Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Monster Gallery (1)
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The final objective of the new main quest: [Close the site operated by Dongto, or persuade the hacker].
When I read that, one site immediately came to mind.
I'd long suspected that an anonymous community called the Monster Gallery was somehow off.
And now, I was almost certain that someone from Dongto was behind all the manipulation.
The evidence was clear. If you searched for posts about Dongto on the Monster Gallery, only strangely positive ones remained, while anything with even a hint of negativity vanished the moment it was posted.
Posts about White Tiger, on the other hand, were the exact opposite. They were filled with all sorts of criticism and slander, while even ordinary posts highlighting White Tiger's positive aspects were summarily deleted.
"As expected..."
Someone was deliberately manipulating public opinion.
Packaging Dongto as a good company while smearing its rival, White Tiger, as a black company.
And at the center of it all was undoubtedly that hacker from Dongto.
My task now was to catch that hacker's tail.
I sat down at the computer and logged into the Monster Gallery.
The deleted posts that no one else could see—only I could.
There was a high chance they held clues to the hacker's identity, or at least traces of their activity.
"Just give me one..."
I pulled up the previously deleted posts once more.
The screen filled with countless grayed-out titles.
This was where the real work began.
Determined to scour the monitor through the night if needed, I began meticulously combing through the masses of posts, searching for that one strangely deleted one—or perhaps one the hacker had overlooked.
That night, I truly tasted the depths of the Monster Gallery.
"...Krahk...!"
My mind reeled.
It was a mental assault stronger than the choir's song.
There had to be something inhuman mixed in here—a monster, without a doubt.
How else could such horrific, twisted posts keep appearing?
[Dongto, what the hell do they think people are?]
[Get me out get me out get me out, you Dongto bastard pups let me out you fucking bastards]
[I got hired at Dongto and bolted after 3 days. Here's the story.]
The contents of these [deleted] posts, visible only to me, were a spectacle.
The tamest were the ones ranting against Dongto or whistleblowing on internal scandals.
Likely swiftly erased by Dongto's hacker. But that was just the beginning.
As I scrolled further, the malice and grotesqueness of humanity laid bare.
[No admin? Off I go.]
[You only see this heh heh.]
[Nurse monster body pics.]
[Honestly, monsters eat well and stay fit, yeah.]
Lewd photos or high-level videos were tame by comparison. Unbelievable nude pics of old folks poured out, along with shots of monster body parts.
And the worst... nudes featuring horrifically grotesque monsters.
Never mind how they even obtained them—I learned of "monster fetish" from the comments on those posts, a term I couldn't even imagine.
In every sense, I sincerely regretted diving into these deleted posts.
"Instead of finding and persuading the hacker, shouldn't this site just be shut down...?"
I shook my head even as the thought crossed my mind.
Looking at it anew, I realized once more.
No place offered such convenient access to info on this world.
Anywhere else, even monster mentions got deleted.
Suppressing my disgust, I kept scrolling—until I finally reaped a meaningful harvest.
The gallery's admin, who always maintained stony silence regardless of questions or requests, had uniquely reacted sensitively to one photo post, leaving a direct comment.
[Admin: Why are you doing this to me?]
ㄴ [Anonymous: Delete this too.]
The admin's pleading-like comment.
Thinking I'd finally nabbed their tail, I checked what photo could move this ironclad admin.
But the photo itself was utterly ordinary: a part-timer in a franchise cafe uniform.
A post with a completely unremarkable photo.
"...Is that them? Or maybe..."
The admin ignored all the horrific pics, so why react like this to this mundane one?
There had to be some special connection between the person in the photo and the admin.
My gut told me: This photo was the first key to unmasking Dongto's hacker.
Suspecting clues in the photo, I saved it first.
Then I clicked the poster's ID, scouring their other posts and comments.
I could see everything, even their deleted ones, making their identity easy to pin down.
Combining deleted and surviving posts, they were almost certainly an Exploration Team member from Dongto.
[If a monster escapes, can I play dead?]
[No monsters managing monsters? This is exhausting for real.]
[Guys, join Dongto. They're recruiting more for Exploration Teams.]
They'd post hoping the monsters they managed wouldn't break out, or gripe about how tough containment was.
Comments from others showed huge pride in being on an Exploration Team.
Their tone sneered at lower/mid-tier teams, suggesting they were on a top-tier one.
That was all the clues.
Dongto upper-team Exploration Team member. And a mystery cafe photo of a cafe part-timer.
I stared holes into the saved cafe photo. It felt familiar, maybe because it was a chain coffee shop.
But no matter how I racked my brain, the exact location wouldn't surface.
"...Already this late..."
The sky outside was faintly lightening.
I'd pulled an all-nighter. I caught a brief nap late, dragged my weary body to the office.
...Having glimpsed the gallery's abyss, even that short sleep brought nightmares.
Luckily, no rescues or emergencies today, so morning was personal training and maintenance time.
I seized the chance, pulling items from the abandoned factory mart in my inventory and approaching Hanbit.
"Hanbit, got a favor. Can you appraise these?"
Casually, I also showed him the cafe photo on my phone.
"And any idea where this cafe is? It looks familiar, but I can't place it."
"Hmm... Items first—"
Hanbit took what I offered, closed his eyes as if concentrating.
A faint energy shimmered over the items in his hands. Soon, he opened his eyes and explained each one's power.
"This little compass shows the shortest path outside from any indoor space."
Not bad, but with my map, I didn't need it.
"This wristwatch... gives the accurate current time, even in special monster phenomena or time-shifted places like overseas..."
This could be useful.
You lose track of time wandering anomalies.
"And this candy... it's a mood-boosting candy?"
Mood-boosting candy.
Sounded suspicious, like drugs.
Literally dispels negative emotions and cheers you up.
Useful for me.
Pop one when gripped by overwhelming fear—
I nodded, stowing them back in my inventory.
After the appraisal, I showed him last night's cafe photo.
"Know this place?"
Hanbit peered closely but shook his head, clueless.
Disappointment surged—then Park Sunja, passing by, glanced at my phone screen and reacted.
"Huh? This photo..."
She took my phone, zoomed in, and said with conviction.
"This is the cafe right in front of Dongto's office."
Dongto-front coffee shop?
I asked if the part-timer looked familiar too—she said yes, a face she'd often seen going to/from the cafe during her Dongto days.
I barely drink coffee, so no cafe visits—didn't know it was right there.
Darkest under the lamp indeed. I'd finally found the decisive lead on the hacker's tail.
Then Park Sunja eyed me and asked.
"But Minjun, why this photo...?"
Fearing misunderstanding, I hastily replied.
But couldn't detail the quest.
"Uh, this is... to weaken Dongto's influence..." I trailed off vaguely.
Hanbit, with pure curiosity, said.
"If you're shrinking Dongto's power, why not storm their HQ alone and smash it all?"
I was speechless.
A simple, brutal method.
...Might work, but unsure if it'd complete the quest that way.
Then Park Sunja chuckled softly.
"Dongto's pitiful. Marked by someone like you..."
I resolved to check the cafe later.