novelraw Chapter 76 : Chapter 76
Chapter 76 : Chapter 76
Chapter 76: Threat (1)
‘I'm fucked.’
In an instant, dozens of thoughts flashed through my mind.
Ahead, the door firmly shut and not budging.
Behind, the super-high heat air steaming and squeezing moisture out of my entire body.
Pushing, or pulling.
The door did not open. It was perfectly locked.
When I stopped, Lee Junhyeok tilted his head.
“What's wrong? Is there a problem?”
“……It's locked.”
“Huh?”
“It's locked, this thing.”
As I turned back and spoke, Lee Junhyeok looked at me with a ‘Huh?’ face.
And Sonic Park, who was almost draped next to us, sprang up like lightning.
Sonic Park strode over and grabbed the doorknob roughly.
Rattle- Rattle- He pulled with all his might, but the door didn't budge an inch.
“I-Is it a push?”
His voice trembled. Soon he pushed the door, but the result was the same.
“T-This can't be……!”
A scream burst out.
Sonic Park's voice echoed inside the heated kiln sauna.
“It can't be like this……!”
He started making a fuss, banging on the door with his fist.
“Wait, calm down.”
Lee Junhyeok strode over and grabbed his arm.
“Running wild in panic right now will only waste stamina. Examining the situation calmly comes first.”
It was a correct argument.
But Sonic Park glared at Lee Junhyeok with eyes saying ‘Are those words coming out right now’.
“Ahem, I'll check.”
Lee Junhyeok placed his hand on the door handle.
With a hardened expression, he pulled with all his strength.
Crack— Snap-
And a moment later, the handle broke powerless and was held in his hand.
“……We're fucked.”
The words popped out without me realizing.
Lee Junhyeok scratched the back of his head as if embarrassed.
“This crazy bastard……! What have you done!”
Sonic Park screamed and cornered Lee Junhyeok.
Sonic Park, who was cowering next to Lee Junhyeok just moments ago.
But in an emergency, there was no holding back.
“Why did this come off……. Ahem, sorry.”
Lee Junhyeok's voice echoed futilely inside the kiln sauna.
Actually, this strength was Lee Junhyeok's true talent.
A guy better suited to holding and firing a heavy super-weight rifle than holding a sword.
But in the current situation, it was absolutely no help.
Thanks to the guy's brute strength, the situation rather worsened.
Sonic Park made a fuss trying to break the door, but it was in vain.
A special door designed to confine super-high heat air.
It looked ordinary on the outside, but it was heavy and solid with double or triple layers of superalloy.
It wasn't a structure that could be opened with force in the first place, but a method where it opens like a lid popping off when the lock is released.
Its sturdiness was reminiscent of a bomb shelter.
“Still, the door is just locked.”
Lee Junhyeok continued calmly as if to settle the situation.
“If we wait, an employee will notice something strange and come for us. Let's endure a little longer.”
At those words, Sonic Park's pupils shook violently.
“……We have to endure more here?”
The guy's expression was despair itself.
I was equally bewildered.
Thanks to obtaining the passive, it was more bearable than before, but being cornered was the same.
And for some reason, the surroundings felt hotter than before.
Can we endure? I'm not sure.
“Since there's no other way. What can we do about a sudden accident?”
Lee Junhyeok, alone peaceful, spoke calmly.
“Rather than worrying, positive……. Ah, right. There must be an emergency button somewhere here. Let's look for that first.”
At the words ‘emergency button’ from Lee Junhyeok's mouth, Sonic Park's eyes flashed open.
The guy turned his body abruptly and started searching the surroundings thoroughly.
“Is, is this it!”
Soon he discovered a small button on the inner wall and approached urgently.
Sonic Park's finger pressed the button firmly.
Beeeeeep-
A high and tearing mechanical sound resonated for a while.
“…….”
That was it.
It just rang.
Usually, after the beep sound, a human voice should be heard like a reply from a walkie-talkie.
Beep- Beep- Beeeeeep-
No matter how many times he pressed the button, no human voice came through.
Instead, only the mechanical sound continued emptily as if mocking us.
“……I think we're fucked?”
Once again, words leaked out unknowingly.
No matter how I thought about it, it was ominous.
Sonic Park seemed to have the same thought, his eyes completely flipped.
“It's strange! It's straaange……. Dammit!”
He slumped down on the seat and clutched his head.
“Why did the door suddenly lock! And why is the call button dead? Is it right that an employee will come if we wait? Even the emergency button is dead!”
Sonic Park whose mental state had completely collapsed.
[Sonic Park]
[Pain, Stress]
[Status: Exhaustion]
Maybe because he was already in a state of exhaustion, there was no filtering.
“Right, it was strange from a while ago.”
The guy mumbled.
“From some point, other people weren't coming in. Something…… something was wrong. Was the air originally this hot? Strange……. It's strange…….”
The guy mumbling as if his soul had left.
I empathize, but it was absolutely no help to the situation.
“This kid is going crazy and dying, is there any method?”
When I asked, Lee Junhyeok nodded.
“I'll try calming him down for a moment.”
As he approached Sonic Park and flowed magic power through his palm, a chill-like energy spread momentarily.
Breathing became comfortable for a moment. Magic power is certainly convenient.
The damn curse flowing in my body only gives pain.
Sonic Park also started to regulate his breathing slowly and soon became quiet.
It seems his mind returned to some extent.
After calming down Sonic Park's breakdown like that, the three of us sat side by side on the seat again.
“Trapped in the kiln sauna with only the three of us left…… Is that it.”
Lee Junhyeok summarized the situation calmly.
“With the handle broken, and the call button dead.”
As I added a word, Sonic Park quickly looked tearful again.
“Dammit, I didn't want something like this……. I just needed to flatten your nose……!”
Very proud of you.
I thought about flicking his forehead once while wrapped in Pain, but decided to let it go since he was a guy about to die anyway.
“If you go out and talk about bets or whatever in the future, know that you'll die. Remember today.”
“Dammit…… Dammit……!”
Sonic Park clutched his head with his upper body bowed deeply.
It wasn't that I didn't know the guy's feelings.
‘It might be really big trouble.’
This situation where three men are trapped in a high-heat hell with just a towel around their waists.
The problem is that it doesn't end with just the door being locked.
Customers aren't coming, and the emergency button isn't working. That part feels ominous no matter what.
We are still holding onto the possibility of an accident and waiting for anyone to come, but……
‘If, it's not a simple accident?’
It feels ominous.
To dismiss it as a simple malfunction, it was putting us in too much trouble.
It feels too ominous.
***
In front of the entrance leading to the super-high heat kiln sauna.
The entrance was blocked by obstacles, and red tape was pasted diagonally on it.
[Access Restricted]
[Under Maintenance - No Entry Except Authorized Personnel]
[Currently, the Super-High Heat Kiln Sauna is under maintenance. Please refrain from using it for safety.]
“What, the kiln sauna…… maintenance……?”
A man staggering as if drunk grumbled.
His colleague next to him shrugged.
“If it's maintenance, it can't be helped. Let's come back later. How about going for a foot bath for now?”
“Ah shit, I want to warm up my body.”
The drunkard with his lips pouting began to act stubbornly, saying he would go in regardless, frowning deeply.
“Hey hey, what's wrong with this guy? Are you very drunk? They say no entry~ You can't go.”
“Who decided no entry! I'm going! I'm goiiiing!”
While the scuffle was happening like that.
“Hello, sir. Is it okay if we pass?”
Someone spoke to them cautiously.
Looking back, employees in worker outfits holding toolboxes were smiling benevolently.
“Oh my, yes. Please pass! Thank you for your hard work.”
The less drunk man moved aside obediently and pulled his colleague's arm.
“Hey man. The repair technicians are passing. Move aside~.”
“No, what repair all of a sudden! While I've been coming here…… Huh? I haven't seen any repairs being done!”
However, the drunkard still resisting stubbornly.
At that sight, the employee opened his mouth with a still good-natured smile.
“Right now, the temperature inside has risen too rapidly. If you go in wrongly, you could just cook— thoroughly. This has never happened before, geez, we are embarrassed too. Haha.”
“Ah shit, when does that repair finish?”
“Umm, about…… one hour should do it.”
“You heard? Let's stay somewhere else for just 1 hour and come back. Sober up a bit too. Ah, sorry. This guy is making a scene because he's drunk. He's not originally like this.”
“It's fine. We are sorry. We will do our best to fix it for comfortable use.”
The men's conversation settled warmly like that.
The drunkard was led by his colleague's hand to another place.
The workers crossed the no entry tape and sign, slowly entering the room where the kiln sauna was located.
The huge and magnificent figure of the kiln sauna appeared before their eyes.
A thick door reminiscent of a hatch was firmly in place.
“Then, let's start.”
“Make sure absolutely no one else comes in. So it doesn't get bothersome for no reason.”
“Yes.”
They took out tools and started inspecting something.
All had smiling expressions, but their eyes were empty, and their hand movements were somewhat mechanical.
If it were a truly skilled technician, they would quickly notice that the inspection they were doing was nothing more than a ‘pretense’.
For some reason, they were all pretending to work.
As if there was no problem with themselves.
With an inexplicable tension, the air in front of the kiln sauna settled heavily.
***
After sitting down again calm, the hourglass turned over 6 times.
Once every 5 minutes. In other words, it meant 30 more minutes had passed.
Sonic Park's mouth, which had been complaining continuously, became quiet before we knew it.
It wasn't that someone silenced him.
When even the strength to speak disappears, anyone becomes quiet.
Lee Junhyeok also seemed to start feeling overwhelmed gradually.
Because the guy who was talking about growth and training or saying words to reassure us also became quiet before we knew it.
I was no different.
My throat burns. My skin is hot.
If not for the ‘Camel’ passive, I might have already died.
Sweat flowing from the entire body stained the floor of the dry sauna damply.
And above all, it was definitely getting hotter.
This damn space was clearly getting hotter and hotter.
As if determined to cook and kill us.
Just at that moment when my spirit was about to break.
“……They came.”
Lee Junhyeok's mouth, which had been quiet for a while, opened.
“They came?”
I lifted my head sharply.
And faster than anyone, Sonic Park ran forward.
“……T-They came! They came! We're saved!”
The guy started shouting with a cracked voice.
Beyond the small transparent tempered glass at the top of the entrance, workers revealed their appearances.
“We're here! Dammit! Save…… Save us!”
“Don't worry and stay seated since they will open it soon. It's fortunate we avoided the worst situation.”
Lee Junhyeok also let out a deep sigh and swept his chest.
‘Was it a simple accident.’
The ominous feeling seemed to vanish in an instant.
Still, it was fortunate to be rescued before fainting.
Since if I faint here, it wouldn't be strange to go straight to the afterlife immediately.
Feeling the mood of a distressed survivor vividly, I sat still.
As Lee Junhyeok said, those people will open the door soon.
Like that, I waited.
Thud-
A moment later, the hourglass on the wall turned once more.
And once more again.
It meant 10 minutes had passed.
“…….”
By this point, the bizarreness raises its head again.
What problem is there that it's taking so long to open a single door?
Did some serious problem occur?
A train named doubt bit its tail after tail and crossed my consciousness.
“Just what, are they doing.”
Unable to hold back any longer, I looked outside.
Seeing the workers' appearance, I noticed something was strange.
Because I couldn't understand what on earth they were doing.
Someone was banging on the wall of the kiln sauna with a hammer meaninglessly.
And someone else was making empty gestures in the air.
As if fiddling with an invisible device.
A familiar incongruity, like watching a play on stage.
Soon the mimic's Eye of Deception illuminated them.
[Park Chunjae]
[Fatigue, Boredom]
[Status: Suggestion]
[Oh Huijun]
[Expectation, Concentration]
[Status: Suggestion]
‘Suggestion?’
I could know immediately where the source of the incongruity was.
What came to us was not a savior.
Just puppets.
They were nothing more than puppets moving in someone's hands.