Real-Life Horror at the Department Store
"HERA. This place really has the stock, right?"
Yes. A full omnidirectional search confirms this is the only location with stock of that package.
I was currently at a department store in Gwangmyeong. How I'd ended up here traced back to just before yesterday's stream wrapped up.
The day before, "Alright, that's it for today's stream."
"Oh, right. Tomorrow's a gaming stream, and I'm gonna spin a roulette before ending to pick the game."
"First, I'll take votes from you Loaders on the genre, then set up the roulette options based on that. Once the genre's picked, we'll spin a random slot from my prepped game list for that category."
Loaders was the name for my fans. I started polling them on game genres.
[Horror, Action Brawler, AOS, Survival, Sandbox Survival, RPG, FPS]
The genre was decided by vote.
"Alright, spinning the roulette."
The roulette started spinning. Its speed gradually slowed, building to the decisive moment.
???? What the fuck?
Horror had the fewest votes, so the smallest slice—and it landed on that.
'I hate horror... damn it!'
I'd thought there was no way it'd hit horror, but no jinx is safe. I couldn't hide my shock at drawing the short straw.
I seriously despised scary stuff!
"Uh, okay then. Spinning the prepped horror game list slot."
With trembling hands, I spun the slot I'd filled with my horror category games. Up until prepping this yesterday, I'd figured it'd never get picked. But heaven wasn't on my side—it drove the point home hard.
'Hah, of all things, why a creature feature?!'
Among horror genres, creature horrors were what I loathed most. Sure, scary was bad, but the gross-out factor was worse. A ghost story might've been bearable... nah, that'd suck too.
With genre and game set, I ended the stream.
That was yesterday. So today, I'd come to Gwangmyeong to snag the last stock of Apocalypse Resident's package. Sure, I could've DL'd it from the shop, but where's the romance in that? I preferred physical packages over intangible downloads anyway. And with DL, it never felt fully mine. Even if it was a genre I hated, my pride wouldn't let me compromise.
"Lemme see... game section's on the third floor, right?"
I considered the elevator but noped out at the ridiculous line. Escalator it was.
"Lucky timing, miss. That was our last one."
"Phew, what a relief."
It was the final copy—I barely snagged it. Almost had to DL after all.
"Miss, you're Ju Ae-ri, right?"
"Huh? Y-yeah, that's me."
What the? Why my name outta nowhere?
"I'm a Loader."
"Ah..."
The game corner clerk outed himself as a fan. Never expected to run into one here.
"Love your streams. Grabbing this for tomorrow's, huh? Buying physical instead of DL—total romantic."
"Haha... you think?"
"Games gotta be physical to hit right. I'm team package over DL too."
"Totally. Feels way more satisfying mentally."
We chatted a bit, I paid, and headed out—then the whole department store blared with alarms.
Warning! Warning! Warning! Customers, please follow staff instructions and evacuate. An armed group has infiltrated the department store. Repeating: Customers, please follow staff instructions and evacuate.
"What the hell?!"
Ae-ri. Armed group infiltration confirmed inside the department store.
"What? Why the hell are armed goons hitting a department store?"
Shall I identify the group?
"Yeah, please."
HERA scanned the intruders. Quick processing yielded results.
The armed group infiltrating the store is the Shyot-eum Youth Group.
"Huh? Shyot-eum Youth Group? That sounds familiar... oh!"
Shyot-eum Youth Group—literally a radical gang of the unemployed. Despite the ridiculous name, they were dead serious, pulling off terror attacks with top-tier weapons no one knew how jobless losers acquired. Total psychos.
I dug into their motive too. Five intruders total, led by a guy who interviewed here three days ago and got rejected.
"No way... they're doing this over a failed interview?"
Yes.
"Fucking insane."
Explained why he bombed the interview. No clue why he'd take it out on innocents. If he had real talent, he wouldn't have flunked.
Ae-ri. Get down.
"Huh? Shit...!"
I ducked fast—a bullet whizzed right over me.
"Damn! So close!"
A young guy, barely out of his teens, snapped his fingers in frustration.
"You shot at people?! You fucking psycho!"
I pointed and yelled at him. He smirked.
"You're Ju Ae-ri, right? You're blowing up lately. Kinda jealous, y'know? Meanwhile I'm unemployed, can't stream, living like trash."
"What?"
So he was trying to kill me 'cause his life's shit? That crazy?
"So if I kill Ju Ae-ri, won't I get famous too?"
"You fucking psycho..."
Worse than I'd thought. Killing me for clout?
"HERA. Wire!"
Understood. Executing 007.
Wire shot from my prosthetic arm, flying to bind the psycho—but—
"Yeah, saw that in the Suwon Station footage."
A vector field formed around him, repelling the wire.
'Vector field? That's not just "expensive"—how do unemployed losers have military-grade shit?!'
Vector fields weren't buyable with cash. They were military tech.
'Shyot-eum Youth Group. Who's their leader again?'
It rang a bell from the novel, but I couldn't recall. No time anyway.
Bang!
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
"HERA. Vector!"
Yes, executing.
Vector field enveloped me, deflecting bullets. But sustained fire would overwhelm it eventually.
"No wire means no offense."
Being inside the store crippled my options. HERA's attacks were anti-material, AoE blasts. Using one here might collapse the whole building.
"What now?"
Bang!
A different gunshot rang out—not from the barrage guy. The bullets stopped; he toppled forward.
"Huh?"
Target eliminated.
From behind the fallen guy emerged a man in a black coat, dual-wielding pistols.
'Th-that guy's...!'
Half his face masked, but I knew him instantly. Impossible not to.
'Lee Moo-hyuk!'
The novel's protagonist, genius broadcaster devouring the future. The one who'd gotten me exiled from H Group—and suspect number one for my TS surgery.
Lee Moo-hyuk glanced at me, then spun and vanished.
'Nothing like this in the novel?'
No description of him casually killing like that.
'Something's twisted since I transmigrated for sure.'
This could be a variable later. I'd brainstorm countermeasures at home.
Moo-hyuk finished off the department store terrorists and slipped out quietly. As he exited, a woman approached.
"Good work, Moo-hyuk."
"You too, Amy."
"But why save Hwang Bo—er, Ju Ae-ri?"
Moo-hyuk went silent at Amy's question.
"You had your reasons, I'm sure. Won't pry further."
"Amy. Any leads on Shyot-eum Youth Group—or... Baekseonggyo's next terror target?"
Amy nodded firmly.
"Yes. It's a ways off—sure you're good?"
"Fine. Let's move fast."
"Car's ready. Hop in."
Moo-hyuk boarded the vehicle Amy had prepped. Carrying them both, it cruised leisurely from Gwangmyeong and vanished into the distance.