episode_0154

“I think there was a momentary misunderstanding. So. That. Team Leader, please speak.”

The male announcer, sweating, hands over the floor to the team leader.

“That’s right. There was a mistake. What was it?

What is it like… … .”

The video is buffering.

The sound of speech is heard intermittently.

“If that’s the case.”

“Some.”

“What is the content?”

The text in the chat window is completely messed up.

– ■■■■■?????????

-■■■■■?????

-■■■■■■????

-■■■■■■■?????????

CREEP-319. The Tent of Confirmation Bias.

The fake logic he created begins to crumble rapidly.

The video, which had been disconnected for a long time, suddenly connects.

The two people in the video are looking at the camera without saying anything.

“Yes. Thank you.”

“That’s it. This was the emergency disaster broadcast.”

A red line is drawn around the necks of both people.

Between them, bright red, oxygen-rich arterial blood spurts out.

Pusheeeek-

The line was not drawn.

The severed head is still attached.

The head is increasingly misaligned from the cross-section due to the pressure of the spurting blood.

The head slowly slides off the neck.

In the meantime, they continue talking.

“If you came out of the theater.”

“It would have been nice.”

As if two people were one body.

The conversation flows naturally.

And finally.

My head hit the floor.

Next to me, I can hear Jeong Hae-won taking a trembling breath.

Sister Se-rim is also holding my hand tightly and staring at the screen.

After a brief moment of noise.

What appeared on the screen was a completely scorched-earth broadcasting station.

The male announcer and Team Leader Choi Cheol-hwan are sitting on chairs with their throats cut off.

Chijik.

The camera moves away, revealing the entire broadcasting station.

People are lying on the floor, like laundry hanging out in the wind.

They are all broadcasting station officials.

Chijik.

One of them is seen wearing a temple badge around his neck.

Beneath the name of the familiar broadcasting station, there is a photo of the employee.

Chijijik.

Finally, a little further away from the disaster.

The black, horrible monster was covering all parts of the broadcasting station like a spider web.

Thump thump, thump.

A pulsating black vein.

The video on the screen starts rewinding at some point.

The camera gets closer and closer,

The head that had fallen to the floor rose back up and reattached itself to the neck.

The blood that had spurted out seeps through the gap.

“Big. Big.”

Finally, the male host and team leader clear their throats again.

The news begins again.

Just looking for something other than us.

Bam.

The video cut out.

Only black remained on Jeong Hae-won’s cell phone screen, and the romantic comedy movie was playing again on the movie theater screen.

The sound of knocking on the theater door is no longer heard.

“Dabin, what happened?”

“Sister?”

Choi Se-rim and Jeong Hae-won look at me as if they had made a promise.

I know very well what kind of answer they both want.

“Yes, it’s safe now.”

“But… … .”

We are definitely out of the woods.

It didn’t stop there, I even got some useful information about the Foundation.

But, something is strange.

“There’s something strange.”

“What’s strange?”

“Yeah. It’s about his characteristics.”

“Dabin, tell me more.”

“Yes. That monster. So, the tent of confirmation bias is originally a monster that only attacks one target. One person. Or a group. It takes the method of hunting by surrounding them with suspicion and anxiety. It puts almost all its energy into it, and if it fails, it often dies of exhaustion. Even if it survives, it has to rest for quite a long time. ”

“I see… … .”

“But at the end of the video, the news started again.”

“Then what happens?”

“Go straight to another target. Instead of dying from exhaustion.”

Sister Se-rim is quietly lost in thought.

“There’s definitely something strange.”

“Yes.”

“So there are two cases. Either the guy is a particularly physically strong individual, or he has ‘hunted’ others before and has stored up energy. But this is also strange. After attempting to hunt once, the guy rests for at least a month.”

“Are you sure about the information?”

“Yes. This is information I found at the library. It can’t be wrong.”

“Then what happened?”

“After attempting a hunt, whether it succeeds or fails, you have to take a break… … . But this guy is going on a hunting spree.”

“Ah. Could it be a mutation?”

This time, Jeong Hae-won speaks.

“Well, you know. Like a monster that mutates and becomes stronger… … . Something like that, right?”

“That’s right.”

Jeong Hae-won’s words are correct.

Mutation.

What we are faced with is a mutated ‘tent of confirmation bias’.

“But why did it have to happen now?”

“Huh?”

“Don’t you think it’s evolved too efficiently to be just bad luck?”

Suspicion spreads across Jeong Hae-won’s face.

The same goes for Se-rim noona.

“You both heard about the Foundation earlier, right? It’s about securing and containing monsters with anomalous properties.”

“Yeah. I heard.”

“Yes.”

“Then the tent of confirmation bias. So, the monster from before would have been contained in the foundation.”

I slowly gather my thoughts.

“That’s why I think like this.”

“The Foundation has declared war on humanity.”

“The Foundation’s goal is to exterminate all humanity.”

“To this end, the Foundation would have released the threatening anomalous entities they had in their possession.”

“Not stopping there, the Foundation is strengthening the anomalous entities to make them even more lethal… … .”

I tasted bitterness.

“Probably many people have already lost their lives outside.”

It’s unfortunate, but it’s beyond our ability.

We have to solve the problems that face us.

Because that’s the way to save everyone.

“And one more thing. From now on, it will be difficult to deal with only the information I know.”

“Yeah… … .”

“Now it’s really getting harder.”

“Still, the world will survive only if we survive. We must endure.”

A determined atmosphere flows through the theater.

“Until the last moment.”

“When will that be?”

Sister Se-rim raises her head slightly and speaks as if muttering.

I’d like to answer, but I can’t.

“I don’t know either.”

Just survive.

As for the rest of the future, I really couldn’t know.

I sat back in my theater chair.

“Everyone, get some sleep. You must be tired.”

“Dabin, you rest first. You’re the most tired out of all of us.”

“How did you know? I was going to be on guard duty.”

Sister Se-rim smiles faintly.

“Now I know even if I don’t use my abilities.”

The tent of confirmation bias has been dispelled, but the ‘disruptive waves’ still being transmitted by the Foundation remain.

If you are exposed to it for a long time, you will not be able to overcome the sudden impulse to commit suicide.

Right now, the thick walls of the theater and the sound of the movie are barely blocking the transmission of sound.

That is, the movie should not be turned off.

So I thought we needed a night watch. Sister Se-rim noticed this like a ghost.

“I’ll do it. Dabin.”

“Is it your sister?”

“Yeah. I slept soundly earlier anyway.”

“You passed out, didn’t you? You must be really tired right now from using your powers.”

“Let me do it.”

When there was a fight between me and Se-rim, Jeong Hae-won intervened.

“Hey, I’m here too… … . I can do night watch.”

“Haewon, didn’t you have a hard time this time?”

Sister Se-rim takes care of Jeong Hae-won’s condition.

I bet you’re really tired too. That older sister is too kind, it’s annoying.

“Okay. Haewon, let’s do it. ”

“Yes, I will do it.”

“And then wake me up.”

“How many hours should I wake you up?”

“Um… …. When you’re so tired that you can’t stand the sleepiness?”

“Yes, sister.”

“Wait a minute. I have to do the second one! Dabin, sleep tight!”

Sister Se-rim rarely raised her voice.

Even so, it was a soft voice.

“Dabin needs to rest.”

After a while of arguing, everyone was left speechless.

“Even if you say no, I’ll put you to sleep with my abilities.”

“… … .”

Bringing ability is cheating.

Eventually I had to back off.

“Thank you, sis.”

“Yeah. Don’t get up and rest well. Okay? ”

“Yes.”

It’s not a hopeful situation, but it still makes me smile.

I will definitely survive. With Se-rim.

And then, it’s not Se-rim noona, it’s Se-rim unnie.

You could call it that.

Because I too will have to adapt to the future and live.

Thanks to the ice pack, the pain in my ankle has also been greatly reduced.

And the tension has been relieved.

As soon as I close my eyes, I feel drowsy all of a sudden.

“… … .”

I had a dream.

The streets were strewn with corpses.

Buildings burn, plagues and swarms of insects spread.

The disaster brought by the fifth apostle was beyond what humans could handle.

As it did so, the sky gradually turned darker.

As if a bruise is forming, the area covered with a strange color expands.

The end is near.

Under the dark blue sky.

People take refuge in an old apartment building.

The hallway was already filled with people of various nationalities and races.

A man holding his broken arm and groaning.

A crying child.

A middle-aged woman with blood-soaked hair.

There were also people who were busy going back and forth between them, working hard to provide treatment.

In the midst of the confusion, people began to split up, and a woman stepped forward.

“My name is Shim Ji-hee, and I am the representative of KOO, a Korean union organization.”

I clearly remember seeing it.

Yeah. The scene I saw in that water tank before… … .

“… … Bin-ah.”

“Dabin.”

“You have to get up. Hurry up.”

My eyes lit up.

“Are you awake?”

Sister Se-rim is looking down at me.

“… … Is it morning now?”

“Yeah. Everyone else is up too. We’re having a meeting about what to do next.”

I looked around.

The other group is gathered in the empty space in front of the screen, talking seriously.

“But what’s important is your opinion, Dabin.”

“Ah… … .”

“Let’s go quickly. Let’s tidy up. Should I carry you?”

I flinched for a moment at the word ‘sister’.

Still, it’s still too awkward to say.

“Yes.”

With the support of Sister Se-rim, I moved to where the people were gathered.

In front of the screen, Heo Yun and Seok Hyeon-min were arguing over their opinions.

“The outside is on the verge of collapse right now. It’s right to leave the theater before things get any worse.”

Heo Yun’s opinion is that he should leave the theater right now.

“Then where are you going?”

On the other hand, Seok Hyun-min believes that a more cautious approach is needed.

“Shouldn’t we go somewhere a little safer?”

“So where is it!”

“… … A place like a basement. The subway tracks also have noise reduction facilities, so shouldn’t it be okay?”

Seok Hyun-min shakes his head.

“That won’t do. Besides, it’s hard to defend if it’s a subway station.”

“Still, we have to move. If we stay here, we’ll just die.”

“When did I say I would stay still? I said I had to decide where I was going.”

“So you have to go outside to decide that! You have to check if there’s a decent place. What are you going to do inside here!”

When the voices are getting louder.

I intervened.

“Just a moment.”

“Huh? Dabin?”

“Are you awake? What about your injured ankle?”

“Serim noona helped me out.”

“Don’t move around too much. Just sit down. No. I’m going to put a pressure bandage on you now, so sit down for now.”

“No. I have something to tell you before that.”

I tried to lean back on the back of my chair, but I just fell down onto the theater chair.

Whether I’m standing or sitting, people’s eyes are always on me.

Even Robin, Dan, and Rico did the same.

Even though you probably won’t understand what I’m saying.

I cleared my throat quietly and tied up the argument that was about to draw out.

“Where we have to go.”

There was no need to worry or figure out anything new.

Because this was information I already knew.

The tent of confirmation bias.

‘Facts’ obtained from the guy’s fake broadcast.

The Foundation did not simply declare war on every nation in the world.

To be exact, it was about all groups.

In the footage, the Foundation said:

“From this moment on. All real countries, societies, groups, and all organizations in the supernatural world.

The UN’s Portrait Security Council, the Universal Occult Association, and the librarians of the Wandering Library.

I declare war on these groups.”

There is a saying that the enemy of your enemy is your friend.

If they are the Foundation’s enemies, they are our staunchest allies.

But it’s not a situation where you can get help from all three.

You have to consider all the possibilities for getting help, meeting people, etc. and prioritize them.

First, the UN Security Council.

They have some knowledge, but they lack both talent and expertise.

Above all, it was overly centralized, so it was likely destroyed all at once in the early stages of the disaster.

The librarians of the wandering library.

They have long been locked in libraries and have become slaves to knowledge.

Above all, the library was tied to this dimension and became an apartment, and even that apartment has long since disappeared.

What remains is a global occult society.

This is the very group that led the evacuation to apartments in the future.

This is what can really help us.

There are multiple branches established around the world, so the risk of total destruction is low, and it is observed from a future perspective, so there is a very high possibility that it is still alive.

But now that the apartment is gone.

Where did they go?

“Huh!?”

When I tapped her shoulder out of the blue, Se-rim was startled and made a strange noise.

… … Here, I use Se-rim noona.