Chapter 90.2

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.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“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!”

“……”

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