※ WARNING ※
This chapter contains violent and gory scenes. Reader discretion is heavily advised.
From the moment I saw the store layout, I’d been agonizing over it.
Just how much of my body would I have to cut off and place on the grill for this damned supermarket ghost story to count it as ‘barbecue’?
I considered everything from the wrist to the shoulder.
But from the start, I knew my target.
‘My right arm.’
If I cut a leg, I’d lose mobility.
If I cut my left arm, I couldn’t use my tattoo.
In other words, there was only one conclusion.
‘Cut off part of my right arm.’
Of course, slicing a fully grown adult forearm, bones and all, measuring around 10cm in diameter with a knife is crazy.
Obviously, it wouldn’t be done in a single chop.
‘An electric saw would’ve been better.’
Thwack, thwack.
I used a giant butcher’s knife, practically ripping my arm apart. Amidst the splatter of blood, I could hear the other two sobbing softly.
There was no pain, but I could still feel it.
The sensation of nerves in my arm being severed.
Cold sweat trickled down my back, my mind reeling with dull shock—terror and fear.
I’d definitely injected myself with Happy Maker, yet it was hitting me anyway.
‘Am I building up a tolerance?’
Or maybe the candle’s ‘protection’ somehow dampened its effect. Or it could just be in my head.
Either way, the crucial fact is that I didn’t go into shock, and I could still move.
And then…
Thwack.
The final blow.
It came off.
“…!!”
Done.
With my right arm fully severed, I tucked it under my left arm while pressing something against the cut:
The blood-sucking knife.
‘I can’t believe I’m using this to stop the bleeding…’
It was just a temporary measure. Ignoring the blade’s tremor as it drank my blood, I pulled it away and pressed the wound to the grill.
If I still had any sensation, I’d have passed out right then.
I held it there just long enough to stop the bleeding. Once I was sure I wouldn’t die from blood loss, I moved again.
“What— What the hell… Aaaah!”
“Just a moment.”
Thud.
I took the piece I’d removed and chopped it in half. I had to match the approximate size of the other chunks already on the grill.
Then, without time for anyone to react, I put one of those halves on the grill.
Sssss—
It sizzled, or rather, burned.
It was burning. Burning away…
‘It’s just a piece of meat now.’
No longer mine.
And as soon as we escape this insane supermarket, I plan to drink Daydream Inc.’s C-grade regeneration potion. Then everything will be fine…
Stay calm.
Sweating profusely, I stared at the grill with unfocused eyes.
And after a hellish stretch of time—
Ding.
In this ‘Sell Your Flesh at Looky Mart’ stall—where dozens of grills are lined up randomly—one of them made a noise, like it was just another grill in the row.
A counter, like a mini checkout, had a plain white envelope labeled [Thank you for participating in our event].
With my one good hand, I managed to open it.
Inside were gift certificates, and they looked kind of like sloppily-made play money.
[₩50,000]
If this were a normal supermarket, that’d be a pretty hefty reward for joining some promotional event.
But whether it’s enough in our current situation is another question.
“W-What is this? What are you—”
“Wait.”
One more time.
I repeated the process.
Except this time, I told the high schooler to put the remaining chunk on another grill.
“H-Huuhp…”
He almost collapsed, but he gritted his teeth. It tore me up inside, but we had no choice.
Go Yeongeun had to keep holding the candle, and my own ‘participation’ wouldn’t be counted again.
And only after another 50,000-won voucher appeared did I allow myself to pop a Nostalgia Candy into my mouth.
‘Ha.’
I’d resisted until then, worried about messing up the event outcome.
But the second that candy touched my lips, it reverted me to my ‘healthiest point in time’.
Nostalgia’s magic.
“…It’s okay. See? I’m all better now.”
“Hiic… hiiiccc…”
The high schooler wouldn’t look at my newly restored arm. He couldn’t even nod.
Go Yeongeun had gone deathly pale, but mindful of the candle, she didn’t turn around or freak out.
She already knew I had a special regeneration potion from Daydream Inc., so maybe that’s why she managed to contain herself.
“…Agent, did you just take the potion?”
“No. It’s an item that temporarily restores my appearance.”
Her shoulders twitched again.
“It was only the right arm missing, so even if something else happened, we wouldn’t have trouble running. Please don’t worry.”
“How can you say that right now… Fine. …Alright.”
I silently thanked her composure.
At any rate, I’d finally used one of my last Nostalgia Candies, which I’d been saving to endure the worst. I finally recovered after three days of no real sleep or food.
And now, my status was…
“……”
‘Wow.’
This was insane.
My mind, now somewhat clear, was spinning wildly, sounding alarms at the dangers. Over the last three days, I’d been pushed to my limits, acting like a madman—and only now was I starting to realize it.
‘I haven’t been thinking straight since about the second day…’
I was under the impression that I had ‘searched the entire supermarket’ thoroughly while leaving the high schooler in the second-floor food court to go find Agent Bronze. But that’s not actually possible.
‘If I could supposedly scour it in just a handful of hours, it means there was nowhere truly hidden in the first place.’
This wasn’t a tiny convenience store or a small corner shop. It’s a massive chain supermarket. The very idea of ‘searching it all’ was impossible—especially considering the infinitely repeating third floor.
‘So my judgment was completely shot.’
It’s not just the high schooler in panic. I, too, had been half-crazed for three days.