Chapter 268.1 |
What situation am I in.
My head, where dull pain and sharp pain alternate, wobbles without immediately understanding the current surroundings.
Only the swaying scenery around me comes into blurry view.
Colorful bulb lights, yellow tactile paving tiles on the floor, exit number signs, gray…
Stairs.
“Huuff.”
In that moment, I realized it.
Go Yeongeun-ssi was desperately running down the stairs with me on her back. A hand missing several fingers was gripping my arm as it swung over her shoulder.
I barely opened my dry mouth.
“…!”
Startled by my voice, she nearly missed a step and stumbled, but she managed to regain her pace and continued running down the stairs.
All the way to the platform.
“……”
It must be heavy.
Go Yeongeun-ssi… her body isn’t even intact, so how is she carrying me like this. I can’t tell what’s going on. I only feel the urgency of escape. I can’t keep being carried. It must be heavy, and now that I’m conscious, I should move on my own. I tried to tense my body and stretch my legs down to the floor…
……
They’re gone.
Below my thighs, there’s nothing.
My left leg is missing the thigh entirely, and my right leg has been severed from the joint down.
There are traces of bleeding that burst out, then strangely stopped.
‘…The casino.’
In an instant, the memories from just before came flooding back as if my head were about to burst.
The Casino of Corporeity, the VIP room, Russian roulette, Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae, the chilling sensation of tearing her head off, the body parts stolen from the rail, the euthanasia drug, the struggle, my hands covering her nose and mouth…
Acts that caused massive damage to the casino’s assets.
‘Were my legs… charged as costs?’
Given the circumstances, it seemed like a somewhat reasonable guess, even if it was strange that losing just my legs could possibly cover damage that severe.
But more than that.
‘Why didn’t I die?’
I shot myself in the head with a revolver. So why am I still here. Why am I conscious.
And…
Is Go Yeongeun-ssi trying to save me right now?
“Th…is place—”
“Shh.”
After running down to the subway platform as if she might fall at any moment, Go Yeongeun-ssi immediately sprinted toward the wall opposite the screen doors.
Then she opened a fire hose cabinet.
“…!”
“Hurry…!”
The fire hose cabinet, which normally barely has enough space to cram in the hose, was strangely quite spacious inside.
Enough for one person to lie down, and cramped but sufficient for two to hide their bodies.
Go Yeongeun-ssi hurriedly but carefully pushed me into that darkness, then climbed in herself.
Clang.
She closed the cabinet door. With the sound of metal striking metal, the door shut lightly, and darkness fell.
All that was visible were faint bulb lights seeping in through the cracks, and a red emergency light.
“……”
“……”
“I-I’m okay, huff, casino dealers don’t chase people outside, so if we just avoid the addicts…”
She couldn’t finish the sentence and had to catch her breath again. Even so, she leaned toward me as if trying to check my condition.
As I reflexively twitched my hand, wanting to pat her back.
“Aagh…”
Another light source appeared in the darkness.
A pale green glow.
Something at Go Yeongeun-ssi’s waist was emitting a very faint light. She didn’t seem to notice due to the angle, but I knew exactly what it was.
‘A Daydream C-grade regeneration potion.’
……
Something clicked.
Using the darkness as cover, I took the regeneration potion out of the pocket of Go Yeongeun-ssi’s worn padded jacket and hid it in my own pocket.
Meanwhile, Go Yeongeun-ssi was finally calming her breathing.
“Ms. Goral.”
“Huu, yes?”
“Did you save me? From the casino…”
“……”
“What happened?”
“I don’t really know. It just looked like the dealers were heading to the VIP room, and when I looked inside, everyone was dead, and only you, Mr. Roe Deer, were still breathing…”
So she carried me out and ran.
…She probably had help from some item or equipment too.
After spending half a year in Sekwang City, she must have prepared various measures to survive…
“But still, I was a bit late… when I carried you out, your legs—”
“Don’t worry about that. …Thank you.”
The fact that I hadn’t died instantly was the worst possible outcome.
‘…If it hadn’t been for Go Yeongeun-ssi’s help.’
Instead of Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae, I would have been completely dismantled in the casino and turned into a dealer. Like some kind of baton pass.
A chill ran down my spine.
“And since I didn’t have legs… I guess I was lighter.”
“……”
“What a relief, right?”
“A relief?”
Go Yeongeun-ssi looked like she was about to burst out with curses, but she swallowed them. I don’t know if she was worried about drawing attention from outside, or if she simply didn’t have the energy……
My head is spinning, and I can feel the brief clarity I had coming back is slowly dulling again…
I noticed that my head still hurts.
When I raise my hand to touch it, I can tell there’s a wound.
My skull… Whether it actually got pierced, I can’t confirm at all.
What’s certain is that I was shot.
‘…Was there a problem with the firing.’
Or maybe the bullet happened to hit my brain in a way that made instant death impossible, so I’m still alive.
They say the brain can’t feel pain, so I don’t even know how horrific my condition really is.
And as Go Yeongeun-ssi watched me grope at my head, her shoulders jolted as if she realized something, and she sat up.
“Ah!”
Then she started rummaging through her pockets.
“The potion, the one the section chief gave me…!”
“……”
Of course.
I knew she’d try to use it on me.
“Quickly, hurry…”
The regeneration potion.
I had secretly taken it into my own pocket. Go Yeongeun-ssi’s hands were trembling as she searched her pockets for the one she’d received from Section Chief Lee Jaheon.
…Guilt and heaviness seemed to seep through my body.
But I have no intention of giving it back right now.
Using it would only make the guilt worse.
“…It’s okay. I think the bullet just grazed me.”
“W-What are you saying…”
“I mean… the lost body parts, cough, we can get those later… at the casino.”
“……”
“And if we can find the potion later, it’d be better if you take it, Ms. Goral. It’ll be more… effective.”
I just hope it’s too dark for her to properly see what I look like.
“My head wound… might’ve been a misfire, and for now… I’m getting better.”
That’s not true.
I’m probably going to die soon.
But using it on me here would be a complete waste. It has to be used by Go Yeongeun-ssi.
“…We just need to get on the train. Once we get on the train, we’ll return to our original state. Then we can take our time and retrieve things, and deal with it…”
“Yes.”
I probably won’t last until then.
But I nodded calmly. Go Yeongeun-ssi looked anxious, but she couldn’t bring herself to fully open the fire hose cabinet and look at me under the outside light.
Instead, she kept repeating it, as if trying to reassure both me and herself.
“Don’t worry. These fire hose cabinets… once those people are addicted, they weirdly never try opening them…”
“I see…”
Fighting the dizziness, I gathered my words.
To divert Yeongeun-ssi’s attention.
“Is that also something you heard as a rumor?”
And… it was something I’d wanted to ask anyway.
“Ms. Goral, what exactly happened to you?”
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