T/N: Hello! This is a translation of GSGW from chapters 331+. I've moved it here and will be posting new chapters here from now on. I will try to post a new chapter every day if possible until I catch up with the original. If you need the files for the previous chapters, please comment and I will get them to you.
Agent Bronze and I were looking at each other as if we had been struck by lightning.
Train shelter.
The true value of this place was revealed under the driver's chair.
'Escape Talisman..!'
But after the thrill passed, urgent questions began to fill my mind.
'Wait a minute. If you could go out with that talisman in the first place, wouldn't you have left already?'
"…..!"
There was no reason to endure as the agents died one by one. Why on Earth…
- It's just that I've been looking for something else I need on this train!
Ah.
'There was something lacking.'
What is it? What was missing?
At that moment, someone opened the door outside the engine room.
"Roe…."
"Mrs. Goral!"
The moment I saw Go Youngeun's face, before any explanations about avoiding her or the current situation, the words that burst out were:
"I found a trace of an escape route."
"..!!"
I quickly called everyone into the driver's compartment. I saw Section Chief Jaheon close the door and lean against it like a sentry.
It seemed that he and Assistant Manager Eun Haje brought Go Youngeun as well.
The cramped driver's compartment was so full that it was difficult for anyone to sit, but no one cared about that now.
"If this train were placed on high-speed railway tracks, could it run?"
"On the tracks?"
Instead of saying, 'Why would you ask that?', Go Youngeun seemed to grasp something suddenly and asked in alarm.
"Wait a moment. Surely you don't mean to run this subway on high-speed rail tracks?"
"Is that your idea?"
"We didn't come up with it."
"What...?"
Soon, Go Youngeun's gaze followed Agent Bronze's line of sight, falling on the talisman under the overturned chair.
"The agents who made this train shelter seem to have planned to use this train for escape from the start."
"… Wait a minute."
Go Youngeun took a few breaths and exhaled as if digesting the flood of information and said quickly in a calm voice.
"Mr. Roe Deer."
"Yes?"
"Why on Earth did you think I would know the high-speed rail compatibility of this subway train?"
"..."
Over the years, I've received so much informational help from you... I just asked reflexively, wondering if you might know, but I'm sorry if I burdened you...
"But I know."
"….!"
"…While living here, I tried to learn as much as possible from my aunt. Knowledge about subways and railways."
Because I was trapped in the subway.
"And I've heard about the subway through 'rumors'."
I stared at the person who had desperately gathered rumors and information, trying to adapt to the situation of suddenly being thrust into a group of survivors in an extreme situation.
"Then is it okay if I ask you to answer?"
"Yes"
Go Youngeun said with a frown.
"As far as I know… the track specifications should be identical. So, they should be properly aligned and connected on the tracks."
"….!"
"Wait a moment. The subway and the high-speed railway are different in speed… don't they operate on different principles?"
"That's right. The electrical current should be different."
Go Youngeun nodded at Eun Haje's words.
"As far as I know, subways usually use a direct current, while high-speed railways use an alternating current. To put it simply, high-speed rail uses a much higher voltage."
"So they're not compatible?"
"I don't know about other places, but I know that the Segwang Special City subway isn't compatible."
"….."
Go Youngeun found out this information through a Q&A with her aunt, who works in a related field.
'In that case, the agents likely did it too.'
And they reached the same conclusion as us.
- It's just that I've been looking for something else I need on this train!
"I think it was that."
"Yes?"
"The reason why the agents who made this train shelter didn't escape right away and were instead looking for supplies."
Electricity.
Fuel, or a power source that will make this train run…!
That's…
'A Dokkaebi Flame.'
I turned to look at Agent Bronze.
"If there's a Dokkaebi Flame, wouldn't it be possible?"
If it used a supernatural entity as its power source instead of electricity.
"It's possible."
"….!!"
Yes. Then everything is connected.
"But the agents of this train didn't have a Dokkaebi Flame at that time."
If there was a Dokkaebi Flame, it would have left some kind of trace— like the one in Hanbit Library— that could be recognized if an agent touched it.
"That's why they kept going back to the stations."
"…To find the owner!"
"Yes."
I nodded my head.
"They must have been searching for the other agents who entered carrying a Dokkaebi Flame."
But in the process, instead of finding another agent, they were consumed... and eventually...
We naturally swallowed the rest of the words.
"...Then if we get a Dokkaebi Flame, we can try this escape method right away."
For a moment, hope flashed through Go Youngeun's eyes.
"Wait a minute! If it were possible to physically run out like that, wouldn't many people who were already outside the subway have escaped by now? They didn't."
Hope for escape had been dashed time and again.
That person tried to keep assessing the situation as calmly as possible.
"You're right."
"Or it might be possible, but since everyone outside is already dead, maybe no one even tried."
"..."
Well, it's just my guess." Assistant Manager Eun Haje's words were hopeful for our situation but utterly hopeless for Segwang Special City's.
But I had another doubt.
'The lockdown in Segwang Special City isn't just about preventing the ghost story from spreading outside, is it?'
It was a sacrificial lockdown ritual where the residents of Segwang Special City were sacrificed for that purpose. So the citizens couldn't easily...
It was only natural they couldn't escape.
Could we really get out via the high-speed rail? Just how far did these shelter agents anticipate and prepare?
'First, I need to talk to Agent Choi and Agent Haegeum.'
I also wanted to confirm the opinions of the veteran agents familiar with Segwang Special City.
If we acted rashly and someone died, it would be irreversible.
I nodded.
"Take your time. Prepare and check thoroughly. It won't be too late to try then."
"...Yes."
Go Yeongeun's face settled calmly.
Then, as if trying hard not to get her hopes up, she composed her expression.
She tried to remain as calm as possible while continuing to assess the situation.
"You're right."
Through the gap in the door, the cheerful voices of people in the train shelter outside faintly echoed.
"...."
"...."
"Hey, but..."
Go Youngeun's face took on a strangely uneasy look.
"Mr. Roe Deer. Surely you weren't referring to this celebration happening outside right now when you said a few days ago that the rabbit plushie enthusiasts would increase on the train...?"
Oh.
"It wasn't intentional."
Go Youngeun's expression grew even more uneasy.
"It wasn't intentional, but you could predict that the rabbit plushie enthusiasts would increase?"
"..."
"..."
"I'm sorry. I was actually using it to get to the driver's compartment. I'll make amends..." The stares were incredibly piercing.
I quietly bowed my head under the gazes of the train shelter residents and Section Chief Lee Jaheon.
Go Youngeun's hesitant voice reached me.
"Still, this is the first time I've seen everyone in this shelter all enjoying themselves together. It felt a bit... like a World Cup atmosphere."
Yeah...
'Thank goodness...'
Just as I let out a sigh of relief.
"But since a while ago... Doesn't it feel strangely quiet?"
"Huh?"
"Well, I know it's incredibly noisy outside... but it's strange."
Muttering 'Why?', Go Youngeun kept glancing out the window of the driver's compartment.
Car 1 was almost empty and quiet, but the noise coming from the cars beyond made it feel chaotic.
'What do you mean?'
"What do you mean by quiet?"
"I don't know. It feels... empty?"
Empty?
Like something is missing?
It means feeling like something that was there is now gone. But on a train, what could possibly make you feel that way audibly...?
Ah.
The announcement wasn't coming through.
"...."
"How long have we been talking now?"
"Five minutes? Ten minutes..."
"It's been 11 minutes and 12 seconds."
Wait a moment.
Hearing Section Chief Lee Jaheon's voice, I slowly turned my head....
"The interval between stations on the Segwang subway line is about 8 to 10 minutes, but..."
An announcement should have come through at least once by now.
It was the timing.
'No, if I add up the time I spent talking and conversing with Agent Bronze and the talisman...'
Right now, it was definitely a strange situation.
"The train is not arriving at the station..."
..!!
"Agent!"
Agent Bronze flipped the chair back over almost simultaneously with me to check the talisman. Those lines made from ash water...
Were burning black, as if boiling.
"...."
Wait, wait a minute!
"Is this thing... activating now?"
"Huh??"
"No, why suddenly??"
"Agent Bronze, is this item designed to activate when detected by others?"
"No! If it worked that way, this situation wouldn't have happened..."
But Agent Bronze's face had turned deathly pale.
"But... it's taking effect."
Dammit!
I immediately started peering through the window in front of the control panel.
More precisely, I pressed my face against the glass and stared at the scenery.
Looking back at the section we passed...
'It feels unfamiliar.'
Something feels awkward. I've seen the environment the subway runs through out the window several times before, but it definitely seemed less dark than it is now.
"...."
I pulled my smartphone from my pocket, turned on the flashlight function, pressed it against the window, and strained to see the rear of the train.
The light source was useless. The back remained invisible.
But I caught glimpses of passing signs.
Safety First During Maintenance
Two-Person Crew Required
...This track is not part of the official subway route map.
Maintenance zone.
A line branching off to the outskirts.
'The train is running straight.'
The tracks no longer curve in a loop. We passed it without noticing.
The track switch.
The talisman, after some accidental mishap, affected the track switch and changed this train's destination.
"....The train has departed from the subway loop line tracks."
"Just a moment."
"So this destination is..."
Section Chief Lee Jaheon slowly raised his head and declared.
"Altitude is increasing."
"...!"
We were ascending to the surface.
"From now on, please refrain from staring too intently ahead. We are exiting the underground space."
"..."
"This team is currently advancing into unexplored darkness."
And beyond this lies an annihilation-sanction supernatural disaster.
The train was racing toward the high-speed railway outside.
Damn it!
"We have to stop the train."
"Mr. Roe Deer..!"
"We're not ready yet."
No, there's no time to persuade him. Damn it! I rushed to the control car to press the emergency stop button.
"No! The talisman is already taking effect. Interfering could make things go even more wrong in unexpected ways!"
Damn it!
"Agent, even if this doesn't go wrong and we escape safely, it's still a problem!"
If, if this train really was the way to escape Segwang Special City, and even if we succeeded in escaping like this...
Those two are dead.
They're already dead.
If they go out, they'll just become something dead and contaminated by ghost stories, moving around.
'No.'
An alternative!
I shook off Agent Bronze's hand gripping my shoulder and immediately grabbed the side door of the driver's compartment.
"Hey!"
"Agent! Assistant Manager! I'll open the door, so get out! Get out and walk down the tracks!"
It won't open. Dammit! I stared frantically at the control panel. The train door release mechanism, the release mechanism...!
'Where is it?!'
I couldn't find it.
Damn it, damn it...
"Section Chief! Just break the lock on the engineer's door..."
"Stop."
"...."
"Trying to save us will only wreck the train and kill us all."
"Calm down, Roe deer."
I turned my head. Assistant Manager Eun Haje was smiling bitterly.
"...It's already too late. Look."
Ah.
I turned my head.
Bright light was pouring down through the window of the driver's cab.
Ground.
Segwang Special City appeared.