Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Jackpot
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44.
[Employee Park? Employee Park?!]
"Yes, yes!"
The speaker's volume suddenly spiked, and only then did Park realize Noise's voice had brushed past his ear.
[Hold on... You were lost in thought, weren't you? That's hardly appropriate in front of a superior. Employee Park.]
"Ah... Sorry."
For a moment, he'd been too fixated on the word "lie" that Noise had just uttered.
"Where were you up to?"
Static crackled—
The noise dragged on.
Noise wasn't in a great mood.
[Goodness... I'll explain one more time. This time, keep your eyes on me and listen closely to your superior.]
[Employee Park.]
The blatantly clipped tone made Park fear that the "lie" Noise had spat out moments ago might become reality.
"Yes!"
So he answered loudly.
To soothe his suspicion, even a little.
Static hissed—
The noise gradually faded.
Fortunately, his response hadn't been too bad.
[Alright, then. I'll just give you the basic usage instructions.]
"Yes!"
[...You're full of energy this time.]
"Yes!"
[...]
The Lie-Detecting Watch is simple to use.
-When someone lies to you, the second hand moves back one notch.
-And once it moves back a full 12 times, they will answer your questions with nothing but the truth.
[Just remember those two points I mentioned. Do you understand now, Employee Park?]
"Yes...... I think I get it."
[No more questions?]
At his query about whether he had any curiosities, I took a moment to organize my thoughts.
Then slowly opened my mouth.
"What's the standard for 'speaking the truth'?"
This part needed clarifying.
[Exactly what it sounds like.]
[When they ask you something they want to know, Employee Park, they just have to give an honest answer to that question.]
"...So, if they don't tell the truth in response to that question...."
Hiss—!!
!
[No, Employee Park.]
A sharp burst of static slammed into his ear.
Tinnitus lingered, ringing in his ears.
Soon, Noise's voice pierced through the ringing once more.
[They will say it no matter what.]
"Th-that... I see."
He pressed his hand to his ear against the ringing tinnitus and answered softly.
[One more thing: they can only move the second hand again after speaking the truth.]
[So, you might even need to force them into asking a question to get the second hand moving again.]
As the explanation continued, Noise's voice slowly returned to its normal volume. I carefully recalled a question and asked back.
"They have to speak the truth to the other person. That's how you can use this watch's function again, right?"
Pam-pam-bam—!
The corny sound effect rang out after a long while.
[Yes! Exactly!]
[As expected of one of our company's star employees!]
It was just repeating what you said, Noise.
Noise's signature cheerful voice had returned before he knew it, and Park glanced down at the Lie-Detecting Watch, checking the stopped second hand.
<11>
Noise's voice followed in its usual tone.
[How is it? Satisfied, Employee Park?]
My response to his question was already set.
"Yes, thank you so much. I'll put it to good use."
[No trouble at all.]
[Well, then....]
The tone and volume.
And given the current atmosphere, Noise's next line would probably be.
[Looking forward to another great performance today. Employee Park.]
Yes, just as expected.
I knew it.
And so, Employee Park's work for the day began.
*****
J-Team Kwon Executive Director lightly flipped through the documents in his hand once more, alternating his gaze between the two men before him.
The blond employee and the bespectacled short employee.
"...You two from S Team are volunteering for this ghost story exploration?"
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
Their resounding voices were just the type Kwon Executive Director liked.
But there was one sticking point.
"You've heard this exploration is pretty tricky... and that Deputy Jeong is being deployed too."
Kwon Executive Director asked the two male employees again.
"This is your last chance to change your minds."
At his concerned tone, the two male employees stared even more intently at the distant mountains and shouted louder.
"We've wanted to join a ghost story mission with Deputy Jeong for ages!"
"M-me too!"
He stared long at the two employees, whose enthusiasm bordered on excessive.
...Haa.
With Kwon Executive Director's earth-shattering sigh.
Thud!
He closed the approval documents in his hand and held them out to the two male employees.
"Fine. You two are assigned to this mission with Deputy Jeong. I'll report it upstairs, so get out."
"Yes!!"
"Yes!!"
Their final voices boomed loud enough for the entire J Team to hear.
"Then we'll be off!"
He watched intently as the two male employees left his office.
"Hold up."
Halt!
The two employees' steps stopped.
Looking at the halted pair, Kwon Executive Director asked one last thing.
"You two... it'd be best not to harbor any silly fantasies about Deputy Jeong."
"...Pardon?"
"It's for your own good. Don't catch her eye."
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"......We'll keep that in mind."
Once the two male employees left the office, Kwon Executive Director leaned back in his chair and muttered softly.
"It's over, it's all over... Why do all the weirdos flock around that crazy bitch?"
Kwon Executive Director let out another deep, earth-shattering sigh today.
The two male employees who stepped out the door were thrilled at the fact they'd be deployed on a mission with Deputy Jeong.
"Hey! We did it!"
The blond man let out a whoop, and the bespectacled man beside him clenched his fists tightly.
But soon....
"...You prepared well?"
"Of course. That bitch won't escape that place no matter what. I can already see her on her knees before us, bawling her eyes out."
"Yeah, let's enjoy ourselves to the fullest."
"I get first dibs!"
"Do whatever! You horny bastard!"
The blond licked his lips, imagining having her in his grasp.
*****
Dark.
The phrase "like my future" felt cliché, but trudging through this endless darkness weighed heaviest on the heart.
After tasting the Bear Doll Trio's many exploits, Park had planned to make full use of them in this ghost story.
But right now, the Bear Doll Trio I had was.
Peek!
Just one.
Right before entering this place, Noise had suddenly asked if he could borrow the little friends.
So I'd asked about it.
And Noise's reply was.
[You won't need all three for this ghost story, Employee Park.]
Don't lie!
You think I'll believe that!?
Park's gaze immediately shifted to the Lie-Detecting Watch from Noise.
<11>
...The second hand hadn't budged from 11.
Park began to seriously doubt the performance of this watch Noise had given him.
………No.
In moments like this, Park recalled his creed once more.
There's nothing to gain from fighting Noise.
Having been allowed to bring even one of the Bear Doll Trio was a blessing in disguise.
Rustle rustle!
Yeah, let's be satisfied with this.
One is plenty.
Better than none by a hundred—no, a thousand times.
Flash—!
Sudden light sliced through the darkness before his eyes.
The scene slowly unfolding before Park was.
Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting!
<4‧4‧4‧4>
-Victory!!-
-Jackpot! Jackpot! Congratulations!-
"It worked, it worked... We're finally getting out of this shithole!"
A single person's shout echoed the moment he entered the ghost story. It was so loud.
Park's gaze fixed solely on the man bellowing it.
A man's roar of joy as he hit jackpot at the roulette machine.
And for this ghost story, without needing to specify, one name flashed through Park's mind.
The scariest law is the one they don't even try to hide.
[Jackpot]
:Identification code Cd-C-4911.
A place reminiscent of South Korea's Kangwon Land or a full-fledged casino.
But unlike the locations of other ghost stories he'd heard about.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"
"Wait! Hold on! I still have coins! I still have coins left, I tell you!"
It was the people.
Just like Park himself, throngs of people filled the space, their voices endlessly filling the air.
Only the sound of winning jingles echoed here and there, making it feel like Park had stumbled into a real casino instead of a ghost story.
But this was a ghost story.
A fairly high-rank C-grade one at that.
Park moved forward brazenly, pretending to be calm.
But every step he took drew odd reactions from those around him.
"Eek!"
"Th-the black flames on his face!"
"I-I still have lots of coins! Stay away!"
Yes, yes, I get it.
You've got money.
Boasting, nice job.
Amid the varied reactions, Park already knew.
Exactly how he appeared to them right now.
But one line among the many caught his attention slightly.
Black flames.
This phrase rang a bell from somewhere....
Using the power of the glasses he wore, I sifted through my memories.
And probably a few days ago.
When he'd ridden the hell bus with Kim Ha-eun, that memory flashed by quickly.
There, Kim Ha-eun had said she saw black flames on his face too.
Did others perceive him as a ghost story entity wreathed in black flames?
Unexpected new information.
But now was the time to focus on the current ghost story.
Just from a rough glance, plenty of people were trapped here.
'Our citizen group folks will show up soon.'
In the current state...
The GRA Agency bastards could storm this place anytime.
No choice now but to do what needed doing as fast as possible.
Win a ton of money.
Naturally, his destination was.
The roulette machine, ripe for a one-shot big win like the one just now.
Park Yeon-jeong, whose only prior gambling was a 1,000-won lottery ticket, now sat before the roulette machine.
And the moment he took his seat.
Zap—!
A stinging sensation prickled his forearm. He rolled up his sleeve to check: a black tattoo was etched there.
BlackCoin x100
The sudden tattoo on his forearm, along with the <BlackCoin> marked there.
This was the currency system here.
A rare luck-based ghost story where, starting with your base amount, you could escape by force if you amassed a certain number of coins.
That's why records showed occasional cases of civilians luckily gathering enough coins to escape safely.
Of course.
The total coins needed to leave this place.
10,000 coins.
Over a hundred times his current holdings.
But for some inexplicable reason, Park felt an odd surge of confidence.
Was it the self-assurance from conquering countless ghost stories lately?
Shoulders high with unknown bravado, Park soon declared aloud the amount of his coins to bet at the roulette machine.
"50 coins."
Gambling really was all about guts.
With this kind of guts, he'd survived ghost stories so far, so it felt like things would go smoothly this time too.
Then, from the seat beside where Park sat, came someone's small mutter.
"M-m-monsters gamble too...."
......
Park heard it but tried to ignore it, keeping his expression stiff.
The roulette stopped, and soon Park's eyes sparkled.
His current state was brimming with confidence, after all.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
<1‧★‧☔‧☠>
......
Park's remaining coins now.
50 Coin.
Tap tap.
The little bear doll's arm lightly patted Park's shoulder.