A dark, bronze-hued mansion.
I followed Supervisor Park Minseong, walking silently behind him. The supervisor, who had accomplished the insane feat of 'disguising himself as an usher machine, fooling the system, and rescuing a poor new hire,' evaluated the situation in his own way.
"It's not like their AI is particularly advanced. Maybe about as smart as a roomba? So I figured I could trick it for a moment by mimicking its appearance!"
I wasn't entirely convinced the machine's intelligence was that rudimentary, but the timing had worked out, and he had saved me. For that, I was eternally grateful.
"Um, but how did you disguise yourself…"
"Ah! My special equipment."
Supervisor Park grinned and pointed to a cloth draped around his neck. Oh!
I recalled his earlier explanation about his personal equipment.
– Mine is a camouflage item. It can't transform me into a person, and its duration is short, so I only use it as a last resort.
Until now, I had only heard about such things in ghost stories where they didn't work or were otherwise meaningless, but this was my first time seeing it in action.
'Under the right circumstances, it's actually pretty decent??' I was tempted to borrow it as a parent seed to make a new customization for my personal equipment.
But that's not the priority right now!
"Alright. Phew. Now that I've found you, Roe, let's get out of this insane place."
"Have you found an escape route, sir?"
"..."
Supervisor Park didn't answer. He just smiled faintly.
'He must have some kind of plan.'
For now, I decided to trust him and quickly followed.
"This way."
We climbed the stairs from the basement back to the ground floor. Before long, the surrounding area shifted from bronze to brass, and a grand corridor bathed in a golden hue came into view.
'We're above ground.'
That was enough to feel somewhat relieved, but…
The first floor was chaos.
AAAAAHHHHH
MMPH!!! UUUUUURGH!
M-My— MY EARS!
Screams echoed from all directions.
'Two hours have passed.'
Even the employees who had been hiding were now being caught by the usher machines, losing another body part… just as I nearly had earlier.
"..."
Supervisor Park didn't glance toward the sources of the screams. He simply kept walking.
"Don't look back, Roe."
"..."
I clenched my fists so tightly that veins bulged on the backs of my hands.
"I know it's hard, but right now, we need to focus on saving our own team. If we're going to keep collecting points here… we need to learn how to let go."
"..."
Suddenly, I recalled the moment during a talk show when Supervisor Park had resigned himself to surviving.
– …I have a family member in the hospital. I hope someone could check in on her after this filming. If possible.
For some reason, I felt like I understood how this cheerful supervisor had managed to endure in this place.
At any rate, I didn't argue.
Before long, Supervisor Park scouted the area and seemed to have arrived at his destination safely.
And that destination was…
"Here."
"..."
A window.
The same tightly sealed opaque glass window Go Yeongeun had tried so hard to open earlier.
'Don't tell me he plans to go through here?'
But instead of desperately prying it open, Supervisor Park raised a finger and knocked on the glass softly.
Knock, knock.
The window suddenly slid open.
"...?!"
No, it wasn't just opening.
It slid downward all the way to the floor, revealing itself to be…
'A terrace door!'
This wasn't a window at all!
'Was that why the exploration records said…?'
========================
The 19th record is a testimony from a visitor who attempted to pass through a window. However, due to credibility issues, it has been omitted.
This exhibition does not have windows.
========================
What I had dismissed as a typical ghost story manual phrasing turned out to be literal. There really weren't any windows.
"Let's go."
"Yes, sir."
Without hesitation, we stepped through the open terrace door. Beyond it was a small hexagonal terrace with a long sofa and table. However, the view beyond the terrace was obscured by dense black fog, as if visibility was intentionally denied to us.
Tap.
As Supervisor Park warily closed the terrace door, someone seated on the sofa rose and tapped my shoulder.
"I knew you'd make it."
"Assistant Manager."
It was Assistant Manager Eun Haje.
And next to her, the slit pupils of Squad Leader Lizard met my eyes calmly.
"Our squad leader suggested expanding the search range since you weren't nearby, and it turns out you were just downstairs."
"Thank you very much."
"Did you purposely head to that eerie basement to find an exit? That's very like you."
I glanced at Supervisor Park with newfound appreciation. Descending to the basement, with no clear information about the floors, had been an incredibly bold decision.
'Thank you… truly.'
Thanks to him, I still had both eyes intact.
Still…
"How exactly did you open this? Someone else tried earlier but failed to open it as a window."
"? I just used my hands."
"..."
Of course you did.
'If the body suffers, the mind suffers even more… right…'
Looking closer, the terrace door handle seemed a bit wobbly. Wouldn't it be a disaster if the ushers discovered this?
However, my D-squad superiors, including Chief Lizard, seemed unfazed by the unusual situation. They simply began discussing the next steps calmly.
"Well then, now that our squad's back together… should we attempt an escape, Squad Leader?"
"Yes."
"…Do you have a viable escape plan?"
"Yes."
"…Could you share what it is?"
Chief Lizard answered succinctly.
"We're going to tie a rope to the terrace railings and explore the outer walls of this exhibition space."
"..."
Eh?
"From the outside, there's got to be a floor with the main entrance. We just need to head there."
That's… quite the idea.
"I see."
If this cursed mansion didn't have seven thousand underground floors, it might have sounded tempting.
And if I didn't already have an easier escape item in my satchel, it might have been worth considering.
'I could just use this to get out.'
Thinking about the candle, which should be solidifying nicely, I raised my hand.
"Please wait a moment."
If I showed it to them and explained, I might be able to convince them.
I just needed to stall a bit more time until it was ready—and perhaps rescue some others while I was at it.
"I was with two fellow new hires earlier, but we got separated. They should still be nearby. If you could give me a moment, I'll go and find them…"
"..."
"..."
Ah.
"Roe."
Assistant Manager Eun Haje spoke bluntly.
"There are exactly three new hires in this mission, including you."
"..."
"They said they picked a few high-performing rookies and dropped them in here. But we all know—they just needed to fill the numbers."
"Sunbae—"
"Let me speak."
Supervisor Park, silenced by Eun Haje, stayed quiet as the assistant manager continued.
"Remember lunch earlier? The higher-ups in the meeting room—they're hoping this might be an A-grade zone."
It came back to me.
– Look, it's confirmed to be a high-grade Darkness, but there are civilian survivors. This could be a revolutionary case for sourcing high-quality materials.
"They were so thrilled, talking about how it might be the most survivor-friendly A-grade resource site in history. A-grade Dream Essence is always out of stock, after all."
"..."
"New hires? From the beginning, they were considered expendable, written off as company expenses."
Extracting high-quality materials from an A-grade site was far more valuable.
It was true that the longer members of the Field Exploration Team survived, the more their lives were valued, but ultimately, consumables were still consumables—disposable compared to more valuable resources.
"Remember this: the further up top people go, the less they value human lives. To them, people are just flies."
Eun Haje sighed and put his cigarette back in its case.
"So, focus on saving yourself."
"..."
"We don't have time, so let's move. If you start feeling sympathy, it'll only make things harder for you."
I barely managed to open my mouth.
"That's not it."
"Ah, a kind soul. Fine, if we're lucky, maybe they'll get out too—"
"One of my fellow rookies is holding the escape item!"
"...?!"
Of course, it was a lie.
"We don't even know what's outside. There's no need to recklessly climb down with a rope."
But one thing was true.
"With that item, we can escape safely."
I'm back underground.
Though my legs wobbled from walking around alone, the clarity of my goal seemed to dull the fear.
Find my fellow new recruits.
– You have 20 minutes. If you don't find them by then, we're heading back.
My lie about the universe-gasping, world-amazing escape item had somewhat worked.
The time they gave me was short, but manageable.
'They couldn't have gone far.'
Shock reduces mobility. They're probably hiding nearby right now, trying to collect themselves.
Besides, I had given them a hint earlier—about good hiding spots.
'The vents.'
At the 7-minute mark of my search, I finally found someone crammed into the outer corridor vent on the basement floor.
It was Baek Saheon.
"..."
"..."
"Hey."
Baek Saheon avoided my gaze.
"Do you want to get out of here?"
Baek Saheon looked at me suspiciously, then slowly nodded.
"Then tell me where Ms. Goral is."
Uh, this felt oddly like threatening someone for their comrade's location…
"She went into the left exhibition hall. Probably hiding behind a sofa or something!"
"..."
Without hesitation, he gave up her location. What a spineless guy.
In any case, I soon managed to find Go Yeongeun as well. By then, 14 minutes had passed.
"Mr. Roe Deer…! Thank goodness, truly…!"
I briefly explained to the teary-eyed Go Yeongeun that a superior had come to help us and urged her to keep moving.
I also gave her a specific instruction.
"I told them one of you's holding the key escape item, so please back up my story."
"...!"
I handed her the paper in my satchel with the candle outline drawn on it. Carefully, she slipped it into the front pocket of her suit and nodded.
"So I just have to keep quiet and play along?"
Yes!
Baek Saheon, who had been effectively ignored during this process, looked like he had a lot to say but kept his mouth shut.
He must have realized we were getting closer to escaping.
When we reached the terrace door and stepped outside together, 19 minutes had passed.
We had made it within the 20-minute window. Phew.
"I found them."
"Wow."
"I had a feeling this would happen because it's Roe."
Assistant Manager Eun and Supervisor Park threw in their remarks as the two rookies nervously looked around. It wasn't exactly a warm welcome.
Meanwhile, Chief Lizard was already tying a rope to the terrace railing.
"Uh, um…"
"No need for introductions."
Section Chief Lee Jaheon spoke in a flat tone as he tied a secure knot.
"Explain your item within 200 seconds."
The two rookies gulped audibly.
I immediately stepped in.
"May I explain on their behalf?"
"Go ahead."
Now it was time to make a proper case.
Based on the keywords I had combined, this candle…
"This item can deceive the usher machines."
Section Chief Lee Jaheon stopped what he was doing.