A dark, bronze-hued mansion.
I followed Supervisor Park Minseong, walking silently behind him.
The supervisor, who had accomplished the insane feat of ‘disguising himself as an usher machine, fooling the system, and rescuing a poor new hire,’ evaluated the situation in his own way.
“It’s not like their AI is particularly advanced. Maybe about as smart as a roomba? So I figured I could trick it for a moment by mimicking its appearance!”
I wasn’t entirely convinced the machine’s intelligence was that rudimentary, but the timing had worked out, and he had saved me. For that, I was eternally grateful.
“Um, but how did you disguise yourself…”
“Ah! My special equipment.”
Supervisor Park grinned and pointed to a cloth draped around his neck.
Oh!
I recalled his earlier explanation about his personal equipment. – Mine is a camouflage item. It can’t transform me into a person, and its duration is short, so I only use it as a last resort.
Until now, I had only heard about such things in ghost stories where they didn’t work or were otherwise meaningless, but this was my first time seeing it in action.
‘Under the right circumstances, it’s actually pretty decent??’
I was tempted to borrow it as a parent seed to make a new customization for my personal equipment.
But that’s not the priority right now!
“Alright. Phew. Now that I’ve found you, Roe, let’s get out of this insane place.”
“Have you found an escape route, sir?”
“……”
Supervisor Park didn’t answer. He just smiled faintly.
‘He must have some kind of plan.’
For now, I decided to trust him and quickly followed.
“This way.”
We climbed the stairs from the basement back to the ground floor.
Before long, the surrounding area shifted from bronze to brass, and a grand corridor bathed in a golden hue came into view.
‘We’re above ground.’
That was enough to feel somewhat relieved, but…
The first floor was chaos.
AAAAAHHHHH
MMPH!!! UUUUUURGH!
M-My— MY EAR!
Screams echoed from all directions.
‘Two hours have passed.’
Even the employees who had been hiding were now being caught by the usher machines, losing another body part… just as I nearly had earlier.
“……”
Supervisor Park didn’t glance toward the sources of the screams. He simply kept walking.
“Don’t look back, Roe.”
“……”
I clenched my fists so tightly that veins bulged on the backs of my hands.
“I know it’s hard, but right now, we need to focus on saving our own team. If we’re going to keep collecting points here… we need to learn how to let go.”
“……”
Suddenly, I recalled the moment during a talk show when Supervisor Park had resigned himself to surviving.
– …I have a family member in the hospital. I hope someone could check in on her after this filming. If possible.
For some reason, I felt like I understood how this cheerful supervisor had managed to endure in this place.
At any rate, I didn’t argue.
Before long, Supervisor Park scouted the area and seemed to have arrived at his destination safely.
And that destination was…
“Here.”
“……”
A window.
The same tightly sealed opaque glass window Go Yeongeun had tried so hard to open earlier.
‘Don’t tell me he plans to go through here?’
But instead of desperately prying it open, Supervisor Park raised a finger and knocked on the glass softly.
Knock, knock.
The window suddenly slid open.
“……?!”
No, it wasn’t just opening.
It slid downward all the way to the floor, revealing itself to be…
‘A terrace door!’
This wasn’t a window at all!
‘Was that why the exploration records said…?’
========================
The 19th record is a testimony from a visitor who attempted to pass through a window. However, due to credibility issues, it has been omitted.
This exhibition does not have windows.
========================
What I had dismissed as a typical ghost story manual phrasing turned out to be literal. There really weren’t any windows.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes, sir.”
Without hesitation, we stepped through the open terrace door. Beyond it was a small hexagonal terrace with a long sofa and table.
However, the view beyond the terrace was obscured by dense black fog, as if visibility was intentionally denied to us.
Tap.
As Supervisor Park warily closed the terrace door, someone seated on the sofa rose and tapped my shoulder.
“I knew you’d make it.”
“Assistant Manager.”
It was Assistant Manager Eun Haje.
And next to her, the slit pupils of Squad Leader Lizard met my eyes calmly.
“Our squad leader suggested expanding the search range since you weren’t nearby, and it turns out you were just downstairs.”
“Thank you very much.”
“Did you purposely head to that eerie basement to find an exit? That’s very like you.”
I glanced at Supervisor Park with newfound appreciation.
Descending to the basement, with no clear information about the floors, had been an incredibly bold decision.
‘Thank you… truly.’
Thanks to him, I still had both eyes intact.
Still…
“How exactly did you open this? Someone else tried earlier but failed to open it as a window.”
“? I just used my hands.”
“……”
Of course you did.
‘If the body suffers, the mind suffers even more… right…’
Looking closer, the terrace door handle seemed a bit wobbly.
Wouldn’t it be a disaster if the ushers discovered this?
However, my D-squad superiors, including Chief Lizard, seemed unfazed by the unusual situation. They simply began discussing the next steps calmly.
“Well then, now that our squad’s back together… should we attempt an escape, Squad Leader?”
“Yes.”
“…Do you have a viable escape plan?”
“Yes.”
“…Could you share what it is?”
Chief Lizard answered succinctly.
“We’re going to tie a rope to the terrace railings and explore the outer walls of this exhibition space.”
“……”
Eh?