Ch.67067 – Suicide Squad 2

# 067 – Suicide Squad # 2

As soon as I opened my eyes, I checked the “designer bag” that had fallen near me.

Inside were the “Jewel Ring” and a “map,” all intact.

“I wish I could have packed a lighter or flashlight.”

I looked around to assess my position.

There didn’t seem to be any ghosts nearby.

Instead, there was a “Staff Room” about 5 meters ahead.

Approaching carefully, I was fortunate to find the door unlocked.

Clunk-.

Entering the staff room made me feel somewhat relieved.

This was a place with talismans attached.

As long as I didn’t make loud noises, the chances of ghosts entering first were extremely low.

“Come on, give me something. Give me anything.”

I muttered to myself like a mantra while rummaging through the staff room drawers.

I could empathize with Yang Juhui’s feelings when she farmed for items every time she entered a new room.

Yang Juhui was really reliable.

Maybe I should have brought her along for this journey too?

No.

There are exactly two talismans that can be obtained.

One in the basement and one on the first floor.

That means only two people can escape.

The people currently in the corridor are me, Hong Miri, Kwon Suho, and Yu Dahui (presumably) – four of us.

The plan for me and Dahui to escape with the talismans was already tight.

If Yang Juhui were here too, then one of us – me, Dahui, or Yang Juhui – would have to stay behind since there are only two talismans, meaning they’d be trapped here and eventually die.

Also importantly, last time “Dahui” died in this place, eaten by a ghost.

Dahui must have developed a “Quirk” by now.

If she fails to escape again, Dahui might… die…

I should definitely secure one escape talisman for Dahui.

With that thought, I frantically searched the staff room and managed to find a disposable lighter.

“Lucky me.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Oh shit! Holy crap! Aaaah!”

I was so startled that I jumped several meters into the air.

This must be exactly what it feels like when your heart drops to your stomach.

No joke, I feel like my lifespan just shortened by 10 years.

Flick-!

I hurriedly picked up the disposable lighter and lit it, revealing a pale white face.

It was a woman with lips as red as if she’d just eaten a mouse.

“Ms… Ms. Hong Miri?”

“Yes. Troublemaker Ha Yeongwon. What are you doing here?”

Looking down, I saw Hong Miri was wearing high heels.

Walking in heels without making a sound.

I could almost visualize Ms. Hong Miri’s character sheet that I had memorized.

“Name: Hong Miri Lv.??

Traits: 《Lightly》 《???》

Tendency: ???

Quirk: None

Possessions: None

A beautiful female teacher. She has many secrets. Understanding everything about her might be beyond your current capabilities.”

“《Lightly》: While holding your breath, you can completely eliminate your footsteps in any situation.”

Lightly!

“You really scared me. Whew. Ms. Hong Miri, I don’t know what’s going on. I just opened my eyes and found myself in this place… All the windows are blocked! No phones!”

I acted like a super coward who knew nothing in front of Hong Miri.

I was confident in my coward act.

“So you opened your eyes and found yourself here? Have you seen any other students?”

“I don’t know! Ms. Hong! What’s going on! This is the old school building, right? The one we’re not supposed to enter! Why am I here! Ms. Hong! I was sleeping at home! Aaaah!”

“Shh─.”

Ms. Hong Miri covered my mouth with her palm.

“Kid. Be quiet! There are other things here besides us. If you make noise, ghosts will come.”

“Gh…ghosts?”

“Yes.”

“Wh…what kind of ghost? Is it the Red Mask? I heard some kids saw a Red Mask near the old school building…”

I pretended to know nothing as I asked.

According to my theory, the woman before me, Hong Miri, was the “Red Mask.”

A man-eating ghost that devours children.

“Not the Red Mask. But there are. Ghosts. Anyway.”

Hong Miri denied the appearance of the Red Mask.

At that moment, I was certain.

Player Hong Miri.

Red Mask Hong Miri.

These two couldn’t exist simultaneously.

If Hong Miri existed as a player, it meant the Red Mask wouldn’t appear.

Hong Miri spoke:

“This place is like a haunted house with ghosts. I’ve been helping students who accidentally came in to get out. If you stay quiet, I’ll help you get out of here. Understand?”

Ms. Hong Miri’s story seemed quite kind and friendly.

Ghost Hong Miri was the Red Mask who deliciously ate students, but Player Hong Miri seemed to be on the kind side. Are they really the same person?

Soon, Ms. Hong Miri tilted her head while looking at me.

“By the way. You’re carrying a bag. What’s inside?”

“Oh, this? I found it on the floor and picked it up.”

Slide-.

I showed the map to Ms. Hong Miri.

I carefully hid the “Jewel Ring” in my pocket just in case.

“A map! You’re lucky! Hey! Good job! With this, we can get out easily!”

Ms. Hong Miri was extremely pleased with the first floor map I brought.

“Let’s go to the broadcasting room first!”

“The broadcasting room? Why?”

“No time to explain everything. If you want to live, shut up and follow me.”

Tough one. No wonder students like her.

Actually, I knew exactly why Hong Miri wanted to go to the broadcasting room first.

Because there’s a hole there that leads to the basement.

She must be planning to get a talisman from the basement.

Ding, ding-.

Just then, I heard the sound of bells.

Ms. Hong Miri quickly covered my mouth.

“It’s a ghost. The ghost I told you about. The sentinel. The sentinel ghost that guards this corridor. If you wander around without the teacher’s permission and get caught, you’re in big trouble.”

So Hong Miri calls the Bell Ghost the sentinel ghost.

Guards the corridor… I hadn’t thought about it that way, but now that she mentioned it, it did seem that way.

A sentinel.

Why is the Shaman Ghost guarding this corridor?

“Where is it where where is it where is it can’t see where is it where where is it where.”

The Shaman Ghost was still terrifying.

But thinking of her as Dahui’s mother changed the feeling.

Come to think of it, when I summoned the copied mother ghost to help Dahui who was possessed by the Baby Ghost, the Shaman Ghost appeared.

I thought the “Baby Ghost” was the shaman’s daughter. But it was because Dahui was the daughter that the mother ghost took the form of a shaman.

The puzzle pieces fit perfectly.

“Gh…ghost!”

Of course, I trembled, pretending to know nothing.

I considered wetting my pants while I was at it, but that seemed a bit over the top, so I held back.

Fortunately, my acting worked well.

“How can a boy be such a coward? Sigh. How did kids like you end up in this old school building? It’s all because of the water veins. There’s a big water vein flowing under the school. Sigh.”

Still going on about water veins.

Anyway, the bell sound faded into the distance, and Ms. Hong Miri opened the staff room door.

“Let’s go.”

# # #

With the map, finding the broadcasting room wasn’t difficult.

The problem was that the “Head Ghost” was sleeping on the shrine in the basement.

“Gh…ghost!? Ms. Hong! There’s a head! Is that a ghost too? Aaaah!”

I acted like a terrified high school student who knew nothing.

Ms. Hong Miri looked at me with an extremely contemptuous expression.

“I really feel like leaving you behind. Can’t you be quiet? Geez. Anyway, see that talisman attached to the shrine? With that, one person can get out of here.”

“Oh…!”

“Just so you know, that’s mine.”

“…Pardon?”

“Didn’t you hear me? That talisman there is mine.”

Ms. Hong Miri’s expression was quite serious.

She was claiming the talisman for herself.

In a way, it made sense.

Everyone values their own life.

And I could tell from our conversation that “Player Hong Miri” didn’t want to die in this corridor.

Why? Because she’d develop a quirk? Or because she’d lose all her memories?

I pretended not to know and asked:

“If you take that talisman, how… how do I get out?”

“Now that we’ve removed the talisman from the basement shrine, a similar shrine should have appeared on the first floor. There’s a talisman attached there too. You can use that one to escape.”

“Where… where is that shrine?”

“I’ll help you find it. By the way, I’m planning to look around more. There might be other students trapped here like you. I’ll search here and there. I can’t escape from here just yet. Hehehehe.”

Hong Miri couldn’t hide her laughter throughout.

Her attitude suggested she found exploring this corridor enjoyable and fun.

She must have roamed this corridor countless times as a ghost.

What could still be fun about it now?

But from what I observed, Ms. Hong Miri seemed to have no memory of being the “Woman in Red.”

That means she doesn’t even remember when she ate Dahui and I escaped right in front of her by burning the talisman.

Hypothesis 1.

Hong Miri has no memory of being a ghost.

…She can’t control herself in ghost state?

And she seems extremely happy about exploring this corridor.

“Anyway, wait here quietly. Don’t act up. Hup.”

Ms. Hong Miri held her breath and approached the basement shrine.

I wondered if it was okay to step on the Head Ghost’s hair.

As I thought about it, surprisingly, I was able to figure out the principle and identity of Ms. Hong Miri’s soundless 《Lightly》.

Ms. Hong Miri was floating about 3cm above the ground!

She was walking in mid-air!

That’s why there were no footsteps!

Walking on air!

Naturally, she didn’t step on the hair spread on the floor and was able to easily obtain the basement talisman.

Swish-swish-.

As soon as she got the talisman, the Head Ghost moved.

Watching the Head Ghost disappear to the first floor, I pretended to foam at the mouth.

“The… the head is moving…! Ms. Hong, get away…! To the left…!”

“Hey. I told you not to make a fuss. She’s fine as long as you don’t get too close.”

“Is… is that Gu Hyena? That head… Why is Gu Hyena’s head here? Weren’t the police looking for her head? The head…”

“Someone made her like that. To guard the talisman in this basement. It’s a stupid thing to do. Killing a girl who just entered high school in such a horrible way and turning her into a ghost full of resentment. Sigh.”

She says that after swallowing high school students in one bite.

I wanted to say that but held back.

“Hey. Coward. Help me up.”

On our way back to the broadcasting room.

Ms. Hong Miri took off her heels, stepped on my shoulder, and climbed up to the first floor.

It was a scene that gave me déjà vu.

As we continued exploring the first floor in that manner─.

We found a shrine in the women’s restroom on the first floor.

But there was no talisman.

Did someone take it?

“Ms. Hong, there’s no talisman.”

“……”

Hong Miri frowned as if she couldn’t have anticipated this situation.

“Yeongwon. You said you didn’t see anyone else, right?”

“Yes.”

Actually, Kwon Suho and Yu Dahui were on this floor.

I wondered if Dahui had taken the talisman. She seemed to be quite experienced in this corridor.

Kwon Suho could have taken it too.

Either way, the talisman was gone.

That means if I want to escape, I need to use Hong Miri’s talisman.

“Hey. Ha Yeongwon. You can’t escape now. In this situation, I’ll kill you. You won’t remember anyway.”

“What?”

“Wouldn’t it be better to be strangled by me than to be caught by a ghost and die horribly? Then you can escape. You might have some mental issues, but what can you do?”

So this is how she’s going to play it?

She was pretending to be a kind teacher until just now, and now she’s saying she’ll kill her own student!

“Ms., Ms. Hong. It seems like there’s a shrine on each floor! Second floor! There might be a shrine on the second floor too!”

I shouted desperately.

Hong Miri clicked her tongue.

“Can’t go to the second floor. If I could go to the second floor, would I be playing these games with you here? Come here.”

Hong Miri reached out toward me.

I avoided it and shouted:

“Ms. Hong Miri! Give me the talisman! The talisman! You have one, don’t you! The talisman to escape this nightmarish old school building! You have one! Give it to me!”

Thanks to my lung capacity enhanced by 《Strong Heart》 and 《Holding Breath》, my voice was truly booming.

Of course, Ms. Hong Miri snorted.

“Shouting like that will only attract ghosts. Come on. I’ll kill you painlessly. They say when you’re strangled, carbon dioxide builds up in your brain, causing hallucinations and making you feel good.”

Crazy woman!

“Aaaah!”

I continued to scream, and finally, a large shadow fell over the women’s restroom.

The Shaman Ghost? No, it was a man who must have been about 190cm tall.

“Is it true that we can escape from here?”

It was Kwon Suho.

If Kwon Suho was truly psychic, he would know that what I was saying wasn’t a lie.

He can detect lies, right?

The reason I deliberately made a commotion was to call for Kwon Suho.

And from the looks of it, Kwon Suho didn’t have a talisman.

“Kwon Suho, you bastard. You were here too? What the hell is going on?”

“I don’t know either. But Ms. Miri, if you have something good, give it to me. While I’m asking nicely.”

Kwon Suho and Ms. Hong Miri glared at each other, and tension began to build.

If these two started fighting, I planned to take advantage of the situation.

That was my plan.