Chapter 138
Chapter 138
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 138
Chapter Title: Even If I Fall Into a Ghost Story, I Still Have to Go to Work
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I'd been agonizing ever since I first laid eyes on the mart's floor plan.
How much of my body did I need to chop up and slap on that grill for this damned mart ghost story to count it as 'barbecue'?
I debated including from the wrist up to the shoulder.
But the part I was going to cut had been decided from the start.
'Right arm.'
Cutting off a leg would ruin my mobility.
Slicing the left arm would mean no tattoos.
And since I'm ambidextrous, whichever arm stayed would work fine.
So there was only one conclusion.
'Cut off part of the right arm.'
Of course, hacking through an adult forearm—ten centimeters thick, bone and all—with a knife was insane.
It naturally wouldn't come off in one go.
'An electric saw would've been better.'
Thud. Thud.
I tore through the arm with a massive slaughtering knife, nearly ripping it clean off. Amid the splattering blood, I heard the people in front and beside me start to sob.
No pain, but the sensation was there.
The nerves in my arm severing.
Cold sweat dripped down my back, my head went blank. The dull mental blow of terror and fear.
Even with the Happy Maker stabbed in, it still came.
'...Tolerance building up?'
Or maybe the candle was shielding even the Happy Maker's effects. Or perhaps it was just my imagination.
What mattered was I wasn't going into shock and could still move.
And...
Thud.
The final swing of the knife.
It came off.
"...!!"
Done.
I tucked the fully severed right arm under my left while pressing something I'd prepared beforehand against the stump with my hand.
Vampire knife.
'Never thought I'd use this for a tourniquet.'
Of course, this was just temporary.
Ignoring the knife vibrating as it drank my blood, I pulled it away and cauterized the stump on the grill.
If I'd had sensation, I'd have passed out.
Once the bleeding seemed under control enough, I started moving again before blood loss could kill me.
"Wh-what is this...? Aaaah!"
"Hold on."
Thud.
I sliced the chunk in half again. Sized to match the bits already sizzling on the grill.
And before they could react, I slapped one half onto the grill.
Sizzle.
It made a sound as it cooked—no, burned.
It's burning... burning away.
'Just a hunk of meat.'
Not mine anymore.
And as soon as things settled, the second I got out of this insane mart, I was chugging Daydream Corporation's C-Grade regeneration potion.
Then everything would be fine....
Stay calm. I stared at the grill with unfocused eyes, sweat beading on my brow.
And after what felt like an eternity of madness...
Ding.
In the 'Flesh-for-Sale Lucky Mart' store, where dozens of grills were arrayed without rhyme or reason. From one spot that blended in like just another grill, a sound rang out.
The counter.
A rectangular white envelope labeled 'Thanks for Participating in the Event' sat on what looked like a makeshift checkout.
I barely managed to open it with one hand.
Out spilled gift certificates that looked like crudely forged bills, mangling Korean and English alike.
[50,000 won]
In a normal mart, it'd be an insanely generous event prize to lure participants.
But in this situation, whether it was enough was debatable.
"Wh-what? What just...?"
"One sec."
One more time.
I repeated the process.
Only this time, the high schooler slapped the remainder onto another grill.
"H-hic...!"
The high schooler clenched their teeth, on the verge of fainting. My gut twisted, but there was no choice. Go Yeongeun had to hold the candle, and I'd already participated, so I didn't count.
Only after grabbing another 50,000-won certificate could I finally pop a Nostalgia Candy in my mouth.
'Hah.'
I'd held off in case of a judgment glitch.
The moment the candy touched my tongue, it restored me to my 'healthiest state.'
Nostalgia's magic.
"...I'm fine. See? Good as new."
"Hic, h-hic...!"
The high schooler couldn't bear to look at my reformed arm, couldn't even nod.
Go Yeongeun's face was deathly pale, but mindful of the candle, she didn't turn or react strongly.
...She knew about my Daydream special regen potion, so that's why it ended there.
"...Agent, did you just drink a potion?"
"No. It's an item that temporarily restores appearance."
Go Yeongeun's back twitched again.
"Just the right arm's gone, so even in a pinch, escape won't be an issue. Don't worry."
"That's not the point right now...! Sigh, ......yes."
Thanks for the composure.
Anyway, finally using the Nostalgia Candy I'd been saving for my last resort pulled me back from three days without proper sleep or food.
And now my condition was...
"......"
'Whoa.'
This is nuts.
My regained clarity spun wildly, blaring danger signals.
I started grasping just how cornered I'd been, acting on pure madness for the past three days.
'Day... two, I wasn't in my right mind.'
I'd thought I'd left the minor behind in the second-floor food court and scoured the mart top to bottom for the bronze agent.
But no.
'A place you can comb in an hour or two isn't a hiding spot to begin with.'
This wasn't some convenience store or mini-mart—it was a massive chain hypermarket. 'Scouring every inch' was impossible.
Especially with that endless third floor.
'Judgment at rock bottom.'
It wasn't just the high schooler in panic; I'd spent three days half-panicked myself.
"...Let's head back to the emergency stairs."
"Yes."
Trailing Go Yeongeun's candle, wiping the blood off the slaughter knife, repackaging it, and shelving it back—my mind kept firing inferences like sparks.
Mistakes.
Rebuttals to the assumptions I'd carelessly locked in.
-Did the bronze agent really escape after three days?
Checking the exploration record I'd barely recalled.
Exploration Record #3?
Response agent enters mart around 7 PM on civilian rescue request. (Responder: ???)
Lucky Mart closes early for ??? reasons. Sudden incident cuts contact with agent for three days.
Result: Rescue failed. Agent returns alone.
First rebuttal.
-Entry time differs.
We entered after 8 PM.
But that case says around 7 PM.
Of course, my presence might've delayed entry by an hour for talks and item distribution—close enough.
Key point: This changes our situation from that case.
'Don't force-fit everything to that record.'
Second rebuttal.
-No mention of when the agent escaped.
'Contact lost for three days'—not that they escaped on day three.
My certainty that the mart reopened after three days was basically faith.
'...Sigh.'
And...
Let's think rationally once out of this horror.
From the start.
'The Disaster Management Bureau approving a rookie civil servant straight into a high-grade ghost story is weird.'
This wasn't Daydream Corporation.
They don't send naked newbies into Daydream B-Grade equivalent insanity.
...Unless there's solid safety gear.
'Judging from that...'
......Something got caught.
Disaster Management Bureau agents sometimes get emergency escape items for low-grade ghost stories.
Rookies might waste them in panic, so seniors usually handle that choice.
So...
If the bronze agent really had one.
'They'd drag me out kicking and screaming.'
A matter of duty.
"......"
"Grape Agent?"
"Wait just a moment."
I paused, reconstructing day one from the bronze agent's view.
Separated from the rookie.
No agreed meetup spot, no direct comms. Just an eye signal to 'head up.'
Sudden incident in high-grade ghost story.
Veteran's field judgment, plenty of rookie experience...
"......"
Ah.
"Agent."
"Yes."
"I might've figured out where the senior agent who entered with me is."
"......!"
With those clean words—'Easier to escape joining the veteran'—Go Yeongeun agreed to extra search with the candle.
Our destination...
"This escalator, right?"
"Yes."
The up escalator from first to second floor.
Here.
"......"
We three descended to the first floor and stood before the escalator. The silent rails lurked in darkness, powered down.
But we'd never used this one.
The high schooler and I only knew the down escalator.
From second to first. We'd crawled up that reverse.
'And stuck to it after.'
Each search, I'd scanned between escalators and floor for lost item lines or hooks.
That desperate.
But...
'Normal people use the upward escalator to go up.'
The bronze agent would've expected me to pick this one.
I gave the high schooler another Nostalgia Candy and stood ahead.
'...Three left.'
Time to use sparingly.
But maximize this one's efficiency.
"Agent. Can you climb the escalator?"
"...I'll walk up slow. Be careful."
"Yes."
Go Yeongeun led onto the escalator.
We three started walking up it manually.
"Hoo."
Think.
'As I inferred, the bronze agent likely predicted my patterns...'
More rationally than my broken mentality.
If they hadn't endured hiding under a blender grinding live people, or the high schooler's snapped ankle madness...
Reverse-engineer my actions.
-Rookie agent. Ghost story experience, but trauma makes 'em green.
What path would such a me take on day one, more passively?
'Entered second floor later.'
Not rushing up, hunkering in first-floor hides, fumbling like a 'typical rookie' in freeze-panic.
'Bronze agent expected us late to upper floors.'
But if they pegged somewhere safer?
Considering rookies panicking without them on second?
Then...
One answer.
'Signal before we reach second floor.'
"......"
I eyed the escalator ad panel.
A glaring red billboard, and tucked beneath like part of it, a receipt peeking at the edge.
Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau notice.
"Huh?"
Easy to miss for shoppers, lightning for insiders.
I peeled it amid the group's murmurs and unfolded.
Back side, scrawled bold huge letters.
Season-Off Winter Camping Mega Sale
3rd Floor Left End Wall. 12th
"Found it."
I'd caught the bronze agent's signal.
We hurried through candlelight and mist.
Like a three-legged race, we three moved in sync.
"12th, right? 12th."
"Yes...!"
The high schooler, realizing they might meet their friend, gritted teeth and hurried cooperatively.
The massive mart's repeating spaces. Past eerie endless aisles, our goal...
[Season-Off Winter Camping Mega Sale]
Finally appeared.
Tents, campfire, burners, chairs—displayed like a camping scene.
Ziiip.
A tent flap parted slightly, an anxious face peering out.
"Hey! Kim Jaehoon!"
The high schooler in candlelight dashed out.
Understandable.
The bronze agent's charge's friend.
"Wh-wh-whoa!"
"You okay?"
"Huuuh...!"
The two sobbed, clinging.
I tensed briefly—candle-out noise might draw danger—but nothing.
'Bronze agent prepped it.'
Good. Go Yeongeun and I eased up, approaching.
"Candle... put out for a bit?"
"Yeah."
Toward the veteran-found safe zone.
"Ngh."
The two high schoolers calmed after minutes.
The bronze agent's seemed mentally worn but no major wounds or exhaustion.
'Took good care.'
Veterans beat rookies at rescue, naturally.
I watched them with slight guilt over my charge.
My candy-restored high schooler forced a smile.
"Still, glad you're safe."
"......Y-yeah."
......
Something off.
I read anxiety and panic signs on the bronze agent's high schooler's face.
Days lost in ghost story? Expected, but... stark.
Go Yeongeun whispered.
"Grape Agent, that... the one you sought isn't that high schooler, right?"
"......No."
"Then where's the agent?"
"......"
Bad premonition brewing.
'No way.'
I locked eyes with the bronze agent's high schooler. They flinched.
Why we came here.
"Where's the agent?"
"......"
Tears burst from the tent-sitter's eyes.
"Th-that agent got, g-got spotted by staff and chased off...! D-dozen of 'em, whoa, swarmed!"
"...!"
"A-and... think they caught 'em."
......
What.
"S-staff... dragged 'em somewhere, h-hic."
Three days trapped in mart ghost story.
The bronze agent...
......had become inventory.