“You said the door to Car 1 is open?”
“Yes!”
I immediately moved to Car 2 with the others. Baek Saheon rushed out with a triumphant expression on his face.
“I did my best to persuade the people in Car 1 to open the door. Oh, of course, the passengers were with me, …‘Precursor’!”
“I see. You’ve worked hard.”
It seemed he had gone to the door of Car 1 at the start of every round, knocking and shouting that there was a solution and they should come out.
-And I’m sure he excitedly bragged about the heroic feats Mr. Roe Deer performed!
-Ah, I wish I could have heard those interesting stories here… but do not worry. A Good Friend always chooses to stay with a Friend!
Yes. Thank you, legendary Host….
In any case, it seemed that actively communicating the situation outside to Car 1 had been effective.
The Wiki had described it like this:
All of it was repeated dozens of times.
Every round was rife with blood and madness.
I remembered those two sentences very clearly….
‘The door to Car 1 definitely didn’t open until after all those rounds.’
So, in fact, I had planned to just break the door down once we reached about the 20th round.
‘Fourteen rounds is certainly acceptable.’
There was a reason Baek Saheon’s nickname in the Wiki was the Field Exploration team’s Viper. I nodded, acknowledging that in my own way.
“Then let’s talk further like thi….”
“Wait, but!”
Baek Saheon hurriedly stopped me.
Don’t tell me….
“The, the door. It closed again.”
“…….”
“No, to be precise, communication was established. Look at this!”
Baek Saheon hurriedly held something out.
A dirty, crumpled piece of paper.
Words were written in large letters across it….
Let’sEndureJustSevenTimes
……Reddish-black filth was smudging the paper around the letters, which were scrawled with intense pressure.
“Ugh.”
“Th-that… it looks like those rotten things in the tunnel….”
A murmur spread through the crowd.
“Wa-wait a minute. Could it be that Car 1 has turned into a demonic den? Like that tunnel!”
“Yeah! They locked the door amongst themselves and didn't follow the Precursor, so they met a terrible fate!”
Calm, please calm down.
I hurriedly shook my head to calm the atmosphere of the train, which was on the verge of turning into a pseudo-religion.
“That likely isn't the case. It just seems they are in great pain…. One moment.”
I immediately headed to the connection area of Car 2.
Then I knocked on the firmly closed door of Car 1.
Knock, knock.
“Is anyone there?”
“It’s no use. I’ve tried several times….”
“Hello. This is embarrassing to say, but I am the one people are calling the ‘Precursor.’ Can we talk?”
I kept shouting.
“There are hundreds of passengers behind me. Over three hundred in total. We can provide plenty of help.”
“Hello?”
“I’m here to help!”
“I’m telling you, it’s no u….”
Click.
“…!”
The lock was released.
Ignoring Baek Saheon’s stunned expression, I turned back and spoke calmly to the people.
“…I will go in alone.”
“N-no, you can’t!”
“Precursor! What if something happens!”
I smiled and soothed the people.
“I’m afraid the people in Car 1 might be startled and frightened if a whole crowd of people rushes in. And even if something happens, we’ll just go back to the beginning, won't we? It’ll be fine.”
“St-still, at least enough to protect yourself….”
Thank you. I was waiting for those words…!
“Hmm, in that case… I’ll ask my colleagues for a favor.”
I looked at the two superiors from the Elite Squad and my fellow employee.
The three, who had already discussed this, nodded immediately, and thus, a coalition of Daydream Corporation employees to enter Car 1 was formed.
‘Good.’
It was a relief because I could see signs that Assistant manager Jin Nasol’s patience was running thin.
“Be careful, Precursor!”
When I asked them to wait in Car 2 until requested, just in case, the passengers retreated obediently to Car 2 despite their concerns.
This was also a relief.
‘Phew.’
…It was becoming increasingly difficult to lead the people.
‘At some point, they’ll start acting in unpredictable ways.’
The fact that we had managed to hold out in a peaceful atmosphere so far was because people listened to what I said.
I felt the presence of the small badge that must still be in my suit jacket's inner pocket.
The power of the Silver Heart was terrifying. Clearly.
I took a deep breath.
“Then I’ll open the door.”
It was then.
…I felt Assistant manager Jin Nasol staring at me coldly.
“Isn’t this taking too long?”
“…….”
“I wonder if it really had to take fourteen rounds.”
“Yes.”
I replied calmly.
“A safe clear is also important. I reduced the variables and verified the escape method by gathering testimonies about the altar.”
Now all that was left was to escape.
“So, this train is the last one.”
“…….”
Jin Nasol crossed her arms, acquiescing to my actions once more.
…It would probably be the last.
“Well, we’re ready, so let’s get in quickly.”
“Yes.”
While Baek Saheon, who had no say as a newcomer, hurriedly followed, I watched Supervisor Dolphin open the door….
Click.
A fishy smell that stung the tip of my nose wafted through the opened door.
“…….”
The smell that had come from the altar.
And….
“I’m scared! I’m scared! I’m scared! I’m scared!”
“Kieeeek, kueeeeeek!”
“Sob, h-huuuuh….”
The sounds of wailing.
“Go in.”
I blankly stared at the scene inside the open door.
Car 1 was contaminated itself.
Over 50 people were writhing inside, laughing maniacally, or rolling on the floor and wailing.
The floor was filthy with blood and fragments that looked like they had been vomited up.
…And a small banner lay crumpled in the aisle, stained with blood and filth.
[Blue Photography Club 17th Regular Outing]
That was it.
The people in Car 1 were a large group of passengers….
A group of people who already knew each other and were close, having booked tickets through a travel agency.
The reason they ended up like this was….
“These people, it looks like they were taking turns throwing each other out the window… or maybe, in order?”
“What? All 53 of them look like they’ve lost their minds, what are you talking about? Even if they threw one every time, it would only be 14 times.”
“You’re right. In that case… as expected of Assistant Manager Kim’s reasoning, was there a ‘person of interest’?”
Indeed.
Unless everyone had been thrown, there was only one case where this was possible.
Among the Contaminated, there was someone who could exert a very powerful influence.
Specifically, someone in a group where everyone was already close, wearing equipment that evoked powerful persuasiveness and a sense of conformity… that is.
“Mr. Baek.”
“…!”
“What I asked of you.”
Baek Saheon jumped, then lowered his blindfold and began to scan the surroundings.
His purple sclera inversion rolled busily here and there, and soon he caught his breath.
Then he reached out his hand.
“Over there.”
It was right behind me, of all places.
I slowly turned around and looked at the human figure Baek Saheon was pointing at….
“…….”
A human figure slumped backward, having lost his grip on the handle of the door leading to Car 2.
If I had passed him on the street, I would have thought he was a pleasant-looking middle-aged man and kept walking.
…If only he wasn't currently convulsing on the spot with his entire body twisted.
“W-weeeeeeeee…….”
Reddish-black filth flowed from his mouth, and veins stood out up to his temples. Bits of flesh he had torn off with his fingernails were scattered all over his body. And….
“Can d-do, can d-do…….”
“S-seven times, se-even times….”
I slowly approached the man, who was muttering while staring into space.
Then, as he writhed, his top rode up, and I checked the end of the belt it revealed.
A small, shining silver badge.
Found him.
“Is this person the person of interest?”
“…Yes.”
The person of interest in the ‘Tamra-bound High-speed Train Incident.’
The ‘Silver Heart Possessor.’
“H-help…….”
Now only confirmation remained.
“Sir.”
I bent my legs to meet his eyes.
Then I whispered into his ear at a volume that wouldn't be heard by the people behind me.
“You read the Side Document, didn't you?”
“……!”
“The Side Document registered with the government about ‘The Paradise Test.’”
Suddenly, a hint of reason returned to his eyes, which had been vacantly staring without a will.
“H-ho-how…!”
“Wait a moment.”
I was right.
‘Then….’
I thought for a moment, then pulled a ‘Happy Maker’ from my pocket.
-Ah, is this preparation for a new interview?
‘…Yes.’
I had to talk to this person.
For the sake of my justification.
…To smoothly hide the suspicious fact that I already knew everything about this situation.
Stab.
The powerful painkiller was injected into the back of the Silver Heart Possessor’s hand.
“Huuuuh!”
The contaminated, convulsing movements stopped instantly. Slump, thud. The middle-aged man's body went limp on the floor….
And.
“Hieeeek! Hieek! Sob, sob….”
He began to drool on the floor while weeping….
“What, why is he like that?”
“…He fell from the altar too many times.”
This man, it seemed he had fallen at least five times.
Since Happy Maker was a painkiller and not a restorative, his already collapsed mind did not return.
Still, conversation was more possible than before.
“I can’t… more, I can’t do it anymore……!”
“……Yes.”
That was the important part.
Fortunately, the other party began to provide information brilliantly.
As soon as the Silver Heart Possessor, who was streaming tears, made eye contact with me, he lunged at me, grabbed my shoulders tightly, and began to speak, spraying saliva.
“You! You know!”
The hands gripping my shoulders were desperate.
“Seven times! We just have to endure seven times! I-I can do it….”
“……What do you mean by ‘endure’?”
“The altar!!”
Then he spoke earnestly.
“I know, this, th-the government manages this! You guys, th-th-there’s a department that manages this kind of thing, this was there.”
“…….”
“I read it! I, I worked there….”
The conversation of the Elite Squad could be heard from behind.
“Ah, a DMB retiree?”
“Hmm… I wonder if he had some equipment.”
It was the correct answer.
I continued to ask the Silver Heart Possessor.
“I see. Then what kind of supernatural phenomenon is this?”
The passenger, a former low-level office worker at the Disaster Management Bureau, was half-mindless as he blurted out scraps of the Bureau's secrets.
“Uh, so, th-this supernatural phenomenon, uh, if you just endure the altar seven times, seven times, it’s over, it’s a dream… uh, so our club…….”
“…….”
Then he looked around with vacant eyes.
At the people from the Blue Photography Club in Car 1, who were rolling around mindless and in pain.
…I knew why these people had ended up like this.
‘The Silver Heart Possessor must have persuaded them…….’
That they should all sacrifice themselves just once to get to the seventh altar.
However, not everyone could be as virtuous and courageous as a Silver Heart Possessor.
Resistance, discussion, promises made but people getting scared and failing to jump, and so on. In all sorts of situations, the Silver Heart Possessor would jump out the window several times as an example.
‘And the collapsed mental state and contamination would affect all of Car 1 through the Silver Heart….’
That was how everyone in Car 1 had lost their minds through pain and contamination.
Eventually, at some point, everyone would jump out the window, and their minds would completely collapse….
Then they would unlock the door and rush into the other cars.
‘That’s where an even more horrific situation begins.’
That was why I couldn’t force open the door to Car 1 halfway through.
Because we could have ended up in a completely adversarial relationship with the half-mad, firm-believing Silver Heart Possessor who had been offered as a sacrifice, and the situation could have gone crazy.
‘That’s why I had to wait.’
Until the right timing arrived.
A Silver Heart Possessor is not a god either.
That passenger also felt a desperate desire to receive help from other passengers at some point, even amidst the madness, confusion, and collapse of self.
But it was already too late.
Because something even more horrific was happening in the other cars….
When the moment of agony comes, when the opponent gives up and decides to accept help from the other cars.
It had to look like it was peaceful outside Car 1 and that there was another solution.
Enough to unlock the door handle even with a broken mind.
…Round 14. Although Car 1 was already hell at this point.
“I-I’m sorry, gu-guys, it-it hurts so much… Sob…….”
“…….”
This is crazy.
The sense of overwhelming tragedy I felt from facing it in reality, rather than the prose written in the Wiki, was immense…….
‘That’s why I have to escape faster.’
I barely gritted my teeth and asked.
The question that would provide the decisive hint.
“Sir, but what exactly was the train you saw? Is it this train?”
“Sob, yes. It’s this one, the one bound for Iksan! The Iksan-bound train….”
Supervisor Dolphin tilted her head.
“Iksan? That’s strange, this train is bound for Mokpo….”
Baek Saheon quickly cut in.
“Excuse me, it does pass through Iksan Station. Supervisor.”
“Ah, I see. Is Iksan Station an intermediate stop?”
“Yes, it is.”
Instead of just believing Baek Saheon, Supervisor Dolphin moved herself.
She strolled through the aisle of the Car 1 cabin, which was a mess of filth and wailing, and pulled an object from a seat.
A booklet placed in the seat pocket.
And after confirming the fact in the booklet, she nodded.
“Aha. You’re right!”
“Really? Then we can just do what the DMB testimony said.”
“Yes, yes. That person said we only need to do it 7 times, right? Then 28 people…… ah. Wait a minute.”
Then she came to a halt.
“7 times?”
“…….”
Ah.
She noticed.
“Excuse me, Supervisor Roe Deer.”
“Yes.”
“Do you know this? Most trains create extended routes as times change.”
“I suppose so.”
“So, maybe this train route used to be shorter in the past. To the point where… Iksan Station was the final stop.”
“…….”
“So much so that it was labeled as bound for Iksan.”
Correct.
To be precise, this was a route that had been extended in the mid-2010s.
From bound for Iksan to bound for Mokpo.
“And.”
Supervisor Dolphin’s hand, scanning the guidebook, stopped at one point.
“From Seoul to Iksan, if we count the local train… there are exactly 7 stations it passes through.”
“…….”
“So perhaps, the altars were stations.”
Yes.
“And if we follow that reasoning.”
Flip.
“Unlike the old Iksan-bound train, the stations this train passes through to get to its final stop, Mokpo Station… are 9.”
Supervisor Dolphin snapped the booklet shut.
“So the altars we have to pass through don't end at 7… but at 9.”
“…….”
“We have to sacrifice a total of 45 people up to the 9th altar.”
It was a perfectly correct answer, enough to give me goosebumps.
‘As expected of the elite squad.’
And that answer was also the reason why the minds of the passengers in Car 1 had completely collapsed….
Round ■■ :
The 8th altar appeared after passing the 7th altar.
The answer provided by the Silver Heart Possessor had been a ray of hope, but even that had vanished.
In the end, everyone in Car 1 had completely lost their minds, consumed by anger, fear, and panic….
‘…I’m so glad it didn't get that far.’
I didn't have the confidence to clean it up, nor the courage to see it.
It was when I was inwardly breathing a thin sigh of relief.
“But.”
Supervisor Dolphin turned to me.
“Supervisor, you only have 11 painkillers?”
“…….”
“And you’ve already used one this time. So….”
“45 people have to fall, but there are only enough painkillers for 10 people?”
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