Chapter 279
Chapter 279
Five minutes had passed since we went in for a psychological test and ended up in a zombie escape room.
"Watch your head."
"Phew."
We were currently crawling through an air vent.
Judging by the cameras installed at intervals, it seemed we were on the right track.
‘The layout is decent.’
The production crew had intentionally stayed behind to block the vent, creating the illusion that it was a difficult find.
In reality, seeking out the crew during an emergency is a natural instinct, so it served as a solid narrative bridge.
‘The atmosphere is good, too.’
It was a cliché, but the inside of the vent was pitch-black and eerie, making it easy to focus.
Groaaaaan—
Skritch! Screeeech!
Those kinds of sounds echoed from beyond the walls.
"Whoa."
"Wow, listen to that."
"That’s definitely a zombie!"
‘Looks like everyone’s immersed.’
After checking on the tense guys, I nodded inwardly and kept crawling.
A short while later.
After turning a corner, we hit a fork in the road. Ryu Cheong-woo, who was leading the way, came to a halt.
"Should we split up...?"
"Shh."
He pressed himself against the corner of one path and signaled the others to stay back.
"Hup."
At his ominous gesture, the others hugged the wall tightly.
At that moment.
"Kieeeeeek!"
"Ugh-hup."
Kim Rae-bin hurriedly covered Keun Se-jin’s mouth.
In another vent directly across from us, a zombie was clinging to the grate, letting out a blood-curdling scream.
His suit was covered in blood and wound makeup, looking quite gruesome.
‘He’s really giving it his all.’
It seemed the production team had invested a fair bit and hired extra actors. It was quite realistic—wait.
I heard an ominous sound.
Snap.
"…!"
The vent fan the zombie was hanging onto... was breaking off.
Clang, ting, clatter-clatter...
Before the parts could even bounce off the floor near our feet—
"To the right! Side! Side!"
"Waaaaagh!"
Cha Yu-jin bolted toward the other path like a lightning bolt. He grabbed and pushed the members by their hands and heads.
‘Are you herding sheep?’
But it was effective. In an instant, the guys scrambled down the side passage on all fours and reached the vent on the opposite side.
However, at that exact moment, the vibration of the zombie smashing through the obstacle behind us rumbled loudly through the tunnel.
Crash!!
"Aaaaah!"
"I-I’ll open it!"
Beside the screaming Kim Rae-bin, Seon A-hyun reached out and yanked the vent cover.
It came off easily. Beyond it was darkness. It led to a space where the lights hadn't been turned on.
I spoke up immediately.
"I don't hear any zombie sounds from here."
Ryu Cheong-woo picked up the cue instantly.
"Let's go in. One by one, carefully!"
"Yes!"
One by one, we exited the vent.
Relying on the faint light spilling from the vent, I made sure the guys who went down first were helping the others. I climbed out almost simultaneously with Ryu Cheong-woo.
Then, I closed the vent.
Thud!
But it was being pushed back out. Keun Se-jin shouted calmly.
"It won't stay shut! Check if there's anything to block it with!"
"Wait, wait! If we push this..."
Bae Se-jin pointed at something dark near where he stood. Kim Rae-bin ran over and shouted.
"It's a cabinet!"
"Move it!"
Immediately, the group split: three holding the vent shut and four moving the cabinet, just in case.
But there was no time to spare.
Thump.
...The vibration traveled through the hands holding the vent.
"He opened it."
The zombie had smashed through the vent and entered the tunnel. I spotted the zombie as it rounded the corner.
"Right there."
"Hey, it's coming!"
The atmosphere was tense enough to break a cold sweat.
‘They must be adjusting their speed as they come, right?’
This was happening in a research lab full of PPL; surely they wouldn't fail to give us the minimum time required to find the solution.
However, the zombie twitching and contorting its body as it crawled from the end of the vent was quite... no, it was fucking fast.
‘Damn it.’
It was already right in front of us.
Just in case, I put my full weight into my hands gripping the vent cover.
I appreciated the dedicated acting for the shoot, but maybe dial it back a bit—
"Move!!"
I reflexively twisted my body to the side. As Ryu Cheong-woo backed away in the same direction, a piece of steel furniture slammed into the spot.
Bang!
It was the cabinet. The massive piece of furniture covered more than half the vent and pinned it down.
At that moment, the zombie slammed its body against the vent.
"Kyahhh!"
Thud!
The cabinet, which had taken four adult men to move, must have been filled with something heavy; the zombie couldn't break through.
"Ugh!"
However, Cha Yu-jin, who had been at the very front, almost collided with the zombie through the vent due to the force of the push.
"…!"
"Kyah!"
Ryu Cheong-woo and I reflexively pulled Cha Yu-jin back. He hopped away, retreating.
"Are you okay?"
"No problem. Watch out!"
Cha Yu-jin grinned with a perfectly fine face. It didn't look like he even got any fake blood on him.
"Phew, thank goodness. I thought we were going to have to tie Yu-jin up~"
"Haha!"
At Keun Se-jin’s joke, a few of the guys finally laughed. It seemed the tension from being overly immersed in the gruesome situation had finally eased.
And naturally, as soon as they regained their senses, a torrent of complaints broke out.
I understood. This was an even bigger bait-and-switch than the hotteok stand where they were told they were going on a trip but ended up working part-time.
"Wow, but seriously... I never thought it would turn out like this! The production team is really something!"
"I truly did not expect this..."
"...No wonder they had us sign some consent form when we came in. I thought it was just for the check-up."
"Shh!"
In the midst of it, Cha Yu-jin seriously put a finger to his lips.
"There are more zombies outside! Let's look around here first!"
He was having the time of his life.
The sparkle in his eyes made it clear he found this fun.
"Right, Yu-jin is right. Let's figure out where we are first. It's dark, so let's pair up... I'll move alone."
"Understood, Leader~!"
Realizing once again that they were filming, the guys quickly resumed their search.
‘It’ll all be edited anyway, so it might have been fun to talk a bit more.’
I shrugged and began looking around, relying on the faint light filtering through the vent past the zombie.
"Hyung, my night vision is poor and my field of vision is narrow, but I am ready to move as you command at any time, so please just say the word..."
"Sure. I'll let you know if there's a problem, so don't worry."
"Yes!"
‘Seeing as no zombie actors are coming despite all this noise, this must be a sealed room for now...’
With Kim Rae-bin trailing behind me, I moved quickly toward the wall. And finally, the moment my hand touched the wall—
"……!"
I felt a distinct texture.
...Wood.
My hand stopped.
‘A dark, sealed, unfamiliar wooden space...’
My mood began to sink.
"Hyung? Did you find some suspicious liquid on that wall...?"
I moved my hand again.
"No, it's clean. I just slowed down to be careful."
"I see! That is a wise decision. We do not know where a zombie might appear!"
Right. This was just an overreaction.
‘It’s a shoot.’
The moment they added a zombie virus setting, it was already firmly in the realm of variety shows.
It was obvious they were all actors in makeup, so being sealed in didn't matter—
"Wait, this."
"Yes?"
My hand, which had been mechanically feeling the wall, found something colder than wood.
"There's... a metal box attached to the wall. It's pretty big."
"…!"
It was a suspicious box.
"Moon-dae, did you find something?"
"Yeah, hold on."
"I shall check this side!"
I heard Kim Rae-bin shout as he moved past me to check the other side of the metal box.
"There is a lock or something on the opposite side! Shall I open it?"
"Huh? Wait! Guys, hold on!"
Before long, Keun Se-jin and Seon A-hyun approached with a flashlight they had found somewhere.
"This should work, right?"
"Excellent!"
The moment they unlocked the metal box by the light of the flashlight—
Whirrr!
The box opened on its own.
Then, a blue laser shot up from the box.
"Huh?"
"Get down!"
Even Bae Se-jin and Cha Yu-jin, who had been trying to keep watch after finding something like a window, shouted.
"Duck!"
I grabbed the guy next to me and lowered my head.
But immediately after.
Click.
The view became bright.
"…??"
When I lifted my head, a piercing light hit my eyes. The lights in the room had come on.
Good grief.
"It's okay."
"Ye-yes?"
I awkwardly patted the back of the guy next to me to help him up.
Then, I checked what that box had been attached to.
It was a massive, dark brown display cabinet. Beyond it, I could see a wall with a clean paint finish.
‘It was furniture.’
What I had touched wasn't a wall, but wooden furniture.
...This wasn't a wooden villa; it was just an office space.
"Ha."
A hollow laugh escaped me.
And beside me, others were letting out hollow laughs for a different reason.
"So the lights... could be turned on..."
"We must have looked so ridiculous."
"The, the suspense of the composition is remarkable."
"...What on earth is the principle behind this?"
Bae Se-jin touched the box. Keun Se-jin laughed loudly and rubbed his hands together.
"Ah, so the lights are linked to the laser—Waaaaagh!"
"What is it?"
When I turned my gaze to where Keun Se-jin was looking... something that looked like a human corpse was slumped in the corner.
Holy shit!
"Whoa!"
"Uwaaa!"
"Guys, it's a mannequin."
...I stand corrected. It was a single mannequin playing the role of a corpse.
"What's this?"
The mannequin was dressed in a uniform that looked like security personnel, and in its hand was a strange object that looked like a cross between a gun and a stun gun.
And the muzzle was pointed at its own head.
‘Just as the mannequin is a substitute for a corpse, is this a substitute for a pistol...?’
I immediately twisted it and carefully pulled it out. Then, I examined it.
‘Hmm.’
The muzzle was blocked with glass. This was...
"It looks like a laser gun."
"Pardon?"
I recalled the metal box from which the blue laser had shot out earlier.
"The shape of the tip and the patterns are similar to what we saw in the box earlier."
"Oh, Moon-dae is so smart~"
"Wait a moment. I-I'm sorry..."
"...A-hyun is so brave~"
In the meantime, Seon A-hyun had flipped the mannequin over and found a box and an instruction manual tucked inside its clothes.
Inside the box was another gun identical to the one I was holding, and... four purple cylinders that looked like they would hold live ammunition.
"Ah, there's also a note here that seems to have been written by this mannequin person."
Keun Se-jin quickly read the manual and summarized it.
A zombie virus had been accidentally brought into this lab and leaked, and the only thing that worked against the zombies was this weapon that came in with the virus.
And since he was already infected and couldn't escape, he used the laser gun... the content was summarized like that.
"Whoa, it says we can catch zombies with this?"
"Oh."
Keun Se-jin pointed to the purple cylinders.
"That over there is the rechargeable battery... it says it can be used three times per charge!"
"Hmm. Really?"
Ryu Cheong-woo picked up a laser gun and aimed it at the suited zombie hanging from the vent.
Specifically, at the zombie's arm visible beside the cabinet.
And then, a quick shot.
Whirrr!
"Kyah!"
When the laser hit, the zombie's arm stiffened as if paralyzed and stopped moving.
"Ooh!"
"Hmm, good."
Ryu Cheong-woo shrugged and shook the gun.
Then, he said calmly.
"Sorry, but could you pull the cabinet back just a little? I'll shoot the head."
"...Yes."
It seemed that from here on out, the genre would change from a zombie escape to a zombie shooter.
The prediction was only half right.
Whirrr— Bang!
I watched a zombie sprinting down the hallway collapse after being hit by the laser gun.
It was Ryu Cheong-woo’s handiwork. For the record, I had seen similar scenes about seven more times.
"Wow."
"Hyung, you're amazing!"
"Haha."
That was the eighth time hearing those exclamations, too. I’d bet my hair color that these would be edited into a montage.
However, Ryu Cheong-woo looked at the cylinder and shrugged.
"There are only exactly two shots left... Hmm, I hope the exit is close."
"Ugh, I hope so too."
He had been conservative with the shots.
He used the laser gun with surprising precision, aiming for one-shot-one-kills. But with only ten shots to begin with, he didn't have the luxury of being reckless.
‘Maybe we shouldn't have shot that guy in the vent at the start.’
Still, what was done was done. I pressed my hand to my forehead.
The lab probably included the gun as a potential source of conflict among the group members.
This was because the route mainly focused on stealthy movement through cooperation.
In fact, it took more time to shoot them down, so having two shots left shouldn't be a major problem.
‘It’s well-made.’
The route was thrilling.
From a restroom where zombies were trapped in each stall to a private counseling room, from a playroom with creepy BGM to the hallway... it was a pretty well-crafted course, but there was a problem.
"Phew!"
"Wow, two hours is intense!"
By the time we finished, we were cutting it close.
According to the map we got at the desk earlier, the back door was at the end of this hallway, and it felt like that would be the end.
‘And there’s bound to be a trick there, too.’
But checking Bae Se-jin’s wristwatch, we had less than ten minutes left.
‘We have to escape for the final shot to land.’
Coming out right at the last second would be the perfect ending.
"Let's go quickly."
"Let's keep a sharp eye ahead. If there's a zombie, tap my shoulder."
"Got it!"
We cautiously moved through the gloomy hallway with flickering lights toward the back door... but no event occurred.
"Ooh."
"I guess this is the end."
"Great! We succeeded!"
‘This is a bit dull.’
I clicked my tongue inwardly but didn't stop Cha Yu-jin as he pulled the back door.
However... the door didn't open.
Beep—
Instead, a red light appeared on the doorbell screen.
[Please present your pass.]
"Whoa."
The final trick had revealed itself.
"A pass?"
The members looked at the back door with blank expressions for a moment, but a rapid discussion soon followed.
"What about the production crew?"
"No, they never gave us anything like that, and we never submitted anything."
"Wow."
"Do we have to go back to the desk?"
With less than ten minutes left, the appearance of such a vague trick made the members start agonizing over it.
It was enough to make anyone anxious. I kept my mouth shut and tilted my head back.
‘...There must be a hint.’
Since this was the final escape, a decisive hint would have appeared in something we experienced on our way here.
That way, the structure would be clean and the escape would feel satisfying.
‘It definitely requires an idea...’
—The way you often come up with unexpected ideas makes you look like the "Idea Bank" the group needs.
"…!"
Wait.
I snapped my head back to its original position.
‘...I got it.’
And I began to sprint back through the hallway we had just traversed.
"M-Moon-dae?"
"Just a second!"
There was no time to explain.
‘Nine minutes.’
It was tight.
I just ran. And I calculated in my head.
If I thought in a straight line, the path was shorter than expected.
‘Since there are no zombies on the route to that room, if I keep going like this...’
We can escape!
I sprinted down the hallway even faster.
It was then.
Creeeeeak.
A strange sound came from beyond the hallway I was running through.
It was the sound of something collapsing.
Hiss.
And dark smoke began to billow from the cracks in the walls and corners.
The flickering lights in the hallway that had been showing that smoke went out one by one. The path ahead was now pitch black.
‘A blackout...’
I reached the end of the hallway at a run.
The smoke wafted toward me.
‘The smell of burning...’
I stood alone in a dark, sealed space filled with smoke.
"……."
I stopped in my tracks.
Cold sweat trickled down my neck.