The doors between subway cars were never intended to be opened while the train was in motion.
But the train wasn't moving anymore.
Hyun-woo wrenched the emergency lever with shaking hands, forcing the connecting doors open. Cold, musty air from the tunnel beyond blew in as he stepped into the next car. His heartbeat roared in his ears, but Reader's Insight filtered his panic into actionable details.
Two cars down. Left side. Red emergency panel. The axe is inside.
Don't stop. Please don't look back.
Behind him, the thing skittered across the roof like a centipede made of wires and bone. The Spawn's claws punched through metal with a wet screech, dragging it forward with unnatural grace. It didn't need to see him.
It felt him.
And now, so did others.
As Hyun-woo pushed through the second car, he felt it—an invisible pressure, like being underwater beneath eyes that didn't blink. Reader's Insight pulsed, feeding him data like cold lightning across his mind.
[Mental Instability in the Surrounding Area Rising Rapidly.]
[Victim Count: 2... 5... 9...]
A passenger to his left suddenly lunged toward the windows, screaming. A group at the far end trampled one another trying to open the rear hatch. Someone else dropped to their knees, sobbing prayers in broken fragments of three different languages.
It wasn't just fear.
The Spawn exuded a psychic presence—a corrupted field known in the lore as "Ruin Echo." Prolonged exposure broke the human mind.
Hyun-woo shoved past them.
"Move! MOVE!" he shouted.
He wasn't a leader. He wasn't brave. But he knew what would happen next.
In Chapter 315, the Spawn would lash out once it was inside the second car, targeting the loudest sound, the weakest mental signature. Then it would feed.
"The boy in the school uniform screamed first. His head caved in before his body hit the floor."
He made it to the third car.
The emergency panel was there. Just as the novel described.
He smashed it with his elbow, glass slicing open his sleeve. Alarms rang—too late to matter. Inside: a fire extinguisher, a dented crowbar, and the prize.
[You have obtained: Emergency Fire Axe.]
Durability: 80/80 | Damage Type: Blunt/Cleave | Material: Carbon Steel
A tool repurposed for war.
[Trait Activated: Familiar Object Recognition – Minor Bonus to Handling Efficiency.]
It was heavier than he expected. But his body, trained more by keyboard than combat, didn't buckle. Adrenaline did its job.
Screams echoed from the car behind him. A sickening crunch followed.
Then—silence.
[Kill Registered.]
[Spawn of the Hollow Hunger has consumed a civilian.]
[Estimated Cooldown Before Next Hunt: 45 seconds.]
Hyun-woo backed away from the door, gripping the axe like it was an extension of his arm. His mind raced.
You can't fight it directly. Not now. But you can bait it.
In the novel, the protagonist used heat and noise to redirect its attention...
The fire extinguisher.
He grabbed it with his free hand and yanked the pin loose. Cold fog hissed into the air. Visibility dropped.
[Improvised Environmental Disruption – Visibility Reduced: 80%]
[Spawn Tracking Efficiency: Lowered]
For a moment, the train felt like a dream—fog-filled, red-lit, quiet.
Then came the scream. Not from a passenger, but the creature.
A sharp, grating shriek that rattled the metal walls. The doors behind him exploded open as the Spawn lunged forward, tail whipping across the ceiling.
Hyun-woo ducked.
The axe came up by instinct.
Steel met bone.
Sparks flew.
[Successful Hit – Target Armor Integrity: 98%]
Useless.
He rolled to the side as the creature's claws pierced the floor where his chest had been. His shoulder slammed into a seat rail. Blood filled his mouth.
He didn't know if he screamed or not.
But the next thing he knew, he was under the seats, dragging himself with the extinguisher's metal handle, crawling toward the next connecting door.
Nine minutes. That's what the scenario gave him. He'd burned through five.
I'm not the protagonist, he thought, coughing. I was never meant to survive this part.
But that was the key, wasn't it?
The protagonist hadn't shown up until Chapter 318.
Which meant...
Everything before that was a graveyard of forgotten characters. All meant to die.
But not him.
Not this time.
"I'm the reader," Hyun-woo growled, dragging himself to his feet. "I'm the one who read the whole damn thing."
He flung the door open—
And ran.