Escaping the Amusement Park

The search team member's comment gave me an excuse to ignore it. I needed to head to the central information center of the amusement park.

I moved around naturally, like any other tourist visiting the park. I'd already taken photos of the map, and the ghosts were steadily guiding me along the paths.

I glanced back slightly and felt the clown slowly closing the distance between us.

The hostility had already reached its peak, thick black malice dripping from it.

Since I was still pretending to be a tourist, the standoff was holding for now, but it was clearly only a matter of time before it turned aggressive.

It hadn't noticed me yet, but the tall figure handing out balloons and the mime performer were also nearby. If a fight broke out, they'd definitely join in.

The other visible staff members would probably pile on too. If things escalated, there was no telling what powerful anomaly might show up.

There's too little information.

Since this place had only recently been created, there was no data on it in the anomaly gallery either. I'd have to find a way to gather information later.

From everything I'd experienced navigating anomaly spaces so far, charging in without any information in unfamiliar territory was never a good idea.

The clown looked at me. Its expression was gradually turning gloomy.

A dense crowd had gathered around the tall figure. I slipped into their midst. The clown stared blankly in my direction.

Getting out right now seems impossible.

The people around me were receiving balloons from the tall figure. Some took just one, while others grabbed three or four at once.

Pushed along by the new arrivals, I gradually moved deeper toward the center.

As I got closer to the center, the tall figure handed me a balloon.

When I hesitated for a moment, a bit of hostility began to leak out, so I quickly snatched it.

“Thank you.”

“I hope you have a pleasant experience. Please be sure to handle the balloon with care.”

Doll Pizza seemed to have remembered something.

I kept pulling down the balloon that kept trying to float up into the sky. It was so thin that even a fingernail could pop it. The slightest sharp impact would probably burst it instantly.

The silver lining was that carrying the balloon seemed to reduce the anomalies' interest in me.

The clown appeared again from far away. It looked at me and tilted its head once more.

Since there was no crowd to hide in, I quickly turned toward a nearby stall.

As expected, amusement park stalls are expensive no matter where you go.

The prices matched the value of the discounted ticket.

But that was fine. I had Tosam, who gave without reservation.

“I'll pay with this body.”

“Oh my, thank you. Take whatever you like.”

“Ah, would it be okay if I pay in advance? I think it'd be nice if you could give them to people who come later at a discount.”

“That’s fine. Should I give them to anyone?”

“No. Only give them to people who say this password: ‘Tosam’s ears are soft and chewy.’”

“Understood.”

Once I put on the accessories, the clown smiled and walked past.

I left a note on the wall and in my notebook: buying products sold at the amusement park reduces suspicion.

The records he left behind passed through verification by various agents and became the first survival rule to increase the survival rate in Amurotica Amusement Park.

*

I finally reached the central information center.

It really had taken a long time.

I had simply given her an invitation because she seemed like a decent tourist.

Where is this place?

“The Response Bureau. It’s a place where you can heal your mind and relax. The atmosphere is so comfortable that some people never leave. If you like it, please come by.”

Thank you. I’ll definitely visit.

When I tried to enter the central information center, an employee approached.

“Excuse me, what brings you here?”

If I simply wanted to escape, I could just get treated as a missing person. Since I didn’t originally belong here, I’d probably be sent back to where I came from in a sort of escape-like manner.

“It looks like someone over by the park restroom needs help. Could you go check on them?”

“Of course, no problem.”

The employee dashed off toward the restroom. It was fast—probably because it had so many legs.

I entered the central information center and approached the information desk. Only a lone microphone sat on it.

When I touched the microphone, a series of thumps echoed out.

I spoke into the microphone.

“From now on, all male and genderless staff members will transform into a white-clad, hairy female beast doll mascot.”

A male employee returning from the restroom twisted and contorted in an instant.

Nonsense.

The struggle to become better is ugly, and pain always follows the pursuit of beauty.

Even a graceful swan paddles furiously beneath the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠water.

It is by gathering up even that pain that something shines even brighter.

The employees had all transformed into white-clad beast dolls with uniquely textured fur. Their eyes and every joint clearly revealed that they were dolls.

Now it finally looked like a proper amusement park. After all, an amusement park needs mascots you just want to bite.

I wanted to stay a little longer, but I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠couldn’t. The employees’ malice was overflowing, so I quickly spoke into the microphone again.

“The tourist ‘Jeongchan,’ who came to visit the amusement park, has returned from the amusement park to the subway station.”

The microphone didn’t broadcast anything.

Was the microphone broken?

Chu-be-reup—

I licked the microphone a few times. Only then did it start working again.

But the content that came out was completely different from what I had said.

The employees were rushing toward me.

This was a situation where words wouldn’t work.

I pulled out my scythe.

The employees slammed into the narrow door of the information desk as if trying to break it down. Unable to withstand their weight, the door shattered.

Instead of the door, Jeongchan chose to smash through the window and escape that way.

The space is too narrow to swing the scythe properly.

As he kicked off from the information center and ran, the employees who had identified him charged at him. Surrounded by the staff positioned around the center, he was completely encircled.

“Are you the missing person? We’ll guide you. You haven’t fully enjoyed the fun yet.”

He sliced left and right at the employee who spat out those dry words in one breath. In the blink of an eye, the bisected employee froze solid.

Swish—!

The sound rang out a beat after the movement.

Booom—!

The floor couldn’t support the weight of the employee who had collapsed at the same speed he had charged in, and it shattered.

The broken fragments scraped against the bodies of the other employees. While they hesitated at the sight, he kicked off from a bench, leaped upward, and broke free of the encirclement.

As the distance grew, the employees hurled the broken fragments toward the balloon. Without hesitation, he threw his chain at the fragments flying straight at him with undiminished force.

Kwaaang!

The chain collided with the fragments. Reduced to powder in an instant, they merely clung to the balloon like dust.

He pulled the balloon close and wrapped it with the iron chain. It was preparation for any surprise attacks.

An employee ambushed him, and he darted through open plazas and shopping streets to shake them off.

He dodged, defended, and occasionally counterattacked. He should have been getting tired, yet he could keep moving endlessly.

The power he inhaled through his breathing pores accumulated in his lower dantian, and the all-encompassing ability of the Primordial Origin Arts—which did not distinguish between types of energy—turned it back into the strength that let him keep moving.

His initially clumsy movements were corrected in real time, becoming more efficient and reducing energy consumption.

In that way, he bought time. From far away, a derailed blue dragon train slithered like a snake, zigzagging as it charged toward him. With every twist of its movement, shopping streets crumbled and new paths were born.

Red light was condensing inside the mouth of the blue dragon train.

He remained perfectly calm.

“Ah, time’s up. I barely held out.”

Jeongchan gently patted the fallen employee.

“I can’t take care of you right now. I’ll come back after sleeping for ten nights. Wait for me, okay?”