GSGW c261
Chapter 261
Inside the train that had departed from Segwang Station.
Thudududuk….
The sound of the train running along the rails echoed, the handles swaying with the vibrations—a modern, everyday space.
Only after rushing in just before the screen doors closed did we finally lift our heads and properly take in our surroundings.
“……”
The inside of the train was clean.
Impossibly clean.
And…
Every seat was occupied.
"......"
On the typical subway seats stretching along both sides, ordinary-looking people in everyday clothes sat packed together.
There wasn’t even a trace of contamination.
With earphones in or eyes fixed on their smartphones, the peaceful atmosphere was enough to make us momentarily mistake this for having returned to reality.
But—
Thudududuk….
This suffocating silence.
‘…No reaction.’
Even though five or six masked people had just poured into the car, not a single glance was given. Only stillness flowed.
Those seated, those standing while holding onto the handles—
All of them remained motionless, expressionless.
As if they saw nothing.
"......"
"......"
The group exchanged glances and quietly stepped back.
‘To another car.’
Since we had boarded through the door right in front of the stairs, there was a high chance this particular car was more crowded than the others.
And in ghost stories, it was wise not to accidentally create trouble where none was necessary.
‘Let’s not make contact.’
With an unspoken agreement to move to a less crowded car, no one made any sudden movements as we carefully shifted to the next one.
Taking extreme care not to touch the passengers.
‘…Hoo.’
At the same time, I tried to identify any anomalies inside the train.
The advertisement panels.
[Hm. The color scheme is somewhat tacky, but it’s clean.]
That’s right.
‘They’re intact.’
Judging by the design, they weren’t exactly recent advertisements, yet strangely, there was no sense of time having passed.
However, the names and numbers were all jumbled or erased, making it impossible to determine the year or identify any real contact information….
As if they had been processed to be unrecognizable.
“……”
And above the door opposite the ads, there was a massive image taking up the entire panel.
Inside the lit display, there wasn’t a single word written, yet the symbols and layout alone made it possible to guess what it was….
‘A subway route map?’
At that moment.
A vibration rang out from the smartphone in my pocket.
“…!”
For a split second, a chill ran down my spine at the realization that I hadn’t set it to silent, but none of the passengers reacted.
Letting out a silent sigh of relief, I immediately checked the screen.
Newly registered page
(1) Segwang Subway
'...!'
Segwang Subway
A public transportation system of Segwang Special City consisting of seven stations. It is a circular line that runs through the city’s major industrial and residential districts. Currently, the outer loop is inoperable, and only the inner loop is running.
When boarding this train, it seems one can return to the same outward condition as when first entering Segwang Special City on the day of the disaster.
‘Outward condition?’
I instinctively looked over the group.
Just then, Section Chief Lee Jaheon raised his hand to grab the handle of the door leading to the next car.
‘…Wait a second.’
I gestured for him to hold his hand up for a moment.
And then I saw it.
The glove that had been torn and half-destroyed earlier while ripping apart corpses and nooses—had been completely restored to its original state.
Everyone noticed it.
"......"
Only after we moved to a car with fewer passengers did we finally begin discussing it.
Of course, in extremely hushed voices.
After confirming that the passengers showed no reaction to coughs, footsteps, greetings, or conversation, we stood near the door where there were no passengers.
“Section Chief, it looks like your gloves have returned to normal.”
“Yes.”
True to their experience, they were already keeping an eye on the emergency door mechanism in case we needed to escape at any moment.
And just as expected, they quickly grasped the train’s gimmick.
“It seems that within this train, some kind of supernatural phenomenon is restoring everything to its original state.”
“Yes.”
“Hm, if we compare it to a game, it might be something like a recovery spot… though it feels off to think of it that way….”
Assistant Manager Eun Haje rubbed her chin, looking unsettled.
And she was right.
‘There’s no way a place this safe and comfortable would exist so openly inside a Catastrophe-Level ghost story.’
This train was clearly still part of Segwang Special City. We hadn’t escaped.
I looked back at my phone when—
“Grapes. What have you been looking at this whole time?”
“...!"
Had I made it too obvious?
On top of that, Agent Bronze immediately recognized the item attached to the back of my phone.
It only differed in color from equipment distributed by the Disaster Management Bureau.
“…A memorial pop socket?”
“Similar, but a bit different.”
Was now the right time?
After a brief moment of thought, I decided to explain the relevant information properly.
‘We have to share exploration data anyway.’
It would be easier if I could provide a source. The screen itself wasn’t visible, so there was no risk of exposing the <Dark Exploration Record>.
Of course, I couldn’t say something like “It’s a piece of merch from a goods box—surprise,” so I phrased it indirectly.
“I obtained a damaged memorial pop socket and had it repaired with the help of an elder.”
“Our elder?”
“Yes.”
It was, in a way, more than half the truth.
And then I explained that during the repair process, it had occasionally developed the ability to “read information already learned in the mind,” along with other functions….
“So if you attach the pop socket and enter a supernatural phenomenon, it sometimes provides bits of information about that place?”
“That’s right.”
I nodded.
Before suspicion or doubt could surface on the agents’ faces, I added—
“…Though I suspect it may have been influenced by my state as part of the Security Team.”
"......"
For a moment, the atmosphere sank. But Agent Choi casually smiled as if nothing was wrong.
He even let out a quiet whistle.
“Our Grapes’ new ability is pretty use—”
All the passengers were looking at him.
“…!!"
Seated and standing—office workers, students, elderly people, those in tracksuits, suits, dresses, jeans—every single one of them…
Was staring at Agent Choi.
"......"
They turned their heads and stared intently.
Holding our breath, we realized—even from the next car, they were watching us. Without leaving their seats, only their eyes moved, the overwhelming pressure of their gaze threatening to meet ours every time we turned our heads.
"......”
Agent Choi moved his hand just slightly.
The gazes did not change.
He took a single step near the door.
The gazes did not change.
He took the phone I handed him.
The gazes did not change.
Then, as if nothing were wrong, he sat down in an empty seat. And pretended to look at the phone.
Just like the other passengers.
……
……
The gazes disappeared.
“……Hoo.”
We quickly moved closer to him.
Wiping cold sweat, the agent gave a strained grin.
“Thought that was about to turn into a disaster.”
“My heart nearly stopped, sir. Ah, a figure of speech, Section Chief.”
“Yes.”
After that half-joking exchange, we took note of a grimly obtained piece of information.
“A whistle, huh.”
A reward from that nerve-wracking moment.
—The passengers react to whistling.
‘Why?’
“Like the Pied Piper type? What do you think, Bronze?”
“…More like zombies, if you ask me.”
Zombies.
‘It did feel like an instinctive reaction.’
I turned to observe the passengers more closely now that we were nearer.
And then I realized something.
“…He’s holding the book upside down.”
“...!!"
A chilling sight.
We hurriedly checked the other passengers.
…They were all the same.
“They’re just making the motions of knitting.”
“…The phone screens are off.”
The passengers weren’t simply failing to recognize us.
They were merely repeating ordinary subway behaviors with meaningless, imitative motions—
Something else entirely.
"......"
What are they?
As if reflecting that realization and question, a wiki update notification sounded.
Additional lines appeared.
Among the train’s passengers, those identified as ordinary citizens are in fact irreversibly addicted individuals—long-term missing persons fully contaminated by ■■■■■.
“...!”
They are merely recreating their pre-disaster daily routines out of inertia while riding the train, and do not properly respond to anything unrelated to their addiction.
Do not provoke them.
"......”
I recalled…
The faces of the long-term missing persons I had seen at Looky Mart.
And the description written earlier on this page.
When boarding this train, one appears to return to the same outward condition as when first entering Segwang Special City.
‘Outward condition.’
In other words, they only looked normal on the outside—those passengers were already….
‘…Horribly contaminated.’
A state that could be described as addiction, but in truth meant complete contamination.
They had lost their human form, their minds collapsed, left only with the desire to return to reality— They were the long-term missing trapped within this ghost story itself.
Unable to escape Segwang Special City.
"......"
I shared the information I had inferred from the wiki with the group….
Their expressions hardened bitterly.
A familiar kind of emotion.
“…As a rule, long-term missing persons should not be recklessly rescued. While on the train… avoid drawing attention or putting yourselves in danger.”
“……Agreed.”
The atmosphere sank.
Thankfully, they were experienced enough not to be completely swallowed by it.
Still… the inside of the train felt chilling and tragic.
“…You said addiction, right, Grapes?”
“Yes.”
“And they react to whistling… What exactly are they addicted to?”
As if the question were obvious, Baek Saheon replied.
“Something that makes them forget the pain of being trapped in this darkness, or lets them feel happiness even for a short time. Isn’t it obvious?”
“Oh, experience in a cult village really makes a difference, huh?”
".....!"
Baek Saheon glared at Assistant Manager Eun Haje. She shrugged.
“We met there, didn’t we? When I was a reporter.”
“…That was you?”
“Oh. I guess the ‘feast guest’s’ identity isn’t something villagers can know?”
"......"
Baek Saheon silently confirmed it.
“Still, impressive that old man over there figured it out.”
“It’s obvious. There’s no other situation where a Disaster Management Bureau agent would recognize us like that.”
It was a solid deduction.
[Hm. It seems Roe Deer’s rather ordinary former roommate isn’t completely incapable of using his head after all!]
I suppose so. He wasn’t the type to get promoted to Section Chief and earn a nickname for nothing.
/tn. Baek Saheon being promoted back in the original story of the Darkness Exploration Records
Agent Bronze’s stiff voice was heard.
“Then Agent Grapes is….”
Baek Saheon let out a scoff.
“I already know that’s Supervisor Roe Deer.”
“...?"
“What I’m curious about is the agent who entered Jisan Village with you.”
They’re the same person, though?
Agent Bronze fell into confusion!
But I hurriedly shook my eyes in denial, and Agent Bronze closed his mouth.
‘As expected.’
It seemed Baek Saheon didn’t know that the “agent from Jisan Village” was “Agent Grapes”… and also “Kim Soleum.”
I sat down and deliberately ignored Agent Choi, who was trembling with laughter while gripping his mask.
Don’t laugh.
“…I cannot disclose that.”
“Suit yourself.”
Baek Saheon fell silent.
Still, perhaps it was fortunate that talking about things like this slightly eased the atmosphere.
Because it felt like finding Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae might turn into a long-term operation.
‘Did she get off at another station? Or….’
……!
At that moment.
A chill ran down my spine.
‘Wait a second.’
No way—
‘Is it possible that somewhere on another train, Assistant Manager Lee Seoyu is also sitting like that…?’
If she were stuck like them, unable to even die, just remaining seated—
"......"
Just imagining it was horrifying.
And then came the creeping sense of dissonance.
‘Why am I only now feeling how serious this is?’
It had already been several days since a member of our group went missing in a Catastrophe-Level supernatural disaster.
From the fact that Assistant Manager Lee Seoyu hadn’t awakened, complete contamination had already been a reasonable deduction—and we had even reasoned as much before…
‘But it didn’t feel real like this.’
We had assembled the exploration team as quickly as possible, yet none of us had shown extreme urgency.
Despite being the very people who should understand the severity of this situation better than anyone else.
We had been unable to perceive it.
"......"
A person swallowed by a city that “prevents recognition”—even though the body remained because we entered through dreams and thus weren’t forgotten, the severity of the disappearance itself had also been swallowed.
I drew in a sharp breath.
“Roe Deer.”
“Ah, I’m fine, Section Chief.”
Only now were intense anxiety, worry, and fear crashing over me, but I kept my mouth shut so I wouldn’t spread that feeling to the others.
At the same time, I realized something else clearly.
‘I need to properly learn more about Segwang Special City.’
It wasn’t just about rescuing Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae that I had “naturally” forgotten the severity of.
The well used as the passage connecting to Segwang Special City.
What activated it was…
Definitely an employee ID from the Cheerful Research Institute.
‘…There’s something here.’
Ho Yuwon, Daydream Inc., the Cheerful Research Institute, and the Disaster Management Bureau….
It felt like there was some hidden incident or truth in Segwang Special City, where organizations and individuals were intricately entangled.
Something like a decisive event in this ghost story world.
‘…If I dig into this along with Director Cheong’s side, will I find out?’
The foundational knowledge that might lead me to why I was summoned in the first place.
Things even the <Dark Exploration Record> hadn’t properly described.
‘Of course, after rescuing Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae first.’
I pushed aside the tangled thoughts in my head and refocused on our objective.
At that moment—
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
"...!"
A cheerful notification sound rang through the train, and text began appearing on the display where ads had been.
“We’ve arrived.”
Next station.
[This station is Midnight, Midnight Station.]
[The ■■ City Royal Casino at Midnight Station is no longer for foreigners only. Passengers who wish to visit may enjoy the machines at any time.]
“…A casino?”
[The doors are opening.]
From the darkness, a new station began to reveal itself.
And then—
The passengers who had been sitting still suddenly began pouring out of the train doors like mad, collapsing over each other.
“...!”
[Oh, a casino and addiction—those are quite fitting keywords together. Enough to make a word association quiz out of it!]
Wait.
Because of the crowd, I couldn’t properly see outside the doors. Damn it…!
“Damn it, let’s decide whether to get off or not!”
Assistant Manager Eun Haje shouted.
“Raise your hand if you think we should get off!”
Agent Choi, Assistant Manager Eun Haje.
“Raise your hand if you think we shouldn’t!”
Agent Bronze, Supervisor Baek Saheon.
“Section Chief! Roe Deer! What are you going to do?!”
“I have no preference.”
“Damn it!”
Assistant Manager Eun Haje gave up on waiting for an answer and looked at me.
“Roe Deer!”
Think.
If Assistant Manager Lee Seoyu had boarded a similar train, what would she have done as an elite field exploration member?
Would she have really stayed on the train the whole time?
‘…I don’t think so.’
That earlier thought had just been anxiety getting the better of me. The moment she realized it was a circular line, she would have definitely gotten off—to find supplies and a way to escape.
And the method for choosing a station…
……
“Roe Deer!”
I opened my mouth.
And ten seconds later—
[The screen doors are closing.]
“Hoo!”
We stepped onto the platform of Midnight Station.
At the casino station.
so nerve wracking!!
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