Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Jackpot
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The time elapsed since Park Yeon-jeong entered the ghost story up to now was...
Just three minutes.
And the number of Black Coins remaining in his possession was...
10 Coins.
In that short time, he had blown through 90% of all the coins he had received.
The gambling addiction hotline number was 13... something, right?
'Just arrest me already.'
The man from moments ago had only just realized, after witnessing it with his own eyes, how quickly money could vanish in gambling.
He had come to understand the danger of gambling's existence...
And felt it down to his bones in a mere three minutes.
Park Yeon-jeong stared intently at the black tattoo that had appeared on his forearm for a while.
Black Coin x10.
A sigh escaped him.
Now, he only had 10 coins left.
If this kept up...
Park Yeon-jeong could clearly sense with his own eyes that the day he would have to give up a part of his body was not far off.
In this place, coins were equivalent to body parts.
When the money ran out...
He would have to sell his body.
==========
/Ghost Story Log
[Jackpot]
:Identification Code Cd-C-4911.
Want money?!
Do you want something from others?!
Craving endless dopamine, desire, and lust?!
Then come here!
☆★Black4444★☆
-New customers receive 100 coins.
-Body donation/loans available.
-Bet on gambling to claim anything you desire from your opponent!
Seize it yourself!
Experience any gamble you want! Any gamble you desire!
We never cheat!
No tricks allowed.
Gamble with a pure heart.
Physical restraint possible.
No mental damage.
There are numerous reports that money earned in this ghost story can be converted to real cash even after escaping.
Additionally, many ownership rights acquired there apply in reality as well.
*Additional Testimony.
One employee who exhausted their basic funds in this ghost story paid with one arm and one leg, converted them to coins, and escaped.
The paid body parts did not return even after escaping the ghost story.
==========
Human body = coins.
So, if all the coins currently in Park Yeon-jeong's possession ran out, from then on, he would have to supply coins by paying with body parts one by one.
The coins given for each body part varied.
-Arm 500
-Leg 500
-Eye 300
-Ear 200
-Nose 100
-Liver 10
-Kidney 10
.
.
.
In the ghost story market, organs did not fetch the highest prices.
Here, intact human forms held greater value.
Dark rumors swirled inside the casino about human trafficking, with items leaving this place being traded again somewhere else.
They were especially popular among ghost stories that collected and mimicked humans.
With only 10 coins left, the only path for Park Yeon-jeong was to sell popular body parts to gather coins.
And there was another problem.
"M-Monster...!"
People around him screamed and fled every time Park Yeon-jeong moved.
"Black flames on his face...!"
The one thing people thought of when seeing him was singular.
Black flames.
The atmosphere filled with fear just from Park Yeon-jeong passing by.
Some even tripped while trying to flee from roulette machines, trembling on the ground.
Rumors about him had already begun spreading in that short time.
"That guy's... a cursed ghost story."
"They say it's over if your eyes meet..."
"Contact him, and you lose your life, not coins."
Be wary of misconceptions.
Before long, the atmosphere inside the gambling den had completely changed.
Park Yeon-jeong had unwittingly become the center of terror.
But this was totally...
'...Like being ostracized or something?'
Probably no one would try to mess with him now.
Which was exactly what he wanted.
He walked to a corner, exuding a scary aura, and plopped down.
Crumple.
He just wanted to be alone quietly right now.
If things continued like this, he would really have to sell a body part to get coins.
Or find another way to break the current situation.
And that other way here was...
Flipping the table.
An act absolutely forbidden in a gambling den.
The most direct way to summon the main entity of this ghost story at the current moment.
If this method succeeded, he might end everything in one go without any physical loss.
Yes, if he were an elite employee possessing overwhelming force and multiple named-grade items.
Which meant...
He was out of his league.
If the second method were possible, he wouldn't even be agonizing over it.
The only items Park Yeon-jeong could call force now were...
-Our versatile cute Bear Doll.
-A revolver with randomly changing bullets.
-Thousands of Gazes targeting his body.
That was it.
Excluding the Bear Doll and revolver, there were no practically usable items here.
If he recklessly activated 'Thousands of Gazes' in a place swarming with so many people...
It would turn into a bloodbath reeking of slaughter.
And he was confident he would end up as 'Victim 13' there.
Moreover, before they vanished last time...
They had said to him...
-This is the last time.
That eerie voice, like something out of a nightmare, still seemed to echo in his ears.
Flinch.
See!
Just thinking about it made goosebumps rise all over his body.
That was why they were no good.
Absolutely no...
Absolutely!
Excluding the nearly unusable Thousands of Gazes, the usable items here boiled down to just two.
Handling the [Jackpot] entity here with merely those two items was impossible.
So, recombining all current elements...
He was screwed.
Now he really had to ponder which body part to cut first.
Tap tap!
?
Suddenly, he felt something tugging at his pant leg. Lowering his gaze, there—
Nngh nngh!
Our cute Bear Doll was clutching his pant leg.
Nngh nngh nngh!
It looked like it was trying to lead him somewhere.
"Where to?"
The place he followed it to was...
"...Roulette machine?"
Swish swish.
The Bear Doll was precisely pointing at the roulette machine.
Did it want to try this roulette machine itself?
'...Alright.'
Go ahead and give it a shot.
But he couldn't entrust a large betting amount—now his lifeline—to the Bear Doll.
The bet he declared at the roulette machine was...
"1 coin."
As soon as the words "1 coin" left his mouth, the coin count on his forearm dropped from 10 to 9.
Urgh!
His precious coin!
It hurt his heart.
Coins were precious now, one by one.
But...
Swish swish!
Seeing our Bear Doll waving both arms happily in front of him...
He tried to console himself.
He placed the Bear Doll, flailing its stuffed arms left and right on the floor, onto his palm.
The Bear Doll grabbed the roulette machine's lever and pulled it down.
Rrrumble!
Along with the thought, 'Such power from that tiny body!!' The roulette machine began spinning busily.
Unlike the ecstatic Bear Doll waving its arms side to side...
Park Yeon-jeong, who had already tasted life's bitterness in just three minutes, held little expectation.
As hatred for the roulette machine before him grew instead of hope...
Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting!
The roulette symbols slowed to a stop.
And the symbols that stopped there were...
<4‧4‧4‧4>
-Victory!!-
-Jackpot! Jackpot! Congratulations!-
...Pardon?
I didn't mishear that, did I?
Park Yeon-jeong first doubted his own eyes, then his ears.
But...
He saw it clearly.
He heard it clearly.
Since the vivid information right before his eyes hadn't changed...
Just now, our Bear Doll had hit the jackpot.
No.
Our precious, lovable, one-and-only attachment Bear Doll had hit the jackpot.
Swish swish swish swish!
Whether it knew it had accomplished something...
The Bear Doll bounced excitedly on his palm, waving its arms more vigorously than ever, moving within that narrow space.
Slip!
'Oof.'
Splat!
Looking at the Bear Doll that had fallen limply to the floor again today, he checked the coin count on his forearm.
Black Coin x109.
A hundredfold!
'Damn damn damn damn!!!'
If he'd known, investing all his coins would have netted over a thousand.
Even though this ghost story had no mental damage, Park Yeon-jeong couldn't escape an inexplicable emptiness and obsession.
"Wow!"
But at the cheerful voice from behind, he turned his head.
"Jackpot! Black Flame Guy, you're on fire!"
"...Wh-what are you doing here!"
The one suddenly approaching and speaking to Park Yeon-jeong was...
A woman with distinctive red hair swaying, letting out a cheeky voice, standing right before him.
Along with two other organization agents.
!
It was Jeong Da-ram.
The crazy woman had appeared before his eyes.
Dangerous.
Especially running into this Jeong Da-ram was the worst.
If she recognized him here, rumors about him would 100% spread within the organization.
Organization surveillance? Lucky if it stopped there. Isolation, experimentation, extermination target in an instant.
He would be designated a top-grade test subject in a flash.
As countless worst-case scenarios flashed before his eyes...
"Huh? Do you know me?"
"？!"
Wait, just now...
Jeong Da-ram...
Didn't recognize him.
It wasn't the look of someone lying.
Those crazy sparkling eyes genuinely curious about his words, staring at him.
-Black flames on the face!
Flash-!
That's it.
In their eyes right now, he was perceived as a ghost story shrouded in black flames on his face.
In that case, he couldn't act this flustered.
He had to act like when he met Section Chief Choi Kang-in.
And to act plenty ghostly, the only reference that came to mind was one person.
"...Well! Organization folks, huh."
"Oh! A ghost story that knows us?"
"Honored to meet you like this."
"...Oho! Amazing!"
I-is this right, Noise?
The ghost story he could imitate right now was only Noise, with whom he'd had the most conversation.
Gentlemanly speech.
Very restrained movements.
And mentioning 'organization' piqued Jeong Da-ram's curiosity.
Jeong Da-ram looked him up and down.
"...Amazing! Ghost stories that can converse like this are really rare."
"I'm a bit interested in organization folks."
Be bold.
Push this concept through.
Luckily, she hadn't realized he was Park Yeon-jeong yet.
"D-Deputy Jeong Da-ram, it's dangerous!"
"Y-yeah! If it's an intelligent ghost story that can talk to humans, it's at least... C-grade!"
Unlike Jeong Da-ram curiously eyeing him, the two male employees behind her seemed somewhat wary of him.
Yes, that was the normal reaction.
This crazy woman's response was the abnormal one.
But Jeong Da-ram, like she'd spotted a fascinating new animal, couldn't calm her excitement.
"Why? It's amazing. And opportunities like this don't come often, bros."
"Bro..."
Th-those guys.
They blushed at Jeong Da-ram's 'bro'.
Especially that short glasses guy.
Look at that sleazy smile at 'bro' from Jeong Da-ram.
'Don't fall for it! It's just that sly fox's tongue work, you idiots!!'
He desperately wanted to tell them the truth.
But...
Poke!
!
Jeong Da-ram thrust her face forward, flashing her signature sleazy smile.
"You said you're interested in our organization earlier, ghost story bro."
"...Yes. I did say that."
This woman Jeong Da-ram was truly insane.
She must see him as a ghost story too, yet she acted so boldly?
Even calling him ghost story bro?
Having experienced the real-life Jeong Da-ram, whom he'd only known through text...
Park Yeon-jeong was now convinced.
Kim Ha-eun? That was mild. This woman was a real lunatic.
"Not interested in human girls?"
"........."
No, this woman was just nuts.
A total psycho.
Jeong Da-ram circled him, humming a tune, boldly dragging him this way and that.
The two male employees watching this scene had gone pale.
"Hey, is this for real? That woman's... head seems off."
The glasses employee was the first to sense the danger of the current situation.
That the woman they were dealing with was no ordinary one.
"...L-let's watch for now."
The blond man suggested observing a bit more.
Regardless, Jeong Da-ram's face wore an expression of delight, like handling a long-lost lover.
"Ghost story bro, do you like human girls?"
"......"
"Like girls?"
"......"
"I'm into ghost story bro. Wanna date? My dream's always been to have a ghost story boyfriend!"
"............"
Park Yeon-jeong seriously pondered if his judgment had been the right one.