In the ghost story, each alley has its own theme. Just like how shops in real life often cluster together by type, forming a commercial district. Of course, these alleys appear unpredictably, and their occurrence rates vary.
Confirmed sections of Death Lane:
Street vendors
Bookstores
Pets
Jewelry
Everyday goods
Lighting
Meat
...
Currently, we were in the alley that sells everyday goods.
But somehow, I was heading straight for the most uninviting shop in this alley.
A butcher shop displaying hanging, writhing organs and flesh. Wriggle, wriggle.
'Think of it as a haunted house.'
It's fine. Nothing here looks like its original form in life. They're just parts. I'll pretend this is an animatronic attraction at an amusement park… Wait, no. Thinking about amusement parks just reminds me of Cheerful Theme Park, and that's even scarier!
'C-Calm down.'
I can't back down now.
Feigning composure, I took steady steps toward the butcher shop.
Fresh Meat Butcher Shop
Beneath the red and blue lights shining on the glass window, the shopkeeper, who had been sharpening a knife on a stone, raised their head. A hulking figure in a blood-soaked apron.
Upon closer inspection…
A skinned cow with only chunks of flesh left on its head stared back at us. Creak.
It gestured toward us, as if inviting us closer with the promise of good service.
"S-Supervisor, wait!"
Kang Yihak stepped in front of me.
"Haha, uh, I don't think we need anything from this shop. Let's check out another one!"
"But the shopkeeper's already signaling us. It'd feel rude not to go in." – Ah, quite right. It's good manners, after all!
"No!"
Realizing her voice had grown too loud, Kang Yihak quickly lowered it, speaking urgently.
"The manual explicitly says not to enter meat-themed alleys…!"
She was correct.
Manual Entry: Meat-Themed Alleys
– Upon discovering a meat-themed alley in Death Lane, do not enter. Stay in the previous alley.
– If entry is unavoidable (e.g., being chased by a vendor), block out sound using earbuds and walk 1,000 steps as quickly as possible to move to the next alley.
– If a companion gets caught up in a vendor's sampling offer, leave them behind and move ahead at a faster pace.
Just reading these instructions was enough to send chills down one's spine.
"That's true."
"Oh, so you remember? Then—"
"So?"
"...?!"
"I want to shop."
And with that, I strode toward the butcher shop.
"Mr. Roe Deer…!"
I'm sorry, Mr. Buffalo! You're free to run if you want…!
But I could hear the footsteps of both my companions following me. Apparently, they'd decided to stick with me.
Huh. I thought they'd bolt.
'Maybe I'm the one who wanted to run the most…'
But if I stopped now, I'd likely end up dragged around by Kang Yihak's schemes again. So, I kept moving forward.
Eventually, the three of us stood side by side in front of the brightly lit butcher shop, with its grotesque display of writhing body parts… Of course, I was at the front.
Haa.
...
The skinned cow stared at me.
'Uuuugh.'
I couldn't look too closely.
I unfocused my eyes and glanced near the shopkeeper's neck, but the sight of pulsing veins made me quickly shift my gaze to their bloodstained apron. The apron was somehow less disturbing.
"Hello. Do you offer fresh packages by any chance?"
N…od.
"You have a lot of good cuts here. Hmm… could I see the front limbs?"
Thud.
The skinned cow's head moved, opening the glass door. From within, the 'front limbs' were pulled out and displayed before me. …Still writhing, still alive.
An animal's paw.
A primate's hand.
A primate's hand.
Tentacles?
An animal's paw.
A primate's hand…
And then, a trembling human hand, with a ringed finger, desperately scraping against the glass floor…
'Urgh.'
I had to hold it together.
Feigning indifference, I looked down at the display.
…There wasn't a suitable left hand among them.
'What a pity.'
Having endured this mental torment, it'd be nice to get some kind of reward out of it.
Pushing aside thoughts of Assistant Manager Eun Haje, I paused for a moment before speaking to the butcher.
"Something with sturdy bones would be better for a rich broth… Hmm. Do you happen to have anything with eyes?"
Thud!
Having already been declined once, the shopkeeper's movements grew rough. I could faintly hear my companions holding their breath behind me. I, too, took a deep breath to suppress my fear.
'The display…'
The front limbs were cleared away, revealing rows of eyeballs before me.
A black-sclera eye with violet irises.
A fist-sized blue eye.
A lens with bits of flesh still attached.
A white, trembling eye, unfocused.
And… a desperate dark brown eye, gazing at me.
'Haa.'
I closed my eyes briefly, then opened them.
"That one looks good."
I pointed to the first one displayed—the black eye with the glinting violet iris.
"I'd like to buy it. No need to cut it up."
...
The skinned cow stared blankly at me before extending its hand. A clear gesture—payment was required.
Kang Yihak murmured in a small voice.
"…Supervisor, maybe you should subtly check what form of payment they want…"
"No need."
I retrieved a box from my tattoo inventory.
Thud.
A heavy box filled with corn and carrots landed in front of the shop.
"...??"
"...?!"
"I'll pay with this."
When attempting barter at this butcher shop, the items must be food consumable by cattle.
That's right. While the shops in Death Lane often use peculiar currencies, we don't have access to them.
'So we have to rely on bartering.'
Since each shop accepts different goods, I'd stuffed my tattoo inventory with a mix of daily necessities, jewelry, and snacks… including a box of vegetables.
Of course, some shops demand something no sane person would willingly give, but this should suffice here.
"How much of this would you like?"
...
The butcher extended its hand to take the entire pile of vegetables. My companions, who had been silently horrified by my inventory trick, suddenly looked relieved.
"Oh, the trade went through…"
"Hold on. All of it?"
"...?!"
I frowned and interrupted.
"That's too expensive. I mean, no matter how fresh it's been packaged, there should be limits. It wasn't easy for me to bring these here in such good condition…"
"M-Mr. Roe Deer…?!"
My companions now stared at me as if I'd lost my mind, but I kept talking.
"Did you raise the price just because I selected it? Or is this a general supply issue?"
N…od.
"I see, you've been struggling. But even so, this goes over my budget… Huu."
I let the silence hang deliberately.
The shopkeeper remained silent as well.
The skinned cow's head seemed to blankly watch me before finally moving toward what appeared to be the cash register. It returned holding a handful of rusted coins, with all numbers and letters printed in reverse. The local currency.
'Yes!'
Success…!!
Not all shops accept bartering, and in those cases, you need coins to escape! – Ah, how perfectly scripted! The joy of a well-prepared performance!
Smiling, I accepted the coins.
"This change will do. Thank you. I'll take my purchase now."
...!
The skinned shopkeeper excitedly rose and began packaging the item I bought.
The wildly rolling black eye was sealed in transparent liquid and handed to me in a plastic wrap.
I tried my best not to look too closely at either the coins or the item.
"Thank… you."
And then—
Drip.
Blood splattered from the shopkeeper's apron onto my face.
And onto Jang Heo-un's face as well.
"...!"
Jang Heo-un, wearing his Buffalo mask, stiffened and lowered his head. He was likely fighting the urge to vomit…
'Damn it.'
I jumped in and started talking.
"Ah, my friend here seems a bit weak from hunger. We should head back soon so he can eat something."
Please, please!
The skinned cow peered intently at Jang Heo-un.
Just as he began to break into a cold sweat, frozen stiff—
Thud.
The shopkeeper dropped an item in front of him.
…It was one of the ears of corn I had used as payment.
"Th-thank you…"
Jang Heo-un, with trembling hands, took the corn.
The shopkeeper stared blankly at him for a moment before returning to their seat in front of the butcher shop's glass door.
'…We made it.'
We quickly walked away from the 'Fresh Meat Butcher Shop'. At the same time, I glanced at Jang Heo-un, who was gripping the corn tightly.
More specifically, I looked at what he was wearing.
'…Was it the mask?'
It seemed the shopkeeper had mistaken him for a buffalo. As expected, the masks from Daydream Inc. were no ordinary items—they worked like Dream Essence Collectors.
'Phew.'
Don't give up on your body!
Remaining steps: 7,999
Our steps only stopped when the next alley came into view. I immediately checked on Jang Heo-un.
"Are you okay?"
"Huh? Oh, yes… well, since the blood was all cleaned off and the cuts were neat, I think I'm fine now…"
'Isn't it more horrifying that they were so clean yet still alive?'
But fear points differ from person to person. Best to respect that. At least he seemed okay now, which was a relief. His complexion looked fine too.
Just as we were about to move again—
"W-What was that just now? How did you manage that trade…?!"
Kang Yihak finally started asking questions.
Alright.
'Let's go all in one more time…!'
I deliberately asked back in a casual tone, "What do you mean?"
"That thing you bought! The manual clearly says to avoid meat-themed alleys, but you handled it all so smoothly, like you were prepared…"
I was prepared!
But I couldn't admit that, so I replied, "It was obvious."
"...?"
"From the manual's description of meat-related shops, I figured it'd be like a restaurant district. The problem usually comes from eating things, right?"
I lifted the bag containing my purchase.
"But this is a butcher shop. I assumed I could just buy without eating anything."
"...!"
"And judging by the display…"
I spun the bag around to show them the bizarre black eyeball.
"Since it's alive, I figured it could be used for something else."
"..."
"For example… organ transplants."
"...!"
Exactly.
Explorers don't buy food at this butcher shop.
There's a record of an employee successfully attaching a tongue purchased from the Fresh Meat Butcher Shop into their mouth. It functioned perfectly, enabling movements impossible for humans.
If you attach a fresh, still-living part from this shop to a missing body part, it becomes functional.
Sometimes, it even carries over abilities the original part possessed.
Of course, blindly approaching this shop without knowing that and trying to buy something is absolutely insane!
So I rambled on.
"In places like this, it's vital to make creative inferences from limited clues."
No, it's not.
'Trying to gain an edge through wild guesses is a surefire way to get yourself killed…'
Everyone knows that such moves are a last resort when there's no other escape.
But I had no choice but to act calm and crazy. After all, lunatics always have their own impeccable line of logic.
"I succeeded with my inference. Is there a problem?"
There were bound to be plenty!
Sure enough, Kang Yihak stared at me with her mouth agape. Yep, she's baffled.
"Wow!"
Whoa, that startled me.
"You're absolutely right!"
...?!
Her eyes gleamed through the pony mask.
"Wow, I see now. To achieve high rewards, you have to think differently from the crowd. I've been too cautious, worrying about risks this whole time."
"..."
"Life is all or nothing anyway, isn't it? Haha! Exactly!"
W-Wait a second.
Something's off here…
"Alright, let's move forward. Wow, it's been a while since I've met a superior worth emulating!"
"..."
At that moment, it hit me.
'Silver Heart!'
I still had the Silver Heart badge pinned inside my pocket.
'And I used it while rambling nonsense, so it ended up convincing her!'
The issue was that this situation was still bizarre.
The Silver Heart isn't a brainwashing tool—it's a persuasion tool. Its effectiveness relies on both logical validity and emotional resonance.
'So logically, this kind of absurd rant shouldn't have worked…'
"I'll make sure to support your endeavors from now on, Supervisor! Haha."
"..."
Ah.
I get it now.
This person… genuinely believes the insane logic I spouted made sense.
'What kind of person is this?'
A cold sweat trickled down my back. I turned to my one last hope—a sane colleague.
'Mr. Heo-un, at least you…'
"Yes, I'll support you too!"
"..."
Where did this go wrong?
Jang Heo-un's face was lit up with the look of someone thinking, 'Wow! I've been helped again! How lucky!'
He was already fully convinced.
– Congratulations. You've earned the trust of your colleagues, Friend!
"..."
Sure.
But something feels… off.
For now, the only option was to keep walking and get out of here…
'First, escape.'
Don't give up on your body!
Remaining steps: 6,999
Surprisingly, the next alley went smoothly.
So did the one after that.
"These are lighting shops. Don't look directly at the windows, or you'll risk going blind or getting burned. Let's pretend we're chatting and avoid looking at them as we walk."
"Got it!"
The alleyways were lined with all sorts of bizarre and mystical shops. Still, since I knew the manual by heart, it felt like taking a pop quiz after memorizing the textbook.
Of course, the stakes were death if I got even one answer wrong, so I stayed hyper-focused…
"Oh! A pharmacy! Shall I try buying something there this time? What do you think, Supervisor? You okay with it, Mr. Buffalo?"
"Yes! I'm fine with it!"
"…The items don't seem particularly valuable, so let's keep moving."
"Ah, right, gotta save our bullets for the big stuff, haha!"
Why does it feel like they expect me to make bold purchases again…? And the worst part? It seemed like they'd fully support me if I did. That was the most nerve-wracking part.
Meanwhile, the shop I suspected might have the chocolate I came here for wasn't anywhere to be seen.
It was exhausting, sneaking glances around without making eye contact with the shopkeepers. Huu…
Then, at that moment.
Don't give up on your body!
Remaining steps: 4,999
"Supervisor, a new alley appeared…"
I stopped and looked at the narrow gap between the pharmacies. From within, a foul stench wafted out.
'Ugh.'
It was a cramped back alley, barely half the width of the street vendor alley… but overwhelmingly dark.
"..."
Whoosh.
The alley stretched ahead, lined with rickety side doors. A few gas lamps flickered faintly, barely lighting the way.
In that dim light, thick, sewer-like sludge oozed from pipes beside the doors, only to disappear into the darkness.
And beneath the gas lamps, leaning against the walls, were skeletal, hunched silhouettes.
Glance.
Clad in filthy, tattered uniforms, they stared right at us.
…Taking everything into account—
'Even if this wasn't a ghost story, the atmosphere screams turn around and get out immediately.'
The alley exuded a chilling and eerie vibe that made any normal transaction seem impossible.
"…This isn't in the manual."
Right.
At this point, even Daydream Inc. hadn't conducted an official exploration here. It was an unfamiliar and unknown alley to the staff. The problem was…
'I have to go in there.'
Tears welled up.
And the fact that I wouldn't even have to convince my teammates to enter this insane place… also made me want to cry.
With a heavy heart, I turned to my companions and said, "We're going into that alley."
Their responses?
"Understood!"
"Looks like a black-market spot! High profits guaranteed!"
"..."
Please, let me be the only lunatic in this group!