Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work - Chapter 163

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Even If I Fall Into a Ghost Story, I Still Have to Go to Work Episode 163

When you clear the darkness under Baekillmong Corporation’s jurisdiction, the exit is set to the company.

It’s not strange. But….

‘If the entry routes were different, we should be able to exit where we each came from…!’

I swallowed.

Looking around, it seems like everyone who was on the escape ship has fallen into the research team office without exception.

No, why are all the people who escaped uselessly dumped entirely at Baekillmong? If it’s an escape ship, it should at least ask where the passengers want to go….

Ah.

‘Could it be that the first person to board and control the escape ship was from Baekillmong Corporation…?’

Was the destination set based on that?

‘It’s quite possible.’

The problem is that thinking about this now is meaningless.

I broke out in a cold sweat and quietly glanced with just my eyes at the Bronze Agent confronting Section Chief Gwak Je-gang.

“Seeing those uniforms, you must be from the Disaster Management Bureau? I guess a rescue request came in from our darkness this time. Haha!”

“Supernatural disasters are not possessions. Please refrain from inappropriate terminology.”

Agent!

“Ah, well. You can say that, Agent….”

Gwak Je-gang smiles brightly through his glasses.

“Anyway, you trespassed into a civilian company, didn’t you?”

“….”

“But well, you helped each other and cleared it together, right? Haha, then if you just do a simple interview, we won’t charge anything separately….”

“Charge?”

“No, you used our clearing route! I’m talking about information usage fees, labor costs, expert consultation fees…. You’re a government agency, so surely you won’t default on payment.”

I wouldn’t have been surprised if the Bronze Agent had hit Section Chief Gwak Je-gang.

However, surprisingly, instead of getting angry, the Bronze Agent looked at him with contemptuous eyes and said this.

“We never sought consultation. The escape method we used is information we already had.”

“Huh… Then it becomes trespassing rather than collaboration.”

Gwak Je-gang stares at the Bronze Agent with a smile.

“….”

The Bronze Agent silently watches him while putting his hand inside his jacket.

A strange tension was created.

Right.

‘This is… the middle of a psycho pharmaceutical conglomerate’s headquarters.’

Even the research team.

Just pressing the call button would bring security team staff running to subdue the ‘trespassers’ as much as they wanted.

And since the security team staff were employees who had already reached inhuman levels, there was a good chance that even two veteran agents would be subdued horribly.

In short, this is the middle of a bizarre enemy territory where social common sense doesn’t work.

…My spine went cold.

‘This crazy company would probably just treat a few government officials as missing and use them as test subjects….’

“Ow, my whole body aches….”

“…!”

At that moment, the shadowy figure lying on the floor openly groaned and smoothly got up.

It was such a brazen attitude that it completely broke the tension.

‘Agent Choi!’

“No, I can’t keep lying down because it’s scary. What trespassing or whatever… No, is crash-landing after coming out of a ghost story considered invasion these days? My goodness, this is too harsh to work with.”

Agent Choi got up and made eye contact with Gwak Je-gang while grinning.

“Our Disaster Management Bureau doesn’t treat people who accidentally enter during safety inspections so harshly….”

“….”

Ah, that’s right.

The reason Baekillmong Corporation is sick of the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau isn’t because their sense of justice seems useless or anything like that.

Naturally, the government didn’t recognize ownership of ghost stories either. Officially, that is.

So when the Disaster Management Bureau identifies ghost stories managed by Baekillmong Corporation and thinks they can be terminated, they push in and try to end them.

Under the pretext of ‘safety inspection.’

‘From Baekillmong’s perspective, the Disaster Management Bureau is the real disaster that destroys their raw material supply sources.’

Thanks to this, rules were even established so that exploration records of the two forces clashing in ghost stories wouldn’t be too frequent.

Because there were almost too many records being written indiscriminately since they were interesting.

…Just like this case.

“I’m scared we’ll keep getting hostile with each other~ Right?”

In other words, Agent Choi was pressuring Gwak Je-gang by saying he could be annoyingly persistent in the future.

And while the veterans of the two forces were having a battle without swords, the Bronze Agent who had escaped attention looked this way as if checking on the children and made eye contact with me.

I read his lip movement.

-Stay still.

Of course.

‘Let’s keep quiet and stay out of sight.’

If I get caught here, things will get ridiculously big from then on.

The Bronze Agent knows I faked my death and disappeared from this company, so he’s trying to protect my identity, but in reality, it’s not just that.

‘I’m manipulating my identity to appear dead within the company for spy work.’

If the research team discovers my identity and that fact reaches Director Ho’s ears… I couldn’t fathom what would happen.

Moreover, if Director Cheong, who thinks I backstabbed him and ran away, finds out that ‘Kim Sol-eum’ is currently in the company?

I swallowed.

‘…I’ll die.’

No, I might end up worse than dead. This is a ghost story, after all.

‘I absolutely can’t get caught.’

I naturally stayed inconspicuous among the children and minimized my presence as much as possible.

Anyway, Agent Choi’s subtle threat—if you keep this up, we’ll track and inspect only your ghost stories more persistently—was gradually leading to a conclusion.

“We’ll just take the citizens and go. Well, you don’t need to thank us separately for saving your employees~ Hahaha!”

It was a clean mediation proposal.

However, Gwak Je-gang is a madman.

“…Ah, that’s right. Why wouldn’t I know that you’re always busy with official duties working for the citizens.”

He spread both arms wide while holding a file folder.

“Then please just take the citizens!”

“…!”

Gwak Je-gang walks toward us.

‘…!’

I hurriedly lowered my breathing and bowed my head, pretending not to be conscious.

Footstep sounds.

Thud, thud.

Getting closer.

A voice from above my head.

“But these contaminated beings here… no matter how I look at them, they don’t seem to be normal citizens of our society.”

Fuck.

“Look here. No, they have gills instead of ears, so they can’t be our citizens! Ah, this one has an extra arm, and here….”

Gaze.

“No right arm.”

Goosebumps ran down my spine.

“Ah, of course they could be poor civilians, no, citizens who lost their right arm in an accident… but that’s something we’ll have to examine to find out!”

An excited voice.

“Overall, the contamination is severe, so we’ll examine them properly and sort out the citizens to send them home safely.”

If they’re not ‘citizens’.

They’ll handle it themselves.

“Well then, since you busy agents have other work to attend to, you can clock out~”

Here, the Bronze Agent’s patience seemed to snap.

“Stop talking nonsense.”

“Nonsense?”

Damn.

“I’m saying it’s not certain whether this falls under the Disaster Management Bureau agents’ jurisdiction… Geez. If you keep acting like this… Fine. Let’s hear some testimony from our employees. Hey, Assistant Manager Jin!”

Next to me, I heard Gwak Je-gang shaking Assistant Manager Jin Na-sol awake.

And also a dry voice lowered with irritation.

“…What.”

“Oh, you’re awake. From the Elite Team’s perspective, did all these kids look like innocent civilians to you? I mean, I’m feeling wronged here!”

“Manager, you feel wronged every day.”

But Assistant Manager Jin Na-sol seemed to grasp the situation and stated only the advantageous facts plainly. Damn!

“…Those things are Young Mermaids.”

“Oh!”

Gwak Je-gang’s footsteps became bustling.

“Young Mermaids! This is so interes— I mean, it’s a new discovery. So actually… they’re not innocent civilians, but more like collaborators with the darkness!”

“Wait.”

Agent Choi’s voice became firm.

“That’s for the Management Bureau to determine, not for a private company to conclude on their own. Especially,”

Even though I couldn’t see, I could feel it.

“Not for you personally.”

The pressure.

“…”

“…”

“…Haha, looks like we have differing opinions!”

Clap. Gwak Je-gang applauded.

And backed away slightly.

“You’re right that I was being too hasty. So… how about we take a break and continue our conversation?”

“…”

The two agents seemed to be calculating the situation.

It was precarious.

No good.

‘The conflict can’t escalate any further here.’

The best strategy was to get out as smoothly and safely as possible.

If hostility was expressed directly, there was no telling what might happen in a situation already exhausted from escaping the ghost story.

So…

“We can have a conversation anytime~”

Phew.

“We’ll rest here with the children. Come over when you’ve organized what you want to say.”

“Haha, hmm. Understood.”

The agents sat down in place as if they would never let the children out of their sight, and Gwak Je-gang seemed to have no choice but to leave.

But…

‘His schemes won’t end with just that.’

I naturally opened my eyes.

Before I knew it, I could hear the agents who had sat next to me talking, as if they had naturally ended up there while moving.

As if for me to hear.

“How long will it take?”

“Well~ half a day at most.”

A relaxed tone mixed with sighs returned to Agent Choi’s voice.

“It’s not like I’m seeing this kind of bastard for the first or second time. Let’s just wait until support arrives.”

That’s a relief.

It seemed we had successfully bought time to contact the Disaster Management Bureau for help.

The problem was…

“Excuse me. We have some work to do…”

The Research Team would try to cause as much trouble as possible until then.

I opened my eyes slightly and watched the person approaching the people.

A researcher with glasses and deep dark circles was gathering the Field Investigation Team employees, getting them treatment, and leading them to the interview room.

[Lee Yeon-hwa]

Research Team 1 Assistant Manager.

The name on the nameplate was a researcher I had confirmed in the Darkness Investigation Records. What this meant was…

‘She has enough distinctive features to be mentioned in the wiki.’

That distinctive feature was…

One of the few researchers in Daydream who was conscious of research ethics.

She was a researcher whose attitude clearly showed this.

If this weren’t the current situation, I might have been somewhat glad to see her, but not now.

It seemed like Gwak Je-gang had probably sent her on purpose.

To lower the agents’ guard.

“Um, the children and… I think you agents should receive basic first aid too. Especially the children are bleeding severely, and some are in shock.”

“…Hmm.”

It would be difficult to refuse this, wouldn’t it?

Having confirmed that the researcher had no ill intent, the Disaster Management Bureau agents checked the recovery potion she offered with their equipment and gave the okay.

However, they didn’t drink it themselves. They only allowed it for the children because they had gone through harsh experiences like having their tails torn off, so the urgency of the situation made it unavoidable.

“Drink this.”

The recovery medicine naturally came to me as well.

A standard-issue red potion stationed in the medical room here.

‘It’s been a while.’

I tried to receive it with both hands, then realized I didn’t have one hand and took it with my left hand.

And instead of drinking the potion… I pretended to drink it while storing the liquid inside the tattoo on my wrist.

‘Just in case they recognized me and gave me something strange.’

Even if not, they might have done something to ‘research’ the children.

…I definitely saw it.

Several researchers giving the potions were exchanging signals and selecting potions to give to children who were ‘somehow different.’

‘It’s medicine, but they mixed something in it.’

It might be a bit paranoid, but there’s no harm in being careful.

However, I realized something during this process.

The moment I moved, I felt the presence of an object in my chest that hadn’t been there before.

‘…The glass lantern!’

The dokkaebi fire that had returned to being a glass lantern from my right arm was inside my outer clothing.

“…!”

If this gets discovered, they’ll find out I’m an agent.

In other words, it’s perfect for attracting Gwak Je-gang’s attention.

‘No way.’

I tried to pretend to be an innocent civilian child, hiding among the children with a frightened expression while attempting to store the glass lantern in my tattoo.

However, the Dokkaebi fire inside violently rejected it.

“…!”

It doesn’t want to… go into the tattoo?

‘Damn it!’

Having no choice, I covered it as much as possible with my loose-fitting jacket.

Then I sat back down and fearfully held out the empty glass bottle to the researcher.

Just then, I made eye contact with Baek Sa-heon, who had just opened his eyes.

“….”

“….”

-Act like you know me and you’re dead.

-Ah, yes.

I think that’s roughly the kind of eye conversation we had. Baek Sa-heon’s eyes twitched as he quickly looked forward.

Honestly, I wonder if he didn’t consider the scenario of reporting me for a promotion…

‘But he has items to collect, so he can’t act recklessly.’

He’s the type who calculates profit thoroughly.

I recalled the conversation we had just before escaping, when I used Baek Sa-heon as transportation to read the Necronomicon.

-If you do it right, it’s yours.

And how his heart had raced with greed.

‘Good.’

I can endure quietly.

I decided to sit still and quietly pass time by checking on the children who were dazed from shock.

But at that moment.

“Team D has returned!”

A new figure enters the research laboratory with an announcement.

I quickly raised my head.

“Ah, you’ve returned.”

“Yes.”

An emotionless voice.

And… a white lizard head.

‘T-Team Leader…!’

It’s Lee Ja-heon.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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