Escape - Chapter 12.1
Chapter 12.1
“…I’m Adeline. This is Luce.”
“Ah.”
“Who were you talking to just now? You’ve been muttering something since we saw you in the distance.”
‘Her eyes are too clear for her to be mad.’
Adeline replayed every detail of the girl’s expression and gestures as she questioned her.
“Oh, that?”
Turning her head to face Adeline, Woo Yune’s eyes sparkled as she smiled sweetly. She looked as though she’d been waiting for this question.
“I’m live-streaming. It’s called WooyuneTV. I don’t have that many subscribers yet, but have you heard of it?”
‘What is she talking about?’
Adeline, speechless, closed her mouth, unable to find a response. The girl’s words were incomprehensible.
‘It’s the same language as other districts, but the vocabulary seems quite different.’
Frowning, she looked at Luce, who returned a bewildered gaze.
‘This isn’t going anywhere.’
‘If my clumsy acting will give me away, I have no choice but to face this head-on.’
Sighing repeatedly, Adeline, seemingly resolute, looked at the vibrant girl. She chose her words carefully.
“I’m very sorry, but we’re new here. We don’t understand what you’re saying. What’s live-streaming? What’s WooyuneTV? And, excuse me, but which district are you from?”
The girl burst into laughter as soon as Adeline finished speaking, as if she had heard something incredibly funny.
Then, the girl’s pupils drifted, lingering on empty air. Her eyes moved subtly, as though reading words floating in the space before her. Adeline didn’t miss this detail.
“New here? No, you’re kidding, right? If you didn’t want to come with me, you could have just said so. My viewers are telling me not to believe you.”
“It’s not a lie. We really are new here.”
“I’ve been playing this game for a year, and I’ve never seen weapons like those. How can someone who just started today be so heavily armed and wandering around the Snake Den?”
Adeline’s jaw dropped, and she fell silent. She exchanged a significant look with Luce, who stared back with equal surprise.
Live-streaming. Subscribers. Viewers. Unfamiliar words filled the air, but one phrase stood out.
“Snake Den. You’re saying this is the Snake Den?” The description matched the book.
“Near it, to be exact. But wow, you’re really pretty. Do you want to broadcast with me? Half the chat is saying how cool you are.”
“If it’s near, is it safe?”
“Huh? No, it’s super dangerous. That’s why I was about to log out the second a snake appeared, but then I met you two. I was so scared I almost died.”
‘I’ll learn the unfamiliar concepts as I go.’
Adeline let the strange words wash over her. Right now, safety was paramount. At the mention of danger, Adeline’s expression hardened.
Even though he was slightly better now, Luce was still in bad shape. He was injured, and they were both exhausted.
Reaching a safe place was all that mattered. The girl before her didn’t seem like a threat, and traveling together didn’t seem like a bad idea. She quickly made up her mind.
“Alright. Let’s go together. But I have conditions.”
“Conditions? What are they?”
“First, we’re going to pass through the entrance of the Snake Den. There’s no way around it. I know the way to another district, but it starts at the entrance of the Snake Den. And second…”
Adeline purposely softened her expression into a gentle smile before continuing. Damian had always said this smile of hers was the most terrifying.
‘Damian. He must be somewhere in this underground.’
“You’re going to have to explain a few things to me. Think of me as someone who ‘just started today.’”
The clever Adeline deliberately quoted the girl’s words. The girl shrugged and nodded. Glancing at the space above the girl’s head again, Adeline moved closer to Luce, pretending to hand him something. Quietly, she spoke.
“Luce, I’ve been wondering. Do you see letters floating around, too?”
“What?”
“Above that girl’s head. And in the corner of my vision. Don’t you see them?”
“What are you talking about? What do you see?”
Luce tilted his head in confusion. As Adeline tried to explain further, Woo Yune’s gaze made her hold back.
Woo Yune.
The letters above the girl’s head blinked and disappeared. Adeline felt a chill.
It was the name the girl had given. And Adeline had seen it before she even said it.
***
12 opened his eyes.
It was dark. Hunger. That was the first sensation 12 felt.
He pushed himself up from the viscous liquid, easily shattering the thin membrane that had sealed the ceiling.
Crack.
He felt a faint light pierce his eyes.
12 stepped out of the white membrane. Looking back, he saw it was a giant egg.
‘Ah, right. I’ve just been born.’
12 blinked slowly, taking in his surroundings. Behind the egg-laden throne, thick roots descended from the ceiling, reaching down to a lake at the bottom, their ends submerged in the dark, opaque water.
