Chapter 76
Chapter 76
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Truth and Lies
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"Left?"
"Right."
Ailin was diligently following along beside the Team Leader, asking for directions every step of the way.
"Is this reliable?"
"If you can't trust it, what can you do?"
Song Arin narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the Team Leader and Ailin, then let out a sigh.
"Fine. Those two will find the way."
"So leave the navigation to those two and give us an explanation."
"About what."
"What happened?"
My gaze turned to Song Arin.
"I've been too busy to hear until now, but there has to be a reason we suddenly ended up here."
Not to mention with an escape ticket like the Team Leader?
"..."
Song Arin furrowed her brow sharply.
"Like everyone else, getting caught up in anomalies isn't always what you expect."
"True."
"We'd like to say we just got sucked in by coincidence, but something felt off."
Felt off?
"What do you mean?"
Like someone shoved these four people in here?
Seeing my dubious expression, Song Arin nodded slowly.
"We're not blessed with luck like you, suddenly running into containment objects."
"Are you picking a fight right now?"
"Anyway, listen up."
Song Arin raised her index finger to cut me off.
"Everything was too smooth."
"What do you mean?"
"We were all separated."
What was this now?
"No, didn't I tell you all to stick together?"
"You didn't say stick together. You just asked us to check how unlucky you are."
I recalled the dynamic between Jang Chaeyeon and Song Arin.
Yeah, telling those two to get along might have been asking too much.
"...Anyway, go on."
"So, I stuck with the white-hair guy, I had the Team Leader, and black-hair and white-hair paired up. I was the one who could at least... talk to people?"
"More precisely, it was Daon."
"Don't nitpick. Anyway, we split up like that and planned to meet back up later."
"And?"
"That's the weird part."
Song Arin raised her finger again to continue.
"See, like I said, we agreed to meet early. Actually around evening."
I nodded at her words.
"I asked the blonde earlier separately, and she said the activation condition at the entrance is staying here after closing."
"...Right."
Meaning these four couldn't even meet the activation condition to begin with.
My expression naturally grew serious.
"I'm listening."
"So we met at the spot we planned for evening."
Song Arin started walking as she continued.
"But then someone in a doll mask showed up and started dancing."
"Dancing?"
"Yeah."
Song Arin nodded.
"It came out of nowhere, so excluding black-hair who had no clue, the three of us tried to respond."
"..."
"But when I came to, we were inside here."
"It is strange."
"Right?"
Song Arin rested her chin on her hand, lost in thought.
"It is strange. Like someone knew we'd show up here at exactly this time and set it up."
Knew and set it up exactly.
And the things that flew in right after my response team and I got the balloons and popped them.
What if those were set up knowing we'd come too?
It felt like conjecture, but a bizarre intuition kept injecting one hypothesis into my mind.
If there's someone who could pull that off, my deduction narrows it down sharply.
The face of one gaunt man suddenly flashed in my head.
But why? What was he after to target these four specifically?
Song Arin looked up at me as I thought, and asked.
"You... you haven't pissed off a time traveler or anything, right?"
"..."
"Hey."
Anxiety crept onto Song Arin's face.
"..."
"You haven't, right?"
"Even if I did, how would I know."
Whether I did it or some past or future version of me did.
"...At least not until now."
Song Arin scowled deeply, then looked at me.
"Wait, so there's someone in the Management Bureau right now with time-related abilities?"
"..."
My eyes met Song Arin's briefly.
Should I tell her?
Before I could open my mouth as our eyes locked, she reached out and covered my mouth.
"Don't say it."
"..."
Her eyes met mine straight on.
"I don't know exactly what info you have, but the moment you say it, you can't control it anymore."
"..."
"The moment I know, and others know, it all becomes variables. You have a theory?"
I think I knew what she meant.
The more people prepare, the more the future changes, and anyone who's seen the future prepares differently. In other words, our preparations could backfire.
I slowly shook my head at her words.
The balloon tied to Song Arin's wrist swayed precariously.
"It's fine."
She nodded slowly, then spoke.
"I trust you'll handle the preparations."
"..."
"I know nothing."
Song Arin closed her eyes, then opened them, pressing a hand to her temple.
Her expression blanked out for a moment, then returned to normal.
"...What was I saying?"
Did she just erase her own memory?
Song Arin furrowed her brow, looked at me, and relaxed her face.
"I don't know what it was, but remember what I said."
She removed her hand from my mouth.
"Got it."
"Good."
"Hey! Exit!"
While she and I looked at each other, the Team Leader's shout drew our gazes that way.
With a dark curtain in front of him, the Team Leader nodded with a smile.
"Here, here!"
"You're sure?"
"Even if I'm not, we have no choice! We have to go out anyway!"
The Team Leader's gaze turned to Ailin, who let out a small sigh and nodded.
"I'll go first."
"As expected of the response team. Team-"
"Ailin."
"...Ailin's going first!"
With dull eyes, she sighed and pushed aside the black cloth to step out.
"..."
After a brief silence, she pushed the cloth aside again and called us.
"It's the exit."
At least that's a relief.
Letting out a sigh of relief, I followed her through the black cloth, and by then she was holding two golden tickets, handing one to me.
"...Did we get them all?"
Let me check.
One, two, three, four, five, six.
"Looks like we have all of them."
"Good."
Ailin let out a sigh of relief, then pulled out her worn notebook and started writing something.
"Now we can get out safely."
From the start, she'd been noting things in that notebook whenever she saw something here.
What exactly was she writing?
I sidled up next to Ailin and asked.
"But what are you writing?"
"...Stuff for the manual."
She snapped the notebook shut with a sound and answered.
"...Can't you just write it?"
"You think it's that easy?"
Ailin sighed.
"Writing manuals requires tremendous focus and accuracy-"
"Commencing record now. Area name: 'Amusement Park'."
-Flip flip flip!
The manual opened in midair, and writing began to appear.
[Office Manual for Office Workers]
[AREA - Amusement Park - First Record by HR's Kim Jaeheon]
"Upon arriving at the Amusement Park, you will receive a balloon from the clown. Accept the balloon without fail. Treat it like your life."
[Upon arriving at the Amusement Park, you will receive a balloon from the clown. Accept the balloon without fail. Treat it like your life.]
-Thud!
The manual floating faintly in the air fell into my hand.
"..."
Ailin stood there with her mouth agape, while Jang Chaeyeon approached beside me with a sigh.
"This isn't something anyone can do."
"Yeah?"
"I can't either."
"...How did you just do that?"
Ailin stared at me with wide eyes.
"...How did you do it."
"Huh?"
"How can you handle manuals like breathing."
Ailin clung to me, eyes wide.
This was a bit scary.
"...No, I just did it and it worked."
Even if I wanted to explain to her, the only way to put it was that I instinctively realized it.
"...Unbelievable."
Her gaze shifted to Jang Chaeyeon, who met her eyes and shrugged.
"He's always like that."
"Yeah. We'll talk properly after we get out."
She sighed and started walking.
Leaving Adventure Land and heading to the exit wasn't that hard.
We just retraced our steps.
The difference was,
"...It's getting kinda chilly?"
Yoo Daon muttered, rubbing her arms.
She was right.
It was colder than before.
Narrowing my eyes, I scanned the surroundings and spoke.
"Everyone still have their balloons safe?"
"Mine popped earlier!"
The others nodded, and finally Yoo Daon nodded in response.
"But it inflated again!"
"..."
Don't expect common sense from her.
We emerged into the plaza.
"..."
The doll masks and the tourists forcing smiles were nowhere to be seen, leaving only a single gloomy ticket booth.
The man we'd given tickets to was gone.
"...Looks like we escaped properly."
Ailin sighed in relief from behind.
"...Let's get out quick."
Who knows what's waiting.
Holding the tickets, I walked forward to the booth.
The silhouette inside looked like a man, but it was too dark to tell for sure.
"We're trying to leave."
I pulled out the six tickets and handed them over.
The ticket booth attendant looked up.
Soon, a translucent window appeared above his head.
[Name: Lee Cheolsu]
[Age: 34]
[Talent: X]
[Ability: X]
[Background: Response Team's Lee Cheolsu dreamed of escape. Now he just dreams.]
[Weakness: His life has problems. Solve them to leave.]
-Crack,
It was the man Ailin had given tickets to.
Response Team's Lee Cheolsu.
Grinning grotesquely, he met our eyes.
He was no longer human.
"Leaving, customers?"
"...That voice..."
Ailin's voice turned icy, and the man continued.
"But you can't just leave."
Not another fight?
Shouldn't he let us go if we have the tickets?
The others started preparing, but he shook his head and looked at me.
"Fighting again feels a bit much, doesn't it?"
I glanced around.
Fight while holding these balloons? It wouldn't be easy.
"How about this? A riddle."
"...A riddle?"
Suddenly?
"Aren't we supposed to just show tickets to leave?"
"When has common sense ever applied here?"
"Never."
Ailin replied coldly, drawing her gun.
"Can't we just fight?"
Ignoring Jang Chaeyeon, the lights went out.
-Rustle rustle rustle!
The world darkened, red streetlights flickered on.
In the red lighting like a movie set, he looked at me and flipped a paper.
Golden paper with writing.
[There are five people. Some always tell the truth, some always lie. One alternates between truth and lies. Their statements are as follows.]
Kim Jaeheon: Jang Chaeyeon tells the truth. Yoo Daon doesn't lie like it's breathing.
Jang Chaeyeon: Kim Jaeheon and Heo Chan are the same type. Song Arin is lying.
Yoo Daon: Jaeheon tells the truth. Team Leader Heo Chan is lying though.
Song Arin: Jang Chaeyeon is lying. Yoo Daon isn't lying either.
Heo Chan: Song Arin tells the truth. Kim Jaeheon and Jang Chaeyeon are different types.
"..."
"Very simple game."
He looked at me.
"Think carefully. One of them alternates truth and lies."
He smiled.
"Who is it?"
Should I just shoot?