Chapter 150
Chapter 150
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 36th Floor
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The safer a place seems, the less you know when danger might strike.
Even as the elevator ascended, I kept my tension high, scanning the surroundings.
Ding-!
"36th floor."
But nothing happened as expected.
The elevator arrived normally at the 36th floor, the doors opened normally, and a luxurious hallway greeted me normally.
"Easier than I thought?"
I stepped out and looked around.
The bulletin board that supposedly existed on every floor was right next to the elevator, thankfully—no need to hunt for it.
'No idea what it says.'
The writing on the 36th floor bulletin board didn't match any language or script I knew.
'It's like a dying message where a victim tried to write the killer's name in their own blood but failed, then rigor mortis made their hand twitch and scribble nonsense?'
It had patterns and repetitions, so it was definitely some kind of script...
Maybe just really bad handwriting?
As I strained to decipher it, my left eye suddenly activated and auto-translated.
[This text is written in the language of the dead.]
[To read it, you must be a soul belonging to Hell or one of the dead yourself.]
[But there is one other way, which I shall now introduce.]
[The language of the dead consists of 70 words.]
[The correct translations for each word exist on each floor.]
[Search from the 1st floor to the 35th floor to find the translations.]
[The minus floors also hide translations.]
[Once you have all 70 translations, you can interpret this.]
[Then you qualify to proceed down the hallway.]
[The unqualified can still proceed down the hallway. But they will not survive.]
I instantly understood why my left eye had activated.
Why I could read this.
'Like the power of the girl with closed eyes, the King of Hell's power exists as part of me.'
By the same logic, the right eye's blue moon effect should activate too.
Anyway, from reading it, this was a floor you weren't supposed to just stroll into.
'If you can't decipher the dead's script, big trouble hits in the rooms or hallway.'
My goal: the rooftop.
But looking around, no emergency stairs or upward paths in sight.
'Probably at the end of the hallway or inside a room.'
Go down one floor and try the stairs there? But would they make it that easy?
Plus, the warning against using stairs unless necessary nagged at me.
'There's more text, so let's finish reading.'
I checked the writing below on the bulletin board.
[We succeeded in gathering the 70 translations.]
[But everyone else died. Except me.]
[I, the youngest, was the only survivor.]
[But can I survive all the way to the rooftop?]
[I want to leave the translations here for the next challenger, but no matter what I write, it all gets erased somehow.]
[If I leave it in the lobby, it'll vanish eventually.]
[No helping it.]
A survivor's record?
Or a missing person's?
Either way, it revealed how to conquer Happiness Apartments.
[Before leaving, I record our journey here.]
[On minus 36th floor, we found a way out.]
[The answer was the rooftop.]
[Documents said there's an emergency escape slide to the original world on the rooftop.]
Search the underground floors to find the rooftop escape route.
[No visible path to the rooftop.]
[Highest floor we can reach: 36th.]
[All who explored 36th so far went missing.]
[Clue: mysterious script on 36th floor bulletin.]
[Found a translation in room 107 on 1st floor. Two sacrificed in the process.]
[Judged translations exist per floor, decided to search all floors including minus.]
[10 rooms per floor. Minus 36 identical to normal 36, so 700 rooms and 70 hallways ahead.]
[Pray we all survive.]
Including minus floors.
Search all hallways and rooms from 1st to 35th floor for translations.
[Many died during the search.]
[○○○ hyung couldn't endure and tried entering rooftop via 35th floor stairs.]
[That evening, ○○○ hyung went on missing list. Location: 35th floor hallway.]
[When we found all translations, I alone survived.]
[Now exploring this place.]
[Pray I reach rooftop alive. Prove everyone's sacrifice wasn't in vain.]
The record ended there.
"Why die on the rooftop?"
The one listed as missing from the rooftop must be this record-keeper.
But missing on the rooftop meant they became a sacrifice like the others.
"Three possibilities."
En route to rooftop, injured badly by entities or anomalies on 36th floor. Reached it but died from aftereffects.
Even reaching rooftop, powerful entity or anomaly awaits—must break through.
And the third...
"The rooftop escape itself is a trap."
Well, still gotta go, right?
The ones who searched the whole apartment said rooftop's the only answer.
"Thanks for leaving the record."
Without you, I'd have searched all 700 rooms, 70 hallways, and minus 36 floors.
"Alright, let's go."
Hurry for the people waiting in the lobby.
Check rooftop status, secure it, then fetch them.
'Everyone's safe, right?'
How long have we been here?
No way trouble hit in the meantime.
The cleaner swung the mop.
Everyone braced to flee, staring intently at the seemingly threatening motion.
"Cleaning starts now."
The mop swung toward the stain on the carpet.
Swish swish-!
It scrubbed the carpet diligently.
Once the full-force mopping covered the dropped pouch nearby too, the carpet's face vanished cleanly.
'What? Just a regular cleaner?'
'Keeping the lobby clean meant literally just cleaning?'
'Looks like a normal janitor...'
Some relaxed.
'The carpet stain's gone. Wiped away by the mop?'
'The pouch next to it vanished too?'
'Crazy!'
The quick ones trembled, ready to bolt.
"Excuse me, do you work here?"
Unexpectedly, someone approached directly.
Ryu Hyuk, subtly ostracized by others.
"Can we talk for a bit?"
He placed a hand on the cleaner's shoulder.
It didn't seem threatening, just friendly contact—but the cleaner wiped his hand with a suddenly produced rag.
"Cleaning continues."
"No, we ended up here somehow, and we think Chairman Lee Seung-hoon made this place. So, if I may ask..."
He patted the cleaner's shoulder again.
Or thought he did.
"This place really... Huh?"
His hand was gone.
Cleanly wiped where the rag touched.
Not cut or ground—just bluntly ended, as if never there.
"M-My hand!"
"Cleaning."
"Mmph!"
The rag wiped Ryu Hyuk's face.
His features vanished entirely.
"!?"
"Aaah!"
Panicked people scattered.
Ryu Hyuk, faceless, writhed on the floor, clutching his throat, unable to breathe.
"Will clean thoroughly."
The mop swept over his body.
Swish swish-!
After repeats, his body vanished cleanly.
"Run!"
Some to minus elevator.
Some to underground elevator.
Some hid in bathroom, some fled outside.
"Insane psychopath Zionist creation—brutal as expected!"
And the culprit behind this mess.
Moon Kwang-jo (55) bolted to escape too.
'Elevator?'
No good.
All in use.
Only unused one: the normal elevator Chairman Lee Seung-hoon took to 36th—have to wait.
'Bathroom?'
Cleaner heading there.
"Aaaah!"
Scream from inside bathroom.
Then silence.
'Other spots?'
Flee to apartment entrance, re-enter?
Cleaner emerging from bathroom, heading there.
'Damn! Only option left...'
Moon Kwang-jo dashed to emergency stairs.
Earlier, when Chairman Lee Seung-hoon read rules, it warned against using unless necessary—unsettling, but no choice.
'Don't know when it'll chase—hurry!'
What were the rules?
No idea! Think inside!
"Cleaning."
"Already!?"
He slammed the stair door shut in shock.
No time to recall rules—bolted up stairs.
"Huff, huff!"
Two or three steps at a time.
No pursuing presence from behind.
"Hoo, hoo."
This far should be enough?
Exhausted, he sat on stairs, checked floor sign on hallway.
[1F]
What? Why 1st floor?
Went up one more flight.
[1F]
"...I see. Got it."
Solitary waves, huh?
This apartment broadcasting powerful waves, implanting unrealistic hallucinations in brains.
'Parking lot monster, shadows, falling people from sky, weird cleaner.'
All solitary wave-induced hallucinations.
So these repeating stairs are too.
"Should've brought my wave-blocking tinfoil hat."
Tinfoil blocks solitary waves.
'Hold on, really solitary waves?'
Maybe Berry Chip hallucinations.
One vaccine dose implants powerful bio-control chip—controllable anytime!
And Berry Chip creator...
'Bill Gates, you bastard! Controlling my body?'
No, in this case, Chairman Lee Seung-hoon!
Bill Gates, you scum! Handed control rights to Chairman Lee Seung-hoon!
'Wait, really? Or maybe this is actually happening?'
Guys who made virtual reality worlds—can't make this?
Then they're...
"Teamed up with Reptilians. Zionist scum! Sold Earth to aliens after all!"
Reptilian extraterrestrials explain transcendent tech!
"I won't submit."
Moon Kwang-jo climbed stairs, unyielding.
"I won't bow to the Deep State."
Endless repeating 1st floor.
Want out, but door won't open.
"I won't be prisoner to underground Dero."
Between stair flights.
Flickering vending machine appeared halfway up.
"I won't die to the Nazis' Last Battalion."
Sold items: 500ml water and 500g canned baked beans. Only two.
Price: 0 won.
"I won't fall to FEMA's human culling."
I'll survive no matter what.
Moon Kwang-jo gripped the silver cross around his neck.
"Jesus, grant me courage against filthy Jewish capitalists."
He kissed the gift from an anonymous friend.
Always messaged only—friend said hiding name and identity to evade Deep State detection.
'Thanks. For this awesome gift.'
Doubted at first, but constant agreement and deep conspiracy knowledge proved kin—opened up.
'Found peace of mind thanks to you.'
He recalled the messenger nick of his contact.
'NoNamed.'