Chapter 90

Each alley in the ghost story “Death Row” has its own theme, much like shopping districts in reality, where stores in similar trades or selling similar materials cluster together.

Of course, these alleys appear completely unpredictably, and some appear more often than others.

Death Row alleys identified so far:

1. Street Stalls

2. Bookshops

3. Pets

4. Jewelry

5. Everyday Goods

6. Lighting

7. Meat

...

The alley we had just entered sold everyday goods.

And I was heading straight for what looked, even at a glance, like the very last shop anyone would want to enter.

A butcher shop hung with living organs and chunks of flesh.

They writhed and wriggled.

'J-just think of it as a haunted house.'

It was fine. There wasn't anything hanging there that... still looked the way it had in life. They were all separate parts. Just, just think of it as an amusement park attraction using animatronics...

Wait, didn't thinking of amusement parks bring Gaiety Theme Park to mind and make it even scarier?!

'C-calm down.'

I couldn't back down.

Struggling to act unruffled, I strode toward the butcher shop.

Raw Food Butcher Shop

Beneath the window bathed in red and blue light, the proprietor looked up from sharpening a meat knife against a whetstone.

An enormous figure in a blood-soaked apron.

On closer inspection...

A raggedly flayed cow was turning its head—a mass of flesh—to look at us.

It nodded.

Then beckoned us closer... as though promising to treat its customers well.

“S-supervisor, wait!”

Kang Ihak blocked my path.

“Haha, uh, um. I don't think there's anything we need in that shop. Let's try another one!”

“The proprietor's already beckoned us over. I'd feel bad not going in.”

-Ah, quite right. It's only good manners!

“No!”

Realizing immediately that she had raised her voice, Kang Ihak quickly lowered it and spoke urgently.

“It said never to enter an alley with meat in it...!”

She was right.

If you encounter a meat-themed alley in Death Row, do not enter under any circumstances. Remain in your current alley.

If unavoidable circumstances (e.g., being pursued by a merchant) have already forced you inside, block your hearing with earphones or similar devices and complete 1,000 steps as quickly as possible to reach the next alley.

If a companion is detained by an offer of a free sample, we recommend leaving them behind and proceeding at a faster pace.

The manual's entries gave me the chills just reading them.

“That's right.”

“Ah, so you do remember? Then...”

“So?”

“...!?”

“I want to shop.”

And I walked steadily toward the butcher shop.

“M-Mr. Roe Deer...!”

Sorry, Jang Heoun! You're welcome to run...!

But I heard two sets of footsteps following me. Apparently, both of them had decided to come along.

Hmm. I'd thought they'd run.

*'Maybe I was the one who wanted to run most of all... '＊

But if I stopped and backed down now, I felt I would get dragged along by my fellow recruit's schemes again, so I kept going.

Eventually, the three of us stood together before the brightly lit butcher shop with its display of writhing body parts...

Naturally, I was in front.

Ha.

...

The flayed cow looked at me.

'Urrrrgh.'

I mustn't look too closely.

I unfocused my eyes and looked around the proprietor's neck, only to hastily shift my gaze to its clothes when I saw blood vessels writhing.

Even blood-soaked clothes were better than that.

“Hello. Do you offer packaging that keeps things fresh?”

It slowly... nodded.

“You have a lot of good cuts. Hmm... would you...”

Pretending to consider, I pointed.

“Could I see some forefeet?”

THUD.

The flayed cow-headed figure rose and opened the glass door.

One by one, it took out “forefeet” and arranged them before my eyes.

... Flesh that still writhed and moved, alive.

An animal's paw.

A primate's hand.

A primate's hand.

A tentacle?

An animal's paw.

A primate's hand...

A human hand, trembling ringed fingers against the glass beneath it as though pleading...

'Urk.'

I had to hold it in.

I looked down, pretending to be unperturbed.

... There wasn't a suitable left hand among them.

'What a shame.'

After enduring this mental anguish, it would have been nice to at least get that out of it.

Pushing thoughts of Deputy Eun Haje away, I considered for a moment before speaking.

“Something with sturdier bones would make better stock... Hmm. Do you have any eyes?”

THUD!

Having had its wares rejected once, the proprietor grew rougher with its hands. Behind me on either side, I faintly heard my fellow recruits hold their breath.

I, too, took a deep breath to suppress my fear.

'The display... '

The forefeet were cleared away, and eyeballs appeared before me.

A black eye with a violet iris.

A blue eyeball the size of a fist.

A lens with flesh still clinging to it.

A white sphere trembling without focus...

An earnest dark-brown eye looking at me.

'Ha.'

I closed my eyes, then opened them.

“That one looks good.”

I pointed at the first one displayed: the black eyeball with the gleaming violet iris.

“I'd like to buy it. Oh, there's no need to slice it up.”

...

The flayed cow stared at me.

Then it held out a hand.

An unmistakable demand for payment.

Kang Ihak whispered very quietly.

“... Supervisor, perhaps we should sound it out about what we need to pay—”

“No.”

I took a box out of my tattoo.

THUD.

A heavy box filled with corn and carrots landed in front of the shop.

“...??”

“...?!”

“I'll pay with this.”

When attempting to barter for goods at this butcher shop, use only foodstuffs that cattle can consume.

Right. Some shops in Death Row used strange currency, but we didn't have any of that to begin with.

'So we have to barter.'

Since every shop accepted different things, however, I'd packed my tattoo full of assorted everyday necessities, jewelry, and snacks...

Including a box of vegetables.

Of course, some shops demanded things no human in their right mind could possibly give up, but here, this was enough.

“How much should I give you for it?”

...

The butcher reached out to take the entire pile of vegetables I had produced.

My companions, who had been aghast at my tattoo-inventory performance, brightened.

“Ah, the transaction's a succe—”

“Hold on. That much?”

“...?!”

I cut in with a frown.

“That's too expensive. Come on, even with freshness-preserving packaging, there's a limit. Getting those all the way here this fresh wasn't easy for me, either...”

“M-Mr. Roe Deer...?!”

My companions turned deathly pale and started looking at me as though I were even crazier, but I kept talking.

“You haven't... raised the price just because I chose to buy it, have you? Is it just a supply issue these days?”

It slowly... nodded.

“... That must be difficult for you. Still, this is over my planned budget, too... Whew.”

I deliberately fell silent.

The proprietor was silent as well.

The flayed cow's head seemed to stare blankly at me before it finally went to what looked like a checkout counter and returned with a handful of coins.

Rusty coins with every number and letter written backward.

This place's currency.

'Aaaah!'

It worked...!!

Some shops didn't accept barter, and you absolutely needed coins to get out of those!

-Ah, everything falls neatly into place. The joys of a prepared script!

I smiled as I accepted the coins.

“... That will do for the change. Thank you. I'll take it.”

...!

The flayed proprietor rose, seemingly excited, and packaged my purchase.

And so the black eyeball, its pupil swiveling madly, ended up in my hand, sealed in a plastic bag of clear liquid.

I struggled not to look closely at either the coins or the merchandise.

“Th...ank you.”

In the midst of all this—

SPLATTER.

The butcher's broad movement sent blood from its apron splashing onto my face.

And Jang Heoun's.

“...!”

Jang Heoun stiffened behind his bison mask and bowed his head.

He seemed to be desperately fighting the urge to vomit...

'Damn it.'

I jumped in and started talking.

“Ah. My friend seems a little weak with hunger. We'd better get back and have something to eat.”

Please, please!

The flayed cow studied Jang Heoun rather closely.

Just before he could break into a cold sweat, rigid as he was—

PLOP.

The shopkeeper dropped something into his hands.

... It was an ear of corn I had used as payment.

“Th-thank you...”

Jang Heoun accepted it with trembling hands.

The shopkeeper stared at him, then sat back down in front of the butcher shop's glass door.

'... We made it.'

We hurried away from the Raw Food Butcher Shop.

As we did, I looked at Jang Heoun's face as he clutched the corn.

More precisely, at what he wore over it.

'... Was it the mask?'

It seemed to have mistaken Jang Heoun for a bison.

As I'd thought, Daydream Inc.'s masks seemed to be far from ordinary. Just like the Dream Essence Collectors.

'Whew.'

Don't Give Up on Your Body!

Steps Remaining: 7999

We only stopped walking when the next alley appeared, and I immediately checked on Jang Heoun.

“Are you all right?”

“Pardon? Ah, yes... There, there wasn't that much blood, and everything was already butchered, so this much is... fine now...”

'Wasn't the fact that it was all neatly butchered and still alive even creepier...?'

But everyone had different fears. I should respect that.

In any case, I was glad he was all right. His color wasn't bad, either.

Just as we were about to move again—

“Wh-what was that just now? How did you make a deal like that...?!”

Kang Ihak finally started asking questions.

Hmm.

'Let's push it one more time...!'

I deliberately replied with a nonchalant question.

“What do you mean?”

“What you just bought! The manual clearly said to avoid alleys with meat in them, so how did you handle everything so smoothly, like you'd prepared for it...?”

I had prepared!

But I couldn't say that, so I answered like this.

“It was too obvious.”

“...?”

“The manual's descriptions of meat-related shops were of a restaurant district. Eating the food generally seems to be what causes problems...”

I lifted the bag containing my purchase.

“But this is a butcher shop. I surmised I could simply buy something without eating it.”

“...!”

“And judging by the way the goods were displayed...”

I turned the bag to show her the bizarre black eyeball.

“Since it's alive, I thought I could use it in another way. That's why I bought it.”

“...”

“For instance... an organ transplant.”

“...!”

Right.

Explorers didn't buy things at the Raw Food Butcher Shop to eat them.

An exploration employee successfully attached a tongue purchased at the Raw Food Butcher Shop inside their mouth. It functions without issue and is capable of various movements impossible for humans.

Attach one of that butcher shop's “parts,” packaged alive to preserve freshness, where a body part is missing, and it works.

Sometimes, it even comes with the abilities the part originally possessed.

Of course, approaching that butcher shop and trying to buy something without knowing any of this really would be insane!

So I ran my mouth.

“In places like this, creative deductions from limited clues are important.”

Yeah. No.

*'Trying to profit from imagining things based on limited clues is a pretty good way to die... '＊

Everyone knew that sort of thing was a desperate last resort when there was no apparent way to escape...!

But I had to act calm and crazy, so I had no choice. Crazy bastards always had their own incredible logic, after all.

“My deduction proved correct. Is there a problem?”

Plenty, I'd imagine!

Sure enough, Kang Ihak was staring at me with her mouth hanging open.

Yes, you must find this absurd, to—

“Wow!”

Whoa, that startled me.

“You're absolutely right!”

...?!

Her eyes flashed behind her pony mask.

“No, wow, right. You have to think differently from everyone else to make big profits... Have I been playing it too safe all this time, worrying about risks and whatnot?”

“...”

“Life's all or nothing anyway, isn't it! Hahaha! Right!”

W-wait a minute.

Something was wrong here...

“Come on, let's keep going. Wow, it's been a while since I've met a superior worth learning from!”

“...”

That was when I realized.

'The Silver Heart Badge!'

I still had the Silver Heart Badge pinned inside my pocket.

'I ran my mouth with it on and actually persuaded her!'

The problem was, this was still strange.

According to its lore, the Silver Heart Badge was a tool for persuasion, not brainwashing.

Meaning it only worked when both logical validity and emotional resonance were present.

'Normally, she shouldn't be persuaded by something this absurdly insane...'

“I'll be sure to support all your exploits from now on, Supervisor! Haha.”

“...”

Ah.

I got it.

This person... actually found the insane logic I was spouting plausible.

'What kind of person are you?'

Cold sweat broke out down my back.

Grasping at one last straw, I turned to my normal colleague.

'Heoun, at least you could... '

“Yes, I'll do my best to support you, too!”

“...”

Where had things gone wrong with this one?

Jang Heoun wore an expression that said, “Wow! He helped me again! I'm so grateful!”

He was already fully convinced.

-Congratulations. You've won the trust of your coworkers, my friend!

“...”

Yeah.

But something... something seemed to have gone wrong.

For now, though, we had no choice but to keep walking to get out of here...

'F-first, let's escape.'

Don't Give Up on Your Body!

Steps Remaining: 6999

Surprisingly, the next alley went smoothly, too.

And so did the one after that.

“Lighting shops. Looking toward the windows could blind or burn you, so let's keep moving with our eyes averted, pretending to talk among ourselves.”

“Yes!”

Alleys lined with all manner of bizarre and mysterious shops.

Still, since I already knew the manual, it felt like taking a quiz after memorizing the textbook cover to cover.

But since even one wrong answer meant death, I remained on edge...

“Oh! A pharmacy! Should I try buying something there this time? What do you think, Supervisor? You're fine with that too, Mr. Bison?”

“Yes! I'm fine with it!”

“... It doesn't seem particularly worthwhile. Let's keep moving for now.”

“Ah, of course, we should save our funds for something big. Haha!”

Now they were taking it for granted that I'd boldly buy something else...?

What made me sweat most was the sense that my colleagues would support it wholeheartedly.

Meanwhile, I hadn't seen a single shop likely to stock the chocolate I'd come here for.

Even stealing glances around without meeting the shopkeepers' eyes was killing me. Whew...

Then it happened.

Don't Give Up on Your Body!

Steps Remaining: 4999

“Ah, Supervisor. A new alley's appeared...”

I stopped and looked at the gap between the medicine shops.

From inside... came a stench.

'Urgh.'

It was an extremely narrow back alley.

It looked less than half as wide as the alley with the street stalls... and it was overwhelmingly dark.

“...”

WHOOO.

Old side doors crowded together in an eerie row along the alley. Of the sparse gas lamps, only one or two points of light barely flickered...

In that dim light, thick, sewage-like filth could be glimpsed flowing from pipes beside the doors, then vanished from sight again.

And beneath the gas lamps, figures with bizarre silhouettes leaned against the walls, emaciated and bent-backed.

A glance.

Dressed in filthy, worn-out uniforms, they were staring at us.

... All things considered:

'Even if I didn't know this was a ghost story, I'd turn around and leave immediately.'

An eerie, chilling air hung over the alley, making it impossible to imagine any normal transaction taking place there.

“... This wasn't in the manual.”

That was correct.

At this point, Daydream Inc. had yet to actually explore it. To the employees, it was an unfamiliar, unknown alley.

... The problem was...

'I have to go in there...'

I wanted to cry.

And somehow... the fact that I probably wouldn't need to persuade them to enter even a place this insane... made me want to cry a little, too...

With mixed feelings, I turned to my colleagues and spoke.

“Let's go into that alley.”

And these were their reactions.

“Yes...!”

“Looks like a place that sells stolen goods! Wow, guaranteed high returns!”

“...”

Please, let me be the only crazy bastard around here...!