned in a
worn state, changed into a spare, we stood quietly on the platform and
waited.
We waited until the frenzied movement of the long-term missing persons
subsided somewhat.
Then we slowly began to move.
Toward the stairs.
And the moment we stepped onto them, we realized it.
From above, a faintly lively sound was drifting down.
Piano, brass instruments, strings.
A melody that seemed to coax and entice.
[Ah, a cheap jazz recording. In the right time and place, it might be
romantic in its own way, but right now, it only highlights the facility’s
decline...]
"...Anyone feel like you’re paying more attention to the music, or feeling
something strange? ...No. Okay. Let’s go."
We moved upward slowly, careful not to collide with the ’passengers’ who
couldn’t climb the stairs properly and were flailing or tumbling down.
And finally, the concourse should have come into view, but...
"...!"
The space in front of the stairs was blocked by a wall.
A wall finished with tiles.
And attached to that wall were only a door and a small unmanned counter.
There were words written on the door...
Royal Casino
Open for Business
Enjoy a Fantastic Experience
"...Judging from the situation, it seems all the missing persons went in
here."
The music was coming from beyond it.
As if beckoning us in.
"If Assistant Manager Dolphin also got off at this station, there’s a high
chance she’s inside."
Huu.
Assistant Manager Eun Haje rubbed her own shoulder.
"Should we knock?"
"If we die doing that..."
"Then we just end the exploration early."
Knock knock.
The assistant manager knocked on the door.
Then, from the small unmanned counter next to the door, a small sign with
a pen attached popped out with a thud.
"...!"
I immediately turned my head to check it. It was...
"An unmanned pawnshop?"
It was a kind of usage guide.
※ We exchange body parts for casino coins. ※
Please indicate the body part you wish to exchange on the enclosed form
to confirm the applicable rate.
Afterward, submit the form at the counter.
"...!"
"Fuck."
That was how we roughly confirmed the system.
"...It’s a body-part trafficking casino."
The wiki page updated.
Sekwang Subway Map
– Sekwang Station (Forest of Final Moments)
– Midnight Station (Casino of Corporeity)
– (Unregistered)
– (Unregistered)
– (Unregistered)
– (Unregistered)
– (Unregistered)
Casino of Corporeity.
Midnight Station (Casino of Corporeity)
A subway station of Sekwang Special Metropolitan City in
which a gambling establishment known as the ’■■ City
Royal Casino’ is located.
Originally, it was a casino within a hotel connected to the
subway and operated as a tourist facility for foreign
visitors. However, on the day of the disaster at Sekwang
City, it underwent a transformation in search of a new
form of monetary value.
In response to users who no longer possessed valuables
suitable for exchange, the casino introduced new
exchange items.
Of those who evacuated to this station on the day of the
disaster, more than ninety percent are currently deceased
or wandering as addicts.
’Seriously.’
It had truly become conditions worthy of a high-level ghost story...
And the most dangerous part was this.
"...Looks like you have to sell something to enter."
But.
"Makes it easy then."
Assistant Manager Eun Haje began writing a sentence on the form attached
behind the sign without hesitation.
Left hand
"Ms. Civilian!"
"I don’t have one hand in reality anyway, and I’ve got replacement
equipment ready right now, so this is the right call. Let’s not waste time."
And astonishingly, rough handwriting, like something scrawled hastily,
began to rise up from the paper.
Left hand 32 coins
Is that the price?
"There’s no way to tell what kind of value that has. How many coins does
one game even cost."
Scratching her head, Assistant Manager Eun Haje suddenly, without any
discussion, slipped the paper into the counter.
The paper disappeared into the darkness. Then it sounded like coins
clinking from inside the counter...
"Ugh."
Blood began to spurt from Assistant Manager Eun Haje’s wrist.
"...!"
"Assistant Manager."
I hurriedly took out a hemostatic agent and brought it to Assistant Manager
Eun Haje’s mouth. The same one from Daydream’s infirmary.
When Assistant Manager Eun Haje swallowed the hemostatic agent, the
bleeding stopped, and the area around her wrist was revealed...
Her left hand was gone.
And then.
Clink.
A small pouch popped out from the counter.
"So these are the coins?"
Assistant Manager Eun Haje lifted the pouch, about to check inside.
At that moment.
I felt others’ gazes.
"..."
The long-term missing persons who had been struggling on the stairs were
all looking this way.
More precisely, at the pouch Assistant Manager Eun Haje was holding.
"..."
Click.
The door opened, and multicolored light spilled out from within.
"Let’s go in now."
Assistant Manager Eun Haje urgently pulled coins from the pouch and
roughly handed one or two to each of us, then started moving. We took
them at once and followed her toward the door...
Bang.
The door closed right in front of us.
"...!"
I reflexively grabbed the doorknob, only to realize it was blocked by some
kind of force.
"...It seems only the person who made the trade can enter."
Huu.
At least, when the pouch disappeared, the long-term missing persons also
turned their gazes away...
"...So anyone trying to go inside will have to exchange one body part
each."
That’s right.
Which body part to give up in order to enter.
[Oh, Friend... If you’re looking to have some fun, I can introduce you to a
much more proper place.]
’...We’re here to work, so I’ll just gratefully accept the thought.’
I calmed my good friend, who was saying something terrifying, and
continued thinking.
’Which part should I cut.’
In the meantime, there was already someone who had reached a conclusion.
Right ring finger 4 coins
Section Chief Lee Jaheon.
"Did you choose the finger you use the least?"
"Yes."
"Oh, Mr. Citizen, is there a reason you didn’t put your toes on the list of
candidates?"
"I considered the risk of issues with my center of balance during movement
in emergencies."
"Hmm. You know how to choose well~"
Everyone’s criteria were similar. They were selling parts that were least
likely to be used independently.
What was surprising was that Baek Saheon, after some thought, made the
same choice as Section Chief Lee Jaheon.
I thought he would dig in his heels and refuse to enter.
’Is it because it’s a casino.’
I could feel a desire to gain something.
’...Hm.’
"Only 7 coins for an appendix? These bastards must’ve eaten a lot of
people."
"It would be better to choose something else, considering internal
bleeding."
I watched as the agents, after deliberation, sold the left and right ring
fingers respectively.
In the end, when you judge wisely, decisions tend to converge in similar
ways.
Still, I had a bad feeling.
’...It feels like the coins won’t be enough.’
We had no idea what would happen inside, so wouldn’t it be better to secure
something like emergency funds.
"Then we write everything down in one go, submit it, and go straight in.
Alright, you’ve all got it?"
"Yes."
"Good. You answer decisively. Let’s go."
I watched Section Chief Lee Jaheon submit his form first, bind his glove to
stop the bleeding, collect the pouch from the counter, and enter the casino
door.
The others, who had already filled out their forms in pen, moved in unison.
"Agent Grapes."
As I watched Agent Bronze pick up the pouch that came out of the counter,
I took hold of my own form.
And then...
I picked up the pen again and erased what was written.
Right ring finger 4 coins
"Agent!"
Right eye 35 coins
I threw it straight into the counter.
The moment blood burst into my vision, sight on the right side itself
disappeared.
"Just now...!!"
"I, I’m fine."
I’m not fine. It hurts too much. It hurt so badly I could genuinely cuss out a
storm. It wouldn’t have been strange if tears had poured from the eye that
was still there.
’And the assistant manager sold an entire hand?’
Did I think I was Xiahou Dun[1] or something? Please!
I snatched the heavy pouch that came out of the counter and ran through the
open door. At the same time, Agent Bronze practically dragged me inside
by the arm, and the door closed.
Click.
"Are you insane?!"
"Stop it. That won’t make the eye reattach."
Assistant Manager Eun Haje quickly intervened and checked my condition.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes."
I hastily swallowed the emergency medication from Daydream’s infirmary
to stop the bleeding, then answered.
The pain gradually subsided. I was too scared to try the bold move of
checking my reflection on the smartphone screen, so I looked at the others’
severed parts instead.
’...There are wounds.’
Then why had the long-term missing persons’ cross-sections been so
unnaturally smooth.
’Was it contamination after all?’
Keeping that in mind, I scanned our surroundings.
Agent Bronze looked like he had a lot to say, but when Agent Choi grabbed
his shoulder, he pressed down on his mask and turned his head away.
’Huu.’
"Return all the coins you received from Assistant Manager Falcon to her."
"Ah, sure. Let’s do that."
Baek Saheon looked displeased, but perhaps reading the room, he handed
back the coins he had received from Assistant Manager Eun Haje.
I also politely handed over the fairy-tale coin with cheap metallic coating
that I had been holding.
Then I took in the casino interior.
’It feels similar to the platform.’
It seemed we were still at the entrance of the casino.
Colorful pea bulbs, the gambling colors typical of a casino. Black, gold, and
red overflowed everywhere, and people who had lost body parts sat in
corners, muttering to themselves.
There were no staff in sight.
Instead, there were broken slot machines scattered around, and slot
machines that were still operating.
It felt bizarre, like someone had turned on a casino that had been abandoned
and left to rot.
The sight of long-term missing persons crowding around the still-operating
slot machines, feeding in coins, stirred an ominous feeling.
"There’s something like a pawnshop over there too. It’s right next to the
door we came in through, so... does that mean the inside of that counter
connects over there?"
"...It looks like a place where the body parts exchanged for coins are
stored."
That’s right.
Right next to the door we came in through. Beyond the glass, clouded with
grime and dust, countless ’stored’ body parts could be seen.
And at the only open counter in that glass partition, I confirmed another use
for the coins.
Today’s Casino Coin Products
"As expected."
Items exchangeable for coins were listed.
Water 1 coin
■■ canned food 2 coins
Kitchen knife 4 coins
Pig’s head 7 coins
Left ear 21 coins
Whipped cream cake 53 coins
Gas stove 152 coins
Golden goblet 256 coins
Bathtub of Youth 1,810 coins
※ For other items and premium products, please inquire at the counter.
[I see a nostalgic name on the list. To think they’d handle it in a shabby
place like this.]
There was one familiar item that caught my eye. But more important clues
were written there as well.
"There’s food."
Even if the prices were absurdly extortionate, the important thing was that it
could be obtained at all.
"...Do you think Assistant Manager Dolphin got off the train expecting
this?"
She probably couldn’t have predicted it in detail.
But she likely had some expectations.
"When a lot of people get off, wouldn’t you judge that there’s a high chance
there’s something helpful for survival?"
Outside, Sekwang Special Metropolitan City was an annihilation-
sanctioned ghost story.
The subway itself was entirely an unknown ghost story.
If contamination couldn’t be avoided, and danger couldn’t be avoided
either.
And if the train announcement even mentioned a casino, then choosing a
place that at least looked like you could obtain supplies was the best option.
’No one getting off would be the real danger sign.’
I guessed that Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae must have made the same
judgment.
And then.
"...Everyone, take a look over there."
Agent Choi pointed to a worn banner hanging above the list of coin
products.
Royal Casino Exclusive
Premium Product
Emergency Exit 10,000 coins
That much-talked-about product that lets you leave anywhere. A high-end
transportation method for busy ■■ contemporary people, a luxury item for
the top 0.01 percent.
"Couldn’t that be our escape method?"
"...That’s definitely possible."
Setting aside the insane part where you’d have to gather 10,000 coins, when
even selling an eyeball only gave you 35 coins.
’Huu.’
I reflexively raised a hand to my empty eye, then met Agent Bronze’s gaze
with my remaining eye and spoke as if explaining myself.
"It’s fine. I chose it considering this is a casino."
Even with only one eye, gambling isn’t a big problem.
’Depth perception isn’t that critical a factor in gambling.’
That goes doubly so if this place really lives up to the name casino.
’Casinos are mostly cards and slot machines.’
In that case, losing an ear or a hand would be pose more of a problem. Not
being able to distinguish the sound of cards being dealt on both sides, or
being unable to perform tasks that require both hands, would be far more
fatal.
And besides.
’If Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae made a judgment similar to mine...’
...
"Found it."
At last, among the many body fragments displayed in the pawnshop, my
attention landed on one item.
A black iris with a clear pupil, gleaming green.
Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae’s eye.
"...Looks like she made the same judgment as you, Roe. Smart ones really
are different."
Assistant Manager Eun Haje said this while clenching and unclenching her
left hand, which had been replaced with equipment.
"If you sell a hand, problems bloom when you’re gambling. There’s a
reason they chop off hands in gambling movies."
"...How does a civilian know that?"
"Let’s call it extensive experience for reporting. Anyway, it seems certain
that Assistant Manager Dolphin got off at this station."
...
"The question is whether she’s still here."
And one more thing.
How many parts she had lost by now.
’...Let’s search quickly.’
My body moved on its own from impatience.
"Then let’s split into pairs and search—"
"Hellooo."
...
I froze where I was.
"Is this your first time visiting Royal Casino? Looks like you were checking
out the products, dear guest."
A familiar voice.
"I came out to inform you that since your group’s exchange amount exceeds
50 coins, you can enjoy games other than slot machines."
I turned my head.
A dealer of this casino, who had come out to greet new customers, was
standing behind us.
"This way, please."
Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae.
She was looking at us with a face missing one eye.
Note/s:
[1] Xiaohou Dun – a general and politician during the late Han Dynasty of
China who’s known for losing one eye to an arrow. ↵