Chapter 73
Chapter 73
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 73. The Ghost House
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"But why is there a ghost house in a western concept attraction?"
All I could do was shrug at Yoo Daon's innocent question.
"Does the train chasing us earlier make any sense?"
"You're right?"
How was I supposed to make sense of this insane place? I just had to accept it as it was.
Best not to even try understanding it.
After a brief silence, the six of us huddled together in front of the ghost house.
"Man, this place really gives me the creeps."
"..."
Song Arin nailed it.
Of course, nothing here felt pleasant, but the name alone made it worse.
The massive sign reading [The Ghost House] had something unsettling about it that got under your skin.
"...This really is the safest spot, right?"
"You're asking so much I'm starting to doubt it myself... but for now, it seems that way."
Team Leader answered with an ambiguous expression.
No choice but to go in.
I glanced around at the others.
No one was volunteering to go first, so it looked like it had to be me.
As I reached out to open the door, someone beat me to it.
"...?"
"What're you doing? Aren't you coming in?"
Arin stood there holding the door open, looking back at us.
"..."
After a brief exchange of glances, we all filed inside.
*
"It's dark."
Jang Chaeyeon hit the nail on the head.
No need for further comment.
It was dark. That single word described everything.
It was so pitch-black from the start that we couldn't see a thing.
"...Smells like dust."
Yoo Daon wrinkled her nose and covered it with her sleeve.
I always noticed it, but her sense of smell was sharp.
"..."
"Song Arin."
"..."
"Song Arin?"
"Eek... What...?!"
I tapped her shoulder, and Song Arin jumped, turning to stare at me.
"By any chance... are you scared?"
"What're you talking about? Hey, I'm Song Arin from the Management Bureau. You think I'd get spooked by an atmosphere like this?"
She might have a bit of a fear streak, like last time.
She'd never admit it out loud, though.
"Alright then. Looks like we have to get through this place."
"Physical attacks?"
"You planning to smash everything again? I think sneaking through quietly is the way."
"I'm fine with anything!"
Arin was staying quiet with Team Leader, while the other three debated plans energetically.
I listened to their discussion and sank into thought.
With all six of us together, if we could just make use of our abilities—
Tap, tap.
Someone lightly poked my back with a finger.
Arin was tapping my back.
"There's a guide here?"
"Where was this?"
"I found it."
She handed me a stiff, laminated sheet of paper with a nonchalant look.
[How to Enjoy the Ghost House]
[Don't get startled no matter what happens!]
[We'll do our best to scare you!]
[If it's too scary, just shout that you're quitting! The staff will escort you out safely!]
"From my experience... that's basically code for 'whatever you do, don't say you're quitting.'"
Arin, reading it over my shoulder, rested her chin on her hand and muttered.
"It's not friendly to humans, so their idea of 'escorting you safely' is probably by their standards, not ours."
That made perfect sense.
She pulled the rifle off her back and checked it as she continued.
"I'll provide fire support. If my experience or anything helps, just say so."
"Got it."
After a short meeting, we settled on roles.
Yoo Daon up front, Jang Chaeyeon right behind her, Team Leader and me in the middle, with Song Arin and Arin bringing up the rear.
The entrance was blocked by thick curtains, so we couldn't see inside.
We'd have to go in to find out. It really was just like a haunted house.
"You were agonizing over it, but we ended up with the usual order."
"If you have complaints, you can take the front."
"What a mouth on you."
Jang Chaeyeon and Song Arin were really going at it today.
"I'm going in!"
Ignoring their bickering, Yoo Daon cheerfully stepped forward.
She parted the curtains and went in, followed by Jang Chaeyeon, then Team Leader and me.
"Jaeheon."
"Yes, Team Leader."
"That—"
Team Leader spoke as he crossed the threshold, and I followed right after.
"...Huh?"
Team Leader's voice, which should have been right there, was gone.
I whipped around in a panic.
Where the entrance curtains had been was now just an open space.
Was I alone?
I looked around.
Nothing in sight. Walls stood like a maze.
The good news was the paths were wide; the bad was it made finding the way impossible.
"..."
At least I had one Critical left, and my weapons.
I drew my pistol and butane gas, walking slowly while thinking.
Forced relocation? Was this some other dimension?
But it didn't feel like one—too featureless.
I walked alone through the darkness.
If something showed up, I'd shoot.
-Step, step.
As I walked, I started hearing someone else's footsteps.
I froze, scanned around, and raised my weapon.
What was it? How should I respond?
The sound was approaching from the right.
"Hold on."
Just as I prepared to fire, a familiar voice rang out.
"...Arin?"
Arin was aiming her gun at me too.
"...Whew."
She confirmed it was me, sighed in relief, and lowered her weapon.
"You scared me. I came out of nowhere and everyone was gone."
"Same here."
What the hell was going on?
"At least the two of us stuck together pretty well."
"Yeah. Seen the others?"
"Not yet."
"Too bad."
Arin clicked her tongue and slung her rifle back on.
"For now, shall we stick together?"
"I'll let you know if I see anything."
"Sure."
We started walking, eyes sharp.
Nothing visible. No footsteps either.
"See anything?"
"What would there be to see?"
"Nothing at all?"
"It's pretty dark here."
Her, finding that laminated paper in this darkness?
I turned to look at Arin.
Bulletproof vest, frizzy blonde hair, lifeless eyes, short stature.
Identical to the Arin I knew.
But the translucent panel above her head said otherwise.
[Name: X]
[Age: X]
[Talent: Disguise]
[Ability: Disguise]
[Background: This is not Arin.]
[Weakness: Shoot it now.]
"What the—"
Before she could react, I drew my pistol and aimed at her forehead.
-Bang!
No hesitation on the trigger. Her head snapped back, then returned.
"...How did you know?"
With a hole in her forehead, "Arin" stared at me and asked in a low voice.
"I've been fooled by stuff like this too many times."
"Ahaha... Ahahaha... AHAHAHA!!!"
She laughed gleefully at my answer,
then melted away like a shadow.
"..."
-Bang!
-Thud!
The moment she vanished, gunfire erupted nearby, followed by something breaking.
Everyone fighting okay?
"..."
What if not?
I picked up the pace, navigating the labyrinth faster.
If we'd all been scattered in one space and these monsters were impersonating us, that was a problem.
I didn't think our teammates would fall for it. They had experience.
But what if they didn't fall for it? That could be the problem.
What if they suspected everyone and started attacking?
If real teammates turned on each other? It'd be irreversible.
"Jaeheon you b—"
-Bang!
"Hey!"
-Bang!
I kept moving, quickly checking the heads of anyone greeting me or appearing, then dealing with them.
The most annoying were the Arin imposters—they automatically aimed at me on sight, so I needed even quicker reflexes.
I'd taken out about six, but not one had been real.
If I were alone—
-Bang!
Gunfire from around the corner. I halted abruptly.
Another Arin?
Finger on the trigger, I crept toward the sound.
Turned the corner and fired instantly.
The moment I did,
"Ack!"
The world spun upside down, slamming me to the ground.
My arm twisted behind me as I was pinned, a gun barrel jammed against my temple.
The muzzle was still hot from recent shots.
I strained to roll my eyes sideways.
[Name: Arin]
[Age: 23]
[Talent: X]
[Ability: X]
[Background: She lost her entire family at church as a child. Through over a decade of grueling effort, she joined the Response Team as its youngest member and became its youngest Team Leader. Her drive comes solely from finding her family and ending all this.]
[Weakness: She's just a normal person. If you kill her, she dies for real.]
"Prove it."
Arin's emotionless voice pierced my ear.
"Prove it?"
"Prove you're the real one."
I racked my brain.
Easiest was to mention a memory with her.
I started to bring up the shootout, then stopped.
If clones had theme park memories, that'd be fatal.
So, something from before the park. Even if uncertain.
I recalled her bowing her head 90 degrees in the truck.
"In the truck, you bowed 90 degrees!"
"..."
"I said I was sorry, that I'd take responsibility—"
"Enough."
The gun pulled away, and my body was free.
Arin released me, cleared her throat awkwardly, and spoke.
"...Then prove you're—"
"It's fine. I just confirmed you're not a fake."
She raised one eyebrow at my words.
"That's not important right now. We need to hurry and link up with the others."
"Worried about mix-ups?"
"Yes."
She nodded slowly.
"Alright. Let's go join them quick."
She strode ahead.
"By the way, have you taken down other monsters like that one by one?"
She glanced back, meeting my eyes.
"No."
"So how'd you know about mine?"
"Experience. And instinct."
That's what she said,
-Thud!
as something collapsed, drawing our eyes toward the sound.
"Let's run for it."
"Yeah."
Guns drawn, we sprinted through the darkness together.
Only one of us was capable of causing that much of a racket.