"Did you say the door to Car 1 opened?"

"Yes!"

I immediately moved with the people to Car 2. Baek Saheon came out hurriedly, wearing a triumphant expression.

"I did my best to persuade the people in Car 1 to open the door. Ah, of course, together with all the passengers... 'Forerunner'!"

"I see. Thank you for your hard work."

It seemed that at the start of each round, he had gone to the door of Car 1, knocked, and shouted that there was a solution if they came out.

-And I'm sure he excitedly babbled about all the heroic deeds Roe did!

-Ah, it would have been nice if I could have heard those interesting stories here... Don't worry. A good friend always chooses to be with their friends!

Yes. Thank you, legendary host...

Anyway, it seems that actively communicating the outside situation to Car 1 was effective.

The wiki clearly described it like this:

All of that was repeated dozens of times.

Blood and madness ran rampant in every round.

Those two sentences, I remembered very clearly...

'Surely the door of Car 1 only opened after all those rounds.'

So, honestly, I was thinking of just breaking down the door and entering around the 20th round.

'14 rounds is definitely good.'

It wasn't for nothing that Baek Saheon's nickname in the wiki was the Field Exploration Team's Viper. I nodded in acknowledgment of that in my own way.

"Then let's discuss this way..."

"Um, but!"

Baek Saheon hurriedly stopped me.

Don't tell me...

"The, the door. It's closed again."

"..."

"No, to be precise, we did communicate. Look at this!"

Baek Saheon hastily held out something.

A crumpled, dirty piece of paper.

Large letters were written on it...

Let's endure seven times

...Around the letters, pressed hard in a crooked manner, reddish-black lumps of filth were smeared on the paper.

"Ugh."

"Th-that... it looks like those rotten things in the tunnel..."

Murmurs spread among the people.

"W-wait a minute. Could it be that Car 1 has completely turned into a den? Like that tunnel!"

"That's right! They locked themselves in and didn't follow the Forerunner, so they met a terrible fate!"

C-calm down.

I hurriedly shook my head to calm the train atmosphere that was on the verge of becoming a pseudo-religious cult.

"It's probably not like that. They just seem to be in severe pain... Just a moment."

I immediately headed to the connection of Car 2.

And I knocked on the tightly closed door of Car 1.

Knock knock.

"Is anyone there?"

"It's no use. I've tried so many times..."

"Hello. Um, I'm embarrassed to say this, but I'm the person called the 'Forerunner'. Can we talk?"

I kept shouting.

"Behind me are hundreds of passengers. Over three hundred people. We can certainly help you."

"Hello?"

"We've come to help!"

"I'm telling you, it's no use..."

Click.

"...!"

The lock was released.

Ignoring Baek Saheon's stunned expression, I turned around and calmly said to the people:

"...I'll go in alone."

"Ah, you can't!"

"Forerunner! What if something terrible happens!"

I smiled and soothed the people.

"I think the people in Car 1 would be startled and afraid if a large group rushed in. And even if something terrible happens, we'd just go back to the beginning, right? It'll be fine."

"B-but at least for self-defense..."

Thank you. I was waiting for those words...!

"Well, in that case... I'll ask my work colleagues."

I looked at the two senior members of the elite team and one colleague.

The three people who had already been briefed nodded immediately, and thus the Daydream Inc. employee alliance entering Car 1 was formed.

'Good.'

It was a huge relief because signs that Deputy Jin Nasol's patience was running out were starting to show in her eyes.

"Be careful, Forerunner!"

When I said, 'Please wait in Car 2 until I request otherwise, just in case,' the passengers, though concerned, obediently retreated to Car 2.

This was fortunate too.

'Phew.'

...It's becoming increasingly difficult to lead people.

'At some point, they'll start veering off in unpredictable directions.'

The fact that we've managed to hold on in a peaceful atmosphere until now was because people listened to what I said.

I felt the presence of the small badge that should still be attached to the inside pocket of my suit jacket.

The power of the Silver Heart was terrifying. Clearly.

I took a deep breath.

"Then I'll open the door."

That's when it happened.

...I sensed Deputy Jin Nasol coldly staring at me.

"This is taking too long."

"..."

"I didn't think we'd need to go up to 14 rounds."

"Yes."

I calmly replied.

"A safe clear is important too. I've reduced all variables and gathered experiences from the altars to verify the escape method."

Now we just need to escape.

"So, this train will be the last."

"..."

Jin Nasol crossed her arms and once again tacitly approved my actions.

...This would probably be the last time.

"Since we're ready, let's go in quickly."

"Yes."

As Baek Saheon, who had no say as a new hire, hurriedly followed, I watched Supervisor Dolphin open the door...

Click.

A pungent smell assaults our noses through the opened door.

"..."

The smell from the altar.

And...

"I'm scared! I'm scared! I'm scared! I'm scared!"

"Keeeeuk, kuuuuuk!"

"Sob, s-sob..."

Sounds of wailing.

"Go in."

I blankly looked at the scene inside the opened door.

Car 1 itself was contaminated.

Over 50 people were writhing, laughing maniacally, rolling on the floor, and wailing inside.

The floor was filthy with what looked like vomited blood and fragments.

...And a small banner, stained with blood and filth, lay strewn across the aisle.

[Blue Photo Club 17th Regular Outing]

That's right.

The people in Car 1 were a large group of passengers...

People who had booked tickets through a travel agency, already familiar and friendly with each other, one group.

The reason they ended up like this...

"These people, they've been taking turns throwing each other out the window... or maybe in order?"

"What? All 53 of them look insane, what are you saying? Even if they threw one each time, it would only be 14 times."

"That's right. Then... as Manager Kim deduced, was there a 'person of interest'?"

That's right.

Unless everyone had been thrown out, there was only one possibility for this to happen.

Among the contaminated, there was someone who could exert a very powerful influence.

Of all things, in a group that was already familiar with each other, someone wearing equipment that could evoke very strong persuasion and sympathy... that is.

"Employee."

"...!"

"What I asked for."

Baek Saheon startled, then lowered his eye patch and began to look around.

The purple reverse eye rolled busily here and there, then he soon held his breath.

And he stretched out his hand.

"Over there."

Of all places, it was right behind me.

I slowly turned around to look at the person Baek Saheon pointed at...

"..."

A figure that had missed the handle of the door leading to Car 2, fallen backwards.

If I had met him on the street, I would have thought he was a middle-aged man with a good impression and passed by.

...If only he wasn't convulsing in his place with his entire body twisted.

"W-we can..."

Blackish-red filth dripping from his mouth, blood vessels prominent up to his temples. Flesh torn off by fingernails was scattered all over his body. And...

"We can, we can..."

"S-seven times, seven times..."

I slowly approached the person muttering into the air.

And as his writhing movements lifted his upper clothes, I confirmed the end of his belt.

A small glowing silver badge.

Found it.

"Is this person the one of interest?"

"...Yes."

The person of interest in the 'Tamra Express Train Incident'.

'The Silver Heart owner.'

"H-help..."

Now only confirmation remained.

"Sir."

I bent my knees in front of him to meet his eye level.

And I whispered in his ear, just loud enough for those behind not to hear.

"You read the pamphlet, didn't you?"

"...!"

"It's a wiki entry about the 'Peach Blossom Spring Test', registered with the government."

The vacant, unfocused eyes suddenly regained some clarity.

"H-How...!"

"Just a moment."

I was right after all.

'If that's the case...'

After a brief consideration, I took out a 'Happy Maker' from my pocket.

"Ah, preparing for a new interview?"

'...That's right.'

I absolutely needed to talk with this person.

For justification.

...To smoothly conceal any suspicion that I knew about this whole situation from the beginning.

Thunk.

The powerful painkiller is injected into the back of the Silver Heart owner's hand.

"Urgh!"

The contaminated, convulsing body instantly stops. Slump, thud. The middle-aged body collapses to the floor...

And then.

"Hic! Hic! Sob..."

He starts drooling on the floor while crying...

"What's wrong with him?"

"...He's fallen from the altar too many times."

This person seems to have fallen at least five times.

Since Happy Maker was a painkiller, not a restorative, his already broken mind didn't recover.

Still, communication was more possible than before.

"I can't... I can't do it anymore...!"

"...I see."

That was important.

Fortunately, the other party started providing information admirably.

The Silver Heart owner, tears streaming down his face, rushed at me as soon as our eyes met, grabbed my shoulders tightly, and began speaking, spitting as he did so.

"You! You know!"

The hands gripping my shoulders were desperate.

"Seven times! Just endure seven times! Y-You can do it..."

"...What are you saying to endure?"

"The altar!!"

And he pleads earnestly.

"I know, this is, this is managed by the government! You, you, you have a department that manages these things, they had this there."

"..."

"I read it! I, I worked there..."

I hear the elite team talking behind me.

"Ah, he's a retiree from the Disaster Management Bureau?"

"Hmm... I wonder if he has any equipment?"

That was correct.

I continued to ask the Silver Heart owner.

"I see. Then what kind of supernatural phenomenon is this?"

The passenger, a retired low-level office worker from the Disaster Management Bureau, was spilling out bits of the bureau's secrets while half out of his mind.

"Uh, so, this, this supernatural phenomenon, uh, if you endure the altar seven times, seven times, it ends, it's a dream... Uh, so our club..."

"..."

Then he looked around with unfocused eyes.

At the Blue Photo Club members in Car 1, rolling around in agony, out of their minds.

...I know why these people ended up like this.

'The Silver Heart owner must have persuaded them...'

To sacrifice everyone just once, to reach the seventh altar.

But not everyone could be as kind and courageous as the Silver Heart owner.

Resistance, discussion, people who promised but were too scared to jump, and so on. In all sorts of situations, the Silver Heart owner ends up jumping out the window several times as an example.

'And the broken mentality and contamination affect the entire Car 1 through the Silver Heart...'

That's how everyone in Car 1 lost their minds in pain and contamination.

Eventually, at some point, everyone jumps out the window and completely loses their minds...

And then they unlock the locked door and rush into other cars.

'That's where an even more terrible situation unfolds.'

That's why we couldn't forcibly open the door to Car 1 midway.

Because the situation could go crazy if we became completely hostile to the half-insane Silver Heart owner with firm beliefs who had been sacrificed as an offering.

'That's why we had to wait.'

Until the right timing came.

Even the Silver Heart owner isn't a god.

At some point, even that passenger felt a desperate need to get help from other passengers, even in the midst of madness, confusion, and self-collapse.

But it was already too late.

Because something even more terrible was happening in the other cars...

When the moment of anguish came when they would give up and accept help from other cars.

The outside of Car 1 had to look peaceful, and there had to seem to be another solution.

Enough to unlock the door handle even with a broken mind.

...14th round. At this point, Car 1 was already hell.

"I-I'm sorry, g-guys, it, it hurts so much... sob..."

"..."

This is driving me crazy.

The overwhelming impact of facing a real tragedy, not just the prose written in the wiki, was tremendous...

'That's why we need to escape faster.'

I barely gritted my teeth and asked.

The question that would give the decisive hint.

"Sir, but what train did you see exactly? Is it this train?"

"Sob, that's right. This is it, the I-Iksan train..."

Supervisor Dolphin tilted his head.

"Iksan? That's strange, this train is bound for Mokpo..."

Baek Saheon quickly chimed in.

"Well, we do pass through Iksan Station, Supervisor."

"Ah, I see. Is Iksan Station an intermediate stop?"

"That's right."

Instead of trusting Baek Saheon, Supervisor Dolphin moved on his own.

He quickly walked through the aisle of Car 1, which was a mess of filth and wailing, and pulled out an object from one seat.

A booklet placed in the seat pocket.

After confirming the fact in the booklet, he nodded.

"Aha. That's right!"

"Really? Then we should follow what the Disaster Management Bureau retiree said."

"Yes. He said we just need to do it 7 times, right? Then 28 people... Ah. Wait a minute."

Then he stops abruptly.

"7 times?"

"..."

Ah.

He's figured it out.

"Hey, Supervisor Roe."

"Yes."

"You know what? Most trains create extended routes as time passes."

"I suppose so."

"So, maybe this train used to have a shorter route. Like... short enough for Iksan Station to be the final stop."

"..."

"Enough to be labeled as Iksan "

That's correct.

To be precise, this route was extended in the mid-2010s.

From Iksan to Mokpo 

"And also."

Supervisor Dolphin's hand, flipping through the guide booklet, stops at one place.

"From Seoul to Iksan, if we count the slow train... it passes exactly 7 stations."

"..."

"So probably, the altars were the stations."

That's right.

"And if we extrapolate from that."

Rustle.

"Unlike the old Iksan train, this train passes through 9 stations to reach the final stop, Mokpo Station."

Supervisor Dolphin closed the booklet with a snap.

"So the altars we need to pass through aren't just 7... but 9."

"..."

"We need to sacrifice a total of 45 people until the 9th altar."

It was a chillingly perfect answer.

'As expected of the elite team.'

And that answer was also the reason why the passengers in Car 1 completely lost their minds...

Round ■■:

After passing the 7th altar, the 8th altar appeared.

The answer sheet provided by the Silver Heart owner had been a glimmer of hope, but even that disappeared.

In the end, everyone in Car 1 completely lost their minds, overwhelmed by anger, fear, and panic...

'...I'm really glad we didn't get that far.'

I didn't have the confidence to handle it, or even to watch it.

Just as I was inwardly letting out a faint sigh of relief.

"But you know."

Supervisor Dolphin turned to me.

"You only have 11 painkillers, Supervisor?"

"..."

"We've already used one this time. So..."

"We need 45 people to fall, but there are only enough painkillers for 10 people?"