NOVEL WEB Chapter 101
“Look at that faint smoke rising up and people plopping down on the floor like they’ve lost all their energy.”
The stage was ridiculously bright, yet the light spilling from outside was barely there.
Inside the thick, sinking darkness, all sorts of shadows were chaotically intertwined.
This feels like something’s gone horribly wrong.
Just as I made that judgment, Alice, who was next to me, yelled.
“Yuria! Sabrina! Hold your breath for a sec! We’re getting out of here right now!”
Alice wasted no time squeezing Sabrina and me tightly under her arms. It felt like being treated like luggage, but hey, this was a full-blown emergency. Now wasn’t the time to sweat the small stuff.
Even if it looked a bit silly, it was better to get out of this place fast.
Luckily, thanks to all the chaotic experiences I’d had up till now, I managed to stay calm and quietly inhaled shallow breaths along with Sabrina.
“Huff!”
“…!”
“Going!”
With a *thud*, Alice took three swift steps on the ground and leaped up with all her might.
Her leg strength was impressive. I blinked once, and the ceiling felt like it was suddenly right in front of me.
Perhaps it was because she had the kind of raw strength that could stop a car without any magic.
Cramming two little ones under her arms must have felt like carrying around stuffed toys.
Moreover, the huge meals she’d been eating to maintain that body seemed to pay off.
Thinking back on it, I felt a surge of gratitude for her always stuffing her cheeks until they puffed up.
“I’m going through!”
With a *swish*, Alice bounced off the ceiling and the walls a couple of times, slipping through the emerging gap at the exit.
No way, she moved that fast and didn’t even brush against anyone?!
What incredible athleticism! Something I couldn’t even dream of imitating.
As I watched her, clinging awkwardly under her arms, I suddenly locked eyes with Sabrina, who was clapping along with a similar vibe to mine.
Hmm, is it just me, or are we kind of on the same wavelength lately? Is that just my imagination?
“Haha… Thanks! I’ll set you down here for now. It seems like there’s no gas around here, so it should be safe to breathe.”
“Oh, yeah! Thank you!”
“…”
Huff, huff.
I breathed in deeply, embracing the fresh air outside that Alice had provided.
Of course, it felt more like stepping into a warm indoor space rather than being outside.
“Aaaah! People collapsed! It’s toxic gas!”
“Get out of the way! Everyone, step aside!”
“Don’t block the path, hurry up and leave!”
While we were regaining our composure, it looked like the people inside finally understood the situation.
At the auction’s exit, chaos erupted like a scene from a disaster movie.
Apparently, the sudden gas leak had knocked people out cold.
It made complete sense for everyone to be instinctively scrambling to evacuate in panic.
But with security blocking off other exits, the folks trying to escape were jostling over the narrow exit, causing a commotion.
If it weren’t for Alice, I bet we’d still be stuck in there with that crowd blocking our way out.
That thought made the scene a bit dizzying.
“Ugh… Someone’s gonna get hurt!”
Alice, observing the situation, grimaced and muttered that.
Definitely, if this continued, it seemed more likely that someone would be injured in the chaos than from the gas itself.
Nearby, the fixers strategically positioned for emergencies appeared to be making an effort to control the situation.
But perhaps because not a single prominent figure was around, things weren’t settling down quickly.
‘Hey, come to think of it… where’s Victor? If he were here, he could calm things down in no time.’
But as I glanced around, I quickly felt puzzled.
That unmistakable blonde spiky hair should’ve been right there, but it was nowhere to be found.
Considering the conversation we had in the dining hall earlier, Victor would surely have prepared for this kind of situation. So why?
‘Victor is a top-tier fixer. He wouldn’t leave his post due to some silly lapse in judgment. So that means…’
There had to be a compelling reason for him to be unable to secure this Enigma auction.
As I pondered this conclusion, it confirmed the unsettling feeling I had.
The situation remained grim, the auction exit still a disaster zone, and the number of casualties was only increasing.
Was Alice also picking up on this dreadful truth?
With a serious expression, she took a deep breath to suppress her emotions, then looked at me and Sabrina with intention and said,
“You both, try not to stray too far from here. And Sabrina, I’ll lend you my terminal so you can relay the situation to Raven. After that, let David know as well.”
“Uh, okay! …No! Yes! I-I’ll do that!”
Alice relayed her instructions to Sabrina in a voice laced with charisma.
The usual soft and squishy vibe was completely gone, replaced by an intimidating aura.
It was sharp enough to make Sabrina jump and nod her head repeatedly.
But perhaps that momentary fright made Sabrina look even cuter.
As she momentarily dropped her mask, she flashed a gentle smile at me and Sabrina.
Then, bolting toward the exit, she shouted loudly enough to hurt ears,
“Everyone, freeze in place!”
After all, sound is merely a wave created by vibrating muscles in the vocal cords.
Alice created an enormous noise that felt like a speaker being turned up to full volume, her vocal cords as powerful as her arm strength.
No matter how disoriented someone was from fear and confusion, that was a stimulus strong enough to make them stop.
Gathering everyone’s attention, she calmly raised one arm high and shouted.
“Please relax! If you push to leave without order, it will only slow you down! Follow the fixer’s guidance and exit in an orderly manner! We can all make it out safely!”
“Uh, hey… who are you to give orders like that?”
“I’m the double-number fixer assigned to protect everyone in this auction, Victor’s orders. If you don’t comply, I’ll have no choice but to knock you out to save you.”
Alice coolly spit out a lie without batting an eyelash.
With unwavering eyes, she gazed intensely at the chaotic crowd at the exit.
Perhaps she conveyed a determination that she’d break limbs if anyone stood in her way.
Those who were hesitant at the sudden interference began to follow her instructions.
After all, a few people had seen Victor inside the hotel earlier, and other fixers, who’d been trying to minimize the damage, quickly rallied to guide the people out.
Phew, with the situation, it seemed like no disaster would unfold at the exit after all.
As I quietly watched Alice with a rising voice, Sabrina, who was still in contact with Raven, frowned with a troubled expression.
“Yuria, what should we do? Raven isn’t picking up. Something must be up!”
“…!”
They can’t get through to him during this chaos?
I did say to call if there was an urgent matter. And this was urgent!
I briefly crossed my arms, contemplating Raven’s situation, clueless though it may be.
Without Victor and now without Raven, it’s clear my instincts about something being off were dead on.
So, I needed to relay this info to David and Raine.
I gestured overhead, forming round bear ears, signaling Sabrina to contact David.
Fortunately, it seemed Sabrina picked up on that right away and started trying to reach David.
“Huh? David too…?”
“…”
But David also wasn’t receiving Sabrina’s calls.
If it was Raven alone, that might be one thing, but David not getting calls too?
No way he’d suddenly cut off communication while on a date with Raine.
My gut feeling grew more ominous as I quickly pulled out Echo from my pocket and shot off a question.
‘Echo, is there… some interference with communications in this hotel?’
[ Yes. Currently, a strong jamming signal fills the hotel. It seems that any electronic device using radio waves will be completely unusable. ]
Interference signals, huh….
Just a few minutes ago, we were using the electronic auction device just fine.
It seems the signals spread out around the same time that suspicious smoke began rising in the auction house.
So, this must be why I can’t reach Raven or David.
It also explained why no help was arriving in this mess.
Heh, they probably had no idea that Echo, unaffected by these jamming signals, was right here.
I smirked at the chaos-causing folks while preparing to reach out to Echo again.
But suddenly, my hand froze, realizing I couldn’t write up a message.
‘I can’t relay a message asking for help because of this curse. Sending a meaningless message won’t even tell them where we are.’
What a headache.
It seemed like I was under some kind of communication-cutting curse.
Even if I sent an email through this jamming signal, it’d be impossible to communicate.
They might even misinterpret Echo’s presence as some strange hack.
So, what’s the best course of action in this situation?
I continued to clutch Echo tightly as I mulled over my options.
But sadly, I wasn’t afforded the luxury of time to think it through.
Suddenly, chaos erupted from the direction Alice was managing at the exit.
“AAAH! M-my shoulder!”
“Kyaaaah! S-someone was stabbed!”
“Ugh! Calm down, please!”
What in the world just happened?
As I turned my head, I saw Alice tackling a flailing person, holding them down with her strength.
Was something going on over there?
With Sabrina glancing anxiously at the ruckus alongside me, Alice quickly choked out the struggling person until they passed out and urgently shouted to the nearby fixers.
“Be careful not to inhale the gas! If you breathe in too much, you’ll lose your senses and start attacking each other!”
That was shocking news.