Chapter 47

Supervisor Park Minseong sat beside the sofa in the terrace room where they were hiding, holding back a sigh.

'This feels like it's taking too long.'

It had already been over seventy minutes since Kim Soleum had gone downstairs with his fellow recruits.

He had said it might take this long, but he had also quietly left them instructions in case neither he nor the others returned within two hours...

["... You don't have to wait for us or come looking."]

He meant they should leave him behind if things went wrong.

'I should have just gone with them.'

Park Minseong suppressed a sigh.

Daydream Inc. might be an every-person-for-themselves sort of place, but some units in the Field Exploration Team had a strong sense of camaraderie. Team D was particularly close-knit.

Even Deputy Eun Haje looked a little troubled, sighing on the sofa as she revised their rough map of this Darkness.

'... I'd hoped Roe Deer would stay with our team even after his rookie period ended.'

Now, getting out of here alive had to come first.

Park Minseong felt a little depressed, but he did have something to put his faith in.

'Team Leader Lee Jaheon approved it.'

That meant the item really had looked useful.

He had no idea where a rookie could have gotten something like that, but people like that did occasionally join the company.

People who had already spent their lives entangled in urban legends and ghost stories.

'Is that what this is?'

Would you call that a knack for surviving bad luck?

Even in the Field Exploration Team, an all-hands mobilization that sent rookies into such a dangerous Darkness usually happened once a year, if that.

Thinking of Kim Soleum being sent into one after another, starting with the theme park, nearly brought him to tears...

'At least he's getting plenty of points out of it.'

Park Minseong held back a sigh and looked toward the terrace door.

There stood a figure who looked perfectly composed, the complete opposite of his own troubled state.

Team Leader Lee Jaheon.

He was waiting right in front of the terrace door, utterly motionless.

He was probably measuring the time with that uncannily precise internal clock of his.

And when the countdown ended, he would get up without hesitation and proceed according to plan.

Park could only hope that plan wasn't based on the premise that Employee Kim Soleum had no prospect of survival and should therefore be excluded from the escape plan.

'No, I just hope Roe Deer comes back before then...'

Aside from the occasional scream, it was cruelly quiet outside.

'No footsteps.'

If Roe Deer had finished, surely the first thing he would hear would be three sets of quiet footsteps...

[Can you hear me?]

"...!?"

Park Minseong sprang to his feet.

Beside him, Deputy Eun Haje had risen reflexively as well.

[I have an announcement regarding escape.]

[There is no time to repeat this. Please pay close attention.]

It was the voice of Kim Soleum.

The Team D rookie they had been waiting for.

[The entrance is on floor zero.]

[Let me explain. The entrance is on floor zero. Follow the stairs down until you reach the section that turns bronze...]

That was definitely Roe Deer.

And with this extraordinary rookie, it wouldn't be that strange if he had found yet another peculiar method of making something like a public announcement... But.

... What were the odds that something inhuman was imitating Kim Soleum?

"..."

The two Team D members exchanged a quick glance, then left the judgment to the person with the final say.

Their team leader, who could judge such matters with absolute coolheadedness and uncanny intuition.

"..."

Standing near the terrace door, Lee Jaheon heard the "announcement" more clearly than anyone.

[You must use the spiral staircase.]

He had been staring into space as though deep in thought... Then he declared,

"We're moving out."

* * *

[That is all.]

At last, I finished the message I had repeated six times.

From floor one through floor six.

'Does that cover all the aboveground floors?'

I'd actually considered announcing it only on floor one, where Team D was, but Go Youngeun had enthusiastically supported broadcasting it everywhere.

["Y-you can do that? Then we should save whoever we can!"]

A remark befitting a medical professional.

But from here on, it was up to each person's judgment.

'I didn't identify the company, just in case, though I did work in a few terms the Field Exploration Team uses...'

Even so, some might remain suspicious and refuse to come out.

There was also nothing I could do if they had the bad luck to encounter their floor's attendant machine while heading for the stairs.

Surely surviving, even at the cost of a body part or two, was better than dying as a human grub trapped in this insane exhibition.

'It'll also spread out the machines that might otherwise come after Team D.'

I cleared my throat.

"Ah, ah."

Braun must have taken the hint and withdrawn his power. The strange resonance in my throat and lungs was gone.

'Thanks.'

"Words of gratitude are always a pleasure to hear!"

Braun replied cheerfully, though his voice sounded a little tired.

But beside me, an irritated voice spoke up in disbelief.

"Why waste points like that? The more people escape, the fewer points each person gets."

There he went, saying something utterly rotten again.

And he didn't even know what he was talking about.

"Are you an idiot? If even a rookie like you can escape, you think there aren't veterans who'll find the exit without our help?"

"...!"

Some employees would escape on their own, whether because their items and Exclusive Equipment were a perfect fit for the situation or because they were simply that capable.

According to <Records of Dark Exploration>, seven people were guaranteed to escape anyway. Even without my doing this, each person's share would have been one-eighth or less.

In other words, this wasn't a ghost story you could make a points windfall from.

But instead of explaining all that, I simply smiled.

"Taking credit at times like this makes life at the company more entertaining... And I get to observe all sorts of reactions."

"..."

Baek Saheon turned away, looking thoroughly repulsed.

'Do you have a conscience?'

After what you just said, I'm the one who should be reacting like that, you ghost-story-universe sociopath.

But worried that I might have horrified Go Youngeun too, I called to the person ahead of me.

"Ms. Mountain Goat."

"..."

"Ms. Mountain Goat?"

"... Wait. Did you just call me?"

"...!"

No way.

"... I think... I'm starting to have trouble hearing."

"..."

I looked at the spots where Go Youngeun's ears had been, covered by her hair.

I had no idea what they had sewn into those empty spaces, but the hearing devices they had "loaned" her were losing their function.

In a remarkably short amount of time.

'Why now...?'

"Still, it's not like I can't hear anything. And there's still a fair bit of candle left, so I think we can make it if we're careful."

"Yes."

To make my response clearer, I gently tapped her shoulder.

She flinched slightly, then resolutely began descending the stairs...

Baek Saheon spoke urgently.

"I'd better carry that item. Hand it over."

"And what if Ms. Mountain Goat accidentally turns around in the process?"

"..."

Baek Saheon shut his mouth.

Tense, we began making our way down six floors of stairs.

STEP. STEP.

Only the echo of our footsteps filled the stairwell.

It seemed no one had come rushing out after hearing my announcement yet...

"Excuse me."

Go Youngeun called to us.

"Yes?"

"..."

Couldn't she hear me?

"Um, you're still there, right?"

I patted her back very gently. Looking distinctly reluctant, Baek Saheon tapped her shoulder too.

"Oh... Thank you."

Reassured, Go Youngeun tightened both hands around the candle again.

We resumed our descent.

STEP. STEP.

After a stretch of silence that felt like an eternity...

We reached floor one.

SCREEEECH...

The sounds of attendant machines following their routes echoed from every direction.

One was passing right beside us... dragging a dead human grub it had collected.

"... I'll head for the spiral staircase now."

"Yes."

Go Youngeun's voice had grown louder.

As if she could barely hear and could no longer control her volume.

'It's fine. We're almost there.'

Instead, I walked calmly and cautiously, listening in every direction so I could react quickly.

I don't think that was the wrong response.

The problem was that danger sometimes arrived regardless of how well we prepared.

For example... while every ounce of my attention was focused on listening, an entirely unrelated obstacle appeared.

"Huh?"

The person in front of me vanished from view.

I looked down and saw Go Youngeun falling.

Something shiny slipped beneath her feet.

A telephoto lens.

The transparent, practically invisible rental had fallen from the corpse the attendant machine was dragging, rolled over, and slipped between her feet with exquisite timing...

THUD.

I grabbed Go Youngeun.

But her arm had already struck the floor, knocking the candle out of her grasp.

"No—!"

I instinctively caught the candle and tossed it to Baek Saheon, but...

It was too late.

The candle went out.

"..."

"... Hah!"

The attendant machine turned toward us.

WHOOSH.

A metal blade flew at us.

"Eek!"

I rolled sideways. A shrill groan came from beside me.

Setting down the corpse it had been carrying, the attendant machine raised its gas lamp and shone it on us.

It had clearly confirmed that all of us had outstanding fees.

Having thus rearranged its "priorities," the monster sent the needlelike appendage on its upper abdomen flying at us again.

Starting with the nearest pair of eyes...

"Mr. Roe Deer."

A familiar voice.

"Duck."

Reflexively, I pushed down on the backs of both recruits' heads and dropped to the floor.

CLANG.

A deafening metallic crash and a shower of sparks erupted overhead.

"...!"

It was Section Chief Lee Jaheon.

The field exploration employee with his absurd strength ruthlessly knocked the attendant machine's needle aside.

TING.

The broken needle tip flew off and embedded itself in the corridor wall. The attendant machine twisted its joints with a strange scraping sound.

Holy shit.

'That thing can break?'

Section Chief Lee Jaheon drew back his gloved hand. I couldn't say for certain, but it wouldn't have surprised me if he'd broken bones too.

He was gripping something metallic like a set of brass knuckles...

The terrace door handle.

"...!"

An alarm went off in my head. That was...

'Damage to exhibition property.'

* * *

Any prohibited acts committed within the exhibition hall, including disturbances, theft, and damage to property, will be subject to immediate intervention by an Attendant, and corresponding fines will be collected.

* * *

He had even damaged an attendant machine.

Even if the exhibition didn't treat this as a criminal offense and merely politely demanded an apology for the disturbance and payment for the damage...

One thing was certain.

He would be the attendant machines' overwhelming priority.

And that wouldn't apply only to the machine in front of us, but to every attendant machine in this area...

"Team Leader."

"Yes."

"Let's run."

I threw myself forward.

SCREEEECH, SKREE, BZZZT, SCRAPE, CLICK, SCREECH, SCREEEEEECH...

I heard the damaged attendant machine moving with unprecedented aggression.

Beside me, my fellow recruits were running like mad. Section Chief Lizard was... No, hold on!

"Team Leader!!"

"Yes."

"Stop fighting and run!"

'Section Chief Lizard may be ridiculously strong, but he can't destroy every attendant machine here!'

Just imagining what might happen if the disturbance escalated that far made my head spin.

'... They even censored it in Records of Dark Exploration!!'

I didn't even want to imagine how that redacted content would manifest in reality.

SCREEEECH.

'Fuck!'

We ran into another attendant machine on the way to the stairs.

No, one more.

"Nnngh!"

I hurled myself between the stabbing needles. A searing pain flared in my arm.

Even as I ran, animal instinct told me.

'They'll catch us.'

The human body simply wasn't capable of this.

Before we reached floor zero, the attendant machines would catch every one of us and collect their fees.

A chill ran down my back.

'... What can I do?'

I was out of breath. My oxygen-starved brain wasn't working properly.

Resignation crept in instead.

'I suppose... I've held out a long time.'

My thoughts slowed, and footsteps reverberated in my ears, as if even sound were splitting into multiple layers.

As though dozens of people were running...

No, wait!

"...?!"

I realized.

It wasn't that the footsteps merely sounded multiplied.

There really were more people now.

Those were the footsteps of not two people, but at least ten.

"Mr. Roe Deer, these people heard your splendid announcement and seized their chance!"

"...!"

They were Field Exploration Team employees.

Those visitors had been watching the situation, and now seemed to be trying to reach the spiral staircase amid the commotion.

That produced an unexpected effect.

The attendant machines wavered, calculating their priorities based on the seriousness of each offense and their respective distances from the visitors.

People with unpaid fees were popping out everywhere and running.

"Hurry!"

Seizing that momentary opening, we gritted our teeth and hurled ourselves toward the stairs too.

SCREEEEEECH.

I drove my legs like mad.

Just as the horrifying noise drew closer behind us...

The stairs ended, and a silver hall opened before us.

The lobby.

And... the front entrance!

"Go!"

Deputy Eun Haje and Supervisor Park Minseong were holding the doors open.

I ran like mad.

Almost the instant I set foot in front of the main doors, my superiors hurled themselves through the exit.

I followed, practically falling through.

After running until my breath tasted sickly sweet, the moment I passed through the light-filled doorway...

"Hah!!"

I opened my eyes.

I saw a ceiling fitted with clean fluorescent lights.

A moderately wide, modern corridor.

I was outside the conference room on the company's thirty-first floor.

I'd escaped.

"Hah..."

I collapsed facedown in the corridor.

I heard people rushing out of the main conference room, but I had neither the mental nor physical energy left to pay attention.

With every last drop of strength wrung out of me, in my hazy mind...

An alert sounded.

[Records of Dark Exploration Real Goods Box]

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