In the calmest tone she could muster, Go Yeongeun addressed the usher machine.
“If your answer is ‘no’, please remain still. If it is ‘yes’, nod your head.”
Silence.
“Did guests who finished viewing the exhibition on this fourth floor go upstairs?”
……
“Did guests who finished viewing the exhibition on this fourth floor go downstairs?”
Nod.
“……!”
It worked!
Overwhelmed with relief, the candle bearer barely managed to conclude the interaction.
“Thank you. I’ll continue enjoying the exhibition now.”
The usher machine remained quietly in place as the three within the candle’s radius left. As they rounded the corner, Go Yeongeun couldn’t help but exclaim.
“It worked…!”
“Move slowly. The candle will burn for about two hours, so it’s critical not to let it go out midway.”
“Yes!”
And then the process repeated.
“Did guests who finished viewing the exhibition on this third floor go downstairs?”
Nod.
“Thank you!”
It worked again. The three new hires were now walking with cautious but hopeful steps, fueled by the thrill of escape.
If this kept up…
“Either the first or second floor…!”
The same thought occurred to everyone.
Go Yeongeun bit her tongue to keep her excitement in check.
“Stay calm, stay calm!”
If she were to drop the candle, it would all be over. To avoid escaping with her eyes, tongue, or limbs taken, she needed to remain composed.
As she took a careful step forward…
Grab—
Something seized her foot.
Go Yeongeun froze and looked down.
There was a human being, his eyes replaced with telescopic lenses, crawling desperately on the floor and clutching at her pants leg.
“Goral! Ms. Goral!!”
“……!!”
“Take me with you!”
It was R-squad’s leader.
Go Yeongeun’s superior.
* * *
I looked at the person who had stopped ahead of me.
I knew why.
Someone was clinging desperately to the leg of the person ahead, shouting.
“Ms. Goral! If— If you get me out of here, I’ll make equipment for you! The kind only a section chief can access! Right away, too! Okay?!”
‘So Go Yeongeun is from the R-squad.’
Seems like this was R-squad’s section chief.
But for someone supposedly in charge of a squad in the Field Exploration Team, he looked utterly pathetic.
His limbs weren’t taken as payment but seemed completely broken, leaving him unable to stand.
‘Did infighting break out?’
If he were a proper squad leader, he should have been able to hold out with his equipment and items while moving stealthily. His current state made it almost certain that hadn’t happened.
He must be on the verge of death.
And in this desperate moment, seeing a rookie from his squad wielding a remarkable item, he had lunged forward, recognizing his last lifeline.
“Ms. Goral! That’s an item, isn’t it? Woooow, i-it looks great! Um, uh, t-take me with you, please! Okay?”
“Whoa, not even scared, huh? Babbling away.”
Baek Saheon muttered under his breath.
Then he turned to Go Yeongeun and said,
“Let’s see if the monster machines hear him. Not like he’s in any condition to run away anyway.”
“Huh? What kind of nonsense is that…”
“……”
R-squad’s leader, who had been begging to Go Yeongeun, turned to look at Baek Saheon. The gleam of his telescopic lenses flickered.
“You. Which squad are you a rookie from?”
“……”
“Oh, right. It doesn’t matter… What matters is getting out of here. But look… the item my squad’s rookie is using—it’s shaped like a candle. A consumable, huh?”
“……!”
“Fl…Flame-based… yeah, defensive item, right? Right, yeah, that must be it… So, then, what if I shake it, shake it like this, and put the flame out?”
“Ugh—”
Go Yeongeun, who nearly stumbled, quickly steadied the candle in her grip.
‘This lunatic.’
I was about to summon my special equipment to use a third hand to pry him off, but the squad leader clung to Go Yeongeun’s leg again.
“Do you think I, even in this state, know less than a rookie? Take me with you!”
“…You left me behind, Squad Leader.”
Go Yeongeun muttered in an eerily quiet voice.
“When the machines came, you pushed me aside and ran.”
“……!”
I thought Go Yeongeun hadn’t met any teammates and had been wandering alone because the team had split up when they entered.
So that’s why she was by herself.
“No! I did what I could! I couldn’t die trying to save a rookie, so I left you behind. But now you can take me with you! If the conditions allow, humans should act humanely!”
The squad leader screamed desperately, clutching at her. Tears didn’t even flow from the lens-replaced eyes.
“If you don’t take me with you, it’s murder! Murder! Just try leaving me behind. I’ll destroy that item! Somehow!! I’ll—”
Thud.
“……!”
Srrrrrk—
R-squad’s leader’s body went limp and collapsed sideways.
Baek Saheon retracted his left foot, which had just struck the squad leader in the temple.
“……”
And me too.
I recalled the third hand back into the glove, which struck the back of the R-squad’s leader’s head.
‘H-He’s still breathing, right?’
I hadn’t meant for both of us to hit him, but here we were.
At least the situation seemed to have settled.
I glanced down at the disheveled middle-aged office worker sprawled on the floor.
‘…Well, he does have experience in field exploration.’
He had crafted a balance of pleas that could tug at a rookie’s heartstrings and threats that could instill fear. A manipulative mix.
Go Yeongeun still held the candle steady, but her trembling gaze betrayed how shaken she was by the pitiful state of her superior.
Baek Saheon casually remarked,
“Now we just take his head and leave, right?”
…What?
“No, we can’t.”
“He’s going to die anyway. It’d make it easier for him and give us spare payments for a Plan B. There’s literally no downside.”
“Think of Ms. Goral’s mental state if we decapitate someone she knows. It’s hard to maintain composure after killing someone you’re familiar with.”
As Baek Saheon and I spoke on either side, Go Yeongeun’s face grew increasingly pale.
“This is ridiculous. No, I can’t…”
“What are you talking about? People can do anything to survive. Of course, it’s possible.”
“No, it’s not. Don’t listen to him, Ms. Goral.”
“Goral—”
“Wait!”
“……”
“……”
“I’ll just do this.”
Go Yeongeun tightened her grip on the candle, then kicked the squad leader toward a shadowy sofa corner. His body slid into the dim recess.
She exhaled deeply.
“This way, the machines won’t spot him immediately. Let’s go before the candle burns out.”
“……”
I nodded.
Baek Saheon, however, scowled.
“Making things complicated. He’s going to die anyway.”
“…If you owe your life to someone kind, you should stop saying things like that, don’t you think?”
“……”
Go Yeongeun sighed deeply.
“Still, thank you, both of you. I almost got caught up in that.”
“It’s nothing.”
Surprisingly, Baek Saheon didn’t say another word. I thought he’d make a snide comment or demand something in return, but he didn’t.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
We descended the stairs once more.
The disruption and the incident were behind us.
The end was in sight.