GSGW c262

Previous chapter

Next chapter 

 

Chapter 262 

note: I was super busy with studying this week so I was only able to get 2 chapters for this weekend

 

Midnight Station.

The place the train had announced as having a casino was nothing like Segwang Station, whose platform had been clean and pristine.

Red and yellow lights.

The moment I set foot on the floor, I saw strings of tiny bulb-like lights clinging densely to the ceiling, stretching out in colorful lines.

Some bulbs were burnt out, some shattered, some strings snapped—but that only made the atmosphere more bizarre.

It felt like an old, decaying entertainment venue.

[Hmm. It doesn’t seem very well maintained.]

But my attention on the facility lasted only a moment.

Because an even more shocking sight was unfolding around us.

The passengers who had gotten off with us.

The long-term missing who had poured out of the train doors like a flood—the moment they stepped onto Midnight Station’s platform—

their true forms were revealed.

“…!!”

Tattered, worn-out clothes. Rotten, crumbling coats. Tangled, filthy hair and hollow, emaciated bodies.

The appearance of those abandoned and isolated for a long time.

Freed from the train’s effect of “showing passengers as they originally were,” they now clearly looked like long-term missing persons.

A chilling shock swept through the group.

But this much might have been somewhat familiar to people who had entered various dangerous ghost stories before.

What was truly shocking was something else. For example…

Their bodies were fragmented.

"......"

Arms, legs—sometimes hands, eyeballs, noses, ears, hair… Various absences were plainly visible.

It wasn’t limited to one area, nor did it follow any pattern. Some were in such a state that they couldn’t properly walk or even move.

They stumbled repeatedly, crawled, or slammed into the screen doors.

And yet, they kept moving.

Upward.

Toward the stairs—toward the concourse above.

‘An exhibition….’

The sight reminded me of the manor of the blind, and tension flickered across the faces of the former and current field exploration team members who had nearly died there.

But there was a clear difference from the visitors—the victims—of that place.

“…It’s too clean.”

Like something pulled out of a doll or molded clay, the severed joints of their missing body parts were unnaturally smooth.

Some parts looked as though they couldn’t possibly have been cut by any human tool, and as they moved, empty space pressed against their clothing silhouettes where something should have been.

That uncanny emptiness.

The way it violently triggered the uncanny valley, contrasted with their ragged, ruined appearance as long-term missing persons, made the scene even more horrifying…

And then, dread.

“…Why do they look like that?”

What on earth was happening at this “casino” station? Various guesses and keywords flashed through my mind.

All the more so because we were experienced.

"……"

"......"

“Please wait a moment.”

We silently agreed.

As Section Chief Lizard—whose gloves had once again returned to a worn state—changed into a spare pair, we stood quietly on the platform and waited.

We waited until the frantic movements of the long-term missing gradually settled.

Only then did we begin to move slowly.

Toward the stairs.

And as we stepped onto them, we realized—

a faint, lively sound was drifting down from above.

Piano, brass, and strings.

A melody that seemed to coax us forward.

[Ah, a cheap jazz recording. In the right time and place, it might be romantic, but now it only highlights the decay of this establishment…]

“…Anyone feel drawn to the music? Any strange sensations? …No? Okay. Let’s move.”

Careful not to collide with the “passengers” struggling or tumbling down the stairs, we slowly made our way upward.

And finally, the concourse should have come into view—

“...!"

But the stairs ended in a wall.

A tiled wall.

And on that wall, a single door… and a small unmanned counter.

Words were written on the door…

Royal Casino

Open

Enjoy a fantastic experience

“…Judging by the situation, it seems all the missing people went in here.”

The music was coming from beyond it.

As if luring us in.

“If Assistant Manager Lee Seoyu got off at this station, there’s a high chance she’s inside.”

Hoo.

Assistant Manager Eun Haje rubbed her own shoulders.

“Should we knock?”

“And if we die….”

“Well, then we just end the exploration early.”

Knock, knock.

She knocked on the door.

Then, from the small unmanned counter beside it—tap—a small sign with a pen attached popped out.

“…!"

We immediately turned to look. It was…

“An unmanned pawn shop?”

Instructions were written on it.

※ Exchange body parts for casino coins. ※

Write the part you wish to exchange on the attached paper to check the price.

Then submit the paper to the counter.

“...!"

“Shit.”

Just like that, we grasped the general mechanism.

“…It’s a black-market organ casino.”

The wiki page updated.

Segwang Subway Map

- Segwang Station (Forest of Final Moments)

- Midnight Station (Body Casino)

- (Unregistered)

- (Unregistered)

- (Unregistered)

- (Unregistered)

- (Unregistered)

Body Casino.

Midnight Station (Body Casino)

A gambling facility named “■■ City Royal Casino” located in Segwang Special City.

Originally a casino connected to a hotel for foreign tourists, it mutated on the day of the disaster, adopting a new form of currency.

For users who had nothing left of value to exchange, the casino presented a new trade option.

Of those who evacuated to this station on the day of the disaster, over 90% are now dead or have become addicts wandering aimlessly.

‘Seriously.’

This was fitting for a high-grade ghost story…

And the most dangerous part was this.

“…Looks like we have to sell something to enter.”

But—

“This makes it easy.”

Assistant Manager Eun Haje immediately began writing on the paper attached behind the sign.

Left hand

“Citizen!”

“I’m missing a hand in reality anyway, and I’ve got equipment to replace it. No point wasting time.”

And astonishingly, rough, scribbled handwriting began to appear on the paper.

Left hand 32 coins

The price?

“No idea how much that’s worth. How many coins per game, I wonder.”

Scratching her head, Assistant Manager Eun Haje suddenly—without any discussion—slipped the paper into the counter.

The paper vanished into the darkness. Then, from inside, the faint clinking of coins…

“Ugh.”

Blood suddenly spurted from her wrist.

“…!”

“Assistant Manager.”

I hurriedly pulled out a hemostatic agent and brought it to her mouth—the same one from Daydream Inc.’s infirmary.

As she swallowed it, the bleeding stopped, revealing her wrist…

Her left hand was gone.

And then—

Clink.

A small pouch popped out from the counter.

“Is this the coins?”

She lifted the pouch to check inside.

At that moment—

I felt a gaze.

"......"

The long-term missing who had been writhing on the stairs…were all staring at us.

More precisely—at the pouch in Assistant Manager Eun Haje’s hand.

“……”

Click.

The door opened. From within, colorful lights spilled outward.

“Let’s go. Now.”

Assistant Manager Eun Haje hurriedly took out coins from the pouch, handing one or two to each of us at random, and moved forward. We took them and immediately followed her into the door—

Thud.

The door closed right in front of me.

“…!”

I reflexively grabbed the doorknob, but confirmed that some kind of force had sealed it in place.

“…It seems only the person who completed the transaction can enter.”

Hoo.

The only relief was that as the pouch disappeared, the long-term missing individuals also turned their gazes away…

“…So this means anyone trying to enter must exchange at least one body part.”

That was it.

Which body part should be sacrificed for entry?

[Oh, friend… if you want to enjoy the game, I can introduce you to a better place…]

‘…For now, we’re here to work. I’ll appreciate the sentiment.’

I calmed the terrifyingly cheerful voice and continued thinking.

‘What should I cut?’

And someone had already reached a conclusion.

Right ring finger 4 coins

Section Chief Lee Jaheon

“Did you choose the least useful finger?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, citizen, did you not consider toes as an option?”

“There is a risk of balance issues during emergency movement.”

“Hm. You know how to choose well~.”

Everyone’s criteria were similar. They chose the least independently useful body part to sell.

Surprisingly, even Baek Saheon, after some thought, made the same choice as Director Lee.

I had thought he might refuse to enter altogether.

‘Is it because this is a casino?’

There was a sense of desire to gain something.

'…Hm.'

“Makes you wonder how much an appendix is worth? Only 7 coins? These bastards must have eaten a lot of humans.”

“It’s better to avoid anything that could cause internal bleeding.”

I watched as the agents, after deliberation, sold their left hand and right ring finger respectively.

In the end, rational decisions converged into similar outcomes.

But I had a feeling.

‘…We’re going to be short on coins.’

Inside, we had no idea what would happen, so having spare funds would be better.

“Alright, just write it all down and go in quickly. Understood?”

“Yes.”

“At least you give straightforward answers. Let’s go.”

I watched Section Chief Lee Jaheon first submit his paper, tie his glove to stop the bleeding, and collect the pouch from the counter before entering the casino door.

The others, who had already filled out their papers, moved in an orderly fashion.

“Agent Grapes.”

As I was the last, I watched Agent Bronze pick up the pouch from the counter and I went to grab my paper.

And then…

I picked up the pen again and erased what I had written.

Right ring finger  4 coins

“Agent!”

Right eye 35 coins

I threw it straight at the counter.

The moment blood spurted into my vision, the sight in my right eye vanished entirely.

“Right now…!!”

“I-it’s fine.”

It wasn’t fine at all. It hurt like hell. Seriously, it hurt enough to make me swear. It wouldn’t have been strange if tears came out of my remaining eye.

‘But Assistant Manager sold her bare hand?’

Did she think she was some kind of Xiahou Dun or something? Please!

/tn. Xiahou Dun: a Chinese military general and politician who was hit with a stray arrow in the eye. He yanked the arrow out, devoured his own eyeball, then charged towards the enemy general and won. Just thought I'd share about the story of this badass person

I snatched up the heavy pouch that came out of the slot and ran through the open door. At the same time that Agent Bronze practically dragged me inside, the door slammed shut.

Click. 

“Are you insane?!” 

“Stop it. It’s not like your eye will reattach if you do that.” 

Assistant Manager Eun Haje quickly intervened and checked my condition. 

“Are you okay?” 

“Yes.” 

I hurriedly swallowed the emergency hemostatic from Daydream Inc.’s medical kit and answered. 

The pain gradually faded. I gave up on the bold idea of checking my reflection on my smartphone—it was too terrifying—and instead looked at the severed parts of the others. 

‘…There’s a wound.’ 

Then why were the cross-sections of the long-term missing people so unnaturally clean? 

‘Was it contamination after all?’ 

Thinking I needed to stay cautious, I looked around. 

Agent Bronze looked like he had a lot to say, but when Agent Choi grabbed his shoulder, he pressed down his mask and turned his head away. 

‘Phew.’ 

“Please return all the coins you received from Assistant Manager Falcon.” 

“Uh, sure. Let’s do that.” 

Baek Saheon didn’t look pleased, but perhaps reading the room, he handed back the coins he’d received from Assistant Manager Eun Haje. 

I also respectfully held out the cheap, metal-coated coins I had in my hand. 

And then I took in the casino. 

‘Feels similar to the station platform.’ 

It seemed we were still near the entrance. 

Colorful light bulbs, the signature gambling colors—black, gold, and red overflowing everywhere—and people who had lost parts of their bodies sitting in corners, muttering to themselves. 

There were no staff in sight. 

Only broken slot machines scattered around, and a few still operating. 

It felt like someone had turned on an abandoned, neglected casino—eerily so. 

The sight of long-term missing people clinging tightly to the working slot machines and feeding in coins stirred an ominous feeling. 

“There’s something like a pawnshop over there too. It’s right next to the door we came in from… so that counter leads there?” 

“…It looks like a place that stores body parts exchanged for coins.” 

That was right. 

Right next to the door we entered—behind dusty, grimy glass—countless body parts were “stored.” 

And at the only open window in that glass partition, I discovered another use for the coins. 

Today’s Casino Coin Products 

“Figures.” 

Items exchangeable with coins were listed. 

Water — 1 coin 

■■ canned food — 2 coins 

Kitchen knife — 4 coins 

Pig’s head — 7 coins 

Left ear — 21 coins 

Fresh cream cake — 53 coins 

Gas stove — 152 coins 

Golden goblet — 256 coins 

Bathtub of Youth — 1810 coins 

※ For other items and premium goods, please inquire at the counter. 

[Ah, I see a familiar name. To think they handle it in a place like this.] 

There was a familiar item that caught my eye. But there was a more important clue written there. 

“There’s food.” 

The prices were absurdly exploitative, but the important thing was that it was obtainable. 

“…Do you think Assistant Manager Dolphin came down here expecting this?” 

It would’ve been hard to predict something this specific. 

But she probably expected something to some extent. 

“If many people get off here, wouldn’t that suggest a high chance there’s something that helps with survival?” 

Outside, Segwang Special City was a Catastrophe-Level ghost story. 

The subway itself was entirely an unknown ghost story. 

If contamination was unavoidable, and danger unavoidable— 

Since the train announcement even mentioned a casino, choosing a place that at least seemed like it might have supplies was the best option. 

‘If no one gets off, that’s the real danger signal.’ 

I figured Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae must have made the same judgment. 

And then— 

“…Everyone, look over there.” 

Agent Choi pointed above the coin listings, at an old banner. 

Royal Casino Limited 

Premium Item 

Emergency Exit — 10,000 coins 

That famous item that lets you leave anywhere! A high-end mobility solution for busy ■■ modern people, a luxury for the top 0.01%! 

“That… we can hope that’s a way out, right?” 

“…It’s definitely possible.” 

Even if selling an eyeball only gave 35 coins—aside from the insane requirement of gathering 10,000 coins. 

‘Phew.’ 

I instinctively brought my hand to my empty eye socket, then met Agent Bronze’s gaze with my remaining eye and said defensively, 

“It’s fine. I chose it considering this is a casino.” 

Even with one eye, gambling isn’t much of a problem. 

‘Depth perception isn’t that important in gambling.’ 

Especially if this place really was a casino. 

‘Casinos are mostly cards and slot machines.’ 

In that case, losing an ear or a hand would be a bigger issue—being unable to distinguish the sound of cards from both sides, or perform tasks requiring both hands would be more fatal. 

And besides— 

‘If Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae made a similar judgment to mine…’ 

……

“Found it.” 

Among the countless body parts displayed at the pawnshop counter, my gaze finally fixed on one item. 

A black iris with a clear pupil, shimmering green. 

It was Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae’s eye. 

“…Looks like she came to the same conclusion as the Roe Deer. Smart ones really are different.” 

Assistant Manager Eun Haje said, clenching and unclenching the left hand she had replaced with equipment. 

“If you sell something like a hand, you’ll run into all kinds of problems when gambling. There’s a reason they chop off wrists in those gambling films.” 

“…How do you even know that?” 

“Call it extensive field experience for reporting. Anyway, it seems certain Assistant Manager Dolphin got off at this station.” 

……

“The problem is whether she’s still here.” 

And one more thing. 

How many parts had she lost so far? 

‘…Let’s find her quickly.’ 

My body moved on its own in my anxiety. 

“Then let’s split into pairs and search—” 

“Hellooo.” 

……

My body froze. 

“Is this your first visit to the Royal Casino? It looks like you were checking out the products, dear guests.” 

A familiar voice. 

“I came to inform you that since your party has exchanged over 50 coins, you’re now eligible to use games other than the slot machines.” 

I turned my head. 

The dealer of this casino, who had come to greet new customers, was standing behind us. 

“Please come this way.” 

Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae— 

was looking at us, with a face missing one eye.

 

Previous chapter

Next chapter