Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Transport Team (2)
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"Huu..."
I got out of the taxi and slowly walked toward the hotel.
In the end, I was standing in front of that place again—a place I never wanted to return to.
Just like back then, people were gathered in front of the hotel.
People who had been lured here by promises of safety and big money just for moving items.
I slowly entered and sat down among them.
I had my face covered with a mask, just in case someone might recognize me.
Even when I applied for the job using Choi Employee's phone, my heart had been pounding.
If my personal information was still on file, or if they checked applicants thoroughly, they might uncover my identity.
But it was just my imagination. They didn't seem to care at all who applied or what kind of people they were.
Looking back now, it had been the same when I first set foot here.
As long as your body was healthy, you passed.
A familiar yet unfamiliar scene unfolded.
A man in work clothes, giving off the vibe of a construction site foreman, was roughly lining up the gathered people.
His tone was a bit more overbearing than the work-clothed man from when I was on the transport team.
"Alright, everyone, line up straight in two rows! When the suits show up in a bit, just follow without any backtalk. Got it?"
Murmurs of discontent leaked out here and there in low voices.
"Hey, what kind of big corporation makes you start work right away?"
"Yeah, right. Is this an interview or what?"
"...They said it's simple work."
I'd thought the same when I first came here.
The difference now was that I knew the "work" they were talking about was anything but ordinary.
At that moment, two men in impeccably tailored black suits emerged from inside the hotel.
I hadn't known back then, but now I could tell.
Those weren't just suits—they were the special protective gear issued to exploration teams.
That meant they were from Dongto's exploration teams too.
Not a single familiar face among them. Either a newly formed team, or one I didn't know about.
'Choi Employee... he's already gone inside?'
Choi Employee wasn't among the two who came out.
They scanned us without a word, then nodded to the man in work clothes.
"Alright, let's move! No funny business—follow along!"
Following the work-clothed man's shout, I and the other applicants began trailing the suited men.
And finally, we stepped down into the dark, damp staircase. With each step down, memories from the past seemed to revive.
Into that underground hotel I never wanted to return to.
I walked in of my own accord.
"Isn't it too deep?"
"Yeah, what could be down here in a basement that they need us moving stuff?"
As I descended the stairs amid their grumbled complaints, the place that strongly stirred my memories finally came into view.
"No way, why is that down in a basement...?"
"It's the hotel entrance...!"
The entrance and lobby of the underground hotel spread out before my eyes.
A musty moldy smell accompanied a clammy chill that enveloped my entire body.
Cobwebs draped across the walls and ceiling proved this was a long-abandoned space.
But in the center stood a gaudy yet worn hotel entrance that seemed utterly out of place—like it had dropped from another world entirely.
Just like the other applicants when I first came, the people with me now stared at the bizarre sight with expressions mixed with shock and confusion, murmuring among themselves.
"A hotel basement with another hotel inside..."
"Yeah, maybe it's something like that? For VIPs only or whatever..."
Ignoring their confused voices, I couldn't help but glance back at the staircase we'd just come down.
If everything repeated exactly like before, the stairs should vanish without a trace any moment now.
As if they had never existed to begin with.
Suddenly, I recalled what the Dongto exploration team that had rescued us from this hotel had said.
When the stairs disappeared and we were isolated, they had panicked, saying "This is the first time we've dealt with something like this."
Was that really true?
My gaze fixed on the stairs, and as the last person descending stepped off, the space where the stairs had been began to warp.
Then, the stairs vanished silently.
As if it had been a wall from the very start.
"...Hah."
"Argh! The stairs! The stairs are gone!"
"What the hell? What's going on? We can't get out now?"
As I stared blankly at the stairs and let out a hollow laugh, a few people followed my gaze, spotted the vanished stairs, and started shouting in panic.
Just from the stairs disappearing once more, I knew.
Everything that man from the exploration team—who had scouted me after our escape—had said was a lie.
I forced myself to stay calm and focused ahead.
While the applicants and exploration team members' attention was fixed on the vanished stairs, I didn't miss my chance.
I quickly slipped off my mask, stuffed it into my pocket, and silently darted toward the inside of the hotel.
I had to act fast amid this chaos.
First, find the exploration team that should already be scouting this hotel.
At the same time, deal with the dangers inside—the monsters—and collect their name tags.
And in the process, uncover the secrets of this underground hotel: why they were feeding victims to the monsters under the guise of a transport team.
The top priority was locating Dongto's advance exploration team, which I expected to already be searching the hotel interior.
Choi Employee would have entered this underground hotel ahead of the transport team.
As I moved quickly down the hallway, a grotesque mannequin suddenly popped out from around a corner.
The mannequin monster that had terrified me in the past.
But now, it didn't scare me.
Without even blinking, I snapped its neck with my bare hands.
Crack.
In an instant, I ripped the name tag from the collapsing mannequin's chest.
Thud.
It couldn't even slow my steps.
Without the slightest hesitation, I strode deeper into the hotel.
"Hey, you...!"
"...Graaah!"
Further inside, near what I remembered as the restaurant space, I heard a commotion leaking out.
Sharp voices, like they were arguing.
Of course, it wasn't the transport team I'd just entered with.
They couldn't have reached this far ahead of me.
That left one answer. It had to be the exploration team that had come to scout ahead.
I crept forward carefully, muffling my footsteps, toward the source of the noise.
At the restaurant entrance, two men were locked in tense confrontation.
One was definitely Choi Employee. The other... his face was familiar.
I vaguely remembered passing by him once, but I couldn't quite place who he was.
Choi Employee was shouting in a highly agitated voice.
"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing!"
The other man ignored Choi Employee's yell, clutching his own shoulder and muttering lowly.
The distance was a bit far, so I couldn't hear exactly, but from his lip movements and the vibe, it seemed like:
'How did you know... about the item...'
Only then did I notice something in Choi Employee's hand.
It looked like an ordinary ballpoint pen, but when he shook it slightly, a faint spark flew.
Just as I'd advised him, he'd brought the item properly.
It charged electricity with every shake, and pressing the button unleashed a powerful current.
The man, hit by a blast from Choi Employee's pen, bit his lip in frustration and swallowed a pained groan.
Still rubbing his shoulder, he glared at Choi Employee with wary eyes and bit his lower lip.
"Urgh... If we make more noise here, the monsters..."
He muttered to himself, then suddenly scooped up an ornate, antique-looking old cash register from nearby, cradling it protectively.
What was that? It didn't seem like just any cash register.
Despite its apparent weight, he desperately clutched it.
I didn't remember seeing anything like that during my previous exploration of the hotel.
Then, he pulled something from his pocket that looked like a complex mechanical device.
The moment I saw it, I sprang into action.
A memory flashed in my mind.
No doubt about it!
If my recollection was right, that was a one-use escape device.
The man facing off with Choi Employee was trying to flee using that item.
Thud-thud-thud!
At the sound of my rapid footsteps, he turned his head toward the noise for a split second, saw me charging at tremendous speed, and froze in brief panic.
Now was the moment.
I didn't miss that tiny opening.
In the blink of an eye, I closed the gap, roughly snatching the escape device he was about to activate.
"Ah!"
He let out a short scream as he realized too late that the item had been taken, but it was already in my hand.
Clutching the cash register, he looked at me in bewilderment, and behind him, Choi Employee, who had approached, aimed the electric pen at the man's neck.
"Minjun! This guy's got the other exploration team members...!"
"...Let's talk."
Now it was time to have a conversation with the man.
His eyes darted shakily between me and Choi Employee.