Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 244

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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 244

Dangerously(10)

I looked around at the NPCs and came outside.

Standing between the train cars, I gazed at the scenery flowing past the window.

There wasn’t much scenery to speak of. Just square walls passing by.

Click.

The door opened and someone came out. It was Ilron.

“Thank you.”

He said that, but behind him. Beyond the crack in the door. The presence I felt somewhere on the ceiling was far from grateful.

There were many people around me. The presence of assassins lying in ambush, holding their breath as if waiting for Ilron’s signal.

It seems I had one thing wrong.

NPCs who realize they are NPCs are not a small number.

I asked Ilron.

“Do you think it’s possible to derail only the freight car?”

Ilron answered without hesitation.

“It’s the only way.”

I looked into him. A hot pain arose in my temples. The naturally manifested sequence read everything including his expression, muscle tremors, and pupil movements.

What is sequence to me?

At first, simply the only way to supplement my lacking mobility.

At some point, a blessing.

But now I think it’s also a curse.

I have become one with sequence.

Now, even things I don’t want to know become naturally apparent. I see lies and catch truths.

“When and how did you realize?”

My question contained many meanings. Ilron’s expression twisted momentarily, but soon he opened his mouth as if resigned.

“Every time I met you people from outside, I felt something was different. But decisively, someone told me.”

Ilron chuckled and shook his head.

“No. It wasn’t a ‘person’. A god… or a being equivalent to one.”

If there’s a god in this maze, it would probably be the ‘designer’.

“They said we were fake.”

Ilron looked at me with firm eyes. There was resolve in his pupils.

“I’d rather ask you. Must fakes necessarily disappear?”

I answered.

“Yes. From the real ones’ perspective, that’s how it is.”

They sacrificed the real ones for their own continuation. The countless eggs on this train were proof of that.

“Ha.”

Ilron gave a twisted smile.

“Everyone is like us. Real or fake, they’ll gladly harm others to survive.”

Ilron’s meaning was familiar. I looked at him with a bitter smile.

“Do you think it would have been different if you were us?”

It was something I had heard before.

Suddenly, his blue voice echoed in my ears.

‘Even if it were you, you would have made the same decision as me…’

Percival. I thought of him and changed the subject.

“I’ve installed a bomb in the freight car.”

Ilron sneered.

“We don’t die.”

“Can you be certain?”

I asked him back. Ilron nodded as if it were obvious.

“We’ve already verified it dozens of times-“

“No.”

I shook my head.

“Not you,”

How far can a person go for their beliefs? And what kind of acts can they commit?

I have always staked my everything.

“I’m asking if you can be certain that people who weren’t originally there are also NPCs.”

Ilron’s face hardened. He must have understood my words.

I leaned against the cold wall.

“Yes. The children weren’t originally yours.”

Existing NPCs definitely don’t die. Because they are ‘one body’ with the maze like the killer.

But the society they built, the children they bore, are weaknesses they created themselves.

“The longer life continues, the more weaknesses arise.”

Children can definitely be killed. If there’s a purpose to advance toward, if it must be accomplished.

“It’s a life that couldn’t continue from the beginning.”

I stared at Ilron while gathering magic power in my fingers.

If I flick this, all the children in the freight car will die.

“Losing your memories would be more beneficial for you.”

There’s no room for negotiation.

* * *

“…Scary.”

Apartment Complex in District 5. Kang Hyeon walked along the roadside scattered with glass shards, shining his flashlight.

“Whew…”

He made maximum use of the streetlight glow flickering in the darkness.

When light disappears, shadows come.

“Hey, hey. Let’s go together.”

Lee Jun-ho stuck close behind him.

Kang Hyeon and Lee Jun-ho. Jo Woon and Lee Jong-soo. Divided into these two parties, they were currently searching for ‘won’, the currency used in this district.

“What’s with that convenience store… Oh, wait. They’re hiring part-timers?”

Lee Jun-ho pointed somewhere with his finger. A convenience store with a familiar sign. A job posting was stuck on the glass window.

GX24 Part-time Job Posting

Qualifications: Physically healthy with good night vision

Salary: Negotiable. Paid weekly.

Special Notes: Protect yourself from the killer.

“…There’s a convenience store in a place like this.”

Kang Hyeon looked at it with suspicious eyes.

“Hey, but isn’t it better than picking up five thousand or ten thousand won off the street? Let’s at least go in and ask.”

“Jun-ho, you go first.”

Kang Hyeon pushed Lee Jun-ho lightly. Startled, Lee Jun-ho hid behind Kang Hyeon again.

“Ah, don’t push me. Don’t push!”

“…Scared?”

“I’m more scared of people than ghosts. It hurts when you get stabbed with a knife.”

“…”

Kang Hyeon looked at Lee Jun-ho as if he were ridiculous.

Then, Kang Hyeon’s gaze fixed on another building across from the convenience store.

“What’s that?”

“Where?”

Camel Building

Goshiwon Move-in Inquiries

“Goshiwon… is it different from an apartment?”

“Let’s go check it out.”

The two approached that direction. It was a neat 5-story building, even cleaner than the apartment.

“Sniff sniff. What’s this? It smells good?”

Warm light leaked from every window, and the smell of cooking rice wafted gently. It was a space uniquely full of life.

“Something’s even more suspicious.”

Kang Hyeon narrowed his eyes.

“Hey, look at this. It’s much cheaper than the apartment.”

Lee Jun-ho pointed to the goshiwon price. 200,000 won monthly rent.

“…Monthly? We won’t be staying for a whole month.”

“Hmm… That’s true, but you never know-“

That’s when it happened.

♬♪♩♬♪~♪

An eerily echoing music box.

A clown’s silhouette appeared from the other end of the alley. The two hurriedly stood in front of the Camel Building.

Kang Hyeon shouted frantically.

“Open the door! Open it!”

“If you don’t open it, I’ll really cut it down! Please open it!”

The moment they shouted, the building’s automatic door slid open smoothly.

The two squeezed their bodies inside.

“Phew…”

They let out sighs of relief and looked around the interior. A huge camel was standing at the lobby counter.

“…What’s that? A Zone 4 camel?”

Lee Jun-ho blinked his eyes.

“But isn’t it a bit big?”

Kang Hyeon nodded his head back and forth, comparing sizes. It seemed about 1.3 to 1.5 times larger than the camels they had ridden.

“Are you here to move into the goshiwon?”

A young boy’s voice came from beyond the camel.

“Ah. No. Moving in is…”

“Huh? Wait a minute!”

The young boy looked back and forth between Kang Hyeon and Lee Jun-ho, then pulled out some document folder from a drawer.

“You two, do you happen to know President Seol Ha-woon?”

Seol Ha-woon. A name that came out of nowhere, but was so welcome.

Both their eyes widened greatly.

Kang Hyeon asked back.

“‘President’ Seol Ha-woon?”

“Yes!”

The young boy’s face brightened cheerfully.

“President Seol Ha-woon prepared a whitelist. He arranged for you two to use the penthouse on the top floor without any additional cost.”

“…”

A whitelist. They didn’t know what it was, but the young boy held out a sketch paper.

It was faces of Kang Hyeon, Lee Jun-ho, Seo Ji-woo, Kate, Yoon Hwa-rim and others drawn directly by Seol Ha-woon in pencil.

“Wow, why is this guy so good at drawing?”

Lee Jun-ho was impressed. The sequence that amplified senses brought considerable skill and talent to painting as well.

The young boy asked with a smile.

“Would you like to go up to the penthouse?”

The two nodded their heads vigorously.

* * *

…These days, Lee Si-ah finds each day exhausting.

Because she’s surviving on mere spoilers and fans’ speculation while waiting for the live broadcast.

Even after creating memes all night and spreading them around communities, the anxiety deep in her heart doesn’t get resolved.

Probably other viewers feel the same way.

“Haah… Open the door.”

Finally today, the day of the live broadcast. Now there’s no strength left in her voice.

It’s the time she’s been waiting and waiting for, but now that it’s about to start, she’s strangely scared.

Lee Si-ah turned on the live chat. The real-time participant count already exceeded one hundred thousand.

-It’s here, it’s here, finally ㅠㅠㅠ

-Ah my heart is racing lol

-I’m so curious about Bok Mal-ol

-Another chicken ad lolllll seriously they’re obsessed with chicken

-Ah fuck I’m going crazy..

-Open the door~~~~~~~~~~

-Open the door you bastard I don’t want to see you go crazy

The attention for this labyrinth is at its peak.

Kang Hyeon’s narrative. Clone Seol Ha-woon and Kate. Real Seol Ha-woon and Clone Seol Ha-woon. Im Hae-jun magnesium.

What will happen to Clone Seol Ha-woon? Will he really become a villain with Seol Ha-woon’s appearance?

│I don’t think there’ll be a conclusion this week.. You know they’ll drag it out and end it next week│

│Waiting a week was really hard│

│Fuck… Let’s watch while clutching our hearts. Don’t trust the production team, trust Je Mal-ol│

│No, the production team bastards always try to deceive us but we have no choice but to be deceived and it’s infuriating fuck.. The information is too asymmetric│

The Clone Seol Ha-woon ending scene caused an uproar worldwide. It was like a syndrome. Tens of thousands of analysis videos were uploaded to YouTube, and tens of millions of Reels and Shorts were edited.

That’s why Lee Si-ah is struggling even more. Because of all kinds of speculation posts.

│Clone Seol Ha-woon might be a more perfect Seol Ha-woon than the real Seol Ha-woon.│

The Seol Ha-woon we know has a very serious leg injury. So he has almost no mobility. But Clone Seol Ha-woon doesn’t have such weaknesses while possessing Seol Ha-woon’s formulas. He’s an existence that compensates for Seol Ha-woon’s only weakness.

So naturally, even if he ends up fighting the real Seol Ha-woon, his chances of winning are much higher…

─Bok Mal-ol is fighting Kate though?

─Yeah, Kate looks like she’s going to kill someone

─I’m so fucking curious about the storyline between Kate and Bokmalok lololol

│Je Mal-ol vs Bok Mal-ol│

Je Mal-ol.gjf

Bok Mal-ol.gjf

─The tension is real

─Ah but why is Ha-woon in military uniform so heartbreaking.. Even though I know he’s fake, somehow it feels that way

─Somehow I feel like Bok Mal-ol’s ending will be either really sad or really disappointing

It’s a post with Je Mal-ol and Bok Mal-ol’s visuals placed side by side. Clone Seol Ha-woon and real Seol Ha-woon look exactly the same.

But they’re definitely subtly different.

─The military one has a slightly sharper expression

─There’s actually a theory that you strengthen your self-perception through clothes. Doctors have more responsibility when wearing coats, and when they put suits on homeless people, they lived more diligently

─The military one is fucking good though lol

─But they’re both the same Seol Ha-woon in the end

─I’m really curious how it’ll turn out.. I hope both get happy endings

─Bok Mal-ol just needs to not troll

“…”

The comments are like that.

│Clone Ha-woon’s actions might shake up Seol Ha-woon’s ranking too│

│Insider rumor leak│

│No, Clone Ha-woon isn’t real Ha-woon, so why would real Ha-woon’s evaluation change based on Clone Ha-woon’s actions, I don’t understand this bullshit│

│Insider leak compilation (spoiler warning)│

“What spoiler warning when we don’t even know if the rumors are true or not.”

There are too many speculation posts about the clone. The comments are tremendously numerous too.

‘Seol Ha-woon must not be ordinary’ is the crux of all these debates.

Let’s think about it. What’s the reason Seol Ha-woon is currently in first place?

Simply because of that special character and charm?

No.

If it were just for such reasons, the widespread voting rate across all ages and genders wouldn’t be explained.

Also, it wouldn’t explain how despite being first in votes, his core fandom size falls behind Kang Hyeon, Lee Jun-ho, and Kate.

Among those who vote for Seol Ha-woon, there are many light fans, so-called muggles. Their logic for choosing Seol Ha-woon is simple.

‘Labyrinth Exploration is a program that selects explorers, not idols. Therefore, Seol Ha-woon, who seems most explorer-like and most focused on the labyrinth, should receive the votes.’

But what if such a Seol Ha-woon, even if he’s a clone, abandons the labyrinth for his own survival? What if he goes beyond abandoning it and desperately struggles and interferes to survive?

Of course, viewers could retort “He’s a clone and not the real Seol Ha-woon,” but that’s too contrived.

Even Seol Ha-woon’s clone must be perfect for the narrative to be right.

That’s why I want to watch the live broadcast quickly.

“…When does it start?”

Chicken chicken chicken chicken!

Hangok chicken chicken chicken chicken!

-Fucking open the door

-Crazy

-Already ordered Hangok chicken lol

-Open the door, you chicken bastard

-Fuck

-lol the mantises are having fits

It’s still commercials. After the tedious commercial chanting chicken chicken chicken ends, finally.

The familiar logo fills the TV screen.

┌──Labyrinth Exploration NaN──┐

-It’s coming!

-Ah

-Shit

-Please

-Go go go go

-Houn-ah ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

-Show us Kate

The first opening is a dark screen. Looking closely, it’s the night sky.

──Tick.

──Tick.

The sound of a second hand echoing from there grips the heart.

Doomsday D-6

As the subtitle opens and the camera slowly descends, the flickering neon sign of [The Howdy Grill] comes into view.

It’s the real Seol Ha-woon.

─Old Man: Follow me.

─Seol Ha-woon: Yes.

Seol Ha-woon follows the old man’s words, leaning on his walking stick as he goes down the stairs.

The camera closes up on Seol Ha-woon’s legs.

Thud. Thud.

Legs limping uncomfortably along with the walking stick.

The moment his shoes step on the stair, the screen cuts.

Swoosh!

Military boots powerfully stomping the road surface.

The camera rises again, showing the clone Seol Ha-woon in perfect military uniform.

Kate’s wary face looking at him flows by.

─Seol Ha-woon: There were mirror fragments mixed in with the glass shards on the floor. They probably mixed them in on purpose.

At the highway gang’s stronghold. On the ground of that place where Kate almost died, there are sparkling mirror fragments among the scattered glass shards.

─Seol Ha-woon: That’s how the enemies were able to spot you.

-Wow, somehow scary?

-This guy’s aura is intense

-He’s also Seol Ha-woon

-Wow.. so cool

He’s colder, more dry and rigid than the original Seol Ha-woon.

So he actually feels more solid.

─Seol Ha-woon: Terrain features aren’t simply walls or mounds.

─Kate: ….

Seol Ha-woon speaking as if teaching, and Kate quietly listening.

Seol Ha-woon is in military uniform for the first time since discharge, and the prideful Kate takes his words to heart.

It’s somehow a precious scene. Both are so different from usual.

─Seol Ha-woon: Even the smallest elements on the ground, even the direction of the wind and position of sunlight, can either kill you or save you.

Lee Si-ah was blankly absorbed. Even KakaoTalk was surprisingly slow.

Probably because she didn’t want to take her eyes off this scene itself…

—————
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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