‘Now that I’m an agent, getting a new one should be even easier.’
I’ll keep it in mind as a Plan B, in case the repair never finishes—maybe I can find a replacement.
Thinking about the broken Memorial Popsocket, carefully wrapped in cushioning and stored in my pocket, I turned over possibilities in my head.
Meanwhile, Agent Bronze’s briefing on ‘Lucky Mart’ continued.
“It’s a Disaster you can only enter after sundown, so the timing worked out well for the person who called for help.”
“…May I ask about the appearance of the caller?”
Agent Bronze answered calmly.
“They’re two first-year high school students.”
Wow.
Now my conscience will stop me from bailing halfway and running off.
Holding back a sigh, I memorized the descriptions and the official report from the time they called in.
Noticing my demeanor, Agent Bronze gave me a somewhat sympathetic look and spoke.
“…Don’t worry too much. That explanation about being able to hold out for around half a day applies to high schoolers as well.”
“……Yes, sir.”
My pang of conscience only grew stronger.
“However, two agents who went in earlier are currently in a short-term missing status within this Disaster.”
“……”
“Don’t worry. They weren’t rescue agents. It was an unfortunate mishap during a routine search for sealing methods.”
That’s very encouraging news, Agent…
“We must remain vigilant during the rescue effort, so refrain from any rash actions. Make sure of it.”
“Yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”
The words ‘Do you really have to bring a new recruit in a place like that?’ rose to my throat, but I swallowed them back.
He’s well aware I’m a ‘career-track new recruit’, so there’s no way he’ll cut me any slack.
Drr-ring.
The cheerful sound of a bike bell didn’t reflect my mood at all, but I kept pedaling.
Agent Bronze gradually slowed down, letting me take the lead.
“…Agent?”
“We’ll be ‘wandering’ like this for at least twenty minutes. …The person who doesn’t know where the building is should go first, so please proceed.”
I remembered.
Looky Mart entry condition : Roam around for over twenty minutes, within a 3km radius of the old Lucky Mart location, searching for the store.
In the freezing cold, I quietly rode my bicycle around the unfamiliar neighborhood.
As long as I kept my mind focused on finding the supermarket—looking around the area without a navigation system, lost for about twenty minutes…
“…Agent Bronze.”
I braked to a stop.
“I think I’ve found it.”
Then, I saw a fairly large three-story building rising between the dark streetlights…
A green, glowing sign for a mart.
FRESH MART
It wasn’t a chain store, but rather a locally branded supermarket you might find in any neighborhood.
“……”
No, wait.
The moment I blinked again…
L UC K Y M A R T
In front of the supermarket building, I saw the familiar chain store logo.
It looked like it hadn’t been refurbished in years. Dust clung to some of the letters on the signboard, and some sections weren’t even lit.
“……”
If you look more… more closely at one of the unlit sections…
Flick.
The light went on.
LOOKY MART
Suddenly, a different set of letters than what I’d read at first appeared there…
“Try not to dwell on it.”
“…!”
He’s right.
L UC K Y M A R T
I’m looking at Lucky Mart.
‘Good thing I was trying to find a supermarket in the first place.’
I parked my bike nearby and approached the supermarket building, which still had its lights on as if it were open.
Let’s enter ‘Lucky Mart’ naturally like this.
That made sense—since Lucky Mart is a massive supermarket chain with branches all over the country, there’s no reason to feel nervous unless you consciously think about it…
If you see the supermarket after sunset, you enter under the illusion that Lucky Mart is still in operation.
The automatic doors slid open smoothly, and I stepped into the brightly lit interior.
It was a typical supermarket.
It felt somewhat outdated and cheap, but as an old neighborhood mart, it was still mundane enough to be overlooked.
First Floor. Daily Necessities Section.
Children’s toys were stacked on a seasonal promotional display.
A song that had long gone out of fashion played softly in the background.
“Is this the idol song you like?”
“No, Mom! That’s a rookie group from MS Entertainment…”
People passed by while shopping.
…A family dressed in clothes that were trendy ten years ago, holding outdated smartphones.
Shoppers from the past.
Upon entering, the scene appeared just like an ordinary supermarket with people casually shopping. But these were actual shoppers from the past, from when Lucky Mart was still in operation.
“……”
“Hahaha!”
The shoppers walked past us.
Not only were their outfits outdated, but considering how cold it was outside, their light clothing felt out of place.
As if, beyond a single doorway, time inside the supermarket was flowing differently.
“These are not people caught in the Disaster. Ignore them.”
“……”
I nodded slowly.
‘The callers… they said they were in what seemed to be the basement level, right?’
Caller 1 : H-Help, please. We came into the supermarket and something’s off…! Ah, no one can see us, and it feels like we’re in an old supermarket.
Caller 1 : The area? Uh, well… we’re around the snack aisle right now. Yeah, a-and I’m really thirsty…
“We’re heading to the basement.”
I nodded and slowly followed Agent Bronze.
This place, which seemed like a perfect recreation of Lucky Mart’s past, still looked fine.
No. If anything, it might have even felt nostalgic, like stepping into an earlier time.
If, of course, you didn’t know it was a ghost story.
“……”
A tight tension coiled in my throat.
Wow. This is insane.
Every horrific case I’d read in the <Dark Exploration Records> was coming back to me.
Come to think of it, ‘Looky Mart’ had an unusually high number of unexpected twists in the records…!
‘S-Stay calm.’
Agent Bronze wouldn’t have dragged a new recruit into a hardcore-level rescue mission without reason.