The Suspiciously Good-at-Searching Newbie
Endless piles of boxes stretched out in every direction, crossed by massive conveyor belts.
"......"
Han Yujin sat on the edge of the box she'd crawled out of, staring blankly into space with a dazed expression.
"This is... a bit much, don't you think?"
Way too much, humanely speaking. Suddenly a monster shows up. Just as consciousness fades, you're dumped unceremoniously into this huge space with zero context. Not a single rulebook or guide in sight. Even horror stories have limits to their bullshit—this one's like, escape or don't? Pick one.
Well, it's probably not a space designed with escape in mind.
Han Yujin swallowed a hollow laugh. Since when were horror stories user-friendly? But hey, there was one upside to being in one: no need to agonize over what to post on the gallery to farm aggro. The horror story itself was the content.
Click—
She snapped a photo and uploaded it straight to the gallery.
Han Yujin's brows furrowed. Unregistered horror story? Meaning zero info on the gallery. But a place this massive? No way nobody's ever entered.
The doubt cleared up fast.
All entrants dead.
"......."
Why me, seriously? Is the world screwing me over?
97% death rate. Back in her gallery-lurking days, she'd have scoffed, "lol 3% is a steal." But not now. The chill on her skin, the oil stench seeping into her bones—this was real.
"Hm."
Seemed like they were despairing harder than her. Meant the situation was that bad.
Just as Han Yujin scratched her head—
New [Message] from JeongGongbeop*.
"A message? Didn't know there was a feature like this."
Opening it revealed a familiar nickname.
Closing the message, a small UI appeared in the corner of her vision: [??? Building ???? Room Exploration Rate: 1%].
So, fill this up? Han Yujin couldn't help but admire it.
"...Blue Badge is insane."
Not content with providing a place to crash, he's helping from here too? Did Blue Badges need Buddha-level personality?
"Pizza premium upgrade."
Upgrading Jeong Gongbeop's pizza reward to top tier.
Anyway.
"Urgh!"
Han Yujin stepped out of the box and stretched. Now she knew what she needed to survive.
"Search the area to boost exploration rate, right?"
The blinking gauge in the bottom left. Gotta raise it. Better with gallery help than solo.
...Wait a sec.
Beaten by a monster, tossed into an unknown horror story. Worst-case scenarios piling up.
Feels like the world's screwing me over.
But Han Yujin shook her head. The world doesn't target individuals like that. Too busy.
In other words.
Someone's deliberately screwing me.
That frames the conspiracy theory rationally. So the question: Who's after me?
No-brainer.
"Unique Company."
Only faction hostile since entering horrors.
Problem was.
"Can't use the gallery freely with enemies around."
Gallery's public. Unique Company wasn't run by idiots—they'd be lurking, analyzing every post.
Can't expose herself.
"......."
Han Yujin's eyes darkened. The gallery was her biggest weapon. Her reason for living, almost. Explore horrors without gallery trolling? Might as well rot in the box.
"...No."
Flash of insight. Her despairing face flipped instantly. Drooping eyes sharpened, spark returning.
"Use it in reverse instead."
Enemies probably don't know she's onto them.
A sly grin crept across Han Yujin's lips.
Post registered, gallery exploded.
Threat worked. Gallery opinion unified in seconds.
Han Yujin smirked in the darkness, satisfied.
Vets arguing. Standard process sounded time-intensive.
"A month for this size?"
Bad news.
With that, Han Yujin burst from the [Waste] box.
"Here we go."
She muttered, activating the gallery's auto-photo feature. A translucent frame appeared in her vision.
Then she spammed the shutter like a maniac.
Tat-tat-tat-tat-tak—!
Leaping from the boxes, she sprinted toward the zone's center, snapping away.
Click. Click. Click. Click.
Photos auto-uploading to the gallery.
Gallery refresh crippling. One per second, plastering every view.
Han Yujin didn't stop. Circling her spawn zone like a storm.
Rate climbing fast.
She slid in like a pro, snapping.
Click.
Ducked without hesitation, snapped.
Click.
Then—urgent comment.
Han Yujin bolted back to her box.
"Haa... haa..."
Han Yujin pulled from the gallery, catching her breath. Whew, exhausting. About 10 minutes? Few more and she'd collapse. Full tension sprint.
Still, 21% thanks to them. Without that troll 'Mnol', could've gone further.
...Eh, training of sorts.
Return time to box ingrained now.
Back on gallery, 'Mnol' buried, weird hype circulating.
"...Cute my ass."
Grumbling to herself, Han Yujin signaled survival.
"...Hah."
What otherworldly reactions. Grateful for help, but this itched.
Comments piled: 2-week task in 10 mins, impossible newbie, vet in disguise? Monster spy?
"......."
Pretending nonchalance, but Han Yujin's lips twitched upward. Praise makes even trolls grin! Her roots were attention-whore anyway.
Grinning, her fingers typed sternly.
"...Ah shit."
Han Yujin realized she was weak to this praise type. Quick pivot.
Troll 'Mnol' already smacked by mods.
Anyway.