For several seconds after the glass shattered, no one moved.
People stared at the bodies near the windows. At the blood smeared across seats and floors. At the jagged holes where the glass had once been.
The human mind refused to accept it.
This wasn't how reality worked.
Raon's ears rang. His breath came shallow as he forced himself to look around the cabin. Faces were pale. Eyes wide. Some passengers clutched their heads, others their phones, as if waiting for a signal that this was all a mistake.
Then—
BOOM.
The subway lurched again.
This time, it wasn't a tremor.
It was a violent shove, as if the entire train had been struck from beneath.
People screamed as bodies were thrown sideways. Someone fell hard onto the floor. Another slammed into a pole, blood bursting from their forehead.
"The bridge—!" someone shouted. "The bridge is shaking!"
Raon grabbed the seat with both hands as the floor tilted beneath him. The sound of metal groaning echoed through the cabin, deep and unnatural.
And then—
A blue light appeared.
It floated directly in front of his face.
Not reflected. Not projected.
It was there.
A translucent screen, glowing faintly blue, hovering in midair.
Raon froze.
The same screens appeared before everyone else.
"What… is that?"
"Is this some kind of hologram?"
"Am I hallucinating…?"
Raon's heart pounded violently.
Shock That was it. He must have hit his head when the glass shattered. Trauma-induced hallucinations were common—he knew that much.
He raised a trembling hand and rubbed his forehead. No blood.
"…This isn't real," he muttered.
Around him, panic erupted anew.
"Why is there a screen?!"
"I didn't sign up for this—!"
"I want to get out! Let me out!"
Raon clenched his teeth.This had to be a dream.He pinched the skin on his arm hard.
Pain flared.He sucked in a sharp breath.
"…Still a dream," he whispered, forcing the words out. "It has to be."
A man near the window laughed suddenly—high-pitched and hysterical.
"Yes! Exactly!" the man shouted. "This is a dream! That's what this is!"
He repeated it again and again, voice rising.
"This is a dream! A dream! A dream—!"
The subway shook violently once more.
The man stumbled, lost his balance, and staggered backward toward the shattered window.
Someone screamed his name.
Raon reached out instinctively—but he was too far.
Another jolt hit.
The man slipped.
And then he was gone.
His scream cut off as his body vanished through the broken window, swallowed by the darkness below.
Silence followed.
Heavy. Suffocating.
Then—Screaming.
People surged away from the windows, shoving, crying, clawing at one another in blind terror.
"This isn't a dream!"
"He fell—he fell!"
"We're going to die!"
Several passengers rushed toward the doors between cabins, pulling at the handles desperately.
"They won't open!"
"There's no power!
The emergency lights flickered ominously.
Raon swallowed hard and forced himself to focus on the blue screen again.
The screen flickered.
Text began to appear.
[Main Scenario #1 – Survive]
Category: Main
Difficulty: F
Time Limit: 10 minutes
Reward: 500 Coins
Additional Reward: Main Skill
Failure: Death
Clear Condition: Exit the subway.
A digital timer appeared beneath the text.
09:59… 09:58…
The countdown had already begun.
Raon's breath caught.
"…Scenario?"The word echoed in his mind.
This wasn't just familiar.
It was wrong.Too structured. Too deliberate.
Someone near him shouted, "It says we have to get out!"
Another screamed back, "How are we supposed to do that?! We're on a bridge!"
A man shoved past Raon, eyes wild.
"If it says exit, then I'll exit!"
Before anyone could stop him, he climbed through the shattered window.
"No—!"
The man jumped.
A heartbeat later—BOOM.
Something massive struck the bridge.
The entire subway screamed in protest as metal bent and twisted. People were thrown to the floor. Raon hit his shoulder hard, pain exploding through his arm.
From below, a deep, rhythmic sound echoed
.
THUD.
THUD.
THUD.
Something was hitting the bridge pillars.
Again.
And again.
With terrifying force.
"What is that sound…?" someone whispered.
The impacts grew faster. Stronger.
Cracks spread across the bridge structure outside the windows. Concrete dust rained down. The subway tilted slightly, gravity pulling bodies toward the rear of the train.
Then—CRACK.
A deafening roar split the air.
One of the bridge pillars collapsed.
The last cabin of the subway—resting on that pillar—tilted sharply downward as the structure beneath it gave way.
Screams filled the air.
The rear cabin hung for a split second.
Then it began to fall.
The weight pulled violently on the rest of the train.
The entire subway was dragged backward.
People were thrown against walls and seats. Raon slammed into the floor, his vision blurring.
The rear cabin snapped free.
It plunged into the river below, vanishing into the dark water with a thunderous splash.
The force yanked the second-to-last cabin toward the edge.
"No—no—no—!"
It tilted.
Hung.
Then followed the first.
Another scream.
Another fall.
Panic reached a breaking point.
People rushed the doors between cabins, slamming against them.
"They won't open!"
"Break it! Break the glass!"
A man grabbed a metal pole and smashed it against the glass of the cabin door.
Once.
Twice.
On the third strike, it shattered.
Hands reached through immediately, forcing the gap wider. People squeezed through one by one, cutting themselves on the broken edges, blood smearing the metal.
"Move! Keep moving!"
Raon followed, heart hammering as he stumbled into the next cabin.
Behind them—
CRASH.
Another cabin fell.
The subway lurched again, nearly throwing him off his feet.
They ran.
From cabin to cabin.
Past bodies impaled by glass. Past people who had fallen and never stood up again. Past screams that cut off abruptly.
The timer ticked relentlessly in Raon's vision.
02:13… 02:12…
They reached the front.
Only one cabin remained between them and the outside.
The driver's cabin.
The one behind them hung at a terrifying angle, half-disconnected.
Someone smashed the front window.
Cold air rushed in.
One by one, people jumped.
Screams echoed as bodies hit concrete or vanished into darkness.
As one man prepared to jump—
The second-to-last cabin snapped free.
The sudden release caused the entire front cabin to jerk violently.
The man lost his footing.
He fell.
Gone.
Now only the front cabin remained.
The timer flashed.
00:21…
"Go! Go!" someone shouted.
Raon reached the window just as a woman grabbed his arm.
"Wait!" she cried. "I'm pregnant! Please let me go first"
Her face was pale, eyes filled with terror.
Raon didn't hesitate.
"Go first."
She climbed onto the window frame—
Then the cabin lurched violently.
The force ripped her balance away.
She screamed as she was thrown backward—
And disappeared.
"No—!"
Raon's mind went blank.
The cabin began to slide.
Gravity pulled him toward the open window.
The timer burned in his vision.
00:05…
Raon jumped.
His fingers scraped against the bridge railing—but failed to grasp it.
The world spun.Cold air tore past him.
The river rushed up.
The timer hit zero.
00:00
And Jeon Raon fell into darkness.