Chapter 76

“Even so, the reason A Area has not appeared is because every area we have broken through is a different space.”

What does that mean now?

“Immediately after becoming isolated, I marked the time on the wall beside the exit every time I broke through an area, to inform the rescue team of my position.”

When I looked at him in confusion, Cha Si-eon explained.

“But when I entered the same area again, the traces I had left were not there. At first, I thought the space was restoring itself quickly, but in H Area, which I entered on my 83rd attempt, I found a trace I had previously left for the first time.”

I had been wondering what the ‘☆duplicate 1’ written beside H meant.

So this was what it meant.

But only one duplicate while wandering through 92 areas?

“So the conclusion I reached is that the spaces we thought of as the same areas and broke through are actually different spaces that look identical, and that there are countless numbers of them.”

“No, wait a moment.”

I barely swallowed the yakgwa in my mouth and cut in.

“I thought this place was made of 10 rooms, and when you cleared one room, the next room was randomly assigned like a roulette wheel spinning. Are you saying that is not it?”

“That structure itself is correct. However, the randomly appearing rooms are not 10 in number, but far more than that, and the ratios are different.”

What on earth does that mean?

“So what you mean is, this really is a roulette spin, but A and J, which have not appeared until now, have extremely narrow winning areas, so it is hard to even see them?”

“Yes.”

“Instead, the remaining areas have much higher ratios, but they are not one large wide slot either, and are made up of many small slots?”

“Correct. If you think of it that way, it explains both why there was only a single duplicate space and why A and J have not appeared until now.”

Huh…….

Then what we had been doing until now was not an ordinary roulette spin, but a gacha with ridiculous odds?

The number of areas Cha Si-eon had broken through alone was 92.

The number of areas he had broken through while taking me around was 34.

A had still not appeared after a whole 126 draw attempts.

Then what exactly was the ratio between A and the others?

One in 1,000? Or one in 10,000?

I could not even guess.

This was literally looking for a needle in a desert.

“But you were planning to blindly break through areas and find A Area?”

I asked, dumbfounded.

Then, for some reason, Cha Si-eon answered as if making an excuse.

“The probability was low, but not 0, so I thought it was worth continuing to try.”

“…….”

“There was also the purpose of making Seo Do-un learn the strategies for each area.”

So that was why he had run until his one body nearly broke apart.

He had acted as if he were the only rational one, only to do something this ignorant…….

When I looked at him in disbelief, Cha Si-eon also seemed awkward and avoided my gaze.

Fine. Let us say everything was because he had become sensitive from lack of sleep and hunger.

“I understand the structure for now, but why did it become this jumbled? It was not originally like this.”

Was it only coincidence? Some kind of defect caused by the downgrade?

Well, I did not think it would be that simple.

“J Area also does not appear at all, like A. J is 「Big Cat」’s base, correct?”

“That is correct.”

“Then only A Area, where the Bureau passage is, and J Area, which is 「Big Cat」’s base, have had their accessibility reduced.”

Could this possibly be coincidence?

“「Big Cat」 is a peculiar entity in many ways…….”

As I slowly began speaking, Cha Si-eon stared at me silently.

“When 「Ant Hill」 came into contact with a piece of 「Big Cat」, it stopped functioning. Then could we not say that the bastard has some kind of authority to operate Special Zones?”

“It is possible to infer that.”

“It is also certain that 「Big Cat」 had a fairly hard time during Intensive Suppression Week, and that after the second reorganization, entering the bastard’s base became difficult.”

“…….”

「Big Cat」 normally stayed in J Area, and only moved around other areas when 「Blood Rain」 fell.

I did not know whether this was a simple habit or due to some kind of restriction.

What was clear was that after the second awakening, access to A Area and J Area had become extremely difficult.

I could understand A Area because it was connected to the Bureau passage, but why J Area?

“Could this be interpreted as meaning 「Big Cat」 is frightened?”

During the last Intensive Suppression Week, Group 1 had failed its mission.

But that did not mean 「Big Cat」 had won.

The downgraded 「Island」.

The two mercenary entities destroyed.

And 「Ant Hill」, which had stopped functioning.

All of them could be regarded as failures of 「Big Cat」.

Considering the bastard’s actions, desperately blocking our way.

“You said you encountered 「Big Cat」 at dawn. How did you get out then?”

“I had a rifle then. However, I ran out of bullets midway, so I responded with a pistol and knife, and when 「Big Cat」 was stabbed around the chest, it fled.”

“If it ran away from that much, could we not drive it away again?”

“The only weapons we have now are a pistol with only a few rounds left and a knife.”

“But look, Team Leader. Even when that bastard ran away, you were alone with only a knife. If it ran from that, we do not need to fear it that much.”

“Do not underestimate it carelessly. Even if a dump truck is driven by a child, you die if it hits you.”

“I am not saying we should underestimate it. I am saying we should not assume we will definitely die if we encounter it.”

“…….”

“You set the time when 「Blood Rain」 falls as the deadline because of 「Big Cat」, did you not? But is that really necessary? Is shaking off 「Big Cat」, avoiding it, or driving it away again truly so impossible that we cannot even consider it?”

Cha Si-eon silently dragged a hand down his face.

“Of course, you can think of it as a dangerous gamble. But the same goes for everything else. If Team Leader being eaten by 「Big Cat」 guaranteed my survival, I would want Team Leader to sacrifice himself too. But the situation after that would also be a chain of uncertainties, and if so, traveling with you, Team Leader, is more advantageous for survival than traveling alone. And more than anything.”

I stopped speaking for a moment and faced Cha Si-eon.

“Team Leader, do you truly want to die here?”

“…….”

At my question, Cha Si-eon’s gaze deepened.

The bastard dropped his eyes as if in anguish, then soon murmured like a sigh.

“Understood. I will follow Seo Do-un’s opinion.”

What a rare thing, that he is not being stubborn.

When I looked at him curiously at his acceptance, which came faster than I had expected, Cha Si-eon flared up and added,

“I knew it would become this the moment you started running your mouth.”

His tone was utterly fed up.

No, when have I ever insisted like that?

Thinking about it, I suppose things generally did go my way.

While I was doing some small-scale reflection, Cha Si-eon hesitated unlike himself.

Then he kept his gaze to the side and murmured.

“And I am sorry for what happened earlier. No matter the reason, acting out of line was my fault. I apologize.”

Huh.

I doubted my ears.

Is this real? Did I just hear that correctly?

I looked at Cha Si-eon half in doubt.

But that guy looked away from me.

With a fairly embarrassed expression.

Huh. Live long enough, and you really do see everything.

I never thought the day would come when I received an apology from him.

I watched that unfamiliar sight for a moment, then spoke.

“Team Leader.”

“Speak.”

“While we are on the subject, did you really think I was a fake at first?”

Cha Si-eon fell silent for a moment, then opened his mouth.

“To be honest, I thought the possibility was low.”

“Then why did you grab and throw me without warning?”

“There is no harm in being careful, and I thought it would not matter even if you were real.”

This bastard……?

“By any chance, are you not sorry for that?”

At my question, Cha Si-eon fell silent again.

The bastard seemed to think deeply, then soon nodded and answered.

“No, that one is fine.”

……I should live even longer.

Until Team Leader Cha becomes a better person than this.

---

If 「Blood Rain」 touched the human body, the body melted.

So once night came, one had to secure a safe space before 「Blood Rain」 fell.

First, the garden was excluded because the sky was wide open.

The outdoor spaces, ‘Area A. Square Lounge’, ‘Area H. Outdoor Performance Hall’, ‘Area I. Forest of Amphibians’, and ‘Area J. Island Walking Trail’, were also unsuitable.

The remaining areas were indoors, so they were better, but we also had to prepare for 「Big Cat」, which appeared when 「Blood Rain」 fell.

Therefore, ‘Area D. Gallery Hall 1’ and ‘Area E. Gallery Hall 2’, which were long passage forms with no cover whatsoever, were naturally eliminated.

‘Area B. Indoor Concert Hall’, where one had to frantically avoid danger factors, and similar areas were also unsuitable.

When we considered all kinds of conditions, the most suitable place to spend the night here was ‘Area C. Citizens’ Stacks’.

“Oh.”

I lightly exclaimed at the sight beyond the door.

“Fortunately, it came out right away.”

At my relief, Cha Si-eon also nodded beside me.

The space we arrived at was made in a two-level structure.

One side of the wide hall was floor-to-ceiling windows from floor to ceiling, offering a clear view of the open garden.

Beside it, in the two-level section, the first floor was a study and the second floor was a café.

Also, beside the stairs connecting the first and second floors, a small exhibition space for craftspeople had been prepared.

Overall, it looked like a large café at a resort, good for resting.

The current time was 12:45 a.m.

We had arrived at ‘Area C. Citizens’ Stacks’ at just the right time.

“Let us finish cleaning first. I will take the first-floor exhibition space.”

“Then I will take the heart side.”

Cha Si-eon and I separated briefly on the first floor.

While Cha Si-eon decapitated the 「Things Without a Face」 that popped out one after another from the exhibition space, I wandered around the space, found all the heart marks, and moved them.

After taking care of the danger factors like that, we made a dummy with Cha Si-eon’s outerwear and placed it near the floor-to-ceiling window.

Then we hid the ‘heart-marked objects’ I had collected around it.

After that, we settled down beside the stairs, where the floor-to-ceiling window could be seen straight ahead.

Conveniently, several soft beanbags were placed in that space too.

Since we had to endure the 6 hours of 「Blood Rain」 with our eyes open, it should be fine to take this level of comfort.

The problem was, after we took our places and hid ourselves like this, hm.

Was it because the night sky, dotted with stars, was visible beyond the floor-to-ceiling window?

Or was it because the beanbag sofa was too cozy?

I had become absurdly too peaceful.

Sleepiness was starting to come over me too, so I searched through the plastic bag and took out canned coffee.

Even though we had eaten quite a lot, the snack bundle Yu-ju had given me had not yet run dry.

She must have spent quite a bit of money on this.

I belatedly recalled again that this was all care directed solely at Kwak Jae-gyeom.

So I asked Cha Si-eon, who was sitting beside me.

“Are those two dating?”

“They are close, but they are not dating.”

“How are you certain?”

“Because workplace romance is prohibited in our team.”

Well now…….

Surely this coldhearted rule had not created its own Gyeon-u and Jingnyeo.

“Ms. Ha Yu-ju was very worried about Jae-gyeom.”

“Women’s kindness often means nothing.”

“Is that from experience?”

“From observation.”

Cha Si-eon spoke as if he had understood the ways of the world, then gulped down the remaining coffee.

It was while we were filling ourselves with caffeine like that.

Tap, tap—

As if someone had thrown bright-red paint at the glass window.

PATTERPATTERPATTER—!

「Blood Rain」 began pouring from the sky.