Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 151

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Labyrinth Exploration 101 Episode 151

 

Spear Ghost(14)

 

Mind’s Eye.

 

The eye of the heart.

 

Perhaps, it’s the skill most necessary for an Archer.

 

Not relying on mere eyeballs, but quietly embracing oneself and observing the world through only the subtle waves and particle fluctuations felt on the skin.

 

The most accurate and clear eye.

 

“I’m utilizing that Mind’s Eye.”

 

Im Hae-jun explained the reason he closed his eyes like that.

 

“Then let go of my hand.”

 

When Kang Hyeon tried to let go of his hand, he flailed around as if having a seizure.

 

“No! I’m still in the practice stage, hold my hand! Hold it! Kyaaaak.”

 

“I’m holding it.”

 

“…Hey. We’ve arrived, so calm down a bit.”

 

Yoon Hwa-rim shone her flashlight ahead.

 

Wolryeong Police Station

 

“Let’s go in.”

 

“Sigh… I won’t be of any help, so why.”

 

“Ah, stop being scared. You’re wearing a gold rope and what are you afraid of.”

 

Im Hae-jun is practically wearing gold rope instead of clothes. Whether it’s placebo or not, it seems to actually have an effect, maintaining his mental strength.

 

│Im Hae-jun│■■■■●│

 

“I gave you the red bean bracelet too.”

 

Only four bars, and the remaining one bar ● was increased by an item. Thanks to the red bean bracelet he picked up on the way. A rare item made by weaving red beans with thread and preserving them with magic power.

 

It was so hard that I initially thought it was red stone.

 

“…Alright. Let’s go in.”

 

Im Hae-jun also seemed to like the rare item, opening the police station door himself.

 

* * *

 

I came up to the 4th floor operating room. It was somewhat peaceful compared to inside the camera where the vengeful spirit was rampaging about faces… faces…

 

Crackle.

 

The radio activated.

 

[Ah. This is Yoon Hwa-rim, over.]

 

“Go ahead.”

 

[Mal-ol-haem. We searched the police station… among the missing persons was the abandoned hospital director. He was a suspect at first but went missing as well.]

 

“Is that so?”

 

First, the clues obtained from this abandoned hospital were as follows:

 

:The Hospital Director experimented on the culprit.

 

:The culprit killed the Hospital Director, and the Hospital Director became a vengeful spirit trapped in the camera.

 

:For the culprit to use their ability, specific rituals and shamanic incantations are required.

 

[But this police station, it seems Ji-woo’s group came and went too.]

 

“Seo Ji-woo too?”

 

[Yes. The entrance CCTV was working so I checked it, and Ji-woo came with several people.]

 

“How many were there.”

 

This was important information.

 

[Uh… wait a moment… Six people. It was a big family. Let’s see, Ji-woo and Woon-yul and Ho-jong and Yong-seung and Hyeon-hak and Ha-yeon.]

 

6 people.

 

“Good. Well done.”

 

Thanks to that, I’ve solved the entire puzzle.

 

[And we obtained the missing film crew’s tape. Only the morgue is filmed on it.]

 

“The morgue?”

 

[Yes. As if it was fixed on a tripod.]

 

“Got it. Good work.”

 

Yes sir! I could hear Im Hae-jun’s voice from the side too.

 

[Hyung, I’m here too. I found the CCTV-]

 

I cut off the radio.

 

[…Beautiful face.]

 

The Doctor’s voice leaks out from the camera.

 

The film crew is currently hiding in the supply room, but being discovered is just a matter of time.

 

[Show me your face… show me your face…]

 

Whirrrr.

 

The Doctor breaks down the door with a drill. It’s difficult to fight against a vengeful spirit in the vengeful spirit’s space.

 

They say even a mutt is half-victorious in its own front yard, and vengeful spirits close to earthbound spirits can rarely be overcome physically.

 

[Show me your faces, everyone…]

 

“…Face?”

 

However, he’s strangely obsessed with faces.

 

The one-dimensional solution that comes to mind is… would covering the face work.

 

Hehehehehe-

 

“Do you know something?”

 

Then the Dokkaebi Fire moved flickeringly. I tried to follow it but stumbled. The knee pain suddenly became severe.

 

“Ugh…”

 

It means I don’t have much time left to be active.

 

Hehehehehe-

 

“Got it.”

 

It guides me again.

 

3rd floor, corner of some hospital room. There were many animal masks that would be used at festivals.

 

“Are you sure?”

 

Hehehehehe-

 

Vengeful spirits are beings of extreme obsession. Since they are souls where resentment and lingering thoughts have condensed with terrifying persistence, if you can just find that gap, you can escape safely.

 

The source of this information is Grandmother’s used bookstore.

 

I roughly grabbed whatever masks came to hand.

 

The filming team’s current location is the supply room on the 4th floor. I went back up, leaning on my walking stick.

 

“…Oh, my knees.”

 

Arriving at exactly that supply room, I picked up a pen with telekinesis.

 

Seok-yul said the Hospital Director is obsessed with faces. Maybe wearing these masks would be okay?

 

Pretending to be a YouTuber, I attached a note to the mask, then pressed the REC button to transmit it.

 

* * *

 

Whirrrrrrrr——-!

 

The sound of a drill operating from outside. The crazy Doctor was smashing through the door.

 

The filming team and Seo Ji-woo had blocked the supply room entrance with all kinds of furniture.

 

“Damn, what the hell is that thing.”

 

Reporter Lee Tae-young was breaking out in cold sweat. The other filming team members were also completely drenched.

 

“…Ji-woo seems to be fine though?”

 

In contrast, Seo Ji-woo wasn’t shedding a single drop of sweat.

 

“I’m an explorer, after all.”

 

“I’m jealous.”

 

Whirrrrrrrr—-!

 

Clatter clatter clatter!

 

Suddenly, masks came tumbling down from the shelves in the supply room.

 

“Ahhh!”

 

“Aaaaah!”

 

“…What is this.”

 

Director Jin Yu-seon zoomed in on the masks. There was a note attached to one.

 

Seok-yul said the Hospital Director is obsessed with faces. Maybe wearing these masks would be okay?

 

“Huh?! Everyone look at this!”

 

Director Jin Yu-seon picked up the masks.

 

Seo Ji-woo looked up at the shelf where the masks had just fallen from with puzzled eyes.

 

“…Were they originally up there?”

 

Whirrrrrrrr—-!

 

Finally, the drill reached this door too.

 

“Gasp!”

 

Reporter Lee Tae-young quickly covered his mouth.

 

…Are you here?

 

“Everyone, one each for now!”

 

Jin Yu-seon distributed the masks. Everyone put on masks of pigs, cows, horses and such.

 

Show me your face… your face…

 

Whirrrrrr- Bang!

 

The door was smashed. From outside, the massive Doctor came over, knocking down all the supplies.

 

“….”

 

Everyone remained silent with their faces covered by masks. The Doctor glanced around at them.

 

All of them, nothing but masks.

 

His brow furrowed. His rimless glasses glinted eerily.

 

…Nothing but damn ugly things.

 

The Doctor suddenly took off his mask. The corners of his mouth were split bright red.

 

He turned around, dragging his operating room crocs.

 

I need a beautiful…face…I want to see one…

 

Slowly, the vengeful spirit disappeared somewhere. Director Jin Yu-seon captured the monster Doctor’s attire with her camera.

 

Then, Seo Ji-woo spoke.

 

“…Let’s go to the morgue.”

 

“No.”

 

Lee Tae-young shook his head.

 

“Let’s go to the 6th floor and find out for sure. What that thing is, and what the other one is. What do you all think? We can identify the killer here. This is a scoop, a major fucking scoop.”

 

“…I’m good with that.”

 

Jin Yu-seon nodded, and the rest of the writers also looked agreeable.

 

Seo Ji-woo looked at them with strange eyes.

 

* * *

 

There is no space in this world without an exit. If you can enter, you can also exit.

 

It’s such an obvious and absolute principle.

 

Then, what would be the method to pull out these guys trapped in this camera.

 

“…The record button.”

 

The moment you press the record button, external objects get sucked into the camera.

 

“And, the morgue.”

 

The last video the filming team shot was only of basement 1st floor─the morgue.

 

I went back down there.

 

B1 Morgue

 

A tripod sitting alone in the middle of the morgue lined with cool freezers.

 

I don’t feel any magical energy from it, but this ENG camera fits perfectly when placed on it.

 

Hehehehehe

 

I saw the Dokkaebi Fire.

 

Laughter with slightly lower decibels. It carried a warning.

 

Hehehehehe

 

He even tries to dissuade me once more.

 

This guy might not be a vengeful spirit.

 

“I know. I know too.”

 

I placed the ENG camera on the tripod.

 

“What kind of bastard this is.”

 

In the camera’s viewfinder, still playing, the filming team’s investigation.

 

They’re gathering clues in the laboratory. Seo Ji-woo… is also helping them.

 

In a way, it’s truly sad.

 

* * *

 

6th Floor Research Lab.

 

The very fact that a mere hospital has a research lab is strange.

 

“Wow…”

 

Director Jin Yu-seon filmed various spots with her camera. Four human anatomy mannequins were attached to the walls, and in the center was a space made entirely of glass on all sides.

 

The only furniture was a desk, drawers, and a bed.

 

“Yu-seon. Film me.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Reporter Lee Tae-young spoke in front of the glass space.

 

“Look at this. The Hospital Director is presumed to have confined that test subject inside here.”

 

Jin Yu-seon captured her movements with the camera.

 

“I’ll go inside and take a look.”

 

She opened the glass door and went in, then opened the drawers.

 

“It’s a picture diary. It appears to be written by a child… The date is from over 40 years ago. Could it be that they were raised here since childhood? This is absolutely horrific.”

 

Tae-young opened one page.

 

A child in red clothing and a doctor in white clothing. Something like lightning comes down from the sky, illuminating the red child.

 

“What on earth happened here? The serial disappearances in Wolryeong Village… could this really be his doing?”

 

Reporter Lee Tae-young put the picture diary and other clues into her investigation bag.

 

Seo Ji-woo watched them while anxiously biting her claws.

 

──Thud.

 

Something moved. Jin Yu-seon was startled by the presence and shone her light in that direction.

 

A person turned inside out─ no, a human anatomy mannequin.

 

The anatomy mannequin had stepped several paces away from the wall.

 

Originally it had been stuck tight against the wall.

 

Jin Yu-seon’s lips trembled blue.

 

“That thing moved.”

 

“Huh? What did?”

 

…Click.

 

The sound of a switch going down.

 

The lights went out.

 

Click.

 

They turned back on.

 

“Ugh, aaaaah!”

 

Hands were right in front of the filming team’s eyes.

 

Hands extended by the anatomy mannequins. The ones that had rushed over were now surrounding them.

 

“Everyone follow me! Before the lights go out again!”

 

Seo Ji-woo urgently grabbed and pulled the filming team.

 

“Basement 1st Floor!”

 

Everyone got into the elevator.

 

Seo Ji-woo pressed Basement 1st Floor.

 

However, the button didn’t light up. It wasn’t responding.

 

Her face twitched.

 

“Please press Basement 1st Floor.”

 

Reporter Lee Tae-young pressed Basement 1st Floor.

 

Only then did the light come on and the elevator operate.

 

The door sliding shut.

 

Beyond it, the anatomy mannequins were glaring at us.

 

Whirrrrr.

 

The elevator descended.

 

Tae-young clutched her heart and asked Seo Ji-woo.

 

“Wait, why Basement 1st Floor…?”

 

“I think I found the exit.”

 

“The exit?”

 

“Yes!”

 

Seo Ji-woo smiled brightly.

 

Ding!

 

B1 Morgue

 

They reached the Basement 1st Floor morgue. Seo Ji-woo entered first. The filming team followed while looking around.

 

“Here, right here. Director Jin Yu-seon?”

 

Seo Ji-woo pointed to the tripod in the middle of the morgue.

 

“Please put the camera on top of this.”

 

“Ah wait a moment. Let me do some investigating here first.”

 

Tae-young picked up the microphone again. Seo Ji-woo let out a hollow laugh.

 

“…In this situation?”

 

“Because it’s this situation, I need to do it even more. Anyway, we can definitely get out, right?”

 

“Of course.”

 

“Okay. Ahem.”

 

At Seo Ji-woo’s words, Reporter Lee Tae-young cleared her throat.

 

“Ready? Cue.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Jin Yu-seon filmed her with the camera.

 

“Everyone. We are in the basement morgue of Wolryeong Village’s abandoned hospital. This is the place that an insider we met by chance called the exit.”

 

Reporter Lee Tae-young placed her hand on a freezer.

 

“This is clearly an abandoned hospital that lost power long ago, but the elevator works and the freezers are also very cold.”

 

While saying this, she unlocked one freezer.

 

“What could be inside here? What could be in here that’s still frozen solid?”

 

Creak.

 

“What on earth is, gaaaah!”

 

She carelessly opened the morgue door and fell backward.

 

There was a person inside.

 

Jin Yu-seon also stepped back in shock, then took a deep breath and calmed down.

 

“…Wow. Shit. There’s still a corpse in here… Yu-seon. Film this.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Jin Yu-seon picked up the camera again.

 

A corpse still left in the freezer. It was even wearing clothes. The camera angle slowly moved up from the feet to the face…

 

It was a woman with blue hair.

 

It was someone I had seen somewhere before.

 

No, they had been right next to me.

 

Seo Ji-woo.

 

Seo Ji-woo was inside the freezer.

 

“….”

 

“….”

 

The entire film crew froze. It felt like their brains were twisted. A severe headache struck their temples.

 

What was going on?

 

They looked back and forth between Seo Ji-woo inside the freezer and Seo Ji-woo who was currently with them.

 

They were identical.

 

Lee Tae-young swallowed his saliva.

 

“…Are you perhaps twins-”

 

“Ah… well.”

 

Seo Ji-woo felt along the wall. There was a switch there.

 

Click.

 

The lights went out.

 

What! Why, why the lights, wh, what are you, thud! Ugh, wh, what are you saying! Thud! Aaaahhh! Thud! Guh, guhhhk. Thud! Thud!

 

The lights came back on.

 

Reporter Lee Tae-young, Director Jin Yu-seon, and the Junior Writer—all three were stuck to the concrete floor. Blood from their half-burst skulls soaked the tiles.

 

“Haa, haa….”

 

Seo Ji-woo, covered in blood, walked over wheezing and picked up the ENG camera.

 

After placing it on the tripod.

 

“You there. You’re watching, aren’t you?”

 

She stared at the lens and spoke.

 

“Let me out.”

 

To the ‘someone’ who must be spying on her from beyond.

 

“Or else, I’ll kill everyone here.”

 

* * *

 

I looked into the camera. The face of the thing disguised as Seo Ji-woo was uncomfortably close-up.

 

[Or else, I’ll kill everyone here.]

 

Vengeful Spirit.

 

It had revealed its true nature.

 

Hehehehehe

 

“I told you. I knew all along.”

 

Here, let’s rewind time a little.

 

First, the rules of Wolryeong Village.

 

５. ‘　’ does not exist in Wolryeong Village. The residents of Wolryeong Village cannot speak or write ‘　’.

 

‘ ‘ does not exist.

 

Because it doesn’t exist, it cannot be written, read, or spoken.

 

Now, the newspaper fragment.

 

Five film crew members missing at abandoned hospital… Only mysterious morgue footage found on camera discovered inside the hospital. Police repeatedly emphasize “entry to the abandoned hospital is strictly prohibited.” 11 people have gone missing at this location this year alone.

 

“ㅏ메라” is not a typo

 

The residents, that is, the ghosts, cannot say the letter ‘ㅋ’.

 

However, the conversation between the film crew and Seo Ji-woo at the 2nd floor restaurant.

 

Seo Ji-woo: Um, but how much is that worth?

 

A question the Vengeful Spirit in Seo Ji-woo’s form asked, perhaps instinctively.

 

Jin Yu-seon: Oh, this camera?

 

Seo Ji-woo: Yes, that one.

 

Jin Yu-seon clearly answered ‘camera’, but Seo Ji-woo avoided direct mention.

 

Jin Yu-seon: It’s incredibly expensive. If this breaks, I’d be held hostage by the company.

 

Seo Ji-woo: About 73 million won, perhaps?

 

Jin Yu-seon: I’m not sure. I don’t know the details.

 

Also, Seo Ji-woo specifically predicted the camera’s price, while Jin Yu-seon, despite being the filming ‘director’, didn’t know the details.

 

Therefore, the real ones inside this camera are the film crew.

 

The Vengeful Spirit had trapped the consciousness of Seo Ji-woo’s party of six inside the missing film crew.

 

However, the film crew originally had only five members, and according to Yoon Hwa-rim, Seo Ji-woo’s party had six members.

 

In other words, Seo Ji-woo’s side had one more person.

 

Therefore, the remaining member of Seo Ji-woo’s party became the ‘invisible cameraman’—a horror movie cliché.

 

[Get me out! If you don’t get me out, I’ll kill all of them!]

 

It desperately clutched at its own face that was trying to slide off.

 

A Vengeful Spirit murdered by the culprit, with its face torn off.

 

Director Jin Yu-seon.

 

[Get me out!!!!!!!!!!!!!]

 

“….”

 

I silently calculated the camera’s angle.

 

So it could see, I drew lines of magic power on the morgue wall. Drawing up firepower, burning scorch marks formed the shape of letters.

 

If I let you out

 

Right now, at this moment, I had only one question about this Vengeful Spirit.

 

I pressed the camera’s REC button and transmitted the sentence.

 

Do you think you can beat me?

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