Etika Daydream Inc. memang bisa dipertanyakan, namun keampuhan ramuan mereka tak dapat disangkal. Begitu Agen Bronze meminum Ramuan Regenerasi Kelas C, daging segar langsung tumbuh dari tunggul paha yang terputus, dengan cepat membentuk kembali kaki yang utuh. Go Yeongeun menelan ludah. Ia pernah menggunakan ramuan yang sama sebelumnya pada dirinya sendiri, namun ini kali pertama ia menyaksikan efeknya langsung pada orang lain. Melihat area seluas itu beregenerasi seketika—dan itu hanya ramuan Kelas C? "...Apa mereka bilang harganya sekitar 10.000 poin?" Efeknya begitu mencengangkan hingga siapa pun yang melihat akan terkejut dan terpesona. Tak lama, Agen Bronze menguji gerakan kakinya secara mekanis, lalu berdiri tanpa alas kaki dan meraih Tali Pengikat yang menahan para karyawan. Sebelum menundukkan kepalanya, menghindari tatapan mereka. Seolah tak dapat menahannya lagi, Go Yeongeun bergumam pelan. "...Kamu bisa sedikit lebih bersyukur." "Ayo bicara di luar." Aku memutuskan untuk memotong percakapan mereka dan mengusulkan kembali ke kamp yang didirikan Agen Bronze. Namun Tali Pengikat mulai bergetar. Dua karyawan yang telah dilumpuhkan dengan lubang di tubuh mereka mulai bergerak-gerak. Pintu area khusus staf yang kami lewati tadi bergetar hebat. Kemudian, dengan suara decitan, pintu besi itu terbuka dan karyawan-karyawan berhamburan keluar. Kami nyaris tak bisa menghindari serbuan karyawan yang berlari ke arah kami, dengan cepat menarik Agen Bronze ke bawah bayangan lilin. "Kita aman. Kita berada di dalam jangkauan lilin..." Agen Bronze menatap lilin di tangan Go Yeongeun. "...Apakah itu juga barangmu?" Aku menurunkan suaraku dan menatap kembali ke arah Agen Bronze. "Hmm, aku... aku bilang aku mendapatkannya darimu—jadi, kalau kamu setuju, aku akan sangat berterima kasih." Agen Bronze mengangguk pelan. Meski ia tahu barang itu berasal dari Daydream Inc., ia tak mempertanyakannya. Sepertinya memberikan ramuan regenerasi telah membangun niat baik. Suara decitan terdengar dari berbagai arah. Jumlah karyawan terus bertambah, semakin ramai dan menyesakkan. Go Yeongeun mundur secara naluriah, telinganya memucat. Tali Pengikat kehilangan efeknya. Dua karyawan yang telah dilumpuhkan mulai mengeluarkan cairan secara mengerikan dari tubuh mereka, berubah bentuk secara tidak wajar. Karyawan-karyawan lain yang berhamburan mengelilingi mereka, mengelilingi mereka dengan panik, seperti ritual aneh. Lengan-lengan mereka tertindih di bawah berat kerumunan, kepala-kepala mereka rata—namun kemudian muncul kembali, berubah bentuk secara tidak wajar. "Sepertinya mereka mencari orang yang telah melukai karyawan..." "Jika kamu melukai karyawan di dalam mart ini, dan mereka melihatnya... mereka akan memburumu sampai kamu tertangkap." Ekspresi Agen Bronze mengeras. "...Aku menduga ini akan menjadi misi terakhirku, jadi aku sudah siap menghadapi konsekuensinya." Go Yeongeun tampak ingin berdebat lagi, namun menahannya. Kami bergegas menjauh dari tempat itu. Namun suara decitan yang terus berulang masih bergema di belakang kami. Aku menunduk dan melihat kaki telanjang Agen Bronze pada dinginnya lantai mart. "Agen, apakah kamu punya sepatu cadangan?" "...Di bagian perlengkapan berkemah." Aku memeriksa jam tangan. Untungnya, kami menemukan Agen Bronze cukup cepat—paling lama dua atau tiga jam. Namun jam menunjukkan pukul sembilan pagi. Itu jelas bukan waktu yang kuduga. Jam terasa aneh. Waktu tidak mengalir secara konsisten di dalam area khusus staf supermarket ini. "Berapa lama anak-anak itu sendirian?" gumam Agen Bronze dengan muram. "Ayo segera pindah. ...Penghalang yang aku pasang di toko tidak punya banyak waktu lagi."
Chapter 314
Daydream Inc.’s ethics may be questionable, but the effectiveness of their potions was undeniable. As soon as Agent Bronze drank the C-grade Regeneration Potion, flesh burst forth from the stumps of his severed thighs, rapidly reconstructing into the shape of fully restored legs. Go Yeongeun swallowed hard. She had used the same potion on herself before, but this was her first time witnessing it in action, and she was in awe. Seeing such a large area regenerate instantly—and it was only a C-grade potion? ‘…Didn’t they say it costs about 10,000 points?’ It was an effect so overwhelming that anyone watching would be shocked and mesmerized. Soon, Agent Bronze mechanically tested the movement of his legs. Then, standing up barefoot, he grabbed the Binding Rope that restrained the employees… before lowering his head slightly, avoiding my gaze. As if she couldn’t hold back any longer, Go Yeongeun muttered under her breath. “……You could afford to be a little more grateful.” “Let’s talk outside.” Hurriedly, I cut off their conversation and suggested returning to the base camp that Agent Bronze had set up. But the Binding Rope began to tremble. The two deflated employees, who had been subdued with holes in their forms, started to twitch. The door to the staff-only area we had come from. A heavy, repetitive thudding sound rang out— Then, with an ear-piercing creak, the metal door burst open, and employees poured out. We barely dodged the stampede of employees rushing toward us, hastily pulling Agent Bronze beneath the candle’s shadow. With the group full once more, we pressed ourselves against the wall, avoiding the terrifying wave of employees flooding into the area. “We’ll be fine. We’re inside the candle’s range…” Agent Bronze glanced at the candle in Go Yeongeun’s hands. “…Is that originally yours, too?” I deliberately lowered my voice as I looked back at Agent Bronze. “Um, I… I told them I got it from you—so, um, I’d appreciate it if you could go along with that.” Agent Bronze gave a slight nod. Even though he knew the item came from Daydream Inc., he wasn’t questioning it. It seemed like giving him the regeneration potion had earned some goodwill. ScreekScreekScreekScreekScreekScreekScreekScreekScreekScreekScreekScreek ‘Damn it, I can’t even think straight…!’ The number of employees kept growing, their presence suffocating. Go Yeongeun backed away instinctively, her ears turning pale. The Binding Rope lost its effect. The two distorted employees who had been shot with the Glass Handgun began grotesquely oozing out of their restraints. And the other employees that had poured out surrounded them, circling frantically, like a bizarre ritual. Their arms were crushed under the weight of the swarm, heads flattened—but then popped back up, reshaping unnaturally. It looked like some kind of bizzare ritual. “It looks like they’re looking for the person who harmed an employee…” “If you harm an employee in this mart, and they see it happen… they’ll hunt you down until you’re caught.” Yet he shot them without hesitation and sat on top of them? Agent Bronze’s expression hardened. “…I figured this would be my last mission anyway, so I was prepared to handle the consequences.” Go Yeongeun seemed ready to argue again, but held back. We hurried away from the disturbing ritual-like gathering. Still, the relentless screeking sounds echoed behind us, an unsettling, high-pitched noise. I looked down at the floor. Then at Agent Bronze’s bare feet against the cold mart tiles. “Agent, do you have spare shoes…?” “…In the camping section.” I checked my wristwatch for the time. Luckily, we had found Agent Bronze fairly quickly—at most, two or three hours should have passed. Even if I accounted for some distortion in my perception of time, it should still be around evening. Maybe around 19:00. At least, that’s what I thought… Until I looked at my watch. Nine o’clock. In the morning. But the time was still exactly ten hours off from my estimate. It obviously wasn’t the past which meant… ‘……It’s the next morning?’ “The time is acting… strange…” And at that moment, I realized it. “Agent Grapes. Time does not flow consistently in the staff-only area of this supermarket.” So that’s why the layout felt nonsensical, like spaces were stitched together without logic. It wasn’t just confusing. It was designed to be terrifying. Maybe it had been mentioned in the , but it was such a common phenomenon that I must not have paid attention, but… That wasn’t the issue now. ‘…How long have the kids been alone?’ To make matters worse— Agent Bronze muttered grimly. “Let’s move as quickly as possible. …The barrier I set up in the store doesn’t have much time left.”
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