Chapter 42
Chapter 42
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Lights Out at the Management Bureau #2
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"Section Chief Lee Do-hyung...?"
The suited man's demeanor shifted strangely at my words.
"Could it be that Section Chief Lee Do-hyung is nearby...?"
"You know him?"
"I-is Section Chief Lee Do-hyung nearby? Does that mean he's finally come to rescue me? Then I'm saved! I can live!"
The man threw his head back, his tension skyrocketing as he shouted.
I was flustered but tried to analyze the situation.
This bizarre attitude, where he unwaveringly believed Section Chief Lee Do-hyung could resolve the crisis. And he was absolutely convinced the man had come to save him.
If this guy was truly human... it looked like he'd been driven to the brink and had latched onto this sliver of hope.
"..."
Section Chief Lee Do-hyung was dead.
He'd died before I infiltrated Cheongak Mary Hospital as a security guard. If this man hadn't heard that news, it meant he'd been trapped here for quite a while.
Should I tell him he's dead?
Or... should I play dumb and steer the conversation elsewhere?
I didn't have time for either.
"Is Section Chief Lee Do-hyung that impressive? Enough to break through this place?"
"No need to ask twice! He's the Management Bureau's top swordsman! If you joined this place, you've surely heard to watch out for the Malignant White! Yeah! That's it! He must've deliberately triggered this anomaly to dismantle the fake Management Bureau!"
The man grew even more ecstatic, piecing together some bizarre theory of his own. It was just like a madman twisting information to fit his delusions and drawing a conclusion.
"You! If you join our side now, as a newbie, you can survive somehow! Link up with Section Chief Lee Do-hyung and escape no matter what!"
I...
Looking at this man, lost in such vain hope and spinning his hopeful delusions...
Felt an extreme sense of eeriness.
What the hell... is this.
What's the fake Management Bureau, and what's the real one?
The fake Management Bureau—these bastards disrupted coin and stock markets to root out 'prophets' who got caught in the chaos. They had bizarre tech for that. They monitored World Politics Board and tracked vampire hunters.
Honestly, they didn't feel human. Even when they were ripping out my brain, everything felt unreal.
But Jaaldi said these fake Management Bureau guys... don't exist in reality. Strange tales. Anomalies. Entities. Phenomena that suddenly appear to eliminate or abduct those who learn their secrets.
That's what I'd thought until now.
But...
The man in front of me...
Was far too 'human.'
"..."
My deliberation didn't last long.
My options were limited. Even if this was all some anomaly deceiving me, all I could do now was observe as much as possible.
Knowledge breeds judgment. I didn't know what was trying to fool me. With a chill running down my spine, I decided to play along with this 'suited man.'
"What's your name?"
I released the suited man's restraints.
"Hoo... Sorry for the late introduction. I'm Section Chief Jo Seong-chun of the Management Bureau. I'll continue, but don't give your name. If you do, it'll register in the Management Bureau database. After that, you'll fully become a 'fake Management Bureau entity.'"
Database...?
"It's hard to believe, honestly."
I didn't know what was true to begin with. I kept all possibilities open and doubted endlessly to stay unshaken.
These fuckers are the ones who ripped out my brain... Section Chief Jo Seong-chun's words were intriguing and provocative, but zero credibility.
"Aren't we past the point of cooperating anyway? Things look bad. Plus, you're 'communicating' with me right now. Means you're not an entity yet. Think for yourself what sealing your real name means in your fake Management Bureau."
Sealing real names?
"Anyway, we need to link up with Section Chief Lee Do-hyung... First, we should find the core of this isolation facility. Know anything?"
The core of the isolation facility.
As a newbie, how would I?
"Ah."
The Isolation Team Lab that Spandal mentioned.
That must be the core facility.
That's when it happened.
—Bang bang bang!
A violent noise shook the door hard.
Meeting Section Chief Jo Seong-chun was intriguing, but it didn't give me any real solutions. I was still in a desperate spot.
"O-outside...! Damn it! We have to break through somehow!"
Section Chief Jo Seong-chun looked around in fear.
Did this guy have a plan?
—Whoosh!
Section Chief Jo Seong-chun turned to me and yelled.
"A way! Isn't there some way!"
No, this bastard didn't have a plan either!
"Of course not. Not in this situation."
"Don't give up!"
He scolded me instead.
"Use everything you can! We have to resolve this somehow! You! Use the rules you know!"
"Use the rules I know...?"
"I know you follow those bizarre rules! Find one among them to turn this around! Twist the rules or use them against the situation!"
"Wha...!"
His words struck like lightning in my mind.
A way to view rules like that? The idea of exploiting rules in a crisis was something I'd never considered.
But right now, no rules came to mind that I could use.
Wait.
[8. The Management Bureau's lights never go out. If you think they've gone out, believe nothing and escape the building immediately. This is for your safety.]
Yes...!
This rule!
That's the one!
When I first entered this basement, the hallway was pitch black. So dark I couldn't make out anything. The lights were 'out'!
"That's where it went wrong!"
If the lights are out, you shouldn't see anything. Yet I'd strangely navigated that darkness with Spandal, performing all tasks perfectly. That's when things started going insane.
I had a clue.
But what now? The Rulebook said believe nothing and escape immediately. By that logic, I shouldn't trust Section Chief Jo Seong-chun either.
I turned to tell him that when—
"Huh...?"
Section Chief Jo Seong-chun was gone.
Instead...
—Hiss, hiss.
A lump of innards that looked like human lungs lay there.
—Gasp gasp.
At the end of the lungs... precisely where the two lungs connected at the trachea...
A human mouth was attached.
The mouth spoke.
"This is the fake Management Bureau. This is the fake Management Bureau. This is the fake Management Bureau. This is the fake Management Bureau. This is the fake Management Bureau."
"I am Section Chief Jo Seong-chun of the real Management Bureau. I am Section Chief Jo Seong-chun of the real Management Bureau. I am Section Chief Jo Seong-chun of the real Management Bureau. I am Section Chief Jo Seong-chun of the real Management Bureau."
Ah.
"Haha... hahaha..."
Laughter spilled from my mouth.
What should I believe?
Just follow the Rulebook and believe nothing?
—Whirr.
The isolation room door opened.
"F-fuck..."
I was overcome with extreme terror.
—Peek.
A head appeared.
A woman's head.
Long black hair draped down.
Her face unnaturally pale.
Eyes pitch black.
A woman whose neck stretched over 2 meters...
—Peek.
She peeked around the doorframe.
—Peek.
—Peek.
—Peek.
[You have encountered the Strange Tale: Neck-Pulling Pale-Face Woman.]
[You have encountered the Strange Tale: Neck-Pulling Pale-Face Woman.]
[You have encountered the Strange Tale: Neck-Pulling Pale-Face Woman.]
—Peek.
—Peek.
—Peek.
The face drew closer.
.
.
.
.
.
.
The moment I opened my eyes, I tried to hit the upper floor button.
—Grab.
It was seized immediately. As I considered shaking it off and forcing my way, Spandal's face darkened like a shadow had fallen over it, her eyes turning terrifying. Then her eyes split, multiplying into over a dozen that covered her head. Thorns sprouted from her body.
"#$%#$^#@%"
Hearing words I couldn't understand, I kicked off the ground and fled.
"Hoo! Hoo!"
Time to think.
Time to judge.
Everything was in short supply...!
Was Section Chief Jo Seong-chun even real? Was what he said true? Or did I just overhear 'fake Management Bureau' anomaly entities thinking that about our 'real Management Bureau'?
But the Rulebook said believe nothing...!
If I can't believe anything, then everything Section Chief Jo Seong-chun said was a lie.
"How am I supposed to judge this...!"
I had a rough idea of the incident's trigger and what I'd been caught in. Some phenomenon in the Management Bureau basement—with the lights out. A strange tale where you repeat eternal deaths here?
Whatever it was, following the Rulebook and getting outside should resolve it. But it's the basement, so I can't.
Dead end.
No way out.
But there was something worth trying.
Head to the Isolation Team Lab!
"I have to find it!"
The Isolation Team has a lab. There might be clues there. If even that's not the answer, then there's truly no solution.
Please, something... anything!
—Dash dash!
I ran straight down a path I hadn't taken. Going unexplored routes should lead to something. Eerie sounds began echoing faintly. These would erode my sanity. Ignore them. And finally, the Neck-Pulling Pale-Face Woman appears—no!
"Don't think!"
Don't think of her!
Recalling that insane ghost would shatter my mind. If my spirit broke amid this horrific pain and fear, only infinite deaths awaited. My reality itself would become hell.
I shook my head, bit the inside of my cheek for pain to clear my thoughts.
The urge to seek out Section Chief Jo Seong-chun again surged, but I suppressed it. Useless. Listening to him would only amplify the confusion. Plus, didn't he turn into lungs at the end...! And fuck, what the hell is my ability even doing? I don't get the criteria for when it pops up or not! It should activate when facing a strange tale!
While running like that, at some point—
"Ah!"
Not an isolation room on the hallway wall, but a door at the dead end of the passage, like a cul-de-sac.
I sprinted with all my strength and reached it.
This is it!