Chapter 94
Chapter 94
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: Even If I Fall Into a Ghost Story, I Have to Go to Work
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Someone who lost their smartphone in Death End Alley and flailed around trying to get back to reality somehow.
I can say for certain that I wasn't the first.
The Darkness Exploration Records had quite a diverse collection of records about the miserable and eerie fates of those people.
For now... let's check the common premises first.
1. Blindly following someone else who's getting directions from their smartphone app is guaranteed to fail.
The app's directions couldn't be shared. In the end, every attempt ended with "the person I was following suddenly vanished at some point."
Once these failure records piled up, people gave up on that approach and tried to find escape hints directly within Death End Alley itself.
'There were all sorts of methods.'
A shop that promised to open a back door out of the alley if you gave up one of your limbs, a passerby who said you just needed to climb into the manhole, a shoe store claiming that wearing their shoes would let you see the way out...
The silver lining was that I didn't have to try all those attempts myself—I could go straight to the conclusion.
All of the above attempts failed.
...Yeah.
That's the cruel fact deduced through induction.
2. The residents of Death End Alley have no idea how to get back to reality.
It was all just tricks.
No different from grabbing a random office worker on the streets of Seoul and asking them how to get to a ghost story.
The residents here didn't have that knowledge to begin with.
'You have to abandon any expectation or plan of escaping with someone's help here.'
So, I had to come up with an escape method assuming there would be absolutely no new hints...
Whew.
"Squad Leader."
"Yes."
I forced my stiff mouth open.
"...I'll brief you on what we've sorted out so far."
Next premise, number 3.
"From now on, we can't normally enter any new alleys."
Normally, app users would see a new alley appear every thousand steps, and they could choose whether to enter or not.
But with the pedometer app kaput, that rational method was over too.
'We're trapped in this alley.'
The scenery might change if we kept walking, but we couldn't choose it ourselves.
Fundamentally, those of us who weren't residents of this horror couldn't find the way...
"Therefore, we have to find a way out within this alley."
"Yes."
And number 4.
"...We also have to get out before daybreak."
Time limit.
Of course, most of this company's Field Exploration Team members had nerves of steel.
Some crazy bastards would even try pushing the solution grade higher if they drew an alley that was mostly safe as long as you followed the manual.
'The company research team had requested it before too.'
For example... staying in Death End Alley as long as possible without walking much, as long as the smartphone battery held out.
Results?
Complete radio silence from everyone.
...This "radio silence" wasn't like the sightings of someone transformed into a grotesque laborer in a boutique back alley.
Total evaporation.
There was even a vivid record of an employee who used dedicated equipment to communicate that they were holing up for a day in an inn in the alley.
"......"
I absolutely did not want to experience a situation like that.
'This is insane.'
Walking through Death End Alley without a smartphone, recalling all this, the reality was starting to hit me hard.
The fact that I could become one of those records.
"Time constraints, spatial constraints, methodological constraints."
I barely managed to report to Lee Jaheon in a calm tone.
"...In summary, no matter what method I come up with, it'll be a gamble close to an all-or-nothing adventure."
"Yes."
Lee Jaheon remained composed as ever.
"...Squad Leader, aren't you worried about the current situation?"
"Yes. Worry has no utility in resolving the current situation."
"......"
Wow.
'Even if I came up with some insane method, as long as it had convincing logic, he'd follow without question.'
Just like those colleagues we were with earlier.
"......"
Wait.
'Where did those colleagues go?'
Section Chief Lee Jaheon had clearly told the colleagues entering the shop next door to "come out in 10 minutes."
If they really came out after just 10 minutes...
'Were they there when the rapids hit the alley...?'
Maybe they got swept away by the current...
"Junior!"
Ah.
I turned my head, and just then, Kang I-hak and Jang Heo-un from the river department came running toward us, waving their hands.
They were holding paper bags printed with yarn balls, so it looked like they'd safely completed their purchase.
"Whoa~ So you're here!"
Kang I-hak was grinning ear to ear.
Phew.
"Looks like you had successful shopping."
"Ah, yeah, yeah. The shop owner must've been desperate for cash or something. He even sold his own hat, matching the price like mad. It was really great, yes, great shopping!"
Then he glanced at Section Chief Lee Jaheon's face, pretended to check his smartphone, and spoke quickly.
"Huh? No way, has that much time passed already...? Sorry. You said 10 minutes, but I got carried away after finding something useful for exploration. Really sorry, Squad Leader!"
"Yes."
It seemed deliberately timed, but it was better that way.
They must not have noticed the flood outside while haggling.
However, Jang Heo-un standing beside him looked a bit pale as he glanced at his own paper bag.
"Buffalo, is there a problem with your purchase?"
"Ah, no, not that... Among the items for sale, the yarn wasn't actual yarn but... something like weird veins mixed in."
"......"
Good lord.
"Ah, of course I didn't buy any. Thanks for the coins, Deer. I'll pay you back in gold when we get out...!"
"Come to think of it, it's about time to head out, right? Whoa, you've been filling your step count in this alley the whole time? Can you share the 'remaining steps' on the app?"
Lee Jaheon answered expressionlessly.
"No."
"...Pardon?"
Ugh!
'This lizard!'
I kicked Section Chief Lee Jaheon's shin at an angle the others couldn't see.
"?"
And then said calmly.
"We're walking slowly to check something. Have you two filled your step counts?"
"Ah, pretty much, yeah. We were going back and forth looking at stuff inside the shop."
"......"
"Kinda disappointing~ We could've checked two more alley options!"
Kang I-hak smacked his lips.
On the smartphone screen the colleague pulled out, I could see the remaining step count...
"We've used up the money you lent us, so we should probably check what the next alley is and head back. Haha!"
"...Yes."
Did you know?
There was exactly one method for someone who lost their smartphone to successfully escape this place.
It was recorded multiple times and fully verified as fact.
I almost had a similar opportunity just now.
Simply...
Snatch someone else's smartphone.
"......"
I stared at Kang I-hak's smartphone dangling unguarded in the air, then...
"Yes. Then please return first. Squad Leader, is it okay to send these two back?"
"Yes."
I sent the two colleagues off.
"Then we'll head in. Thanks...!"
"Haha, see you at the office tomorrow. We'll talk more about the spoils then~!"
The two walked down the alley and suddenly vanished.
...They went to the next alley, I suppose.
Don't do anything you can't handle.
'That's an unforgivable evil act.'
I might not be able to use the silver heart if things went wrong.
Even if not, if I later thought of a way to survive without snatching a smartphone, my mentality wouldn't hold up...
'Unless it's really the worst-case scenario, don't go there.'
The moment you lose your moral compass, contamination might accelerate too.
I touched the silver ring I was already wearing to calm myself.
Y-Yeah.
'Thanks.'
I didn't particularly want to be compared to that one...
I tried to calm down without recalling the Tuesday Quiz Show incident.
I didn't want to think about a direct near-death experience from a horror while trapped in one right now.
I just diligently rummaged through the records in my head, comparing if there was anything in this alley that could serve as a clue...
"Deer."
Whoosh.
Lee Jaheon grabbed the back of my neck and threw me through the door of a shop.
Then he came in and crouched down too.
"Water."
"...!"
I looked up.
We had entered an unmanned laundromat.
Beyond the glass door with cheap printed letters, the alley filling with water was visible...
Whoosh...
Between houses, in a narrow gap that wasn't quite an alley, black water oozed out in clumps, forming the shape of a mascot animal.
A wriggling dragon character.
'...Not really a mascot, though.'
I didn't sense the clear intelligence I'd felt back then.
But that made it all the more eerie and threatening.
'No talking to this one.'
The water mass started wandering the alley again, moving its limbs in grotesque steps.
Fortunately, it didn't peer into the laundromat.
'Phew.'
Chocolate bars rained down onto the wet floor where the water mass had passed.
Looks like merchandise swept out the stationery store door by the earlier rapids.
And swarming toward them, the Death End Alley residents who'd been lured by the parade.
Pedestrians and merchants from all sorts of alleys swarmed in, ripping open chocolate bars aggressively to check for "theme park winning tickets" inside.
Probably admission or membership passes were in there.
...Like my tattoo.
'...The moment they spot it, it'll peel my skin right off.'
That classic horror development flashed in my mind, making my skin crawl.
But the moment the water mass vanished from sight beyond the alley, I cracked open the glass door.
Jingle.
...Fortunately, the Death End Alley pedestrians frantically digging through chocolates didn't look this way.
I swallowed, flicked a coin to summon my third hand into the air.
The translucent hand cautiously slipped through the narrow gap in the glass door and grabbed a chocolate bar that had bounced toward the laundromat...
The moment the third hand brought it back inside, I snatched the chocolate bar and shoved it into another tattoo.
'Phew.'
If I'm already scraping and irritating the skin, might as well get some intel to analyze.
Fortunately, whether the silver ring did its job well or not, I felt no strange hallucinations, noises, or fervent desire for the theme park.
'I'll examine it more closely after returning to reality.'
As I withdrew my hand from the tattoo inventory and dismissed the third hand, I recalled an item I'd been carrying without ever trying to use.
The most expensive item from the Alien Shop.
"...!"
I pulled out the item.
A small red button.
...Brown definitely said something like that.
Emergency escape, huh.
'Should I press it?'
Considering the price, it felt like something to save for a higher-grade Darkness, but rather than greedily holding out and screwing myself when disappearance was right around the corner, maybe use it quick.
'Alright.'
Let's see what happens.
Before using it, I showed the button to Section Chief Lee Jaheon.
"Squad Leader, this is..."
"Do you need advice?"
"......"
Huh?
"Do you need advice?"
"...Yes."
"Don't use it."
"......"
A chilling premonition ran down my spine.
"Squad Leader, do you know this item?"
"Yes."
"...Does something bad happen?"
"It depends on the criteria."
"...Please explain in more detail."
"Impossible."
"......"
"However, I don't recommend using it in the current situation."
"......"
'Sigh.'
In the end, I put the button back.
Section Chief Lee Jaheon wouldn't lie, even if he said he couldn't speak.
Plus, the fact that he was in a position to buy from the Alien Shop made me even more uneasy.
'We got the Alien Shop link through his account to begin with.'
Overall, forcing its use now felt like foreshadowing for leaving behind one horrific exploration record line and vanishing.
Oh?
A strong sense of futility washed over me.
Like realizing the rope that appeared out of nowhere was just a shadow, not real.
"......"
I leaned against the laundromat wall and held back a sigh.
"Then all remaining options are gambles."
Section Chief Lee Jaheon looked at me. I anxiously tapped my arm with my fingers.
"Like smashing down an entire house to create a gap in the alley concept and escape, or something stupid like that... Wait. Don't smash it!"
"Yes."
This is driving me crazy.
I pulled the lizard away from punching the wall barehanded, then slumped to the floor.
'Is there really no other method?'
X or escape.
Is there really nothing more reliable than betting on this extreme probability game?
Surely, a way out of the horror...
......
Ah.
"...!"
I jumped to my feet.
"Deer."
"Squad Leader!"
This... this might work?
"I have a method to try. First, let's get out of here and move..."
Lee Jaheon grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back.
"Step back."
"......"
I turned my head.
A black silhouette was visible outside the laundromat's glass door.
Peering in at us.
The black water mass.