Car 8 of the Train Shelter.
I stood frozen, looking at the note that came out from inside the Daydream Potion bottle after I unscrewed its cap, which bizarrely mimicked a screw on the wall.
To be precise, I was looking at the name of the 'writer' written on it.
'…Lee Kangheon?'
-K.LEE: I'm Assistant Manager Lee Kangheon from Team C haha
That was Agent Choi's undercover identity.
To be exact, it was the employee identity he had appropriated to dig up information at Daydream Inc.!
Then…
This is a note left by the employee whose identity was stolen?
'Wait a minute.'
I hurriedly read the text.
You're probably reading my writing in this madhouse, where the Cheerful Research Institute's research has failed and high-grade Darknesses are popping off left and right,
right?
He's talking about Segwang Metropolitan City!
(P.S. If you read the sentence above ↑ and don't know what it means, just skip to the last line and put the screw back in haha)
Here come the hot tips haha
I know it's hard enough just to stay alive with how crazy the situation is, but there's actually a way to get rid of this Darkness completely
I sucked in a breath.
The answer is Daydream Inc.
What?
Fundamentally, this whole mess happened because Daydream backstabbed the Research Institute. What a truly amazing company, anyway…
You want to clean up this mess?
My gaze dropped down in a rush, without me even realizing it.
Then somehow steal the dream incubator that Daydream Inc. copied
"…!!"
and install it in the remaining Cheerful Research Institute facility If you found this note, there's a high chance you're an employee of this company, so you
can at least give it a try
Sorry, but I can't do it
Good luck!
-Lee Kangheon
That was the end of the note.
'What is this crazy talk.'
It dumped such blunt and absurd information into the reader's head that the back of my own head tingled.
'Daydream?'
I reflexively recalled it.
The Dream Incubation Room I had discovered outside Segwang Metropolitan City.
The desperate phrase scribbled in the research notes there, as if to obliterate them.
-Trickedtrickedtrickedtrickedtrickedtrickedtrickedtrickedtricked
In fact, looking at the circumstances, it all fit together like a puzzle.
Not only was Daydream using the Cheerful Research Institute's research and potions wholesale, but there was even a ghost story in the Main Building's basement about the Cheerful Research Institute's past form appearing.
…In fact, one of the traditional reasons ghost stories arise immediately came to mind.
'A grudge.'
That the Cheerful Research Institute had experienced an incident that would give it a bone-deep grudge against Daydream.
'…Besides.'
The research note, next to the broken dream incubator where I had woken up after drinking the Wish Ticket.
-Daydream found out they're raiding us it was another trick I hid it in the most crowded place before they could take Lord Name
'It was another trick.'
That expression meant they had been through it before.
'Just what the hell has this crazy pharmaceutical company been up to…'
Though, in a Ghost Story Worldview, it wasn't surprising that the very founding of a pharmaceutical company that grinds its employees to dust was stained with a terrible ghost story.
And also…
'…Steal a Daydream Dreaming Device and attach it to a Cheerful Research Institute facility?'
In context, and given where this was found… doesn't it sound like doing so would end the Extinction-class Disaster in Segwang Metropolitan City?
"..."
I quickly looked around.
I was the only one in Car 8, but surely many survivors from Segwang Metropolitan City must have used this car.
'If he installed this screw anticipating even that…'
It was clearly meant for any employee of Daydream Inc. among the survivors to see.
And I was the one who took it out.
'...'
[You seem to have a lot on your mind. Friend, this Braun is always ready to listen. Witty advice is a bonus!]
It's less that I have a lot on my mind… and more that my thoughts have flowed in another direction, making me more distraught.
Because if this note is true, there's a fact that can be inferred in reverse.
If reinstalling the dream incubator solves this situation…
'…It means Segwang Metropolitan City ended up like this because the dream incubator went wrong in the first place.'
[Hoh!]
'But Daydream is now growing its business by using that dream incubator left and right.'
It was a chilling red flag.
And I know it.
The subtitle of this Wiki worldview.
No… its true title, in fact.
[Apocalypse Prophecy: Darkness Exploration Record]
'...'
This is driving me crazy.
I held back a sigh and folded the note back up.
My head was throbbing, and my mind was a mess.
'I have no idea how far I need to think this through.'
This suspicious note, the future ahead, and what I must do.
I tossed and turned, lying on my side.
'Let's just sleep for now.'
And, the last thing I thought of before falling asleep.
…Separate from the note's content, there's something else that bothers me.
'It's similar.'
The way the self-proclaimed 'Lee Kangheon' of the note talks feels similar to Agent Choi's.
I reflexively tried to compare even the handwriting. But I could feel a distinct difference from Agent Choi's handwriting, which remained in my memory.
'The note's handwriting seems much worse.'
Besides, now that I think about it, the narrative structure doesn't make sense.
'If Agent Choi had gone so far as to work at Daydream, he'd be a Mary Sue character like no other.'
To think that a representative, big-name character from the early days of the Disaster Management Bureau actually had a background of having worked at Daydream in the
past.
It's a format that's hard to exist in a multi-participant wiki, and even if it did, it couldn't last for long.
Because someone would try to kill him off or get rid of him somehow in the middle.
At the very least, the Darkness Exploration Record from the era of big names like Agent Choi, that is, before the Nameless Brilliant Cult began to seriously expand its influence
within the wiki, was like that.
This was a separate issue from the fact that there were parts of the wiki's content I couldn't remember.
A problem of plausibility.
'…Hoo.'
Maybe it was just some Daydream employee, about to die a dog's death trapped in Segwang Metropolitan City, who got pissed off and spread some clickbait information.
But these expressions, which made it seem like he knew all the details of the incident, were quite unsettling.
I guess that's why I started paying attention to his way of speaking.
'…Let's sleep.'
When I get out, I'll show this note to Agent Choi.
I closed my eyes once more and pulled the old blanket over my head.
And amidst all sorts of worries, concerns, and thoughts running wild, I drifted off to sleep, overcome by fatigue and exhaustion.
***
"Are you awake?"
"…Good morning."
I opened my eyes five hours later.
It was almost noon, but the lights inside the train were constantly on, making it difficult to tell if it was day or night.
"That's why there are cars where they cover the lights when it's time to sleep."
Ms. Go Young-eun's aunt, the woman called the stationmaster, saw me coming out into. Car 7 and raised her hand in greeting. We were in the middle of a short conversation.
About Deputy Manager Eun Haje and Agent Bronze's condition as well.
"They were accepted without any trouble."
That's a relief.
I let out a sigh of relief.
'…It was a good thing I set up a store at Afternoon Station.'
My assertion that the two of them could regularly bring food from that store seems to have served as a very good card in the negotiations.
The Happy Maker I brought as a bribe seems to have had some effect as well.
'A powerful painkiller is welcome anywhere.'
I also thought of the Delusion Home Shopping Items I had diligently scraped together, leaving a little bit of my 'Home Shopping Survival prize money'.
Of course, no matter how good an item I slipped them as a bribe, it would only be for a moment, and I was a bit worried they would start hazing them from now on.
Still, it was a relief that Deputy Manager Eun Haje, who is skilled at infiltrating small societies like a former journalist, was there.
"From now on, the two of them will live next to the spot Yeongeun was given. It's in Car 6. It might be a little cramped, though."
"…Thank you."
"It's good to help if we can live by helping each other. This place was originally created that way in the first place."
The stationmaster, speaking calmly, had a rather weary face.
For reference, I also asked if 'there was a man in a suit and animal mask among the survivors who stayed in Car 8'.
"You all were the first… such people."
"I, I see…"
It ended like that.
As expected, it seems difficult to identify the 'Lee Kangheon' who left the note with something like this.
The stationmaster sighed.
"It's not for nothing that the people in the front cars were wary of you. Well, they have been showing… a strange sort of elitism lately."
"…Excuse me, are the tendencies of the people in the front and back cars very different?"
"Well, when a disaster like this strikes, people are bound to choose one of two things."
She shrugged.
"Either they become incredibly exclusive and act with group selfishness, or they become frantically active in gathering supplies."
"..."
"You could say the people in this Train Shelter are divided in two. Well, how about you stay in Car 8 a little longer, get used to the people here, and then try talking to them?"
"…I appreciate the offer, but it will be difficult for now."
I looked up and heard the stop announcement.
The next station is Hannaj[1], Hannaj Station….
"I'm planning to get off here."
I don't know how one can sleep again in a dream, but my head certainly felt a bit clearer after sleeping.
'I can move again now.'
And whether the note is true or not, whatever trouble Daydream has caused, my job doesn't change.
To explore the station.
To gather information and traces.
'…And this station, I can do it alone.'
But the stationmaster, who heard me say I would get off at this station, hardened her expression.
"…It will be dangerous. Hannaj Station may sound quite nice by its name, but it's not actually such a place. Many people are more scared of it than Afternoon Station."
"It's alright. I've also heard roughly what kind of place it is. Still, it feels like someone has to go."
"Hoo…"
The stationmaster had a bitter expression, but she didn't try to stop me further. It must be a familiar occurrence in the midst of a disaster like this.
"How about you say goodbye to Yeongeun or your companions and leave at the next stop?"
"…No. It's fine."
They've just been accepted into the Train Shelter; there's no good in showing them immediately communicating with an outsider again.
I shook my head with a faint smile.
"I already said my goodbyes yesterday."
"…I see."
The stationmaster nods.
The doors are opening.
I stepped out of the train, through the door the stationmaster opened for me.
I saw a clean, modern subway platform, identical to the previous station.
Segwang Transit Corporation
Hannaj Station
"..."
I started walking down the platform.
Recalling the contents of the wiki, which had been updated long ago.
Hannaj Station (Nap Shelter)
A subway station located in the center of Segwang Metropolitan City's residential area.
It was a holy ground for commuters, with various types of homes like station-adjacent apartments, officetels, townhouse complexes, and villas.
On the Day of Disaster, countless people returned here, desperately praying to be able to go home, to meet their families, to live their daily lives as before.
They all failed.
Frustrated wishes, screams, and tears pooled at Hannaj Station, swallowing numerous homes and constructing the Nap Shelter.
He who sets foot here will be welcomed as if he has come home.
And he shall rest.
All of them.
"..."
So, to put it simply, this station is located where Segwang Metropolitan City's residential district used to be.
And it was a ghost story with a gimmick to match.
"Hoo."
I walked up the stairs from the platform to the concourse alone….
Sunlight poured down from the far end.
"...!"
…An open space unfolded.
It was a scene that was impossible to believe was an indoor concourse space.
Under a clear, sunny sky, a residential area with fences and small buildings came into view.
Lush green garden trees, the smell of lunch wafting from a house beyond the fence. It was a clear and warm scene.
It wasn't a brand-new apartment complex in a new city. It felt like a friendly neighborhood where houses remained, undeveloped.
…But that wasn't what surprised me.
"Where the hell is this!"
"Assistant Manager Lee, did you touch something? Wasn't it that thing you were fiddling with earlier?"
"No, sir! I didn't even touch any Darkness-related items!"
"This isn't inside a Darkness, is it? It's too normal for that."
"Call the Security Team first!"
People.
Dozens of people were chattering amongst themselves, standing beyond the fence near the platform stairs and looking around.
All of them were wearing white lab coats, and more than half had employee ID cards hanging around their necks, and…
A few of them were faces I knew.
Especially one person.
"Manager Gwak, by any chance, what were you doing just now…."
"Hmm? I was on my way to a meeting. Why, you think I threw all the researchers into a Darkness for an experiment? Hahaha!"
"R-Right?! Haha, it's not like we're the Cleanup team, you wouldn't do that."
…It was Kwak Jegang.
Those people, they are all employees of Daydream Inc.'s research team…!
'What is this crazy situation.'
My eyes almost popped out.
Why were Daydream people- no, not even the Field Investigation Team, but the research team, in the middle of this Segwang Metropolitan City underground.
Dozens of them, bare-bodied in a top-grade Darkness sealed off by the Disaster Management Bureau…!
At that moment.
"…!!"
One of the research team members, who was looking around beyond the fence, spotted me.
I reflexively tried to hide, but I knew it was too late.
The research team member pointed at me.
To be precise, at my suit and… animal mask.
"F-Field Investigation Team??"
I'm going crazy.
[1] also could be translated as Midday