Chapter 264.2 |
[Oh dear. She offered up her ear as an admission fee at the exhibition too. She must be getting used to it.]
‘No.’
[Hm?]
Rationally, she might have judged that using an ear she had already lost once was the better choice, but injuring the same place again would just as easily become trauma.
Perhaps because of that, Go Yeongeun-ssi’s hand holding the potion moved straight toward the cap, as if about to open it immediately…
But then.
“Wait.”
I stopped her urgently.
“It might not work.”
“Did you exchange the lost body parts at the casino?”
“Not all of them, but… yes.”
“……”
Then.
“You saw Assistant Manager Dolphin earlier. Her entire body was made of other people’s body parts.”
“…Yes. Probably from the people pawned here—!”
As if realizing it mid-sentence, Yeongeun-ssi’s complexion changed.
Exactly.
“Seeing that, it seems the body parts exchanged at this casino continue to function fully even after being taken. Meaning.”
I looked at the glove on Section Chief Lee Jaheon’s hand, missing a finger.
“It seems you didn’t sell a lump of flesh called a ‘finger’, but the function itself to the casino.”
“……”
“There’s a high chance the regeneration potion won’t work properly. …Even if the flesh regrows, the function might not return.”
At that moment.
As if reflecting on my deduction, a notification appeared on my smartphone.
Coin exchanges at the Casino of Corporeity must be conducted exclusively through the sale of body parts owned by the individual, and any body parts sold in this manner are permanently lost.
‘…!’
Is this being updated based on information I’ve figured out?
Now that I think about it, new pages were updated whenever we entered a station or viewed notices.
‘It’s like a game help menu.’
In any case, I quickly tore my eyes away from the phone and continued.
“I just wanted to let you know so you don’t panic if the potion doesn’t work.”
That’s usually how ghost story rules go.
‘Unless something stronger than this casino intervenes…’
It might be better than the outside annihilation-sanctioned threat, but this casino was still a viciously powerful ghost story.
In that sense, it would be wiser to give up expecting a mere C-grade Dream Essence potion to work properly.
“…Then, if you don’t mind, would it be alright if I hold onto the potion and use it at a more appropriate timing?”
“Yes. Then, please provide the information.”
“Of course.”
Nodding, her face pale, Go Yeongeun-ssi quickly put the bottle away.
Then she asked.
“For now, did only the two of you come here?”
“Actually, there are more. There’s even someone else in this room right now…”
Ah.
“Come to think of it, Section Chief. Where’s Goat?”
“He’s at the fourteenth slot in the second row of the slot machines.”
Go Yeongeun-ssi and I turned our heads at the same time.
Sure enough, there was Baek Saheon, standing and watching a missing person stuck to a slot machine, pulling the gambling device’s lever.
It looked like he was trying to analyze the machine’s pattern using his eye, or at least check the accumulated number of failed non-winning spins, but he didn’t even glance in our direction.
“…Should I drag him over if you need?”
“No. It’s fine. Um, then is that everyone?”
“…Six in total.”
I looked at the people who had just appeared in front of the slot machine room.
“Assistant Manager Falcon and two agents.”
“Oh, you’re all here…”
Agent Choi spotted us and raised his hand, then froze when he saw Go Yeongeun-ssi wrapped in a padded jacket.
Then the next moment.
“…Agent Mint.”
He recognized her.
As if wanting to hide her face by pulling the padding over her head, she tried to lower it, then seemed to realize it was pointless now and stayed still.
‘Ah.’
She must have reflexively tried to hide for fear of being exposed as a spy, then realized the situation made that meaningless.
The two agents approached quickly, their expressions stiff.
“Why on earth are you here…”
“……”
“I heard you lost contact after submitting your resignation. Then we saw the official notice of your dismissal from the bureau by request…”
“You already know I was a spy planted by Daydream, right?”
“……!”
Agent Bronze’s pupils shook as he turned to look at Agent Choi.
Agent Choi gave a bitter smile.
“I had my suspicions.”
“……”
“It wasn’t confirmed. You filed for resignation right after Grapes disappeared, so given the circumstances, I thought you might be a spy. And there was never any sign you leaked particularly meaningful information in the first place, right?”
“Then, if you’ll forgive me for asking.”
Go Yeongeun-ssi lifted her head and spoke in a stiff voice.
“Could you please share a way to get out of this subway?”
“……”
“I really can’t see any way out…”
…It seemed Yeongeun-ssi had assumed that since Daydream employees and Disaster Management Bureau agents were here, they must have secured an exit method.
It was a reasonable inference. But.
“At present, there isn’t one.”
“Pardon?”
Agent Bronze explained in a firm voice.
“We entered using a special method, so we’ll be returning via a means that others can’t use.”
“Ah.”
I hurriedly cut in.
“But we’ll try to find a way for you to get out too, Agent Mint.”
“Of course we will.”
Agent Choi’s voice as he said that was solid enough to inspire trust. But…
“……”
“…No. Please don’t worry about me for now.”
“…!”
A worn, subdued voice.
“I don’t even know how many people are trapped in this city’s subway alone. …If the bureau could rescue these people, I think you would’ve done it long ago.”
Comments 3