Chapter 147
Chapter 147
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 147
Chapter Title: Even If I Fall Into a Ghost Story, I Still Have to Go to Work
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Who would've thought there'd be a lunatic who could recognize someone just from the veins on their exposed wrist peeking between glove and sleeve.
'Agent Choi.'
And I never imagined I'd be the one on the receiving end.
'This crazy bastard.'
It was beyond chilling—it was the kind of situation that froze a person solid.
But I couldn't freeze up.
I had to act just the right amount of flustered to avoid looking suspicious.
So...
"Pardon?"
Instead, I turned the suspicion around on him.
I feigned surprise, then swallowed hard while staring at him.
And like someone cornered by a street cultist, I took a step back.
"S-Sorry, sorry, but... I’m here with someone."
"Huh?"
"I’ll be going now."
You didn't notice I clocked you as Agent Choi.
'If he's a rookie agent who lost his arm and cracked under the pressure, it's plenty possible he wouldn't recognize a senior who visited him in the hospital just from a glance...!'
Especially if said rookie was faint-hearted but mustered the courage to step into this mad ghost story space.
'This should fluster him into making excuses...'
"Whoops, alright then. See ya~ Catch you at work."
"......"
Holy shit.
'Damned if I do, damned if I don't.'
In the end, I opened my mouth.
As if the word 'work' had me hesitating uncertainly.
"...Could you be that, um, my boss from the hospital room...?"
"Oh~ Took you long enough. Good."
Agent Choi patted my shoulder and casually started leading me toward the outskirts. Hold on...!
"W-Wait, I was trying to buy that..."
"Nah, it's been sitting unsold for five years, right? Let's chat. I'm just thrilled to run into you here. ...Why's a rookie who should be in bed wandering around a place like this?"
"......"
I deliberately fumbled with my fake right arm inside my coat.
I could feel Agent Choi's gaze on me.
"...I heard you might find something temporary to use in place of an arm here."
"Aha~ Who told you that? Jae-gwan?"
"Can't say."
It was a trap!
Blabbing the name of whoever introduced it would scream 'I'm lying to get out of this.'
It wouldn't fit the character I'd built at the bureau, either. Cowardly to the core!
"Heh, loyal one, aren't ya."
Sure enough, Agent Choi chuckled and clapped my shoulder.
This direction was right...
"Or maybe you figured it'd be obvious if you made one up."
"......"
"Like this? Uh-haha!"
Aaagh!!
"Relax. Where's the agent without a sob story? You might have secrets you can't spill."
"......"
"Anyway... you wanted that, right? Wanna inspect it at least?"
Agent Choi eyed the arm I'd been negotiating for.
A crumpled, bloodstained scrap of paper clutched tight in a hand missing its pinky.
"But that doesn't look related to any arm at all."
"......"
"Why'd you want it? Beats me."
Fuck.
Fine then!
"...Because of the look."
"Huh?"
I bowed my head low.
"......It looked desperate."
"......"
"Just clutching a scrap of paper with bloodstains on it... I figured it might be some kind of SOS."
It was true.
Not my guess right now, but when I first read the record of this arm in the [Darkness Exploration Records].
Anyway, Agent Choi went quiet for a moment.
N-Now's the time. Make excuses...!
"I had no idea it'd been sitting here for five years, though..."
"Let's think this through together, junior."
Agent Choi grabbed my shoulder and turned me slightly.
Forcing me to face the cavern wall, where countless arms writhed grotesquely.
"You think anyone's here who'd send an SOS?"
"......"
"These folks all chose to enter this freakish place to sell their stuff. Odds of an emergency seem low."
That was...
"Looks passable to me. What do you think?"
Not like Agent Choi at all.
Based on the Agent Choi I knew from the [Darkness Exploration Records].
'This guy's the type who desperately tries to save every last one.'
Agent Choi was an early named character.
Back when the [Darkness Exploration Records] only featured the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau, the early entries focused on its government role: 'saving civilians.'
Later, for realism and story buildup, they added settings.
The Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau prioritizes agent lives above all.
And emphasizes ending the ghost stories themselves over civilian rescues, even accepting unavoidable sacrifices.
But Agent Choi predated that change.
Meaning he was naturally the type to overextend saving every last civilian.
Using cunning or clever tricks along the way, acquiring all sorts of skills and items... but his core never changed.
Not until his presumed death/disappearance at Lucky Mart.
"......"
Yeah.
This should work.
"I'll give it a shot anyway."
"...?!"
I thrust out the item I'd prepared, straight at the pinky-less arm.
"No, that arm won't trade..."
Whoosh.
The arm lunged aggressively.
"...!"
And the pinky-less hand devoured my offered item with a crunch.
I barely snatched the crumpled paper scrap as it fluttered to the filthy floor.
Meanwhile, Agent Choi's eyes narrowed at what I'd offered.
"...A coin?"
"Ah, not just any coin... I got it from another ghost story."
True enough.
Though keeping secret that it came from Daydream Corporation's Twilight-Grade ghost story for custom gear, the 'Kind Seed Kit.'
Yeah.
That was the first custom gear I'd ever made for the Field Exploration Team.
'Third Hand...!'
A coin-shaped tool that summons a hand from thin air.
Given the arm's true nature, the required item's conditions were obvious.
An item made from an early Daydream Corporation-isolated/utilized ghost story.
Had to be.
But Daydream Corporation employees were effectively blacklisted here, so it'd sat unsold for five years...
'Nailed it.'
I clutched the paper, savoring a small thrill of accomplishment.
Not like I'd thrown away dedicated gear on a whim—I could recover it later.
For now, the priority was Agent Choi.
I trotted out my rehearsed excuse.
"I figured currency might help right away in a ghost story... It reminded me of that mart."
(Lucky Mart gift certificates vanished completely upon exit, balance and all. Truly a ruthless bastard of a ghost story mart.)
Seemed rookie-like enough.
'Should look like I naively offered it without knowing currencies vary per ghost story.'
And luckily, it worked.
Meta-knowledge it was.
"Hm... Junior. That arm's been here five years. Don't you think any real emergencies are long over?"
"Still... it's got an arm left."
I finally cracked a smile.
"If bartering works, I assumed someone would come claim it... Th-That’s just a guess, could be wrong."
"......"
Agent Choi stared at me, then...
"Ah~ You're growing on me!"
"...?!"
"Kuh, yes! This is it! So rare to find someone using their head with real imagination. Plausible too!"
Agent Choi ruffled my hat-covered head. Ack!!
Then he lowered his voice so no one around could hear, whispering conspiratorially.
"See..."
See?
"...you're perfect for our Hyunmu Team 1."
"Sorry."
"Aww."
This guy's exhausting...
'At least I dodged the suspicion for now...'
"But you said the Emergency Rescue Squad scares you, yet you've got the guts to come here alone."
"......"
"So... you could handle Hyunmu Team 1, right?"
Damn.
Is this blackmail? Join or get suspected?
My head spun.
But the next words set me off.
"And that fear of yours? Probably just fatigue hallucinations from your first overwork mission..."
I exploded.
"No! I'm terrified! Scared out of my mind!!"
"...?!"
"But I have to endure! Can't just say I'm too scared to do anything as a rookie!"
Or I die!!
"How could missing an arm not terrify me! I pushed through the fear worrying something might go wrong!"
I spat it out like blood.
Partly deliberate, but all the pent-up frustration from this insane ghost story world's cutthroat company boiled over, leaving me genuinely aggrieved.
...Agent Choi gaped at me.
"S-Sorry?"
"......"
"Th-There, junior. Congrats on your first trade! Uh... right, the note! Check it out. How is it?"
"......Yes."
I took a deep breath.
Still, it felt refreshing to vent honestly after so long...
He won't drag me to Emergency Rescue after this, right...? Please.
"Sorry for yelling."
"Nah. Plenty of crazies here. Felt that three-second stare-down—kinda nice."
So it looked crazy. Got it...
I sighed.
"I can't remember the last time I yelled like this."
"Aw, bad soundproofing at home?"
"No. Don't... have a home right now."
"......"
"I want to go back."
"Yeah."
Whew.
I finally calmed enough to unfold the note in my hand.
'Agent Choi's gone quiet for some reason.'
Anyway, no more poking the bear. Better.
I turned back to the note.
Carefully opening the bloodstained scrap with one hand, inside...
Words scrawled in blood had dried stiff.
The blood crusted across the paper had smeared from the letters themselves...
'Ha.'
Like a horror movie prop. Wanted to chuck it, but someone beat me to it.
"Hold on."
Agent Choi smoothly took the note from my hand.
I didn't stop him.
He placed some odd dowsing tool on it and began inspecting.
'Bureau-issued gear too.'
But the tracking rod showed no reaction to my purchased note.
"Hm, no anomalies. Just a normal note. The text..."
Agent Choi chuckled dryly.
"Looks like ghost story bait?"
"Maybe."
But I took it back from his hand and pocketed it carefully.
"Oho, keeping it?"
"Yes."
I ducked my head a bit sheepishly.
"Just in case there's a real SOS hidden... I figured I'd take it and check it out myself."
"......"
Agent Choi didn't ask why I wasn't reporting up the chain.
The Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau wasn't leisurely enough to analyze a plain note left by some shady human abandoned for five years.
Not with ghost stories killing people left and right.
Ambiguous stuff like this always got deprioritized—even a fresh rookie knew that.
'Agent Choi himself just said as much.'
But... time to test it.
I hesitated, then offered the note.
"S-Senior, if you have time, could you check it once more...?"
"...!"
Truth was, I didn't need the note itself once memorized.
And bureau agents could spot ghost stories anyway, so no issue handing it off.
"Sure. I'll take a look."
"Th-Thank you...!"
I handed it over quick. Hoping to slip off the suspect list a bit.
After that, things smoothed out.
"That one's decent."
"Yes. Thank you..."
Under Agent Choi's watch, I managed to snag one item I'd wanted.
'Wasn't easy.'
Not just the surveillance—the picking itself.
Stuff here was mostly standard ghost story world items.
Meaning no big corp refinement or alien safety filters.
Horrific side effects included.
That was the premise.
They weren't made for humans to use usefully, after all.
And sellers often unhinged, so trades frequently were too...
Surprising: Agent Choi wasn't just watching—he actually helped.
"This spot's prime Hanyang territory. 'Eyes open or nose cut off,' you know? Watch and learn from your senior..."
...Not always successfully.
"...Someone already bought it."
"......"
"N-No biggie. Next one's good too! Onward to the next arm~"
Veteran as expected, he knew origins and side effects I didn't, letting me 'buy' carefully.
Yeah. All good, except...
'He steered me to stuff he knew.'
Kept my actions under his control.
Suspicion? Or genuine care? Even I, who'd tracked all his [Darkness Exploration Records] arcs, couldn't say.
'Though I wanted those items anyway, so I let him guide...'
Terrifying how I'd have bought them reluctantly regardless.
I fiddled with the item in my pocket and sighed.
'Whew.'
Agent Choi stuck around till his time limit, then saw me off.
Waving my purchased scrap as he did.
"So, I'll double-check this note and send it back?"
"Yes. Thank you..."
Truth: no need to return it. Memorized already.
And his check wouldn't reveal much.
Because...
The note had nothing to do with any ghost story to begin with.
'Psychological trap.'
In a ghost story trader market, text like that screams ghost story-related.
But no.
If anything...
It's 'inheritance.'
Looking at the note again.
This refers to a real-world 'here.'
I.e., 'a location.'
Next line...
The grammar's off, context missing.
Forced fit.
'So, deconstruct.'
Left with...
Three words.
Three words + 'location' = perfect clue.
'what3words'—address system using three words for 3m x 3m spots.
'Plug these in and...'
Pulls up a small spot in old Seoul.
I'm standing there now.
"......"
Amid clustered small shops, words pinpoint a spot awkwardly aside the buildings.
There...
...a manhole.
Precisely: a weathered manhole cover propped casually against an empty storefront wall.
Leaning as if hinting at something.
"......"
I pushed the manhole cover.
Grind.
Surprisingly light. Behind it...
A half-basement staircase descending.
"......"
A hidden spot.
Why did the pinky-less arm point here?
And why only accept early Daydream Corporation items?
Simple.
'Tied to Daydream Corporation.'
"Whew."
I reached the bottom and looked up.
Daydream Corporation's Dream Essence synthesizer.
The prototype lab from long ago, now before my eyes.