Diamonds Don't Break
Backrooms!
A space with dingy yellow wallpaper stretching out endlessly. You can enter it through something bug-like called a no-clip.
Inside live things called entities—basically dangerous whatever.
Summary done.
I clenched my fist, a bit excited.
"Oh. So they recreated the Backrooms here too? Must've been tough with the scale."
"Recreated... it's 1:1 scale."
Ju Eunseong's face lost a bit of its smile as he said that.
"Lots of missing people. We can't contain it with our tech."
This guy's acting is on point. Where'd he learn it?
Ju Eunseong shrugged.
"Don't worry. Safety experts are pouring their hearts into it. No sudden no-clip dragging you into the Backrooms."
"Do they only hire part-timers who over-immerse in the lore?"
Like no-clips or Backrooms exist in the real world. No way we'd ever deal with that crap.
Ju Eunseong smoothly changed the subject.
"Hey. You gonna date Seoa or what?"
Thump thump!!
Noise from the isolation room speaker? Nah, imagination.
Yu Seoa.
Objectively sweet and pretty. With some viciously huge assets. Even the orphanage kids love her.
Deep down, I wanna shout she's my wife!!
'But don't you need her to like me back first?'I know I'm built scary. If I confess with this gangster mug...
- Seoa, I like you.
- Eeeek.
She might cry from fear. My face is violence incarnate.
Self-awareness and objectivity are key.
I didn't answer, so Ju Eunseong glanced at the surveillance camera before speaking again.
"...Hmm. Remember Seoa's parents?"
"Of course. What'd they look like again."
"Kinda fuzzy for me too."
It's been so long since I saw them, memories are hazy.
They looked like Seoa, I think. Probably still kicking fine.
But something felt off now that I thought about it.
It's not just Seoa.
Yu Seoa. Tatiana. Lael.
'Ain't it all women around me?'Sure, none of 'em are really connected to me.
Anyway.
At least my circle's a total girl-fest, and finally a dude shows up.
"What're you staring at."
Ju Eunseong. My one and only bro!
Nothing's really changed, though.
He's the final evolution of herbivore male: total fujobait otaku.
"You don't date, Eunseong?"
"Fool. Paradise is on the screen."
That pretty-boy parasite face going full solo-moe? National loss, but not my problem.
"Playing romance fantasy games now?"
"Yeah. New one dropped a few days ago. But the main heroine's family name..."
Ju Eunseong trailed off.
"...Nah. Common surname in German-speaking areas."
What the hell's he mumbling about.
German surname? Like Karstein?
Whatever.
I stared straight at Ju Eunseong.
"Eunseong. Got a favor."
"What."
"Teach me some studying."
Living as a middle school dropout's tough sometimes.
Gotta raise my kids right, so I need knowledge too!
"Oh..."
Ju Eunseong stared hard at the corner camera in the isolation room.
Like waiting for someone's okay.
Senior Researcher's office.
Yu Seoa was adjusting the screen.
Tatiana sipped the coffee Ju Eunseong brought.
"...Hrok. Hmm, delicious."
"You like coffee, right."
Senior Ju Eunseong. Useful after all.
Anyway, things feel like they're snowballing.
The Council was directly watching Lee Shin's isolation room cams at Site 277.
A councilor's voice came through the auto-translator, stiff and formal.
Additional education is rejected. SIN-998's value stems from his lack of common sense. Granting him average citizen knowledge will limit his reality-adjustment abilities.
Maintain current level.
That was the Council's order, but...
Yu Seoa, Tatiana, and Ju Eunseong each let out a groan.
"Mm..."
"C-Councilor, sir?"
"Observe SIN-998's isolation room."
Inside the isolation room, Lee Shin was diligently teaching the orphanage kids.
Eight-year-old Jang Arin raised her hand.
"Directow! What happens if you go to the end of the earth?"
"Ah. You fall off. Earth's flat."
"Directow... then how does the sun move?"
"That? Helios the dummy loads the sun onto his wheelchair and floors it from dawn..."
Twelve-year-old Baek Yulha half-listened, smirking subtly. She was enjoying this.
The senior researcher's office fell silent.
The councilor finally spoke, hesitant.
"...He really graduated middle school?"
"IQ test came back 85. His older brother was similar."
"Borderline intellectual functioning."
Optimistically, it means we can inject just the Management Bureau knowledge we want.
Pessimistically, if he snaps, unpredictable chaos ensues.
"Um, excuse me..."
Yu Seoa, who'd been quietly watching, cautiously spoke up.
"I've been thinking. Couldn't we use the Director's abilities for anomaly reverse-engineering?"
"...Continue."
Anomaly reverse-engineering.
Studying anomalies, tearing them apart, tasting, dismantling to tech-ify their weirdness.
That tech becomes the Management Bureau's power.
Like the Lost Paradise's repulsion shield.
Or memory erasure drugs, absolute memory agents, regression devices known to a tiny few.
Without reverse-engineering, humanity would've lost to anomalies and hostile groups long ago.
"Assistant Researcher Yu Seoa. Why stop mid-sentence."
The lofty councilor awaited her words. Normally, she'd barely report to site supervisors.
Yu Seoa sweated bullets, barely steadying her breath.
"Y-Yes, for example... what if we give him a normal knife and make him believe it's diamond."
"Proceed."
The experiment was approved on the spot.
[Anomaly Entity Information]
[SIN-998 / Experiment Log]
#4
The assistant researcher placed the issued military dagger on the hydraulic press mold under observation.
(Sound of metal shredding)
The hydraulic press's operating part tore apart raggedly. The dagger didn't even scratch.
Additional tests proceeded under the assistant researcher's watch.
#4-1: Ultra-high-pressure water sprayed on dagger surface
- Dagger gained polish
#4-2: Dagger immersed in hydrofluoric acid
- Surface microbes removed
#4-3: Shakai'd bloodstains (from external dimension ■■■■ [edited] for spraying purposes) applied to dagger
- Coughing and cries for help heard
(Omitted)
[Experiment Results]
The issued military dagger's cutting power, toughness, and corrosion resistance abnormally improved. Matches no known Management Bureau material.
Next, SIN-998's comment on the phenomenon.
[Conclusion]
SIN-998 can be utilized as a Type 3 Enchanter.
Previously required PhD materials engineers or Vatican bishop-grade miracle priests.
Lately, the Management Bureau's vibe shifted a bit.
Thanks to some at Site 277 who knew about the <Director> they were containing.
The usually cold, emotionless site buzzed with odd energy.
"...Now's the time."
And in such situations, they're vulnerable to large-scale raids.
Rain drizzled down.
Deep in the demolition zone, in a derelict church marked restricted by lockout, a man and woman peered out the window.
"What they call standard reality is just a thin membrane. A single sharp awl could tear it."
"Ants living on that thin membrane will fall to lower dimensions. Or get sucked into higher ones."
The chapel had no electronics. Power cut off—no outside contact.
But anomalies always defy common sense.
Begin.
A voice echoed behind their heads. Probably the same for other cultists.
"...Miracles at work. The cardinals issued the holy word."
"Our infiltrators in the Management Bureau's lower orgs?"
"They die for the serpent's children."
The woman stepped out. Cold rain soaked her, but she just clasped her hands devoutly.
"Commence Phase 12 Rescue Plan. Bring SIN-002 back to His home."
Coded signals spread everywhere. Soon, panicked screams echoed from afar.
News would explode nationwide in five minutes.
"Tear the membrane. Make the ants wail."
The man gripped the cult's golden apple symbol.
[Grade 4 Wide-Area Phenomenon Disaster Occurred]
[No-Clip Occurred]
[Affected Areas]
[Site 277]
[Site 50]
[Listening Post C-2-4]
[...]
[Civilian Areas Included]
[Affected Areas]
[Site 82 Wide Containment Zone: Entire Republic of Korea]
[Random No-Clips Across Peninsula]
[Indiscriminate Personnel Entering SIN-100 <Backrooms>]
[Anomaly Containment Failure]
[No-Clips in Following Anomaly Isolation Rooms]
[SIN-077 <Lael>]
[SIN-1444 <On the Stairs>]
[SIN-3710 <The Dragging Hand>]
[...]
[SIN-998 <Director>]