Secrets in the Dark
— The popularity of Labyrinth Exploration NaN shows no signs of cooling down. Currently, the combined theater audience for episodes 9 and 10 has reached 6.53 million, and the upward trend is still continuing. This means that even for non-specialty theaters, many people are visiting the cinemas. What on earth is the reason?
It was an unusually eerie evening, the sound of the radio filling the interior of the SUV.
At the announcer's question, a man introduced as a sociology professor began to answer.
— Aside from the audiovisual appeal of seeing the explorers in greater detail on a large screen, the influence of fandom culture is also significant. Many fans of Labyrinth Exploration NaN are sharing proof of their multiple viewings. Some are even voluntarily encouraging people to vote, almost like a political campaign. In fact, I just received a text message from my grandchildren... "Grandpa, take a screenshot of your vote for Kim Dong-ha and send it to me."
— It seems your grandchild is a fan of Explorer Kim Dong-ha?
— Yes. They say his hammer is cool. Haha.
With a sharp ring, Inspector Lee Young-ho turned off the radio.
"Hey, Yun-seo. What's up?"
It was his daughter on the line.
"I'll be there in an hour. My work is almost done."
Before he knew it, he had arrived at his destination.
"I told you it's no big deal. This much overtime is nothing. Are you worrying about your dad?"
He smoothly spun the steering wheel to park, switched the phone to his other hand, and stepped out of the car.
"No, I told you not to talk about the Kim Yoon-jun case. Just focus on your studies, okay?"
Though he was smiling, his eyes were sharp, scanning his surroundings.
There was no one. Not even a trace of a human presence could be felt.
"What?! If that brat says he wants to be an explorer again, what did Dad say he'd do!"
Lee Young-ho's brow furrowed deeply.
"Explorers... they only look cool when you watch them. They aren't cool at all."
In his opinion, the profession of an explorer was merely a way to redirect the destructive nature of 'mana' elsewhere.
"Dad quit after a short while and took the civil service exam right away."
Explorers were strictly forbidden from using mana in residential areas. Naturally, they were also prohibited from carrying weapons. The reason for piling on so many restrictions was simple: they could kill ordinary citizens far too easily.
"I'd love it if Yun-seo became a doctor. Or an astronaut. Or better yet, start your own company and achieve financial freedom... You're hanging up?"
He pulled a coffin out of the trunk.
An oak coffin containing the corpse of an adult male. It weighed hundreds of kilograms, but to a five-digit Ranker, lifting this much with one hand was effortless.
"Alright. Dad will be home so—what?"
The call had already disconnected.
He slipped his smartphone back into his pocket and looked ahead. An abandoned building loomed before him.
"D-Detective."
A man grinned, waving his hand from the entrance.
"Yeah."
"I-I didn't expect a d-detective to use u-us."
The man had a messy, unkempt haircut and an eyepatch covering one eye.
He was the operator of an underground vault, nicknamed One-eye.
"...Shut up, you bastard. I didn't think I'd end up hiding a dead body either," Lee Young-ho replied nonchalantly as he walked into the building.
"Heh, heh. I-I told you. P-People like us are bound to k-kill someone, even by accident, s-sooner or later."
"Don't lump me in with 'people like us.' I'm a former Ranker, you punk. How much? I'll pay for three months upfront."
Today, he was going to hide Kim Yoon-jun's body.
He had already reached an agreement with the mother. She, too, was willing to endure this to uncover the truth behind her son's death.
"I-I'll give you a discount. T-Twenty million won."
"Crazy expensive."
He pulled a thick stack of cash from his inner pocket.
"You. Don't let your curiosity get the better of you."
"A-Anyway, without the key, even I can't get in. T-That's how the space was designed. H-Here is key number 78."
One-eye handed over the key.
This guy would store anything as long as he was paid. Working as a Ranker for the National Police Agency brought him into contact with all sorts of characters, and One-eye was actually on the more reliable side. His professional ethics, at least, were ironclad.
"P-Please, go on in, d-detective."
One-eye led him into the basement of the abandoned building. A long corridor stretched out, lined with numerous rooms on both sides.
"H-Here it is."
"I-I'll be on my way then. Hehe."
Lee Young-ho inserted the key and opened the door. Inside, a long freezer storage unit was prepared exactly as requested.
Slide.
He placed the duffel bag containing Kim Yoon-jun onto the steel tray. He was about to slide it in immediately, but paused to unzip the bag around the face once more.
The eyes.
Using his fingers, he pried open the eyelids and peered into the dead man's eyes.
"...What is supposed to be in here?"
He saw nothing. At least, nothing he could perceive.
"Anyway, hang in there for a bit."
It was all to catch the killer.
Lee Young-ho stepped outside and locked the vault door. One-eye had already vanished.
The guy possessed plenty of minor tricks like that, making his clients feel very secure.
"There's a reason he rakes in money."
If it was twenty million won for three months even with a discount, and there were at least seventy-eight rooms...
It was enough to make a civil servant weep.
Leaving the abandoned building, Lee Young-ho climbed back into his SUV.
Ring, ring, ring—
The moment he gripped the steering wheel, his phone rang. It was Kim Yoon-jun's mother.
"Yes, ma'am. What's the matter?"
—Detective. A bomb went off at my son's grave.
Her voice was laced with grief and rage.
Lee Young-ho's expression turned ice-cold.
"Which one?"
This was the first trap.
After consulting with Kim Yoon-jun's mother, Lee Young-ho had set up two fake graves.
One was the public site where reporters had gathered to watch a coffin containing a fake body being buried.
The other was a private site known only to the mother and select police personnel.
The excuse they had used was grave robbers.
Lately, there were far too many bastards digging up and selling the corpses of explorers. They claimed that melting them down yielded high-quality mana stones—absolute lunatics.
—The one that wasn't disclosed to the public.
"...I see."
This meant information had leaked from within the police force.
Had someone leaked it? Or had it been stolen?
"Was it just the bomb?"
—Yes. Only the bomb went off.
The second trap was the bomb.
If Kim Yoon-jun's body contained a truth that 'must not be discovered,' the culprit would undoubtedly move to dispose of it.
Lee Young-ho had anticipated this and set a trap.
—The spell showed no signs of activation. It was cleanly dismantled.
And here was the third trap.
A double trap.
The superficial trap was a mana spell. A highly sophisticated spell that only an expert could detect.
It had been crafted by Kim Yoon-jun's mother, who was a former spellcaster.
The enemy had detected and dismantled it, but they had fallen for the other trap.
A purely analog trap that used absolutely no mana. A tripwire was attached to the fake corpse, rigged to detonate the moment the body was lifted.
No matter how high-ranking a Ranker was, they would be caught off guard if they lacked engineering knowledge—and Rankers were notoriously dense about such things.
—But there were no signs of injury left behind.
"They must have gotten at least a scratch. I understand. I'll hang up for now."
—Yes. Please be careful.
"...I will."
He didn't prolong the conversation.
Inspector Lee Young-ho stepped on the accelerator. He bit his lip, gripping the steering wheel tightly.
The words *please be careful* echoed in his ears.
"I think..."
A bitter smile formed on his lips.
"I've stepped into some incredibly deep waters."
Just as Seol Ha-woon had said, there was a secret to Kim Yoon-jun's corpse.
Something far beyond a mere dead body was lurking in the shadows.
Psssssh—!
The small spacecraft soared through the hangar. Following the route Eldia had described, they headed toward the deepest core of the Cosmos.
"Here it is."
Julione parked the spacecraft. She murmured, her voice filled with emotion.
"A low-grade crew member like me would never have been allowed here."
"Let's get ready."
In game terms, this was likely the final stage.
Everyone nodded with resolute expressions.
I lay down on the floor of the spacecraft. Seo Ji-woo, Kang Hyun, and Im Hae-jun stood awkwardly.
"...What are you doing?"
"You guys lie down too. We need to sleep for at least two hours."
Since fatigue had accumulated throughout our brains and nervous systems, we needed to refresh ourselves before starting the mission.
From here on out, we wouldn't have any time to sleep at all.
"Robot. Keep watch."
I activated Dream Bubble. The other three looked bewildered for a moment before lying down beside me.
...Two hours later.
We woke up after melting away a decent amount of our fatigue. Everyone's faces looked much clearer than before.
I stretched my muscles and said, "We'll head down and do our job."
"Sure. Do you want to take the Robot with you?"
At Julione's words, I looked at the Robot.
The Robot blinked its display panel as if appealing to me, but I shook my head.
"No. From now on, you are Truck's—Julione's—assistant. Protect Julione."
"What?"
Julione's eyes widened in surprise.
"You'll need someone to talk to on the way back. And you're the one who brought the Robot back to life anyway."
The Robot accepted its new duty.
"...Then, I won't refuse," Julione said with a grin.
"Yeah. Let's head down."
We disembarked from the spacecraft and stood before the gate. Rumble, rumble. The Truck, which had rolled up, opened the door using Eldia's supervisor card.
—I'll assist you as far as I can.
"Yes. Sounds good."
Hiss.
The gate opened, and thump, thump, I tapped my cane as we arrived at the deepest core of the mothership.
There, we discovered a desktop terminal.
"......"
"......"
"......"
"......"
We all fell silent at the same time. We glanced at one another, exchanging looks.
Im Hae-jun was the one to voice our shared concern.
"Master. Isn't leveling up our terminals pretty important? Mine is only level 3."
"I'm so tired... Again?"
Seo Ji-woo pressed her fingers to her temples.
I also let out a wry smile.
"...Let's decide later."
"Later?" Kang Hyun tilted his head.
"Yeah. Let's save it. We don't know what skills we'll need yet."
—Hey! I found the supervisor's office!
Before we knew it, the Truck had taken the lead and was waving us over.
"Coming."
The Truck used the card to open the door to the supervisor's office. It was a space filled with numerous monitors and complex control panels.
"Can we see the internal footage?"
—Should be possible.
The Truck switched on the CCTV screens.
"Huh?"
"Oh!"
We immediately spotted another party. Kate, Lee Jun-ho, Yoon Hwa-rim, Jo Woon, and Supervisor James.
"That's a solid party."
It was a textbook composition of a warrior, a martial artist, an archer, and a spellcaster—and all of them were elites.
"Yeah. No wonder they got here before us."
Seo Ji-woo was also impressed. Im Hae-jun let out a hollow laugh.
"I bet they'd think the same if they saw you, Master, and Hyun."
"Well~ I suppose~" Seo Ji-woo boasted, raising her chin.
Kang Hyun muttered as he stared at them, "They look... trapped."
We all focused on the screen.
Indeed, they seemed to be discussing something with very grave expressions.
I asked Kang Hyun, "What's the terminal's communication range? Can we reach them?"
"No, it doesn't reach. Should I level it up? It might work then."
"...Truck. Where is that?" I quickly redirected my question to the Truck.
—It's the maintenance room of the core laboratory.
"Connect the external CCTV."
—Sure.
Click.
The CCTV screen changed. In that instant, everyone's breath hitched.
Zombies were swarming outside.
No, they weren't just swarming. They had piled up like a mountain, completely blocking the entrance...
—I think this is the Substance.
Click. The Truck displayed the screen of the core laboratory. It was a brain-like object floating inside a coffin-like container.
—The Substance the mothership retrieved from space...
An immense number of zombies surrounded it as well.
"Switch the screen back to the other party and connect the microphone."
—Done.
I stared at Lee Jun-ho's party on the screen and spoke into the microphone.
"Hello? Hey. Can you hear me?"
They reacted immediately, looking around to find the camera and shouting something loudly.
"We can't hear you, so write it down if you have something to say."
Lee Jun-ho quickly found a board and began to write.
[ The guy next to us is Supervisor James. He came up here with us. ]
[ But that Substance won't break. It's incredibly durable. Kate tried throwing a spear while avoiding the zombies, but it blocked it by emitting a mana field. The thing is insane. ]
[ And then it suddenly summoned the zombies. ]
[ We've been trapped here for almost 24 hours. ]
If even the Destroyer Kate couldn't break it, it meant physical and magical attacks were useless.
In a situation like this, only one method came to mind.
"Truck. Where is the nearest black hole?"
Just like when they cleared the zombies in the disposal room, they would have to borrow the power of space.
The Truck seemed to understand my intention immediately.
—It's dozens of light-years away, but the mothership has a wormhole generator. We can easily dump it into a black hole's orbit.
"Yes. Dumping the entire Cosmos into a black hole. I think that's our only option."
Even an alien substance wouldn't be able to withstand a black hole.
"...Then," Kang Hyun suddenly interrupted.
"What about the survivors?"
"......"
I quietly looked at Kang Hyun. He met my eyes and continued.
"Truck was a survivor too. There must be other people still alive on this ship. Including our fellow explorers."
He was absolutely right.
He was absolutely right, but...
Why was he suddenly saying this now?
—The Esmos civilian ship.
The Truck suddenly spoke up.
"...Esmos?"
—Yes. There are many civilian ships connected to the Cosmos, but the Esmos is the newest model.
The Esmos was the civilian ship where I had first started this labyrinth and met Julione.
—It has gravity control and autopilot. Even if we detach it from the Cosmos, it can drift independently in space for years. They can hold out until a rescue team arrives.
The Truck moved its head with a creak, looking back and forth between Kang Hyun and me.
—We just need to open all the gates and send a signal to the survivors from here. Tell them to head to the Esmos.
"What about the zombies?" Seo Ji-woo asked. Her face had also turned serious.
—You just heard. Threatening the Substance makes it draw the zombies to itself.
A viable smile appeared on Seo Ji-woo's lips.
"So if we open all the gates between the ships and threaten the Substance, all the zombies will flood here?"
It was a strategy worth trying.
In fact, that overmind-like entity seemed to be pulling the zombies in already.
—But to open all the gates, we need authority higher than a supervisor.
"I have my Hacking skill."
—Will that be enough? It's the highest level of authority.
At the Truck's worried words, I turned to Kang Hyun.
"Hyun."
He was even more enigmatic than Eldia, but because of that, he was the one I wanted to understand more than anyone.
I asked him, "You want to save everyone, don't you?"
Kang Hyun did not avoid my gaze. He answered directly, conveying his intent.
"Yes."
"Are you serious?"
"I am. I don't want to regret not doing my best. No matter if this place is..."
A labyrinth.
"Then I'll take the desktop terminal. I need to get Hacking to level 5."
"Yes. Of course you should."
At that, Kang Hyun smiled. It was an excessively bright smile that made his popularity suddenly understandable.
"Don't smile."
It made me fond of him for no reason.
I stepped out of the supervisor's office. I plugged the desktop's cable into my wrist.
Initiating download...
Current Location: Cosmos A0 Sector - Mothership Core
Download Successful: Special skill selection is available.
☐ Lv.MAX Hacking
☐ Lv.4 Duct Tape
☐ Lv.1 Minimap
Level max.
I maxed out my Hacking skill.