Chapter 19.2

Chapter 19.2

I nodded and continued speaking.

“By the way, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Kim Soleum.”

“...I know.”

A slightly gloomy voice slipped out from beneath the cow mask.

“I’m... Jang Heo-un.”

“Nice to meet you.”

I tried to speak to the researcher who had collapsed to the ground, but all I got was a whimpering close to panic.

“No, no, I can’t walk. Someone save me!”

“I could help you walk... but your mobility would be compromised, Supervisor.”

I added, as if concerned,

“In that case, it would increase your chance of dying.”

He got up like magic.

‘Just as I thought.’

Assistant Manager Jin from A-squad glanced at me with a look of disapproval but didn’t interfere and just scanned the surroundings as she walked.

I, too, quickened my pace and shifted my gaze.

It was a flashy yet somehow dizzying, stifling theme park, like something out of a dream.

‘Is red the theme here?’

There wasn’t a single place in this park—flags, buildings, tents—that didn’t feature a red symbol.

‘We must’ve drawn the red piece and ended up in this zone.’

On the flag, a cute rabbit was raising one hand and smiling.

[Magic Bunny Arcade Zone]

In other words, it’s a magical rabbit adventure zone...

‘It’s really got that theme park vibe.’

That’s when it happened.

The rabbit mascot blocked Assistant Manager Jin’s path.

“Ah, a roadblock...”

“Please hold on a moment.”

I stopped Assistant Manager Jin, who was about to walk around the mascot.

Because...

“...It looks like a parade.”

A line was drawn behind the rabbit mascot, and from afar, cheerful music and various colorful rabbits began to appear.

But not a single thing about it was exciting.

I tried my damnedest not to cover my face with my hands.

‘It’s starting...’

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Cheerful Theme Park User Guide (Applicable up to Exploration Record #64)

7- Cheer for the parade with a joyful expression!

Everything that happens during the parade at the cheerful theme park is pleasant and never negative. Absolutely, absolutely not negative.

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The parade drew closer.

The rabbit mascot in a dress waved its hand from atop a palace and then...

Bang!

It struck nearby carrots with a colorful wand.

And then all sorts of red, sparkling things began to pour down on the mascots.

“Hey, top recruit. I’m telling you this because you have potential. That.”

The tip of Assistant Manager Jin’s index finger pointed at the new employee from Y-squad.

The Y-squad employee flinched.

“Don’t bother making friends with those X, Y, Z-tagged guys.”

“......”

I’d heard something similar from my direct superior earlier.

– Roe. The people you met today from the other squads, just keep things light with them, okay?

...I already knew the reason.

‘The Field Exploration Team assigns an alphabet to each squad.’

And there’s a meaning to that order.

Elite teams, A, B, C.

Regular teams from D to W.

And then X, Y, Z are...

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Dark Exploration Records / Daydream Inc.

/ Field Exploration Team

Round-Off Team

A part of the Field Exploration Team that consists of individuals who passed the entry test but have some defect that makes them unfit for normal exploration tasks.

They are mainly used for experimenting in special situations.

Usually referred to by the last three letters of the alphabet (X, Y, Z).

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“The last three letters of the alphabet are where they put people like that. They’re just meat shields. They’re like extra lives given to employees who know how to do their jobs, so don’t pay attention to them.”

“...What?”

“They talk about variable elimination or whatever, and they don’t properly explain it to the newbies, but since they’re going to die here anyway, it doesn’t matter.”

The employee in the cow mask stiffened.

“W-What are you...”

“Round-Off Team, cow mask. Raise your left hand.”

“?!”

Like a lie.

Jang Heo-un raised his left hand into the air.

“......!!”

The lower part of his face, not covered by the mask, had turned deathly pale with shock.

“W-What...!”

The A-squad employee lifted her chin.

“That’s how you use a meat shield.”

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When an employee of a certain rank or higher enters the Darkness with a Round-Off Team member, they can issue absolute orders to them.

The Round-Off Team member must obey the command.

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Right.

‘...It’s a system to extract more brutal and dramatic exploration records.’

In short, they’re like slaves or suicide squads.

But seeing it in reality was more grotesque than I’d imagined, especially since it seemed like the cow mask employee was trying to resist.