episode_0240

( 『By the way… you’ve changed too.』 )

( What is it? )

( “You’ve always been forced into incidents, but this isn’t the first time you’ve jumped into an incident yourself?” )

… … .

“Are you ready?”

“This is the end. If it’s not enough, tell me in advance.”

A remote area far from the capital.

A place lined with shabby one-room apartments and commercial-residential buildings.

After a quick lunch, the man returned to the ‘butcher shop’ where he worked and greeted the customers with a cold attitude.

Bang! Bang!

The owner of the ‘butcher shop’ is usually angry and bangs his large Chinese knife on the wooden cutting board.

It was a butcher shop, neither clean nor dirty, with pork prepared to match the assortment lying on the shelves under pink lights.

If you don’t look closely, you might pass it by thinking it’s just an ordinary ‘butcher shop’.

But if you look closely, the meat slicer and the Chinese knife are clean as if they have never been used.

Among the meats on display, there are some that are clearly of different quality.

It’s a quiet ‘butcher shop’.

“… … I will come in 5 days.”

“What do you use it for that you come here so often? You’re causing trouble for me.”

You hand over the icebox containing the ‘stuff’ and receive a yellow paper bag.

The corners of my lips twitch as I look at the heavy wads of money stuffed into my paper bag.

Deposit for items due 5 days later.

The butcher put the paper bag under the counter.

“Are you having trouble?”

“The damn bastards even brought in the ‘detective’ from Euncheon-gu. They’re going to sell this and close this store.”

“Do Jong-ha… She’s strangely active these days. She was so disillusioned with the world that she wouldn’t even leave Euncheon-gu.”

“How can we know what’s in that crazy girl’s mind? She must have found her beginner’s mind.”

Leisurely chat.

But upstairs, the ‘staff’ will already be busy preparing for withdrawal.

Of all people, it was ‘Detective’ Do Jong-ha who came to investigate the ‘Recovery Hunter’ case that was handled two days ago.

Now that she’s here, this face will be on the wanted list soon.

I never thought that a woman who never stepped foot in Euncheon-gu would come all the way to this remote area.

The only fortunate thing is that her skill only works in ‘secret rooms’.

Even if we know who the culprit is, it will be difficult to figure out ‘where they went’.

At least it would buy enough time for the Butcher Shop’s property and employees to quietly withdraw.

“So, in 5 days, to Busan… No, that girl is listening to this conversation too. I’ll tell you the location later.”

“Okay.”

“Good, good… But, your face will be revealed to Do Jong-ha too. Is that okay?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Haha! You’re so confident. Do you have any connections to the Hunter Association? If not, then……”

Saaaa…

Mana flowing out of the guest’s body at that moment.

The butcher, whose mouth is shut in a quiet threat, grips the handle of his Chinese slicing knife tightly.

I guess that means don’t talk any more.

After quietly nodding, the customer who had taken his ‘items’ left the ‘butcher shop’ without looking back.

“… … Tsk. It’s not like ordinary people are born like that.”

After the customers left, the butcher owner, who had been quietly swearing, began to clean up the shop.

It’s still a little past lunchtime, but we have to leave before Do Jong-ha finds this place.

Rattling. Rattling.

Turn off the store’s circuit breaker and take away any laptops and electronic devices that may have computer information remaining.

Just in case, I grabbed the CCTV camera stuck in the corner of the ceiling and broke it, then grabbed only the things I needed and left the store.

Then, shaking the heavy bag of money lightly… he goes up to the second floor and heads towards ‘room 204′ located in the far corner.

Beep.

Sensors spread widely across the second floor hallway scan his body.

He takes a card out of his pocket, and it passes him through with a familiar mechanical sound.

Despite the shabby appearance of the building, these security devices are quite elaborate.

If an intruder comes in without knowing anything, the sensor will sound in an instant and they will end up like a rat in a trap.

‘… … Was the hallway always this quiet?’

I was concerned that I hadn’t met any other ’employees’ on my way here, but

The man walked on, dismissing the slight discomfort as a simple feeling.

A man approaches ‘Room 204’, located in the far corner of the second floor, and knocks on the door lock to open it.

“Huh?”

But the front door was already open.

As if someone had stepped in first.

A feeling of discomfort.

He opened the front door with a frown and used ‘Body Enhancement’.

Cold winter air flows out through the slowly opening gap.

“… … .”

Go inside.

A living room with the lights off.

A tightly closed bathroom.

The smell of iron coming from somewhere.

The man heads to the living room, remembering how he left the bathroom door closed when he left the house.

The air was cold even though the air conditioner wasn’t on, and the sky seen through the window was a dangerously dark shade of sunset, as if it would darken at any moment.

“Sunset? I just had lunch?”

Is it someone’s skill? Or is it a hallucination?

If it was an intruder, how did he avoid the sensors?

I couldn’t understand.

Strangeness.

It’s just weird.

The phenomenon that was beyond the scope of understanding made the viewer feel fearful,

The sound of his pounding heart slows his steps to a turtle’s pace.

Thud… thud…

Take a deep breath. Hold your breath and take a step forward.

A man who had been looking around a familiar yet unfamiliar living room takes a step inside.

Inside, into a quiet living room.

I take one step at a time, pushing through the cold air.

Squeak……

like that,

The front door closes.

“… … .”

The man found a book lying in the middle of the living room.

… … .

There is no title written on it,

There is only black paper and a cover.

[The black book] left behind.

This is no ordinary thing.

I ‘recognized’ that fact.

Knock knock.

Immediately afterwards, at the closed front door,

There was a knock on the door.

… … .

… … .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

5. If the noise between floors is severe, contact the apartment security office.

– It might not be a wise idea to go upstairs and ask them directly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thud. Thud thud.

Someone who makes a living from day to day by trading organs.

◆◆ Mr. C involuntarily raised his head at the noise coming from upstairs.

Thud. Thud thud.

“What? Since earlier.”

Mr. ◆◆ was preparing to withdraw with his colleagues when he heard the news that ‘Detective’ Do Jong-ha had come to investigate the incident from two days ago.

While he was cleaning room 302 on the third floor, he suddenly started to complain about the noise between floors.

Do you have a lot to move upstairs?

But the urgent footsteps sounded like someone was running away, and that was enough to grate Mr. ◆◆’s nerves.

Surely these so-called colleagues aren’t playing a prank during this busy time?

◆◆ Mr. C looked down at the amulet he had found earlier and frowned.

A bright yellow talisman like forsythia.

On the back of the amulet, written in red, are strange ‘rules’ written in a soft handwriting.

In a situation where you don’t know when Do Jong-ha will come, is there anyone who would play such a prank?

Since I don’t know, let’s start by organizing it.

Mr. ◆◆, who tore up the talisman with the word ‘Guide’ written on it in a fit of anger and threw it in the trash can, wrapped bloody nippers and tongs in a cloth and put them in his bag.

Thump, thump. Thump, thump.

Meanwhile, the noise from upstairs continued.

The sound of someone running, the sound of someone chasing.

◆◆ Mr. C ignored me and did his job.

Thump thump…… Ugh!

But when the sound of two footsteps moving across the ceiling overlapped for a moment and changed into the sound of flesh hitting a hard object,

◆◆ Mr. C could no longer ignore the noise from the upper floor.

“… … What is it?”

Thud! Thud!

Inter-floor noise went from unpleasant to creepy.

Then someone’s desperate cries are heard through the open window.

– Sa, save me…

Ugh!

The voice broke off with a heavy echo that could be felt even from downstairs.

◆◆ Mr. C took out a hammer from his toolbox, held it, and stood up.

It is no longer something that can be dismissed as someone’s prank.

Could it be that Do Jong-ha has already attacked this place?

He took out his phone to try to figure out what was going on, but the out of range sign stopped him.

I can’t understand.

Mr. ◆◆, who felt creepy in the prank-like situation, hurriedly escapes outside.

Since I don’t know the situation and the phone is dead,

First, we need to check the upper floor where the noise is coming from.

Judging from the fact that the noise is only coming from the upper floors, even if someone is attacking, it is clear that the opponents are a minority.

‘If I run away alone, I’ll be killed by my brother. I’d rather do something.’

Mr. ◆◆, holding a sledgehammer, walks down the quiet hallway and up the stairs.

As I climbed the strangely dark stairs, I came to a quiet ‘4th floor’ hallway, and confirmed that all the front doors were firmly shut.

He walked towards room 402, which was the floor above room 302.

‘… … This building, did it have four floors?’

Wasn’t it a three-story building?

I don’t know.

Squeak…

◆◆ Mr. C sharpened the head of the hammer he was holding with his ‘skill’.

He prepares to fight, opens the front door of ‘Room 402’ and goes inside.

Click… Click.

like that,

The front door is closed.

… … .

Room 402.

A house with a lot of noise between floors.

Thump, thump. Thump, thump.

The noise between floors started suddenly.

The urgent footsteps seemed to indicate someone was running away.

Thump, thump. Thump, thump.

The noise upstairs continued.

The sound of someone running, the sound of someone chasing.

Thump thump…… Ugh!

The sound of two footsteps moving across the ceiling overlapped for a moment,

It changes to the sound of hitting flesh with a hard object.

Thud! Thud!

Inter-floor noise went from unpleasant to creepy.

Then someone’s desperate cries are heard through the open window.

“Hey, save me…”

Ugh!

But soon,

With a heavy resonance that could be felt even from downstairs,

The voice broke off.

That’s all there is to it.

After that, no more noise was heard between floors.

That’s all there is to it.

… … .

… … .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2-1. If you hear a bug crawling on the ceiling.

– When I walk down the apartment hallway, I can sometimes hear bugs crawling above my head.

– There’s no need to panic. Just lie down quietly on the floor, close your eyes, and wait.

– You may get up when the sound disappears.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What the… Was the hallway this dark?”

Second floor hallway of a commercial-residential building.

Mr. ●●, who has taken a step into the organ trading business and is gaining confidence with a salary that is worthy of being called the envy of others.

He checked the ‘bright yellow amulet’ stuck on the hallway wall and the ‘guide’ written on it and muttered in a trembling voice.

From the moment I discovered that amulet, things around me became strange.

The air was cold and cluttered, as if I had been transported to another world, and there was not a single co-worker in sight to be seen wandering the building.

Sagak…

A strangely dark hallway.

A talisman attached to the wall.

The hallway ceiling was dark and covered in shadows, leaving nothing visible.

It’s just black.

●●, unable to hide his anxious feelings, tried to open the window in frustration.

But the window wouldn’t open as if it was welded shut.

Even though I strengthened my muscles with ‘Skill’ and added ‘Body Strengthening’ to it, I hit the window with all my might… not only did the glass not break, but my hand didn’t even hurt.

Sagak…

It’s absolutely strange.

Mr. ●●, who was curled up, shivered at the sound of insects chirping coming from the ceiling.

Sagak…

Is someone using skill to create illusions?

Sagak…

If the Do Jong-ha Hunter had already found this place,

Sagagakㅡ.

It would be best to quickly tell your brother and run away together.

Saga ga ga ga gak…..

The sound of footsteps that has been heard since a while ago.

The sound of bugs running across the ceiling.

Mr. ●● raised his head without thinking.

A pitch-black ceiling is visible, without a single light source.

… … Sagakak.

and,

Eyes meet ‘something’.

… … .

Hanging upside down from the ceiling, crawling across the dark ceiling.

‘That thing’ rose from the ceiling and grabbed Mr. ●●’s head.

Pararararak!

Immediately afterwards, ‘somethings’ were stuck to the ceiling and blocked the light from the lights.

Corn began to fall towards Mr. ●● who was standing below.

… … .

Sagak-.

The sound of insect footsteps.

Hanging upside down from a dark ceiling.

“The princess said so.”

“what?”

“My wife cheated on me and left the baby behind.”

Black things are chattering.

The flesh crawling on the floor was no longer visible, buried under black insects.

“Ughㅡ! Ughㅡㅡ!”

The sight of him writhing in pain resembles a bug caught in a spider’s web.

Soon, the legs of the black-covered chunk of meat rise into the sky and hang upside down on the ceiling.

Like a bug tied to a spider’s web, waiting to be eaten.

“So what? ”

“If you come back, I’ll break your back.”

“Oh my gosh-”

The eerie sound of insects.

A small, harmonious concert echoes through the dark hallway.

Following the traces of the person I once held.

It goes on forever.

… … .

… … .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. If someone knocks on your front door.

First, check outside through the intercom.

​

If you see a woman in a red dress standing in front of the door,

Please take a sip of salt and go to the bathroom immediately.

​

The front door will open by itself, and ‘it’ will look all over ■■■■ ■■■ for about ten minutes before quietly walking away.

​

The above must be completed within 3 minutes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What the… What the heck is this…!”

Knock knock. Knock knock.

Time goes by.

The hourglass with not much time left is running out.

​

The sound of someone’s hand knocking on the front door.

The owner of the ‘butcher shop’ turned his back to the sunset coming in through the window and took a deep breath.

The cold air blowing in through my lips feels unfamiliar.

A paper bag full of wads of money is heavy.

The smell of blood emanates from the tightly closed bathroom.

『Fifteen… sixteen… 』

As the man makes no attempt to approach the front door, the ‘something’ that has been knocking on the door begins counting.

I don’t know what it’s for.

I don’t even know how far I can count.

But the moment that eerie voice stopped reciting numbers, it was easy to realize that something big was going to happen to me.

That’s why I can’t understand.

What the heck is that?

I was feeling good just a moment ago,

I was happy with the big wad of money.

When I heard that Detective Do Jong-ha had come here, all that was left to do was quickly pack my bags and leave.

I even imagined them laughing at Do Jong-ha for missing them right in front of their eyes…

How did it turn out like this?

What is that ‘thing’ that suddenly appeared that makes me so scared?

The man, who had been knocking on the window several times with his strong fist, let out a ragged breath.

“You don’t even read [the black book]… You don’t even know how important it is.”

Squeak.

The tightly closed bathroom opened and someone came out.

The man crouched down in preparation for the coming attack and glared at his ‘assailant’.

“… … What are you.”

“Hello. I came out early because I was afraid I’d get caught. There’s someone fast asleep in the bathtub.”

“… … .”

“I’m not even going to send you to the bathroom.”

The first thing to come out of the wide open bathroom was a large chest pushing up a thick trench coat.

I think it’s bigger than my head.

It came out of the bathroom, swaying gracefully even with light footsteps,

Then, the sleek legs that came out of the coat,

And then the body of a woman with a languid smile comes out of the bathroom.

The butcher shop owner looked at the woman in front of him, forgetting for a moment that he was in an urgent situation.

Hair with a few strands of sunset color mixed in.

A black leather choker around the neck has a bell-shaped decoration dangling from it.

The coat he was wearing had a button missing, so he was holding onto the front with one hand.

Judging by your appearance, you’re probably not wearing anything under your coat.

If it weren’t for this situation, I might have thought she was a pervert who was confident in her body.

“Is it a beauty trap? Don’t think it will work.”

“Are you crazy?”

“Let’s sit down and talk for now.”

“It works. It works really well.”

Boom, bang, bang!

『Seventy-two. Seventy-three. Seventy-four.』

The atmosphere that had briefly relaxed was once again choking me.

If the knocking on the door feels rougher than before, it might be because of your imagination.

Ahem,

A woman coughed once… Eunha said, pointing to a bathroom filled with the smell of blood.

“I thought about it. There were more things written in the ledger than I thought… I didn’t think there was any need to arrest him alive.”

“There must have been a security device. How did they get in without a trace?”

“I came to the front door.”

We can’t communicate.

The butcher, who had his fists clenched, let out a deep breath, and Eunha also touched the back of her neck in frustration.

The real saw is carried by [Red Woman] and is in a bare-handed situation.

That’s okay though.

No matter what the human in front of you does, if you just endure it, [Red Woman] will cut it down for you.

‘That person’s disappearance won’t alleviate the resentment of those who are already dead,’

It can prevent the resentment of those who will be sacrificed to them in the future.

( “You worked so hard all by yourself, who noticed?” )

Because I was a hunter who wanted to help others.

Eunha raised the corners of her mouth in front of the vicious organ trafficker.

… … .

『Ninety-four. Ninety-five… Ah. Annoying. Ninety-six』

“… … Huh? By the way, have you seen it somewhere before?”

“I don’t know a beauty like you.”

“Isn’t that right?… I think I saw it when I was little.”

The man thought.

Before my eyes was a milk girl dressed in an obscene outfit.

The windows won’t open, and beyond the front door a scary ‘something’ is counting numbers.

A mixture of incomprehensible and unknowable fear creeps in.

What is the best way to survive here?

After much thought, the man made up his mind and got into a fighting stance while glaring at Eunha’s large chest.

“I’ll take you hostage.”

“I’d like to read that book too… but whatever it is, it’ll kill me in 3 minutes.”

The opponent is an executive or leader of a long-term trading group.

It’s okay. You won’t die.

I’m not sure if it’ll take a little bit until [Red Lady] comes in, but I won’t send you back alive.

“One hundred and twenty. One hundred and twenty-one…”

So, the galaxy that had made up its mind,

The moment I kicked the ground to rush towards the man who was slowly closing the distance,

Chaenggrangㅡ!

The window, which had not budged no matter how much I punched it, shattered into pieces…

A woman in a black suit flew into the living room.

“… … Mr. Banharin?”

“I came because it ‘looked’ dangerous. Did you plan on getting sick alone again?”

Phagec!

A blindfold covering the left eye.

A woman with a sharp right eye that shines golden.

Ban Harin, who was fiddling with the ‘inverted cross hairpin’ on her bangs with an expressionless face, landed stylishly as if protecting Eunha and said that.

… … .

… … .

( “You worked so hard all by yourself, who noticed?” )

( 『…I am always watching. I know.』 )

“Eunha-nim. Thank you for your hard work this time too.”

Thump. Thump.

The back of Banharin, who came in through a broken window.

[Red Woman]’s voice is heard from beyond the front door.

If I feel relieved today, could it be an illusion?

“One hundred and forty… What the heck is that?”

“I’ll take care of the rest, so hurry up and hide in the bathroom. With me.”

Please, I hope this isn’t a mistake.