From the moment I looked at the store's floor map, I was contemplating.

Just how much of my body would I need to cut off and place on the grill for this cursed mart ghost story to count it as "barbecue"?

I considered everything from the wrist to the shoulder.

But the target was already decided from the beginning.

‘The right arm.’

If I cut off a leg, it would hinder my mobility.

If I cut off my left arm, I wouldn’t be able to use my tattoo.

And since I’m nearly ambidextrous, I could use either arm that remained.

So, there was only one conclusion.

‘Cut off a portion of the right arm.’

Of course, cutting through a grown adult’s forearm, with a diameter of 10 cm, down to the bone with a knife, was pure madness.

Naturally, it wouldn’t be cut off in one go.

‘A chainsaw would’ve been better.’

Thud, thud.

I cut my arm almost as if tearing through the cross-section with a massive butcher’s knife.

Amidst the splattering blood, I could hear the sobbing voices of the person in front and the one beside me.

There was no pain, but I could still feel it.

That sensation of the nerves in my arm being severed.

Cold sweat ran down my back, and my head grew foggy—fear and the blunt mental shock of terror.

Even though I had definitely injected the Happy Maker, it still came.

‘…Am I developing a resistance to it?’

Or perhaps the candlelight was somehow ‘shielding’ me from the effects of the Happy Maker. Or maybe it was just my imagination.

What mattered was that I hadn’t died from shock and could still move.

And then….

Thud.

Finally, the moment the knife came down.

It came off.

“…!!”

It was done.

I tucked my completely severed right arm into my left arm while pressing what I had prepared beforehand onto the cut surface.

The Bloodsucking Knife.

‘To think I’d end up using this to stop the bleeding.’

Of course, this was just a temporary measure.

Ignoring the knife vibrating as it drank my blood, I pulled it away and pressed the cut surface against the grill.

If I still had sensation, I would’ve fainted.

And when I felt that I had sufficiently stopped the bleeding, I began to move again before I could die from blood loss.

“What, what is this… Ahhh!”

“Hold on.”

Thud.

I cut the severed piece in half again, working according to the sizes of the various parts already on the grill.

Without giving it a moment’s thought, I placed one of the pieces onto the grill.

Sizzle.

It sizzled as it cooked—or rather, burned.

It was burning… It was really burning.

‘It’s just a chunk of meat now.’

It’s no longer mine.

And as soon as the situation is under control, I’ll drink Daydream Inc’s C-grade Regeneration Potion the moment I leave this insane mart.

Then everything will be fine….

Stay calm. I broke out in cold sweat as I stared at the grill with unfocused eyes.

And after what felt like an eternity.

Ding.

In the ‘Sell Your Flesh at Lucky Mart,’ where dozens of grills were haphazardly arranged, a sound echoed from what looked like just another grill.

The counter.

At a place that looked like a makeshift checkout counter, there was a rectangular white envelope with ‘Thank you for participating in the event’ written on it.

I barely managed to open the envelope with one hand.

Inside was a voucher that resembled a poorly forged banknote, written in awkward Korean and English.

[50,000 won]

At a regular mart, it would have been an incredibly generous bait for an event.

But in this situation, it was unclear whether the amount was sufficient.

“What, what is this? What’s happening….”

“Hold on.”

Once more.

I repeated the process.

But this time, it wasn’t me. The high school student placed the remaining piece on another grill.

“Huff, huff….”

The high school student was on the verge of fainting but gritted his teeth. It was painful to watch, but there was no other choice.

Ms, Go Yeongeun had to hold the candle, and I couldn’t be counted again since I had already participated.

Only after receiving another 50,000 won voucher could I finally put a Nostalgia Candy in my mouth.

‘Ha.’

I had held back until then, worried about the possibility of a judgment error.

And the moment the candy touched my tongue, it restored me to my ‘healthiest state.’

The magic of Nostalgia.

“…It’s fine. Look. I’m good as new, right?”

Hic, hiiiic….”

The high school student couldn’t bear to look at my newly restored arm and couldn’t even nod his head.

Ms, Go Yeongeun’s face turned ghostly pale, but she couldn’t look back or react strongly, conscious of the candle.

…Knowing that I had Daydream Inc’s special Regeneration Potion must be the reason why she didn’t react worse.

“…Agent, did you just drink the potion?”

“No. It’s an item that temporarily restores appearances.”

Ms, Go Yeongeun’s back flinched again.

“Since it’s just the right arm that’s gone, escaping won’t be an issue even in an emergency. Don’t worry.”

“Talking about that right now…! Ugh, …fine.”

I was grateful for her composure.

Anyway, after finally consuming the Nostalgia Candy I had saved until the last possible moment, I recovered, having gone three days without proper sleep or meals.

And now, my condition is….

“…….”

‘Wow.’

This is insane.

My now-clear head was spinning wildly, sounding alarm bells.

I began to realize just how desperate and insane my actions had been over the past three days.

‘From about the second day, I wasn’t in my right mind.’

I thought I had searched the entire mart, leaving the minor at the second-floor food court while wandering around to find Agent Bronze.

But that wasn’t the case.

‘If it’s a place I could search thoroughly in just an hour or two, then it wouldn’t be a good hiding spot in the first place.’

This isn’t some convenience store or small supermarket—it’s a massive chain mart. The idea of ‘searching thoroughly’ is impossible here.

Especially when you think about the endlessly repeating third floor.

‘My judgment was completely shot.’

It wasn’t just the high school student in a panic—I had spent the past three days half-panicked myself.

“…Let’s go back to the emergency stairs now.”

“Yes.”

While hiding behind Ms, Go Yeongeun’s candlelight and moving forward, I wiped the butcher’s knife of its blood, repackaged it, and placed it back on the original display stand—all while my mind continued to blaze with conjectures.

Mistakes.

Rebuttals to the few conclusions I had carelessly jumped to.

“ – Does Agent Bronze really escape after three days?”

Let’s check the exploration records I barely remembered.

Exploration Record #3?

A rescue agent entered the mart at around 7 PM after receiving a civilian rescue request. (Agent: ???)

Looky Mart’s operations ended early for ??? reasons. A sudden incident occurred, and contact with the agent was lost for three days.

Result: Rescue failed. The agent returned alone.

First rebuttal.

– The entry time is different.

We entered the mart after 8 PM.

However, the above case states entry was at 7 PM.

Of course, the entry time could have been altered because of me. Considering the time spent talking to me and distributing items, the one-hour delay makes sense.

The important thing is that this means the current situation differs from that case.

‘I mustn’t blindly try to fit everything into that case.’

And the second rebuttal.

-It doesn’t state when the agent escaped.

It says ‘contact was lost for three days,’ not that the agent escaped after three days.

In other words, my belief that the mart’s operations would resume after three days was more like blind faith from the start.

‘…Hah.’

And then….

Let’s escape from this fear and think more rationally.

From the very beginning.

‘It’s strange that the Disaster Management Bureau would allow a newly recruited civil servant to be thrown straight into a high-tier ghost story.’

This isn’t Daydream Inc, after all.

They wouldn’t send someone unarmed to investigate a crazy Severe Distortion level ghost story equivalent to a Daydream Inc B-grade.

…Unless there was a certain safety measure.

‘If I base my judgment on that….’

…I can catch something.

Disaster Management Bureau agents are sometimes given items that allow emergency escapes from ghost stories below a certain tier.

And since rookies might use such items recklessly in a panic, the choice is usually left to a senior agent.

So….

If Agent Bronze had truly been given such an item.

‘Then, in any reasonable scenario, they’d definitely try to take me along when escaping.’

This was a matter of responsibility.

“…….”

“Agent Grape?”

“Please, wait for a moment.”

I stopped walking for a moment and began reconstructing the first day’s events from Agent Bronze’s perspective.

Separated from the rookie.

No implicitly agreed meeting location, no direct method of communication. Just a single glance saying, ‘See you above.’

An unexpected situation in a high-tier ghost story.

A veteran’s field judgment, having dealt with many rookie agents….

“…….”

Ah.

“Agent.”

“Yes.”

“I might be able to figure out the location of the senior agent who entered with me.”

“……!”

***

With the clear statement, ‘It’s easier to escape by regrouping with the veteran,’ Ms, Go Yeongeun agreed to additional exploration using the candle.

Our destination was….

“This escalator, right?”

“Yes.”

The escalator going from the first floor to the second floor.

This is it.

“…….”

The three of us descended to the first floor and stood in front of the escalator. The silent rail lay still in the darkness.

However, it was an escalator we had never used before.

The high schooler and I had only used the escalator on the opposite side.

The downward escalator that went from the second floor to the first. We had crawled up it in reverse.

‘And we kept using only that one after that.’

Whenever I went out to explore, I would scan between the escalators and the floor, wondering if I might retrieve the fishing line of an item I had used.

That’s how desperate I was.

However….

‘Normally, when trying to go upstairs, people instinctively use the escalator going up.’

Agent Bronze must have expected that I would use this escalator.v

I handed the high schooler another Nostalgia Candy and stood in front of the escalator.

‘…Three left.’

From now on, I had to use them more carefully.

Of course, for now, I had to maximize the efficiency of using one.

“Agent, could you go up the escalator?”

“…I’ll walk slowly. Be careful.”

“Yes.”

Ms. Go Yeongeun took the lead and stepped onto the escalator.

And the three of us began walking up the escalator.

“Hoo.”

Let’s think about this.

‘If my reasoning is correct, Agent Bronze would also have tried to predict my behavior….’

And they were likely thinking more rationally than I was, with my shattered mental state.

Unless, of course, they had hidden below while someone was being blended alive in a mixer, or had dealt with a crazy situation where the high schooler they had to rescue broke their ankle….

That’s how they would have deduced my actions in reverse.

“ – A rookie agent. Has experience with ghost stories but appears clumsy due to trauma.”

If someone like me had moved more passively on the first day, what method would I have chosen?

‘I would’ve entered the second floor later.’

Instead of rushing to the second floor, I would have stayed on the first floor, hiding as long as possible, moving clumsily and aimlessly like a typical rookie.

‘Agent Bronze would’ve expected us to come to the upper floor much later.’

But what if they had marked another place as safer for themselves?

And if they had considered that my group, as rookie agents, might panic if they weren’t on the second floor?

In that case….

There was only one answer.

‘They let us know before we reach the second floor.’

“…….”

I looked at the advertisement panel on the escalator.

Beneath the brightly colored red advertisement panel, as if it were part of the display, a receipt was tucked in with just its edge sticking out.

A notice from the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau.

“Huh?”

It was something easily overlooked as just another part of the mart, but to an insider, it was a glaring sign, like a bolt of lightning.

Amid the murmuring of my group, I pulled it off and unfolded it.

On the back, bold and large handwriting scrawled messily.

Season-off Winter Camping Sale

3rd floor, far-left wall. 12th spot.

“I think I’ve found it.”

I had picked up the signal left by Agent Bronze.

***

We moved quickly through the candlelight and fog.

The three of us moved as if we were in a three-legged race.

“The 12th spot, right? The 12th.”

“Yes…!”

Realizing he might meet his friend, the high schooler gritted his teeth and hurried along cooperatively.

The endlessly repetitive space of the massive mart. Passing through the eerily continuous rows of stores, the place we were heading to was….

[Season-Off Winter Camping Sale]

Finally, it appeared.

A store space displaying tents, campfires, burners, and chairs, like a scene from a camping trip.

Creeeak.

One side of a tent opened slightly, and a nervous face peeked out, scanning the surroundings.

“Hey! Kim Jaehun!”

The high schooler who was within the candlelight dashed forward.

It was understandable.

It was his friend that Agent Bronze had taken.

“Oh, ohhhhhh!”

“Are you okay?”

“Haaahhh….”

The two grabbed each other, crying.

I hesitated for a moment, wary that making such loud noises outside the candlelight might attract something dangerous, but nothing happened.

‘It seems Agent Bronze had taken precautions.’

It was a relief. Ms. Go Yeongeun and I also relaxed slightly and approached the two.

“Should we… put out the candle for a moment?”

“Let’s do that.”

Heading toward the safe zone secured by the veteran agent.

“Sniff.”

It took a few minutes for the two high schoolers to finally calm down.

The high schooler who had been with Agent Bronze seemed mentally exhausted but showed no signs of major injuries or extreme fatigue.

‘Looks like they were well taken care of.’

As expected, a veteran agent is far more skilled in rescue than a rookie.

I watched the two with a slight sense of guilt toward the high schooler I had been in charge of.

The high schooler I had been looking after, who seemed fine with a Nostalgia Candy in his mouth, forced a smile and spoke.

“Well, I’m glad you’re safe too.”

“…Yeah.”

…….

Something feels a bit off.

I noticed signs of anxiety and panic on the face of the high schooler who had been with Agent Bronze.

I thought it was natural, given they’d been lost in a ghost story for days, but even so… it seemed excessive.

Ms. Go Yeongeun also whispered to me softly.

“Agent Grape, um… the person you were looking for, it’s obviously not that high schooler, right?”

“…No.”

“Then where are they? That agent.”

“…….”

A strange and unsettling feeling washed over me.

‘No way.’

I locked eyes with the high schooler the bronze agent had been in charge of. Their gaze flinched.

The reason we came here.

“Where is the agent?”

“…….”

Tears began streaming down the eyes of the high schooler sitting inside the tent.

“T-The agent… H-He was discovered by the staff and chased away…! Th-There were dozens of them, oh god!”

“…!”

“A-And… I think he was caught.”

…….

What.

“T-The staff… dragged him off somewhere, h-heuk.”

Three days trapped in the mart ghost story.

Agent Bronze… had already become part of the inventory.