Ch.28Mechanical Device (3)

I found [13A1] again.

I’m sitting on the railing now, catching my breath.

“Don’t push me this time. I’ll go down on my own.”

“Okay.”

“Seriously, don’t push me.”

“Do you realize you’ve said that five times already?”

I know I won’t get hurt if I fall, but that’s also true for roller coasters and bungee jumping. It’s crazy to just jump down without a care. Looking down, I can see the dizzying depths below.

“This isn’t working. Let’s just go together…”

“Just wait a bit and I’ll go down myself!”

It reminds me of elementary school. There was a glass elevator at the nearby movie theater that terrified me whenever we went to see a movie. And that time I was forced to ride the dragon coaster and nearly died.

Am I a coward? Absolutely not. I’m incredibly calm. This is just instinct. Anyone would be scared of falling from heights. Only psychopaths and adrenaline junkies aren’t afraid.

“Um, Daju. I just thought of something—what if we tie a rope and climb down slowly?”

“……”

“Don’t look at me like I’m pathetic.”

“Fine. I have something in my bag we can use to climb down.”

After thinking for a moment, Daju surprisingly agrees. Is she feeling bad about earlier? Despite crossing the line sometimes, she seems like a good person at heart. The problem is it’s not just “sometimes.”

Daju takes a rope from her bag and ties it to the railing post. After checking that the rope is secure, she hands me work gloves.

“Is this good enough?”

“Yeah. Much better than just jumping down.”

“You go down first. I’ll stay here to make sure the rope is okay.”

“Sure.”

After all this preparation, I can’t back down now. A man should be able to do at least this much. I grip the rope tightly and throw myself over the railing.

“…Huh?”

The reassuring feeling of the rope suddenly disappears.

The end of the rope that was securely tied to the post is now in Daju’s hand.

“Magic~”

“Ah.”

I’ve fallen victim to Yoon Daju’s prank again.

My body accelerates downward in an instant.

Floor [13A1].

Mechanical device.

“Hah……Daju.”

“Yes?”

“I may look easy-going, but I can show you the depths of human cruelty.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Then stop doing things you’ll have to apologize for.”

This humiliation. I’ll definitely get revenge someday.

“Anyway, take out what your sister wrote.”

“Here.”

Yoon Daju takes a paper from her pocket and hands it to me. It’s a list of supplies we need to survive.

【 Water (large bottles) // Enough food. Things that keep well: instant rice, canned goods, etc…

Toilet paper

……】

The list goes on.

【 Don’t overdo it! 】

Then write a shorter list to begin with! Heo Yoon is a bit funny too.

Since it would be obvious overkill to gather everything, I decided to prioritize the items marked as urgent.

First, water.

People drink more water than you’d think in daily life. Especially if you exercise a lot. Just thinking about how much I’ve been running around exploring this apartment, we’ll need plenty of clean water.

I stand to the left of the mechanical device.

“One 2-liter bottle of water.”

The exchange happens quickly.

A new scratch appears on the back of my hand, and a water bottle drops and rolls on the right side of the device.

That resolves my slight worry. I share what I learned from Daju.

“It seems different for each person, as we thought.”

Two facts I learned from the previous exploration:

– Yoon Daju got a deep cut on her hand just for requesting a piece of candy.

– I got canned tuna and antibiotics but only ended up with small scratches on the back of my hand.

So at the meeting, we hypothesized that “the exchange rate differs for each person.”

Like how some people pay 700 won for a Melona ice cream while others pay 1,200 won.

How is this exchange rate determined? Seok Hyunmin thought it was related to “resistance” to “anomalies.”

– It’s just a guess, but it’s highly likely. There’s Daju’s case, for example. I think it’s too dangerous for all of us to go experiment together. I feel bad for Dabin, but what can we do? We’ll have to rely on him for a while. We should use [13A1] as a temporary measure, conserve supplies, and find another place as quickly as possible.

Heo Yoon adds a few words:

– Right. Daju lost a chunk of flesh for a piece of candy, but Dabin only got slightly scratched after receiving several food items. I’m getting a feeling. Originally, [13A1] is a floor that forces unfair exchanges, but he’s a cheat character. That’s why the exchanges work. That’s probably it, right?

So I was put in charge of gathering supplies for the time being. In exchange, I’m completely exempt from housework and dangerous exploration.

I continue to gather more water bottles.

“Five 2-liter bottles of water.”

Rumble-

Daju hurriedly picks up the water bottles while complaining.

“Ah! Don’t request too many at once.”

“Five cans each of tuna and peach preserves. Three packs of frozen dumplings. Four packs of nine Hatban instant rice.”

Even after all this, all I get in return are a few stinging scratches on my forearm.

It feels like using an item duplication cheat in a game.

“Are you done?”

“……”

As I scan through the list, my eyes stop at an item marked with a star.

Yeah. This is important too. But…well…

“Why are you quiet? Are you okay?”

“Sanitary pads…multi-pack…”

“Ahahahaha!”

Daju bursts into laughter from across the room.

But I’m getting these because someone else needs them, it has nothing to do with me.

Absolutely nothing to do with me. It’s not me… not me…

After a moment of existential crisis, I quickly shake off the uncomfortable thoughts and move on to the next item.

“One pack of white socks.”

My forearm is throbbing, but it’s bearable.

After gathering the necessary items, I leave the left section of the machine and roll up my sleeve.

“Is that everything?”

“Why? Do you need something else?”

“No. I’m already dying from picking everything up.”

“Keep picking them up diligently. I need to rest.”

The arm revealed under my sleeve was covered in blood.

“Ugh. It stings.”

Several cuts like those made by a sharp knife. And there were a few dull pains—checking, I see several bruises as well.

None of the wounds are serious and they’ll heal quickly, but it’s still not a pleasant feeling.

Daju is hunched over, grunting as she moves the water bottles. It reminds me of Millet’s painting “The Angelus.”

Seeing her struggle makes me feel better now.

Help her? Of course not. I’ll just enjoy the breeze and munch on some popcorn.

I shine my flashlight around to examine Floor [13A1].

At first glance, it looks like an ordinary parking garage. Besides the machine that fills one wall, there are a few interesting points.

First, the space visible in the distance. I slowly approach and run my hand along the wall.

While it looks like a three-dimensional space to the eye, it’s actually a mural designed to create an optical illusion.

Judging by the soot that comes off, someone seems to have burned the wall to create the drawing—something beyond ordinary talent and perseverance.

“……”

I take a chocolate bar from my backpack and throw it toward the mural.

Thud.

Surprisingly, the chocolate bar lands on the floor between what appear to be three-dimensional pillars.

But

the next moment.

Crunch-

The flattened chocolate bar sticks to the wall momentarily before falling to the floor.

“Phew……”

Have I already developed an intuition?

Park Sungjin mentioned something similar before. He said that after wandering around this apartment for a long time, you start to be suspicious of anything strange. He was right in the end. Park Sungjin met his death because of the newly installed network.

Next, the floor over there.

Something smooth is stuck to the floor, reflecting what little light there is in this space.

I approach and look down.

Traces of some dried liquid extend far into the distance. A single long line… without any breaks…

“What are you doing over there? I’ve gathered everything!”

“Just a moment.”

Suddenly, a terrible thought crossed my mind.

No, not a thought—more like a memory that suddenly surfaced.

These traces.

I’ve seen them before.

“Urgh!”

I reflexively felt nauseous.

“What now? Are you okay?”

Daju quickly runs over.

She seems to hesitate momentarily upon seeing the mural, but then comes to my side to check on me.

“Here…look at the floor.”

“The floor? Something dried up. Sticky blood-like stuff. Maybe from moving meat…?”

“Remember when I first came to the 7th floor recently?”

“Yes.”

Daju still looks confused.

She stares at my face with a blank expression.

“Park Sungjin came back from exploration then too.”

“Wait. So that’s…?”

“It’s probably right. The texture, the color. It’s too similar.”

The corpse of the male college student that Park Sungjin brought back in a sack.

The previous owner of Room 704 where I now live returned as a writhing piece of meat.

The memory comes back vividly.

– This mass has incredible healing properties…

Park Sungjin explaining with a complicated expression.

– Hey, Park Sungjin!!!!!

Choi Jun-gi getting angry with a terrifying expression.

Even more chilling were

Choi Jun-gi’s following words:

…You’d even experiment later? If we just grind up a few people, we could probably revive the dead—why not mass produce it?

A cold sensation runs down my spine and out through my fingertips.

Only after several seconds could I barely move my lips.

“……Yoon Daju.”

“Yes.”

“Pack up. Let’s get out of here quickly.”