Baiting the Anomaly Gallery

The information collection reporter is dropping some teaser photos~

The photos had been censored so viewers could fill in the blanks with their imagination. With enough bait scattered, all that remained was to wait for the anomalies to deliver the information.

Fortunately, the containment facility had continued running smoothly while I was away at the amusement park.

“The headcount’s gone up?”

It had definitely been just two when I left, yet three more had joined. It looked like grunts from the Amryu Association’s Takryu faction had infiltrated. Their grandiose drug-selling scheme had fallen apart, and the Response Bureau’s assault had dried up their funds, so the bottom-rung members were sticking their hands into anything they could find.

Poor things.

Everyone usable had been taken in by the containment facility, except those who simply couldn’t function as staff. Cherishing anomalies would naturally cleanse bodies and minds polluted by narcotics.

A hot trickle tickled my nose.

It was a nosebleed. The symptom had appeared after I finished clearing the backlog of anomaly management that had piled up.

It was simply a nosebleed from seeing them after so long, yet everyone had misunderstood.

I finished managing everyone, starting with Mary and ending with Raopf. Raopf’s tentacles looked especially plump today, so I popped one into my mouth and went waralalala.

Spicy.

Leaving Raopf’s horrified shrieks behind, I plucked the dead tentacle free and set it aside.

Having felt it firsthand in this battle, the effects granted by soul imprints were genuinely useful. The imprint I had gained from Raopf was no exception.

Every movement used to carry tiny hitches; now they flowed together smoothly without a single break. It had felt creaky at first while I adjusted, but once I grew used to it I could match my body’s motions to the ghosts’ advice.

I trained every day under the ghosts’ guidance to prepare for facing anomalies, so today’s session ending early was a nice bonus.

Shall I see if any new posts are up?

The most eye-catching thread had nothing whatsoever to do with the amusement park I wanted information on.

It was obviously clickbait, yet I still had to open it.

“Huuuurk—!”

What on earth was that?

What greeted me wasn’t the anticipated photograph but an indescribable horror woven from pure text. It seemed to be one of those suspicious posts that circulated through the anomaly gallery like urban legends.

The once pristine anomaly gallery has been defiled by something this hideous…

Whoever had defecated this post was undoubtedly a wicked soul.

Posts like this should not exist in the world.

I reported it for the sake of the other anomalies. The moderators here were exceptionally efficient; the thread was deleted cleanly.

Still, now that I know it exists, no one else should remain ignorant of it.

Just as sharing joy multiplies it, sharing hardship lightens the load; that was why I had asked the ghosts for help.

Before long, quite a few review threads had appeared in the anomaly gallery.

Some threads offered detailed information on each area, while others demanded careful reading.

What kind of anomaly username is that?

I added another line to the list of anomalies I wanted to invite to the containment facility.

Red Mask… memo.

I gathered the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠data and organized it carefully. Simply verifying the truth of each claim and sorting it took a considerable amount of time.

Good. Shall I scatter some of my own information?

I planned to upload a post based on what I had learned at the containment facility.

As if I would ever send out Raopf’s pictures. I couldn’t possibly share them with anomalies whose faces I had never even seen. The only reason I shared so generously was because they were ghosts.

The Curator had been quietly stockpiling photos all this time. I used the bundle to create a new post. The response was decent.

The promised period had passed. It was time to wrap up the contest.

Using the collected information I compiled a set of rules. Some details contradicted each other, and because the truth of certain claims remained unverified, a few rules clashed.

Since the information had come from anomalies, I would need to verify it personally.

Even so, with a decent sample size I had gathered a meaningful amount of useful data.

Every single review says there are way too many staff.

There were so many employees that it seemed fine to bring a moderate number back with me.

Bringing everyone at once is still too much. Once I finish verifying the facts I can take them all.

The anomalies I most wanted to bring in were not those satisfied with their changes, but those suffering from sudden bodily transformations.

Ghost stories were circulating in the anomaly gallery. The difference from before was that these were based on real entities.

The first was GUL-KAS.

The anomaly who had posted that horrifying text had fallen into a long slumber. The legend claimed that when the creature awakened again, disaster would descend upon the gallery. Anomalies who had died and revived repeatedly only remembered fragments of the text; to erase the fear in their hearts they worshipped those remnants, spread them, and turned them into new posts with frantic devotion.

The second was a rumor about an unidentified person who made every anomaly in the area vanish without a trace.

Stories spread of a human who carried a scythe like the Grim Reaper, kidnapping anomalies from the gallery and dragging them to an underworld where even ghosts could not tread.

(Photo of Jeongchan wearing sunglasses and a headband, seemingly enjoying the amusement park to the fullest)

It looks similar to what I saw on the broadcast…. I work at the immigration office every day so I can spot humans like a ghost, and this seems right.

The amusement park staff member agreed with the comments.

They have to make sense.

The employee pulled a human out of a burlap sack and tossed it into Flesh Garden. The writhing wall of flesh swallowed the human whole.

It’ll be complete soon.

The employee moved to refill the sack and uploaded another post.

The employee moved to the location in the post. It was a quiet area with no tourists or other staff.

She—no, he—smoothed hair with a fluffy paw.

Chrrrrk—!

The sound of smooth metal sliding rang out. When awareness returned, a chain was wrapped around the ankle.

What is this?

“Hiek!”

She—no, he—let out an instinctively girlish scream.

I-it’s because my body changed!

She pulled hard, but the chain only grew taut; it refused to break.

Strength drained from the body like spent fuel. Standing was already becoming difficult.

Don’t tell me…?

She recalled the gallery’s ghost stories, but it was already too late. Seeing the scythe swinging toward her, she closed her eyes.

What?

I turned my head. Amurotica was staring straight at me.

“Hello? Nice to meet you! Where have all my employees gone?”