Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Iengami - 1
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It had been a month since the Dorimcheon Station incident.
Glancing out the window, I saw the Foundation building. It was an ordinary office building made of glass and steel, but now, it didn't seem so bad.
To be honest, life at the Foundation was better than I'd expected.
I was sitting by the window in the employee cafeteria when Deputy Kang Ha-na approached me. Around her neck, the 'Chained Sisyphus' necklace glinted. The subtle silver chain and the embedded Wootz steel went well with her white blouse.
It was combat gear purchased from FamilyNet, but it looked like nothing more than a high-end accessory.
"Mr. Jeong-woo, there's an F-grade ghost story investigation today. Would you like to join me?"
Her voice carried a certain ease that was different from her usual tone. The tension from a month ago was nowhere to be found.
"Of course."
I accepted readily. I needed to investigate as many ghost stories as possible to gather Talent and money. A glance at my watch showed it was 2 PM. The day was still young.
'Twenty cases in a month...'
Eating the curry rice on my tray, I recalled the past month. It had been incredibly busy. At least, when it came to matters concerning ghost stories.
Our 4th Team's performance was unprecedented. Or rather, I was the unprecedented one. Thanks to the Ruminative Thought Enhancement Serum, I could perfectly recall all information related to ghost stories, which allowed me to cleanly handle all F and E-grade cases.
High-grade ghost stories like the 'Tragedy of the Red Prince' seemed to be exceptional cases. Most of the twenty cases were low-grade stories that could be easily resolved.
Lost in thought, I saw Moon Jin-wook sit down next to me. He waved his luxury watch around as if to show it off.
"Thanks to you, Mr. Jeong-woo, it feels like we made a killing this month. Right, Deputy?"
The watch was clearly an expensive piece worth several thousand dollars. He must have bought it with the bonus he received last month.
'Did I make about 200 million as well?'
That was the total sum of the incentives for writing the response manuals and the hazard pay.
I muttered to myself as I stirred my curry with a spoon. Considering my annual salary at the Foundation was around 40 million, that was a staggering amount.
Across the table, Na-rae was silently eating her beef bone soup. Seeing as she wasn't indulging in luxuries like Jin-wook or buying items from FamilyNet like Ha-na, she seemed to be saving money to acquire the materials to become a shaman.
I was also saving money. To buy the Eyes of Nostradamus.
I believed that an eye that could see ten seconds into the future would be a great help in future ghost story explorations.
As lunchtime was drawing to a close, Cheon Seung-soo entered the cafeteria. He rarely came to the employee cafeteria, so his visit suggested something important was happening.
"Alright, everyone, gather 'round."
His usual playful tone was gone. Instead, a strange tension hung in the air.
We silently watched Cheon Seung-soo. Under the fluorescent lights, he leaned over the table, propped up by his hands, and spoke.
"It seems our entire team will be going out on a new ghost story investigation."
His usual playful tone was gone. Instead, a strange tension hung in the air.
"This time, we'll be working with Team 3."
"Team 3?"
Moon Jin-wook's spoon clattered into his bowl. It was a natural reaction. Team 3 was one of the Foundation's leading elite teams.
Elite teams were special entities within the Foundation. Their main mission was to be the first to investigate new ghost stories without a manual, assess their characteristics and danger levels, and formulate countermeasures.
Unlike general teams, whose mortality rate exceeded 50%, the mortality rate for elite teams was under 20%. This was because they handpicked personnel with outstanding intuition and ability to handle ghost stories. They could see through the essence of a ghost story and knew how to survive even without a manual.
However, for that very reason, missions involving elite teams were mostly classified as high-risk. The situations they were deployed to were often cases where ordinary team members were incapable of resolving the issue.
"Why Team 3...?"
Kang Ha-na muttered. Cheon Seung-soo nodded.
"You're aware, then, Deputy. Team 3 usually operates alone, but this time, they've made a special request for our team's cooperation."
[Encrypted communication log received. Priority level: Alpha. Proceed with extreme caution.]
Jin-wook asked.
"What's going on for an elite team to...?"
"An investigation of S-Village in Gangwon Province."
Cheon Seung-soo pulled a chair over and sat down, continuing his explanation.
"Tourists have been disappearing, so Team 3 went in to investigate first, but..."
He paused to choose his words carefully before continuing.
"Three of the Team 3 personnel dispatched at the time have all gone missing."
A heavy silence fell over the cafeteria. The only sound was the faint clatter of someone's chopsticks hitting the table.
"Wait a minute."
I spoke up.
"Team 3... went missing?"
Cheon Seung-soo nodded.
"For three elite team members to go missing, this ghost story must be..."
"Yes, that's correct. It's highly unlikely that three elite team members would go missing from a conventional ghost story."
The fluorescent lights reflected off Cheon Seung-soo's pupils, making them flash.
"That's why we've decided to conduct a large-scale joint investigation. The remaining members of Team 3, our team, and..."
He looked at me for a moment before continuing.
"...D-grade personnel will also be deployed."
"D-grade personnel as well?"
Moon Jin-wook's face turned pale. Cheon Seung-soo stared at him intently.
"Are you worried?"
"Of course. Deploying D-grade personnel means the danger level is..."
"Our primary mission will be to search for the missing persons and gather information on the ghost story, then withdraw."
Cheon Seung-soo cut Jin-wook off and added.
"We won't be looking for a solution to the ghost story, so it won't be as dangerous as you might think."
"So when...?"
"In three days. Please prepare yourselves by then."
Cheon Seung-soo stood up from his seat. But Moon Jin-wook grabbed his arm.
"Team Leader, do you..."
"Yes?"
"Do you know what kind of situation Team 3 went missing in?"
"I don't know that much myself. However..."
Cheon Seung-soo's expression changed subtly.
"The Team 3 leader said they left one last message in their final communication."
"What was it?"
"'A smiling god has arrived.'"
It was a phrase I couldn't comprehend either.
A smiling god has arrived? What on earth could that mean?
"I don't know what it means either. We'll probably find out naturally once we get to S-Village."
With that, Cheon Seung-soo left.
A strange stillness lingered in his wake. A moment later, Jin-wook leaned towards me.
"Hey, Mr. Jeong-woo."
Jin-wook, who had been drinking his iced Americano, spoke to me.
"Aren't you worried?"
"About what?"
"It's the first time since the Tragedy of the Red Prince that we're facing a ghost story with no manual or preliminary investigation records. We were lucky that the ones we've dealt with so far were ones we knew about, but..."
Jin-wook's hand trembled. It was understandable, because having no manual or preliminary records meant we effectively had no countermeasures.
"No matter how knowledgeable you are about ghost stories, if it's one you're seeing for the first time..."
His voice trailed off. I recalled a rumor that over 200 employees had died investigating new ghost stories just last year.
But I had a different thought.
"Chief."
"Hm?"
"What Team Leader Cheon Seung-soo said. What do you think 'A smiling god has arrived' means?"
Moon Jin-wook scratched the back of his head and muttered.
"A smiling god... A smiling god... I have no idea."
"It didn't seem like something he'd just say off the cuff."
Thinking about it, it felt vaguely familiar. Cheon Seung-soo was from an elite team. He wouldn't say something meaningless.
"Maybe..."
Jin-wook studied my expression.
"Does something come to mind?"
"No, not yet."
But this was definitely a phrase I'd seen somewhere before. There was no way I, a veteran of the Ghost Story Gallery, wouldn't know it.
'I have to figure this out.'
I thought as I cleared my tray.
There was definitely a hint about the ghost story hidden in that last message left by the Team 3 employee.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
During the three days I was given, I asked around the Ghost Story Gallery and ran errands everywhere I could, but I came up with nothing.
And so, three days later.
The Foundation's underground parking garage.
I first encountered Team 3 in the parking garage. Their eyes, clad in black suits, were sharp. The keenness I usually felt from Cheon Seung-soo emanated from all of them.
But what was even more surprising were the D-grade personnel with them. Seven death row inmates in orange prison uniforms, exuding a menacing aura.
D-grade personnel. The 'D' stood for Disposable. The Foundation offered a chance to death row inmates: participate in ghost story-related experiments or dangerous missions in exchange for a sentence reduction.
Of course, most of them died during the experiments. That's why the employees called D-grade personnel 'spare lives' or 'consumables.'
The D-grade personnel accompanying us this time were no different. Seven death row inmates who had committed serious crimes like murder, robbery, and arson. The Foundation promised them a sentence reduction if they survived.
But we all knew. That most of them would die on this mission.
"Is everyone ready?"
The destination was S-Village.
A place where tourists disappeared every time they visited. I'd heard that even the Team 3 members who went to investigate had all vanished there.
'For three Team 3 members to go missing...'
That meant it was at least a C-grade ghost story. That's why the Foundation deployed a total of 14 people.
The 4th Team members got into Chief Moon's car. In the back were me, Deputy Kang, and Na-rae. Team Leader Cheon Seung-soo sat in the passenger seat. The air conditioner was blowing cold air, but a cold sweat trickled down my spine from the tension.
"S-Village..."
Moon Jin-wook muttered, gripping the steering wheel tightly. The luxury watch on his wrist glinted, but his usual composure was gone.
In the next lane, Team 3's black vehicle drove alongside us. The company car carrying the D-grade personnel followed behind. The sight of the three cars in a long line looked like a funeral procession.
"For three members of an elite team to go missing... This is no joke..."
Kang Ha-na said, checking data on her tablet.
The scenery of Seoul rapidly passed by outside the window. The high-rise buildings gradually disappeared from view, replaced by dense mountains. The city's noise also faded away.
The GPS was still working. But as we went deeper into the mountains, the cell phone signal grew weaker. From four bars to three, then two... When even the last bar disappeared, we were in a complete dead zone.
"Wow, this place is really in the sticks."
Moon Jin-wook said as he drove up the mountain road. The road grew narrower and more rutted. Every time the car jolted, it sounded like someone was scratching underneath it.
The sun began to set. A red glow stained the mountain ridges before darkness deepened. With the headlights on, the narrow mountain road was faintly illuminated.
"Is this the place?"
A village signpost appeared in the darkness. The characters for 'S-Village' were barely visible through the rust and decay.
The cars stopped at the village entrance. The security team got out first to survey the area.
When the headlights shone on it, a massive rock standing in the middle of the road leading into the village was revealed.
⚠️ ABNORMALITY DETECTED ⚠️
Unknown Rock Formation
📍 Location: Village Entrance
⚠️ Feature: Wrapped in a Japanese-style white shimenawa rope
‼️ Intuition: A malevolent entity is sealed within
The moment I saw the rock wrapped in a shimenawa rope, my intuition screamed.
Something terrible was definitely inside this.
'This... is going to be tough.'
I unconsciously fiddled with the green emotion spray in my pocket.
A total of 14 people got out of the cars one by one and gathered at the village entrance. The shadows of the employees, cast by the headlights, stretched long into the darkness.
Amidst the complete silence, not a single bird chirping, a man with a mustache who appeared to be the Team 3 leader spoke.
"Let's head in now."
At his words, the 4th Team members and I gathered our equipment and rations and got out of the car.
As I stepped out of the car, I peeked into the village, which was shrouded in thick darkness.
For some reason, I felt as if the entire village, from within the darkness, was watching us.