Chapter 267.3 |
And the dealer, upon hearing this proposal…
“……”
…stayed still, as if listening to some kind of ‘decision’ being made within the casino, then…
“In the VIP room, we must always provide private enjoyment. We’ll accept that modified rule. Great!”
Huu.
‘Got it.’
I blinked and sat back down on the armchair.
And now what remained was…
“Well then. Looks like it’s you and me, Grapes-ie.”
For the record, Go Yeongeun was excluded for now due to the entry limit, and thinking about it now…
‘That’s probably for the best.’
If she got caught up by accident, she really would die.
“Ah, before we start, let’s talk for a moment.”
“Sure.”
Agent Choi stood up and grabbed my shoulder.
“That thing earlier. That’s a guaranteed way to get body parts, right?”
“…Yes.”
“Okay.”
Agent Choi took hold of me and turned my body toward the rail.
“Then, Grapes-ie. Look carefully over there.”
“……”
“The third one is the pelvis, and… the seventh is the left arm, the fifteenth is the right arm.”
Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae’s body parts.
He was telling me in advance in case he himself died.
“Let’s say we’ll take those as additional rewards.”
“…Yes.”
Agent Choi and I separated again and sat down on our respective armchairs.
And the dealer picked up the gun…
“Ah, is it alright if we choose where the bullets are loaded? No matter where they’re placed, the firing probability is the same.”
“……Yes.”
…I specified the bullet positions I wanted.
And then.
“If both of us die, please transfer the additional rewards and coins to the person waiting outside the VIP room as our party member.”
“……”
“Ms. Dealer.”
“Yesyes.”
And the order was…
Tuk.
“I’ll go first.”
“……”
“Grapes-ie.”
Raising the revolver, Agent Choi spoke.
“Want me to guess? You loaded one bullet every three chambers, right?”
“…!”
“One round in, skip two, another round in, skip two…”
As he says that, he looks at me.
“Then no matter what the firing order is… once a live round fires, the next two are empty.”
That’s right.
“Then if I get shot, you’ll surely succeed with three consecutive shots and get the body parts.”
Of course.
Either way, the final shot will be live.
“So the two of us are guaranteed to die.”
……
“See you later.”
Bang!
Agent Choi died on the second shot.
“Congratulations. You’ve won.”
“……”
Blood is splattered across the armchair.
Blood and corpses cover the floor and the couch.
“Would you like to rest a bit before proceeding with the ‘winner’s Russian roulette’? Or…”
“Ms. Dolphin.”
I was certain after that game.
I turned my head and looked at Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae’s head.
……
No.
“You knew, didn’t you?”
“What?”
Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae herself.
“You allowed that modified rule knowing full well, didn’t you?”
“……”
“If I can choose where the bullets are loaded, then the winner shooting themselves has no real meaning.”
I continued.
“Depending on the bullet placement, you can choose a position where survival is guaranteed.”
There’s no way the dealer didn’t know that.
And yet she pretended not to, and allowed it anyway.
That meant it was a decision made by another self, not the dealer persona.
“Did you let it slide, Ms. Dolphin?”
“……”
I’d felt something was off for a while.
‘You kept trying to push us to leave…’
– This is a game in which one of the participating guests is guaranteed to die. Are you sure you wish to play?
That wasn’t something a dealer should say.
Within the bounds of not violating casino rules, she had been subtly and passively encouraging people to leave this room.
Then, if that’s the case…
“Did you become a dealer while preserving part of your ego through some kind of procedure? So you could stay alive and continue searching for a chance of survival?”
“I don’t know what you meann.”
“Isn’t part of your consciousness still intact right now?”
“……”
“And so you saw my adjustment of the bullet order as a way to survive to the end, and let it pass…”
“Dear guest, based on your statements, you are confirmed to have manipulated a modified rule.”
Ah.
“That constitutes cheating within the casino. Please return all rewards you have received during the Russian roulette games so far and leave the VIP room.”
“……”
“Leave immediately. Otherwise, measures will be taken.”
I looked at the ‘rewards’ from Russian roulette.
The body parts that had automatically connected to one another.
‘Since her ego is still left intact, I thought I might be able to persuade her into attaching those body parts herself.’
From the looks of it, that was impossible.
‘Then.’
“Wait.”
I turned as if to leave, and then…
I lunged at the dealer.
“…!”
And started tearing off Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae’s head.
“Ugh—”
A horrifying sensation I’d never experienced before surged through my hands.
The crunching sound, the sound of mismatched flesh tearing away. The sound of the dealer’s powerful body breaking my ribs, the crushing force of her biting into my hand, the sound of her trying to pull out documents…
But if not this way, there might not be another chance.
“Huuhp!”
I finally tore the head free.
And immediately… attached it to the body parts I had already obtained as rewards.
“…!”
If the VIP room was truly private, the dealer response would be slightly delayed, which was why I dared this.
‘There’s no turning back.’
Soon, this casino would confiscate my body just as it did to the long-term missing persons.
If that’s how it’s going to be, then.
“Uugh.”
I ran to the rail and, with blood-soaked hands, pulled out several of Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae’s body parts I’d identified earlier, then urgently attached them to her.
And.
I forcibly shoved the euthanasia drug into her mouth.
“…!”
When I covered her nose and mouth, she swallowed. By the time I confirmed that, I sensed movement outside the VIP room.
The sound of someone approaching after detecting ‘property damage’.
“Ugh.”
I immediately grabbed the revolver on the table.
And then, and then…
Click, click.
After two empty rotations, the bullet shot into my head.
* * *“……”
Why does my head hurt this much?
I briefly wondered if being shot affected the body in reality…
But I soon realized that wasn’t the case.
Because.
“……!”
I was still in a human body.
And.
“Huuhk—”
Go Yeongeun-ssi is…
…carrying me on her back while running.
Through the subway station.
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