"That was a disaster alert just now, right?"
"It's a terror attack, a terror attack!"
May 4th, Segwang Metropolitan City's Day of Disaster.
A moment in the past.
Near the Hanbit Department Store I had rushed out of that morning, the bustling street of Segwang City had not yet descended into pandemonium.
But it was ominous.
Just before something tremendous erupted—at its very starting point—I caught the scent of fear, an unfamiliar sensation.
Tension.
An atmosphere created by the disaster alert that read, 'Biochemical terror incident near City Hall.'
"Search for a nearby shelter."
"Junseong, stop looking at that and let's go home. Hurry!"
"Are we just going to take the subway? What do we do?"
"Doesn't it sound like there's a constant noise from over there? Someone's screaming. There, over there…."
I reflexively turned my head at those words.
Far in the distance, down the street, was a rectangular glass building, only its upper part visible.
The experience of living through a peaceful May 4th for 613 days in Segwang Metropolitan City told my mind what it was.
Segwang City Hall.
-A disaster alert suddenly came in as first period was starting. It said there was a terror attack at City Hall.
But the City Hall building was fine.
It was clean and whole, as if no terror attack had occurred. The glass surface glinted in the sunlight.
That's why the passersby were also glancing toward City Hall, looking confused.
"Isn't the disaster alert just a mistake?"
"Hey, but it says biochemical terror. Let's not get too close for now…."
However.
Thump.
"…Huh?"
I felt it.
A strange vibration was coming from the ground.
Thump.
At short intervals, a sound like a series of impacts, as if raindrops were pattering down.
"What's that?"
The murmuring of the crowd grew louder as they seemed to notice it too.
But the sound also grew louder.
Thump.
The next moment.
"Wh-what?"
"Hey, that…."
The passersby realized the source of the sound.
It was the sound of people's footsteps.
The sound of countless people walking.
Thump.
[Oh, look over there, my friend! A close-up will be necessary.]
I turned my head.
From the direction of City Hall, a group of people was walking around a crosswalk.
They weren't running from something or screaming.
Still, a large crowd of people is bound to draw attention, and the passersby watched them, murmuring and speculating.
"What is it?"
"I think they're cordoning off the street."
Sounds of people saying it must be because of the terror attack, that of course the police would have come, that they saw on social media that fire trucks were there too, echoed from all over the street.
I swallowed hard and watched the approaching crowd.
And then….
"Huh?"
A sense of unease crept in.
The people all had placid expressions, walking silently down the street without even talking to each other.
"…This is weird."
Their attire was also varied. A restaurant employee, an office worker, someone in a tracksuit, a café uniform… all these people were walking side-by-side on the sidewalk without any anxiety, impatience, or hesitation.
"Hey, hey, look at that."
"Why are they all like that?"
But the unease didn't end there.
The stream of people pouring onto the sidewalk continued, revealing new outfits of those following behind….
"..."
"…A firefighter?"
Firefighters.
Walking with placid expressions, they were in their orange response uniforms.
There were even police officers behind them in the procession.
Behind them, paramedics could be seen.
All of them wore faint smiles.
Behind them, injured people could be seen.
People who looked like they should be in an ambulance were walking mixed in with ordinary pedestrians….
The people who had responded to and gathered at the scene of the terror attack were marching in the exact state of that emergency.
"..."
"Hey, this is strange."
Humans feel fear from unease.
The people in the bustling area near the department store finally began to flinch and back away, or quickly raised their phones to record videos.
'Damn it.'
I slowly started to back away.
My heart was pounding.
And the next moment.
Beeeeep!
The sound of disaster alerts began to ring out from all directions.
I checked my smartphone with a trembling hand.
A chill ran down my spine.
[Segwang Metropolitan City]
Alert canceled not terror not weapon not explosion please be assured
let's go together
And.
"Uh, uhhh?"
As the alert tones subsided… another sound could be heard.
Humming.
The melody of a small hum was faintly echoing in the air.
'Where is that coming from?'
And the next moment, I realized.
From everyone's mouths.
Everyone staring at the disaster alert was humming.
I realized the humming was also coming from my own mouth.
The melody which sounded familiar, was gradually turning from a muffled, faint sound into a specific tune….
'Fuck!'
I smacked myself in the face with my smartphone.
"…!"
The moment the dull pain brought me back to my senses.
"Aaargh!"
I immediately turned and started running.
Behind me, the screams were followed by a bizarre sound.
"You, what are you doing?? Uh, ughhh…."
"Why are you leaving!"
"Oh my god!"
The faint shouts that had been coming from far away were now right behind me.
The sound of flesh squelching, a crunching sound, a wailing sound, and the sound of footsteps….
"It's, it's swelling… Hiiiek!"
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end.
'Don't look back.'
I have to get away.
I have to get away…!!
Survival instinct pushed me from behind. I ran holding my breath.
For a moment, as I passed the glass wall of the department store on my left, a child inside—holding their parent's hand—cast a curious gaze at me.
My breath caught in my throat.
Beeeeep!
[Segwang Metropolitan City]
Not a disaster alert please participate in the wa-wa-walk event let's walk together
To paradise
Alerts rang out from all directions. I didn't read any further and put my smartphone away.
No, why was I desperately running and bothering to take this out to read it in the first place… wait a minute.
...Why am I seeing the department store entrance again?
And then I realized.
I was running in the opposite direction.
At some point, I had turned around again and was running toward City Hall.
…The glass door of the department store was on my right.
"Wh-what?"
"Let's go forward."
"Yunjin! Yunjin…."
I stopped my feet. I righted my body, which had almost fallen, and stumbled backward.
I tried to lower my head, determined not to look ahead, but I caught a glimpse.
…The leg of a person who had joined the group from City Hall was swelling up.
A relaxed and distinct hum was coming from my mouth….
'No.'
Someone pushed me and dashed forward.
"Hup."
The humming that was coming from my mouth stopped for a moment. Fear, confusion, and panic spread like an infection. I made a split-second decision.
'I have to get away.'
But if I can't just run in the opposite direction of that procession….
'I have to get off the street!'
I swerved sharply and ran back into the department store.
"Uwaaaargh!"
"Ack!"
"Close the door!"
Behind me, I heard the sound of the glass door closing, and the sound of something splattering against the glass.
Without hesitation, I madly sprinted across the first floor of the department store, heading for the exit on the opposite side.
"Ack!"
"What's going on?"
People who didn't yet grasp the severity of the situation glanced over, then noticed the commotion in the lobby and started screaming.
I kept running, leaving behind the sound of disaster alerts beginning to ring out in the lobby.
Soon, the outdoor parking lot for cargo trucks came into view.
"Heok."
I was out of the department store.
The blue sky, the outdoor parking lot under the sunlight was peaceful, but the echo of screams and rupturing sounds could be heard from beyond.
I looked at my now-quiet smartphone.
'…Does the sound become audible when you get within a certain radius of… that phenomenon?'
Damn it, damn it!
Why did I suddenly land on the morning of the Day of Disaster?
My head was spinning.
'What am I supposed to do?'
This Segwang Metropolitan City is about to be destroyed, so how do I survive? No, first I have to find Manager Lee Jaheon and the two people who were inside the tattoo….
[Now, now, my friend. Haste makes waste, as they say. Let's not squander your precious ideas and thoughts, and think efficiently….]
[First, shall we organize what Mr. Roe Deer knows?]
…What I know?
'Right!'
It felt like a spark went off in my head.
I know about this Segwang Metropolitan City.
The geography, locations, and transportation of this place, which I naturally learned while repeating a peaceful May 4th over six hundred times.
And even the past few months I spent exploring the underground of Segwang Metropolitan City after it became an Extinction-class Disaster.
I know what is where in this Segwang Metropolitan City, and how the various landmarks of this special city mutated after the Day of Disaster.
If I reason backward….
'I know where everything is, and what features they have...!'
…Then, based on that, I can at least try something.
"Hoo."
I got up.
First….
'Find the people.'
Find the people who fell with me into the middle of this Segwang Metropolitan City after getting off the train.
'There's a high probability that they're also trapped in this past.'
…I had to think so.
And this place was already a disaster.
If this crazy May 4th was endlessly repeating in Segwang Metropolitan City, I had to figure out a way to escape.
Exploration and escape.
"…Let's go."
I made my decision.
I took a deep breath and started walking.
After some thought, I didn't turn off my smartphone. It also served as a notification that the 'disaster phenomenon' was near.
'For now, I need to get away from Segwang City Hall, which seems to be the origin of the disaster.'
And I know for sure of at least one place where this disaster is temporally delayed.
'…Sekwang Technical High School.'
-The teachers hurriedly collected all our phones. They cut all the TV cables.
-And then they told us to close our eyes, cover our ears, and lie still.
That means the students were fine at least until all that was done.
'…They said they played classical music.'
And they were told to close their eyes and cover their ears….
I was now beginning to vaguely guess what that all meant.
And.
-One of the teachers tried to go out.
The counselor.
I would be able to meet Ho Yuwon, too.
"..."
[You've decided on a destination, my friend.]
'Buses are out.'
Following the roads would be a foolish thing to do, and the roads would be pandemonium by now.
And I don't know when they might block the subway entrances….
'Wait a minute.'
While looking around the public outdoor parking lot connected to the department store's cargo lot, I spotted something.
-Bicycle rack
In one corner, there were seven or eight bicycles chained up….
* * *
And so, a short while later.
'I'm sorry…!'
I was riding a bicycle.
I picked the oldest, dustiest one that the owner probably wasn't coming back for, so at least the owner wouldn't be devastated to find their bike stolen while trying to escape!
'I have to stick to the alleys.'
I started riding toward the high school, avoiding people and taking small streets and paths between buildings instead of the main roads.
"What? What's going on?"
"Hey, get back inside the café!"
"What are those people…."
The bicycle skillfully weaved through the narrow paths, dodging the panicked people.
The bicycle riding skills I honed at the Disaster Management Bureau were shining in a strange place.
No, on second thought, since I'm going to find people in a supernatural disaster, this might be the perfect situation….
"Aaaargh!"
I snapped my head around.
Right in front of me, people pouring out of an alley next to a convenience store tumbled in front of my bike.
Damn it!
I barely managed to jump over them, nearly tripping.
It looked like five or six people had fallen. I steadied the bike and shouted.
"Are you all right?"
It seemed like someone had tripped while turning a corner while running out of the alley, causing a pile-up.
One of the fallen people got up in a hurry without answering and started running.
I shouted after him.
"Go in the opposite direction of City Hall! Avoid the main roads!"
"Get up!"
"Heek!"
The others started to get up and run, pushing or helping each other, but one middle-aged man couldn't get up.
"Ugh…."
A high school student who had been at the bottom of the pile was instead helping the middle-aged man up.
'Damn it, damn it.'
This might be a completely meaningless act, but I ended up stopping the bike to help them. It was the moment I turned my body.
Someone was standing in the side alley.
"..."
The figure of a person holding a cell phone.
From the phone in their hand, disaster alerts were incessantly going off.
A civilian of Segwang Metropolitan City in everyday clothes, wearing a floral-patterned dress.
But….
'Ah.'
It was swelling.
I could hear humming.
The melody was becoming more and more distinct.
It was making a soft humming sound, and staggering, it was walking this way….
A disaster alert rang from my phone too.
'Ha.'
The top of my head tingled. I got off the saddle and pushed the bike in front of the alley where it was.
"Go!"
The middle-aged man, finally helped up by the high school student, started running frantically.
I wanted to scream and run away with them.
'It's already infiltrating the alleys.'
It was a relief that there were only a few of them.
'Get out of here fast.'
I clenched my teeth and prepared to run again. I figured I'd use my own two feet for now and switch to a bike if I found one.
But then I saw it.
The high school student who had helped the middle-aged man was heading in the direction where I had pushed the bike.
"…!"
I immediately grabbed the high school student and kicked the bike again.
I suppressed the humming that was about to come out of my mouth again, turned, and ran.
The high school student, half-dragged along, started running on his own.
And around the time I was sure the disaster alerts were no longer ringing.
"Heok."
I finally stopped when I found a rack with a few public-use bicycles. Then I turned my head toward the high school student who was still following me.
"Are you all…."
And I froze.
"..."
The uniform this high school student was wearing was one I recognized.
'Sekwang High…?'
I reflexively raised my head.
And stopped completely.
"Hoo-uk, yes, thank you…."
Ryu Jaegwan.
Agent Bronze, in the form of a high school student, was gasping for breath.