Chapter 71

“Team Leader Cha……!”

I shouted with my neck crushed under Cha Si-eon’s forearm.

“It’s me, Seo Do-un!”

But Cha Si-eon did not back off.

Nor did he attack any further.

Cha Si-eon was looking down at me while pinning me down just enough that I would not quite die.

So you saw my face and still slammed me down……!

At Cha Si-eon’s unshaken expression, anger surged up, and I protested again.

“It really is me. I was just dragged here……!”

But Cha Si-eon ignored my words and snatched my left arm.

Then he spoke into my smartwatch.

“Operations Room, do you hear me? Operations Room.”

No answer came back.

It seemed my smartwatch had also gone dead when I entered this place.

It appeared to be the influence of this Special Zone.

Cha Si-eon’s eyes narrowed further at me.

Damn it, does he think I’m an imitation like a 「Fake Human」?

“Team Leader Cha, I’ve never even been here before! So how would this Special Zone know me and make a fake!?”

“You had been dragged here.”

At Cha Si-eon’s firm assertion, I belatedly remembered.

When I escaped from the 「Sports Complex Where Corpses Run」.

I had no memory of it, but I had heard I was dragged to several other Special Zones.

Among them was this place, 「Island Where Blood Falls」.

“No, that was only for a few seconds……!”

“Or it could have reflected my memories.”

“Even so, among all the people Team Leader Cha knows, cough! Why would it specifically be me?”

“You are the only one whose appearing like this would not be strange.”

You bastard, if you know that……!

Unable to withstand the strangling, I tapped his forearm.

If I clawed at him as if trying to die, he seemed likely to snap my neck clean off, so I tried hard to tap out, and the force pressing down on me weakened a little.

Finally able to breathe, I hurriedly inhaled and checked Cha Si-eon’s face.

Where had he sold off his helmet? His hair was a wild mess, and his face was dirtied with blood and sweat.

His expression looked calm, but his eyes were bloodshot and scarlet.

This really might be dangerous.

Cha Si-eon had carried out an operation here for 4 days, then been isolated for 3 days.

To endure, he must have scraped out every bit of his physical and mental strength.

It was difficult to expect calmness or patience from such a person.

What do I do?

There is no helping it. Let me just throw something out first.

“Team Leader Cha, calm down and listen to me. I’ll prove I’m not a fake generated here.”

“How?”

“If I were made based on Team Leader Cha’s memories or thoughts, then I could not say something Team Leader Cha does not know.”

“If I do not know it, there is also no way to prove it.”

“I know that Team Leader Cha is dating Kwak Jae-gyeom.”

“……What bullshit is this?”

“Yes, it was bullshit. So is this bullshit something Team Leader Cha could come up with on his own?”

“…….”

“If I am a fake made based on Team Leader Cha’s imagination, then my words and actions should be within the range of Team Leader Cha’s ideas. In that case, the bullshit I just said would also be Team Leader Cha’s own thought. Does Team Leader Cha usually think he is dating Kwak Jae-gyeom?”

Try saying it!

“……You are Seo Do-un.”

Cha Si-eon murmured quietly and raised his body.

Finally released, I sprang up and let out a dry cough.

Damn it. I thought my neck was going to break…….

While I caught my breath, Cha Si-eon pointed at the snacks scattered on the floor and asked,

“What is all this?”

“Ms. Ha Yu-ju asked me to give it to Jae-gyeom…….”

I answered through gritted teeth because I was angry.

Whether I did or not, Cha Si-eon looked over the snacks that had fallen on the floor.

Then he opened an ion drink and gulped it down.

This, after suspecting me as if he would kill me…….

Cha Si-eon emptied one bottle of the drink in one go, picked up an energy bar, and asked me,

“What is the Bureau’s situation?”

I apologize for acting violently.

I was alone and isolated, so I was somewhat oversensitive.

This is a certain point in 「Island Where Blood Falls」.

……Did he have absolutely no thought of saying something like that first?

I was dumbfounded, but I simply decided that Cha Si-eon was being Cha Si-eon and relayed the outside situation.

Group 1’s mission failure and losses.

The fact that Apophis had set out to search, then withdrawn again.

And Kwak Jae-gyeom’s situation too.

Cha Si-eon listened to me while silently taking in calories.

At his calm appearance, I asked,

“How have you been all this time, Team Leader? Did you eat or sleep properly?”

“I ate just now, and I slept as much as necessary.”

Cha Si-eon spoke stiffly as usual.

Eating just now meant he had starved until now, but let us put that aside for now.

Did he really sleep as much as necessary?

His eyes are scarlet, though?

As I looked at him suspiciously, Cha Si-eon rose abruptly from his seat.

“You know where this place is, so I will omit the explanation. In addition, this Special Zone reorganized several dozen hours ago, and most of the existing rules have been discarded. The only rule still being maintained is that 「Blood Rain」 falls at 2:30 a.m. So please do not trust existing information and follow my instructions.”

“We are moving right now?”

At my startled question, Cha Si-eon looked down at me as if it were obvious.

“There is no time. We must escape before 「Blood Rain」 falls.”

“Is there any guarantee we can get out before then? You said all the rules changed.”

“What is your conclusion?”

“Since we are in this situation anyway, would it not be better to rest a little first and then move? Team Leader Cha, you look like you have barely slept.”

“If this is worry about me, there is no need. We will move.”

Cha Si-eon turned away as if it was not worth even a moment of consideration.

Wow, Jae-gyeom needs to see how lively he is.

I looked at Cha Si-eon’s back for a moment, then awkwardly stood up.

At the same time, the reality hit I had postponed poured down over my head like a sudden shower.

Yes, I did hope Cha Si-eon would survive.

But that did not mean I wanted to roll around in the mud together with that person…….

---

Survival Rules for Missing Persons within 「Island Where Blood Falls」

You are currently in 「Island Where Blood Falls」, managed by the Government of the Republic of Korea.

This is a dangerous situation in which you may lose your life, so please familiarize yourself with the Survival Rules below and evacuate quickly.

※Caution! Prepare for 「Blood Rain (血雨)」!

In this place, 「Blood Rain」 falls every day at 2:30 a.m.

The 「Blood Rain」 falling from the sky is a powerful hazardous substance that melts everything except the existing terrain features of the area.

Once 「Blood Rain」 begins falling, it continues for 6 hours, and the hourly precipitation is 15mm.

Secure a safe indoor space before 「Blood Rain」 falls.

In addition, while 「Blood Rain」 is falling, the dangerous entity 「Big Cat」 becomes active.

Take care not to encounter 「Big Cat」!

■ Escape Directives for 「Island Where Blood Falls」

「Island Where Blood Falls」 is an island-shaped Special Zone divided into 10 sections.

The escape routes identified so far are as follows. Please refer to the contents below and return alive safely.

-Next-

Route A. Escape through the Bus Stop

Route B. Escape through the 「Triangular Board」 (deleted)

Route C. Escape through the 「Fragmented Corpse」 (deleted)

Route D. Escape through the 「Lone Child」 (deleted)

Route E. Escape through the 「Drifting Bundle」 (deleted)

Route F. Escape through the 「Circulating Library」

※ As of Jan. 3, 20XX, this rulebook has been discarded.

Do not refer to the above contents.

---

The place where Cha Si-eon had been was a slightly dim corridor.

The walls on both sides were packed with black-and-white photographs, and the lights were focused only on those photographs.

This place seemed to be not a simple corridor, but a photo exhibition gallery.

If it was a gallery, it must be D or E Area.

The original form of this place, 「Island Where Blood Falls」, was Nodeul Island, which spans the middle of the Hangang Bridge.

That modest island in reality had been made into a cultural complex.

Around the island was a walking trail.

On the east side of the island was a forest of moderate size.

On the west side of the island was a three-story building that included an outdoor performance hall, book lounge, gallery, restaurants, and so on.

And this colorful space, while being copied into a Special Zone, became an equally colorful trap.

“Our destination is A Area.”

Cha Si-eon spoke while walking ahead.

“We will escape from here through the bus stop in A Area.”

“What about Route F?”

“If you mean the route crossing over to the 「Library」, it is already blocked. It seems to be the influence of this reorganization.”

Very bad news.

This place, the 「Island」, originally had 6 escape routes from A to F.

But around last fall, the 「Island」 succeeded in awakening, and because of that influence, 4 escape routes secured by the Bureau disappeared.

After that, the remaining escape routes were two, A and F.

But it seemed that with this latest reorganization, even Route F had been blocked.

“Then would Route A be valid?”

“You yourself said Apophis entered this place and then withdrew.”

Right. I did.

Route A was connected to a passage physically created by the Bureau.

The passage Apophis had entered and exited to search was Route A in A Area.

If so, that passage was definitely still valid.

So if we could just get to A Area, we would be able to escape from here.

The problem was how to get there.

---

「Island Where Blood Falls」 is divided into 10 sections, and each section is as follows.

Area A. Square Lounge

Area B. Indoor Concert Hall

Area C. Citizens’ Stacks

Area D. Gallery Hall 1

Area E. Gallery Hall 2

Area F. Artist Office

Area G. Restaurant District

Area H. Outdoor Performance Hall

Area I. Forest of Amphibians

Area J. Island Walking Trail

---

The 「Island」 was divided into 10 areas in total.

And naturally, one could normally and freely move between these areas.

But with the reorganization that occurred late last year, all these areas changed into something like “game stages.”

In other words, one had to break through the given stage before moving on to the next stage.

The bigger problem was that when one cleared a stage, one automatically moved on to the next stage, and this was completely random, with no order or rules.

So if one cleared the staged B Area, C Area did not necessarily come next. F Area might appear instead.

And if one cleared F Area, B Area could appear again, and after clearing B Area again, H Area might come next.

In short, we had to keep breaking through each area until A Area appeared.

Like Blue Marble, rolling the dice over and over to escape a deserted island.

And given the reorganization, the rules of each area must have changed a great deal too. I wondered how it would be…….

Following behind Cha Si-eon, I glanced at the photographs attached beside us.

Those countless photographs were all black-and-white portraits.

“Do not keep your eyes on the photographs. Follow me while looking only at my back.”

With even my gaze controlled, I glared with my eyes at the back of Cha Si-eon’s head and his back.

At that moment, Cha Si-eon suddenly moved sideways.

Only after Cha Si-eon moved did I discover what had surged out of the photograph.

At a glance, it looked like a human, but it absolutely could not be called human.

Its face had been sliced in half like fruit, and the inner cross-section was writhing.

The instant I confirmed those scarlet muscles and blood vessels.

SQUELCH— SLASH—!

Cha Si-eon cut its throat open with his knife.

Literally a decapitation.

Thump— Roll, roll—!

“…….”

Looking at the monster’s head that had fallen to the floor, I merely thought.

Perhaps, after riding the Kwon Mu-seop bus, I had boarded the Cha Si-eon bus too……?