Chapter 111
Chapter 111
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 111
Chapter Title: Even If I Fall Into a Ghost Story, I Have to Go to Work
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"Tamra-bound? What's that?"
"An error? Whoa, but it's kinda creepy."
The passengers on the high-speed train murmured as they watched the changed cabin footage.
It wasn't anything serious. Their tone was just along the lines of, Something weird happened during this boring trip.
...Until they fully grasped what that 'something' actually was, that is.
"Hey, I recorded this. I'm gonna upload it to Inhart... ...Huh?"
"Why?"
"...No internet."
Classic.
"Hey, check your smartphone. Hurry!"
"S-sorry, but mine says out of service area. Can you make calls?"
"What? Why isn't anyone getting through?"
The murmurs grew louder.
But the Butterfly deputy sitting in front of me didn't budge an inch, and the Dolphin staffer in the aisle seat next to me just grumbled softly.
"Ugh, what a hassle. Got caught up right when there are tons of civilians around."
Anyone from our company's Field Exploration Team would recognize it immediately—the textbook opening to a Darkness incident.
Moreover, though they didn't know it, this ghost story had actually been documented decades ago by the government, not our company, as an anomalous phenomenon.
But that was all there was to it.
'No casualties!'
The Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau typically only registered something as a disaster if people died in the ghost story.
As a result, the memo concluded: 'Suspected resolved as the Iksan-bound high-speed rail was extended to Mokpo, eliminating the anomaly.'
However... it had started up again.
Right here, right now, on this train.
"Hey! L-look outside!!"
"Oh my god!"
I turned my head to look out the train window. Instead of the cityscape of Seoul we should have seen as we left...
...an endless blue sea stretched out.
"...!"
A crimson sky met the blue horizon, creating a fantastical and eerie landscape.
The train sped forward nimbly over the sparkling waves of the blue ocean, parting them and kicking up spray...
"Is this train... running on the ocean right now?! H-how?!"
"Whoa..."
"Wait, is this graphics? Like a demo on the window screens?"
The passengers, forgetting their bewilderment at the bizarre yet beautiful, almost transcendent backdrop, let out gasps of admiration.
Someone even tried to take a photo with their phone that had no signal, only to freak out when it wouldn't save.
Tamra-bound High-Speed Train Incident.
Identical to the opening of the document I knew...
"......"
Damn it all.
If I'd focused solely on the fact that I was boarding a Mokpo-bound high-speed train, I might have spotted the possibility of this ghost story triggering.
'But the setup made me gloss right over it.'
With other Darknesses positioned as targets ahead of me!
-Head to Mokpo and enter C-Grade Darkness.
By fixating on that directive and tweaking countermeasures, a spike had popped out from an unexpected angle.
I interlaced my fingers. My mind raced.
'...Is this a trap targeting that?'
Or just coincidence.
The wiki definitely said it happened 'without anyone anticipating it.'
'But that's from the Disaster Management Bureau's perspective.'
Other groups or individuals... might have figured it out from ghost story patterns.
......Especially.
'Looking at my companions, it feels too deliberate...'
"Hey, deputy. Wake up."
"......Hah."
The Dolphin staffer next to me woke the Butterfly deputy in the front seat.
"More work? Better if it were high-grade at least. We'd get more points for the report."
"Right?!"
The elite team duo.
In other words, people who could make ruthless decisions without shedding blood or tears for mission success.
'...Direct counters to this ghost story.'
This one...
...tested human ethics.
"Hmm. The screen text changed."
......
I lifted my head with cold, hardened eyes.
A new sentence scrolled across the screen.
Those who wish to arrive at Tamra, offer a sacrifice.
Those who wish to arrive at Tamra, offer a sacrifice.
Those who wish to arrive at Tamra, offer a sacrifice.
(Repeats endlessly...)
"...Sacrifice?"
Clunk.
One window at the front of the train car slid open.
The people sitting nearby freaked out.
"Eek!"
"This door isn't supposed to open... Wait, why isn't any wind coming in?"
"Why did it just open all of a sudden...?"
As if...
...telling them to throw a sacrifice in.
"......"
Confusion and faint fear spread across the faces of a few passengers who'd gotten up from their seats to actively check the anomaly.
"What... sacrifice? Offering a sacrifice?"
"This is too weird..."
But no one wanted to speculate or chatter about what the real sacrifice or offering might be.
"...Isn't it just hacked?"
"Hey, let's find a crew member."
Denial.
People clicked their tongues uneasily, sat back down, or headed to other cars to find staff.
Pretending to be calm.
Because they'd realized the situation was far from normal, a chilling silence settled over the cabin...
Tap tap.
At that moment, the Butterfly deputy lightly tapped the handle across from her, drawing my gaze and the Dolphin staffer's.
"Don't step up. Observe what they do first."
"Got it!"
"Yes."
The deputy probably wanted to see what results others' attempts produced first. ...And to keep me from acting rashly.
But I had no intention of stepping up anyway.
'If this is really that incident, it's best not to act now...'
I sat quietly, watching to see if things unfolded 'as scripted.'
A moment later.
"This is too weird!"
Screams began erupting sporadically here and there.
"Found the crew, but they're in full panic! Screaming they don't know either!"
"No, some people brought kids from the front car? Everyone's freaking out saying their kids are gone! This isn't normal..."
"Engineer can't be reached. The cab door's completely locked!!"
Once they started communicating with other cars, even creepier facts came to light.
'...For a while.'
That was right.
But anxiety was unavoidable, so I gritted my teeth to suppress the impatience.
And I watched the people standing by the train car door, proclaiming to the crowd.
"Everyone, we need to come up with some plan!"
"Yeah, this seems like real big trouble...!"
Ding-a-ling!
"......Huh?"
All eyes turned.
New text appeared on the in-car screen.
"......Altar?"
Whoosh.
Outside the window, the dazzling blue sea suddenly started turning red...
...then went pitch black.
"Ack!"
Weird, mucus-covered walls—not the horizon—began appearing outside every window.
"Th-this is......"
"Mommy!"
As if the high-speed train were entering a tunnel or station, it kept sliding forward into the bizarre, dark space.
"Sh-shouldn't we do something?!"
"Look for a button or anything!"
"Button? There's nothing like that..."
"Wh-what do we do? What now...?"
"Hey! Person in the window seat! Help me close this window, don't just sit there...!"
"Ah, shut up already!"
Thud!
"Y-you just shoved a person...? Huh? Wh-what?!"
Splash.
"Agh! Someone fell out the window!"
"N-no! He tried to push me and fell himself!"
"Sh-shouldn't we stop the train? Someone fell...!"
"Get on the floor, quietly."
"Yes, sir!"
Whoosh.
The light returned.
Outside the window, the endless blue sea once again sparkled under the dazzling sunlight.
But...
"Gaaaaasp—!"
The cabin was in immediate chaos.
I looked toward the people gathered near the open window, especially...
...a man in his 30s wearing glasses, his face pale as a sheet.
And the now-empty seat directly in front of the window.
"That guy pushed him out of the window, I'm telling you!"
"N-no! He tried to push me, but he lost his balance and fell on his own!"
"That's right! I saw it from the side. The person who fell was acting strange—aggressive even."
"Still, someone died!"
Next to me, the Dolphin staffer leaned in and whispered, "Hmm. The screen did mention a 'sacrifice' and 'offering', so I guess the person who fell was... processed as the offering?"
"Pretty obvious, huh?"
The Butterfly deputy tossed the remark out as if it were nothing and then casually adjusted the equipment attached to her nails, declaring, "We'll observe the next event before we take any action. Get ready."
"Got it."
"......"
At least, the good news was that the passengers seemed to calm down somewhat, having concluded that the person who fell was at fault.
The few who had been accusing and shouting at the man in glasses gradually backed off, muttering a few parting remarks as they did.
"Are you okay? Don't take it too hard."
"Yes... I'm fine. Everyone's just on edge, that's all."
The Dolphin staffer was observing this exchange closely.
Meanwhile, the Butterfly deputy and I quietly inspected our equipment, keeping a watchful eye on the situation.
But that was where the good news ended.
Twenty minutes later—
"Again?!"
The train reentered the tunnel, and the outside view turned crimson and dark once more.
"What the hell is going on?!"
Thanks to their earlier experience, the passengers didn't fall into a panic this time. Instead, they quickly crouched down and covered their heads.
"It'll pass if we wait long enough."
I overheard the murmuring passengers.
Across from me, the Butterfly deputy was now wearing a strange monocle as she scanned the dimly lit train car.
Her gaze was sharp, searching for something expendable and convenient.
"Deputy."
"What?"
"Shouldn't we observe what happens if no offering is made?"
I chose my words carefully, phrasing them the way the deputy would prefer.
"We don't know if reaching 'Tamra' is a good idea or not. It's a situation worth betting on."
"Hmm."
A brief silence.
"Fine."
'Phew.'
I nodded, exhaling silently.
We couldn't draw attention by actively offering someone as a sacrifice.
Meanwhile, the countdown on the screen continued to tick down.
Whoosh.
The outside world was bathed in light again.
The tunnel ended, revealing the vast ocean once more.
"Ah...!"
The passengers instinctively sighed in relief. "It disappeared!"
The text on the onboard screen flickered and then went dark.
What remained was the breathtaking view of the train speeding across the glittering sea, leaving a trail of white spray in its wake.
"...Ah."
The tension eased, and one by one, people lifted their heads, relief spreading across their faces.
"It's still the ocean out there."
"Seems like it's over, right? Everything's fine now, isn't it?"
"This feels like some kind of event or something. Wait—did anyone sign up for an escape room experience or something like that?"
Tap tap.
The Dolphin staffer whispered softly, "This might be easier than expected, huh? Maybe we can clear this without even sacrificing anyone ourselves. It's kind of a predictable condition."
"Let's observe a bit longer. This is my order as deputy."
"Yes-yes."
Another ten minutes passed.
Slightly more relaxed, some of the passengers began moving around the train car, searching for the missing children, calming down the train staff, and trying to communicate with the engineer.
Just when it seemed like everyone had adapted to the situation, regaining some composure and rationality—
Suddenly, without warning.
Thud!
The train tilted forward abruptly.
"...!!"
"W-What? What's going on?"
Passengers tumbled out of their seats, rolling across the floor. I clung tightly to the handrail and managed to hold my ground for one moment longer.
Swallowing my fear, I forced myself to look outside.
Specifically, I strained to see the surface beneath us—wherever the train met the ocean below.
The white spray that had been rising as the train sliced through the shimmering waves...
...was gone.
THUD!
The train broke through the surface of the water and began to sink.
"Aaaahhh!"
"Nooo!!"
The windows shattered, and seawater rushed in.
The conscious passengers screamed, desperately trying to swim out or cling to each other.
The unconscious ones floated limply on the rising water. It was chaos—enough to drive someone insane.
'Not yet...'
Submerged in the cold, suffocating darkness of the sea, I followed the Butterfly deputy Jin Nasol's precise hand signals directing us to escape through the windows.
But as I got closer to the exit, I felt something strange—my consciousness was fading much faster than my lungs could handle.
A dizziness like I was suffocating overwhelmed me...
......
'Huuuhp—'
My mind...
...went blank.
"......"
"......"
"...Huh??"
I opened my eyes to the sound of the cheerful train jingle.
Ding-a-ling!
We were back inside the train car bound for Mokpo, the doors just having closed at Seoul Station.
Next to me sat the Dolphin staffer, and across from me was the Butterfly deputy.
The electronic display panel showed:
Around us, I heard the dazed voices of other passengers.
"Hey, I just had the weirdest dream..."
"You too? Me too. Something about a Tamra-bound train?"
"Huuuh? H-Hold on. Me too?"
"What?"
"...H-Heeeey! Over there, over there!"
"Huh? Huuuuuh?!"
Bound for Tamra
Departing
The train roared to life and began moving again.
Like the first time.
Exactly the same.
"Aaaaaahhhh!!"
Crying, screaming, and panicked voices erupted throughout the cabin.
"Wait! WAIT! What's happening?! What the hell? Just what...!!"
"Let me out! Please let me out!"
"Mom... what's going on?"
What indeed.
'...It's exactly what it looks like.'
I pressed my lips together in silence.
※ URGENT NOTICE
Recent recurrence of the anomalous phenomenon known as 'The Paradise Test (Tentative)' has revealed fatal, unpredictable anomalies.
It has been confirmed that when the train crashes into the water, passengers are transported back to the exact moment of initial departure.
Survivors claim they were trapped in an endlessly looping time sequence aboard the Tamra-bound train.
Right.
Everything here resets.
'...And everyone remembers.'
All passengers retained the memory of what they experienced, without exception.
So.
This marked the start of the second cycle.
Exactly.
'That's why I need to be extremely careful.'
I had to stay calm.
I also couldn't afford to get swept up in the panic.
One thing mattered most to me now.
'I can convince people logically.'
Everyone had experienced something undeniably supernatural.
They wouldn't dismiss me as some lunatic spouting nonsense anymore—they'd listen.
Now, it was time to act cautiously and deliberately.
'This isn't... too bad.'
I could survive this.
I would survive this.
Yes, I had to believe that.
I steadied myself and thought about what I needed to do first.
'Find the person with the Silver Heart.'
Aside from me, there was one other key figure responsible for this nightmare becoming a perfect hell. That person was somewhere on this train.
I needed to identify and control them.
'Let's find them and neutralize the problem.'
I remembered that they had been briefly mentioned in the short story adaptation of this event.
I tried to recall the specific car and seat number where they had been sitting.
It was definitely in the first car, seat number...
......
'Wait.'
Calm down. Think carefully.
Their name—what was their exact name?
......
"......"
"Uh, hey? Supervisor?"
I couldn't remember.
'Ah.'
It had been weeks since my Memorial GripTok broke.
The gaps in my memory were finally starting to show.