Chapter 147
Chapter 147
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Happiness Apartment Parking Lot
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The entrance slammed shut, and we were instantly transported to a suspicious location.
When the location itself is an entity, it's best for survival not to move rashly and instead observe your surroundings to gather information.
'What I can see is an ordinary parking lot and apartment.'
The unusual thing was that there were no vehicles in the parking lot.
On top of that, a thick fog had rolled in, limiting visibility to about 10 meters.
'This isn't ordinary fog.'
I wasn't under the effects of "Dried Friendship," but my body was fundamentally blessed by the girl with closed eyes.
Even so, only being able to see up to 10 meters was abnormal.
'The blessing of the girl with closed eyes hasn't disappeared.'
I lightly jumped in place to test.
Sergeant Jump recorded 2 meters.
'Between ordinary human and superhuman, that borderline physical ability is intact.'
Which meant the fog wasn't ordinary.
Staying here any longer was dangerous.
'Leave the parking lot or enter the apartment—those are the two options.'
The outside was filled with fog of unknown nature, so the apartment was the only choice.
As I headed toward the apartment, I spotted a parking lot sign.
"Oh."
The moment I read the sign's content, I realized what this place was.
[We always thank the residents for using the Happiness Apartment Parking Lot.]
[However, please strictly follow the precautions below.]
A ghost story where you must follow the rules.
A ghost story where nothing happens if you follow the rules, but if you don't, you die.
"Manual ghost story."
It seemed Happiness Apartment was that kind of place.
The eeriness of emphasizing rules that would never normally need emphasis.
The fear instilled by indirectly describing what happens if you break the rules.
Manual ghost stories are a new concept that stimulates human fear through these two elements.
I hadn't gone inside the apartment yet, so it wasn't certain, but at least the parking lot faithfully followed the basics of a manual ghost story.
'Let's read it again.'
I checked the parking lot sign's precautions.
[1. When parking, always stay within the lines.]
[2. If you accidentally step on a line, lie flat on the ground, cover your eyes, nose, and ears with your hands, and make "ahh" sounds from your mouth for 30 seconds. After 30 seconds, uncover your ears. If you don't hear "huu-huu," you may stand up. If the sound persists, repeat the process.]
[3. Do not step on the lines with your feet, not just vehicles.]
[4. Do not visit the parking lot on foggy days. If fog rolls in while you're here, return to the apartment immediately and do not leave the parking lot except to enter the apartment.]
[5. When fog rolls in, all vehicles disappear. Do not worry. We are safely storing the missing vehicles in □□□. Please understand that organic matter left inside vehicles may undergo changes.]
[6. If you find a vehicle on your way back, board it immediately and drive to the apartment entrance. From this moment, stepping on lines is permitted, and you must reach the entrance as quickly as possible.]
[7. Regardless of the type of vehicle found, you must board it. We take no responsibility for accidents if you ignore this.]
[8. If multiple people find a vehicle at the same time, the closest person drives it. Others should not board and walk to the entrance.]
The manual ended there.
"Honey, what do you think?"
There was no response.
I turned on my smartphone, but it was dead.
'I definitely fully charged it.'
I'd experienced something similar once before.
'The Void Pocket isn't working either.'
Only the power from the girl with closed eyes was functioning.
Did that mean other entities weren't working?
"Huu-huu."
Breathing sounds came from somewhere.
I checked the ground. I hadn't stepped on any lines.
'The direction of the sound... impossible to pinpoint.'
I could only vaguely tell it was from beyond the fog.
"Ahh!"
"Huu-huu."
Someone had stepped on a line, it seemed.
Unable to pinpoint direction or distance, I walked toward the apartment while avoiding lines and listening carefully.
"......"
Silence fell from all directions.
"Gone?"
"Huu-huu-."
"Ah."
There was no scream.
"Ughk-gehk-ugh-gehk-at-at-at-at!"
A death rattle that couldn't even form a scream cut off abruptly.
Exactly 30 seconds later, it went quiet.
'The apartment is much farther than it looks.'
I wanted to run, but the lines sometimes veered outward or formed geometric shapes, making running impossible.
"Oh no."
While heading to the apartment like that, I encountered a vehicle.
'Board any vehicle found and drive to the apartment entrance as fast as possible.'
The problem was the vehicle I'd found...
"A Yakult lady cart, huh."
Was this even a vehicle?
If defined as a means of transport that moves via friction between powered wheels and the road surface using reaction force, then yes, it was a vehicle.
Unable to ignore the manual, I boarded it anyway.
At that moment, far off in the fog, a red vehicle sped by rapidly.
"A Ferrari. Jealous."
Chased by a horde of massive shadows.
The Ferrari driver's face had gone pale. So that's what happened when you started driving.
'Looks like multiple people besides me were kidnapped at the same time.'
It wasn't targeted just at me.
Or maybe this entity kidnapped people in groups to begin with, and I got included along with the request fulfillment.
'The latter seems more plausible.'
Similar to the dream extremity incident.
How many had been kidnapped?
'I'll find out when I reach the apartment entrance.'
I started up the Yakult cart.
'Driving it is simple enough.'
But was this really a vehicle?
My driving skills weren't normal.
"In a place where most entity powers don't work, I should be able to drive it fine, right?"
If so, another problem arose.
I twisted the throttle at the chilling sensation from behind.
"Wonder if I can make it safely."
Piercing the quiet fog, multiple people emerged.
"Huff, huff!"
"Is everyone okay!?"
"Y-Yes! I'm fine!"
The location was the apartment entrance.
Only four people had arrived.
"Damn it! What the hell is this place!"
The man, Lee Ki-chul (45), exploded in anger.
A self-employed small restaurant owner, he'd been washing cabbage just hours ago.
"Uh, I don't know either. Does anyone know this place?"
The woman, Ko Hye-rim (22), barely stood on shaking legs as she asked.
She'd boarded a bus for a part-time job during break, and the moment she tapped her card, she was here.
"I don't know! Is this a dream?"
The man, Song Kwang-jo (30), snapped irritably.
He still couldn't accept what he'd seen.
"A monster that folds people like cubes? Where do monsters like that even exist!"
When they were first kidnapped, the parking lot had been full of people.
While reading the sign in front of them, a few moved rashly and stepped on lines.
And then...
"Huu-huu!"
"Don't breathe like that! I thought that monster was coming!"
"I-It's because I'm out of breath!"
The last one, Son Seung-hun (25), was scolded mid-pant.
With his rather portly build and good rapport, even walking briskly under tension had him gasping.
He caught his breath, adjusted his glasses, and shared his opinion.
"Staking my long community experience, this is straight out of a Napolitan ghost story."
"Ghost story?"
"Chilling urban legends with various concepts, but from those rules earlier, this is a man..."
"Skip the intro, get to the point!"
"...ual one. Follow the rules, and you survive without issue."
"So just follow the rules, got it?"
Lee Ki-chul nodded.
Indeed, as Son Seung-hun said, the weird monsters followed set rules.
"The one that cubed people didn't attack those who didn't step on lines."
"Same with the vehicles."
They'd seen multiple vehicles on the way.
But they followed the sign's instructions from the start of the parking lot.
"Those strange shadows didn't chase us. They only went after people driving vehicles."
"What happened to those who didn't board?"
The second driver, who saw the first driver chased by shadows after boarding, gave up.
Then thick fog enveloped him, and it went quiet.
"Don't know, don't want to think about it. If it's a dream, I wish I'd wake up now."
"Wait, hear that?"
They listened.
Standing at the entrance looking toward the parking lot, even through the thick fog, they could see inside clearly.
"What the..."
"No way..."
"Scientifically impossible?"
"It's not science; human senses can't perceive that scene."
From the parking lot direction, a battered red Ferrari was barely rolling toward the apartment entrance.
Moments later, the Ferrari reached the entrance and stopped as if out of power.
"Someone inside..."
"Ugh!"
"Don't look!"
The driver's state was gruesome.
Like a corpse left soaking in a hot tub, melted away.
"Ughk!"
Ko Hye-rim couldn't hold back and vomited.
The others were holding it in, but looked ready to hurl too.
"That's what happens if the shadows get you..."
"A Ferrari's insanely fast. And it still ended up like this..."
Unless the drivers' skills were extraordinarily good.
They'd all met the same fate.
"The car's gone!"
"Where'd it go?"
The Ferrari vanished from sight.
The dead driver too.
Like it had been collected by someone and erased from the world.
"Huh?"
The shock was brief.
Ko Hye-rim, finally calming her stomach, focused the group.
"Everyone, listen! Hear that weird sound?"
They all perked their ears.
A sound really was coming from beyond the fog.
Bang-!
Boom-!
Rumble-!
Crackle-!
"What sound is that?"
"Something exploded, maybe?"
"Sounds like thunder?"
Screeech-!
"Wasn't that a scream just now?"
"...Someone else got it."
"Human scream? It was horrific."
"Huh?"
Son Seung-hun pointed at the parking lot.
"Something's coming!"
What emerged was...
"A Yakult cart?"
A Yakult cart rolling unsteadily in a wretched state.
A person rode atop it, looking like it might shut off any second.
"How'd they survive?"
"How on earth..."
"With a Yakult cart..."
"Escaped the shadows?"
Soon, the Yakult cart reached the apartment entrance.
The man aboard wiped tears and dismounted.
"Hey, you okay?"
"I'm fine. Just... an irrepressible drop of sorrow leaked from my pessimistic fate."
"Huh?"
"Wait... aren't you...!"
"Huh!?"
"Wha!?"
Son Seung-hun pointed in surprise.
The others recognized the man late, and he, realizing they had too, introduced himself.
"Hello."
With a calm expression and clear voice unfit for this bizarre world.
"I'm Lee Seung-hoon."