Chapter 261: Ch 261: What are they addicted to?
Inside the train that departed from Sekwang City.
Tudududuk...
The sound of the train car running along the rails echoed, and the hand
straps swayed with the vibration. It was a modern, ordinary space.
Only after we leapt in just before the screen doors closed did we finally lift
our heads and properly take in our surroundings.
"..."
The inside of the train was clean.
As if it were a lie.
And...
Every seat was occupied.
"..."
On the typical subway seats stretching along both sides, people with
ordinary appearances, dressed in everyday clothes, were packed in.
There wasn’t even the slightest sign of contamination.
Some wore earphones, others stared at their smartphones. The peaceful
atmosphere was so convincing that for a moment, it almost made us think
that by boarding the train, we had returned to reality.
But.
Tudududuk...
This suffocating silence.
’...There’s no reaction.’
Even if five or six people wearing animal and character masks suddenly
poured into the car, you’d expect at least a glance. Yet only silence flowed.
Those seated, and those standing while holding the straps.
All of them simply remained still, expressionless.
As if they had seen nothing at all.
"..."
"..."
The group exchanged looks and quietly stepped back.
’To another car.’
Since we had jumped in through the train door right in front of the stairs,
there was a high chance that the car we were currently in was especially
crowded with passengers.
And in a ghost story, it’s a wise decision not to stumble into situations that
would unnecessarily invite trouble.
’Let’s not make contact.’
With an unspoken agreement to move to a car with fewer passengers, no
one acted rashly as we moved into the adjacent car.
Taking extreme care not to brush against any of the passengers.
’Huu.’
At the same time, I tried to grasp the peculiarities of the train.
The advertisement panels.
[Hmm. The color scheme is somewhat tacky, but they’re clean.]
That’s right.
’Spot on.’
From a design standpoint, they weren’t entirely recent advertisements, yet
strangely, there was no sense of time having passed.
However, since only names and numbers were chaotically tangled together
or missing, it was impossible to guess the year or actually obtain any
contact information...
As if it had been processed so that it couldn’t be consciously recognized.
"..."
And above the door opposite the advertisements, there was a massive image
that filled the entire surface.
There wasn’t a single letter on the illuminated image, but its symbols and
placement made it possible to guess what it was...
’A subway route map?’
At that moment.
A faint vibration came from the smartphone in my pocket.
"...!"
For an instant, a chill ran down my spine at the realization that I hadn’t set
it to silent, but none of the passengers reacted.
Letting out a sigh of relief only inwardly, I immediately checked the screen.
Newly Registered Page
(1) Sekwang Subway
’...!’
Sekwang Subway
A public transportation system of Sekwang Special
Metropolitan City that is composed of seven stations. It is
a circular line that runs through the city’s major industrial
and residential districts, and at present, the outer loop is
out of service, with only the inner loop in operation.
Upon boarding this train, it appears that one’s outward
condition is restored to the same state as when first
entering the Sekwang City’s underground facilities on the
day of the disaster.
’Outward condition?’
I reflexively scanned the state of the group.
Just then, Section Chief Lee Jaheon raised his hand and grasped the door
handle leading to the next car.
’...! Wait.’
I gestured, asking Section Chief Lee Jaheon to hold his hand still for a
moment.
And then I saw it.
The gloves that had been frayed and half-ruined from tearing apart
countless corpses and nooses earlier had been restored, clean and whole,
exactly as they were before.
Everyone saw it.
"..."
Only after we moved into a car with noticeably fewer passengers did we
finally begin to talk about it.
Of course, with our voices lowered to an extreme.
After confirming that the passengers showed absolutely no reaction to
coughing, footsteps, greetings, or conversation, we stood close to the door
where there were no passengers.
"Section Chief, it looks like your glove has returned to its original state."
"Yes."
Keeping an eye on the emergency door release in case we needed to bolt at
any moment was, indeed, typical of experienced people.
And, true to form, they also quickly caught on to this train’s gimmick.
"Looks like some kind of supernatural phenomenon is happening on this
train where everything gets restored to its original state."
"Yes."
"Hm, if we compare it to a kids’ game, you could call it a recovery spot.
But even so, something about it feels off..."
Assistant Manager Eun Haje rubbed her chin with an expression like she
was craving a cigarette.
And she was right.
’There’s no way a place that safe and comfortable would be sitting out in
the open inside an annihilation-sanctioned ghost story.’
This train was, no matter how you looked at it, part of Sekwang Special
Metropolitan City, and we hadn’t escaped.
I looked down at my smartphone...
"Grapes-ie. What have you been staring at this whole time?"
"...!"
Was I being too obvious?
On top of that, Agent Bronze immediately recognized the nature of the item
attached to the back of my phone.
It was probably because it only differed in color from one of the devices
distributed to agents by the Disaster Management Bureau.
"...A memorial popsocket?"
"It’s similar, but a bit different," I replied.
Is now the right timing?
goblin notes:
I’m so sorry for disappearing for so long! Thesis kept me chained up and
only recently set me free after I finished a Chapter for this semester orz
I usually post announcements on discord whenever I take breaks from
translating, so please join us there if you’d like to catch all other
announcements too~
I hesitated briefly, then decided to explain the relevant information properly.
’We’ll have to share exploration information anyway.’
It would be easier if I could give a source. Since the screen itself wasn’t
visible, there was no risk of revealing the <Dark Exploration Records>.
Of course, I couldn’t say something like, ’Got it from a merch box.
Shocking, right?’ so I phrased it indirectly.
"I acquired a damaged memorial popsocket and had it repaired with the
Elder’s help."
"Our elder?"
"Yes."
In practice, that was more than half true.
And what I was saying was that during the repair process, functions other
than ’reading information already acquired’ would sometimes manifest...
"So when you attach the popsocket and enter a supernatural phenomenon, it
occasionally provides some information about the location?"
"That’s correct."
I nodded.
Before suspicion or doubt could surface on the agents’ faces, I added this as
well.
"...It might be influenced by my state as part of the Security Team."
"..."
The atmosphere sank for a moment, but Agent Choi smiled casually, as if it
were nothing.
Whoosh, and he even let out a quiet whistle.
"Our Grapes-ie, that new ability seems pretty usefu—"
I could feel every passenger’s gaze.
"...!!"
Office workers sitting and standing, students, the elderly, people in training
suits, suits, dresses, jeans. All of them.
They were looking at Agent Choi.
"..."
They turned their heads and stared intently.
When I held my breath and checked, the passengers in the next car were
also looking at us. Without leaving their seats, they turned only their eyes,
and the pressure of those gazes pouring in made it feel like our eyes would
meet no matter where we looked.
"..."
Agent Choi moved his hand, just slightly.
The gazes didn’t change.
Agent Choi took a single step near the door.
The gazes didn’t change.
Agent Choi took the smartphone I held out to him.
The gazes didn’t change.
Agent Choi casually sat down in one of the seats. Then he pretended to look
at the smartphone.
Just like the other passengers.
...
...
The gazes disappeared.
"...Huu."
We quickly moved closer to Agent Choi.
The agent wiped away cold sweat and grinned.
"I thought things were about to blow up."
"I thought my heart was going to drop, Sir Highborn Civil Servant. Ah, that
was a figure of speech, Section Chief."
"Yes."
After a few joking remarks were exchanged, we collected one piece of
information that was confirmed with a sigh.
"A whistle, huh. That’s it."
The reward left behind by a cold-sweat-inducing incident.
—Passengers react to whistling.
’Why?’
"Is it some kind of Pied Piper type? What do you think, Bronze-ie?"
"...It reminds me more of zombies."
Zombies.
’It did look like an instinctive reaction, that’s true.’
I turned my head and observed the passengers. Since the distance had
closed, I could see them more clearly.
And then I realized.
"...They’re holding their books upside down."
"...!!"
A spine-chilling sight.
The group and I hurriedly checked the other passengers.
...They were all the same.
"They’re only making the hand motions of knitting."
"...The screen is turned off."
The passengers weren’t simply failing to recognize us.
They were something that merely repeated, through meaningless yet similar
motions, the everyday actions people normally performed on the subway.
"..."
What is this?
And as if reflecting that realization and question, a wiki page update
notification sounded.
New lines added at the bottom.
Among the train’s passengers, entities identified as
ordinary civilians are in fact irreversible addicts, and are
long term missing persons who have been completely
contaminated by ■■■ ■■.
"...!"
They merely board the train out of inertia and reenact
fragments of their everyday lives before the day of the
disaster, and they do not respond normally to anything
other than actions related to their addiction.
Do not provoke.
"..."
I remembered.
The faces of the long-term missing persons I had seen at Looky Mart.
And the description written on the page of this wiki.
Upon boarding this train, it appears that one’s outward
condition is restored to the same state as when first
entering the Sekwang City’s underground facilities on the
day of the disaster.
’Outward condition.’
So only the exterior was intact, while those passengers were already...
’...Horrifically contaminated.’
A state that could be written as addiction and read as complete
contamination.
They would be the long-term missing persons of the ghost story itself,
having lost their human form, their minds collapsed, with only the desire to
return to reality remaining.
Trapped in the ghost story of Sekwang Special Metropolitan City, unable to
leave.
"..."
I shared the information I had inferred from the wiki with the group...
Their expressions hardened bitterly.
Emotions they were familiar with.
"...As a rule, we do not attempt to rescue long-term missing persons
recklessly. Inside the train, let’s be careful about drawing attention or
putting ourselves in dangerous situations."
"...Let’s do that."
The atmosphere sank.
Fortunately, they were seasoned enough not to be completely swept up by
it.
It was just that... the inside of the train felt eerie and desolate.
"...You said they’re addicts, right, Grapes-ie?"
"Yes."
"And they react to whistling... What exactly are they addicted to?"
Baek Saheon replied as if it were an obvious question.
"Something that lets them forget the pain of being trapped in this Darkness,
or at least makes them happy for a short while. Isn’t that obvious?"
"Oh, someone with experience in cult villages really is different, huh?"
"...!"
Baek Saheon glared at Assistant Manager Eun Haje.
Assistant Manager Eun
Haje shrugged.
"We met there, didn’t we. When I was a reporter."
"...That was you, Assistant Manager?"
"Oh. I guess from the villagers’ point of view, they can’t know the personal
details of a ’banquet guest’?"
"..."
Baek Saheon gave an implicit affirmation through his silence.
"But still, it’s impressive that Sir Highborn Geezer figured it out too."
"Obviously. Aside from that occasion, there was no situation where a
Disaster Management Bureau agent could have unilaterally recognized us."
It was quite a solid inference.
[Hmm. It seems Mr. Roe Deer’s ordinary former roommate isn’t completely
terrible at using his head after all!]
That was probably true. He wasn’t an employee who would get promoted to
section chief and earn a nickname for no reason.
Agent Bronze’s stiff voice was heard.
"Then Agent Grapes is..."
Baek Saheon snorted.
"Yeah, I already know he’s Supervisor Roe Deer."
"...?"
"What I’m curious about is the agent who went into Jisan Village with
you."
But they’re the same person though?
Agent Bronze is confused!
But I hurriedly signaled with my eyes to deny it, and Agent Bronze closed
his mouth.
’Knew it.’
It seemed Baek Saheon still didn’t know that ’that agent from Jisan Village’
was ’Agent Grapes’, and also Kim Soleum...
I sat down and deliberately avoided Agent Choi, whose shoulders were
shaking as he held his mask.
Please don’t laugh.
"...I can’t tell you."
"Whatever."
Baek Saheon said nothing else.
Still, maybe it was fortunate that talking about things like this lightened the
mood a little.
Because I had the sense that finding Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae might
turn into a long battle.
’Did she get off at another station? Or...’
...!
At that moment.
A chill ran down my spine.
’Wait.’
No way.
’Is there a possibility that Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae is also sitting
somewhere on another train like that...?’
And if she were, endlessly seated there without even being able to die, just
like them.
"..."
It was a prospect that turned chilling just from imagining it.
And the discomfort that came flooding in.
’Why am I realizing how serious this is only now.’
Several days had already passed since the group went missing in this
annihilation-sanctioned supernatural disaster.
From the fact that Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae hadn’t woken up,
complete contamination was already a problem that could be inferred, and
we had in fact reasoned it out in a similar way before...
’But it didn’t feel this real.’
We had assembled the exploration team as quickly as possible, but none of
us had shown extreme impatience.
Even though we were members who couldn’t help but understand the
severity of this situation better than anyone else.
We had failed to perceive it.
"..."
A person swallowed by a city rendered ’unperceivable’ wasn’t forgotten
because her body remained behind thanks to entering through the medium
of dreams, but the seriousness of her disappearance was swallowed all the
same.
I drew in a sharp breath.
"Mr. Roe Deer."
"Ah, I’m fine, Section Chief."
Only now were intense impatience, worry, and fear surging up, but I kept
my mouth shut so as not to spread this feeling needlessly.
At the same time, I became clearly aware of something else.
’I need to look into Sekwang City more properly.’
It wasn’t only rescuing Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae that I had
’naturally’ forgotten the seriousness of.
The well that was used as a passage connecting to Sekwang City.
The thing that activated it was...
It was clearly a Cheerful Research Institute employee ID.
’...There’s something here.’
Ho Yoowon, Daydream, Cheerful Research Institute, and the Disaster
Management Bureau...
I get the sense that within Sekwang City, there’s some hidden incident or
truth where organizations and individuals are intricately entangled.
Something like a decisive event in this ghost story’s worldbuilding.
’...Not only about Director Cheong, I might also be able to dig into this
side as well.’
Foundational knowledge that would lead to why I was summoned in the
first place.
Things that weren’t properly described even in the <Dark Exploration
Records>, and so couldn’t be known.
’Of course, after rescuing Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae first.’
I shoved aside all the tangled thoughts in my head and recalled our
immediate objective.
At that moment.
♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪
"...!"
A cheerful notification sound rang through the train, and text began
appearing on the display in place of advertisements.
"We’ve arrived."
The next station.
[This stop is Midnight, Midnight Station.]
[The ■■ City Royal Casino at Midnight Station is no longer for foreigners
only. Passengers wishing to visit, please enjoy the machines at the casino at
any time.]
"...Casino?"
[The doors are opening.]
Out of the darkness, a new station began to reveal itself.
And then.
The passengers who had been sitting still began pouring out toward the
train doors like a flood, as if they’d gone mad.
"...!"
[Oh, casino and addiction. They really are a well-matched pair of keywords.
You could even use them as a word association quiz.]
Wait.
Because of the crowd, I couldn’t see properly beyond the doors. Damn it...!
"Damn it, let’s decide whether we’re getting off or not!"
Assistant Manager Eun Haje shouted.
"Raise your hand if you think we should get off!"
Agent Choi, Assistant Manager Eun Haje.
"Then raise your hand if you think we shouldn’t!"
Agent Bronze, Supervisor Baek Saheon.
"Section Chief! Roe! What are we doing!"
"No particular preference."
"Shit!"
Assistant Manager Eun Haje gave up on getting an answer from him and
looked at me.
"Roe!"
Think.
If she’d boarded a similar train, what action would Assistant Manager Lee
Seonghae, an elite member of the Field Exploration Team, have taken?
Would she really have stayed on the train?
’...Probably not.’
Earlier, my worry had made me overly anxious, and the moment she
realized it was a circular line, Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae would
definitely have gotten off to look for food supplies and an escape method.
And the way she would choose a station would be...
...
"Roe!"
I opened my mouth.
And ten seconds later.
[The screen doors are closing.]
"Huu!"
We set foot on the platform of Midnight Station.
The casino station.