Chapter 18 : Heading Out

Some Time Ago

Second Floor.

Coming out from an old creaky metal door was a beautiful woman with black and maroon-red hair. When she saw the sight of the empty warehouse before her, she felt a slight sense of unease. Previously, she had been suddenly transported to this world without knowing anything. At first, she thought she had been kidnapped or something. But after exploring the white room and failing to find any edge or boundary, she finally realized that this was far worse than a simple abduction.

Even after hours of exploration, she couldn't find the end of that white room. It was only when her desire to leave became extremely strong that the room transformed, revealing a door that eventually led her into this space.

The room itself—though it resembled a typical warehouse—was far from normal. The concrete floor was rough, with moss growing in the corners. Tall, empty metal racks loomed high, and the air was thick with the smell of rust and something like burnt plastic, creating the sense that this place had been abandoned for a long time. Neon lights dangled loosely from the ceiling, swaying slightly, some flickering erratically and emitting faint "tick-tick" sounds that added to the tense silence. Occasionally, there were distant metallic clatters from unseen sources, making her heart race for no clear reason.

Yet even here, she wasn't sure she could find a way out. She didn't fully understand how she had managed to exit the white room in the first place.

But there was no point in dwelling on it. A few hours later, she resumed exploring the warehouse with renewed resolve. Just like the white room, this place seemed endless. This only strengthened her belief that she was no longer in the world she once knew.

She couldn't find anyone else here, but fortunately, the place was full of supplies. Not knowing what the future held, she gathered what she needed. Her hours of wandering had earned her plenty of provisions. She even found a few types of swords during her search, and not knowing what might happen, she kept a lightweight longsword at her side.

Although she had no knowledge of swordsmanship and this was her first time holding a weapon like that, there was no room to complain about what she had available.

After several more hours of wandering, the silence and lifelessness of the place became unbearable. But by chance, she encountered a group of five people—three men and two women.

At first, she was extremely cautious of the group. But after hearing their explanation that they too had been forcibly brought here and were searching for a way out, she began to lower her guard.

They offered her a place in their group. Considering the dangers ahead, she decided to accept. After all, there were other women in the group, and she couldn't bear the endless silence of this vast, empty warehouse.

Through conversation, she learned that all five had come from the same place. They had been inside an elevator when it opened to reveal a pitch-black room that pulled them all inside.

It was not too different from her own experience. She too had been pulled in by a dark room—after trying to greet her neighbor and suddenly finding their apartment replaced by a black void, she woke up in the white space.

Perhaps because they shared the same fate, she was able to quickly adapt to the group while they explored the floor together, hoping to find a way out.

After some discussion, the group decided to venture further down the warehouse corridors they had found earlier.

...

Present Time

Back to Nalan's Team.

Currently, our exploration team had already made significant progress through the fourth floor. It took us about two whole days to find the exit. Compared to the previous floors, this one took us the longest to traverse before finding a way out.

Whether that's simply due to the nature of the fourth floor or a sign that the upcoming floors will take even longer, we couldn't say for sure.

Who really knows?

Regardless, we had finally found the exit. Seeing the blue door in front of us, I let out a deep breath—we could finally leave this place.

Throughout our journey, we encountered countless hostile entities. Unlike the helpful trader we met on the third floor, everything on this floor was out for blood. There were no friendly faces here. Every entity we saw would attack on sight.

We nearly ran out of ammunition by the first day. Fortunately, this place was rich in military resources—plenty of rations and equipment. All of us now had bulletproof vests to protect ourselves, and we managed to restock on ammo and obtain firearms like a revolver, P92, M16, and an FN Sniper Rifle.

The corridors we passed were filled with debris and old bloodstains turned black. In some places, we found scattered shell casings and skeletons inside decayed military armor. The air reeked of decay and old metal.

Danger always walks hand in hand with great reward, and with these firearms, we finally had the courage to continue exploring and clearing out the monsters. At this point, we had grown somewhat used to their presence.

As for weapon distribution, I handed the M16 to Hyunsuk while the shotgun went to Robert, who claimed to have experience with that type of weapon. Joshua received the P92 for personal protection. At first, Robert strongly opposed giving weapons to the father and son duo, since they were still new to the group and hadn't earned full trust.

After all, giving someone a weapon is like handing over a double-edged sword—it could protect you, or stab you in the back. But since Olivia and Hyunsuk trusted them, and I saw how well they blended with the team, we decided they were worth trusting with our backs.

Naturally, the FN Sniper Rifle went to Olivia. She had sharp eyes and great aim. Aside from her Colt 1911, this gave her two firearms. I kept the revolver for myself, but my main weapons remained the katana and the fire axe. Sadly, I hadn't found any other melee weapons since the second floor. I wanted to replace the fire axe because juggling two vastly different weapons was a challenge.

The katana focused on speed and technique, while the axe relied on weight and raw power. Though I had no issue using either style, I realized that continuing to train with both would only hinder my growth. So I decided to focus on a specific weapon type—and my preference was the sword. That's why I was still hoping to find a new katana or longsword.

Unfortunately, aside from the katana we found back on the second floor, we hadn't come across another one since.

I sighed and continued walking toward our exit.

Once we reached the door, I took the lead and turned to everyone.

"I can't guarantee that this door will lead us back to our real world," I said softly but firmly. "It's very likely it'll take us to another floor—one that might be even more dangerous than this. But let's remember one thing: right now, we're a team. We've fought together and we'll continue to search for a way out together. Whatever lies ahead, I hope we can all make it to the end we're hoping for."

After saying that, I turned back to the door and opened it, stepping forward—followed closely by the others.