The Stranger in the Bunker

The world feels like it’s spinning. My body is clearly lying still, yet it feels as if I’m trapped somewhere, whirling around and around. Did I drink last night? I don't know. I just wanted this agony to end as quickly as possible.

After groaning in pain for a long time, the dizziness slowly began to subside. As I regained my senses and opened my eyes, I found myself lying in a dark room, my body soaked in something damp.

"What the... why am I sweating so much?"

The sticky sensation all over my body was incredibly unpleasant. I wanted to run to the bathroom and shower immediately, but I didn't have an ounce of strength in my limbs.

"Where did my phone go?"

I habitually reached for the spot by my head where I usually kept my phone, but no matter where I felt, I couldn't find it. I wanted to stay lying down and rest, but I couldn't just keep feeling this gross, sweat-drenched sensation without even a phone to check.

It was difficult, but I forced myself to sit up.

"Huh?"

As I sat up, I saw that I was completely naked. I usually prefer to sleep in comfortable clothes, but I had never in my life slept in the nude.

Did I black out from drinking last night? But wait, did I even drink? I can't remember a thing.

I wasn't much of a drinker, so I could count on one hand the number of times I'd blacked out. I hadn't even touched alcohol in years, so this was very strange.

I looked around for my clothes, but the room was pitch black. I grabbed my throbbing head and tried to stand, but my body tilted, and I fell over.

"Ugh!"

Thump!

It felt like I had slipped on some unidentified liquid on the floor.

"Ouch... this isn't sweat. Did something spill?"

With an annoyed groan, I pulled myself up again. Careful of the slippery, mysterious ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠liquid, I searched for the light switch that had to be somewhere in the room.

My fumbling hands were unnecessary; suddenly, the room lit up automatically. As my vision cleared, a strange place came into view.

"...What the, where am I?!"

This wasn't the room I’d lived in for years. It felt like some kind of experimental facility? A laboratory? The floor and walls were made of a cold, smooth material, and there were strange electronic devices emitting a faint glow.

I couldn't hide my bewilderment at the situation—waking up in an unfamiliar place after just going to sleep.

"...Let's just stay calm."

I took a deep breath and assessed the situation again. I wasn't tied up, and it didn't look like a prison, so it wasn't a kidnapping. It was also hard to believe I’d just wandered into the wrong place after blacking out from alcohol.

Being naked was strange, and what was this transparent, sticky liquid on my body? It was definitely a messed-up situation.

I turned around. Behind me were mysterious mechanical devices. Complex machinery was mounted around a massive, transparent tube that must have held something. Inside the tube, faint, patchy transparent liquid remained, and as I looked down, I saw a trail leading from the glass tube naturally to my own feet.

"...Don't tell me, was I inside that thing?"

It looked like the traces of someone having crawled out of a glass tube. If so, was that why I was naked?

I approached the transparent tube to examine the machinery. There was nothing particularly noteworthy inside. It was just empty, with only a little liquid left behind. After looking around and finding nothing, I turned to check the other side, but then I saw my face reflected on the surface of the tube.

"Huh?"

It wasn't the face I was used to seeing. It still had eyes, a nose, and a mouth, and the hair was black, but the arrangement of my features had completely changed. To be blunt, I had joked before while washing my face and looking in the mirror, saying, 'Heh, I'm handsome,' but I had never actually been handsome.

But the face reflected now was incredibly good-looking, the kind you’d see on a celebrity or a TV actor. When I turned my head to the left, the reflection turned the same way; when I turned to the right, it followed.

I cautiously looked down, and only then did I realize my body had changed, too. My legs seemed subtly longer, and I had a washboard set of abs I had never seen in my life.

"Wow, this is insane. Where did my flabby belly go?"

I touched my firm abs and heavy arm muscles, then looked down at the heavy area between my legs. Even that had been changed quite impressively. For no reason, a surge of confidence welled up inside me.

Beep, beep.

I was posing while looking at my changed reflection in the tube when I heard an alert sound from behind. I turned around to see one of the many monitors displaying a screen.

I walked closer to the monitor and read the warning message about supplying power. No wonder the lights were dim; it must have been because of the low power.

"What kind of place is this that the electricity is about to cut out?"

There was nothing I could do right now. It was already a headache being naked in a room I didn't even know, and I didn't want to—nor could I—supply power.

A translucent window suddenly popped up in front of me. It felt just like a game system window.

"What is this, a quest? A game? All life-support systems will fail?"

It was an absurd development. If I don't restore power, I should prepare to be trapped? The system ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠window in front of me gave me a terrifying warning. To be dragged to a strange place and suddenly thrown a quest... Did someone send me into a game world? Or is this a hidden camera show made to look like a game?

"No, what do you expect me to do? I don't know how to do anything other than plug in a power cord!"

Another new window appeared. It seemed to be telling me to look around the five rooms. The medical room was already marked as checked, so I guess this place I'm in is the medical room.

"Before that, are there any clothes? I feel a bit cold being naked like this..."

There were no clothes in the laboratory/medical room, so I had to find another room. I carefully exited the medical room and found a lobby that looked like a living room. Centered around the lobby, I could see a long hallway and several doors.

It was empty, with no sign of human life. Just a quick glance showed no furniture or daily necessities. The emptiness felt desolate, like a new house. I passed the lobby and headed toward the nearest door. When I opened it, it was a washroom.

"Oh! The water works!"

I couldn't stand the sticky liquid on my body anymore. I washed it off immediately. Unfortunately, only cold water came out, so I showered while screaming. It was freezing, but I felt so refreshed after washing off that gross liquid. However, there was one thing I hadn't thought of.

"Oh, damn! I washed off, but there's no towel."

There was no towel. Dripping wet, I left the washroom to find another room. Fortunately, I found clothes in the bedroom next door. I chose one of the many outfits, wiped myself off as best as I could, and put it on.

"I thought I was going to freeze to death. Anyway, I'm glad the size fits."

It was a 'jumpsuit,' something I had never worn in my life. It was a work uniform or a garment designed for activity where the top and bottom weren't separated. The design, however, looked like something out of an SF movie.

"It's my first time wearing this, but it's strangely warm and cozy, and the fabric feels good, too."

Now that I was clean and dressed, it was time to check the other rooms. All that remained were the supply room and two storage rooms. When I went out to the lobby to check the other rooms, there were more doors than I thought. Some opened like the washroom and bedroom, but quite a few were locked.

"Why are these locked? Is it like a game where they unlock later?"

Since there was no way to open them now, I decided to come back later if I could, and headed to the supply room. When I opened the supply room, it was empty compared to the size of the room. Dust was piled on the shelves, and there were only a table and two chairs.

"It said supply room, so I thought there would be something, but there's nothing?"

There was nothing to see, so I was about to head to the storage room when I saw a strange hole on the wall and a button above it.

『Food Distribution』

"Food distribution? Does food come out?"

When I pressed the button, I heard something rolling down like a vending machine, and something fell into the hole. It was an energy bar wrapped in silver plastic. I tore open the packaging and found a hard, brown energy bar. When I took a bite, it tasted like I was chewing on dirt.

"...It's gross."

It was truly a taste that felt like nothing. But since the texture was like chewing dirt, I didn't have the heart to eat more. I carefully wrapped the bitten energy bar back in its packaging and put it in my pocket.

"Well, it's better than nothing. If I get hungry, I'll have to eat this, right?"

Next to the food distribution button, there was a water dispenser, so I drank a cool glass of water and headed to the storage room. The storage room had many shelves. However, there were only shelves, and not a single item was stored there. It was a dust storage room that only stored plenty of dust.

I finished checking all the rooms up to the storage room, and the quest was cleared. The clothing quest was skipped automatically, and the next inventory quest popped up. Is the inventory the one from the game I know? As the quest window said, I shouted 'Inventory' in my mind.

'Inventory.'

Then, a new window popped up next to the quest window. Familiar square boxes I'd seen in games were neatly aligned.

"Oh, can I finally go outside?"

Now it was certain. The fact that I wasn't kidnapped or imprisoned. If I had to guess, it seemed like I had been possessed into a world from a game or some other story, and since I had enjoyed many games and novels, this situation wasn't entirely unfamiliar.

However, I couldn't tell which game or novel world this was.

"Hmm... once I clear the quests, I'll probably figure something out."

I went out to the lobby to head outside. In the lobby, there was a heavy door that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠looked like it clearly marked the connection to the outside. The heavy door started to open automatically as I approached.

Creak, creak, creak.

It started to open very, very slowly, but it didn't open much further.

"Don't tell me it's broken, right?"

Anxious, I pushed the door with all my might. As I applied force, the creaking sound of the door opening grew louder.

Creak, creak, creak.

A faint light began to show through the crack in the door. I peeked outside and saw not a landscape, but vines and grass growing tangled in front of the door. It seemed like plants had grown all over the door.

I stuck my fingers into the crack and tore off the plant stems.

"Just a little! Just a little more!"

With one hand, I pushed the door with all my might, and with the other, I tore off the plant stems. Did my efforts pay off? The creaking door began to open smoothly.

"Ah."

I couldn't help but exclaim as I watched the door open.

"Ah, this is a sliding door."

I felt pathetic for pushing it forward so hard, not knowing it was a sliding door that opened to the side.