A cheerful snapping sound came from the plush doll, and once again, heavy darkness blanketed over me.
That familiar sensation of fading away.
“!”
Lee Jaheon’s vertical pupils darted toward me.
“Mr. Roe Deer.”
“I’ll explain later. Just run!”
Splash, splash, splash…
The sound of water crashing against the alley walls was getting closer.
‘Shit, shit!’
No matter how much I thought about it, I had no way of knowing. The unknown outcome made it even more terrifying.
I gritted my teeth.
‘Running was the right answer.’
Coming here in the first place, thinking I could figure something out—that was the mistake.
This was a ghost story.
Seeking the truth wasn’t the way to solve things—it was a shortcut to death in this kind of world.
‘I should have just ignored it and moved on…!’
No, no. I can regret it after I survive.
Don’t give up on your body!
Remaining steps : 3,441
I needed to last 400 more steps.
‘Whatever the next alley is, I have to run that way…!’
From behind, I could hear the alley’s residents chattering as the floodwaters swirled around their ankles.
“Wow, how fun~! What is this?”
“The mascot is coming in a parade on the water! So fun! So fun!”
“In Waterland, you can ride the Flume Ride! Eat the chocolate bar and win a trip to Waterland! Let’s find the good child!”
“Wow, the good child…”
“……”
“……”
“That guy?”
Motherfucker.
“Who?”
“Where is he?”
“I don’t see him…”
Cold sweat ran down my spine as I pushed through the ghostly crowd, making my way down the alley.
– Oh, of course. Even when all the lights disappear, a star remains a star. And a star’s fate is to endure their obsessive fans’ relentless pursuit.
– If they know the star’s defining features well, wouldn’t they only search more persistently for those?
Defining features.
I recalled the illustration on the chocolate bar’s packaging.
‘…The mask!’
I ripped off the mask I was wearing and shoved it into my tattoo.
Then, I pulled out a cap and mask, jamming them onto my face.
As my movements slowed, the water behind me surged closer. In my lowered gaze, I could see the flood right there at my heels…
No. The speed difference was too great.
‘In that case…’
I checked another direction.
Above!
“…Squad Leader, the utility pole!”
“Yes.”
I grabbed onto the nearby utility pole and climbed up quickly.
I had never climbed anything so desperately fast in my life.
Whether my palms got scraped or not, I had to—somehow, somehow…
‘…Made it!’
Water surged into the spot where I had just been standing.
But I had successfully climbed up to just below the power lines of the utility pole.
“Hah…”
I steadied my grip, nearly loosening it in relief.
‘For now, I’m safe.’
Just as I was about to twist my body and brace my legs against the alley wall for stability—
Thuk.
From my suit pocket…
My phone slipped out as the screen lit up.
Splash.
It fell into the water surging below.
The screen cracked as it hit the stone pavement, and water seeped in, causing the app display to flicker.
Do not give up on your body!
Remaining steps : 3,210
And then…
The screen went black.
“……”
“Mr. Roe Deer.”
All that was left of my shattered phone was a dark, blank screen.
The black, writhing masses in the shape of grotesquely moving mascot chunks filled the narrow, dim alley, peering into the shop windows one by one.
My phone was carried away by the current.
It drifted along the alley, moving, moving… until it vanished among the crowd following the mascot-like lump.
The rushing water brushed past the utility pole I was clinging to…
Along with my escape route.
“……”
I’m screwed.
“Mr. Roe Deer.”
Frozen in place, I turned my head.
Right below me, gripping onto the utility pole with one hand, the lizard extended something toward me.
It was his perfectly intact phone screen.
Death Lane Exit →
Follow the arrow!
Section Chief Lee Jaheon had successfully completed his ten thousand steps in this moment.
I stared blankly at the navigation screen already activated on Lee Jaheon’s phone…
And then.
“Take this.”
“…Sir?”
The lizard held out his phone to me.
“Follow the app’s directions and escape.”
“……!”
A lifeline had been thrown my way.
“The app does not recognize a change in user. As long as you don’t deviate from the guided path, you can escape.”
“……”
I reached for Lee Jaheon’s phone.
But then…
I clenched my teeth and refused.
“I can’t accept this.”
“?”
“Section Chief. That strange black water… It was definitely looking for me. It’s still searching this alley right now.”
I had barely evaded it by removing my mask and suppressing my presence.
However—
“If I follow the app’s directions, I won’t be able to avoid encountering the black water. …Because I can’t deviate from the path.”
While following the app’s navigation, do not take your eyes off the screen for more than 3 seconds or deviate from the guided path under any circumstances. 𐍂ἈＮÔƐS
Failure to comply will result in being classified as missing.
This rule applied just the same on the way back.
“So… The probability of me escaping safely without disappearing is extremely low.”
For me to have a chance at survival, I needed to hide in another alley first before activating the navigation.
‘Ha…’
“…I think finding another way out would give me a better chance of survival.”
Lee Jaheon’s vertical pupils stared at me in silence.
“I see.”
“Yes. So, Squad Leader, you should take the phone and escape—”
Then, he turned off his phone.
“……!!”
Had this lizard lost his mind?
“What are you doing?”
“I am following the two-person team protocol from the manual.”
What kind of nonsense was that?
“Then why were you trying to hand me your escape route earlier? You would’ve been left alone, not in a two-person team!”
“I followed the priority order in the manual. If you require a more detailed explanation, request it after we escape.”
Lee Jaheon spoke in his usual flat tone.
“From now on, all conversations and questions will have less priority in favor of our survival and return.”
“……”
“Mr. Roe Deer, devise a new escape plan based on what you know, even if it is not documented in the manual.”
Dear god.
“…Understood.”
I barely managed to answer.
A moment later.
We climbed down from the utility pole.
And we started walking again…
…Across the alley floor that had just been swept by the flood.
Without navigation.
Without an escape plan.