Chapter 229
Chapter 229
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 229
Chapter Title: Darkness Excavation
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Darkness excavation.
The task of venturing into the endlessly repeating scenes of the Jolly Lab deep underground in the main building and digging out the darkness lurking within.
To collect Dream Essence, acquiring new horror stories is one of Daydream Corporation's key business processes.
But now, most of the darkness in the lower levels of the Jolly Lab has been excavated.
We've reached the stage where employees must be sent into the deep levels—dangerous zones with no intel and all sorts of anomalies popping up...
That's right.
Employees from the Security Team's Special Division—the horror stories bound to Daydream Corporation as staff—are the ideal candidates to send in.
Starting today, that includes me.
A week of quiet shifts in the annex has produced the desired outcome.
That's right.
Today's assignment for me:
Excavating new darkness in the lower levels, up to Basement 30.
Kwak Je-gang lowered his voice.
"......"
Go any deeper, and maybe... I might find the ruins of that bizarre dream cultivation room where I awoke...
Just recalling it made my stomach roil, but I held it back.
'Anyway, I planned to show off some diligent work today.'
Time to build a foundation.
Mentally and in the environment.
And naturally, this is a solo assignment for Special Division employees—no transfer slip required.
"......"
Kwak Je-gang shut his mouth. The security captain still carried that air of indifference toward the guy.
Sure enough, he had this subtle way of picking fights only with Jay.
'Personal feelings, maybe.'
Now that sanity had returned, it stood out more.
But... if the security captain really was that B Squad leader from the wiki records...
'Shouldn't he be the one holding a grudge against the research team?'
It was a bizarre rivalry.
But the security captain—primarily fixated on this expedition rather than Kwak Je-gang—appeared lost in thought, pondering what to do.
Park Minseong Assistant Manager, watching me with a worried look from the side, felt the same.
The two were likely fretting over whether it was safe for me—in my prior unstable state—to tackle darkness this hazardous alone.
'......'
I secretly traced words in smoke, hidden from Kwak Je-gang.
In true Kim Sol-eum fashion.
I've come to my senses.
"...!"
Don't worry. I'll be careful and come back safe. Jay.
And.
Badger Assistant Manager.
"......"
The smoke dispersed, but Park Minseong stayed silent for a moment.
A choked voice soon followed.
"...Mm. Come back safe."
Still restrained for main building transfer, I exited the isolation room and was escorted out.
All the way to the elevator.
Ding-dong.
I boarded the elevator.
Not the main building's surface elevator used during my isolation escape.
This was the one boring straight underground.
The same one I'd ridden once with the security captain, dressed in security gear for the Mountain Lord horror.
But unlike then, no gear or supplies.
Just the neatly organized summary of the binder Kwak Je-gang handed me, filed away perfectly in my mind...
Like the [Darkness Exploration Records] wiki.
And so it begins.
Basement 2~9 – Vacation-Season Office
Ding-dong.
The elevator doors at Basement 9 slid open, revealing the "Jolly Lab"...
A bright corridor with a calm vibe.
Hard to believe it's underground—a perfectly normal office setup.
Occasional scribbling or chatter leaked from offices shrouded in opaque film, but mostly silence reigned.
Thus, the darkness here has mostly been excavated.
My current target can't be this place.
I stepped out of the elevator but turned away from the office corridor...
And pressed the button.
The elevator call button positioned right to the left.
Basement 10~19 – Lunchtime Office
Basement 19.
Need to be a little careful from here...
To avoid detection by the Jolly Lab residents inside those offices.
Even if they step into the corridor, I won't see them.
'Same for them.'
With that advice in mind, I proceeded cautiously...
Deeper down.
Boarded the left elevator, found and pressed the button to go further underground...
Basement 20~29 – Midnight Office
This is my workstation today.
The tail end of the lower levels.
Ding-dong.
With a cheerful chime, the doors parted to reveal Basement 29.
......
Dark corridor.
Eerie silence.
Occasional strange clattering noises.
A sharp spike in danger.
Lucky my fear response hasn't fully kicked in yet. I can still move rationally solo.
I stepped into the corridor.
My black smoke was swallowed by the darkness, barely visible.
Only my eyes—like yellow lanterns—cast a faint glow on the hall...
Dimmed to the max.
Follow the manual like this, and it felt like I'd returned to the Field Exploration Team.
Though whether a non-human like me truly needs it is another matter.
To the darkest spots.
Places people would shy from. That's where stray individual horrors likely linger.
For the first time, I welcomed my body unbound by the lack of light...
I headed to the office farthest from the emergency lights.
The spot on Basement 29 with the fewest exploration records.
...The nameplate on the pitch-black office was warped beyond reading.
No sounds from within.
...Safe for now.
'Start here.'
I gripped the handle, turned it gently, and opened the door.
......The interior came into view.
Same layout as the dream cultivation room.
'......!'
Before shock could overwhelm me, I rang the bell. A clear tinkle echoed in my mind...
......
Calm.
'Hoo.'
Right.
The office was undoubtedly... very similar to that underground dream cultivation room I'd found. PCs and desks matched specs exactly.
No dream incubator, though.
'This office... might not be directly connected.'
I felt a sigh of relief leak mentally, reason unknown.
Then I began scanning the room.
'...Spotless.'
Like an office primed for morning arrivals.
But oddities emerged one by one from the shadows.
Colorful kids' toys scattered on desks, stacks of hand mirrors piled high, PCs wallpapered in Post-its, that sort of thing.
Easier said than done.
'Hoo.'
I pushed away imaginings of the unfortunate staff who'd handled this, checking each weird item one by one.
Self-aware 'creep factor' made for an unpleasant search, but having someone to chat with helped a lot.
'No unusual reactions.'
Moving to the next desk...
......
Hold on.
'...This.'
I spotted a palm-sized circular object atop the storage shelf between desks...
Shaped like a black disk propped upright.
'...Roulette!'
The exact toy as the black roulette I'd spun at the [Darkness Exploration Records] popup store.
Hell, even the button beside it mimicked the walkie-talkie one I'd pressed.
'......'
How could this be?
What's happening here?
'A hint.'
I realized it instinctively.
I reached out right away. Had to check it. Knowing its function might...
"Wow. So glad to see you, Sol-eum."
...!!
I whipped around.
My hand on the roulette.
Right beside it.
A man's bare hand grasping the roulette, overlapping mine almost simultaneously...
Follow that hand upward.
"How have you been?"
Manager Ho.
He was staring right at me.
...Jolly Lab employee ID dangling from his neck.