Chapter 44.1

Chapter 44.1

A dark, bronze-hued mansion.

I followed Supervisor Park Minseong, walking silently behind him.

The supervisor, who had accomplished the insane feat of ‘disguising himself as an usher machine, fooling the system, and rescuing a poor new hire,’ evaluated the situation in his own way.

“It’s not like their AI is particularly advanced. Maybe about as smart as a roomba? So I figured I could trick it for a moment by mimicking its appearance!”

I wasn’t entirely convinced the machine’s intelligence was that rudimentary, but the timing had worked out, and he had saved me. For that, I was eternally grateful.

“Um, but how did you disguise yourself...”

“Ah! My special equipment.”

Supervisor Park grinned and pointed to a cloth draped around his neck.

Oh!

I recalled his earlier explanation about his personal equipment.

– Mine is a camouflage item. It can’t transform me into a person, and its duration is short, so I only use it as a last resort.

Until now, I had only heard about such things in ghost stories where they didn’t work or were otherwise meaningless, but this was my first time seeing it in action.

‘Under the right circumstances, it’s actually pretty decent??’

I was tempted to borrow it as a parent seed to make a new customization for my personal equipment.

But that’s not the priority right now!

“Alright. Phew. Now that I’ve found you, Roe, let’s get out of this insane place.”

“Have you found an escape route, sir?”

“......”

Supervisor Park didn’t answer. He just smiled faintly.

‘He must have some kind of plan.’

For now, I decided to trust him and quickly followed.

“This way.”

We climbed the stairs from the basement back to the ground floor.

Before long, the surrounding area shifted from bronze to brass, and a grand corridor bathed in a golden hue came into view.

‘We’re above ground.’

That was enough to feel somewhat relieved, but...

The first floor was chaos.

AAAAAHHHHH

MMPH!!! UUUUUURGH!

M-My— MY EAR!

Screams echoed from all directions.

‘Two hours have passed.’

Even the employees who had been hiding were now being caught by the usher machines, losing another body part... just as I nearly had earlier.

“......”

Without hesitation, we stepped through the open terrace door. Beyond it was a small hexagonal terrace with a long sofa and table.

However, the view beyond the terrace was obscured by dense black fog, as if visibility was intentionally denied to us.

Tap.

As Supervisor Park warily closed the terrace door, someone seated on the sofa rose and tapped my shoulder.

“I knew you’d make it.”

“Assistant Manager.”

It was Assistant Manager Eun Haje.

And next to her, the slit pupils of Squad Leader Lizard met my eyes calmly.

“Our squad leader suggested expanding the search range since you weren’t nearby, and it turns out you were just downstairs.”

“Thank you very much.”

“Did you purposely head to that eerie basement to find an exit? That’s very like you.”

I glanced at Supervisor Park with newfound appreciation.

Descending to the basement, with no clear information about the floors, had been an incredibly bold decision.

‘Thank you... truly.’

Thanks to him, I still had both eyes intact.

Still...

“How exactly did you open this? Someone else tried earlier but failed to open it as a window.”

“? I just used my hands.”

“......”

Of course you did.

‘If the body suffers, the mind suffers even more... right...’

Looking closer, the terrace door handle seemed a bit wobbly.

Wouldn’t it be a disaster if the ushers discovered this?

However, my D-squad superiors, including Chief Lizard, seemed unfazed by the unusual situation. They simply began discussing the next steps calmly.

“Well then, now that our squad’s back together... should we attempt an escape, Squad Leader?”

“Yes.”

“...Do you have a viable escape plan?”

“Yes.”

“...Could you share what it is?”

Chief Lizard answered succinctly.

“We’re going to tie a rope to the terrace railings and explore the outer walls of this exhibition space.”

“......”

Eh?