The Law of the Jungle on Line 1

The Noosphere.

It is the term used to describe humanity's collective cognitive field.

On an individual level, a human's cognitive field is incredibly weak.

However, when layered one by one to reflect the subconscious of all humanity, it becomes vast enough to influence physical reality.

In short, urban legends believed by the masses take on a physical form.

The prime example is SIN-666, <The Orphanage on Wheels>—otherwise known as Seoul Metropolitan Subway Line 1!

In ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the collective subconscious of metropolitan citizens, Line 1 was already engraved as something far beyond a mere subway line. The same held true for foreign tourists visiting South Korea.

Ultimately, the image of Line 1 accumulated in humanity's Noosphere materialized one day.

"You sat in the wrong seat! Hahaha!"

"A-Aaaaargh?!"

The Steel-Flute-Wielding Bridal Mask Murderer, who indiscriminately bashed in the skulls of ordinary citizens sitting in priority seats and elderly citizens sitting in regular seats alike.

"Slurp. Gulp. Rero-rero-rero—"

"Excuse me, miss. Stop making those weird noises."

"Glub?"

"W-Why are you taking off your clothes...?"

A twisted, horny carnivorous woman (114 kg) from the nether realm who tried to shove any pillar she saw into her orifices.

Line 1 had become a hellish train crawling with minor anomalies at every turn.

"What a headache..."

It was no small headache for the Management Bureau either.

If they shut down Line 1 entirely, real estate prices would crash.

And in Wide-Area Containment Zone 82, commonly known as South Korea, there was more than one anomaly tied to real estate prices.

Whether real estate skyrocketed or plummeted, it would trigger a wide-area containment breach!

Ultimately, they established containment protocols to keep Line 1 running normally, only controlling the specific areas and times where anomalous activity manifested.

Unfortunately, the citizens of the peninsula, whose dopamine receptors were completely fried, were not so easily deterred.

As if the global rash of disappearances due to possession phenomena wasn't enough,

Line 1 caused a delightful little hiccup, doubling South Korea's missing persons rate.

Lately, things had been so chaotic that some even whispered it might be more dangerous than a Gamma-class threat.

Right in the middle of this absolute circus, two little girls were riding the subway.

"S-Sister... did we do the right thing by running away on our own?"

Jang A-rin. Eight years old. Fragile and tiny.

"Yes. That person who was with us wasn't a Management Bureau agent."

Baek Yul-ha. Twelve years old. Calm and quick-witted.

The reason the only two orphans of the Sunshine Orphanage had boarded Line 1 in the dead of night was clear.

The Management Bureau agent who had been looking after them for the past few days had grown strange. Though his face was covered, his tone and body odor had subtly changed.

Could it be another group impersonating the Management Bureau? Or maybe he was body-snatched by an anomaly.

"He's suspicious. A-rin, let's run away."

"Uuu..."

Born to the streets.

Having grown up in the concrete jungle, twelve-year-old Yul-ha's mind worked fast.

"Mister. Who's higher rank, a Master Sergeant or a Warrant Officer?"

"Huh?"

"Which is stronger, Unlimited Void or Tsukuyomi?"

After throwing out top-tier debate bait she had learned from the back alleys, she successfully made her escape. She bolted straight to Noryangjin Station.

Getting onto the train was all well and good, but...

The state of the passengers was already bizarre. An old man wriggling on top of the luggage rack, an old woman performing a mating dance, and so on.

Yul-ha, raised tough, remained composed, but A-rin was just an eight-year-old kid and was barely holding back her tears.

"It's kinda scary here..."

"Jang A-rin. Tell me what the Director said."

"F-Fight first, ask questions later! But since you guys are tiny, just run away..."

"That's why we ran. Understand? Hold my hand tight."

"Okay. Uuu... I miss the Director..."

The two girls held their breath in the corner of the train, trying not to draw attention.

Yul-ha thought as she held her sister close.

Line 1 must be an anomaly. Even that fake mister pretending to be a Management Bureau agent won't be able to follow us easily here.

Then, how do they survive and get out of here?

Obviously, they had to ask the Management Bureau for help.

But how?

One thought led to another.

The Management Bureau agents appeared on the day the Director vanished. They looked after her and A-rin for days.

And the Director was the only person who knew absolutely nothing about anomalies and the Management Bureau.

The conclusion was obvious.

...The Management Bureau took the Director.

Yul-ha immediately pulled out her phone. The battery was critically low.

"Sister, what are you doing...?"

"Sending a text."

"To the Director?"

"The Director probably had his phone taken away."

"T-Then what do we do...?"

Baek Yul-ha, showing her extraordinary potential early on, smiled faintly.

"We can just text Seohah."

Tap. Tap-tap-tap.

Her small fingers tapped the screen rapidly. Within a minute, the rescue request was sent.

Common sense dictated that the text would never reach Lee Shin. Yoo ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Seohah, a Management Bureau employee, wouldn't show it to him.

...Or so common sense dictated.

Flash.

Me, the orphan-loving orphanage director.

I lay down to sleep, but my eyes snapped open. I had a bad feeling!

My kids—not related by blood, but mine nonetheless—are in danger!

I immediately stood up and waved at the security camera.

"Hey. Anyone listening?"

"..."

"Answer me."

No response.

Well, guess I'll just break the door down.

"Time to give you a taste of a containment breach."

The door felt a bit sturdier. They must have reinforced it after I smashed it last time.

VADE RETRO SATANA, EXORCIZO TE

What were these mysterious letters engraved on the surface? Latin?

Whatever.

"I'm breaking it."

"...998. Calm down and sit back down for now."

Tatiana's exasperated voice crackled through the containment cell's speaker.

See?

As expected, Koreans only listen when you throw a massive fit.

Wait, Tatiana isn't Korean, so is this just a universal human trait?

Anyway.

"Hey, Tatiana. I think something happened to my kids."

"Do you have any proof?"

"A parent's intuition."

"...Stand by. Assistant Researcher Yoo Seohah will enter the containment cell."

Click.

No sooner had she spoken than the door unlocked and Seohah walked in. For some reason, she was hesitating, looking at me warily.

"SIN-998. Ahem. Please listen calmly."

"Seohah. Where are my kids?"

"O-Oppa. Well..."

She hesitated immediately. Seeing how she dropped her formal tone, something was definitely up!

"Let me see your phone. The kids might have sent you something."

"O-Okay. I got permission from above anyway... Oppa, promise you won't yell?"

Seohah handed me her phone.

D-Dammit! My precious little girls, who wouldn't hurt even if I put them in my eyes!!

But first, I had to praise them.

I nodded in satisfaction.

"As expected of Yul-ha. She sent the exact time, location, and train number. That's my girl."

"Everyone was shocked, actually. They couldn't believe a twelve-year-old wrote that."

"Now that the praising is done, it's time to yell."

Huuuuup.

As I took a deep breath, Seohah naturally covered her ears.

"Line 1!!? That is not an orphanage on wheels! I told you never to ride it!! Listen to me, Baek Yul-ha!!!"

"...How do you know the alias of Line 1?"

"What are you talking about? It's common sense."

Line 1. AKA the Great Demon of Death.

It was a place where the absolute worst villains of humanity gathered, so how could it be a normal train? It was Gotham City in the shape of a subway.

If a real Management Bureau existed instead of this theme park attraction, they would have shut down Line 1 first thing.

"They said the anomalous activity on Line 1 has been spiking lately, and it really was because of you. Just how much have you contaminated the Noosphere..."

"Noo-what?"

"Nothing. Anyway, listen carefully, SIN-998!"

Ahem.

Yoo Seohah cleared her throat cutely.

"The currently missing children are orphans from your orphanage. Furthermore, the Management Bureau is paying close attention to your anomalous properties."

"Is that the roleplay setting?"

"Y-Yes, that's the setting. The conclusion is, the higher-ups have decided to have you accompany us on this search operation. We will also be testing whether SIN-998's anomalous properties can suppress and contain regional anomalies."

"Give me a three-line summary."

Please show some consideration for the listener's level of education.

As Seohah flustered, I just summarized it myself.

"So we're going to beat up the kidnappers who pretended to be Management Bureau agents, and bring my kids back."

How simple.

Me, Lee Shin.

A proud Marine, 74th batch.

Every operation could be roughly categorized into 'Gi-hap' (my side), 'Gi-yeol' (the bastards to beat up), and 'Assay' (dead weight).

Not that Yul-ha and A-rin were dead weight, of course, but anyway.

"Fine. Two squads from the Containment Special Task Force will join the search. First, take this."

Seohah handed me a pill.

"It keeps you from needing sleep for twenty-four hours, but the side effects..."

"Keep it."

"...Huh?"

Only pussies take stuff like that.

"My kids are in danger, how could I possibly sleep? Let's go right now."

I can sleep when I'm dead!!

Sinseol-dong Station, northbound platform, 00:58 AM.

Naturally, there were no passengers. Only the Containment Special Task Force, Silnakwon, and SIN-998, the Director, were present.

Tatiana checked the radio comms once more.

"It's going to be a long day. Any issues?"

"Sig-10. All clear."

"Sig-11. I just want to feed the kids curry already."

"Sig-12. All clear."

Containment Task Force work was always brutal. At the previous station, Dongmyo, another task force, the Tanker Artisan Alliance, was on standby.

Yoo Seohah's voice came through the radio.

"Target train departed from Dongdaemun Station. It will either run along the normal route and enter Dongmyo Station, or generate a spatial singularity and head toward Sinseol-dong—"

Screeeeech!!!

There was no need to hear the rest.

With an ear-splitting screech, massive sparks flew from the tracks.

The train that had just departed Dongmyo skipped Dongmyo entirely and entered the Sinseol-dong line. The train was covered in a mysterious, viscous liquid.

A moment later, an announcement broadcasted.

"The train now entering is the last train of the day, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bound for Honam. The screen doors are opening."

They did not open.

Even as the Containment Task Force attempted to breach using various equipment and performed multiple rituals, the doors remained shut.

Behind the glass windows, all sorts of anomalies were tearing their mouths open in mocking laughter.

"...Ha. These bastards."

"Unidentified anomalous activity detected. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Presumed alteration of physical laws. Entry impossible."

In cases like this, forcing the doors open could lead to death in various ways. Or worse, make you wish you were dead.

So, first, they needed to think calmly...

"Kids!! The Director is here!!"

CRASH!!!

Lee Shin kicked the platform screen doors.

The metal doors folded in half and flew inward. The anomalies standing nearby were instantly turned into a bloody paste.

"Uh..."

"Oh..."

As Tatiana let out a dazed gasp, Lee Shin brushed past her.

"Why are you so surprised? This is just daily life on Line 1."

00:59 AM.

Containment Special Task Force Silnakwon and SIN-998, the Director.

Successfully boarded the Gamma-class anomaly, SIN-666, <The Orphanage on Wheels>.