Ch.12Memetic Killer

Back on the 7th floor. As I step out of the elevator, Choi Jun-gi is standing in the hallway.

“What are you, a kid sneaking out?”

“But I brought something that’ll surprise you.”

Park Sungjin emerges, dragging a computer server. The atmosphere feels awkward, probably because of what happened earlier.

“I’m going to drag this to the storage room, so help me set it up. You should rest.”

“Okay.”

“You’re not offering to help?”

“I’m tired, so I’ll rest.”

“Fine. You did well.”

Being tired is one thing, but I don’t want to suffer by getting caught between them.

The college student who went exploring the apartment died. It’s certainly not a trivial matter, but it’s also quite common here. That’s probably why they can move past their argument like that. At least on the surface.

“Is that an internet server?”

“Yeah. I found it with him.”

“Hey. If you drag it like that, you’ll scratch the floor. You should lift it.”

This is so awkward.

“No!!! Let’s lift it!!!”

“We should talk before lifting it!!!”

I need to get out of here fast.

Back to my place. Specifically, room 704 that I was assigned when I arrived. I headed toward the bed with exhausted steps.

“Haaah…”

Just as I was about to throw myself onto the bed.

“Oppa.”

The blanket was suddenly pulled back, and someone popped out.

“AHHH!!! HOLY SHIT WHO ARE YOU!!!”

“Where did you go, oppa?”

“Y-you, how are you here?”

It’s Yoon Daju. Her short hair is floating in the air due to the static electricity from the blanket.

“Because I know the door code?”

“Why are you in here?”

“Hmm…”

Daju casually sits on the bed.

“Just because?”

“I almost died of shock, you brat.”

I wasn’t particularly startled even when wandering through the much more dangerous department store. But this time, I nearly died of a heart attack. Come to think of it, why wasn’t I scared then? Was I actually strong in crisis situations?

Tap. Tap.

With the familiar sound, Choi Serim appears from behind the door. She’s leaning against the door, typing on her laptop. Won’t her wrists give out soon if she keeps that up? Each of her habits seems optimized to ruin her body. Yet she’s tall with a good figure, so I guess it’s all about genetics.

“Hi.”

“Oh. Yes. Noona.”

“It feels awkward when you call me that.”

Her voice is quiet as always. The coldness in her tone made me tense for a moment.

“Um… well…”

It’s uncomfortable when she stares down at me with that expressionless face. Looking at Choi Serim, it feels like she has some kind of spiritual pressure. A quiet charisma that makes you want to surrender.

“…Unnie?”

“Yes.”

“Where were you?”

“Just. In the corner of the living room.”

I didn’t see her when I came in. Has this woman mastered some technique to erase her presence?

“Anyway, I’m glad you’re safe.”

“Hah… I’m exhausted… I’m fine now, so please let me rest.”

“Ah! Why are you hitting me!”

I pushed Yoon Daju away and flopped onto the bed. Fatigue always hits all at once when you finally rest. I didn’t notice while running around, but now I feel like I’m dying of exhaustion.

“Oppa, you’re going to sleep without washing up?”

Now Daju follows me and lies down next to me. Choi Serim interjects.

“You don’t wash up either.”

“That’s slander.”

“Ah. Well…”

“Yes?”

Choi Serim, who rarely gets excited about speaking, suddenly stops. She’s put her laptop down on the floor, and her gaze is directed at the floor. Plus, she’s awkwardly standing alone by the door. I can tell at a glance. She’s talkative once she gets comfortable, but she’s really shy at first.

“……”

“You can call me whatever you’re comfortable with.”

“Okay. Dabin…?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know what?”

“What is it?”

Choi Serim suppresses a laugh. Yoon Daju, who was clinging to me on the bed, suddenly sits up.

“Wait. Unnie, you’re not going to tell that story, are you?”

“Yoon Daju said she wanted to wait for you here?”

“Ah!!! Don’t tell him!!!”

“She even dragged me here and made a fuss. I guess she was too worried to be alone.”

“Unnie!”

Watching them bicker, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“What are you laughing at, oppa? You should have told us before leaving.”

“No. The mister said we had to leave secretly…”

“And.”

Yoon Daju crawls across the bed toward me and pokes my shoulder repeatedly.

“Ow! Ouch. Hey. That hurts!!”

“How could I not worry about someone this cute? It’s only natural to be concerned.”

“Don’t call me cute.”

Thump.

Now even Choi Serim sits on the bed and looks down at me.

“They say you used to be a man. That’s interesting.”

“I find it interesting too. So interesting that I want to kill myself. Please let me rest now…”

“Oh right. Oppa, I heard you found something outside?”

“Internet. If you go to the storage room, the two misters should be connecting it.”

“What? So we can stream now? We could get tons of donations if we broadcast exploring this place.”

“We should be able to request rescue.”

Honestly, I can’t say the chances are high. This isn’t exactly a logical place. I don’t think we can escape that easily. And even if we request rescue, I wonder if we could actually get out. Wouldn’t we just be increasing the number of victims?

Tap. Tap.

Choi Serim is absorbed in her laptop again.

“Huh?”

“What is it, unnie?”

“The internet is working.”

Daju suddenly gets up. She squeezes between Choi Serim and me to check the laptop screen.

“Really?”

“Here.”

Choi Serim turns the laptop toward us.

“…What is this?”

There’s clearly an internet search window on the screen. But something seems off.

“Doesn’t this look like an old website?”

The interface and design are visibly outdated. Choi Serim clicks on an internet article.

[Exclusive] Transmission Tower Collapse in Cheorwon, Gyeongnam, No Casualties

– 1987.02.11

The date shows 1987.

“What? Is this an error?”

Daju tilts her head.

“Unnie. Did this site exist back then?”

“…I don’t know.”

“The content seems really strange too.”

The news article appears on the laptop screen.

Gyeongnam19towercollapse87nam Cheorwon transmission1987198

7tower collapCheorwonGyeongnamse1987Cheorwon1987transmission tower collapse

19871987towercollapCheorwonCheorwonsetowercollapseCheorwonCheorwontower

collapse19871987198719CheorwontowerGyeongnamcollapsetowercollapCheorwonGyeong

namGyeongnamwonCheorwonGyeongnamCheorwonCheorwonsetowerCheorwonCheorwoncollapsecollapse

towercollapseCheorwonCheorwoncollapsecollapsecollapsecollapsecollapsecollapse

towercollapsecollapsecollapsecollapsecollapsecollapse87198719871Gyeongnam987198719Gyeongnam719CheorwonCheor

won87198719Gyeongnam87towercollapseCheorwonCheorwoncollapsecollapseCheorwonCheorwonCheorwontowercollapse19871

9871Cheorwon98719871987Gyeongnam19871Gyeongnam9871987

Meaningless characters repeat endlessly.

What is this? There’s no actual content?

It’s like they just picked a topic and strung together similar characters randomly.

No.

Looking from a distance, I can see something. The spaces between characters. The strangely odd font. The line spacing… I suddenly see endlessly repeating shapes. The shapes are etched into my mind, spinning endlessly…

For a moment, the world spins, and my vision cuts out.

■■■■■■■■■BLIT#3■■■■■■■■■■Level 3 Memetic Kill Agent■■■■■■■■■■BLIT#3■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

Beeeep—

With a ringing in my ears, my vision gradually brightens. I see two people with blank expressions repeating the same words.

“I don’t know.”

“The content is strange?”

“I don’t know.”

“Strange?”

“…Um…”

“Strange……”

I quickly pushed them away and closed the laptop.

Daju keeps dry heaving, and when Choi Serim lowers her head, drops of blood fall from her nose.

“Ugh. Urgh.”

“What was that just now?”

“Be careful. There’s no actual content in the article, but it seems like reading it puts you under some kind of hypnosis.”

“I need to go throw up for a bit.”

“I need tissues too.”

Alone on the bed. The laptop sitting there still feels warm. The sentence I saw at the end. There was definitely meaning in it…

Should I investigate?

I closed my eyes and opened the laptop.

Tap, tap.

I felt for the keyboard and pressed alt+F4. When I opened my eyes, I was back at the desktop.

I clicked on the internet again and went to the site’s main page.

This should be safe so far, right? Nothing happened before.

Checking the screen, I see a new article that wasn’t there before.

[Article] Help Me

Help me? Is this also just a randomly generated phrase?

I’m planning to check it out, but I can’t do it alone. I need someone to turn off the screen for me if necessary.

So just as I was about to get up.

[] I’m trapped here

“Huh?”

Bold text filled the screen.

[] You can see this, can’t you

[] Please click

[] Just once

[] It’s so painful

[] Please

[]

[]

[] Save me

[] You can see this, can’t you? Help me