Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Even If I Fall Into a Ghost Story, I Still Have to Go to Work
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To be honest.
One month since joining the company.
Surprisingly, this ghost story mega-corp is pretty decent...!
"Whoa, insane! Cleared it in 30 minutes again!"
"Aren't they outperforming C Squad for real?"
Who would've thought I'd actually hear lines straight out of a low-budget web drama extra's mouth?
"Hey, enjoy it. It's all thanks to your performance."
Lunchtime.
The deputy manager, who had boldly grabbed both A and B menu options from the cafeteria line, said it refreshingly.
For reference, we'd already cleared one case this morning.
"Thanks to Deer here, I've managed to knock out 12 new Darkness clears in a single month—total madness."
"No, sir. It's all because you've led us so well."
"Led? What leading? You're all just along for the ride."
"Exactly. I'll treat you to beef today, Senior Sol-eum."
"Minseong... even so, that's a bit much."
"Come on, why not? When we're crushing it like this, you're all my seniors anyway."
Reacting to a boss's dad joke without hurting feelings is trickier than it seems...
But whether it was a joke or sincere, the foreman didn't wait for my reaction—instead, he excitedly shoved his captured monthly points accrual history in my face.
"Already at 5,000p!"
Yeah.
This was the points I'd earned in one month too.
'Speedruns do work, huh...'
Who knew my survival instincts would turn into this.
It was possible mostly because they were F or D Grades.
'High-grades don't pop up that often, it seems.'
Of course—if they did, the world would've ended with 'And Thus the World Perished' ages ago.
Anyway, my bosses looked more excited than I did. More fun when it's someone else's success, I guess.
"Probably the fastest rookie record in company history, right?"
"Ooooh!"
Oh yeah—come to think of it, I hardly see my fellow rookie hires anymore.
Stuck shuttling to the 17th-floor research office every day, I end up seeing less of the other Field Exploration Teams.
'Baek Saheon treats each other like we don't exist anyway.'
To be fair, to keep up the psycho vibe after that one grab, I occasionally toss in edgy work-related jokes.
-Wanna bet on today's Darkness explore? How many civilians croak?
-…….
Inspired by that gambling researcher. Thanks, buddy.
Anyway, seeing Baek Saheon grit his teeth and ignore me confirms it's working.
'Smooth sailing.'
I finished slurping the last of my galbi tang broth and set the bowl down.
Clock out on time, bonuses too.
'Cafeteria's not bad either.'
Welfare's solid—would rate 3.5+ on a job site like JobKorea.
If you ignore the massive stress of overnighting in haunted death traps every day...
'Doing stuff I'd never touch before just to eat... Yeah. Ordinary office life.'
And that sense of accomplishment from racking up results makes you think it's doable—just like anywhere else.
"Deer."
Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je said it softly, lowly.
"Word's probably reached upstairs by now."
"...Pardon?"
"Your performance."
"……."
"Could be luck or smarts once, but ten times? Nah."
The deputy manager squinted and grinned.
"Someone upstairs will wanna check you out personally for sure. If so, tell us. The squad leader too."
Hmm.
In a normal company, I'd worry about credit-stealing and play it quiet.
But here, in this ghost story world, with my track record of saving their lives?
I nodded readily.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Good. He might not look it... actually, he does. Our squad leader's no ordinary guy."
Our eyes turned to Squad Leader Lee Jaheon, who had wolfed down his meal and was heading out.
"Even if some shady offer comes your way, ask him once—he'll cover you."
That lizard?
"...Yes, ma'am."
"Perfect. Deer really gets it."
I wasn't fully convinced but nodded anyway—better keep that secret.
Anyway... word from upstairs, huh.
I cleared my tray and stood, thinking.
'Can't avoid standing out now.'
I'd half-accepted that.
If I hadn't, I'd have passed out seeing clowns crawling out with just torsos...
But I had an ace.
'Hard to dump tougher stuff on a rookie, right?'
Anything beyond this is core duties, not busywork.
Handing division-critical tasks to a non-vet rookie one month in?
Not even a YouTube rage-bait corp would do that. Big-company unwritten rule.
I just lucked into 'manual-less ghost stories' for my workload.
If it keeps up, they'll normalize it as 'oh, he's specialized there.'
"Shall we head back?"
"Yes."
I concluded and returned my dishes.
Meanwhile, in Research Team 1's office.
'Escaped in under an hour again...'
A researcher grinding away at his salary scowled at D Squad's record.
'About 5,000p so far?'
At that pace, they might shatter the fastest clear record and snag a Wish Grant in a couple years...
"……."
"Man, must be nice?"
The researcher grumbled.
"Some of us bust our asses staring at horrors in the lab, no hazard pay, scraping 500p a month."
"……."
"While some rookie's bagged 50,000 points in a month... 5,000, whatever."
"Hey, enough."
The researcher clamped his mouth shut.
His gut boiled at not even being able to vent in this situation.
Something's wrong.
'Lucky punk pulls a good weapon and farms points easy.'
While others can't even dream without access.
'Field grunts rolling in mud should get less than elite researchers like us, right?'
So unfair.
The researcher thought sincerely.
Conveniently forgetting how he'd mocked Field Exploration staff as lab rats.
"Well, sometimes timings align and Darkness explores go smooth like this."
Manager Kwak Je-gang tossed a casual remark with a smile.
"Still impressive, though."
"……."
Ignoring the researcher's sour face as he looked up, Kwak shuffled papers.
"Oh, this Darkness needs 10+ people, right?"
"……."
"Junior Researcher Lee?"
"Ah, yes. That's right. Says we need 10 to even enter the Darkness."
"Hmm."
Kwak grabbed a pen, smiling.
"Team play this time, then."
The researcher watched Kwak pull up the Field Exploration Teams' org chart and check off those squads.
Then.
"Junior Researcher Lee."
"Yes?"
"Know what the alphabet order means for Field Exploration Teams?"
Didn't.
No way a seat-warmer buried in his own work knew other divisions cold.
Kwak tapped the papers with a smile—somehow eerie.
"Short answer: performance rank."
"...!"
"Like school classes—honors, regular, remedial."
The researcher recalled suddenly.
"So... D Squad's honors?"
"Nope."
Firm denial.
"A through C. That's elite."
Kwak tapped those squads with his pen.
"Rest are expendables."
"...Ahh."
His mood lifted a tad.
"But hey, just between us... D Squad's killing it so hard, rumor has it they'll get prime postings next rotation. Haha."
"...!"
Like office gossip, wild claims usually weren't legit.
Still, the researcher felt uneasy.
'No bad news?'
And as if fulfilling it—Kwak's mutter came, pitying tone.
"But of all things, they draw this. With A Squad... hmm."
"...! I-Is it bad going in with elites?"
"Kinda, right? You know too."
Kwak rubbed his chin.
"Some Darknesses need sacrifices to open escape routes."
Especially...
large-group ones.
Kwak shrugged.
"This explore record's gonna have some stories."
A few days later.
D Squad, summoned naturally like the past month, hit the 17th floor—and saw an unexpected sight.
"Hello."
"...?!"
Research Team 1's office had prior guests.
People in various masks.
'Other Field Exploration squads?'
I quickly counted heads.
About seven.
One familiar face among them.
The rookie from the welcome party, who'd asked about the Wish Grant.
The ox-masked rookie bowed quietly, leaning on a desk.
A gloomy aura hung around him.
Long hair for a guy—might draw dress-code stares elsewhere, but not here.
No one seemed to care.
"Ah."
"This... hmm."
As D Squad seniors gave short reactions of awe or sigh at the crowded office.
"Ooh, D Squad's finally here. Come on in~ Let's get to briefing."
Manager Kwak appeared, herding folks to the side conference room.
I overheard the deputy manager ask as we moved.
"Entering with other squads?"
"Yep. Exactly."
"……."
The deputy manager glanced around, then sidled to me, whispering low.
"See the gold-marked masks?"
"Yes."
"That's A Squad."
I knew.
'The elites.'
Daydream Corporation runs on clearing ghost stories for materials.
'To plug the 'company should've tanked' plot hole, need superhuman performance squads...'
Hence why [Darkness Exploration Records] name-drops them a lot. I nodded slightly.
A Squad: eerie butterfly, mantis, teal duck masks. Three of 'em.
Then, the teal duck mask greeted me.
Energetic middle-aged woman's voice.
"Ah, you're that Kim Sol-eum employee?"
"Yes. Hello."
I bowed reflexively, cold sweat beading.
'That' Kim Sol-eum—what rumors are flying?
"Yes yes. Let's chat if we get a chance. Bright future ahead, young man."
She passed and took her seat.
...Probably A Squad leader.
Deputy manager continued.
"And... the no-gold-mark masks are Y Squad."
"……."
Three no-marks, plus the familiar ox-masked rookie.
Gloomy vibe all around.
"Y Squad leader's just a regular employee, not manager rank—play it cool."
"Yes."
I knew that too.
The foreman whispered to me.
"Uh... Deer. Treat the other squads today decently, especially Y Squad. Got it? Reason later."
"Yes."
I nodded without fuss.
Guessed the reason anyway.
But the foreman, sitting next to me, looked touched.
"Ha. You're like a quick-witted version of the squad leader—love it."
"Same."
"……."
Praise... right?
"Alright, everyone seated? Briefing starts now."
Kwak stood by the board, no prompter.
"About to explain today's Darkness bu—"
He chuckled dryly.
"Truth is, we know squat."
"...??"
"What does that mean, Manager Kwak?"
"Only one civilian escape intel!"
"......Huh."
Papers distributed amid silence.
I peered at my near-note page.
Next page: fragmented survivor statements on the 'board game theme park'. Heavy trauma, very piecemeal.
But familiar enough.
I swallowed.
'About time this one showed.'
Finally here.
The Darkness needing massive manpower!
"Player limit over 10, huh? That's why the big group."
"Yep yep, recreated similar setup best we could."
Kwak winked.
"But! Despite the crap conditions, our team nailed the entry method."
"You didn't just bring the board game?"
"Haha! Don't sell us short, Deputy Jin. Got the rules down too."
A Squad's butterfly mask didn't reply; Kwak ignored, placing the board game on the table.
"Here it is."
Near-mint box front: vibrant fantasy land illustration.
Inside: zoned park map, colorful coins.
"Now, divide into teams and start the game."
Cheery sendoff to a ghost story that killed most.
"Squads as teams?"
"Nah... Draw pieces from this lottery capsule—color teams you."
Kwak showed a small capsule from the box corner.
"Shake, pieces drop here."
"Random, huh."
Folks sighed, shook, drew pieces one by one.
'Blue, yellow, red...'
As expected, pecking order meant I drew near last.
Mine: red piece.
"Kim employee's red."
Red—inauspicious in ghost stories. Not thrilled.
'Though color doesn't matter much here.'
Same color, different fates anyway.
I swallowed, tensing.
Entry time.
"Unfold the board to enter!"
But Squad Leader Lee Jaheon unfolded as rep—nothing happened.
"……."
Hm?
Lightning thought: checked headcount.
Yellow four, blue four.
Red like me: A Squad's 'Deputy Jin' butterfly mask, and Y Squad's familiar rookie.
Me makes three.
"……."
Ah.
'Red team's short one.'
"One missing."
Lee Jaheon eyed Kwak with slit pupils.
"Can't enter at 11. Need full 12—retry."
"That? Yeah."
Kwak tossed the capsule casually.
"Junior Lee! Catch!"
To the gambling researcher right beside.
"Wha—hu—...?!"
He caught it reflexively.
Roll roll.
Last red piece tumbled out.
"...!?"
"Drew it!"
Wait—
The board swirled up, swallowing sight.
"Gaaaaah!"
"Hahahahahaha!"
Researcher's scream in my ear.
And Kwak's laughter too.
"……."
I recalled that guy's [Darkness Exploration Records] wiki backpage.
...I'd braced for this day.
"What the hell is this!"
With the big group, A and Y Squads—I'd suspected.
'Rigged survival odds on purpose.'
This ain't max-survival clear.
It's 'kill everyone but A Squad'.