Hampir lupa untuk menyentuh tangannya. ‘Dia adalah karakter bernama.’ ======================== Dark Exploration Records / Daydream Inc. : Pegawai Daydream Inc. di <Catatan Eksplorasi Gelap> Final rank – Section Chief Dari ke-17 kasus khusus yang dicatat di wiki. ======================== Dia adalah pegawai yang pernah muncul berkali-kali dalam. Aku melirik ke atas dan membelakut pria berrambut gombal yang agak gemetar, menghembuskan napas singkat. ‘ ini… Baek Saheon?’ Dia tidak sesuai dengan gambaran dalam pikiranku. Tetap saja, membuatnya aneh bertemu seseorang dalam kehidupan nyata yang hanya pernah kulihat sebagai karakter berbasis teks dalam alaman cerita hantu. Sementara itu, wanita berketeneque yang pertama kali menyebutkan cerita dongeng itu juga menyentuh tanganku. “Mengingat situasinya, kita sebaiknya memperkenalkan diri. Saya Go Yeongeun.” Itu nama yang pernah kudengar dulu. Dan jika aku tidak tahu nama nyata seorang karakter, berarti ada dua hal: Baiknya dia pergi cepat setelah mengatasi cerita dongeng secara relatif mudah… Atau dia mati segera. Kadang-kadang, karakter bernama hanya muncul dengan panggilan atau nama kode, tapi dalam kasus itu, kepribadian mereka begitu khas sehingga langsung dikenali. Ini terasa tidak nyaman. Aku dengan cepat mengusir pikiran-pikiran itu dan menyembunyikan keketidaknyamananku. Tang berjabat tangan singkat, dan kita secara alami duduk di bangku MRT untuk lanjutkan percakapan. Sementara itu, terasa seolah-orang di sekitari mulai memercikkan diri menjadi kelompok. “Ah, orang-orang itu… kelihatan mereka sedang mencoba mengkomunikasikan dengan gerbang depan?” Dalam cerita ini, perpindahan antar gerbong MRT dilarang. Seperti yang diawagankan, mereka segera menyerah mencoba mengkomunikasikan dan kembali, menggunakan gestur tangan untuk menandakan kegagalan. “Apa kita harus lakukan apa? Kita tidak bisa mengkomunikasikan dengan gerbang depan sama sekali. Dan kelihatan ada perdebatan sedang terjadi di atasnya…” Seiring dengan ketegangan dan kecemasan penumpang meningkat, pengumuman stasiun lainnya diputar. Tapi kali ini, suasana kata kuncinya berbeda. [Stasiun ini adalah Euphoria, Stasiun Euphoria.] Kerumunan yang bergetar tiba-tiba diam. “‘Euphoria’ kelihatannya agak… positif ya? Mungkin…” ‘Kamu tidak bisa membuat penilaian sederhana seperti ini di sini…!’ Aku menekan gigaku mengingat Catatan Eksplorasi yang baru saja aku baca. Dalam cerita ini, nama stasiun berubah setiap kali ia muncul. Itulah sebabnya tak mungkin menemukan frasa atau stasiun tertentu seperti ‘turun di stasiun ini’ atau ‘stasiun ini adalah jawabannya’ dalam kasus sebelumnya untuk memastikan kebebasan. ‘Tapi kamu bisa mengidentifikasi tren.’ ======================== Dark Exploration Records / Ghost Story / Selamat datang di Abyss Transpo 3.2 Catatan Eksplorasi (hingga 56 entri) 1- Stasiun ber nama berdasarkan warna seperti merah, kuning, biru. : Keberhasilan kedua orang lewat (Upaya : Stasiun Biru) 2- Stasiun ber nama berdasarkan bagian tubuh seperti tangan kiri, kornea, jantung. : Tidak ada catatan keberhasilan keluar (Upaya : Stasiun Kochlea) 3- Stasiun ber nama berdasarkan pembunuh berantung seperti ■■, ■■■■, ■■■. : Keberhasilan melibatkan belanja orang (Upaya : Stasiun ■■■■) 4- Stasiun ber nama berdasarkan tahun seperti 2008, 2012, 2016. : Tidak ada catatan keberhasilan keluar (Upaya : Stasiun 2024) 5- Stasiun ber nama berdasarkan penyakit seperti asma, stroke, glaukoma. : Keberhasilan tiga orang (Upaya : Stasiun Dingin) ======================== Meskipun sudah 56 kasus, tidak ada koneksi antara nama stasiun yang positif dan kemungkinan keberhasilan keluar. Tetapi orang-orang akan turun massal di Stasiun Euphoria. [Gerbang berada di sisi kiri…] Lanskap platform yang menyambut kita terlihat cerah dan menyenangkan, menambahkan masalah tersebut. Platformnya terlihat bersih dan terang, seperti stasiun baru di kota yang baru dikembangkan. Aku bisa merasakan mood orang berubah ke arah itu. “Sh-should we get off and look for help? This place actually looks fine…” Korban penumpang yang sempat berbisik mulai mengumpulkan diri di dekat gerbang, menatap keluar. ‘Jumlah orang dalam grupku!’ Dan kondisi mentalku setelah menyaksikan ini! Akankah aku berlari dan memblokir gerbang lagi? [The doors are opening.] “Ya. Saya arti, apakah kamu yakin tempat ini aman? Ataukah sudah memiliki teori yang solid?” Aku sengaja mengalihkan pandanganku. “Saya pikir mayoritas dari kita bisa setuju bahwa kondisi ini terasa seperti cerita dongeng.” Go Yeongeun, yang menarik perhatian dengan kata-kata aku itu, terkejut tapi tidak mengabdi pada pendapatnya. [The doors will close in 30 seconds. Once closed, they will never open again.] “Tapi baik dalam cerita dongeng maupun film horor, apakah pernah kamu lihat hal baik terjadi bila hanya mengandalkan keberuntungan atau insting?
Bab 5
I nearly forgot to shake his hand for a moment. ‘He’s a named character.’ ======================== Dark Exploration Records / Daydream Inc. : An employee of Daydream Inc. in <Dark Exploration Records> Final rank – Section Chief Of these, 17 are special cases recorded in the wiki. ======================== He was an employee who had appeared multiple times in . I looked up and stared at the man with the somewhat timid-looking curly hair, letting out a small sigh. ‘This guy… is Baek Saheon?’ He doesn’t really match the image in my head. Still, it felt strange to meet someone in real life who I had only seen as a text-based character in a ghost story universe. Meanwhile, the short-haired woman who had first mentioned ghost stories extended her hand as well. “Given the situation, we might as well introduce ourselves. I’m Go Yeongeun.” It was a name I’d never heard before. And if I don’t know a character’s real name, it means one of two things: Either she left early after handling the ghost stories relatively easily… Or she died right away. Sometimes, named employees only appear with nicknames or code names, but in those cases, their personalities are so distinct that you can identify them immediately. This feels unsettling. I quickly pushed those thoughts aside and hid my discomfort. The handshakes were brief, and we naturally sat down in the subway seats to continue our conversation. In the meantime, it felt like the people around us had started to split into groups. “Ah, those people… it looks like they’re trying to communicate with the front car somehow?” In this ghost story, moving between subway cars is prohibited. As expected, they soon gave up trying to communicate and returned, using hand gestures to signal their failure. “What should we do? We can’t communicate with the front car at all. And it looks like there’s a fight breaking out up there…” As the tension and anxiety among the passengers grew, another station announcement played. But this time, the atmosphere of the keyword was different. [This stop is Euphoria, Euphoria Station.] The murmuring crowd suddenly fell silent. “Doesn’t ‘euphoria’ sound kind of… positive? Maybe…” ‘You can’t make such a simple judgment here…!’ I gritted my teeth as I recalled the Exploration Records I had just read. In this ghost story, the station names change every time it appears. That’s why it’s impossible to find a specific phrase or station like ‘get off at this station’ or ‘this station is the answer’ in the previous cases to guarantee an escape. ‘But you can identify trends.’ ======================== Dark Exploration Records / Ghost Story / Welcome to Abyss Transpo 3.2 Exploration Records (up to 56 entries) 1- Stations named after colorslike red, yellow, blue. : Two-person escape success (Attempt : Blue Station) 2- Stations named after body parts like left arm, cornea, heart. : No recorded escape success (Attempt : Cochlea Station) 3- Stations named after serial killers like ■■, ■■■■, ■■■. : Twelve-person escape success (Attempt : ■■■■ Station) 4- Stations named after years like 2008, 2012, 2016. : No recorded escape success (Attempt : 2024 Station) 5- Stations named after illnesses like asthma, stroke, glaucoma. : Three-person escape success (Attempt : Cold Station) ======================== Even after 56 cases, there’s no connection between the station’s positive name and the likelihood of escape. But people were about to get off en masse at Euphoria Station. [The doors are on your left…] The scenery of the platform that greeted us was bright and pleasant, adding to the problem. The platform looked clean and bright, like a brand-new station in a newly developed city. I could feel the mood of the people shifting in that direction. “Sh-should we get off and look for help? This place actually looks fine…” The excited crowd started to gather near the doors, peeking out. ‘The number of people in my group!’ And my mental state after witnessing this! In the end, I ran and blocked the doors again. [The doors are opening.] “Yes. I mean, are you sure this place is safe? Or at least have a solid theory?” I deliberately averted my gaze. “I think most of us can agree that this situation feels like a ghost story.” Go Yeongeun, who had caught everyone’s attention with my words, looked startled but didn’t retract her statement. [The doors will close in 30 seconds. Once closed, they will never open again.] “But whether in ghost stories or horror movies, have you ever seen good things happen when you rely solely on luck or a hunch?” “Can you really risk your life without a solid deduction or theory?” The anxious people paused for a moment, then someone shouted in frustration. “Well, do you have some amazing deductions?” “This guy’s been spouting nonsense since the start…” “Oh, just move already! What deduction? What is this, some kind of quiz show? Did someone give you a hint or something?” “I am giving you a hint.” Then I raised my hand, pointing upward. At the subway’s electronic display, where the speaker was located. “I’m talking about the announcements.” – Please pay attention to the announcements for a pleasant journey to your destination. From the beginning, the subway announcements had kindly informed us of this. “Haven’t they been telling us to listen to and follow the announcements all along? They’re being very obvious.” With that in mind, I added as I heard the next announcement. [Passengers whose destination is Euphoria Station should disembark according to the announcement.] “Is there anyone here whose destination is Euphoria Station?” “Well, it sounds like a good thing, right?” “Euphoria, like, living life to the fullest, that’s the goal of life, right…” “So, is your destination Euphoria Station?” It seemed like most of them sensed something was off. But a few people started to get angry with me. “Hey, do we have any real ‘destination’ right now? Why are you butting in like you know everything, when you don’t either?” “If we can’t get off and escape because of you, are you going to take responsibility? Will you take responsibility?” “I will take responsibility.” That’s an easy question. ‘I was planning to escape together with them anyway.’ If they get off here, it’s a guaranteed wrong answer, after all. So, there’s no way my answer could be worse than that. But since they didn’t expect my response, they stood there with their mouths open, frozen in their places.
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