episode_0152

Everyone is asleep.

The news just repeats the same thing over and over again.

[Please evacuate outside quickly.]

But you must not go outside.

Knock knock knock!

“Haewon-ah. Close the theater.”

“Yes.”

“There’s a pile of luggage over there. We have to block it somehow.”

A corner of the theater is filled with carriers and bags.

Luggage brought from inside the apartment.

Food, clothing, and daily necessities.

If you build a barricade with that, you might be able to hold out a little longer.

“And.”

He grabbed Jeong Hae-won, who was trying to leave quickly.

“You should never look outside. You know that, right?”

“… … Yes.”

I remembered the look in the eyes of the guy I had seen inside the apartment.

That malice.

That relentless killing intent, desperately seeking prey.

Inside the black, sleek tent, countless red eyes blink in different ways.

And the moment when our eyes meet each other directly.

Thoughts about the bastard fill my head.

‘Found it.’

‘I finally found it.’

The look in his eyes itself is an anomaly.

A memetic agent that drives people crazy and makes them susceptible to hunting.

I can tolerate it to some extent, but Jeong Hae-won can’t.

This is because men are usually less tolerant of this type of thing.

perhaps.

Just looking at it for a moment might make you lose your mind.

“Okay? Don’t make eye contact with the guy outside.”

“Okay.”

Jeong Hae-won froze and nodded.

Thump thump thump thump!

It looks like the theater doors will open at any moment.

Jeong Hae-won starts moving his luggage in a hurry.

“Dabin, I’ll do it too.”

“No, you can’t do that. Here, I’m talking, you have to help me.”

“Conversation?”

“Yes.”

On the movie screen, the anchor keeps repeating the same words.

[Please evacuate outside quickly.]

“That’s not news anyway.”

moment.

The anchor clears his throat for a moment.

The content of the news has changed.

[News just came in. There are currently citizens trapped in the theater, and firefighters are out on a rescue mission.]

“It’s a trap aimed only at us.”

“If it’s a theater, is it about us?”

“Yes. If it was a regular news report, they would tell you where the theater is and what kind of theater it is. It’s strange because they just say “theater.” ”

[The theater’s name and location are still being confirmed. We’ll update you as soon as we have more information.]

Sister Se-rim has a nervous look in her eyes.

But there is still time.

“We don’t know exactly where we are yet.”

“Then what is that? Isn’t that something that’s trying to come in from outside the door right now?”

“Yes, that’s right too.”

“I don’t quite understand.”

That could very well be the case.

The tent of confirmation bias.

The thing has some pretty troublesome anomalous properties.

So much so that it’s difficult to understand intuitively.

But, I know everything.

Because I already used my librarian’s skills to search for it in advance.

“The bastard has two goals.”

Knock knock knock!

“Gasp. Gasp.”

Jeong Hae-won works hard to move the luggage.

“One. Physically capture the prey.”

[Updated news. Firefighters are reportedly opening the theater doors and entering to rescue stranded citizens.]

[However, the emergency response headquarters stated that entry is difficult at the moment due to obstacles such as luggage piled up in front of the door.]

News continues to stream from the screen.

These are fake news designed to deceive us and make us make wrong judgments.

“Two. Capture the prey’s consciousness.”

“What does it mean to hold onto consciousness?”

“It’s a little hard to explain, but for now, it means that we are being fooled by that news.”

I spread out two fingers and showed them to Se-rim.

“These two conditions must both be met for the hunt to be successful.”

“So you have to block the entrance and be careful with the news… … . That’s it.”

“Yes. So, my sister has to help me.”

Jeong Hae-won shouts, panting.

“It’s almost done!”

“Good job! You can rest now! Keep checking to see if anyone is coming in from outside!”

I feel sorry for making Jeong Hae-won suffer alone, but there’s nothing I can do.

What’s really dangerous is what I’m about to do.

“Originally, you could get out of here by finding a loophole.”

“You say you’re going to rescue me without even knowing the name of the theater?”

“Yes, that’s it, and there are many other loopholes I found.”

“But, originally? Does that mean I won’t get out of here?”

“Yes.”

It was quite hot inside the theater.

I took off my hoodie and threw it on the theater seat.

Now he’s wearing a gray short-sleeved T-shirt.

“As I said before, you will get information here.”

“So that’s why you asked me to help you.”

“Yes. Please, Sister.”

Lies contain some truth.

This fake news is no different.

Most of it is false, but on the one hand it contains news about the outside world.

My goal is to figure that out.

The problem is that to do that, you have to be constantly exposed to the news.

“Haewon! Give me your phone for a second.”

“Huh?”

Jeong Hae-won is still panting.

“I’ll get it. ”

Se-rim left her seat and received a cell phone from Jeong Hae-won.

The screen is still stuck on the YouTube video.

A tent of black, smooth skin.

The guy is outside the theater door, trying with all his might to get inside.

It’s stuck flat against the door, and I keep pushing, shaking, and trying every method I can.

The theater doors are quite heavy and sturdy, and seal well.

This means that it is impossible for it to seep in through the cracks in the door.

The more this happens, the more he becomes obsessed with other methods.

The tent of confirmation bias. The second hunting method he has.

To trick us into coming out on our own.

Thud, thud, thud.

As the knocking on the door died down.

A new recommended video appears at the bottom of the YouTube video.

[LIVE: Public Broadcasting Disaster Emergency Report]

I clicked on the thumbnail to go into the new video.

“Hello. This is an urgent report from public broadcasting. I am Lee Jeong-hwan, the emergency broadcasting anchor.”

As soon as you click, a male announcer begins to conduct the broadcast.

“To find out exactly what the current situation is and how to evacuate, we invited Choi Cheol-hwan, head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters Communication Team.”

“Hello. This is Choi Cheol-hwan, the head of the communication team at the Disaster Response Emergency Headquarters.”

At first glance, it looks like news on TV, but it is a live broadcast broadcasted in real time on YouTube.

That is, you can communicate through real-time chat.

– It looks safe there.

– Is this a real broadcast???

– So where can I go to live?

A lot of messages come to mind, then get pushed up and disappear.

I also left a message through chat.

– Could you please explain exactly what the situation is outside right now?

Only my chat is displayed in bold.

It’s not like I installed any separate device.

The rest of the people are all fake. Which means that the only thing that matters is my chat.

“We are currently looking into the domestic situation. Each headquarters will report after assessing the situation and then relay it to the central government, but no reports have been received as of yet.”

– Hahahahahahahaha does that make sense?

– Is it really ruined?

– Is there anyone here who lives in the countryside?

– I live in Paju.

Actually, it’s in Seoul.

This level of bluffing is essential to obtain information.

– Really?

– Tell me what the situation is there.

I also get direct messages sent to me.

– Things are not very good right now. Monsters are killing people.

– I saw the video and it was real.

– Really?

– This isn’t a composite, this is real. This is a big problem.

As expected.

It won’t be long before we have some new news.

On the screen.

Team leader Choi Cheol-hwan checks his cell phone, looks at the screen again, and speaks.

“We just received news from the Gangwon Disaster Response Headquarters Team.”

“Yes. What’s the news?”

“It is said that casualties are occurring due to an unknown monster. It is understood that a large number of casualties have occurred mainly inside buildings or in closed places. We have also received the video… … .”

“Yes. I will check it for a moment and send it to you along with the video.”

Soon, a video appears on the screen.

“Ah …

“Save me!”

The background is inside a department store.

A large number of people run away, each screaming.

Wooduk-

The sound of bones breaking. The man’s neck snaps back.

As the black tent stretches out its corners like arms and lifts the man’s body, his broken neck falls backwards and dangles.

Next it was the old woman’s turn.

Chul-chul.

As if squashing a fly.

The black monster easily harms people.

Only a terrible scar remains where the grandmother was.

One by one, people are dying cruelly.

The last thing that came into view on the screen were two letters outside the window.

Paju.

It is written strangely clearly.

Who would have thought that fake videos could be created so quickly… … .

This is me, right here.

This is a video created by sniping me.

“And the next video. Team Leader Choi Cheol-hwan?”

“Yes. Let’s check it together this time.”

This video shows an elevated highway.

The words written on the sign are, as expected, Paju.

People are jumping into the road by themselves.

Paaang-!

Squeak!

Kuung!

People who are hit by a moving car are blown away like fallen leaves and fall onto the road.

Some fall under the overpass and disappear out of the screen.

“People are jumping into the road by themselves. This can be seen as the result of the recent wave of strange news.”

“Are you talking about the destruction wave?”

“Yes. Not only monsters, but also monster waves are also a threat. If you are exposed to these waves for a long time, the probability of suicidal impulses or mental illness increases exponentially. ”

“Then what should we do with this strange wave?”

“Avoid staying in confined spaces for too long, and stay in open spaces as much as possible. If radio waves cause echoes in confined spaces, the effects will inevitably increase several times as the radio waves are radiated. That’s why, as we’ve seen in our research, the incidence of abnormal symptoms and mortality rates for people who stay indoors for too long are much higher.”

“You’re saying that you can avoid both monsters and monster waves by going outside?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Choi Cheol-hwan, team leader of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, nods and adds.

“In particular, avoid crowded and closed places such as theaters, reading rooms, and cafes.”

As expected, it’s accompanied by the words, “Get out of the theater.”

Squeak, squeak!

Meanwhile, the video continues to play on the screen.

A brutal video broadcast without any filtering.

People get hit by cars and die, leaving trails of blood on the road.

The drivers of the cars were also crazy.

Several cars suddenly increase their speed and slam into the guardrail with all their might.

Crunch-

Woojijik.

The guardrail is torn off without any force.

The vehicles fall one after another under the overpass and disappear off the screen.

After a while, there was only a loud noise.

Kwaaang!

A dented vehicle.

People who fell.

Blood and flesh stuck on the road.

Black smoke and flames pouring out of the car.

“Dabin… … .”

I raised my head.

Sister Se-rim was looking at me with concern.

“After… … .”

Is it because of the terrible video?

The hand holding the cell phone is cold.

Jeong Hae-won put down his smartphone for a moment and held his hand and rubbed it.

His hands were drenched in sweat.

“It’s okay. It’s okay… … .”

Se-rim, the older sister who holds my hand tightly.

You will soon feel at ease.

It is Se-rim’s ability to influence other people’s thoughts.

“This, we have to keep doing it.”

Sister Se-rim muttering.

“Yes.”

“Until when?”

“There’s still a long way to go.”

“… … .”

Then, my older sister barely manages to say a word.

“Don’t push yourself too hard.”

“Yes, sister.”

He nodded.

Just now, I just confirmed that ‘communication with the guy is possible’.

And at best, the ghost story drives people crazy.

Unlike the videos featuring monsters, this one is more likely to be real.

When I send him information, he provides a video based on that information.

They sometimes synthesize fake videos and sometimes edit real videos and bring them in.

That means, depending on what information I send, I can get some new information about it.

Knock. Knock.

I typed some text above the chat window.

– And people came out from a place called the Foundation, so I don’t know if it’s right to evacuate following these people.

– First of all, they say that if you just follow them, you can survive, but they are not from the government, so I can’t trust them.

– For now, we are taking refuge in a nearby theater.

‘Foundation.’

I threw a keyword through the chat,

Now it’s his turn to ask.