Chapter 275
Chapter 275
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 275
Chapter Title: Even If I Fall Into a Ghost Story, I Have to Go to Work
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"So, we're going in with this lineup this time?"
"Yes."
I looked ahead.
The agents who had wrapped up four days of rescue operations and visited the Fox Counseling Office were wearing complicated expressions as they eyed the newly added members.
It had clearly been an exhausting schedule, but with so many incidents breaking out in their absence, their eyes were sharp and alive.
The Blue Director, the security team, and the newly introduced equipment to boot.
Choi, the foreman, scratched the back of his head vigorously and spoke up.
"If we go in on this schedule, we won't be able to follow. You know that, right?"
...I know.
Instead of using up all their annual leave as originally planned, the agents had taken on substitute shifts for another Hyunmu Team's call in the latter half of their leave.
They had gotten more leave days instead of hazard pay, but it was only natural they couldn't use them with such short notice...
'No, even theoretically possible, it would raise suspicions.'
From the start, these workaholic agents taking leave days instead of pay might have been suspicious enough. It was time to watch their behavior carefully.
We had no choice but to proceed without them.
And yet, the two replacements coming in their stead were...
A being so contaminated even their face couldn't be seen.
"Hello..."
And a security team member in guard uniform who looked anything but ordinary.
Their emotions would naturally be complicated...
"...Ah, don't we know each other? You're the one who attacked me in that 'underground lab'."
"Uh... yes..."
Especially Choi, the foreman, who had once faced off against the security squad leader and witnessed the sheer scale of that contamination firsthand, offered a handshake with a smile that didn't reach his eyes while scanning the squad leader from head to toe.
But the squad leader merely accepted the handshake perfunctorily, with a worn-out, listless demeanor that suggested everything was a hassle.
The bronze agent let out a groan and spoke.
"At least swap one of them out for the lineup."
"Government man,"
"When we enter Se-gwang Special City, no one can be sure what state those two will be in, right?"
He was right.
Based solely on inductive reasoning from past experiences, no one could say for certain.
That's why we'd originally planned to exclude the security squad leader.
"Um... we just have to kill them..."
"...!"
She had volunteered herself.
"The security team knows best how to kill contaminated entities... It'd be better if both go in... If we have to go at all... Easier to keep each other in check."
"I won't eat anyone either... I'll just... kill them..."
"......"
The bronze agent finally opened his mouth again at her bleak statement, delivered in her desolate state.
"The security team doesn't handle direct entry into supernatural disasters, and that special city isn't your typical one. From experience..."
"We do... experience..."
"...!"
"Government man. Most of our company's security team were Field Exploration Team members."
Thoroughly utilizing contaminated employees.
The bronze agent's face grew ice-cold as he grasped the implication belatedly.
And that gaze turned to me.
...Yeah. In a way, I might look like a similar case.
"If anything feels off once we're in, we bail right away."
In any case, the bronze agent didn't object further.
The security team's inclusion was thus confirmed.
While thoroughly tanking Daydream Corporation's reputation in his eyes, down to rock bottom and below.
"Hm."
Choi didn't seem surprised.
He just added a few more words to confirm.
"Right. You were an elite team squad leader once?"
"Well... yeah..."
J3, once the leader of Elite Team B Squad, answered in a half-hearted, limp manner.
...Hearing that made me wonder, subtly.
'What if we enter Se-gwang Special City.'
Maybe the squad leader would revert to his pre-contamination self.
I couldn't quite call it "hope," so I just tucked it away in a corner of my mind.
And next, the new equipment I'd requested was introduced to the team.
"This is... that collector?"
The bronze agent picked up Daydream Corporation's custom item with a strange expression.
Dream Essence Collector.
The reason Daydream's Field Exploration Team risked their lives entering ghost stories.
Director Ho had approved and smuggled out a few from long-term missing persons under the pretext of "project confidentiality measures," with registration numbers erased.
'Official' no-label Dream Essence Collectors.
Something even the development director couldn't dream of.
'Getting three is impressive enough.'
Naturally, the Dream Essence Collector was one of the few company-issued items they tracked obsessively.
If they knew we had them in agents' hands right now, they'd chew us alive.
'Must've faced serious internal opposition.'
We really needed to extract high-grade Dream Essence. Losing them would bring hellfire.
But if it worked...
'The company won't look kindly on this project for the rest of the year.'
And I judged the odds extremely high.
'In Se-gwang Industrial High, it extracted Dream Essence fine even from the death gimmick escape.'
In short, as long as it didn't count as 'actually dying in reality,' the collector functioned properly.
So in a barely functioning subway ghost story right in the heart of an extinction-grade disaster...
'Definitely high-grade.'
And one more.
I pulled out a fourth extractor that looked different, all by itself.
The Elite Team's Dream Essence Collector.
One of the goods from the 'Darkness Exploration Records Real Goods Box.'
Reclaimed this time.
After melting down precious metals from 'Canopus's Golden Jar' to barely pay off my debt to Section Chief Lee Jaheon, I'd repurchased this unsold item...
'Phew.'
If this Elite Team collector extracted Dream Essence too...
I could siphon off the solution.
Uses... plenty of ideas, but first.
"Hm?"
I exhaled a small puff of smoke visible only to Foreman Choi.
The space that had the potion lab.
Where I'd been exposed as a spy to Foreman Choi.
"...Ah, that underground lab."
Choi asked smoothly, tone unchanged.
"Why? Something you want to use there?"
"Hmm."
And no reply.
But I read a strange vibe in that silence.
'Maybe he didn't just hand it over to the Disaster Management Bureau.'
If Dream Essence solution comes out this expedition, I'll reconnect.
I nodded to Choi and moved on.
Finally, personnel check.
"Sorry, but Dolphin Assistant Manager's out this time too."
Lee Seonghae Assistant Manager was excluded.
Opening her eyes at Casino Station might trigger massive contamination as a dealer.
Plus, long missing, so tons of post-return processing at the company, and not yet officially assigned to Director Ho's project team, so cleanup needed.
"This leg gear should last at least a few months, so don't worry. I just wanted to help you good explorers directly... such a shame."
"Yeah. Having you around would be reassuring."
True.
I knew how invaluable an Elite Team asset like Lee Seonghae Assistant Manager was in unexplored Darkness.
For her to join another Se-gwang Special City run...
"Tsk, if we could snag her whole body from the casino, maybe clear some contamination. Or wreck the casino?"
For that...
'Would need a massive card shark to raid the body casino.'
No such personnel now, so save remaining casino coins minimally.
I pulled out the coins left in my pocket.
Tattoo-stashed, so escaped casino without confiscation.
Didn't grab the ones bet in Russian roulette amid the chaos, though.
"How many we got?"
Not bad.
But.
"To be precise, 424 coins left."
Over half already earmarked.
I eyed Baek Saheon, looking at me expectantly.
But.
"As promised, 500 coins..."
"I'll keep an eye on him!"
"...?!"
The guy got nabbed by Lee Seonghae Assistant Manager.
I ignored him.
"~!"
You're sitting this expedition out, after all...
'No matter how I think, VIP room folks get treated as a party, so entering casino means body collection on remaining piece destruction debt...'
Too many new variables this run; Baek Saheon's solo acts could be fatal.
Don't worry. Promised coins will be paid. ...For your next entry.
"......"
Surprisingly, Baek Saheon accepted it.
'Thought he'd freak out demanding them now.'
Glancing at Lee Seonghae Assistant Manager, he looked like he might gain something hanging with the Elite Team.
'Hm...'
Fine, go for it if you can...
Anyway, finalized lineup as follows.
Section Chief Lee Jaheon.
Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je.
Kim Sol-eum (130666).
J3 (Security Squad Leader).
And.
Junior Park Minseong (Contaminated).
"Another government-endorsed shady corp team, huh. Let's go."
With hope and fear intertwined.
We leaped into the passage to the extinction-grade disaster.
I opened my eyes.
Colorful fluorescent bulbs. And in the distance, the wriggling of those who'd lost their bodies on the subway platform.
Midnight Station.
The place in Se-gwang Special City with the Body Casino.
"...!"
I sat up.
'Was worried I'd respawn at the death spot.'
Everyone else opened their eyes on the platform floor too. Good.
And.
"......"
The one sitting up with me turned to look.
It was...
"Deer?"
"Junior."
Park Minseong, the junior, staring at me in disbelief.
His face slick with cold sweat, like he'd had a nightmare...
Was fine.
"You okay?"
Success.
Park Minseong Junior's eyes trembled, fully recovered from 'Sprout Class Teacher' contamination.
Gazing at his armless shoulders.
"Wh-where is this? How..."
"Badger!"
The others, now awake, checked and tended to Park Minseong Junior.
"Take this."
"Ah, uh...!"
Fed him C-Grade Regen Potion first.
Soon, arms regrew on Park Minseong Junior.
"Phew!"
We unbound the restraints we'd tied him with for the well toss and sighed in relief.
"It worked."
"...Yes."
Good.
And in that process... the other newcomer to Se-gwang Special City lay blankly, then opened his eyes.
Security Squad Leader.
J3 was...
"......"
In full security team garb.
Worn coat, guard cap.
...Who knows.
I was just glad the squad leader didn't look pained.
He was capable to begin with.
Besides...
"Kinda feels like old exploration days, seeing you like this."
"Yeah."
Excluding the squad leader, the whole team was original Field Exploration Team D Squad.
Park Minseong Junior's dramatic recovery and arm regen hyped things up, masking it, but we should watch so the squad leader didn't feel left out.
"Um... need help supporting you...?"
"Ah, uh... thank you."
I didn't refuse the offer to help my legless self.
Though the squad leader probably didn't care about exclusion.
'He ate Park Minseong Junior's arms, so he'd mind that...'
Even now, the squad leader subtly avoided eye contact with Park Minseong Junior.
And Park Minseong Junior was too dazed and happy to notice.
Though it sank the moment he heard the briefing.
"...Extinction-grade? Uh, by Disaster Bureau standards..."
"Yes. Not exactly the same scale, but compared to Daydream, it's Abyss Grade Darkness."
"...!! Oh, got it."
Park Minseong Junior, hit with "heart of top-tier ghost story," snapped into Field Exploration Team survival instincts and swiftly grasped his role.
"Buy back my legs from the casino?"
"Yes. Need your help, unentangled in the destruction debt."
Park Minseong Junior infiltrated the casino with my remaining few hundred coins and soon returned with my legs.
True to a ghost story veteran, reliable.
"Here...!"
"Thanks."
Phew.
Thus, I reclaimed my legs at Midnight Station first.
'Thought it'd be in the general pawnshop since confiscated for piece destruction, not VIP game handover.'
Was ready to pop Nostalgia Candy, disguise, and buy if needed.
Grateful to save the candy.
"So... where to now?"
Over half the team couldn't hit the Body Casino right away.
So only one plan.
"Ride the train."
And.
"I'd like to wait for the train that Mountain Goat mentioned."
...Checked the fire hydrant where Go Yeongeun had shoved me, but no trace left.
No corpse, no bloodstain—just a water bottle inside the hydrant.
'She boarded a train.'
Obvious.
Wanted to wait for and find the train Go Yeongeun boarded.
But.
"Hm. Regular trains... daily vehicles... might rotate periodically, right...?"
"...!"
"No telling how long to wait... exactly...?"
......
I nodded heavily.
Then asked back.
"Any other suggestions?"
"...My suggestion...?"
"Yes."
"Hm..."
The squad leader replied slowly.
"Since we have exploration goals...... check other stations first... wait for the train there... how about that...?"
"Trains come to those stations too?"
"Probably... yeah......"
Strikingly quick, precise judgment.
"Then we'll board a train."
Section Chief Lee Jaheon adopted the squad leader's idea, and we boarded the next train into Midnight Station right after.
Heading to the next station.
This train was empty, giving an eerie vibe.
"......"
The friction of wheels on rails.
After quiet silence, the announcement finally played...
A library.
"Feels decent."
"Yeah."
Way better than noose forests or body-stealing casinos, at least.
But as the train doors opened at the next station and 'Midnight Station's platform came into view...
We froze.
"......That."
The platform was intact this time too.
But the A4-printed paper on the platform pillar was the problem.