After packing the items into my bag and wandering around the area for hours,
as expected, this space was absurdly vast.
By definition, the Backrooms are six hundred million square miles in size.
Even just the number made it obvious you couldn't possibly explore the whole thing.
They say one of the three things Chinese people can't do is tour all of mainland China, so there's no need to even mention this place.
It had looked insanely cool when I just checked the setup on the wiki.
โNow I get why they say stuff like amta, TS, NTR, and menhera is fun when it's not their problemโฆ.โ
A comedy from afar, a tragedy up close.
If possible, I would have preferred comedy.
After walking for hours while staring at the same scenery, I felt like I was going to develop a mental illness even though I didn't have one.
They say the reason psychiatric isolation rooms are white is to reduce visual stimulation.
Would it have been better if everything here were white too?
Probably not.
โMaybe I should check the terminal.โ
I sat down with my back against a nearby wall.
If this were the Backrooms as a liminal space, I would've laid out a sleeping bag and gone to sleep.
But doing that in a situation I couldn't be sure about would be suicidal, so I couldn't bring myself to lie down.
On my phone screen were an out-of-service-area indicator and a data-in-use icon.
Can those even be on the same screen?
โAnd of course, calls don't work.โ
112,119,113โฆ.
No matter where I tried to call, all I got was a nasty electronic tone.
I thought about trying somewhere else too, but there was no way the brand-new phone I got today would already have numbers saved in it.
I didn't know a single number.
The data supposedly worked, but apps like NewTube and the internet app were dead too.
All that was left was one app labeled 'Bureau Gallery.'
'One last tip for you all: the Bureau's anonymous board is available as a default app on your phone.'
What Manager Kwak Chunbong had said at the end of orientation.
So this must be it.
If even this doesn't open, am I really going to be isolated here all by myself?
But if, just if, it does workโฆ.
It should help me get through a week in this place to some extent.
Of course, I couldn't deny that part of me also wanted to get back to shitposting on the gallery, something I thought I'd never be able to do again.
Would 'I want to die, but I want truffle-caviar mala xiangguo' feel like this?
โThey said the pre-censorship was strict, but if it works, that's all that matters.โ
Filled with anticipation, I tapped the app icon with my finger.
โAhhโฆ.โ
A damn familiar UI greeted me.
[Notice] Bureau Gallery Unified Notice ver.0.3
They cut the bonus again, you bitches [12]
Today's managed entity is crazy? [6]
Got strung along by the operator [74]
Bureau bro, today~ mamma-n~!! [9]
The gallery was, contrary to my expectations, very active.
The view count and comment count were pretty high too, with a post going up every few minutes.
It was proof that, whatever the Bureau's total headcount was, a significant number of them were on the gallery.
โIf you've come to the gallery, you should read the notice first.โ
[Title: Got strung along by the operator]
Author: ์ผ์๋ค์ด๋
There was a new hire who joined three months ago,
and during live briefings, they had such a friendly voice that anyone would think they liked me.
So I confessed today, and they said they'd never thought of me as anything more than a coworker.
Fine, I said, and went out on site, only for Park Geum-ja to replace them as the operator, fuckโฆ.
I don't get why they were flirting with me if they weren't even going to say yes.
[Comments]
๊ฐ์ฒด๋ฐ์ด : This bastard only posts once every few months and still manages to go off the rails, lol.
ใด ์ผ์๋ค์ด๋ : If you heard them too, you'd have felt the sincerity in the voice.
ใด ๊ฐ์ฒด๋ฐ์ด : Quit bullshitting. If the chromosomes are different, you're all over them anyway, lol. Why don't you confess to Park Geum-ja?
ใด ์ผ์๋ค์ด๋ : I already got rejectedโฆ.
ใด ๊ฐํ์ด์์ง์ : This is why it made the hot posts, lol.
ใด ์ฌ๋ฅ๊ฐ : Heartbreak upvote ใ ใ ใ ใ ใ ใ ใ ใ ใ
Honestly, how are you supposed to put up with that.
And you're not supposed to start with the notice in the gallery.
You only read the notice when you need an excuse to jab at someone you don't like, or when you're going to complain to the staff.
I kept checking my surroundings as I read through the posts.
The topics of the posts being uploaded were varied.
They ranged from simple daily-life stories, and posts about work were basically the default.
Along with boss-rants, parental-insult rants, and bait imagesโฆ.
It was so free that you couldn't tell at all that pre-censorship was being enforced.
โIf this is censorship, then what the hell are they even censoring?โ
Was there someone periodically posting the Bureau's secrets or something?
After a few minutes of thinking, I couldn't hold back my curiosity and hit the write button.
[Title: Lewd pic, deleting in 1 minute]
Author: ๊ด๋ถ์ด(225.xxx)
I just got hired today and was deployed to the field, so any tips?
Looks like this is the Backrooms and I have to survive for a week.
[Comments]
์๋์ ์ฅ์ ํ์ : This newbie's title-baiting, fuck, lol.
๊ณ ์๋ถ์๊ธฐ : Newbie?
์๋น ๋๋ฌด๋ฆผ์ธ : If you just got here, read the notice and change your nickname.
์ฌ๋ฅ๊ฐ : This is a bit. What department sends someone out on the field on their first day?
๋๋ฐ๊ณ ๊ฐค์งํ๊ธฐ : Judging by what you're doing, you must've been a forum goblin in real life too. Your first post and you're already on another level.
Thanks to the power of title-baiting, comments started pouring in one after another.
My phone started vibrating nonstop.
If I could get this much attention in real life, I might've even had a shot at the gallery-celebrity spot.
[Title: Verification]
Author: ๊ด๋ถ์ด(225.xxx)
[A photo of a backpack with the Backrooms as the background]
No lie, I'm in here.
What's in the bag is basically supplies and a flashlight.
I'm being so careful because I'm scared something might pop out, so hurry up and give me some tips, hehe.
[Comments]
๊ฐํ์ด์์ง์ : What the hell, it's real.
๊ฐ์ฒด๋ฐ์ด : ????? Why is a newbie charging into the Backrooms?
ใด(๊ธ์ด์ด) ๊ด๋ถ์ด(225.xxx) : If I knew that, do you think I'd be asking here?
ใด ์ผ์๋ค์ด๋ : For realโฆ.
People seemed stunned once they realized my post wasn't a lie.
Then, while similar comments kept rolling in.
๊ด๋ฆฌ๋ฅผ๊ด๋ฆฌ : Final warning. Read the notice and change your nickname.
A comment with an orange tag attached to the front of the nickname.
That tag means one thing.
It meant the person who posted that comment was the gallery's moderator, the head mod.
ใด(๊ธ์ด์ด) ๊ด๋ถ์ด(225.xxx) : ใ ใ ใ ใ ใ ใ
I indicated my agreement and clicked the notice.
Reading the notice is a matter of principle for me, but getting banned because I got on their bad side would be worse, so bending my principles was easier.
[Notice] Bureau Gallery Unified Notice ver.0.3
Author : ๊ด๋ฆฌ๋ฅผ๊ด๋ฆฌ
1. What is the Bureau Gallery?
As the channel name suggests, it's a place for talking about things related to the Bureau.
Usually that subject is the main focus, but casual conversation is also allowed. However, if things get too heated, we'll start clamping down, so please cooperate then.
2.Nickname change required
Since the gallery is limited in terms of who can come in, unlike other galleries we allow a certain amount of socializing.
Please create a nickname that can represent you.
You can only set your nickname once, so please decide carefully.
3.Socializing guidelines
Mentioning nicknames that are seen often and interact frequently is fine, but we prohibit discussions that identify each other's personal details.
We know real-life socializing isn't possible, but even so, please refrain from exchanging information about each other's identities. If you're caught, it's an instant permanent ban.
4. Blocking guidelines
Aside from not setting a nickname and socializing, all blocking criteria are based solely on my mood. If you don't like it, go somewhere else.
5. I'm stationed in the gallery 24 hours a day and checking posts, so please don't try to look for me separately.
6. Please check the above and enjoy your time on the gallery.
โThis iron-fisted rule is insaneโฆ.โ
Only that kind of iron-fisted rule could control people who deal with all sorts of things.
I changed my nickname according to the notice.
And in the meantime, the gallery was already spinning my story into bait.
How long has it been since we got a newbie? [17]
On-duty Bureau bro, today~ mamma-n~!! [3]
How the hell did the first work site end up being the Backrooms? [22]
Why the newbie isn't worried at all.EU [15]
I'll give you Backrooms tips.TIP [31]
Except for one, they're all posts I'd want to click on.
But first, if I didn't want to get blocked, nickname verification came first.
[Take this recruit]
Author : ๊ฐค์ง์ฐธ์ฝ์ฃ
[A photo of a grand bow while leaning against a wall]
I'll be in your care from now on, please help me.
[Comments]
์๋์ ์ฅ์ ํ์ : ใ ใ ใ ใ ใ ใ ใ ใ ใ
์ฌ๋ฅ๊ฐ : ใ ใ ใ ใ ใ ใ ใ ใ ใ
๋๋ฐ๊ณ ๊ฐค์งํ๊ธฐ : Can't do anything about a grand bow.
๊ณ ์๋ถ์๊ธฐ : Okay, I'll take off the scope.
Leaving behind the warm reactions from the grand bow, I checked the most eye-catching of the posts I'd put off.
[Giving Backrooms tips.TIP]
Author : ๊ฐํ์ด์์ง์
There are two kinds of Backrooms.
The first is the original, meaning a place that's just insanely vast.
In cases like this, getting in basically means you can't get out.
But if you listen to the newbie, it seems there is a way to get out.
So if you get stuck here, just eat three meals a day and shitpost on the gallery until you can leave.
The second kind is the problem, where wiki influence has turned it into levels, depths, and entities and the like.
If it turns out you're in the second kind, obediently shove whatever's in the pill packet in your bag into your mouth and take a nap.
[Comments]
๊ฐ์ฒด๋ฐ์ด : I feel like there's not a single wrong thing in there, so here's an upvote lolใ ใ ใ ใ ใ ใ ใ ใ ใ
์ง๋ฐ๋ น1ํธ : That's right.
๊ฐค์ง์ฐธ์ฝ์ฃ : What's in the pill packet, you're saying eat it and sleep?
ใด (๊ธ์ด์ด) ๊ฐํ์ด์์ง์ : Euthanasia pills. They hand them out before you go on site. You can die painlessly.
ใด๊ฐค์ง์ฐธ์ฝ์ฃ : No, fuck, that's an instant suicide flag.
ใด ์ฌ๋ฅ๊ฐ : How are you supposed to take down an entity all by yourself?
A 50% survival rate right from the very first filter.
That's basically the odds of winning the lottery.
[So how do you tell the two kinds of Backrooms apart?]
Author: ๊ฐค์ง์ฐธ์ฝ์ฃ
[Backrooms background photo]
No matter how I looked around, I couldn't tell
I kept turning my eyes this way and that, but all I could see was a featureless yellow landscape.
โHuh?โ
When I looked back at the gallery with no results, my last post was already flooded with comments.
[Comments]
๋๋ฐ๊ณ ๊ฐค์งํ๊ธฐ : You crazy bastard, get up and run already.
๊ฐํ์ด์์ง์ : Holy shit, a newbie who showed up for the first time in years is going to die.
ใด ๊ณ ์๋ถ์๊ธฐ : If he dies it's your fault, if he dies it's your fault, if he dies it's your fault, if he dies it's your fault.
ใด ๊ฐํ์ด์์ง์ : Don't talk shit, he must already be running.
์๋น ๋๋ฌด๋ฆผ์ธ : You're running, right?
All of a sudden, people started posting desperate comments telling me to run.
Even after I jumped in alarm and looked around, there was nothing but the yellow landscape.
[What? Why?]
Author: ๊ฐค์ง์ฐธ์ฝ์ฃ
There's nothing here, so why is everyone making such a fuss?
Could they be messing with me because I'd title-baited earlier?
[Comments]
๊ฐํ์ด์์ง์ : Look at the picture you uploaded earlier, you crazy bastard. Doesn't that make it obvious why we'd say that?
๊ณ ์๋ถ์๊ธฐ : Don't stand there like an idiot checking itโrun back the way you came, now!!!!
โAaaahhh!โ
I ran back the way I came at full speed without even looking behind me.
It was too urgent to call it a joke, because even now my phone was still sending notifications while I was running.
If it really was a prank, I could get angry then.
No, please let it have been a prank.
โHahโฆ Hahโฆ Hahโฆ!โ
How far had I run?
I had no strength left to keep moving, so I sank down.
With oxygen in short supply, my gasping breaths had a sickly sweet smell.
My body was soaked in cold sweat and felt gross.
I pulled a bottle of water out of my bag and drained it in one go.
โHaโฆ.โ
As I felt my breathing return and my body start to steady, I looked around.
The yellow scenery was no different from when I first saw it.
I checked the gallery again.
Newbie dead?[25]
Why did that show up there?[56]
Someone please bring this up with HR [22]
๊ฐค์ง์ฐธ์ฝ์ฃ ๋, please write a post when you have time [1]
The board was already tossing my story around as bait.
[Why did that show up there?]
Author: ๊ฐ์ฒด๋ฐ์ด
[A photo of a black shape floating far away in the Backrooms background, grinning into empty air]
That guy in the newbie's photo is a Smiler
Shouldn't this bastard not even be showing up because he's weak to light?
What the hell got popular again while I wasn't looking?
[Comments]
๊ฐํ์ด์์ง์ : I haven't even seen him show up in a background like that before either.
๊ณ ์๋ถ์๊ธฐ : Considering how calm the newbie was, I guess he couldn't see it.
์๋์ ์ฅ์ ํ์ : Damn it, these bratty kids really love lore-wanking.
โWhat is this.โ
The photo I had hastily snapped and uploaded while writing the post.
In the photo that should have only shown the yellow scenery, something else had been captured.
A black face that usually appears in dark places.
A popular Backrooms monster with glowing eyes and sharp teeth.
โSmilerโฆ.โ
A popular entity from creative works set against the Backrooms background was smiling brightly in the photo.