Chapter 263
Chapter 263
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 263
Chapter Title: Even in Ghost Stories, You've Gotta Clock In
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Boarding the train and losing track of the group, we found Deputy Lee Seong-hae at Casino Station.
We could have celebrated the successful tracking.
If not for the fact that she was working as a one-eyed dealer in the Casino ghost story.
"Dolphin..."
"Shh."
Agent Choi gripped my shoulder tightly. I instinctively shut my mouth.
"......"
"Yes, Dealer. Please guide us~"
"Sure thing!"
And so we quietly followed the dealer—who looked just like Lee Seong-hae, a resident of this ghost story—leading the way.
Agent Choi whispered lowly.
"Better to time it right and snap her out of it in one shot than cause a scene asking if she recognizes us. Got it?"
I nodded.
The dealer guided us through the rundown entrance area of the casino and inside.
We entered quietly, surveying our surroundings.
...If this were the Darkness Exploration Records, it would surely be documented just like this...
"This is the slot machine zone!"
The door opened to reveal a square space filled with a fast-tempo, low-quality orchestral piece, worn brass decorations, and endless rows of slot machines.
It gave off a more systematic and obsessive vibe than the atmospheric machines at the entrance.
"You can pull the lever for simple games, or challenge the jackpot with just 1 coin—it's super popular!"
Most of the slot machines were already broken, but crowds of visitors blankly pulled the levers on the few still functioning, shabby ones.
If they had no hands, they used their feet; if no feet, their mouths.
I even spotted someone desperately grabbing something from a winning machine and fleeing to a corner.
And the addicts chasing that winner like mad.
It was a chilling sight.
"Now, onto the next zone."
"Dealer zone. A place for various table games. Only parties with 50 coins or more can enter."
A somewhat cleaner casino space appeared than the slot machine zone.
However, more than half the game tables were smashed or shattered.
A few intact tables had 'dealers' in outfits similar to Deputy Lee Seong-hae's standing around or running games.
But their numbers were few, and hardly any visitors were seated...
The visitors seated before the dealer had no legs, or were missing more than half their facial features, or were covered head to toe in tattered hoodies or padding.
"......"
"How is it?"
"Ah, seems like a slow day today."
"Weekends are always busier than weekdays!"
It clearly wasn't an issue of weekdays or weekends, but having a realistic conversation with someone contaminated was naturally impossible.
I smoothly changed the subject.
"Honestly, I was surprised to meet you, Dealer. I thought this was an unmanned facility."
"Ah, I get it. Subway ridership has been declining lately, so even Royal Casino in ■■ City is apparently revamping its business strategy more innovatively."
A meaningful statement.
The dealer, wearing Deputy Lee Seong-hae's face, smiled brightly and guided us to the next room.
"But we do have some special games you can only enjoy here!"
The final room.
A golden, rusted iron door with most of its paint peeled off.
Above it hung a velvet nameplate that hadn't faded yet.
VIP ACCESS
"Only visitors with 999 coins or more can enter this room!"
As stated, the iron door was firmly shut.
As if we couldn't enter.
"It's the zone where you can see the true face of Royal Casino—highly recommended."
"What game is played there?"
"That's information only for visitors who qualify for entry!"
"How many people are inside right now?"
"That's information only for visitors who qualify for entry!"
To know anything about the VIP room behind that door, you need 999 coins.
"What I can definitely tell you is that you can earn an enormous amount of coins there!"
"...I see."
Of course, it felt ominous, but right now, that wasn't the priority.
"...Thank you for the explanation."
"No problem at all, visitor!"
The dealer wearing Deputy Lee Seong-hae's face beamed and bowed again.
I returned the greeting with a silent nod, but one thought lingered inescapably.
A single question circled in my mind...
Was
Deputy Lee Seong-hae
that tall?
"Now, let me help you enter the dealer room!"
She was clearly more than 10cm taller than Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je, and even wearing simple flats instead of her usual cushioned sneakers.
How was that possible?
"Want to play a game?"
Back in the second space, the dealer zone, the dealer settled opposite me at a shabby table and explained in a cheerful voice.
"It's a simple card game. Guess the identity of the card I'm holding! Minimum bet is 3 coins, maximum payout up to 36 times!"
Deputy Lee Seong-hae's hands moved deftly as she revealed a deck of playing cards.
And I noticed something else.
"Placing your bet?"
The one-eyed dealer met eyes with me, who also had one eye.
"If you bet all 35 coins you have, theoretically, you could gain VIP room access in one go."
......
"No thanks."
I smiled and pulled back slightly from the table.
"It's our first time here. We'll try the slots first, play a bit, then come back to bet. Thanks."
"...Sure thing. Thank you!"
The dealer's persistent gaze finally lifted, and I left the dealer room with the group.
Back at the entrance area, after confirming by the pawnshop that the dealer wasn't following, I finally spoke.
"Grape, did you see?"
"Yes."
I'd seen the dealer's hands shuffling the cards.
"Her ring and middle fingers were shaped differently."
"Yeah... The wrist and hand bones connected unnaturally too."
And the dealer's strangely tall stature compared to 'Deputy Lee Seong-hae.'
All of it pointed to one fact.
......
"It's only Dolphin Deputy's head."
The dealer was a crude patchwork of different bodies.
Along with Lee Seong-hae's head.
"She probably gambled away most of her body parts here and bought them back repeatedly."
Or.
"Racked up debt, lost all her body to the casino, and got reassembled as a dealer."
Either way, one question remained.
So.
"...Can we consider this a state where rescue is possible?"
......
"We have to kill her."
"Hold on,"
Bronze Agent insisted again.
"Then she'll wake up in reality. Just shoot the head."
"Hold on!"
Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je cut off Bronze Agent.
"Agent, calm down first. Let's think... Is just the head really her?"
"Hmm~ The part with the brain has to be her. Dreams are dreamed by the head, after all."
"No."
Agent Choi and Manager Lee Jae-heon's opinions clashed.
They looked at each other.
"Citizen, care to explain why not?"
"Yes. In the Darkness, there are cases using symbolic or conscious classifications instead of medical ones."
"...For example, the heart instead of the head? Since some cultures see the heart as more essential?"
"Yes."
"Sigh."
Agent Choi sighed.
If we don't recognize 'Lee Seong-hae with only her head left' as the real her, and she doesn't wake in reality...
'Her consciousness might just die here.'
And moreover.
"There's no guarantee here, like at the last station, that 'dying means waking up right away in reality' either. Old-timer."
"...Even so, it's more humane than leaving her fully contaminated in an extinction-level supernatural disaster she can't even perceive."
"Bronze."
Agent Choi's low voice rang out.
"I told you not to spout Bureau manual like it's your own opinion."
"......"
"My junior's just a bit rigid, no bad intentions, citizens."
"We get it. Your old-timer's point has a generalization fallacy, but not entirely wrong."
Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je soothed.
"We came prepared with euthanasia meds anyway, figuring we'd have to die to leave without another way."
True.
'I figured the gimmick hadn't changed much.'
And moreover.
"I think so too... Seeing me in human form means we've entered a dream, not reality."
"...Deer."
"So if there's truly no other way, we'll do as Bronze Agent says... but I'd like to explore alternatives first."
"......"
Bronze Agent nodded heavily. The others seemed to reach a consensus.
Gather as much information as possible from Midnight Station's body casino.
That was our first goal.
Though one person didn't agree.
Baek Saheon, whose face read 'not interested.'
For him, unrelated to Deputy Lee Seong-hae, and with Ho Yuwon providing the reward, rescue wasn't the goal.
'More interested in the scraps.'
And Ho Yuwon had made an unusually lenient request this time.
Instead of rushing out, thorough exploration might yield related info.
Worst case, a casino's perfect for scoring items.
'His mind's in the beans.'
Noticing the uncooperative vibe, Bronze Agent shot Baek Saheon a contemptuous look through his mask.
That's not how you handle it.
I grabbed Baek Saheon's shoulder.
"Hey."
"Y-yes?"
Baek Saheon (thankfully) flinched, but this time it was carrot, not stick.
I spoke as gently as possible.
"If this is a casino, the dealer knows the mechanisms and items best, right?"
"So?"
"Rescuing and bringing her along means we get some juicy info."
"......"
He already had intel on Deputy Lee Seong-hae's personality—Baek Saheon's expression shifted slightly.
Yeah, he knows she wouldn't help and bail.
"Think it over."
I let him go.
'This should keep him from interfering inside at least.'
The group dispersed.
Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je off to observe other casino visitors, Manager Lee Jae-heon and Baek Saheon to the slots, agents to the body pawnshop and exchange counters.
And I...
"Welcome back!"
Entered the dealer room.
-Deputy Manager, could I borrow 20 coins? Not spending, just to enter the dealer room.
-OK. I'll head there soon, come meet me.
As Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je said, I carefully borrowed the 'hard-earned' coins and qualified for dealer games with the 50-coin threshold.
"Yes, nice to see you again."
I sat opposite at the table.
The dealer with Deputy Lee Seong-hae's face grinned widely.
"Placing a bet?"
"...Yes."
"Got it!"
The dealer stood opposite happily and began sorting the cards again.
"Quick heads-up! Get caught cheating, and you'll pay a fine."
"Yes. I'll be careful."
I watched her every move carefully and casually said,
"Have you worked anywhere else?"
"...Pardon?"
"Thought I saw you at the resort."
Her hands paused mid-motion.
And...
"Ah, I did work briefly at Flower Golden Resort. It was a great place!"
"...I see. Cool."
"Thank you!"
At least she remembered that.
To probe deeper into personal memories and uncover what happened to Deputy Lee Seong-hae, I decided to play the game.
Then.
"Let's start the game... Oh!"
Someone else sat at the table.
'Who?'
Wondering if it was Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je joining without notice, I turned.
"...!"
A ragged, padded figure with the hood pulled over their head—a resident of Segwang Special City—sat beside me.
"......"
"......"
'What?'
Bad feeling.
I debated standing but stayed seated for now.
Cold sweat beaded in my palms.
"Placing a bet?"
The resident beside me nodded slowly without a sound and placed 3 coins on the table.
Stained, worn coins.
"......"
I placed 3 coins on the table.
In contrast, my clean ones glimmered faintly in the light...
"Sure thing! Let's begin!"
The dealer collected the coins and spread the deck face-down on the table.
"Which card will you pick?"
I waited.
But the one beside me didn't pick.
Suffocating silence.
"...This one."
"Yep!"
And the moment I chose a card, the neighbor stabbed the one next to it like they'd been waiting.
'...What?'
Something's off.
"Now, guess the suit or number: suit correct is 3x, number 8x, both 36x payout!"
Explanation followed: no K, Q, J; A is 1.
Yeah.
But amid the eerie tension outweighing any unfairness, I quietly said,
"Probability game, huh. Numbers pay higher than suits, feels high-rank. Like precious solutions."
"Fun analogy, sir!"
Small talk works so far. Keep probing.
"Have you ever played as a visitor, Dealer? Curious what your max bet was."
"Me?"
A flat voice.
"Up to 990 coins."
...!
But before I could press, the game proceeded.
"First, the visitor who bet coins. How are you betting?"
......
"Visitor?"
The neighbor raised an index finger.
The hand wrapped obsessively in bandages hid all other fingers.
"Got it, betting on 1!"
Phew.
My turn to bet.
'For now...'
"Suit. Diamond."
"Noted!"
The dealer glanced at the neighbor again, and my gaze followed...
And I realized.
The one beside me had fully turned to face me.
Even as the dealer announced their bet.
"Checking the number bet first..."
The dealer flipped the card.
"Spade 3."
"......"
"Too bad, you lose!"
The neighbor didn't twitch.
And...
"Now, yours..."
The card I'd picked flipped.
Diamond 8.
"Congratulations! You got it! Here's your payout."
The dealer handed me 9 coins, including the neighbor's stained, worn ones. I swept them into my pocket.
"......"
"Congrats! Another round?"
I felt eyes on me.
The Segwang Special City resident who'd lost coins stared fixedly.
Invisible, but definitely.
"......"
I quietly pocketed the coins and stood.
'Avoid.'
Meet Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je first, then return.
"Ah, leaving already?"
"Just checking other spots and I'll..."
The moment I turned.
The casino visitor from beside the table was already standing before me.
"......"
"......"
They raised their head.
The lower face emerged from under the padding.
And...
"Mr. Deer."
A familiar face.
A familiar voice.
"Why are you here."
Go Yeongeun.
My anxious-eyed colleague was saying exactly what I wanted to.