“Well, let’s move as well and make our way out of this street vendor alley.”
“Yes…!”
“Ah, yes-yes.”
I began walking with my two fellow rookies.
Don’t give up on your body!
Remaining steps : 9,130
Walking through the eerie, brightly lit vendor alley while keeping the app running turned out to be more mentally draining than expected.
Especially since you couldn’t afford to let your guard down for even a moment.
“Huu.”
Wait.
“Be careful.”
“……!”
I stopped him immediately.
“It’s best to strictly follow the anonymity manual here… Mr. Buffalo.”
“……Yes.”
Jang Heo-un slowly lowered his hand and wiped the sweat off without removing his mask.
……
One of the street vendors, who had been observing him closely, resumed their sales pitch.
Whisper, whisper.
‘Phew.’
The vendors in this alley have an aggressive tendency to sell their goods and claim payment by any means.
To avoid getting caught up in this, it’s crucial not to reveal any personal information, appearance, or vulnerabilities.
The company’s manual was precise.
‘The moment you fail to follow this, you’ll be passively drawn into their sales trap.’
Like those people hovering at the far end of the alley.
“This place is incredible—I had no idea it was here.”
“Huh? What’s that? It looks so real… real, real, real, real… REAL! I’ll buy it!”
“That’s the one! Yes! It’s a real person!”
The problem was that they had no masks or information to hide their identities.
“Huh? W-wait… why does that person have three eyes? Huh? Oh, right! Humans always had three eyes! My bad, I must’ve been mistaken. I’ll go buy another eye, honey.” 𝘳ℕÖꞖЕS
“Sure! Trade it for an ear!”
They followed the vendor into the alley and disappeared.
‘…It’s too late.’
That’s how they go missing.
A chilling fear ran down my spine.
But I couldn’t show it—not in front of my fellow rookies.
Instead, I clenched my teeth and feigned composure as I kept walking.
“For now, let’s just get out of this stree—”
“Mr. Roe Deer, over there…!”
Jang Heo-un pointed with a trembling hand.
It was…
A ‘person’ walking right past us.
A high school student with a nervous expression, glancing around anxiously.
‘Damn it.’
“This is…!”
Jang Heo-un hastily rummaged through his bag and pulled out a black cloth mask.
He walked straight up to the student and handed it over without preamble.
“Wear this.”
“W-What…?”
‘This could go horribly wrong…!’
I immediately stepped in.
“Stay calm. Put on the mask quickly, and no matter what anyone says, stay quiet and keep walking.”
“What… oh.”
“Try not to look around. Act as if you’re just here for a casual stroll.”
Whether it was due to the influence of my Silver Heart badge or something else, the student, sensing something was off, hesitantly took the mask Jang Heo-un offered.
“Do not turn off the Death Lane app and complete the 10,000 steps. That’s the only way out.”
“……”
The student, their face a mixture of suspicion, anxiety, and alertness, glanced at us before turning and running in the opposite direction.
“Ah…!”
Jang Heo-un looked like he wanted to call out but hesitated, eventually giving up. The student had already disappeared into the distance, and Kang Yihak was just watching with a calm smile.
“……”
And I could guess the other reason.
“By the way.”
Jang Heo-un muttered incredulously,
“That student… wasn’t that the uniform of Sekwang Technical High School?”
“……”
Indeed.
In this space, you can witness all sorts of things.
Dead friends, family members who disappeared in childhood, victims of major accidents, pedestrians in 1980s attire, or even students from schools that don’t exist in reality.
Countless customers, onlookers, and… products flow through this alley.
But.
“It’s best to act as if you didn’t see anything here. Staying unnoticed is the basic rule of the manual.”
“Ah, got it…!”
Jang Heo-un took another deep breath.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Hey, no need to be too tense. Just like the manual says, let’s act like we’re casually exploring this alley as if we’re out with friends!”
Kang Yihak had a point.
The manual strongly recommended maintaining a natural demeanor, as if you were just visiting the district with acquaintances.
“Still, let’s stay cautious as we move.”
“Yes!”
We continued walking through the crowd, trying our best not to bump into anyone or draw attention.
Step, step.
With every step on the alley’s cobblestones, the app’s counter ticked down.
And when the thousand-digit number changed.
Don’t give up on your body!
Remaining steps : 8,999
A gap between the street vendors came into view.
‘A passage.’
It was a path leading into a narrower alley.
Beyond it, the street vendors disappeared, replaced by formal shops selling various daily necessities…
“We’ll turn here.”
At that moment—
“Oh, since we’re entering a new alley… how about we try to be even more natural now?” Kang Yihak chimed in.
Hmm.
“Could you elaborate a bit more on what you mean?”
Kang Yihak grinned.
“Let’s try to score some rare finds!”
“……!”
“There are a lot of exploration records about finding good ‘items’ here, so why not do a little market browsing ourselves? It’s the most natural thing to do, after all!”
Shopping, plain and simple.
“……! But the manual specifically advises against that…”
Jang Heo-un was right.
While purchasing items deemed useful for exploration wasn’t outright prohibited, it wasn’t encouraged either.
Any risks associated with such purchases wouldn’t be eligible for workplace injury compensation.
That bottom line sounded shady, but there was a clear reason why the manual discouraged it:
The likelihood of impulsive buying was high.
The longer you walked, the more this street would tempt you with appealing shops and goods.
Employees, gradually losing their reason in this bizarre place, often ended up snatching up dangerous items without a second thought.
Even when payment didn’t involve ordinary currency.
And yet, Kang Yihak brought this up anyway…
‘What’s her angle?’
She definitely had some hidden motive.
– Ah, politics! Life’s unscripted variety show.
– But if you back down, it turns into a documentary. We can’t have that. Let’s go, Mr. Roe Deer!
Sigh.
I’d hoped meeting new people might be refreshing, but here we are again…
‘Well, no choice.’
I flashed Kang Yihak a grin.
“Sure.”
“……!”
“Browsing sounds fun.”
“Oh! You’re on the same page, Supervisor! I knew you’d agree!”
“Yes.”
Then I casually raised my hand and pointed toward a certain shop I was all too familiar with.
“How about that one?”
Fresh Meat Butcher Shop
: A shop displaying live organs and body parts.
Identifiable by its red and blue lights and the bloodstained apron of the shopkeeper seated in front of the glass window.
“……”
“……”
“The goods look promising. Let’s head inside.”
I took a step toward the butcher shop.
“……?!”
This is what you call the ‘You can’t reason with a lunatic’ strat……!