Bailonz Street 13-Chapter 246.1
“Summing up, here are our optionss.”
Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae, eyes bright and clear, laid out our choices.
Option 1.
“Figure out some way to clear the ‘Forest of Final Moments’ in the concourse above the stairs and see if we can return!”
And option 2.
“Follow the tracks to find the train and head to another station! We saw people on the train!”
…Well then.
“Neither one’s easy…”
Agreed……
Watching the veterans let out their sighs, I felt the same helplessness, and at the same time, a kind of gratitude.
‘If we had someone experiencing a ghost story for the first time, someone would’ve already freaked out and tried to chase the train on their own…’
No troll-like impulsiveness, no dog-like brawling. In that respect, at least, my mind was at ease.
“Got a cig on you?”
“Aigoo, I quit recently. And even if I had one, probably better not to smoke in a situation like this.”
Agent Bronze, who’d been silently watching the two smokers, declared.
“It would be better to eat something.”
“Ah.”
And so we began a light meal.
“I do keep a few things like this on me.”
“Ooh. You’ve come prepared?”
“You think only government folks do that?”
Given the nature of our jobs, where the need for emergency rations comes up often, most of the group had some shelf-stable food.
I used to as well. I remembered sweeping a bunch of instant food into my tattoo-inventory when I went into Looky Mart…
“Oh, puffed rice.”
“They don’t smell and they store easy. Hahaha! Bronze doesn’t like them though.”
I was the only one who had nothing.
Of course.
Up until just now, I’d had a ‘body that didn’t need to eat’.
So I was on the receiving end of a unilateral distribution.
‘…At times like this, I kind of miss it, actually.’
That body that didn’t need food, it’s a bit…
“Roe Deer-nim!”
“…!”
When I turned my head, Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae, face bright with a smile, was holding something out.
A small, individually wrapped yakgwa.
“Here. It’s my favorite snack!”
“Then you should have it, Dolphin-nim…”
“I want to see your reaction!”
“……”
In the end I took it with a wry smile.
“Thank you.”
And as I put it in my mouth, I realized it was the first food I’d eaten in six months.
“……”
Sweetness, a toasty richness.
Texture.
‘Ah.’
Right.
This is what it feels to taste something.
“Is it good?”
“It’s very good. Thank you.”
They also shared their biscuits and chocolate bars with me.
And lighthearted banter.
“Grapes-ie. When we get out, let’s go eat something spicy. We should go back to that tripe hot pot place, yeah?”
But,
After getting out of this place, I…
……
“Yes. Thank you.”
I couldn’t let my mind go there now.
‘Focus everything on escape.’
Earn my keep.
Amazingly, once the calories hit, my brain started working again.
I realized I’d been operating under extreme tension and hollowness.
It was only because my head had finally gone clear for the first time in ages that I hadn’t noticed how off my condition was.
‘I was wringing myself dry, huh.’
And the sugar in my brain quickly brought to mind more things to check.
The tattoos.
Are they intact?
‘I actually thought about them moments ago and then somehow didn’t check.’
If the lodge keeper tattoo still functioned, in a pinch I might be able to pull everyone out to the resort.
I subtly lifted my sleeve and the inside of my shirt collar to check the tattoos.
‘…They’re there.’
For now, everything seemed to be in place.
And if I check the urgent lodge keeper tattoo’s function first…
……
‘It probably won’t work.’
More precisely, the ‘inventory’-like function seemed to be somewhat alive, but I couldn’t check if it’s still linked to the resort.
At the very least, I could tell I wouldn’t be able to send other living beings from here to the resort via the tattoo…
‘Hmm.’
Feeling a faint regret that the easiest escape route might be gone, I took my hand away.
But.
[Oh, isn’t there another method left?]
Yeah.
‘Honestly, this also… might not work either.’
But I’d at least confirmed it exists. No harm trying.
I felt under my tongue once, then looked around at the still-eating group and spoke.
“About Option 1 that Dolphin-nim suggested earlier.”
“Ahh. Clearing the Forest of Final Moments?” 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚
“Yes.”
That one.
“If we have the right supplies, since we have experienced people here, there should be a few approaches we can try. Even without a manual.”
“…That’s true, but.”
“Why, did a good idea pop into our Grapes’s head?”
After a brief hesitation, I nodded.
“I might have a way to obtain items that can serve as required supplies.”
“Oh?”
“Reallyy?”
“Yes. But… this attempt also needs prep.”
“What is it?”
I avoided direct eye contact.
“Does anyone have something we could turn into cash?”
“……”
“I take cash too. About… five thousand.”
“……”
“……”
“Is this some kind of scam…?”
“Oho.”
I nearly cried from embarrassment.
* * *
Fortunately, despite my recent track record (spy, disappearance, identity swap), the group trusted me a fair bit.
So I finally attempted it. Namely…
‘Space Shopping Mall.’
Using the VIP cell mounted under my tongue to do personal shopping.
“……”
I’d felt this once before.
I remembered perceiving the cell and pressing it, but everything after that was hazy, like I’d nodded off for a moment…
“Dear customer.”
I raised my head.
There, beside the subway platform where my companions had somehow vanished, stood someone in a suit.
A lizard’s head turned toward me.
“Shall we begin personal shopping?”
Good.
“Yes.”
‘I thought the odds were high it wouldn’t work out here, since we’re ‘outside’.’
But since it’s implanted in the body, I figured it might, so I’m glad I tried.
With a small, satisfied unclenching of my fist, I met the lizard’s eyes.
Hm.
‘This time it’s dark brown.’
Below the blunt-looking vertical pupils, the lizard’s mouth opened.
“For smoother shopping, we recommend proceeding somewhere with a table.”
“……Right.”
Given the environment, this is what we’ve got.
“By the way, how are we connected? Out here, any item or gear that draws power from an external source doesn’t work.”
“You mean this is a space where external, unreal influence is cut off?”
“That’s right.”
“The Space Shopping Mall is not an unreal, imaginary space. It is a real, actually existing store of ours.”
Um. Then.
‘Aliens… count as real entities…?’
Come to think of it, Section Chief Lee Jaheon was extracting Dream Essence without issue. That means they’re judged as people.
‘…Hmm.’
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic… something like that?
My interest perked up, but this wasn’t the time to dig into it. I nodded.
“Thank you for the explanation.”
“Yes, dear customer.”
And from here… the conversation got harder to start. I spoke very carefully.
Because the moment I realized the Space Shopping Mall existed, a memory struck me like lightning.
Debt!!
Salt Goblin
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