The alleys in the 'Death End Alley' ghost story each have their own theme.

It’s as if, in reality, shops dealing with similar businesses or materials gather to form a commercial district.

Of course, they appear unpredictably, and their appearance probabilities vary.

The alleys of Death End Alley confirmed so far:

1.Street vendors

2. Bookstores

3. Pets

4. Jewelry

5. Daily goods

6. Lighting

7. Meat

…….

And the place we’ve entered now is an alley selling daily goods.

But at a glance, I’m heading straight toward the shop that looks like the one I least want to enter in this alley.

A butcher shop with live organs and flesh hanging.

Wriggling.

‘Let’s think of it as a haunted house.’

It’s fine. Nothing here is actually... hanging exactly as it looked when it was alive. It’s just body parts, so just think of it as an animatronic attraction from a theme park....

Wait a minute, thinking of a theme park actually makes it scarier?!

‘Calm down.’

I must not hesitate.

I tried to act calm and walked briskly toward the butcher shop.

Fresh Meat Butcher Shop

Under the red and blue lighting reflecting on the glass window, the owner, who had been sharpening a knife while preparing meat, looks up.

A huge figure wearing a bloodstained apron.

If you look closely....

A cow’s head, skinned and ragged, is looking back at us with chunks of flesh hanging.

Clunk.

It gestures.

As if inviting us to come closer, saying it will treat us well....

"Supervisor, just a moment!"

Kang Yihak blocked my path.

"Haha, uh, well, it doesn’t look like we need anything from that store, let’s go to another one!"

"The owner already gestured, so it feels rude not to go in."

“ – Ah, that’s right. That’s the way to go!”

"No!"

Kang Yihak immediately noticed her voice got louder and quickly lowered it, speaking urgently.

"It clearly said not to enter any alley with meat in it…!"

That’s true.

If you find an alley themed around meat in Death End Alley, you must never enter it and stay in the original alley.

In the event that you’ve entered due to unavoidable circumstances (like a chase with a vendor, etc.), block your hearing with earphones and walk 1000 steps as quickly as possible to move to the next alley.

If a companion gets caught by a tasting invitation, leave them behind and proceed with faster steps.

The items in the manual that send chills just by reading them.

"Right."

"Ah, you remember now, right? So..."

"So?"

“…!?”

"I want to go shopping."

And I walked steadily toward the butcher shop.

"No, Mr. Roe Deer...!"

"I'm sorry, Mr.Jang Heo-un! It’s okay to run away...!"

But I could hear the footsteps of the two people following me. It seemed they had both decided to follow me.

Hmm. I thought they would run away.

‘In fact, I think I want to run away more than anyone else…’

But if I stopped here and hesitated, I’d probably get dragged into my colleague’s scheme again, so I kept moving forward.

Eventually, the three of us stood side by side in front of the butcher shop, with its wriggling body parts displayed under intense lighting....

Naturally, I’m at the front.

Sigh.

….

The flayed cow is staring at me.

‘Ughhh.’

I shouldn’t look too closely.

I erased the focus from my eyes and looked at the owner’s neck, but when I saw the veins twitching, I quickly turned my gaze to his clothes.

It’s better to look at the bloodstained clothes instead.

"Hello. Do you perhaps offer fresh packaging?"

Creak…

"There are a lot of good cuts. Hmm... by any chance."

I pretended to think for a moment and then pointed with my finger.

"Could I see the front legs?"

Thud.

The flayed cow’s head rose from its place and opened the glass door.

From inside, the ‘front legs’ were swiftly brought out and displayed in front of me.

...A body still wriggling, alive and moving.

The foot of a beast.

The hand of a goral.

The hand of a goral.

Tentacles?

The foot of a beast.

The hand of a goral…

A trembling hand with a ring on its finger, pleadingly brushing against the glass floor...

‘Grr.’

I had to endure it.

I looked down, pretending to be calm.

…...There was no suitable left hand among them.

‘How disappointing.’

I endured this mental anguish, but it would’ve been nice if there was some reward for it.

I shook off Deputy Eunhaeje’s thoughts and, after a brief hesitation, spoke to the other person.

"Something with stronger bones would make a better broth... Hmm. Do you perhaps have any with eyes?"

Thud!

After refusing once, the owner’s hand became rough. I could faintly hear my colleagues holding their breath from behind me.

I also take a deep breath to suppress the fear.

‘Display…’

The front legs are cleared away,

And eyes appear before me.

Black sclera with purple irises.

A blue eyeball the size of a fist.

A lens still attached to the flesh.

A trembling white circle, unfocused…

Desperate brown eyes staring at me.

‘Sigh.’

I closed my eyes and opened them again.

"That looks good."

I pointed with my finger.

The first displayed one, a black eyeball with a flashing purple iris.

"I would like to buy it. Oh, no need to slice it."

……

The flayed cow stares at me.

Then it extends its hand.

A very clear gesture, signaling for payment.

Kang Yihak muttered in a very quiet voice.

"...Supervisor, should we try to find out what we need to pay for..."

"No."

I took a box out from my tattoo.

Thud.

A heavy box filled with corn and carrots was placed in front of the shop.

"...??"

“…?!”

"I will pay with this."

When attempting a trade in this butcher shop, make sure to offer food that the cow can consume.

Right. Some shops in Dead End Alley use strange currencies, but we don’t actually have that currency.

‘So, we have to try bartering.’

However, since each shop accepts different items, I filled my tattoo with various essentials, precious metals, and snacks…

Including the vegetable box, of course.

Of course, there are shops that demand something humans could never rationally give in exchange, but this would be enough here.

"How much should I pay for this?"

……

The butcher reached out his hand to take all the vegetables I brought out.

My companions, who had been shocked by the tattoo inventory performance, now looked relieved.

"Oh, we succeeded in the trade..."

"Wait a minute. That much?"

“…?!”

I frowned and interrupted.

"It's too expensive. No, even if it's fresh packaging, there should be a limit. It wasn't easy for me to get it this fresh to this point..."

"Roe, Roe Deer?"

My companions, pale as a sheet, began looking at me as if I were a madman, but I kept talking.

"Did you raise the price just because I said I’d buy? Or is it just a supply issue these days?"

Thud.

"It must have been tough. Still, this has exceeded my expected budget... sigh."

I deliberately stayed silent.

The butcher also stayed silent.

The flayed cow's head seemed to stare blankly at me, then it eventually went to what looked like the register and brought back a handful of coins.

Rusty coins with all numbers and letters written backwards.

This is the currency here.

‘Ahhh!’

Got it...!!

There are shops where bartering isn’t possible, and in those places, you need to have coins to escape!

“ – Ah, it fits perfectly. The joy of a prepared script!”

I smiled as I took the coins.

"...That should be enough for change. Thank you. I’ll take this."

……!

The flayed butcher seemed excited and stood up, wrapping the item I had purchased.

The black eyeball, spinning crazily, was wrapped in transparent liquid and placed in my hand.

I tried not to look too closely at both the coins and the item.

"Th-Thank you."

In the meantime…

Thud.

Blood splashed onto my face from the butcher's apron as he moved suddenly.

And onto Jang Heo-un's face as well.

“…!”

Jang Heo-un, wearing a bison mask, stiffened and lowered his head.

He seemed to be desperately holding back nausea…

‘Damn.’

I interrupted and started talking.

"Oh. I guess he’s weak because he’s hungry. We should hurry back and get something to eat."

Please, please!

The flayed cow observed Jang Heo-n with some interest.

Just before Jang Heo-un stiffened and broke into a cold sweat.

Thud.

The shopkeeper dropped an item for him.

It was the corn I had paid for.

"Th-Thank you..."

Jang Heo-un took the corn with trembling hands.

The shopkeeper stared at him blankly before sitting back down in front of the butcher's glass door.

‘...Passed.’

We quickly left the 'Fresh Meat Butcher Shop'.

At the same time, I looked at Jang Heo-un's face, gripping the corn tightly.

More precisely, the mask he was wearing.

‘...Is it because of the mask?’

It seemed like he mistook Jang Heo-un for a bison.

It seemed that the masks from the Daydream Corporation were not ordinary items. Like a Dream Collector.

‘Phew.’

Don't give up your body!

Remaining steps: 7999

Our steps only stopped when the next alley appeared, and I immediately checked on Jang Heo-un.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes? Ah, yes... It wasn’t that much blood, and since it was all cleaned up, I’m fine now..."

‘Wasn’t it more creepy that it was alive even though it was cleaned up?’

But everyone has different fear triggers. I’ll respect that.

Anyway, I was glad he was okay. His complexion wasn’t bad either.

Just as I was about to move again.

"What the hell was that? How could you make such a deal...?!"

Kang Yihak finally started asking questions.

Hmm.

‘Let’s go one more round here…!’

I deliberately responded nonchalantly.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm talking about what you just bought! The manual clearly said to avoid alleys where meat is visible, but how could you just go in like you were prepared for it...?"

I was prepared!

But I couldn’t say that, so I answered like this.

"It was too obvious."

“…?”

"When I looked at the description of the meat-related shops in the manual, it pointed to restaurants. It seems like the issue is with eating..."

I lifted the item I bought in its bag.

"This is a butcher shop, isn’t it? I assumed I could just buy it without eating it."

“…!”

"And based on how it was displayed..."

I turned the bag around and showed it to him.

The strange black eyeball.

"I thought I could use it in another way since it was alive, so I bought it."

“…….”

"For example... organ transplants."

“…!”

Right.

Explorers don’t buy food here at the fresh raw butcher shop.

An explorer successfully attached a tongue purchased from the butcher shop to their mouth. It functioned without issue, performing various movements that humans couldn’t normally do.

If you attach a 'part' from that butcher shop, which was packaged alive for freshness, to a missing body part, it will become functional.

The abilities originally held by that part may also come with it.

Of course, blindly approaching that butcher shop and trying to buy something without knowing this is definitely crazy!

So, I kept talking.

"In a place like this, deductive reasoning based on limited clues is important."

Hmm. No.

‘Trying to imagine and profit from limited clues will definitely get you killed…’

That’s something you only try when there’s no way out, as a last resort, right?

But I had no choice but to act insane. After all, crazy people always have their own brilliant logic.

"I succeeded in that reasoning. Is there a problem?"

There probably is!

As expected, Kang Yihak was gaping at me.

Right, you must be just as shocked…

"Wow!"

Oops, that startled me.

"You're absolutely right!"

…?!

Eyes gleam through the pony mask.

"No, wow, yeah. As expected, in order to make high profits, you have to think differently from others... I guess I’ve been too cautious with risks all this time."

“…….”

"Anyway, life is all or nothing, right? Hahaha! Yeah!"

W-Wait a minute.

This feels kind of strange…

"Alright, let’s move forward. Wow, it's been a while since I've met a boss worth learning from!"

“…….”

At that moment, I realized.

‘Silver Heart!’

I still had the Silver Heart hanging inside my pocket.

‘I spoke with it on and succeeded in persuading them!’

The problem is that it’s still a strange situation.

Silver Heart is designed as a persuasion tool, not a brainwashing tool.

It means that it only works when both logical validity and emotional resonance are present.

‘So, if I say something this absurd, it should be normal for them not to be persuaded…’

"From now on, I’ll do my best to support your efforts, boss! Hahaha."

“…….”

Ah.

I see.

This person... must have found the crazy logic I spouted convincing.

‘What kind of person is this?’

Cold sweat ran down my back.

I turned to my normal colleague with a sense of desperation, clinging to my last straw.

‘Heo-un, can you at least…’

"Yes, I’ll also support you well!"

“…….”

Where did this one go wrong?

Jang Heo-un had the look of ‘Wow! I got help again! I’m so grateful!’

Persuasion was already complete.

“ – Congratulations. You’ve earned the trust of your colleagues, my friend!”

“…….”

Yeah.

But something... something feels wrong.

But for now, I had no choice but to keep walking to get out of here…

‘First, escape.’

Don’t give up your body!

Remaining steps: 6999

Surprisingly, the next alley was smooth as well.

Even to the next alley.

"There are lighting stores. If we look at the windows, we could go blind or get burned, so let’s pretend to talk and move while avoiding eye contact."

"Yes!"

Alleys lined with all sorts of bizarre and mysterious shops.

But since I already knew the manual, it felt like taking a pop quiz after memorizing the textbook.

However, knowing that making even one mistake could cost me my life, I was still on edge…

"Oh! A pharmacy! Should I try buying something there this time? Boss, what do you think? It’s fine, right, Bison?"

"Yes! I’m fine!"

"...It doesn’t seem to have much value, so let’s move on for now."

"Ah, I guess we should use the bullets in bigger places, haha!"

It seems like they’re expecting me to buy something boldly again, huh?

And the fact that my colleagues seemed fully supportive of it made me break into a cold sweat.

Meanwhile, I couldn’t even see a store that might have the chocolate I came in for.

It was hard to keep glancing around without making eye contact with the shopkeepers. Ugh…

It was then.

Don’t give up your body!

Remaining steps: 4999

"Ah, boss. A new alley has appeared..."

I stopped my steps and looked through a gap between the drug stores.

From within... a foul odor wafted out.

‘Ugh.’

It was a very narrow back alley.

It seemed like it was less than half the size of the alley where the street vendors were... and overwhelmingly dark.

“…….”

Whoosh.

The old doors along the alley clatter eerily. The gas lamps, scattered here and there, flicker dimly.

In the dim light, thick, sewer-like sludge flows from the pipes beside the gates, briefly visible before disappearing.

And beneath the gas lamps, strange silhouettes with crooked spines lean against the wall, dried out.

A glance.

They, wearing dirty, old uniforms, are staring at us.

……In conclusion,

'Even if this is not a ghost story, it feels like the kind of place where we should immediately turn around and leave.'

An unsettling and eerie atmosphere fills the alley, making it feel like a normal purchase will never happen here.

"...This is a place not mentioned in the manual."

That was correct.

At this point, the exploration has not yet taken place at Daydream Inc., and this is an unknown alley for the employees.

The problem is…

'I have to go in here...'

Tears well up.

And for some reason… it feels like I don’t need to persuade anyone to go into such a crazy place… It brings more tears…

I turned to my colleagues, feeling conflicted, and said,

"Let's go into that alley."

And the reactions were like this.

"Yes...!"

"Looks like a place selling stolen goods? Wow, guaranteed high profit!"

“…….”

Please, let me handle the crazy bastard in this area on my own…