Editor’s Survival Guide

“What is that bastard this time?”

“He is a missing person who entered about 50 minutes ago.”

“Why is he like that? What is he doing?”

“That bastard……!”

“Wait! I think he is saying something?”

“Turn up the sound.”

“Uh, he is telling her the escape method!”

“Escape method?”

“Escape method!”

“Waaaaah!” ……So this was the atmosphere, these people.

Feeling rather dumbfounded, I looked at the agents from February 3.

They were gathered in front of the screen, murmuring as they picked apart my every move.

And when Lee Sol heard about “escape through the 「Cloth Doll」,” they all gave a cheer of triumph together.

Some people let out relieved breaths as if all their strength had left them.

Someone was overcome and swept a hand over their face.

Meanwhile, Cha Si-eon on that day stood blankly and watched the screen.

With all his anger evaporated, he simply watched the situation on the screen with surprised eyes.

The Bureau’s Situation Control Room had probably had a similar atmosphere.

I had roughly expected it, but to think they had been watching with eyes this wide open…….

Feeling somewhat strange, I looked at myself on the screen.

It was good that I had handed Lee Sol the leaflet back then.

No, it was fortunate.

It was truly fortunate that I had found Lee Sol.

Seo Do-un and Lee Sol on the screen headed toward the Lost and Found Center.

The agents watched us in a considerably lighter atmosphere.

But the situation after that had not gone very smoothly.

“Why is the 「Cloth Doll」 in that state?”

The 「Cloth Doll」 gradually brightened in front of Lee Sol, who was lying face-down.

“Uh……!”

Flames pushed out from the Lost and Found Center.

And black forms.

“What happened? Has a phenomenon like that ever been reported?”

“No, it has not. This is the first time it has been observed!”

The agents shouted in panic.

On the screen, Lee Sol and I began running away.

But the flames spread faster than that, and to make matters worse, most of the CCTV inside 「Railway Station」 went dead.

Now, the only ones operating normally were the CCTVs on the platform.

WEE-OOO—!

And the siren sound rang out again.

The agents flinched and checked the time.

Then they hurriedly counted each other’s numbers.

Only 20 minutes had passed since the previous siren.

So they were counting to see whether anyone had been dragged into 「Railway Station」.

“The two people are back on screen!”

At that moment, the agent examining the screen shouted.

Just as they said, the platform-side CCTV screen caught sight of me and Lee Sol.

And the black forms savagely chasing behind us too.

Back then, I had only run while looking ahead, so I had not realized.

It had been an even more incredible situation than I thought.

Behind us, black masses like a sandstorm were swarming in.

Chased by them, Lee Sol and I ran across the platform.

The agents watched us with their mouths firmly shut.

Of course, they also knew there was only one Ticket.

“What were you thinking back then?”

I asked the current Cha Si-eon, who had been silent for a while.

Unexpectedly, Cha Si-eon answered readily.

“I was regretting not moving sooner.”

This is why people say he is so desperate to die he has gone mad…….

The February 3 Cha Si-eon was watching.

Watching Lee Sol move toward death by the second, his jaw clenched tight.

But something they had not expected happened.

“Ah!”

Lee Sol was thrown into the train.

“Later.”

And my voice transmitted while mixed with static.

“Pay it back to anyone.”

With those words as the end, the me on the screen was swept up by the black forms.

CRUNCH—!

“Mister!”

Along with Lee Sol’s scream, even the final CCTV broke.

The screen went black.

And silence flowed.

The agents froze as they were, having lost their words.

All of them were swept into shock, only staring endlessly at the empty screen.

---

“The survivor has entered the tunnel.”

Someone murmured.

A long while later, someone appeared beyond the passage isolated by transparent partitions.

A girl who moved her steps while swallowing sobs.

It was Lee Sol.

After passing through the tunnel and coming out into the hangar, Lee Sol looked around with confused eyes.

Then she found Cha Si-eon standing beyond the partition and widened her eyes.

“Uncle……? Is that you, Uncle Si-eon?”

Lee Sol asked faintly.

At that, Cha Si-eon answered after a long while.

“Yes.”

“Uncle! Call the police, call the police and 119!”

The moment she recognized Cha Si-eon, Lee Sol struck the partition and shouted.

“I was in a strange station, and there is still someone there! Some mister stayed behind there alone because of me. We have to hurry!”

Hzzzt— hzzzt—!

Lee Sol’s face distorted, and noise occurred.

With a face where errors had occurred, Lee Sol kept shouting.

“That mister saved me! Uncle, Uncle……!”

When the staff in protective suits tried to take her away, Lee Sol called for her uncle even more desperately.

But the February 3 Cha Si-eon said nothing more.

He did not tell her to be at ease, nor that it was all right now.

Even as the frightened Lee Sol was half-dragged away by the staff, he did not open his mouth until the end.

With that sight as the end, the memory completed reconstruction and collapsed.

“…….”

A door appeared over the empty air.

I looked back and forth between that door and Cha Si-eon, who stood silently.

Because the atmosphere somehow felt heavy, I asked jokingly,

“You were her uncle?”

“Almost every member of Kwon Mu-seop’s team was Lee Sol’s uncle.”

Almost?

Ah, Agent Lee Seop would be her dad.

Baek Sa-ra would have been her aunt, or unni.

In any case, you did know her well, you bastard.

Judging by how the past Cha Si-eon had acted earlier too.

And by the fact that Lee Sol had recognized only Cha Si-eon exactly among a dozen or more agents.

Just looking at that, Lee Sol seemed to be a fairly meaningful person to Cha Si-eon.

That child had come out alive from a Special Zone.

But why had the memory just now been full of noise?

Was it because the process itself had been terrible, regardless of the result?

I had quite a few questions, but I deliberately did not ask.

But Cha Si-eon stood in front of the door and suddenly called me.

“Mr. Seo Do-un.”

“Yes?”

“You asked me before. Whether one becomes a dangerous entity if contamination becomes severe.”

“……?”

Memories from inside here could not be carried outside.

Was that why?

Cha Si-eon told me something unexpected.

“What did you say?”

I asked back in shock, but Cha Si-eon did not elaborate.

He only silently observed my horrified expression.

“What on earth does that mean, Team Leader?”

It was the same even when I questioned him again.

“What do you mean, Team Leader! Then is Lee Sol still……!”

Before I could finish speaking, Cha Si-eon opened the door.

WEE-OOO—!

Inside terrible noise, a siren sound rang out as if tearing my eardrums apart.

---

“Ugh……?”

I felt severe dizziness.

It felt as if my brain had melted and was sloshing around.

Holding my throbbing forehead, I opened my eyes.

Then I was startled and abruptly raised myself.

“Huk……!”

I hurriedly reached for the back of my neck.

Fortunately, my neck bones seemed fine.

What happened?

Only moments ago, I had been in the middle of being crushed in 「Railway Station Where the Siren Sounds」…….

Dumbfounded, I looked around.

This was a dim indoor space.

“Mr. Seo Do-un.”

At that moment, Cha Si-eon’s voice came from behind my back.

I hurriedly turned around.

“Team Leader Cha, where is this?”

“This is the release location of 「Circulating Library」. It is reality.”

Why is 「Circulating Library」 coming up now?

We were in 「Railway Station」, were we not?

And I nearly got crushed to death.

Twice, even.

No, before that.

“When we were dragged into 「Railway Station」, we did not move together. And it seemed Team Leader was pulled in before me. Is that correct?”

“That is correct. I flowed into 「Railway Station」 first, and approximately 20 seconds later, Mr. Seo Do-un followed in.”

“But 「Circulating Library」? Does that mean we were both moved to 「Circulating Library」?”

On top of that, we had now escaped from 「Library」, and all the memories from inside it had been erased?

Growl—

At that moment, my stomach made a sound.

At the same time, strong hunger surged over me.

Hunger? How long had it been since I ate breakfast?

I checked my watch without much thought, then lost my words.

“……A day has passed.”

We had entered the survival game field at 10 a.m. on June 14.

But it was now 3 a.m. on June 15.

A full 17 hours had passed.

Ah, no wonder my head was throbbing.

Was I not hurt, but exhausted?

But the fact that I did not remember anything felt strangely like an unexpected windfall.

Because although I had escaped, it felt as if I had not suffered at all.

“I contacted the Bureau. They will come to get us soon.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Do you perhaps have notes in your pocket?”

Notes?

I searched through my pockets.

More than 10 roughly folded notes came out of my pockets.

But about half of those notes were charred black.

On the other undamaged half, incomprehensible things were written in Cha Si-eon’s handwriting.

“15th, 14:07. Otter did well.”

“15th, 16:23. Habitat destroyed.”

“15th, 23:34. Seo Do-un uncomfortable.”

What is this?

On top of that, the notes were not only in my pockets.

Cha Si-eon also took notes out of his own pockets.

Then, so they would not mix with the ones I had, he distinguished them and spread them out chronologically.

The contents of the notes Cha Si-eon had were just as difficult to understand.

But Cha Si-eon looked carefully at those notes, then suddenly began speaking at length.

“It seems we entered Mr. Seo Do-un’s 「Life Chronicle」 to escape from 「Library」. Mr. Seo Do-un’s memories were not of high quality, but it seems there was no difficulty with reconstruction. However, at 16:23, 「Memory Flood」 occurred, and Mr. Seo Do-un and I became separated. After that, I crossed into my own 「Life Chronicle」, and at 23:34, it appears Mr. Seo Do-un and I reunited inside my 「Life Chronicle」. However, the method or process of reunion seems not to have been positive.”

“……?”

Are we really looking at the same notes right now?

How can he infer this process from words like cookie crumbs?

No, before that.

“Wait a moment, Team Leader. I do not understand the situation at all right now. Why were you dragged into 「Railway Station」 in the first place?”

“That must be because of a side effect related to the blinded agent.”

“Did you recently look at materials on that blinded agent?”

“No. It is not that.”

Cha Si-eon answered without expression.

If not, then what is it?

I was curious, but I could not ask why.

If I needlessly mentioned it and got dragged back into 「Railway Station」, that would be a disaster.

Cha Si-eon did not seem to intend to explain further either.

But was it my imagination?

My ears had felt strangely blocked for a while now.

It also seemed like I could hear a faint ringing in my ears.

WEE-OOO, WEE-OOO.

As if I had been tormented by the siren sound right up until a moment ago.