Chapter 132

Pape hurriedly drew his revolver. Clatter. The chair slid back, and an empty sound echoed through the cafeteria.

When you think about it, there were more than a few strange things.

The fact that a journal remained meant there had been other survivors.

However, Pape hadn’t found any traces of other survivors.

Like half-eaten canned food or weathered bones.

Well, it wasn’t entirely impossible that the survivor only ate at the table.

But even so, it didn’t make sense that the cafeteria was so clean.

The same went for the canned food in the storage room, which was packed as if it had just been filled.

Pape calmly analyzed the current situation.

Suddenly being separated from his teammates like this. Was it a forced parallel world shift?

There were quite a few urban legends like this.

The urban legend where people suddenly stop recognizing you was famous, and the one where people suddenly disappear from the world was practically a bestseller.

Pape steadied his gaze.

If this were reality, urban legends could happen without any conditions.

But this was a game. There had to be clear rules.

The first thing he suspected was the food. The last thing he did before the anomaly occurred was eating.

Or maybe it was simply staying in the abandoned hospital for a certain amount of time.

Pape recalled the phrase written in the memo: “GET OUT NOW.” It meant to leave this place immediately.

Anyone trapped here would want to get out. From that perspective, it was a pretty useless memo, but if the place to escape from was limited to the “cafeteria” instead of the “haunted building,” the situation changed.

Pape followed the memo’s instructions and left the cafeteria.

He quickly headed toward the elevator.

It was the first place he needed to check in this situation.

When Pape arrived at the elevator, he clicked his tongue.

The elevator, illuminated by his flashlight, clearly wasn’t functioning properly.

Still, he pressed the button just in case.

Click.

…Nothing happened.

Pape sighed.

In that case, the only option was to search the places he hadn’t investigated yet.

“Your judgment is quick.”

At the sudden voice, Pape turned and aimed his revolver.

The only reason he didn’t shoot was because the voice was familiar.

Pape raised his flashlight slightly to see the owner of the voice.

The owner of the voice spoke.

“Anyone watching would think I’m attacking you with a knife.”

“Make some noise.”

“Then I wouldn’t get to see you startled, Pape.”

“Monster.”

Pape inwardly sighed in relief.

There was no one as reassuring as Han Yoorim in this situation.

Lowering his revolver, Pape asked, “Where are the others?”

“Not sure. I came here in a hurry too.”

“Is this an event where we’re randomly teleported to different parts of the map?”

“Seems likely.”

Still, this was better than nothing.

If we were completely separated into independent channels, it would’ve been tough, but if it was just scattering, we could regroup quickly by waiting at the elevator.

“What do you think triggered the event?”

“Probably the food. From a narrative perspective, it’s more impactful if something happens while you’re eating peacefully.”

“Sounds plausible.”

Pape threw away all the canned food he had in his bag.

There was no reason to keep food that could cause who-knows-what if eaten.

Pape said, “What should we do? Wait here for Bunny Run and Malangmabang?”

“Not a great idea. Considering the possibility that Bunny Run and Malangmabang might already be out of the game, it’s better to find a way to escape quickly.”

Han Yoorim was right. In a situation where a forced teleportation event had occurred, it wasn’t wise to act under the assumption that the two were definitely still alive.

For now, it was best to leave them behind and move on, but to avoid missing each other, breaking a chemical light and leaving it at the elevator was the best option.

“Let’s go.”

Pape took Han Yoorim and explored the abandoned hospital.

As you might have guessed from not immediately finding Bunny Run and Mos, this abandoned hospital was disgustingly large.

The rooms stretched endlessly, reminiscent of the Backrooms. Without the survivor’s journal, they probably wouldn’t have even found the cafeteria.

[Room 120]

Opening the door, an 8-bed patient room greeted Pape.

Finding batteries and additional chemical lights, Pape muttered, “Got a bunch of stuff, but it’s not very useful.”

They checked rooms 116 to 120, but all they found were useless items and no important information.

It would’ve been nice to find another survivor’s journal.

As Pape clicked his tongue in disappointment, Han Yoorim replied, “Pape, I figured it out.”

“Figured what out?”

“Do you know Chekhov’s gun principle? If a gun appears in Act 1, it must be fired by Act 3. So if a bikini appears in Act 1, it must be worn by Act 3.”

“You must’ve been shot in the head.”

Brushing off Han Yoorim’s nonsense, Pape packed the additional items into his bag.

If he started responding to Han Yoorim’s nonsense, it would easily take an hour.

It wasn’t that she intentionally spouted nonsense; she genuinely believed it.

Pape had dealt with her for a long time, so he didn’t get dragged into it. A beginner would’ve spent 30 minutes wondering why the bikini…

They probably started a discussion about whether they should wear it or not.

Now what? After a moment of pondering, Pape finally spoke up.

“Let’s head to the elevator and check it out.”

“By now, Bunny Run and Malangmabang might have already arrived.”

Han Yoorim would have agreed too, so Pape immediately headed toward the elevator.

As they walked down the corridor, they soon saw a chemical light glowing in the distance.

Approaching the elevator, Pape looked around.

“Nothing here.”

“Right.”

Even if no one was around, the fact that there were no changes in the surroundings suggested no one had come.

If Mos or Bunny Run had come and gone, they would have left items scattered around, just like Pape did.

“What do we do now?”

“What else? We have to investigate again.”

With the hunger gauge dropping as time passed, there was no room for dawdling.

Pape started re-examining Room 121, which they hadn’t checked yet.

“Pape, your hat.”

“Why do you keep looking for stuff like that?”

Han Yoorim cheerfully held up a bowler hat. Was she this excited because it was a game, or was she just like this in real life?

To Pape, it was definitely the latter. Even if Han Yoorim were dropped into a haunted building in real life, she’d probably act the same.

He knew her well after all this time.

“Pape.”

“Just say it.”

“Don’t you think we should stock up on food? Just in case, you know?”

It was a reasonable point, but Pape thought differently.

“If we just hold onto food without eating it, it might trigger an event. No way.”

He avoided suspicious elements altogether. It was a rule of his.

Even if eating the food might already be too late, it was better to close off possibilities than to leave them open.

“True.”

Han Yoorim agreed with Pape. Being a hardcore gamer, she quickly understood what he meant.

“Then, Pape, should we check the rest of the patient rooms?”

“Let’s do that.”

Han Yoorim led the way with a calm voice.

Pape followed suit, walking slowly.

But.

Not forward, but backward.

*Click.* The sound of a revolver hammer being pulled echoed through the patient room.

Han Yoorim stopped mid-step and froze in place.

Without turning around, she spoke.

“Pape, trying to shoot your teammate in the back of the head? Are you Judas or something?”

“Question 1. When did we first meet?”

“What are you talking about? I miss those days. I recognized your potential and approached you first. If it weren’t for you, I might not have become an otaku.”

“…Your nickname was ‘VirginUnicornLoverDog’ from the very first time we met.”

“What are you saying? Meeting you must have influenced the past across time.”

Han Yoorim spun around.

Pape looked at her face.

Her expression was blank but oddly playful, and Pape couldn’t help but chuckle.

At the same time, he pulled the trigger without hesitation.

*Bang!* A loud gunshot filled the patient room. As Han Yoorim’s head cleanly flew off, Pape asked her.

“Question 2. The canned food you left behind earlier because it seemed dangerous. It’s still there in front of the elevator. Why didn’t you say anything when we passed by earlier? Like you were trying to buy time? Did you just remember the canned food now? The Han Yoorim I know wouldn’t make such a late judgment.”

“Or what were you trying to do?”

“What else?”

Pape aimed the revolver again at Han Yoorim, who was still talking despite only having her neck left.

And he continued.

“Even if you’re not, you should be able to dodge a bullet at this distance, you monster.”

*

Whew.

Having barely cleared the 2nd floor, Pape let out a small sigh inside the elevator, which had returned to normal.

*Clap clap.* At the sound of applause, Pape looked up.

“As expected of Pape. You cleared the 2nd floor right after me.”

“……”

“Bunny Run and Malangmabang aren’t done yet. But those two will clear it soon—”

“Hey.”

“Yeah?”

“You said this game was made by some unknown, reclusive master? Is there really anyone else in the world who could make a game like this?”

Pape recalled the name of the game developer.

Yunamir. In English, YUNAMIRH.

If you rearrange it…

HANYURIM.

Han Yoorim.

“Did you hide the fact that you made this game because it would ruin the fun if we knew?”

At Pape’s accusation, Han Yoorim nodded.

“Caught me, huh?”

“Yeah, you got caught.”