The Trap in the Middle Layer

I'll tell you about the longest thirty seconds of my forty-two years.

Hina-chan said she'd "heard someone call her name" near the end of the break. After that, as we continued forward, everyone began making the same report. The names they heard were different. Night Crow-kun said it was the voice of an old partner, while Maru-kun heard the voice of his dead master.

The second obstacle wasn't a gate somewhere in the tunnels. It had begun long ago.

2:10 p.m. The grand descending corridor.

The "sweet smell" grew stronger the farther we went. It smelled like being under the covers just before falling asleep. A mental interference zone—in the preliminary interviews, three of the five S-rankers had encountered "someone from their memories" here.

Before entering, I added two procedures.

"We'll shorten roll call from every thirty seconds to every fifteen. Also, always keep one hand on the pack of the person in front of or behind you. —Where words are less effective, increase both words and contact. That's all."

【The countermeasures are "frequent check-ins" and "holding hands" lol】

【Whoever laughed, look at the screen. Humanity's strongest people have started holding hands in deadly earnest】

The corridor was quiet. There were no enemies. No traps. Just sweetness...