Chapter 153
Chapter 153
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 153. Harmonious Family
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Like it or not, the manual says what needs to be said when it's needed.
Whether it's telling you to kill yourself right now, or to snap your fingers, or whatever—it generally gives advice that's helpful for the situation at hand.
"Let's go."
And I had no reason to doubt the manual.
At my words, the two of them moved nimbly toward the exit.
-Clunk!
"The door's locked!"
Yoo Daon shouted as she grabbed the doorknob.
I hurriedly pulled out the manual while drawing my gun.
[Office Manual]
[7-6. If the screen doesn't show static and the door is locked, the way out through the door is blocked. You have two options.]
[7-7. First. Find a plausible hiding spot before it comes out. Statistically, under the bed is the safest, but keep in mind that the survival rate if you hide there is 30%.]
[7-8. Second. Climb down the railing to the third floor. However, there's no exit on the third floor, and the survival rate is around 50%.]
[7-9. Do not think about jumping from the railing to the first floor. What's waiting for you below is not the first floor. I warn you again. What awaits you below is 'definitely' not the first floor.]
[7-10. In the 13th investigation, the response team members who jumped were still falling during the 15th investigation.]
There wasn't even a reason to hesitate.
If we hid, we'd just be gambling on a 30% chance, but if we escaped, we had a 50% shot at survival.
And we were people who were starting to become pros in this kind of thing.
"To the railing!"
The three of us headed straight for the railing.
In the pitch-black darkness where not even a star or a single light was visible, I grabbed the railing.
"We're going down to the third floor slowly."
"I'll go first."
Yoo Daon grabbed the railing with practiced ease and started descending.
I always thought this, but Yoo Daon probably had the best physical abilities among us—she just didn't get many chances to show it.
Like some kind of acrobat, she slid down the railing, planted her foot on the third-floor railing, and looked up at us.
"Come on, hurry!"
"Arin, you go first."
"Oh, got it."
Song Arin fumbled her way onto the railing and started down.
I watched her descend slowly, then placed my foot on the railing.
"Urk...!"
A stabbing migraine hit me, furrowing my brow.
I hurriedly turned my gaze toward the television.
A single face protruded, staring right at me.
Pale skin, an expression whose thoughts were impossible to read.
Every time that face met my eyes,
"Gr...!"
The headache intensified.
I looked down.
Song Arin was about halfway down.
I too grabbed the railing and started descending hurriedly.
The thing with the pale skin began slowly emerging from the television.
[7-11. Do not look at what's coming out of the television. A normal person would go insane.]
[7-12. This program, once popular with children, was the trigger for the Management Bureau to confiscate all video copies and shut down the broadcasting station after a fatal flaw was discovered.]
"Arin, a bit faster."
"Trying...!"
Song Arin grunted as she descended,
"Got it!"
"Eek!"
Yoo Daon suddenly reached out and grabbed Song Arin's thigh, causing Song Arin to let out a weird shriek as her body slid the rest of the way down.
After confirming Song Arin was fully down, I descended the railing too.
The thing with pale skin was now crossing half the living room, approaching me.
If I had to describe it, it was like a snake.
Just a snake with a human head, maybe.
It had eyes, nose, and mouth, but something felt unnaturally off, and its hair clung like seaweed.
The closer it got, the worse the headache—
"Whoa!"
Something grabbed both my legs and started slowly pulling me down.
"It's got you now, but you're okay, Jaeheon!"
I looked down to see Song Arin and Yoo Daon grunting as they each held one of my legs.
With their not-exactly-helpful help, I made it down to the third floor.
My hands were slick with sweat.
I tried to look up, but a small hand covered my eyes.
"Don't look."
Song Arin's voice tickled my ear.
"...Got it."
After a short while, Song Arin removed her hand.
"You can't just rely on your mental resistance and stare at everything. You might get in real trouble one day."
"Thanks for worrying."
"...It's not worry. I just didn't want you going nuts and shooting at us."
Song Arin muttered gruffly as she looked ahead.
"Where do we go?"
"Hold on."
I opened the manual.
[Office Manual]
[Myeongil Apartment - 3rd Floor]
[1. There are two main ways to enter the third floor: climbing down the railing from the fourth floor instead of playing hide-and-seek, or entering through the black door in room 410.]
[1-1. The third floor has no basic escape route, so the goal is to get off it as quickly as possible and head to the second floor, where there's an exit.]
[1-3. If you came down through 402, as you might expect, you'll be in 302.]
[1-4. Room 302 has a different structure from a normal room. The interior will be larger than you think, so don't be too surprised.]
Larger than I think?
I slowly opened the balcony door.
"...Whoa."
A massive hallway stretched out before our eyes.
This wasn't just larger than I thought—it was just plain huge.
[1-5. Keep walking until you find the room's exit. The record for fastest exit found is 10 seconds. The record for longest without finding an exit is 17 years, 3 months, 3 days, 24 minutes, 25 seconds, 17 years, 3 months, 3 days, 24 minutes, 26 seconds, 17 years, 3 months, 3 days, 24 minutes, 27 seconds...]
-Snap!
I closed the manual.
It always had to creep me out like that.
"Let's walk."
"Just walk?"
"Yeah."
No need to mention how people wandered for over 17 years without finding the exit. They were probably all dead anyway.
The three of us slowly walked down the hallway.
"Still, it's a relief we found you, Arin."
Yoo Daon broke the silence with a smile.
"Honestly, I was worried. That we wouldn't find you."
"Where would I go."
Song Arin sighed and muttered.
"I didn't expect it to turn out like this either."
"But, Arin."
"What."
Had Yoo Daon and Song Arin ever talked this much?
Usually Yoo Daon would get cut off by Song Arin, but this time, for some reason, Song Arin was actually listening.
"That painting—what is it?"
"..."
Song Arin glanced at me, and I shook my head quickly while gesturing that I hadn't said anything.
"Isn't that the one from the art gallery?"
"...Yeah."
"..."
Yoo Daon stared at her intently, and Song Arin dropped her gaze before slightly lifting her head to look back at Yoo Daon.
"There are a few reasons."
Song Arin let out a low sigh, as if she didn't want to talk about it.
Should I let these two keep talking?
It'd probably be better to stop it before Yoo Daon's curiosity poked at Song Arin's sore spot too much.
"I was worried. That something big might've happened to you along the way."
"..."
As I cut in, Yoo Daon shut her mouth immediately, and Song Arin turned her gaze to me.
"What big trouble could I get into? I've been at the Management Bureau for years."
"Still."
"And anyway, this place existed back then too."
You know? she muttered as she kept walking.
I glanced at Yoo Daon.
As she and I talked, Yoo Daon had fallen silent like some kind of folding screen, staying off to the side without a word.
Her face expressionless as she looked ahead.
Was this her way of being considerate? Or did she just find the conversation uncomfortable?
"You said it was a monster. The one under the river."
"Yeah, it was a monster under the river."
"What's that got to do with this incident?"
According to Song Arin, she'd lost her family to a monster. So why had she lost them to this phenomenon instead?
"Monsters don't always have to go around smashing things."
Song Arin muttered as she looked ahead.
"Sometimes, causing phenomena is what makes something a monster."
"..."
I understood what she meant.
"Oh, so..."
"Exit!"
And then Yoo Daon, who'd been behind us the whole time, widened her eyes and pointed ahead.
Following her finger, at the end of the wall was a lone front door.
Yoo Daon ran over, grabbed the knob, and looked back at us with a smile.
"Should I open it?"
"Wait a sec."
I checked the manual.
Nothing special.
"Open it."
Yoo Daon nodded and opened the door.
Fortunately, a familiar hallway stretched out before us.
"..."
Yoo Daon poked her head out and scanned the surroundings intently, but nothing was visible.
Just a hallway.
No open doors either.
"We can head down right away."
"Where's the exit?"
"Second floor."
"...Second floor?"
Song Arin's expression hardened.
"Why?"
"Oh, no. Nothing."
Was there something? Song Arin hurriedly shook her head.
I opened the manual.
[Office Manual]
[Myeongil Apartment - 3rd Floor]
[7. If you exit into the hallway and no doors are open, you can head straight to the second floor.]
[7-1. However, the difficulty of escaping the second floor rises sharply, and the Management Bureau takes no responsibility for problems arising if you don't follow the manual.]
Got it.
We left the hallway, grabbed the handrail, and descended the stairs.
It didn't take as long as I thought.
Arriving at the second-floor entrance, I opened the manual.
[Office Manual]
[Myeongil Apartment - 2nd Floor]
[1. Arriving on the second floor means you failed to escape via the fourth floor.]
[2. First, there are two main escape methods on the second floor. I'll start with the relatively easier one: escaping through room 208.]
While reading the manual, Yoo Daon tapped my shoulder and whispered.
"Jaeheon. Arin's acting weird."
"..."
I turned to look at Song Arin.
Her face was pale, her hands trembling as if—
A translucent window floated above her head.
[Name: Song Arin]
[Age: 21]
[Talent: Hypnosis]
[Talents: -]
[Background: She has recalled her memories.]
[Weakness: Leave her as is.]
"..."
She recalled her memories?
"Something's off..."
Yoo Daon muttered, looking at her.
"Arin. You okay?"
"..."
"Arin."
"Yeah. I'm fine."
Song Arin muttered and stood next to me, grabbing my sleeve.
"Let's go."
I opened the manual as I listened to her whisper that was barely audible.
[3. This is the place with the most severe erosion, and all second-floor residents transformed into anomalies except for one.]
[4. Room 208. Beginning explanation of the Harmonious Family.]
Grip.
Song Arin tightened her hold on my sleeve.