We found the missing companion who had vanished after boarding the train: Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae, at the casino station.
We might have been able to rejoice that the pursuit had succeeded.
If she had not been working as a dealer in a casino Ghost Story with one eye missing.
“Dolphin….”
“Shh.”
Agent Choi gripped my shoulder hard. Reflexively, I shut my mouth.
“……”
“Yes, Dealer. Please guide us~”
“Yup!”
And so, following the dealer—a Ghost Story resident wearing the appearance of Lee Seonghae—as she began walking ahead of us, we started moving quietly after her.
Agent Choi whispered low,
“Instead of making a fuss asking if she recognizes us, we need to catch the timing in one shot and bring her back to her senses, even if it’s only for a moment. Got it?”
I nodded.
The dealer led us past the run-down casino entrance area and farther inside.
We entered while quietly taking in our surroundings.
…If this had been <Darkness Exploration Record>, the environment that would surely have been recorded like this revealed itself before us….
When passing through the casino entrance area under the dealer’s guidance, a place appears where three iron doors are lined up side by side, as though a subway maintenance space had been remodeled.
The zones accessible through each door are described below in order.
“This is the Slot Machine Zone!”
When the door opened, a square room came into view, filled with fast-tempo, low-quality instrumental music, old brass ornaments, and endless rows of slot machines.
A place that felt more systematic and obsessive than the mood-setting machines near the entrance.
“You can enjoy a simple game by pulling the lever, and it’s very popular because you can challenge the jackpot with just 1 coin!”
Most of the slot machines were already broken, but I could still see countless visitors with blank eyes yanking on the shabby ones that remained…