Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Lights-Out Management Bureau #8
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The scenery I've seen countless times welcomes me once again.
This is an extremely dangerous space. One so perilous I've already pointlessly thrown away five lives, each worth 2,000 points.
Just counting the deaths, it feels worse than the hospital or the giant. If I escape or resolve this, will it give me points? If not, it's a massive loss.
My mind races.
I suspect the core of this incident is the Neck-Pulling Pale-Face Woman.
To make any progress, I need to learn about this ghost. The people who know... Spandal and Gognija, I suppose. Section Chief Jo said he doesn't.
Should I try talking to Spandal first?
Maybe she'll say something before she twists.
If that fails, I can head to Gognija.
Gognija.
He kept insisting the window is the answer.
Why?
I've just learned that simply going out the window isn't the solution. Is even Gognija deceiving me? Has he been eroded by the incident, muttering about the window being the answer to trick me?
Let's think a bit more.
Before concluding it's all lies, there's something I've seen.
Cheongak Mary Hospital's medicine.
Gognija kept picking those up and eating them to communicate with me, at least somewhat.
And that Pink Slime... At first, I thought it was trying to open the door, but considering it got caught in the destruction, it seems like it was trying to block the door.
In conclusion, Gognija communicated with me by eating the Cheongak Mary Hospital medicine, and the Pink Slime was trying to help me.
So, one possibility comes to mind.
Cheongak Mary Hospital's medicine. Could it have some function that resists contamination or erosion? I'm not certain, but since it's from that hospital, it might. Makes me miss Dr. Kim Seonghan.
Either way, just charging straight into the window is wrong. But going through the window after meeting certain conditions might be the right answer.
Alright, let's get started.
"Spandal senior!"
I ambushed her with a sudden hug.
"Huh? Why... Ahh?!"
A cute scream.
A spreading fragrance.
Softness and warmth envelop me.
From experience, Spandal stays normal up to this point. I don't particularly want to do this out of nowhere, but for resolving the incident, I have no choice. This isn't for any other purpose. It's purely a tactical decision to buy time.
"Wh-what's gotten into you all of a sudden... Th-this isn't allowed... H-hey, where are you rubbing your face...?"
"I'm so scared! I'm trembling all over from fear!"
"Scared...?"
As expected, Spandal sounds troubled but strokes my back. Completely different from how she snaps at juniors normally. Is she this sweet because of the anomaly? There's that saying ghosts act the opposite, right?
Or would normal Spandal react like this?
For real.
I can't help but think it would be great if only Spandal stayed normal like this. If she could communicate like Gognija, we could resolve this incident through talk...
Wait.
Gognija?
"Ah!"
No way...!
What if I feed Spandal the Cheongak Mary Hospital medicine to restore her sanity? Could that be the key to solving this?!
A new idea.
A plausible method from an unexpected angle. I immediately revised my plan. I was going to dig into the Neck-Pulling Pale-Face Woman, but feeding Spandal the medicine seems worth trying.
"Are you okay now?"
"Whew... Yes. Thanks to Spandal senior comforting me, I'm fine."
"Listen, you shouldn't do this normally. Hugging your senior out of nowhere like that— it could be a problem."
"I know."
"Th-then... could you let go now...? And stop rubbing your face already..."
It's about time.
"Wait a sec. I'm still scared of something."
"What?"
"Spandal senior. What if a ghost suddenly appears?"
"Ghost?"
"The one with the pure white face and long neck. It keeps looking like it'll grab my neck. What do I do if that ghost shows up?"
"That's..."
I didn't expect much anyway, you thorny bitch!
*Thwack!*
"Grong, whhat arrre yyouu dooiiing? Iii wasss niiice tooo yyouu."
She immediately unleashed a wasp barrage and fled like her life depended on it.
It was warm for a moment, senior!
"Graaahhh!"
First, find Section Chief Jo!
Honestly, he isn't much help. His demeanor and insight suggest he's a capable agent, but right now, he's just a prisoner locked away. No weapons either.
But there's an absolute reason I need Section Chief Jo.
Tanking!
With both of them, I can dodge the Neck-Pulling Pale-Face Woman and reach the lab safely.
*Beep!*
I quickly entered where Section Chief Jo was confined.
"Section Chief Jo Seong-chun? Is that you, Section Chief Jo?!"
"What...? Who's calling me... Huh? It's not Yi-mul?!"
"Yeah, it is!"
"Y-yeah! It's me! Section Chief Jo Seong-chun! Then you are!"
I swiftly freed him from his restraints in the darkness.
"I'm Management Bureau agent Lee Seung-cheol! Operation True Vacuum has commenced! Along with the operation to rescue you, Section Chief Jo!"
"What! Operation True Vacuum has started?! So they've located the Fake Management Bureau and launched a full assault?!"
"Yes!"
"Finally...!"
The freed Section Chief Jo raised his fist in ecstatic joy, savoring the moment. Of course, it's all bullshit. I'm going to keep deceiving him from here.
For a moment, I felt like I'd become an anomaly myself that deceives people. Loop after loop, feeding the same person false hope, tricking him, and leading him to death.
Overthinking it, probably.
"Let's go for now! This is the Fake Management Bureau's underground detention facility! We need to find the escape route!"
"Got it...!"
This time, I took the lead.
But I didn't take my eyes off Section Chief Jo. He might suddenly turn into a talking lung at any moment. Can't afford to look away.
Come to think of it, in the previous loop, he stayed in my sight the whole time.
"Hey! Which way?!"
"Honestly, I don't know the details! We just have to find the escape route!"
"Is it a spatial distortion anomaly?!"
I said it vaguely, and he got it spot on.
As we ran toward the lab.
*Peek.*
As expected.
A pure white face started peeking from the corner.
"Sh-shit! Anomaly! Hey! Turn back!"
"Got it!"
Section Chief Jo quickly turned and fled. I followed right behind. But like the last loop, white faces kept peeking from every corner.
"This is insane! They're at every corner! Do we have to fight?!"
Section Chief Jo rolled up his sleeves and roughly loosened his tie. He had some serious swagger, but I've already seen this guy get insta-killed by that ghost.
"Fight what fight! Just focus on running!"
"Huh!"
I grabbed the back of his neck as he tried to step forward and yanked him back.
I may have hired Section Chief Jo as the tank for my Grong party, but I can't let him die pointlessly.
The more spare lives I save, the better.
"Save that for the last resort! Run for now! You can't win anyway!"
"Can't win my ass, you punk! I'm Management Bureau Section Chief Jo Seong-chun!"
And what does that matter, you punk!
"I've beaten so many Yi-muls that they could line up around the Earth..."
"You're unarmed!"
"Wh-what. Well, I'd need my soul partner, the special electric telescoping baton. Ah, but that got confiscated too. How come they haven't found it?"
Is this guy worrying about that right now?
Anyway.
The Neck-Pulling Pale-Face Woman is scary, but I can dodge her somehow. I always died in desperate moments.
*Peek.*
"Turn!"
We turned directions every time a peek appeared.
And at some point.
*Shiiiink.*
Windows began appearing on the corridor walls. Hundreds of ominous windows with pale white hands emerging.
"Huff! Don't get grabbed by those!"
"I know just looking! Ah, there!"
How long did we run?
The lab is up ahead!
"Where's that?"
"Let's go, hurry!"
Final sprint.
The moment we reached the lab door, I swiped the ID card.
The door opened, and we rushed inside.
"What the...!"
The sight that greeted us: Gognija, integrated with the display, eating medicine, and the Pink Slime whirring around in a donut trajectory.
"Where is this, and you! What's that! That card thing! How do you have it?!"
Section Chief Jo, who had glanced around, bared hostility toward me and assumed a combat stance.
He saw through my lie with the ID card.
His instincts are sharp, as expected.
"It's a card I recovered from the enemy Yi-muls. I used it to get down here."
"What...?"
I just said whatever. No point deceiving him further. Now I need advice from Gognija on the incident.
*Boom!*
At that moment, the lab door shook violently.
*Whirr whirr whirr!*
The Pink Slime jolted once and crawled toward the door. It soon stuck flat against it, as if becoming one with the door.
So it was blocking after all.
Then Gognija too.
"Containment Team Leader! Are you holding your sanity with that medicine?!"
"Yes... You... Hurry... To the window..."
The window again!
"Where's the window?!"
"Window..."
No window in sight.
Gognija repeats "window" like a broken record.
"How do I survive the Neck-Pulling Pale-Face Woman ghost?!"
"Window..."
Fuck!
Communication's not working!
"Give me that medicine at least!"
I need it to feed Spandal.
I'll figure out how later.
The moment I approached Gognija.
*Boom!*
The door shattered, fragments flying along with pink goo. Looking back, anomalies were entering. Section Chief Jo, having pegged me as an enemy, was hiding behind lab equipment at a distance.
Then, the entire lab became plastered with ominous windows.
*Peek.*
The Neck-Pulling Pale-Face Woman peeks.
"Grong, yyouu were heeere?"
pitch-black Spandal enters.
"Th-that's Spandal?!"
Section Chief Jo shouted in shock.
"And Grong...? That weird name, don't tell me!"
He looks at me in horror.
"Your codename...!"
"Ah."
So he finally figured it out.
Come to think of it, this is the first time Section Chief Jo learned this. At the start, he said introducing yourself registers in the Management Bureau database or something. So I didn't.
"Right!"
It was the moment Section Chief Jo shouted.
*Crackle.*
*Crackle crackle!*
"Huh?"
My vision suddenly started shaking.
No.
It felt like it was warping and distorting wildly.
"What...?"
What hit me?
This is new.
My distorting vision makes me feel like I'll collapse. Flashes keep bursting, like being on night watch while half-asleep, eyes getting stabbed with stimulants...
"Get out through the window!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
In that instant, Gognija's mouth gaped wide, unleashing an unbelievable roar. Amid a scene where the entire world seemed to crumble.
I see the window.
Connected to the Reality Recognition Device originally.
Where the red door was.
A window instead of the door.
"When did that get there...?"
Faster than I thought.
I was already running toward the window.
[You survived 'Lights-Out Management Bureau.']
[You survived the Neck-Pulling Pale-Face Woman from the strange tale.]
[Settling points...]
[Acquired 2,000 points as reward.]
Maybe that window is the real answer.
"U, uwaaaaaah!"
Screaming almost, I threw myself toward the window.
The whole world turned white.
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*Ding.*
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