Chapter 236
Chapter 236
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 236
Chapter Title: Jisan Village Underground
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"Jisan Village."
We three—after confirming the location of the Happy Ending Parish's air raid shelter—returned to Ho Yu-won's sector for the time being.
My head was throbbing from the unexpected turn of events.
Coincidentally, all three of us here had attended Jisan Village's harvest festival celebration.
Though one of us had experienced it while parasitizing someone else's body and got exorcised by General Beom in the end.
"So that cult village was just a branch of this Nameless Radiant Church or Happy Ending whatever?"
The Deputy Manager's mutter was half right.
"Ah, Deer pulled that golden rod and got caught, right? Did you hear about it then? Good job."
Thank you.
Anyway, that's the favor I'm asking for.
"But why did these guys come here? Aren't they a different sect?"
That's what I'm saying.
'They even got sealed and hauled off by the Disaster Management Bureau.'
What the hell is left for them to do here?
"Hmm. Maybe there's another reason."
And so, naturally, I started recalling why Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je had shown up in Jisan Village in the first place.
"Ah. Right. That well."
And if Ho Yu-won was the one looking for it...
'Something related to Se-gwang Special City?'
Ho Yu-won readily admitted under our gazes.
"Yes. I'd heard a rumor that the well connects to Se-gwang Special City..."
So that's how it was.
"As I said, it's my turn to ask questions, so Deer, you can't ask right now. Really unfortunate, though."
Wow, seriously.
But even if you don't tell me, I can guess.
'Someone from the Disaster Management Bureau.'
How else would Ho Yu-won know about the secret archives of the Disaster Management Bureau holding info on extinction-level disasters like Se-gwang Special City?
'They've got connections there.'
Separate from whatever feelings Ho Yu-won has toward the Bureau.
And Ho Yu-won's interest is still fixed on that.
Extinction-level disaster.
"If the Happy Ending Parish is interested in Se-gwang Special City, it makes sense they'd naturally gather info through that well soon enough. Right?"
But Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je was frowning.
"...Tch."
Something was bothering her.
"I swear, the Bureau showed up back then and smashed their heads in good..."
The moment the Disaster Management Bureau came up, Executive Director Ho's smile deepened, but we both ignored it.
"Don't those government folks handle the follow-up too?"
"So how'd they miss that this underground is a cult den?"
Well...
Let me think back.
Disaster Management Bureau cleanup squad and Zhuque Squad agents came, finished tidying up, and left.
'They probably handled the villagers too.'
There's proof of that.
The surface I saw earlier through the glass.
There wasn't a soul in the village.
Not a single person.
But the weird part is...
'They said they'd do a full search.'
Yet the village looks exactly the same as before.
Frozen in time like on festival day.
It's the kind of situation where agents would be sent regularly to check, but it doesn't look like they have.
Ho Yu-won's mild voice filled the gap seamlessly.
"That government agency always prioritizes. Instead of a closed case, they're probably deploying manpower to rescue who they think are higher value."
Hmm.
'That's a pretty malicious take.'
"Well... yeah. Local bureaucrats are overworked as it is."
Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je brushed off her superior's words with a perfunctory glance.
And to the main point.
"Anyway, it'd be nice if we could dig more into the village up top. But there's limits to what we can do from inside here..."
Ah.
"Director, got anyone outside you can call in? Someone who knows this place."
I recalled the paper boat quietly sleeping under my tattoo.
The guy from Jisan Village who'd left it behind.
Baek Saheon had just endured a dogshit day.
'What kind of bullshit Darkness is this.'
It was a crazy boarding school ghost story, and one team member had his face skin ripped off and died, making it a nightmare slog.
'Left him behind and ran, almost died myself.'
Of course, the team member dying didn't matter. It was just infuriating that all that effort only netted a measly D-Grade.
'...Whatever, doesn't matter now.'
His wish to fully escape the village had already come true, it seemed.
Yet he was still coming to this company... who knows.
Just like not having disposed of his sister's skull by burying or cremating it.
'Fuck.'
Finally clocking out and crashing on the company dorm couch felt good.
But right then, he noticed new writing on the paper boat.
"...!!"
Baek Saheon nearly rolled off the couch.
'What the hell.'
Last time it just left a thank-you note and vanished, so he'd scribbled "don't eat and run," and that was it. Now contact out of nowhere.
And moreover...
"...!!"
Baek Saheon gripped the paper with both hands.
The text was updating...
What?
"Are they insane?"
Did this agent stick around in the Darkness the whole time... and it turned out to be that cult?
'No wonder they couldn't get the item!'
Cults don't let you keep personal items secretly. At least from Baek Saheon's experience.
'...Are they actually an idiot?'
Why walk into a place like that on purpose?
Baek Saheon wrote exactly that on the paper boat.
And the reply was this:
"......Sucker."
But for some reason, the sneer didn't come.
Probably because he'd experienced it firsthand in Jisan Village—this agent actually delivers on promises.
"......"
Baek Saheon looked at the paper.
The agent was requesting:
The moment he was about to add "what nerve,"
One more line at the end:
......
Ha... fuck. Seriously!!
Baek Saheon tore at his hair, then finally scrawled:
'Oh.'
Baek Saheon cooperated, handing over Jisan Village info.
Just like last time, it went surprisingly smoothly. Seems the "infiltrated cult agent" setup was working better than expected...
'Sharing Jisan Village info must've been the hook.'
Or maybe he was just using me as an emotional trash bin, nitpicking everything.
Either way, I now had a simple village map Baek Saheon sketched with pencil etched in my mind.
Tell me about it.
The map nicely marked the well, pine tree, the hanok where we were caught, and the shrine—easy to read.
And our view outside from this sector...
'...Under the well.'
In other words, Jisan Village's well was right near this underground bunker's entrance.
A strange feeling.
Exactly.
When I signaled intent to communicate via item for info, Ho Yu-won and Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je took on other tasks.
-Tail them.
Discreetly track the twins who vanish at lunchtime.
To find out what they're preparing in this underground bunker.
-Like I keep saying, we need to grasp the basics of what's happening here to handle surprises or dig out specific info.
Sticking with the initiate grandma would draw eyes but less suspicion in odd spots.
Thanks to the performance she put on last night.
'Even if caught, Ho Yu-won doesn't seem like an easy mark.'
Plus, this Happy Ending Parish's executives... well, theoretically strong, but they don't give off that psychological pressure.
'Shallow, fragmented image...'
Anyway, the situational mystery and questions about the place gave plenty of eerie vibes.
So I quietly calculated angles from the map and bunker views, matching facilities to village landmarks, waiting for the two.
And as lunchtime nearly ended.
"Found them."
Ho Yu-won and Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je returned with discoveries.
Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je, in grandma form, caught her breath then urgently sketched a map on the floor with her finger.
The bunker's interior too.
"This way, here's the north. East connects to the cafeteria, east-west are initiate living quarters."
And... smack in the center.
"There's that big hemispherical space piled with coffins. Where they do their 'rituals' and dispose of bodies."
Symbolic.
And...
"Behind the coffins in that space, there's a passage."
Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je's finger went down.
South.
"The twins are heading there."
......
"What do you think? Match anything your 'source' told you?"
Yes.
I overlaid Baek Saheon's map on the sketch in my head...
And realized.
The twins' destination.
Was right under Jisan Village's shrine.
And what was under the shrine?
'The centipede master.'
Of course, that centipede was dead, and its liquor all sealed by the bronze agent's bullets—nothing left.
Just the empty spot where the shrine stood. But...
What the hell are they doing there?
"Hmm. Doesn't look good."
Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je frowned at my explanation.
"Shall we check it out once more?"
Hm?
"Just peek inside. After the twins come out."
Ho Yu-won smiled at her.
"Rosefinch. If you refuse, I'll feel sad thinking you don't trust me..."
"Well... yeah. Don't ditch and run if things go south."
Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je glanced at me reluctantly.
"We'll check it out, report on the initiates too, so wait here."
Hmm.
"Don't worry. If anything feels off when we report back, we'll bail quick."
Fair enough.
Too risky sending the same pair twice? Maybe I should...
"Hmm, Deer..."
Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je patted my shoulder.
"You know you're trailing black smoke right now... right?"
Oh.
"Sorry, but with that yellow blinker on top, it's like a full entrance effect. Walking billboard."
......
Yes...
"Just stay put. And... if you can, nail down the exact bunker entrance location. Can you?"
I nodded obediently.
"OK, see you at dinner."
With that, they headed out scouting again...
"Gather together and pray for happiness."
Time passed, and dinner time arrived as promised.
But.
"......"
"Grandma Kim Bok-ja... didn't show?"
Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je and Ho Yu-won didn't appear for dinner.