GSGW c265
Chapter 265
Baek Saheon sprinted forward, arms stuffed with coins and prizes spilling out of the winning slot machine.
And behind him, like lunatics, came the long-term missing people who had traded away most of their limbs for coins—charging after him.
Their destination… us.
‘This bastard.’
The sight sent a chill down my spine.
Sure, given our numbers, running toward us was his best chance of survival—but how was this any different from the serial killer lodge incident?
‘You’re dead after this.’
I swallowed hard and quickly prepared to respond.
But facing dozens of crazed ghost story victims head-on…
“Let’s get out of here first!”
“Spread out into an open area!”
“No!”
"...!"
“They’ll chase us until we die outside! We have to run inside the casino and hold out as long as possible!”
At Go Yeongeun’s voice, the people trying to secure the exit hesitated.
“If a disturbance happens in the casino, will ‘measures’ be taken?!”
“…! Yes! So we need to avoid them and not damage anything inside…!”
People who had experienced ghost stories before grasped the situation instantly.
‘We just have to last until one of those insane casino staff comes to control the disturbance…!’
Hold out—that’s it.
Then among us, the one with the most mobility and strength was—
“Section Chief! Carry that goat bastard!”
“Yes.”
“Ack!”
Baek Saheon let out a short scream, but we ignored him.
We started running like mad, dodging the long-term missing.
Where to?
It flashed through my mind.
“Let’s go to the dealer room!”
There’s a 50-coin entry limit—those who’ve been stuck in the slot machine zone probably won’t be able to enter!
“This way!”
I ran ahead. The moment I turned out of the slot machine room—
Thud.
A body burst out of the doorway at the same time and barely missed me before slamming into the wall.
“...!!"
Dozens of bodies crashed into the wall from momentum. The sound of the Section Chief vaulting over them and landing with inhuman force echoed behind me.
The old casino groaned as it was wrecked by the chaos.
“Huff—!”
Beside me, Go Yeongeun, weakened from her time trapped here, struggled to breathe. I grabbed her and kept running.
The dealer room door—wide open—came into view.
“We’re going in!”
The agents didn’t fully engage the pursuers—just tripped or shoved them aside enough to block them as we crossed into the dealer room.
And then—
“Th-they’re stuck, right?”
“Yes.”
Quite a few of them stopped at the entrance.
‘It worked.’
But reality doesn’t follow theory.
Some missing persons still barged their way into the dealer room.
‘Damn it.’
Crawling, stumbling, trampling over those who had stopped—they kept chasing us.
But the dealers didn’t intervene yet. Why?
“…Roe Deer, could it be they’re being counted as one group, and their total coins exceed 50?”
That was possible.
That’s how we got access too.
‘Damn it!’
Still, the number chasing us dropped significantly.
“Huff…”
With a bit of breathing room, people tried to weave between tables and create distance.
But it wasn’t necessary.
The long-term missing were only chasing the one carrying Baek Saheon—Lee Jaheon.
“…Wait.”
Agent Choi vaulted over a broken table, snatched the coins from Baek Saheon’s arms—
“Hey—!”
“Just a moment.”
He showed the coins to the pursuers, then jumped back over the table.
"......"
But they still chased Lee Jaheon.
“Why isn’t it working?”
“They’re not after the coins.”
Agent Bronze was right.
‘Are they just chasing the winner?’
Watching them relentlessly pursue Lee Jaheon tightened my chest.
In this enclosed space, there was a limit to how long we could evade them.
Then—
“Visitor.”
The dealer’s voice.
“Visitor?”
They had noticed us.
…!
“Section Chief, pass right beside that table.”
“Yes.”
I ran ahead. Lee Jaheon followed closely behind, brushing along the table—
the one where the dealer stood.
The long-term missing rushed in after us.
But those with poor balance who had crashed into a wall, crashed into the table—
Thud! The table flipped over and shattered. The long-term missing persons trampled over the broken table.
“Please stop.”
The dealer raised a hand.
Looking at the broken table.
"......."
"......."
And then—something unbelievable happened. Every single one of the long-term missing froze.
Like mice before a cat.
“I’m sorry, but disturbances are not allowed inside the casino. And…”
The dealer pulled something out.
A single sheet of paper.
An invoice.
“Damage fees will be charged.”
And then—
Thud.
Thud-thud-thud—
Thud-thud-thud-thud—
Limbs and organs began falling off their bodies.
“...!!"
“Table damage, door damage, slot machine damage, entrance lighting, and equipment damage confirmed. Charges have been applied to the responsible parties.”
Some collapsed like the addicts writhing outside the entrance. Some barely kept their legs and fled back to the slot machine room.
But one thing was certain—the severed parts twitched…and then vanished.
‘…Ha.’
Even after everything I’d seen, the sight made bile rise in my throat.
Those who lost too much to stand—
were simply left on the floor.
Only fragments of their bodies writhing.
"......"
"......"
“Are you alright, visitor?”
I turned. The dealer—wearing Lee Seonghae’s head—was smiling.
“……Yes.”
“No need to worry! You weren’t the ones causing trouble or damaging property. Please enjoy your time at the casino!”
“Thank you.”
Baek Saheon glanced around, as if gauging whether he could squeeze more out of this “wronged customer” angle—but in the end, he stayed quiet.
Deciding that causing trouble would only get him killed faster was, admittedly, the correct conclusion.
Annoying—but impressive. And so, with the chaos settled, we gathered in a corner of the dealer room to regroup.
"......"
Lee Jaheon dropped Baek Saheon without hesitation while Baek Saheon avoided eye contact and pressed himself against the wall.
Then—
“Mr. Goat.”
“…Yes?”
“Why so startled? I just wanted to thank you.”
I smiled and patted his shoulder.
“You earned a lot of funds for the team.”
“…!”
“I’m so grateful I’m even using honorifics.”
“W-well…”
“Right?”
I leaned in closer.
“You’re not about to say you were just trying to earn coins for yourself while everyone else gathered information, are you?”
"......"
At that point, he had no choice but to force a smile.
“Of course not! I’m just happy to have contributed to the team!”
“Wow.”
I heard Eun Haje mutter in admiration. I felt a bit embarrassed.
But honestly, this wasn’t intimidation—it was basic decency.
I quietly held back a sigh.
‘Still, we’ll return his share once this work is over.’
Now I had a good sense of how to handle him.
[Excellent, my friend!]
Thanks.
“Let’s tally everything.”
“Yes.”
We gathered close and counted all our coins.
Adding the initial funds and what Baek Saheon won—
“256 coins.”
A substantial amount.
“Worth losing your shoes to help him escape, wouldn’t you say?”
“Haha…”
Agent Choi joked while patting Agent Bronze—who had lost both coat and shoes while holding off the attackers. I was impressed.
‘He’s good at securing team funds…’
The coins were handed over to Eun Haje for safekeeping.
And what remained—
[Ah, the prize. Though we shouldn’t expect much from a cheap slot machine, of course.]
That's right.
“Looks like a slot machine prize.”
Aside from the unreadable text printed on it, it looked like an ordinary packaged box.
“Here.”
I handed it to Baek Saheon. Watching my reaction, he carefully tore open the wrapping and checked inside.
The contents were revealed.
Neatly sealed in plastic…
‘…An electronic device?’
A small, rectangular blue plastic body with two buttons on it.
Its appearance immediately brought something to mind.
“Looks like… a recorder.”
“Yes.”
It didn’t look particularly sturdy, and judging by its size, it seemed disposable.
“Hm.”
Then Baek Saheon spoke.
His voice sounded oddly softer—and gloomier.
“…You’re not planning to take this too, are you?”
Oh?
“Running away is something anyone here could do. You’re all veterans. But I’m the only one who hit the slot machine jackpot. I think I should at least keep this…”
[Hmm. Not a bad performance.]
Seriously.
He’d clearly adjusted his strategy after sizing up the team.
But—
The pale-faced Go Yeongeun shook her head first.
“Um… it’s better if you don’t use that item.”
“…What?”
A bad feeling crept up my spine.
“Do you know what it is?”
“…I’ve heard a rumor.”
She glanced at the item, fear flickering in her eyes.
“Most of the people who can’t leave this casino… it’s because of slot machine prizes.”
"...!"
Wait
“Then the ones chasing us earlier…”
Was it because of the item?
“…Now that I think about it, maybe. If it wasn’t for the coins.”
"......"
“Supervisor Goral, do you know what it does?”
“…From what I’ve heard…”
She swallowed hard.
“If you listen to the sound from that recorder, your mind becomes calm, your energy returns, and your wounds heal.”
That sounded incredible.
“Oh?”
“That’s better than our company’s emergency meds.”
But then—her voice turned cold.
“At least at first.”
……!
Don’t tell me—
“It’s extremely addictive.”
“…Ha.”
Now I understood why the <Dark Exploration Records> called them “addicts.”
‘It wasn’t just gambling addiction.’
They were addicted to whatever came out of this recorder.
To the point they would crawl back to the slot machines even without limbs, without eyes, without faces.
"......"
Baek Saheon turned the device over in his hands, clearly unsettled.
“…How long can you endure it?”
“Three times. After that… it’s irreversible.”
Go Yeongeun spoke tensely.
“That’s all I know. It’s just a rumor.”
“…I see.”
I watched as Baek Saheon slowly set the item down.
Then I noticed something.
…An embossed image on the back of the recorder.
‘What is that?’
I focus to make out the outline. Curved lines, a swirling shape. It's…
A conch shell.
"....!"
“Roe Deer?”
I looked up instinctively.
Baek Saheon met my eyes—his pupils trembling. He’d seen it too.
And he knew.
‘…The Mermaid Grave.’
The same conch-shaped item from there.
Angel’s Sigh.
"......"
Why was it here?
But the word “recorder” matched too well with melody—sending a chill through me.
And I knew one way to verify it.
‘Braun.’
[Ah, I see what you’re about to ask, Mr. Roe Deer.]
[Shall I read what’s written on the box?]
'If you could, please.'
[Of course.]
I heard him clear his throat before speaking in a smooth, low voice.
['Angel’s Sigh.']
…!!
[Tape recording. ‘Listen to the blessed melodies of heaven at a reasonable price.’]
[That’s what it says. Oh, how blatantly commercial.]
A recording?
Then the 'conch shell' from the Mermaid Grave must have been the original—and this was a copy.
But—
‘The conch didn’t have side effects like this.’
Addiction?
[Perhaps the limitation of an inferior version.]
[If you imitate a recipe with different ingredients, it won’t turn out right, would it?]
…Maybe.
It made sense. But something still felt…… unsettling.
In the Mermaid Grave, the conch had also been used as a trigger. A biological disaster, disguised as a shell, had entered the city and destroyed it.
'Biohazard.'
A biological disaster, disguised as a shell, had entered the city disguised as a conch shell and destroyed it—transforming it into the 'Sparkling Dragon Palace'.
Even thoughts of the tattooist from the Moonlight Tattoo Shop surfaced, tangling my mind further.
What was the connection?
Why was an item with the same name here, in the subway casino of Segwang Special City?
‘…I want to dig deeper.’
Still, figuring out the recorder’s function was already a gain.
‘Remember this for now.’
While I was lost in thought, I heard Agent Choi questioning Baek Saheon.
“How did you win the slot machine?”
“It was just luck.”
“Really? You were watching pretty closely…”
His gaze shifted to Baek Saheon’s purple eye—the one I’d bought him from Death Lane.
The equipment could detect danger levels as colored halos.
But Baek Saheon shrugged.
“You think it’s all-powerful? I can’t figure out winning patterns with this. I just…”
“Just?”
“I could tell which machines felt dangerous.”
"......?"
“So I avoided the bad ones and spun the rest.”
Unlike the others, I immediately understood. And chills ran down my spine.
‘The slot machines were being judged as ‘entities.’’
Living things within the ghost story.
Which meant the true nature of the slot machine is— Hah
‘No. Don’t think about it.’
I had no intention of relying on the slot machines anyway.
‘The dealer room is the answer.’
There was already proof.
Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae.
—She had exchanged one more body part for coins, then used that to win hundreds in the dealer room in a single day.
I retraced her steps.
‘She stayed still for days… then suddenly made a move.’
Not just idling away time—but actually observing something.
The VIP room was closed, but the dealer room remained open.
‘Meaning she could observe it the whole time.’
And when she finally entered—she earned hundreds of coins in a single day. Which meant—
‘There’s a secret in the dealer room.’
The place we are right now.
I looked around. Broken tables, flickering lights, an abandoned and decaying casino, and the dealer’s hands, shuffling cards.
“......"
Ah.
“So, anyone got an idea what to do with this capital?”
……
I raised my hand.
“Oh?”
“I have something worth trying.”
I think I figured it out.
The method Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae used.
***
And 73 minutes later—
“Current coins… 924.”
"...!!"
Our funds had more than tripled.
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