Then, maintaining a completely natural tone, I said,
“We were just walking slowly to check something. Have you both reached your step count?”
“Oh, we’re almost there. We did a lot of pacing back and forth while browsing in the shop.”
“……”
“A bit of a shame, really~ We could have checked out two more alley options!”
Kang Yihak clicked her tongue regretfully.
On her phone screen, the remaining step count was clearly displayed.
Don’t give up on your body!
Remaining steps : 1,052
“…Yes.”
Did you know?
There was exactly one way for someone who had lost their phone to successfully escape this place.
A method recorded multiple times, thoroughly verified, and confirmed as fact.
I had almost been presented with a similar opportunity just now.
And that was…
To steal someone else’s phone.
Supervisor Park Dojeong got into a scuffle with a merchant during a transaction. In the process, he sustained three hairline fractures to his left rib and had his phone destroyed.
Successfully returned after seizing a civilian’s phone.
“……”
I stared at Kang Yihak’s phone, dangling in the air without protection…
Then said,
“Yes. Please return first. Squad Leader, would it be alright for them to go back on their own?”
“Yes.”
I sent my two batchmates away.
“Well then, we’ll head back. Thank you…!”
“Haha, see you at work tomorrow. We can talk more about our spoils then~!”
The two of them walked down the alley and suddenly vanished.
…They must have entered the next alley.
Don’t do anything you can’t handle.
‘That’s an undeniable act of evil.’
If I went that far, I might not be able to use my Silver Heart anymore.
Even if that weren’t the case, if I later realized I could have survived without stealing a phone, my mind wouldn’t be able to bear it…
‘Unless it’s the absolute worst-case scenario, don’t go that far.’
The moment I crossed that line, my corruption might accelerate.
I traced the silver ring I was already wearing, grounding myself.
– Oh, Mr. Roe Deer, you chose dignity. What admirable restraint!
– Some guests will resort to the most disgraceful acts just to gain attention. That too is a kind of noble professionalism, but isn’t it contestants like you who truly win over the audience?
R-Right.
‘Thanks.’
Though, honestly, I’d rather not be compared to that.
I took a deep breath, trying not to recall the chaos of the Tuesday Quiz Show.
I was already trapped in a ghost story—I didn’t need to relive the time I nearly died in another one.
Instead, I focused on combing through my mental records, searching for any clue in this alley that might help—
“Mr. Roe Deer.”
Fwik—
Lee Jaheon grabbed me by the nape and yanked me through a shop door.
Then, after pulling me inside, he immediately dropped to the floor.
“There’s water.”
“……!”
I lifted my head.
We were inside an unmanned laundromat.
Beyond the cheap, printed-glass door, the alley was filling with water…
Ssshhhaaa—
From the narrow gap between two residential buildings—not an alley—black water seeped through, pooling and congealing into a familiar, mascot-like shape.
A slithering dragon character.
‘…That doesn’t look like the real mascot.’
Unlike before, it didn’t radiate that sharp, intelligent presence.
But that only made it more eerie, more menacing.
‘It doesn’t look like I can negotiate.’
– Indeed. Trying to converse with a parade balloon is a foolish endeavor, Friend!
The water mass jerkily moved its limbs, its grotesque gait carrying it back down the alley.
Luckily, it didn’t peer into the laundromat.
‘Phew.’
Scattered across the damp floor in its wake were chocolate bars, likely washed out of a stationery store during the flood.
Then came the residents of Death Lane—the ones entranced by the parade—rushing toward them.
Mine! It’s mine!
Send me to the Cheerful Theme Park!! Let me win!!
Let’s find the good child! Let’s find the good child!
A chaotic mix of pedestrians and merchants swarmed in, tearing open the chocolate bars, desperately searching for what was hidden inside—
Probably theme park tickets or membership passes.
…Just like my tattoo.
: Socius :
‘……If they see it, they’ll rip my skin off along with it.’
The classic ghost story scenario flashed through my mind, sending chills down my spine.
I opened the glass door slightly the moment the water mass disappeared from view down the alley.
Clink.
…Fortunately, the Death Lane pedestrians who were frantically rummaging through the chocolates didn’t look this way.
I swallowed hard, flicked a coin, and summoned a third hand into the air.
The translucent hand crept carefully through the narrow gap of the glass door and snatched one of the chocolate bars that had bounced toward the laundromat from the alley…
The moment the third hand came back inside, I quickly grabbed the chocolate bar and stuffed it into my other tattoo.
‘Phew.’
If I’m already stirring up trouble, I might as well gather information to analyze.
Thankfully, whether it was due to the silver ring doing its job, I felt no strange hallucinations or noises, nor any fervent craving for the theme park.
‘I’ll examine it more thoroughly once I’m back in reality.’
As I pulled my hand out of my tattoo inventory and deactivated the third hand, I recalled an item I’d been carrying around all this time without trying it even once.
The most expensive item in the alien shop.
We Can Help! – ₩66,666,666
“……!”
I took out that item.
A small, red button.
…Right, Braun had said something like this:
– Hmm. Yes, Mr. Roe Deer, you can think of it as an ‘emergency escape’.
Emergency escape.
‘Should I press it?’
Considering the price, it felt like I should save it for a higher-grade Darkness, but with disappearance looming over me, maybe I was better off using it now rather than risking everything.
‘Alright.’
Let’s see what happens.
Before I pressed it, I showed the button to Section Chief Lee Jaheon.
“Squad Leader, this is—”
“Do you require my advice?”
“……”
Huh?
“Do you require my advice?”
“…Yes.”
“Do not use it.”
“……”
A chill ran down my spine.
“You know about this button, Squad Leader?”
“Yes.”
“…Does something bad happen if I press it?”
“That depends on your perspective.”
“…Could you be more specific?”
“That is not possible.”
“……”
“However, in our current situation, I do not recommend using it.”
“……”
‘Huu.’
In the end, I put the button away again.
Section Chief Lee Jaheon might not say everything he knows, but he doesn’t lie.
And the fact that he’s someone who can also purchase items from the alien shop made me even more uneasy.
‘He’s the reason I got the link to the alien shop in the first place, with his account.’
All in all, forcing the use of this item right now felt like setting up my own grim final entry in the exploration records.
– Oh dear, you’re not pressing it? I was curious to see what would happen, how disappointing.
Really?
A wave of profound exhaustion washed over me.
It felt like realizing that a rope ladder I’d thought appeared out of nowhere was just a drawing.
“……”
Leaning my back against the laundromat wall, I stifled a sigh.
“In that case, all our remaining options are shots in the dark.”
Section Chief Lee Jaheon looked at me. I drummed my fingers nervously on my arm.
“Like… maybe if we destroy an entire house, we can create a gap in the concept of the alley and escape— Wait, don’t do it!”
“Yes.”
I’m going crazy.
I quickly stopped the lizard from punching a hole in the wall with his bare hands, then sank down to the floor.
‘Is there really no other way?’
Either we die, or we escape.
Is there truly no more reliable option than betting on some extreme long shot?
Certainly, the methods for leaving a ghost story…
……
Ah.
“……!”
I jumped to my feet.
“Mr. Roe Deer.”
“Squad Leader!”
This—this might work!
“There’s a way we can try. First, we get out of here and move—”
Lee Jaheon grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back.
“Step away.”
“……”
I turned my head.
Through the laundromat’s glass door, I saw a dark shape.
It was watching us.
A mass of black water.
Found you.