Chapter 244
Chapter 244
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 244
Chapter Title: Even If I Fall into a Ghost Story, I Still Have to Go to Work
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Segwang Special City Ghost Story.
A unprecedented incident designated by the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau as an extinction-level supernatural disaster, where an entire special city was erased from people's memories and isolated so no one could recognize it again.
And yet, I opened my eyes right in the heart of that Segwang Special City—in Segwang Station, no less.
In human form, of all things.
"……."
What the hell is this?
Sitting dazed on the dark platform floor, I instinctively thought of my conversation partner.
The one who could carry on everyday chit-chat no matter how insane the situation.
'...Brown?'
…….
…….
No response.
'No.'
The ominous anxiety I'd been suppressing began to creep through my mind.
If even 'that' Brown couldn't follow me here, what the hell state was I in right now...
"...Ha."
I nearly collapsed right there.
Thank goodness. For real.
Still as snide as ever...
What?
Yeah... that's true.
'Me, back in human form.'
But I had no idea why.
Why?
'Did entering Segwang Special City trigger it?'
Maybe because it didn't feel real yet, I was still dazed, but the deep relief I felt looking at my reflection in the glass or touching my bare face with my hands... that much I couldn't deny.
'Outfit... it's a suit.'
My familiar work attire. I swallowed hard, ran my hands over my face a few more times, and calmed my racing heart.
It was me.
...The me I knew.
A wave of overwhelming emotion washed over me.
I took a deep breath and barely swallowed it down.
And it was right then, as I tried to stand—
Thud.
"...!"
My arm was grabbed.
I turned my head and saw the person who'd been passed out on the floor had reflexively reached out at my movement.
And their fluttering eyes.
"……."
"……."
"...Grape?"
"Agent."
Agent Choi's eyes widened.
Then he hurriedly got up and grabbed my shoulders, turning me this way and that.
'Ugh.'
Checking if there were any deformed parts or abnormalities. He even tried to lift my goblin lantern, but stopped when he realized it wasn't in his hand.
'Left it at the well.'
But he didn't stop there, pulling out his contamination detection rod to try and figure out my condition somehow.
A bit anxious, I asked,
"Am I okay?"
"……."
Agent Choi gripped my shoulders tightly.
"You're fine, Grape..."
"……."
I held my breath.
"No, did that well suddenly gain some recovery function? No... ha."
Confusion, suspicion, and joy mixed on Agent Choi's face.
I felt grateful and guilty at the same time seeing him rejoice over the recovery of a teammate revealed as a spy like it was his own business, but that didn't last long.
Not with the situation.
"So, where is this?"
"……."
"Looks like they sent us to some other city. Subway? Hm, let's see..."
"……."
The casual smile faded from Agent Choi's face.
Segwang.
"Have you ever heard of it, by chance?"
"No."
A city and station name I'd never heard in everyday life.
Which meant the agents would naturally realize it too.
This was inside a supernatural phenomenon.
"Grape, wake everyone up. Now."
Agent Choi and I crouched down immediately and started waking people.
The bronze agent who tried to slap his own cheek upon seeing me and I hurriedly stopped him; Deputy Lee Seonghae who got up with astonishing calm, beaming a gentle smile; and finally...
Deputy Eun Ha-je.
"...I definitely put her in there."
I heard Agent Choi mutter.
'They'd imprisoned the deputy in some portable glass cell?'
But if the confinement broke during the transfer here, that was far from ordinary.
I woke Deputy Eun Ha-je myself.
"Wait... Deer?"
"Deputy."
I urgently asked the rising Deputy Eun Ha-je,
"Are you connected to Director Ho, by any chance?"
"...Hold on."
Sensing the atmosphere was off, Deputy Eun Ha-je silently checked the orb she'd been holding.
And light flickered in her eyes.
"No connection."
"……."
This felt even worse... No. Actually, this was good.
I could gloss over the source of my info.
"Everyone."
I turned to the awakened group and spoke quickly.
"This seems to be the place Director Ho Yu-won was looking for."
"……."
"Pardon?"
I pointed at "Segwang Station."
"This entire city, Segwang Special City, is the extinction-level disaster he was after."
"...!!"
Deputy Lee Seonghae raised his hand.
"In Daydream terms, that'd be Abyss-grade, right?"
"Different classification system, but possibly."
"Ooh."
But only Deputy Lee Seonghae was impressed. Everyone else's faces were grim.
Only Deputy Eun Ha-je, who must have known the rough details from working on Director Ho's project, was calmly scanning the surroundings sharply.
"Deer. So you turning human again could be this darkness's influence too?"
"...Possibly."
"Hm. Seems likely. Look at this."
"……!"
Deputy Eun Ha-je raised her hand.
The hand that vanished at Hangman... was back to normal!
"Deputy, your hand..."
"Yeah. Grew back."
Deputy Eun Ha-je shook her grinning hand, but didn't seem all that pleased.
"Seems like there's some condition to it, but... tsk. Too good to be true. Is this really top-grade darkness? Shouldn't it be a hellhole no human could endure, not this?"
Well...
"From what I know... something horrific happened in Segwang Special City, leading to the whole city being sealed off. The Bureau erased this special city's existence to that extent..."
"Hold up."
The two agents' faces hardened.
"What did the Bureau do?"
"Yes."
I swallowed and calmly recounted what I knew.
"As far as I know, they couldn't contain it, so they cast some powerful seal. Making sure no one could perceive Segwang Special City."
"Ooh... possible?"
"……."
The bronze agent spoke.
"Possible, but..."
"Whew."
Agent Choi clutched his head. They seemed to have pinpointed a few theoretical rituals that could do it...
"No records of it, as far as I know. Of course..."
"Right. If they did it for real, they'd have wiped the agents' memories too. Anyway, Deer. Keep explaining."
"……Yes."
The bronze agent opened his mouth but shut it at Agent Choi's interruption.
I noted that and continued.
"And despite how terrifying that sounds, our environment here is better than expected—probably because this is a subway."
I pointed at the screen door glass where I'd checked my face.
"...Want to take a look?"
Beyond that darkness.
There's a structure called an opposite-facing platform, where two platforms face each other across the tracks in the middle for trains going opposite directions.
This platform's tracks, the opposite tracks for the other train, and... the opposite platform beyond.
That place.
"It's all collapsed."
Beams exposed in the wreckage, concrete pouring from the crumbling stairs.
The disparity was jarring.
In stark contrast to this pristine platform.
And on the half-collapsed screen door glass over there...
Covered in countless scrawled messages.
Requests for rescue and dying messages in blood, dust, filth.
Written from the opposite side, backwards.
"...!!"
My body froze at the traces of the overwhelming disaster that struck the city.
'Ha.'
And I remembered.
The document recording the process of Segwang Special City being sealed as an extinction-level disaster.
That first day.
'Most residents fled to subway stations, but entrances collapsed, trapping them. Horrific events outside. Phone logs recorded, but site details unknown.
'Subway should hold out a few more days, so start search immediately!'
- On-site agent's claim (dismissed)'
"I heard one of the last rescue signal locations from disaster-struck Segwang Special City was a subway station."
Relatively safer than outside, probably.
Not specified as Segwang Station exactly, but better than suddenly dropped into the heart of an extinction-level disaster with people.
'Though it's probably still bad...'
Whew.
Thinking of the wiki dried my mouth. Hunger and thirst returning too.
"So..."
Hold on.
"Agent?"
"Okay."
Agent Choi, who'd been sighing, was now calmly trying to open the screen door.
"Agent?"
"Just scouting quick."
"Ah. Should I check the opposite side?"
"Wait, please wait just a moment."
Both of you, no!
"I told you, this city's totally wrecked and sealed as an extinction-level disaster!"
I rushed over and blocked them.
"People clearly fled here, so the half-collapsed side seems unsafe. ...Might connect outside."
Probably, Agent Choi and Deputy Lee Seonghae's thinking was this.
'No info anyway, gotta check something.'
But...
"And if needed... I'll go. I know the most about this place—"
"Grape."
Agent Choi reached out. And...
Snap.
Flicked my forehead.
"...!"
Ow!
"Do I look like a suicidal maniac to you? Obviously just careful peek and back."
Agent Choi smiled, but looked seriously pissed...
But he exhaled and calmed down.
"You're the one who shouldn't act rashly here. Please."
"……."
"And you too, Jae-gwan!"
"Honestly, between me and Bronze Agent, you're the rash one..."
"Ahem."
Eep.
I dodged Agent Choi's flick and backed away quickly.
Sent the bronze agent a sympathetic look, but he stared back like he had a lot to say.
"……."
"Once we move to safety, let's talk."
Save me.
I held back a sigh and rubbed my forehead.
...This kind of pain after so long.
"All veterans here, so move together, check statuses first?"
"Yep yep."
Anyway, still in this relatively 'okay' platform, we gathered what we could, checked what needed checking, and headed for the stairs.
While checking our bodies.
"Employee!"
Lee Seonghae—no, Deputy Lee—called out.
But...
"Employee...?"
"Should I call you Clerk Deer?"
"Ah. No. Deer is fine."
"Then call me Dolphin instead of deputy, Deer!"
Deputy Lee Seonghae smiled brightly, pulling out a glow-in-the-dark star sticker, fizzy vitamin bottle, and what looked like a tail comb for hair from his pocket, checking them.
"Hm. Some gear and items busted."
"Same here. Seems items borrowing power from outside don't work."
"Ooh, good deduction, deputy!"
Everyone coolly checking gear.
And...
"Deer got items?"
"……."
No.
I'm broke...
'My items...'
All handed to Section Chief Lee Jaheon to dispose of, so probably left with...
Y-yeah.
'Got this.'
Not even real merch from a good friend. Sob.
I carefully took out the rabbit doll and put it in my suit's front pocket as Brown requested.
No idea why, but Deputy Lee Seonghae gave a thumbs up. Hm. Thanks...
'Wonder how Section Chief Lee Jaheon is.'
Come to think of it, back human, maybe I can use the space mall's VIP personal shopping again.
With the 'VIP cell' implanted under my tongue.
'Or maybe not, if it's borrowing external power...'
Anyway, useless right now dropped naked into extinction disaster 5-man party. Pass for now.
I sighed and habitually patted my pockets like others...
'...Huh?'
A smartphone.
"...!!"
I yanked it out hurriedly. Black rectangle with GripTok attached.
The one I carried at Daydream.
'What?'
Turned it on hastily. Surprisingly powered up.
No signal, Wi-Fi dead. But...
The important part loaded.
I could read the wiki pages. Like before.
"……."
"Ah, phone doesn't connect!"
"...Yeah. True."
Thought my heart would stop.
I replied to Deputy Lee Seonghae as naturally as possible while trying to turn off the screen... and realized something.
'They can't see it?'
"Um, could you read this page for me?"
After hesitating, I cautiously held the page showing just "Darkness Exploration Records" in front of Deputy Lee Seonghae.
But he tilted his head.
"Nothing to read? Oh, impression—basic homescreen, kinda boring!"
"...Thanks."
They can't see it.
'Just me, then.'
My heart pounded so loud my ears hurt.
'No idea why, but easier to check this way.'
Regaining composure, I fiddled with the phone pretending to check.
And noticed another difference.
The GripTok shape was different.
'Crack's gone.'
Finally fixed?
Plus, the center marked with 'X' was finished in red, not gold...
"...?"
What?
No clue what it meant. Or where this GripTok phone had been all this time...
"……."
Ah.
'No way.'
A rather creepy hypothesis formed in my head...
Inside my body.
...The GripTok had been embedded in my melted body, clumped together inside the uniform. All this time, I'd been one with this GripTok...
'Then.'
The bizarre editing function I could use, that power...
'Originated from here?'
A dizzying shock, fear it might melt again, head trying to recall my recent state...
Bzzz.
"...!"
The smartphone vibrated.
Snapping out, I reflexively turned it on.
And there...
A notification that a new page was added to the Darkness Exploration Records wiki.
Familiar page, sure. But...
'This shouldn't happen.'
This wiki's based on my memories; no way something new appears.
Confused, I clicked.
"……."
A strange premonition.
'This the new fixed GripTok's function?'
Melted and worked as special dept employee for 6 months—what had this GripTok become?
"All checks done? Let's move."
"Yep!"
I left the blank page and started moving with the group.
'Be careful.'
Human form great, but missing those powers is human psychology too...
5 veterans moved silently, no rash actions, slowly securing sight as they climbed the platform stairs.
Thud. Thud.
Only calm footsteps echoed.
And as the top came into view...
A forest unfolded.
"...!!"
A vast, fog-shrouded forest of dim lighting.
Station structures—fire hydrants, braille tiles, escalators, signs, mirrors, lit ceilings—still there, but unnaturally large and maze-like repeating.
Trees, dirt, fog filling the gaps...
Dim and foggy, visibility near zero.
"……."
"...Hold up."
Agent Choi inhaled a bit of fog and frowned.
"No toxicity yet, but mask up just in case. Any weirdness, back to platform."
"Got it."
"Check info boards first. Domain-type disasters often have rule-based ghost stories."
"Good. Volunteers for advance? ...Nah, everyone's gung-ho. Prime recruits."
Hardened vets with defense gear move like this.
Eventually, all together seeking info boards.
Stepping between trees.
Rustle.
Dry leaves crunch underfoot. Eerie sound somewhere...
And soon, not an info board but a huge sign.
"Ah."
Vines and trees around a wall-mounted one—a station nameplate.
Similar to platform, but different.
"Ads listed."
"Ads?"
"Yeah. Subway sells station name slots sometimes. Next to real name, hospitals or companies. For profit."
Yeah.
Mostly ad-effect focused.
But here...
"……."
"……."
Everyone instinctively knew.
Not a normal 'ad station name.'
That instant.
Bzzz.
'...!'
I glanced at my phone hurriedly. And saw.
Wiki updated.
'Segwang Station.'
Clicked without breathing.
'Forest of hanged trees...?'
Read that far.
Thud. Something touched my head.
"……."
I looked up.
I'd been careful not to brush trees while moving, but distracted by phone, leaned into hanging branch.
But.
Slowly, slowly re-examined what I'd thought was a 'tree' touching me...
A human foot.
"……."
"Grape... hold on."
"Oh, corpse here. On your head, Deer."
I realized.
Thin trees and thick alternating densely—not trees.
Thin 'trees' true nature.
Each with corpses hanged from thick branches, emaciated, swaying...
"All bodies."
"Looks like hanging."
And realized further.
Being human meant feeling fear of scary things again.
Back to being a coward...!
'Screwed.'
"Check surroundings too?"
"Good. Deer, watch above you. Oh, barefoot."
"...Yes."
Aaagh!!