Chapter 411: I Knew It
"..."
"..."
Eileen and I stared blankly at the scene before us.
Clatter.
The handbag she had brought with her swayed.
Only then did I take a proper look at the clothes Eileen was wearing.
A dress, and even a bag for outings.
Well, um. She did put some effort into getting dressed, at least.
What in the world is this bizarre situation?
Well, I've been through so many strange things by now that I can't even call it bizarre anymore.
"First."
Eileen muttered calmly.
"Let's check the manual."
"A wise choice."
I thought to myself as I opened the manual.
So that's why this friend told me to be careful from the start.
Thinking that, I checked the manual that had been open since earlier.
[Manual for Office Workers]
[人é¡ä¹ç¥ç§æ®¿]
What does that mean?
"Mystery Hall of Humanity."
As I was reading it blankly, Eileen calmly read the title aloud from beside me.
"What, how do you know that?"
"It's part of the Response Team's general education. It'd be unfair to get killed because you couldn't understand the language that appears."
"That's true."
Thinking that, I continued reading the manual.
[Manual for Office Workers]
[人é¡ä¹ç¥ç§æ®¿]
1. Do not look at the manual.
Not an easy start.
Thinking that, I began reading the next item.
2. Past exploration data from a Management Bureau team is located at the entrance. Please refer to this data.
3. I repeat. The information in the manual may be leaked.
"..."
I exchanged a look with Eileen and slowly moved forward.
Inside the dark exhibition hall, numerous pamphlets were laid out.
"..."
Eileen stared quietly at a pamphlet and furrowed her brow.
"What is this?"
"What is it?"
"They're all in languages I've never seen before."
"Huh?"
"No, um."
She began flipping through the pamphlets with a perplexed expression.
"When I say I've never seen them, I mean... not just unknown languages. Well, they are unknown languages, but more than that, they're not languages created by humans."
She opened a pamphlet and showed it to me.
They were letters I had never seen before, but...
"...Wait a moment."
Just as I was furrowing my brow intensely while looking at the pamphlet, Eileen hurriedly raised her hand to stop me and pulled out a worn-out pamphlet.
To be precise, it was more like a white piece of paper that had once been a pamphlet.
Eileen opened the pamphlet, and I stood beside her and began reading it as well.
Handwriting, scrawled crookedly.
It was written as if the writer was being chased by something.
[The Mystery Hall of Humanity is not a place for humans.]
[This is a place that uses people as tools for exhibition, and you are no different from a sacrificial lamb who has come here.]
[Never reveal that you are human. Use every method at your disposal to hide your face.]
"...Let's hide our faces first."
But I have nothing to hide it with.
I only brought my gun, just in case, and didn't bring any other equipment.
"...Just in case."
Eileen muttered and pulled out something resembling a large scarf from her bag.
"Can't we cover our faces with this?"
"...That works."
We covered our faces with the scarves, and Eileen also nodded as she covered her face with her own scarf.
"Next?"
"..."
[As you pass through this place, you will see numerous 'exhibits'.]
[If there are any living people among them, we hope you will rescue them to the best of your ability.]
[The Gangnam Branch Response Team plans to provide generous compensation.]
"So it was under Gangnam Branch's jurisdiction."
"Then those bastards should have blocked it properly themselves."
Eileen muttered with a grim face after hearing my words, and I agreed.
If you know about it, you should block it.
[This exhibition is not led by a special entity but occurs naturally.]
[Therefore, it is difficult to track, and since it opens shows under various names, this makes tracking even more difficult.]
"Tch."
Eileen clicked her tongue, still seeming dissatisfied, and continued reading.
Since both of us had our faces tightly wrapped with scarves, what can I say? We look like thieves.
[The Mystery Hall of Humanity consists of one large hall, and thoroughness is more important than speed here.]
[First, what you must be most careful of are the visitors and the security guards.]
[They are not human, and they primarily view humans as material.]
[Of course, those with special talents within the Management Bureau could fight and win, but there is no need to stir up trouble unnecessarily.]
I roughly understood what it meant.
[The security guards will follow you the moment they realize you are human. Avoid being detected as much as possible.]
I guess it means we could fight if we had to, but for now, we should get out quietly.
[The Mystery Hall of Humanity always begins with exhibits about human body parts. From here on, I will explain using numbers.]
1. The 'Human Body Parts' section is literally a place where human body parts are found and displayed. It will be easier if you think that every human organ you know is displayed here.
2. Among them, some organs appear to be alive, and this is not an optical illusion but they are actually alive. However, there is no way for you to save them.
3. Never just pass by because they look disgusting. The visitors who come to this exhibition have paid a great deal to see the mysteries of humanity, and such people will find you suspicious if you pass by without looking at anything.
4. Occasionally, someone may grab you and give an explanation. You must listen until that person finishes their explanation, and then thank them for their kind explanation.
5. Those who interrupt the explanation and leave are taken away by security guards, and we have confirmed they are exhibited in the special exhibition hall during the next investigation.
6. If no one grabs you, proceed forward for now.
7. Please write any future updates in the blank space below.
Blank space?
I looked at the white box below.
"..."
I slowly raised my hand to my mouth, making a gesture to be quiet, and looked at Eileen. Eileen also nodded and followed behind me.
Well, since it said we could fight, carrying a weapon just in case seems like a good choice.
I whispered very quietly to Eileen.
"Eileen, do you have a weapon?"
"...I brought a submachine gun, just in case."
What did you bring?
When I looked at her with an incredulous expression, she slowly pulled out a submachine gun gleaming with a dull gray sheen from her picnic bag.
"..."
Eileen put it away with a shy look.
Is it okay to be shy about that?
Well, anyway, it's good to have one.
Thinking that, I moved forward.
"..."
Countless people—no, things that looked like people—were staring blankly at the exhibition hall.
I turned my gaze to the exhibition hall,
"..."
And covered my mouth for a moment against the rising nausea.
The scenery was utterly horrifying.
Glass cases displaying numerous human body parts, one by one.
<Liver of a 23-year-old>
<Eye of a 62-year-old>
The labels attached in this manner were equally grotesque.
"..."
I couldn't see Eileen's expression well since her face was covered, but she didn't look too pleased either.
And then,
"How beautiful."
As we were slowly pretending to look while walking, someone muttered.
I slowly turned my gaze to look at that person—no, that thing.
It was something with a human form, wearing a large robe.
Where a face should have been was filled with empty fog, and where fingers should have been was also shrouded in fog.
"..."
I slowly looked above its head.
[Name: Collector]
[Age: X]
[Specialty: Collecting]
[Talent: Collecting]
[Background: He likes collecting, so he wishes to collect numerous things.]
[Weakness: Find and destroy the heart he keeps at home. He leaves his heart behind.]
So it can't be killed unless it's a Critical hit.
Thinking that, I turned my eyes away,
"Don't you think it's beautiful?"
He grabbed my shoulder.
"..."
I had a feeling this would happen.
I slowly turned my head to him, and as he opened his mouth, fog sprayed out.
"Look at this old human's eyeball, especially. The blood vessels, each one alive... It's truly..."
"..."
What am I supposed to do about this?
Thinking that, I began to listen to him.
"Well, you see..."
The one who had grabbed me and Eileen talked for about 30 minutes.
How long did he talk?
"My apologies, I got carried away and bothered other guests."
He laughed heartily and handed me a ticket.
A ticket?
"I'm sorry. I'll give you this as a gift instead."
"..."
I slowly checked the ticket.
<Going Strength is Bright and Today We are Sad>
What does that mean?
Thinking that, I accepted the ticket.
This wasn't mentioned.
But that thought was brief.
-Thud!
"Ouch...!"
"Are you okay...?"
My steps halted as something bumped into my head.
"..."
I reached out and touched what was in front of me; it felt like a transparent wall.
What is this?
I hurriedly opened the pamphlet.
[Mystery Hall of Humanity]
1. After passing the human body parts section, you will encounter an invisible door.
2. You must not be seen by others being unable to pass through the door. They will immediately call the security guards.
3. The best method is to pass through when someone else does, but if that is impossible, you must use explosives.
4. If you have no explosives, you must wait. However, the longer you stay here, the easier it is for the security guards to notice you, so it is best to proceed as quickly as possible.
"..."
I looked at the door in front of me.
How do we get past this?
"Should we wait for now?"
There's no other way.
I looked at Eileen and opened my mouth,
"...Wait a moment."
Eileen spoke shyly and put her hand into her handbag.
"Um, I brought this just in case something like this might happen..."
She pulled out a package wrapped in something black.
"I brought... C4."
"...What did you bring?"
Eileen, holding the bomb package, twisted her body awkwardly.