Chapter 60
'The fear of possibly dying.'
Perhaps that's the essence of ghost stories.
Recently, I even experienced a government-managed Disaster where someone had to die for the scenario to be theoretically cleared. So, I've grown quite accustomed to the idea that "people usually die in ghost stories." I've even become a bit desensitized to it.
After all, I've managed to squeeze through the needle's eye and survive. – Let's figure out an escape route first, no matter how impossible it seems. This had become my default mindset over the past few months. But now...
"Initially, everyone disappeared. Only one headless corpse ever came back."
"..."
"But after a few repetitions, someone lucky enough managed to survive and return. Based on their testimony, we pieced together the manual." This was the standard process for completing a high-level exploration manual.
"But there was one thing we could never change."
That was...
"Someone always dies."
"..."
"The mechanism behind who gets chosen? There isn't one. No logic, no pattern. It's completely random. It's happened 37 times so far, and no matter what gear or items are brought in, it doesn't make any difference."