[This station is Resentment, Resentment Station.]
[The doors are on your right….]
A subway inside a ghost story, where a suffocating silence flows.
I, too, am contributing to this silence.
A person like me—who, even when I already know the ghost story, gets so startled by just the thumbnail of a related W-Tube video that I click 'Not Interested' and move on— has to survive inside a ghost story?
'Just kill me instead…'
That would be a peaceful death.
I’m at the point where I don’t even have the energy to deduce how this happened.
I was pressing my face with both hands, wanting to deny the world.
It was then.
Blink.
[1st Prize: Dark Exploration Record Real Goods Box]
“……?!”
I lifted my head.
Something like a notepad was floating around, following my field of vision.
I can see it when I close my eyes, and I can see it when I open them.
A scrap of paper, looking as if it were torn from a notebook and folded, flitted about….
“This is…”
Wait.
It seems no one else can see it.
I shut my mouth immediately.
Standing out in a situation like this was a foolish thing to do.
Instead, I poked the notepad in front of me with my hand as naturally as possible.
Flutter.
Surprisingly, the notepad moved as if unfolding and spat out something small.
“……!”
I hurriedly caught it, hiding it with my hand.
It was… a pop-socket.
A very simple-looking black pop-socket; the only unusual thing about it was a golden 'X' marked in the center.
But that very pattern made me realize what this pop-socket was.
'It's merchandise.'
The very merchandise sold at the <Dark Exploration Record> pop-up store, which I had visited just before waking up in this strange situation!
It was one of the items I purchased today.
I picked up the pop-socket with trembling hands.
As for what function this had in the story….
-------------------------
[Memorial Pop-socket]
: A C-Class item appearing in <Dark Exploration Record>.
When attached to a smartphone, it implements and displays the text the user remembers in an organized page format.
A ninth-level supply from the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau under the Ministry of Environment.
-------------------------
'It shows memories as text…'
If so, perhaps?
With trembling hands, I removed the adhesive part of the pop-socket and attached it to my smartphone right away.
It was at that moment.
The prose of <Dark Exploration Record> that I had remembered in fragments took on a clear form and structure, appearing on the phone screen as a page.
==========
Dark Exploration Record / Ghost Story
[Welcome to the Abyssal Transpo]
: A ghost story appearing in <Dark Exploration Records>, Daydream Inc. Identification Code is Qterw-D-16.
Among the D-Class Darkness written in the early days, it is an insane ghost story that boasts an overwhelmingly high escape difficulty on its own.
And the forever-suffering Field Exploration team.
Exploration has been recorded up to a total of 56 entries.
==========
“…!”
So this means….
'The merchandise I bought actually works?'
Come to think of it, the black merchandise box that had been on my lap had vanished at some point.
'That merchandise box… turned into that notepad and spat out the merchandise I bought?'
What kind of crazy situation is this?
No, but it’s definitely in my favor.
This Ghost Story Worldview called <Dark Exploration Record> that I’ve entered.
Do you know how many internet veterans burned their creative passion based on this?
Literally, there were hundreds of ghost stories.
Naturally, it’s difficult to recall them all in my head immediately as if flipping through pages.
Furthermore, true to being ghost stories, they didn't explicitly describe survival methods but made readers deduce them while reading the story, making it even harder to derive the correct answer in a new situation.
'But I can check what I've read in prose all at once.'
If this is possible, the first thing I need to see is….
'Past escape cases!'
I immediately scrolled down the Wiki Page.
And after reading breathlessly down to '3.2 Exploration Records.'
“……”
I quickly made a deduction.
'I see.'
I mean, I've found my own answer for which station I should get off at.
But there’s a problem.
“……”
I turned my head toward the people in the same car.
A total of eight young new employees, including myself.
The people who had been in a panic after witnessing two people being dismantled live were finally regaining their composure and starting a conversation.
“What just happened… that Resentment Station, it sounds like the 'Resentment' people feel when they're resentful…… right?”
“Yes……”
“Ha, no phone signal, no data, seriously… Argh, what on earth is going on…”
“……”
Right.
The problem is how I, a stranger they don't trust, can convince them to get off at the correct station.
'I have to make as many people as possible get off together somehow.'
I clenched my fists.
Did I suddenly realize that the extras sacrificed in this ghost story worldview were also real people and become filled with a noble sense of mission to save their lives?
Well… um, of course, I felt that way humanly too, but that wasn't the top priority.
The reason that made me most desperate was….
'I can't get off alone…!'
Exactly.
The stations here are often not in a sane state.
Walking out alone into a station full of eyeballs, a station in total darkness, or a station flipped upside down?
Just imagining that makes me break into a cold sweat so much that I feel like I'd crawl on all fours.
'The probability of fainting midway and failing to escape is over 90%…!'
No way.
Save me.
'I have to convince them somehow!'
I was about to open my mouth but closed it again.
'Still, it would be foolish to start blabbering about anomalous phenomena and darkness out of the blue.'
Who would want to admit they're in a situation like a Tsukuru horror game?
They'll either not believe me and reject it with intense ridicule, or they'll believe me and fall into a deeper panic.
'Slowly… starting with trust.'
Just one person first.
If I can firmly convince just one or two people, it’s easier to make everyone else follow along because of crowd psychology.
'Let's see.
Someone who looks like they need help, or someone with a clue to build a bond…'
“Ha…… this isn't even some W-Tube ghost story.”
Found them!
“Did you say… a ghost story?”
“Ah.”
A woman with short hair and a calm impression nodded with a slightly embarrassed face.
“Yes.
Well, I, uh, watch some ghost stories on W-Tube, and this reminds me of that.”
“Could you tell me in more detail? Since this clearly isn't an ordinary situation, I think it would be best to share as much information as possible.”
“Oh, it’s not really information… it’s just that literally everything feels like a ghost story.
Suddenly the lecture hall turns into a subway, and people… die like that.”
Whether she remembered the crazy dismantling show that happened just moments ago, her face turned slightly pale.
I understand.
I really want to vomit, too.
Let's both try to erase it from our minds quickly.
“Ah, I’m sorry.
Suddenly, while talking…”
“No.
I feel the same way.
I can't keep my head straight because such an absurd situation is happening.”
The woman gave a weak smirk.
“Hey, you seem like the one making the coolest judgments here.”
She only says that because she hasn't seen me coolly faint yet.
“Uh?”
And surprisingly, around this time, someone spoke to me first.
There was a very plausible reason, too.
“Oh, you're the person who was sitting next to me earlier, right?”
It was a man with curly hair and a fairly naive-looking impression.
'Now that I think about it, he was sitting next to me in the lecture hall earlier.'
That new employee seemed unable to fit into any of the talking groups.
He rubbed the back of his neck and looked back and forth between me and the woman I was talking to, then soon held out his hand as if to shake mine.
“I’m Baek Saheon.”
“…!”
For a moment, I almost forgot to shake his hand.
Baek Saheon?
'He’s a Named Character.'
==========
Dark Exploration Record / Daydream Inc. / Characters
Baek Saheon
: An employee of Daydream Inc. appearing in <Dark Exploration Record>.
Final rank is Section Chief, total exploration records are 106, among which 17 are special cases recorded in the Wiki.
Nickname: Viper.
==========
He was an employee who had been active several times in <Dark Exploration Record>.
I looked up at the curly-haired man with the somewhat weak-looking impression and groaned inwardly.
'This person… is Baek Saheon?'
The image doesn't seem to fit at all.
Anyway, the feeling of actually seeing an employee from the ghost story worldview, whom I had only seen in text, was truly strange.
In the meantime, the short-haired woman who first brought up the ghost story held out her hand.
“Since the situation is like this, let's at least exchange names.
I’m Go Yeongeun.”
It was a name I’d never heard before.
And an employee's real name that I don't know means one of two things.
Either they handled the ghost stories relatively easily and resigned early.
Or they died quickly.
'Damn it…'
Occasionally, there were named employees who only appeared by their nicknames or codenames, but in those cases, their character traits were so distinct that I could identify them as soon as I saw them.
This feels unpleasant.
I quickly shook off the lingering thoughts and hid my reaction.
“I’m Kim Soleum.”
The handshake ended quickly, and we naturally sat down in the subway seats and continued our conversation.
In the meantime, it felt like the groups of people were being strangely divided.
“Ah, those people… it looks like they're trying to talk to the people in the front car somehow?”
“Indeed.”
In this ghost story, moving between cars is forbidden.
Sure enough, they soon gave up their gestures and came back.
“What should we do? We can't communicate with the front car at all.
Besides, it looks like a fight broke out in the front…”
To the frustrated and anxious people, the station arrival announcement came down once again.
However, this time, the atmosphere of the keyword was different.
[This station is Euphoria, Euphoria Station.]
“Eh?”
The murmuring people stopped for a moment.
“Euphoria?”
“Hey, if it's 'Euphoria', doesn't that sound like a good feeling? Maybe……”
It’s not.
'I shouldn't judge it so simply…!'
I grit my teeth, recalling the exploration record I just read.
First of all, the theme of the station names changed every time this ghost story appeared.
Therefore, it was impossible to escape by finding exact words in cases like 'You must get off at X station' or 'Y station is the correct answer.'
'But I can look at the trends.'
Like this.
==========
Dark Exploration Record / Ghost Story / Welcome to the Abyssal Transpo
3.2 Exploration Records (Recorded up to No. 56)
1. Station names indicated by colors such as red, yellow, blue.
: 2 people succeeded in escaping (Attempt: Blue Station)
2.Station names indicated by body parts such as left arm, cornea, heart.
: Failed to escape (Attempt: Cochlea Station)
3.Station names indicated by the names of serial killers.
: 12 people succeeded in escaping (Attempt: [Redacted] Station)
4.Station names indicated by years such as 2008, 2012, 2016.
: Failed to escape (Attempt: Year 2024 Station)
5.Station names indicated by diseases such as asthma, stroke, glaucoma.
: 3 people succeeded in escaping (Attempt: Common Cold Station)
[View More]
==========
Do you see it?
Even going up to the 56th case, the positive feeling of a station name has no relationship with the escape probability.
But at this Euphoria Station, it looked like people were about to get off in a swarm.
[The doors are on your left….]
This was because the scenery of the platform they arrived at was bright and pleasant.
'Damn it.'
The clean and bright appearance of the station, like a new station in a newly developed city, made the atmosphere of the people shift dramatically.
“Ah…!”
“He-here, should we get off and look for someone? This place looks really normal…”
The people, brightening up, began to hover in front of the door.
No!
'My number of companions!'
And my mental state having witnessed that sight!
'Dammit.'
I ended up running and blocking the door again.
“…!”
“Wh-what the?”
“Please wait.”
[The doors are opening.]
“Are you certain?”
“Pardon…?”
“Certain?”
“Yes.
Certainty that this place is safe.
Or at least a deduction.”
I intentionally shifted my gaze.
“I believe most of you would agree that this situation is like a ghost story.”
Go Yeongeun, who caught the eyes of the people as I looked at her, was startled but did not retract her words.
[The doors will close in 30 seconds. There is no turning back.]
“But whether it’s a ghost story or a horror movie, have you ever seen anything good happen when someone chooses based only on luck and feelings?”
“……No, I mean,”
“Can you really risk your lives like this without any reasoning or deduction?”
The anxious people hesitated for a moment but soon flared up in anger.
“No, and did you make some great deduction then?”
“This guy has been saying nothing but frustrating things since earlier….”
“Ah, move out of the way already! What deduction or whatever… do you think this is a Golden Bell quiz show? Did someone give you a hint?”
“Yes.”
“…?”
“They are giving us hints.”
I caught my breath.
And I raised my hand, pointing upward.
Toward the electronic display of the subway train where the speaker was attached.
“The announcement.”
-For a pleasant journey to your Final Destination, please pay attention to the announcement broadcasts.
From the beginning, the in-train announcement had been kindly notifying us of that fact.
“Haven't they been telling us to focus on and follow the announcements?
Quite blatantly.”
In that sense.
I asked as I heard the announcement being added just in time.
[Passengers whose final destination is Euphoria Station must get off according to the announcement.]
“Is there anyone here whose final destination is Euphoria Station?”
……
“……”
The people's movements stopped.
“I-it's a good thing, though.”
“Euphoria, like, living your life to the fullest, that’s the goal of life, right…”
“So, is your final destination Euphoria Station right now?”
……
“……”
It seemed everyone felt it was unsettling.
However, one or two people began to vent their anger at me instead.
“No, do we even have something like a destination right now? Why are you meddling so much when you don't even know for sure?”
“If we fail to escape because we couldn't get off here because of you, will you take responsibility? Will you?!”
Can I take responsibility?
“Yes.”
“……!”
“Uh…?”
“I will take responsibility.”
That’s an easy question.
'I was planning to escape together anyway.'
And getting off here is a Wrong Answer Confirmation.
So there’s no way my answer is worse than this.
However, it seemed to be an unexpected answer, as the other person stood frozen for a moment with their mouth open.
……
Because I came out so strongly, I could see them wavering, their hearts conflicted.
[The platform screen doors are closing….]
In the meantime, the doors closed.
“Ah……”
I moved away from the door.
A few people, looking at the door with hollow eyes, clung to it.
But no one was angry anymore, asking why I hadn't let them off.
'Is this… enough?'
It was when I was feeling satisfied in my own way.
An urgent cry was heard.
“Uh, uh! The people in the front car all got off!”
“…!”
They all got off?
I also immediately looked out the train window.
Not everyone, but it really seemed like five or six people had gotten off at once.
……
Phew.
Honestly, I didn't want to see what was about to happen.
But I have to watch this to be able to convince them logically later, damn it…….
Suppressing a curse, I narrowed my eyes and looked out at the blurry window.
“Oh? They're running!”
The people who got off seemed to have made up their minds to move quickly without delay.
Five or six human figures were seen running toward the exit and the stairs of the platform.
But it was too late.
“Ack!”
The platform floor began to boil with a yellow light, and the feet of the running people began to sink as if melting into the floor.
“Go- gold…?”
It was a bizarre sight, as if their lower bodies were turning into gold and sticking to the floor.
The people seemed to struggle to run while screaming, but their speed became slower and slower….
In the end, only the upper body lumps remained, staggering before falling thump in front of the stairs.
Even that turned into shimmering gold.
As the easiest means to become ecstatic.
“Hic.”
“Gasp.”
[The train is now departing from Euphoria Station.]
Inside the departing train car, only the sounds of people gasping in shock and sobbing echoed.
One person who had tried to get off grabbed me urgently and asked.
“Y-you said you'd take responsibility. Can you really guarantee that we can find a safe place? Can you?”
“Yes.”
I answered firmly.
I was taken aback by how the logic had suddenly jumped to it being a foregone conclusion that I would provide the correct answer, but actually, it’s because that’s the only answer I can give in this state.
'I'm going to die, seriously.'
My lower body is trembling so much I feel like I'm going to collapse…!
Because the sight of people's lower bodies bursting was being replayed in my head in low quality, my stomach felt nauseous.
What’s certain is that even if I survive and get out of here, I'm not sleeping today.
In the midst of this, Baek Saheon also spoke up in admiration.
“You’re amazing, Teacher.”
“…Teacher?”
“Ah, I tend to call people 'Teacher' when I meet them.”
And then he smiled sheepishly and added this:
“It’s rare to see a person like you, Teacher, in the world these days.”
“I just can’t speak decisively about whether something’s right or wrong, so I end up using phrases like ‘I think it’s...’”
……
“I hope you return with results as good as you’ve guaranteed.”
Uh... thanks for the well-wishes, but this isn’t the situation to be using such a lukewarm, detached way of speaking.
‘If there are no good results here, you’ll die too...’
Wait.
No.
There was something I missed because I was too busy whining about being scared.
‘The fact that there’s a record of Baek Saheon working as an employee in the <Dark Exploration Record> must mean he passed this entrance exam.’
In that case, couldn't I just stick with Baek Saheon until the station he wants to get off at?
If I persuade him and Ms. Go Yeongeun to leave, that makes three of us.
Naturally, if there’s someone actively agreeing and getting off, there’s a high probability others will follow suit in a swarm.
‘Such an easy method?’
“Saheon-ssi.”
“Yes?”
“Do you happen to have a station you want to get off at? I mean... I’m wondering if there’s a certain word or station name that makes you think you should get off when it appears.”
“……Oh, so suddenly?”
“I want to hear a variety of perspectives.”
“Ah.”
Baek Saheon seemed to ponder for a moment, then shrugged.
“Not particularly.
I don’t know much about this kind of thing.”
“I see.”
Maybe he doesn’t have a feel for it yet.
I nodded readily.
In any case, it seemed like a pretty good idea, so I’d keep watching....
Ding-dong.
[Attention passengers, the Abyss Transpo is making an Announcement Broadcast for a pleasant journey. Please pay attention.]
“…!”
The Announcement Broadcast started again.
Everyone stopped talking and immediately looked up.
[From now on, our train will pass through a curved section, which may cause noise and shaking.]
[Please remain seated to prevent accidents.]
Are you serious?
“Everyone, sit down.”
No one objected; everyone sat down quickly. It was fast enough to make the effort of bringing up the Announcement Broadcast earlier feel worth it. Even the person who had been throwing a tantrum about getting off earlier shut their mouth and was the first to sit in a nearby seat.
However, it seemed not everyone was like that.
“Uh, the front car!”
“Those people...”
In the seats of the front car, people were standing up, busy arguing fiercely with each other. I couldn’t hear the specific words, but the Announcement Broadcast seemed to have been drowned out by their shouting.
I could tell just by looking.
They seemed to have fallen into a complete panic after seeing the people they were just with die in a way they couldn’t have imagined in their wildest dreams.
“Shouldn’t we, shouldn’t we say something?”
“Hey! Can you hear me?!”
“Sit down!”
The new employees sitting near the front of the car shouted.
But the people in the front car barely looked, and one person who happened to make eye contact actually started walking this way.
“I said sit down!”
“No, don’t come closer, just sit—”
I hurriedly reached out, but it was too late.
[Entering the curved section....]
The lights went out.
“…!”
In the Darkness, the train began to shake with a roar.
And overlapping with the roar, a sharp sound echoed.
A scream.
—Aaaaaah!!
—Ack, ah, aaack...
The sound of something wet bursting.
A sound like squeezing ripe grapes.
It echoed dully.
...As if separated by a single door.
……
……
I could hear the people in this car, who had instinctively silenced themselves, breathing with thin tremors.
And when the lights came back on.
—……
Through the narrow glass window of the Electric Train’s front door, the state of the front car was revealed.
It was covered in blood and filth.
In that insane state, as if only living organisms had been put into a blender and ground up, no trace of a human could be found.
Everyone was dead.
[It is now safe to stand up from your seats. Thank you very much for your cooperation.]
Contrast to the clean Announcement Broadcast, the sounds of people panicking echoed inside the train.
“Let me out! Let me out!”
“Heuuu, heuuu... what is this. What is this... Mom.”
Yet even in that state, the new employees covered their mouths and lowered their voices, trying their best to listen to the Announcement Broadcast.
Because it had truly been proven to be their lifeline!
‘Dammit.’
Things were clearly flowing in a direction advantageous to my survival, but witnessing it in reality was so gruesome that cold sweat broke out on my forehead.
Ignoring my trembling hands as I wiped it away, I bit my lip.
I mustn’t look at the door to the front car now.
‘Persuasion, let’s just think about persuasion...’
In a few stations, when a proper correct station appears, people will surely get off together....
[Attention passengers, the Abyss Transpo is making an Announcement Broadcast for a pleasant journey. Please pay attention.]
The Announcement Broadcast started again.
“Again?!”
“Sniff, sob...”
Cutting through the wails of the weary people, the recorded voice in a clean, mechanical tone continued the announcement.
A completely random story.
[There is a Lost Item.]
Wait.
I suddenly snapped my head up.
[Those who find the Lost Item, please disembark at the next station and hand it over to the station staff.]
It was a case I knew.
‘...An escape case from the Miscellaneous Records!’
==========
Dark Exploration Record / ghost story / Welcome to the Abyssal Transpo
3.4 Miscellaneous Records (Escape)
A document recording Irregular Survival cases where individuals successfully escaped other than by disembarking at a station.
Several methods are repeatedly observed.
(The most frequent records are ‘Temporary Stop for Train Intervals’ and ‘Lost Item Announcement’.)
==========
An unconditional Escape Ticket.
As long as you have the announced Lost Item, you can safely go outside!
However....
‘The number of people who can escape is exactly one.’
......In my case, where I can't leave alone, it's a Survival Ticket I'm disqualified from right from the start.
I clenched both fists.
‘Then, who on earth should I send out?’
No, is sending someone out even the right answer?
And....
[The Lost Item is ‘the left eyeball of an adult male in his 20s with type A blood’.]
A Lost Item I never could have imagined came up.
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