Meeting the Management Bureau Agents

"Run!"

We tore down the mountainside, racing toward the car parked on the street below — the vehicle Goe-bung-i1231 had scouted out last loop. A few quick modifications and it would start right up. I'd already handled everything the moment we arrived in Seoul.

I turned the ignition and gripped the wheel. That provisional license I'd gotten just in case was finally earning its keep.

"Where are we headed?"

"Sejong City."

"We're inside an anomaly. You sure Sejong is even rendered?"

"It is."

I'd confirmed that much through Goe-bung-i1231.

I'd already checked Seoul. Looking over the same place twice was just stupid. So I'd sent Goe-bung-i1231 south to scout.

"The anomaly rendered this entire range?"

"Positive. It did."

I floored the accelerator and tore down the road. Obstacles littered the asphalt — abandoned cars I had to weave past as we drove.

"In-seo, a little help?"

"It's the Unexpected Passenger ghost story. Drop it off at its destination, then run without looking back."

"Why are you asking about that, though?"

"Because the anomaly I just mentioned is about to show up. Be ready."

"Mister, miss — where are you headed?"

A voice suddenly piped up from behind us. I checked the rearview mirror. A child with deathly pale skin was sitting in the back seat.

"We're going to Sejong."

"Wow, I'm going to Sejong too! Can you give me a ride?"

The child beamed as it made the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠request. Its eyeballs had popped free of their sockets and dangled on thin strands of tissue. A vivid tire track was stamped across its torso. Hit by a car and killed, by the looks of it.

"Of course we can."

I smiled politely and checked the mirror again. This anomaly had been a frequent sight around Seoul about ten years back. It had vanished without a trace — and now here it was, showing its face in this world.

The anomaly called the Unexpected Passenger would force an accident on anyone who refused to take it where it wanted to go.

But as long as you know the rules, it's no problem.

I'd already gotten the rundown from In-seo.

"Mister, miss — want some snacks?"

Never accept food from an anomaly.

"I'm fine, kid. Need ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to focus on the road."

I said exactly what In-seo had coached me to say.

"And Auntie's stomach is too upset to eat anything."

In-seo, a seasoned veteran of the Management Bureau, lied with practiced ease.

BEEEEEP.

A car suddenly swerved out and blocked the road ahead.

That's an anomaly too.

In a ruined world, the only things still driving cars were anomalies. Goe-bung-i1231 hadn't mentioned this one.

BEEEEEP.

Something in my gut told me yielding the road would be a bad idea. I trusted the instinct, floored it, and shot past before the other vehicle could cut us off. I even laid on the horn as we blew by. The windows were tinted so dark I couldn't see the driver's face. The car fell back, then vanished — and a moment later it slammed into a wall and exploded with a deafening roar.

"Wow, thank you!"

We punched through every obstacle and every attempt to stop us, and finally arrived in Sejong City. The child climbed out of the car, waved, and then its body simply collapsed in on itself and disappeared.

This way.

We drove through Sejong. Unlike Seoul, the streets of this world's Sejong City were clean — so clean that almost nothing remained at all. I pulled the car into the building where the items were stored.

Most of the items hadn't been looted. They were still sitting there, intact. None of the Management Bureau's top-tier gear, but the lower-grade stuff was present.

"Find anything useful?"

"A few things."

In-seo held out a spear. She said it was a powerful weapon issued only to department heads and above.

"Nothing for me?"

"A handgun suits you better. Shooting from range is the safest option."

I pulled my hand back at her words. When a team leader said something, you listened.

"So what's the plan after this?"

I was starving — we hadn't eaten. In this world, the only place that still served food was the center of the cult compound.

"We'll head back to the cult tomorrow."

By then the anomalies should have settled down. Probably.

Goe-bung-i had reached Busan. Saying he'd try to drive all the way there hadn't been an empty boast. I checked the photo he uploaded.

The ocean really does cut off in the middle.

As if nothing beyond that point had been rendered, the sea simply ended in a clean break.

I checked the photo Goe-bung-i had uploaded. A pure white Bible cover. When the next page turned, bold red lettering blazed across the paper.

I had to agree with Goe-bung-i. The woman calling herself the Saintess — the one parasitizing Eun-hwa — had an ego of truly staggering proportions.

From the next page on, the text read like standard cult doctrine. The usual self-proclaimed-savior rhetoric you got from every cult leader. The difference was that this insane Saintess had ranked herself above Jesus Christ.

Hmm...

Looking at this alone left far too many unknowns. There wasn't a single clue as to why the Saintess anomaly had chosen Eun-hwa.

In this world, the cult compound was the only place that still served food. You couldn't make sound decisions on an empty stomach. I left Goe-bung-i with that advice and headed back to the car.

"Ready?"

"I'd really prefer not to run into any anomalies on the way back."

Morning came. Time to return to the cult, as planned. I started the car and drove the highway. When we'd left the compound, anomalies had swarmed us from every direction — but as we drew closer again, none of them latched on. We arrived without trouble.

"It's quieted down."

The compound was calm. The anomalies that had been released must have returned, because not a single one was in sight.

Please tell me nobody died.

Hoping no one had been killed because of me, I walked toward the cult building. I timed the patrol routes and descended into the basement.

"Empty?"

Not a single person in the room. Completely cleared out.

Did they all die?

My heart sank. I'd promised to get them out alive, and now I might not be able to keep that promise.

Click.

"Hands up. Face the wall."

A gun barrel pressed against the back of my head. No time for sentiment. I raised both hands and put my body against the wall as ordered.

A person? A person? A person? Is this a person?

Was this a real human? I'd never heard this voice before. And inside this anomaly, there was only one category of voice I hadn't encountered yet.

"Are you Management Bureau agents?"

I let them lead me without resistance. If they were Bureau agents, they should be able to survive inside an anomaly. That was my reasoning, at least.

They didn't answer. They just opened a basement door and shoved me through. Beyond the partition, the civilians who'd vanished from the room were huddled together in a cluster.

"Who the hell are you? Where'd you come from?"

A man with a rough face strode toward me, scowling. I flinched at the look of him.

"I'm a Management Bureau agent."

I rolled my eyes and answered honestly. His scowl deepened.

"You? God, the Bureau really has gone to shit."

I was already writing this loop off as a failure when the man pulled his arm free.

"Nice to meet you. Management Bureau agent Seo I-hyeon."

He held out his hand. I took it and pulled myself up. Someone I'd wanted to meet for a long time had just appeared in the last place I expected.

Where do I even start?

I turned the options over in my head, sorting through everything I wanted to ask. There was too much.

"Sit down over there for now. I'll ask the questions. You answer."

A strange machine was fitted over my head.

"Lie detector. If you lie, the buzzer goes off. Tell the truth."

In-seo, sitting beside me, whispered in my ear.

They had something like this?

One wrong move and they'd find out I was a Regressor. I swallowed hard and resolved to stick to the truth.

"What year is it outside?"

"2027."

"Name a department head you know."

"Kim Yul-ryeong."

"What year did you join the Management Bureau?"

"I've been a rookie for less than a month."

"What's the most terrifying anomaly you've ever encountered?"

"...This one?"

The buzzer went off. A red light blinked.

"The Mannequin anomaly! The Mannequin anomaly!"

"Describe the anomaly in detail."

I described the Mannequin anomaly in meticulous detail.

"Every Management Bureau in the world has fallen?"

"If just hearing a broadcast forcibly seizes your body, yeah — the difficulty on that ghost story is completely unhinged."

At some point, Management Bureau staff had gathered around us. Twenty-one of them. The same unknown employee names I'd found in the Bureau's filing cabinets.

"So how did you get rid of it?"

The man — the leader of this group, his guard completely down now — stepped closer.

"I went down to the tenth basement floor and pressed a button. Then it disappeared."

I answered truthfully. They might not believe a tenth basement floor ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even existed, but lying could get me a bullet.

The Bureau agents around me didn't laugh. The tension in the air was thick enough to choke on.

"Hey. How the hell are you still alive?"

"Excuse me?"

"We pressed that button on the tenth basement floor too. That's how we got trapped inside this anomaly."