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“Has that guy finally gone insane?”

This thought crossed Song Ah Rin’s mind.

No, perhaps not insane. He might just have misheard things.

From what she gathered, that old man had relayed his message quite clearly.

“Go to the Duty Room and sleep together.”

“Then, you’ll be able to go to the Museum of Truth.”

Of course, this wasn’t exactly something that made sense to Song Ah Rin either.

The Museum of Truth?

It’s a place that the Isolation Team barely managed to contain after suffering terrible losses.

Suddenly, a place that hadn’t seen any incidents for the last few years was now a failure in containment, and it was appearing in dreams?

“Doesn’t this seem weird?”

“What do you mean?”

In response to her mumbling, Jang Chae Yeon replied while not taking her eyes off the man.

From Jang Chae Yeon’s perspective, the man looked strange as well.

He was absurdly focused on his conversation with the old man.

He wasn’t the type to zone out during conversations with others.

So why was he just standing there?

It wasn’t even worth pondering.

Jang Chae Yeon slowly walked towards the man.

She had no idea what was happening, but she understood something about the man standing there.

“Hey, where are you going?”

Ignoring the bewildered voice from behind, she continued forward.

“What’s going on?”

The man turned his head and looked at her.

His eyes were deep in thought.

Soon, he turned his body and stepped to the right.

“Ah, come on… Let’s go together!”

As he turned, Yu Da On, following him without a second thought, and Park Ye Eun, looking completely clueless but trailing behind them, were right behind him.

Jang Chae Yeon too followed the man without hesitation.

Turning right, he opened a door right beside him.

Strangely, since leaving that room, he hadn’t spoken a word.

As he opened the door,

“…What the hell is this?”

Confusion seeped into Song Ah Rin’s voice from behind.

Naturally, Jang Chae Yeon felt just as bewildered.

But this was her old workplace.

Especially this corridor, she must have walked through it countless times, and no door was left unopened.

Yet, the door in front of them was unfamiliar.

A heavily rusted metal door bore a padlock so shabby it hardly resembled a locking mechanism.

One that looked like it could be sold at the neighborhood stationery store.

And then,

“…”

His gaze lingered on the padlock for a moment.

As if trying to read something, his eyes scanned the padlock thoroughly, and he reached out to begin pressing the lock’s password.

The numbers were <1234>

-Click!

The lock opened, and the door creaked.

-Creeeak…

With a horrible metallic sound, the door opened, revealing a staircase that descended below.

The stairs were so rusted it seemed questionable whether they could be walked on safely anymore.

“…The smell of blood.”

At that point, Yu Da On’s expression sharpened, and she stepped forward.

“I’ll take the lead.”

At her words, the man nodded and pulled out a gun from his coat.

Something was definitely going on.

Jang Chae Yeon also retrieved steel balls from her pouch and slipped them onto her fingers, while Song Ah Rin shook her hands nervously.

“W-what’s going on…?”

Only Park Ye Eun blinked in confusion, staring at the four of them.

The man’s gaze turned to the four of them, his index finger rising to his lips.

A sign to be quiet.

At that motion, all four fell silent.

There was something ahead.

As Yu Da On moved down the stairs, the remaining four began to follow her.

*

The staircase felt long.

And for Yu Da On, who was leading the way, it felt even longer.

She glanced back at the man.

As their eyes met, he gave her a faint smile.

With the smell and his attitude, he was definitively someone she knew.

This is strange.

She frowned, trying to recall the conversation she had with the old man, but honestly, Yu Da On hadn’t paid much attention, so she didn’t remember anything significant.

It wasn’t as if she had been playing around or anything.

After all, considering her situation, it would be difficult for her to come up with a convincing answer compared to the man.

So wasn’t it best to stick to what she was good at?

With that thought, Yu Da On focused on understanding the atmosphere of the room and Gangdong Branch.

If the man’s role was to assess the situation before acting, hers was to prepare for incoming threats.

In reality, what she was most tuned into was the atmosphere and smell radiating from the old man and observing her surroundings.

At least when she was in that room, she felt no significant threat.

But this place was different.

-Creeeak…

With every step Yu Da On took, the horrible sound echoed through the metal stairs.

Yet, that wasn’t what she was concerned about.

The scent of blood was intensifying.

The further down she went, the stronger the smell became.

What on earth had happened down below?

She had no idea.

-Crack…

Then, her foot hit the floor as they finally reached the end of the long staircase.

“Ugh…”

A horrific stench assaulted her senses.

*

Not urgent, you say?

Isn’t this quite an urgent matter?

If we were any later, what might have happened? I can’t even imagine.

She recalled the conversation she had with the old man earlier.

It was a perfect code.

Click, the sound echoed in her mind.

Let’s reconsider what was discussed earlier.

“People always seem to only understand the first sentence I say.”

That’s what he told me.

Why did he throw that out to me out of nowhere?

The Management Agency isn’t infallible.

I realized this painfully during the Dream of the Butterfly incident.

Which means, from the moment I arrived here, I had to be prepared for whatever could unfold.

Only understand the first sentence.

I listed the first sentences I heard after the click sound in my mind.

“So right now the Management Team isn’t on our side.”

“Well, it’s probably better to phrase this with some body language.”

Up until now, I had been somewhat skeptical.

But after hearing the sound of the man pressing the pen before Song Ah Rin spoke, I felt a degree of certainty.

“What was it again? Don’t trust anything other than what you hear here.”

Don’t trust anything other than what you heard in the room.

“Well, it’s probably better to phrase this with some body language.”

He mixed body language.

I recalled when his finger pointed to the floor.

“If you’re from the Management Agency, wouldn’t you end up in the same place?”

He was probably suggesting to go down.

Down, and that all Management Agency personnel would head to the same place.

What lay beneath the Gangdong Branch?

She flipped through the manual.

Gangdong Branch, Gangdong Branch…

[Manual for Office Staff]

[KD – Gangdong Branch Isolation Room]

1. The Gangdong Branch also has isolation rooms on the basement floor.

2. Accessing that facility requires special clearance, so usually, entry isn’t possible without credentials.

The path we took was the staircase leading down to the basement.

This stairway likely led to the isolation room, right?

But still, there was something gnawing at her mind.

She still couldn’t grasp the man’s gesture with his hands.

What was he trying to convey?

Pressing her temple, she fell into thought.

For now, she would put that aside.

Let’s move on to the next topic.

“So right now the Management Team isn’t on our side.”

“If you go, there won’t be anyone around, so be sure to look carefully. Sometimes people hide.”

“Just because people start talking doesn’t mean you should be too casual. Wouldn’t it be better to pretend to be from the Gangdong Branch?”

“And don’t act too familiar, especially with A-Rin and Chae Yeon.”

The stories all connected.

The Management Team isn’t on our side.

What does that mean?

Is there some sort of conflict among the personnel within the Management Agency?

It could be a rebellion, or perhaps they’re rendered ineffective because of a containment object—like the Dream of the Butterfly.

Regardless, for some reason, the Gangdong Branch must have become dysfunctional.

And as she descended this staircase, she confirmed her hypothesis.

She successfully turned exactly to the right, and the password matched perfectly.

“They say the safest time is when everyone is together. The more dangerous it gets, the more that holds true.”

She wanted to warn the others, but…

“But be careful. There are a lot of ears around.”

The fact that there are a lot of ears around worried her.

Someone might overhear what she says.

Should she write something to convey it?

But there might be someone hiding around.

She scanned her surroundings.

Rusty stairs, and the dim light only illuminating a step ahead.

This might actually be an opportunity.

She grabbed Yu Da On’s wrist.

“Whoa…! Mmm…!”

Yu Da On let out a strange sound of surprise, quickly covering her mouth with one hand.

“…”

Yu Da On looked at her, startled, with her mouth covered.

Using her fingertip, she began to write on Yu Da On’s palm.

“Mm… Huh…”

With every letter she wrote on her palm, Yu Da On’s body trembled with her eyes closed.

<There’s a chance of eavesdropping. Be cautious.>

“Huh… Huh…?”

Yu Da On, who had been trembling with her mouth covered, froze in place.

She turned around to face me, nodding her head.

She understood what I was saying.

She approached the others in the same way, taking their wrists and writing on their palms.

Soon, the same message was conveyed to everyone, and we completely understood each other.

We moved slowly.

The dark corridor’s end was approaching, and just like before, a rusty metal door stood in front of us.

Yu Da On pushed the iron door open.

-Creeek…

With another terrible sound, white light seeped out, and we stood in the corridor.

“…”

Without opening her mouth, she scanned the surroundings.

The familiar sight of the corridor.

It was the isolation area.

Just as everyone was about to point out where to go, a voice interrupted.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Jang Chae Yeon and Song Ah Rin?”

A middle-aged woman’s voice rang out, and someone stepped out from the isolation room.

She looked like an ordinary middle-aged woman.

Dressed in common clothing.

But one thing caught her attention…

A translucent window floated above her head.

[Name: Park In Hee]

[Age: 52]

[Special Skills: X]

[Talents: X]

[Background: She has thought long about whether just looking indefinitely would lead to proper management. Her wish has indeed been granted in some way.]

[Vulnerability: An ordinary human. She can die if her vital points are attacked.]

“It’s been a while since I’ve been here. What’s going on?”

She asked, smiling gently as she scanned me, Yu Da On, and Park Ye Eun.

The cross on her wrist reflected the light from the ceiling.