Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 549

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

549. In the Chaos (2)
After the first test concluded, we found ourselves unable to speak for some time.
It was only natural—we hadn’t been told what to do or where to go.
“Um, so… we’ve started now, right?”
“Unless this is a broadcast accident, it seems that way.”
“Should we start moving around? There seems to be something over there….”
“Oh, I checked earlier—it’s just a wall. There’s nothing there.”
Faced with an utterly incomprehensible next step, everyone began to mill about aimlessly. People scoured suspicious locations, desperately trying to uncover any clue they could find.
[System Alert: But why is the fixed Returner just sitting there?]
[System Alert: 「(°ヘ°) ?]
‘I don’t know, I’m exhausted, be quiet, don’t talk to me.’
[System Alert: ?(°Д°≡°Д°)?]
Did you think hauling eight adults up with bare hands was easy?
Of course, I wasn’t completely drained from doing that, but I decided to let the others take the initiative in searching for clues.
Everyone was eager to seize control, so it wouldn’t be long before someone over there shouted, “Wait! Hold on!” and called us over….
“Huh? Wait a second! Isn’t this how you turn on the lights?”
See? I knew they’d find it soon enough.
Sure enough, Son Je-u, who had been the most enthusiastic about exploring since earlier, called out to everyone and pulled a lever on the wall.
“Huh? What, what is it?”
Then, with a whirring sound, the building’s wall began to glow.
Not that the building’s lights turned on—the actual ‘building wall’ itself began to brighten.
As everyone stared, mesmerized by the light, a circular emoji-like figure suddenly appeared on the rocky wall where the timer had been blinking moments before, accompanied by dazzling graphics.
-Welcome to the Chaos Zone, everyone.
-I am Void, the AI guide who will lead you through this chaos.
An AI guide… it’s trendy these days, I suppose.
An emoji-shaped hologram moved across the dark wall as if it were actually speaking. Each time the voice played, subtitles appeared in real-time, just like a genuine artificial intelligence.
-This place where you now stand is an abandoned secret research facility that was sealed off long ago, and it is scheduled to be detonated in approximately 12 hours.
-Therefore, you must escape from this facility within the next 12 hours, avoiding all traps and dangers within.
Twelve hours.
Since we’d been notified from the start that today’s filming would involve staying awake the entire day, no one seemed to question that grueling shooting schedule. Besides, while they said 12 hours, they would surely break for filming at appropriate intervals to give us rest.
‘…Or would they?’
If this was truly a brutal forced resignation, they might keep the shooting continuous without official breaks, maintaining immersion in the situation….
In any case, this was my first time experiencing such a large-scale shoot in this timeline, so I couldn’t quite gauge what to expect.
-There is only one way to escape this place.
-Find the ‘Hidden Room’ somewhere within this research facility and activate the emergency escape system inside it.
-However, you must discover for yourselves where it is and how to activate it.
Just as Void finished speaking, a sound effect of power cutting out suddenly echoed from somewhere.
The AI hologram that had been clearly visible on the wall also began to distort with a glitch effect, its voice artificially warped.
-Unfortunately, that is all the information I can provide you.
-The method to call me again also exists within the facility. If you see an ‘i’ mark anywhere, you can reconnect with me, so please keep that in mind.
The emoji had been smiling brightly at first, but the Void’s mark had become quite grotesque due to the glitching and freezing effects—yet it still gleamed like a neon sign amid the chaos.
Once the guidance announcement seemed to have concluded, I shifted my gaze and surveyed my surroundings. Thanks to the slightly improved lighting, I could now see the environment with clarity.
‘But for an abandoned secret research facility… isn’t something missing?’
I scanned intently for a separate entrance, but no matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t spot any special mechanisms. Only the water beneath my feet rippled ominously, splashing and asserting its presence.
‘…Wait, the water is moving?’
I quickly gripped the railing and peered down.
It should have been still by now since it had already filled completely before we all climbed up, yet the water surface continued to undulate and surge relentlessly.
Something felt wrong, and as I looked more carefully, I realized the water’s movement wasn’t subsiding—it was intensifying like waves.
“…? Ha-jin, what’s wrong?”
While everyone else listened to the Void’s guidance, Nam Sa-ra, standing nearby, found it odd that I alone was staring down so intently and whispered her question.
Still keeping my eyes fixed on the water surface below, I answered Nam Sa-ra.
“Sister, look down there for a moment.”
“Huh?”
“…Doesn’t the water seem higher than before? Or am I imagining things?”
As I tilted my head uncertainly, Nam Sa-ra—who had been wearing a confused expression—suddenly approached me with a serious look. She stared at something intently, then her face grew contemplative and she nodded.
“No, you’re not imagining it. The water has risen since before.”
“You’re sure?”
“I checked the water level when Zeus climbed up just to be safe. It was exactly two marks below that red valve on the pipe line back then. But now it’s almost reached the valve.”
At her words, Nam Sa-ra and I simultaneously straightened up.
The others, sensing something amiss in our conversation, began alternating their gazes between the Void and us, as if trying to figure out what was happening.
Since the Void’s announcement hadn’t finished yet, I was debating whether to mention this when—.
The Void transmitted its next message in a mechanical voice that was barely intelligible.
-For your information, this research facility’s security system has now classified you as ‘intruders.’
-Therefore, from this moment forward, you are a ‘threat’ to this facility’s security system, and the system will activate all mechanisms to eliminate you.
Why would you say something so terrifying right as the water starts rising below?
As I stood there reading the Void’s subtitle with a pale face, the already-mangled emoticon gleamed mischievously and delivered its final farewell.
-I do hope we meet again.
-Bye, Bye! 🙂
“So there’s another one like the Returner from our house… this thing.”
“Huh? Ha-jin, what did you say?”
“In movies, those types usually turn out to be the mastermind. Anyway, we should escape first, right? The water is rising here!”
“Yeah, that’s the priority right now.”
I shook my head dismissively at Nam Sa-ra, who had heard my muttering, and she nodded back with an uneasy expression.
I quickly clapped my hands to gather everyone’s attention. Since they had been focused on the Void until just moments ago, their gazes turned toward me without delay.
“The water down there seems to be continuously rising, so we need to find an exit regardless. Has anyone discovered anything?”
“The water is rising again?”
“Yeah, the water level is higher than before.”
“I did check the entire perimeter earlier, but I didn’t find anything suspicious. Though I might have missed something in the darkness….”
At my words about the rising water, the group began to show signs of alarm.
Still, they weren’t the type to only look out for themselves, and as soon as a common danger emerged, their eyes sharpened and they began sharing what they had discovered.
“Could it be that we need to go down into the water? That kind of approach happens pretty often, doesn’t it?”
“I’ve considered that too, but the water level has already reached up to that broken power line over there, right? If there’s actually current running through it, it would be way too dangerous.”
“I don’t think going down is the answer either. Besides, when we climbed up earlier, we checked all the walls on the way, and there wasn’t anything particularly special about them.”
Interesting. This was quite promising.
I hadn’t expected much since the cast members seemed to be doing nothing but posturing and playing political games in the Waiting Room, but they were actually sharing their findings with surprisingly coherent observations.
‘…Could this be a team event rather than an individual competition?’
I’d been fixated on the word “survival” and thinking of them only as competitors, but if this was the kind of survival where we had to escape as a team, that changed everything.
While I was assessing the remaining participants and reconsidering what strategy we should devise going forward, Ha Tae-jin, who had naturally become the leader coordinating opinions among the group, suddenly called out to me.
“Ha-jin.”
“…Yes?”
“What do you think? You came in first, after all. Did you notice anything when you entered?”
The water level was already rising precariously, leaving only two or three rungs of the ladder above it.
If this water really did have current running through it (which would certainly be a broadcast gimmick), the moment it touched us, we’d all be disqualified.
“Well… I didn’t see anything special down there.”
Ha Tae-jin’s gaze turned toward me.
The certainty that my composure in this critical moment meant I must know something reached him.
I felt some pressure from Ha Tae-jin’s stare and moved my feet toward something.
“Ah, that’s something I activated earlier.”
It was the wall with the lever that Son Je-u had pulled to activate the Void earlier.
I nodded at Son Je-u, who was showing off and acting knowledgeable, and responded.
“Yes, that’s true, but… since that’s the only thing we’ve touched, there might be something more to this spot, don’t you think?”
A single lever—the only thing attached to the otherwise featureless wall with no sign of any secret passage.
As I reached for the lever, which was halfway down, Son Je-u stopped me with a worried voice.
“W-wait…! What if something strange happens because you just carelessly touch it?”
And you asked for our permission when you pulled this lever, did you?
…The words rose to the tip of my tongue, but the water splashing beneath my feet was rising faster than that.
I deliberately feigned ignorance, smiled brightly, gripped the lever firmly in my hand, and spoke.
“Come on. It’s better than standing around and getting electrocuted, right?”
Kwon Myung-eun put only a voice recording on this expensive lever device?
‘Really?’
With trust in Kwon Myung-eun, whom I was experiencing my third timeline with, I pulled the lever up with all my strength.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————