Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: 25-Hour Convenience Store Horror — Rules (1)
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Time remaining until exactly 9:00: 10 minutes.
I drained my coffee cup and stood from my seat.
As much as I wanted to finish watching that video.
The interview time was set in stone.
I placed the cup on the return tray and quietly pushed open the cafe door.
The moment the door closed.
The outside air came rushing in all at once.
The time was 8:53.
The distinctive chill of morning brushed past my nose.
The footsteps of people heading to work, the sound of traffic signals.
Amid it all, only the sound of my own footsteps walking alone rang out strangely clearly.
I turned the corner and spotted a paper stuck to the glass door of the building across the street.
[25-Hour Convenience Store - Hiring Short-Term Part-Timers]
I'd come to the right place.
I let out a short breath.
The moment I passed through the convenience store door.
A chill slithered down my spine.
"......This is natural causes, huh."
No.
Then what am I supposed to eat and live on?
***
The inside of the convenience store was quiet.
I paused my thoughts for a moment and slowly scanned my surroundings.
The first thing I noticed was the air.
Even without the AC on, an eerie coldness drifted through the store.
Toward the back, I could see a long row of beverage shelves.
Bottled drinks and cans were neatly arranged inside.
The expiration date stickers were faintly faded.
Next to them was a glass-door refrigerated display case.
The light inside flickered intermittently, reflecting off the packaging.
Behind the counter stood a cigarette display rack.
An electronic clock on the wall was frozen at 9:30, unmoving.
The floor was clean.
But in the corners untouched by sunlight, stains clung stubbornly.
As the entrance door closed.
Even the small noises vanished, enveloping everything in complete silence.
Everything seemed perfectly fine.
The displayed goods, the drinks in the fridges, even the calculator on the counter.
Just one thing was missing: the warmth of human presence.
The counter was empty.
No part-timer stood where one should have been.
If it weren't for that, I might have dismissed it as my imagination.
This time, I properly checked around.
Under the counter, beside the fridge, between the shelves.
Wondering if maybe a piece of paper had fallen somewhere.
At that moment, a short 'tick' sounded from overhead, followed by one fluorescent light going out.
By the time I noticed something was off, half the store was already shrouded in darkness.
A space where light and shadow intertwined.
Quietly, but surely, something was changing.
And then it happened.
Ring...rrrrr...rrrrr...
A phone rang inside the convenience store.
The location: the counter.
No number showed on the screen.
I hesitated for a moment.
Then stepped behind the counter and cautiously picked up the receiver.
"..."
As it touched my ear, the silence wavered briefly.
And soon—
—Can... you hear me?
An unfamiliar voice.
Small, but strangely clear.
A subtle tremor mixed in with the breathing.
—Is this... the convenience store?
—Are you... here for the part-time job?
"Yes. I was told there's an interview at 9 a.m. this morning."
—...I see.
—Then, whatever you do, don't go outside right now.
—If you go out... you'll die.
Sudden phone call.
Mysterious voice.
I responded calmly for now.
"...What are you talking about right now?"
—Please, don't look outside.
—It might look fine now, but it's all 'fake.'
I turned my head.
Beyond the glass door: people heading to work, bus noises.
The ordinary morning scenery unchanged.
—Even if it looks normal... you absolutely cannot go out.
Her voice quickened.
Her breathing grew ragged.
—You got the text, right?
—The '25-Hour Convenience Store' job posting.
—The hours listed there, from 9:30 p.m. to 6 a.m.... you have to stay inside during that time.
—...I know it sounds crazy.
—But... that's the only way to really survive!
—So please, please... believe me and don't go out.
—...You'll die! You'll die!
As her shout ended.
Only breathing remained on the other end of the line.
I couldn't say anything for a moment.
Once her emotions settled, her voice came again.
—By any chance... some of the lights in the store went out, right?
Urgent tone.
I looked up at the ceiling.
About half of the white fluorescent lights were already off.
The lighting over the counter was still on.
But the aisle stretching toward the fridge was completely dark.
"...About half are out."
—Then you need to hurry.
—There should be clothes in the storage room.
"Clothes?"
—Yes, a black jumper hanging there.
—Put it on and get to the counter fast.
All I knew about the person on the other end.
Was that it was a young woman's voice.
She sounded desperate.
But I still couldn't decide.
Not everything that approached could be trusted as goodwill.
I couldn't tell if this voice was trying to help me or the opposite.
"...Can I ask why?"
—When all the lights in the convenience store go out, everything inside becomes 'disposed of.'
—...And it's not just items. People too!
The voice trembled over the receiver, but her words didn't sound like a joke.
—So hurry.
—While there's still light.
Her voice grew more impatient.
—When the lights all go out... the door disappears, and so does the world.
As she finished speaking.
One ceiling light popped off—
The remaining lights: now just three.
"...Where's the storage room?"
—Right end, behind the beverage shelves.
—Press below the handle to open it.
—Be careful. As the lights dwindle, 'they' start to wake up—
Beep—
A short electronic tone cut the call abruptly.
Once the call ended, the convenience store fell back into silence.
The word 'disposed of' echoed in my ear, refusing to fade.
I set down the receiver, located the spot, and headed there.
My thoughts didn't stop as I moved.
One phone call, one voice.
That was all.
The info I had on her.
Just then, my gaze shifted to the chat window that had been flashing noisily.
Hundreds of messages had already flooded in.
Hoping for any clues, I skimmed through lightly.
[Happy Storage]: Convenience store, huh.
[Crazy Woman]: Wait, what about in between?
[Narita]: It's out! Finally! No more showing me weird shadows, now I won't get my neck chopped off!
Nothing useful.
Just a few seconds' worth.
Threat posts and such.
Waiting around wouldn't end anytime soon.
I spoke first.
"Does anyone know anything about this anomaly?"
Soon, a familiar veteran appeared in response to my question.
[Heaven Destroyer]: I don't know the specific anomaly you're caught in right now, newb, but I do know its type.
'Type?'
[Heaven Destroyer]: Anomalies are usually made in two ways.
[Heaven Destroyer]: One creates a space that doesn't exist in reality and 'kidnaps' people into it.
[Heaven Destroyer]: The other 'corrupts' reality and infiltrates it.
I got it a bit.
Kidnap type and infiltration type.
I'd experienced both before.
"...So this is."
The latter.
I tore my eyes from the screen and instinctively looked out the glass door.
Outside... was normal.
Commuters, buses, morning sunlight.
No different from when I entered.
'Might be fine to go out after all.'
The thought crossed my mind unbidden.
Like that maze anomaly before, there might be an exit.
Not all anomalies were completely sealed spaces.
At that moment, the chats exploded, noticing my gaze.
[Happy Storage]: Going out = death, right?
[Flounder]: That's the temptation pattern.
└ [Crazy Woman]: Sometimes they blatantly show an exit to make you think it's fake, but it really is one. Ambiguous.
I had no intention of going out.
Just checking.
If I'd felt even a hint of wrongness.
It would've made deciding easier.
As my gaze shifted to the receiver, [Heaven Destroyer]'s chat continued.
[Heaven Destroyer]: Newb. That woman you just talked to on the phone? She might be real.
[Heaven Destroyer]: Most anomalies absorb people who enter right away,
[Heaven Destroyer]: But sometimes they deliberately 'delay absorption.'
Delay absorption.
I didn't grasp the meaning immediately.
As if answering my doubt, more text appeared.
[Heaven Destroyer]: Anomalies draw energy not just from human flesh, but from human emotions too.
[Heaven Destroyer]: Especially when emotions like 'goodwill,' 'sacrifice,' 'regret' collapse—
[Heaven Destroyer]: The negative energy produced then is the purest and strongest.
[Heaven Destroyer]: The reason it hasn't absorbed her yet
[Heaven Destroyer]: Could be it's waiting for that final moment's emotion when she dies trying to help someone.
[Heaven Destroyer]: From the anomaly's perspective, she's like a constant energy supplier... yeah, a sort of—
I knew what he meant.
"...Human battery."
Before he finished, I spoke first.
I'd experienced something similar before.
[Heaven Destroyer]: Exactly. Battery.
[Heaven Destroyer]: So...
[Heaven Destroyer]: That voice might really be trying to help you.
[Heaven Destroyer]: But... no guarantees.
[Heaven Destroyer]: Anomalies evolve too. They discard failed patterns and keep what works.
[Heaven Destroyer]: That voice itself could be 'bait' using goodwill.
The text on the screen began to blur slowly.
[Heaven Destroyer]: In an anomaly, you can't trust anything for sure. Nothing's equal; each has different traits.
[Heaven Destroyer]: So, newb.
A brief silence flowed.
[Heaven Destroyer]: The judgment... is yours. You're the one inside this anomaly right now. Your life ultimately depends on your own decisions.
And at that moment.
One light in the convenience store went out.
Pop—
Lights left: now just two lines.