Chapter 16

Damn, it’s dark.

Descending the elevator walls, I arrived at B2, so dark I couldn’t see an inch ahead.

The flashlight I brought was utterly useless.

Still, it was my only light source, so I had to rely on this faint glow to navigate through B2.

The item I wanted was inside the bunker, accessible through B2.

…But seriously, I can’t see a thing.

If I ever get money, I’m getting myself a fancy flashlight no matter what.

This one’s practically on par with the ones the military sells.

Of course, I’d rather get communication equipment first.

But that stuff’s ridiculously expensive.

To get something truly useful, I’d have to go to Seoul, pay a hefty price, or somehow gather parts and entrust them to a dealer.

Those dealers aren’t exactly trustworthy… but someone like Yechan, who supported the protagonist, might be reliable.

Maybe I’ll visit him later and place some requests.

There’s no rule saying I can’t make requests, right?

Anyway, with no visibility, I have no idea where I am.

I slowly turned around in place to get a sense of my surroundings.

The place I descended to was once used by the military as the entrance to an underground bunker.

I heard they modified this area to access the underground bunker beneath Namhansanseong Fortress.

The structure made it hard to see inside from the outside, and since it was connected to nearby buildings, there was no risk of the entrance being blocked unless it collapsed.

The parking lot entrance had already crumbled due to time.

The problem is… they were wiped out by an unforeseen variable.

I quietly looked down at the skulls scattered at my feet. Skeletons in military uniforms. And nearby, skeletons in civilian clothes.

Judging by the bags they carried, they must have been hunters.

Seems like people came here before me.

But they ended up getting killed…

I averted my eyes from the corpse with a shattered skull and clasped my hands together, offering a brief prayer for their souls.

Poor souls.

Before the possession, there were rumors of war breaking out, but here, it actually happened.

I guess I should be grateful that the possession happened decades after the war ended.

I snapped out of my thoughts and moved on.

I couldn’t afford to waste time here.

I wandered around, avoiding the skeletons, searching for the bunker.

The B2 parking lot was already large, but it was expanded to connect to the bunker, making the search take even longer.

The lack of proper lighting didn’t help.

Still, it’s a relief I at least know the general location.

I moved forward at a moderate pace—not too fast, not too slow.

Partly to avoid stepping on bones, and partly because, after decades of neglect, the place was crumbling, and a misstep could lead to serious injury.

…But mostly to avoid attracting the attention of the monster roaming this place.

It’s way too quiet, though.

I expected to hear something, given that it’s supposed to be lurking around.

Something as big as a bear wouldn’t move quietly.

Maybe it’s inside the bunker.

Not a great thought, considering I need to get inside.

Fighting that thing in a confined space would be a disadvantage.

Not that I couldn’t win, though.

In the original story, the monster had appeared at the city parking lot entrance, wreaking havoc before being taken down by hunters.

Three mid-tier hunters handled it, so it couldn’t be that strong.

Just… horrifying.

I pulled out a steel ball and rolled it around in my hand as I moved forward.

In this space, where even dark-adapted eyes struggled to see, the only sound was my footsteps.

It felt like a scene straight out of a horror game.

That thought made my heart beat a little faster.

…And I haven’t even encountered it yet.

How am I supposed to handle things if something happens?

I steeled myself and pressed on.

How long had I been walking? It was when I carefully crossed a sandbag barricade that I heard it.

The sound of something scraping against the floor.

Instinctively, I turned off my flashlight and hid behind the barricade.

A foul stench hit me.

A horrific stench.

I covered my mouth, fighting the urge to vomit, and waited for the sound to fade. I also made sure to wrap myself in a repulsion field, just in case.

If I got unlucky, I’d have to fight that thing.

In my current state, with limited visibility, clashing with it here wasn’t a good idea. Fighting it outside, like in the original story, would be much better.

In an open space, I’d have the advantage against a creature with degraded vision.

So… for now, staying quiet like a horror game protagonist was the best move.

After what felt like an eternity, I finally got up and entered the bunker’s entrance.

…Ugh, the smell.

A nauseating stench, as if the tragedy from decades ago had never ended. I grimaced and cautiously moved forward.

The deeper I went, the more the overpowering stench assaulted me… but there was no way to block it.

No gas mask, no regular mask—no luxury items to filter the smell. I just had to endure.

I guess I’ll get used to it eventually.

Maybe.

I passed through a long corridor and arrived at a large space.

A gathering hall, perhaps.

I turned on my flashlight and scanned the area. The hall was littered with skeletons in military uniforms, a grim reminder of how dire the situation had been.

Many of the skeletons bore marks of being gnawed on, suggesting they died in agony.

Sigh. Let’s stop looking and just find the item.

I wandered around, searching for the skeleton of what appeared to be an officer. Thankfully, it didn’t take long to find.

This one had a hole where the forehead should be—shot, perhaps.

Whether it was suicide or fragging, I couldn’t tell.

The original story only briefly touched on their past.

They were just there to provide clues for the protagonist.

May they rest in peace.

I pulled a rusted key from the pocket of his uniform.

Is this the key?

Now, all I need to do is head to the command and communications center inside the bunker and retrieve the item.

I walked through the hall and stepped into a corridor leading to what I assumed was the command building.

A dark corridor. My flashlight couldn’t even reach the end.

I passed through a corridor stained with dried blood and stopped in front of a firmly locked door.

A nameplate, half-erased but still legible, read “Command Center.”

Shining my flashlight on it, I noticed dents, but the door didn’t seem like it wouldn’t open.

I pulled the key from my pocket, carefully inserted it into the keyhole, and turned it to the right.

Click.

The sound of the lock disengaging, followed by the door creaking open.

Is it going to hear that?

I turned off my flashlight and quietly slipped inside, holding my breath.

About five minutes passed. Hearing nothing, I turned the flashlight back on and scanned the storage room.

“Everything’s rusted…”

Who would think such an expensive item would be in a place like this?

In the original story, a soldier from this bunker provided the intel, but without that, I wouldn’t have even considered coming here.

And there’s a high chance I’d have been killed by that monster roaming between the parking lot and the bunker.

I rummaged through the chaotic command center and moved further in.

The deeper I went, the more the musty smell and thick layers of dust greeted me.

I’m going to inhale a lifetime’s worth of dust here.

Grumbling, I kept searching. Finally, I found what I was looking for.

“This is it.”

Holding the item I’d been searching for in this suffocating exploration, I looked at it with mixed emotions.

A tablet, a USB, and an old map—what they were used for, I had no idea.

Carefully, I wrapped them in cloth and tucked them deep into my military bag.

If I can get this tablet to work, I might retrieve some valuable data. Of course, the tablet itself holds significant value.

It’s not quite lost technology, but it contains some of the forgotten knowledge of humanity.

Time to head out-

Just as I thought that, a piercing stench hit me.

Is it here?

I hid under the command center table.

As soon as I hid, I heard wet, squelching footsteps approaching.

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”

…It can talk?

I covered my mouth at the horrifying, multi-voiced sound.

“I’m hungry… feed me…”

I held my breath, waiting for it to leave.

But the stench showed no signs of fading.

When is it going to leave?

My heart was pounding.

Eventually, the footsteps grew quieter.

Is it gone?

Just as I began to relax…

“There you are.”

Instinctively, I unleashed a repulsion field around my body.

And then, a deafening roar engulfed me.