Chapter 271
Chapter 271
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 271
Chapter Title: Jolly Lab's Toy Maker
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I know it might sound strange that the Daydream research team frequently uses a piece of equipment-crafting Darkness.
Equipment is usually something that helps you survive a ghost story.
So you'd wonder what the hell the research team even needs that for directly, but once you see it in action, you'll get a rough idea.
How the Jolly Lab Toy Maker could be utilized by the research team.
And how it could replace Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae's missing body parts.
"Alright. Let's take the E07 route then."
"Yessir!"
And so the first equipment-crafting site in the annex was decided.
...Now it was time to head to the destination.
"Moving out."
"Yep."
Section Chief Lee Jaheon started moving without hesitation the moment he made the call. We followed him down the dark hallway.
Annex basement level 3, Darkness isolation area.
Ignoring the eerie noises from the firmly shut iron doors lining both sides, we proceeded cautiously...
"Halt."
A dead end.
Where an emergency exit door came into view.
Right. This time, we planned to use the annex's emergency stairs to go straight up one floor to basement level 2.
The annex's emergency stairs were different from the bizarre ones near the Jolly Lab in the main building basement, marked Absolutely No Entry.
'There are multiple records in the [Darkness Exploration Records] of security teams entering or people escaping through here.'
Of course, this wasn't a normal route either, and strange things could happen during transit.
'But it's usable.'
Section Chief Lee Jaheon raised his hand up front.
"Opening it."
This emergency door was supposed to lock down in case of containment failure, and normally send an alert when opened... but this time, 'coincidentally', it was broken so no alarm would go off.
Even if some absurdly strong person forced it open, for instance.
Grind... creak.
The emergency door was probably opened by Section Chief Lee Jaheon with a sound like that.
......
"Deer?"
But none of this was visible to me.
'As expected.'
I couldn't see any means of escaping the annex. Just like with the elevator.
It wouldn't let me recognize ways to leave the floor. Because I was an employee of a special department who had to work as the floor's security manager.
'I see.'
...Going from being able to see something once to not seeing it at all felt weird.
The emergency exit was unrecognizable, just an extension of the wall. A wall shrouded in smoke and darkness...
But.
If there were other people around, I could just follow them.
"...Right."
Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je stood right in front of me.
"Be careful."
"Whoa!"
Section Chief Lee Jaheon, having finished re-locking the mangled emergency door, lightly picked up the wheelchair.
And as he stepped forward, the others entered the wall.
I 'passed through' the wall following them.
From my perspective, it looked like endless void.
"You okay?"
I couldn't see the emergency exit, but the group was visible, so it was fine.
Everyone started climbing the emergency stairs.
I used smoke to blink, ignoring my unmoving legs, constantly reappearing near the group...
In my head, I pictured the stairs' shape.
'Normal emergency stairs usually spiral up after a half-turn.'
So normally, after one or two turns, we'd reach the upper floor.
"......"
"......"
The people kept walking.
Upward, continuously.
"Uh, no door's coming up."
"Quiet."
The space was twisted somewhere.
But I advised.
It wasn't a dangerous situation.
'There's a similar record.'
Baek Saheon muttered something like a curse under his breath as he walked beside me.
And a little while later.
"...We're out."
The footsteps stopped.
"Annex basement level 2 emergency door. Time to arrival: 12 minutes 53 seconds."
And.
"Access prohibited, under security team control... or so it says."
The door was already sealed with the security team's warning markers.
Of course, the annex's emergency doors lock down precisely during emergencies and won't open—and basement level 2 was currently in just such an 'emergency' state.
But we'd already coordinated with today's handler for annex basement level 2.
"I'll knock."
Knock, knock, knock.
Section Chief Lee Jaheon rapped on the emergency door in the promised rhythm. The string instrument melody learned from the Groom Training ghost story.
Then.
Click.
The emergency door cracked open slightly, a pale, sickly yellow beast's pupil scanning us before...
The head pulled back, and the door swung wide.
"Come in... quietly......"
We entered as quietly as we could, barely breathing.
My perception recovered as we faced the hallway.
The familiar annex basement level 2, which I'd visited a few times before.
The difference being...
Gruesome traces marred the place.
Sticky black goo plastered to the floor, claw marks on the walls, yellowing talismans half-peeled and stuck densely, stardust, torn cloth scraps, smile graffiti...
Traces of the security team's 'suppression'.
Evoking ominous imaginings.
"......"
"......"
J3, the security captain, pulled his hat low.
"That way... other security team members are... 'containing' it...... so don't go there now."
He'd willingly taken on the role of opening doors for us to move via relatively safe routes without running into security.
Alone.
"So you're the only one here, Captain?"
"Yes......"
We stated our destination, and the security captain nodded.
"Follow me... no hallucinations."
The captain glanced down at me.
"Might stimulate it unnecessarily..."
"......"
"Just stay quiet."
Everyone did as told.
I followed quietly at the rear, sensing dangers.
J3 in his security uniform walked slowly with a flashlight, but his steps never hesitated, as if detecting every presence and threat around.
"Hold, standby..."
When he said stop, we stopped; when he moved, we followed.
After that suffocating time through corners and intersections...
We reached it.
The destination.
The ghost story.
"One moment......"
The security captain swiped his access card by the iron door.
Beep. The sealed iron door opened. And...
"Phew."
Inside, surprisingly, it was like a nighttime street.
An intricately modeled alley. Under the streetlamp's glow sat a rundown shop.
A dusty glass display window bore a poster reading 'Special Birthday Gift Sale!', but the door had a 'Closed' sign.
And beyond the glass, the displayed toys were all...
"Dolls, huh."
Indeed.
Knit dolls modeled after fairy tale and folktale characters lined the shelves.
Instead of hair, intricate yarn bundles; instead of eyes, shiny cubic beads glimmering in the streetlamp light.
...A ghost story from the Jolly Lab that Daydream had held since its inception.
'They had it even at founding.'
I'd previously thought that phrasing just emphasized ties to the research team, but now...
It felt oddly significant.
Anyway, equipment crafting came first.
"Let's go."
The group shut the iron door securely and walked the model alley at midnight to the rundown shop.
And knocked.
Knock knock knock.
Following the set manual, the safe phrase was recited...
"We're in a rush for a birthday gift—still open for sales?"
A moment later.
Flick.
"...!"
A soft light came on in the dusty bulb above the shop, unlocking the glass door.
"...Pardon the intrusion."
We entered cautiously.
The shop was dusty as if long closed. It reeked of aged wood, mold, and rusted iron.
But one thing was lit up.
A machine like a vending machine.
"......"
Behind it loomed thick, complex connections like a vent, with a rail beside for dispensing finished products.
The input slot, like for bills, had text glowing on top.
This was the equipment-crafting device we sought.
"Wanna try it right away?"
"Yep."
Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae wheeled forward briskly.
The bill-like slot actually took a different paper.
The application form.
Tell us about the child receiving the gift!
Name: Lee Seong-hae
Birthday: May 20
Hair color: White
Eye color: Black
Putting her real name and birthday felt iffy, but the Jolly Lab Toy Maker had no issues with that across its long usage history, so inductively, worries eased. Having filled it out, Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae held up the form. "Putting it in then." Yep. And the form vanished into the Toy Maker's input slot... ...Or not. Thud. The machine spat the form back out. "...Huh??" A red light blinked above the input, displaying guidance...
"It's... broken?"
The group exchanged startled glances.
Not unheard of, of course.
There were records of occasional breakdowns like this, recovering automatically after weeks or months unvisited...
The problem: we needed it now.
"Wait, did we break it?"
"Dunno if we did... We just put in the form. Probably already busted!"
So something had happened in this hallway already?
We reflexively looked to J3, but oddly, he stood outside, away from the shop.
As I moved to ask him...
'...Hold on.'
I paused and reread the message.
For quick repair, contact researcher.
Researcher.
And looking closely, there was a strange rectangular mark at the machine's base.
I realized its size nearly matched something I had...
'...No way.'
After brief hesitation, I pulled it out.
Jolly Researcher
Yi Heo-un
The employee ID from the Daydream main building basement, a Jolly Lab staffer.
"Deer?"
I held the ID to the rectangular mark at the machine's base.
That instant.
"...!"
Likewise, a braille-like diagram at the base lit up.
Lights danced erratically, probing the diagram.
A red light appeared on one part of the 'Toy Maker' diagram.
I approached that section and carefully inspected the connections... spotting something odd.
Something was jammed in the machine.
'...!'
Using smoke, I delicately extracted the tiny object. It was...
'An earring?'
It looked like a rusted accessory.
Like something excavated from ancient ruins or a tomb—utterly out of place, evoking unease...
Anyway, it was fixed.
"Deer, what was that just now..."
I showed the group the jammed earring, then urged equipment crafting first. That was the priority.
"Got it! Thanks, Deer sir!"
Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae looked at me with sparkling eyes, then reinserted the form.
And...
This time it worked properly.
The machine chimed with music box tones, prompting her to select 'desired size'.
"Gotta go full-scale."
She pressed the button, and raucous mechanical noises followed—clangs of collisions, cuts, assembly...
Dozens of seconds later.
Clunk.
The 'birthday gift' emerged on the rail.
It was...
A knit doll the exact size of Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae.
"...!"
Handcrafted as if modeled after her: same hairstyle, eyes, outfit, body dimensions.
Black cubic beads gleaming green under the light served as eyes.
Pushed slowly along the moving rail, it naturally dropped from the end...
Straightening up.
Greeting us.
No one replied.
The doll's glowing eyes looked at Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae in her wheelchair.
Thud.
...Section Chief Lee Jaheon ripped off the tag on the back of the doll's head.
That instant.
The knit doll fell to the floor like a toy.
Motionless.
'......'
"Lemme detach it."
Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae separated the doll's legs.
For some reason, I watched in shocked silence...
Felt weird.
Plenty of ghost stories mimic people. The others seemed to feel a bit off but unaffected.
'Why...?'
I was deeply shaken.
Was that knit doll really just crafted to mimic Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae? Or did it truly have...
'...Stop it.'
Pointless.
I just watched her carefully insert her unmoving legs into the doll legs.
And watched her stand abruptly from the wheelchair.
"Hmm. Works great!"
Right.
Since the doll could be controlled as the 'gift recipient' wished, it could be used this way.
'Phew.'
Time to feel relieved and happy that she'd safely gotten usable legs for now.
I really did think it fortunate.
"Gonna use it?"
"No way!"
"Yes."
I saw Baek Saheon recoiling from the dolls in horror, as Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je suggested to me.
"Deer. You should get some legs here too, no?"
......
I pointed to the shadowed notice by the machine.
"...!"
"Damn."
Sorry, but that's how it is...
'Property of Jolly Lab products.'
The candle I'd used from the 'Blind Mansion' had similar restrictions—I couldn't use it, asked Yeongeun instead.
...Back then, I thought it was because I came from another world.
"Then let's hurry to the next one. Feels bad for contaminated folks."
...Thanks.
I nodded and left the shop. Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae, now walking, smiled as she exited. We approached the security captain leaning by the iron door.
'If needed, just head back.'
I could move with smoke even without legs, so before entering the city, there'd be another way.
But...
The security captain stood stock-still, staring at the floor unmoving.
'...?'
I wafted smoke right before his eyes.
"It's fine......"
Only then did the captain look up at me.
But the next moment, another eye bulged from his temple, swiveling to look at the shop.
The toys in the dusty display. Among them...
Red cape.
'...Damn!'
I went on alert.
The moment I sensed J3's gaze bulging unnaturally, savagely outward.
"......Gotta, go out...?"
The captain turned his head, reverting to the gaunt, sluggish staffer, shuffling toward the iron door.
...Good.
I trailed the captain, blocking his view with smoke as much as possible. To keep him from seeing the shop.
And the unstable captain slowly regained calm, opening the iron door...