Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work - Chapter 170

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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 170

Cheerful Theme Park was a B-grade darkness belonging to Baekillmong Corporation.

And it was already in a state where a manual had been created and analysis by the Research Team was complete.

…The fact that I contributed to it is something I remember without even trying to recall it.

: Socius :

After all, the tattoo on my wrist was carved when that theme park’s admission ticket burned.

And usually, the fate of high-grade darkness that has been analyzed is one of two things.

Research Team ownership.

Or…

“It’s Team A’s assigned darkness.”

Elite Team assignment.

“Usually Team A recruits 3 regular members, 3 Cleanup Team members, and 6 General Team members for a total of 12 people to enter… Well, the last entry record was 3 months ago, so there’s plenty of time until the next entry.”

Director Ho smiled and handed over some documents.

The Cheerful Theme Park manual describing the 12-person entry method using board games.

And work orders.

“So I’ve scheduled it separately.”

“…Thank you.”

“Not at all! It wasn’t even difficult.”

Those words might actually be true.

After all, Team A is under Director Ho’s line.

‘Since it’s under his jurisdiction anyway, it would have been easy to extract.’

Of course, that’s the director’s situation, and a mere regular employee who received the director’s convenience should probably bow their head here…

However, Director Ho’s words didn’t end there.

“And to make it convenient for you to enter, I’ve already recruited all the employees who will go in with you. Haha.”

“…!”

What is this ominous feeling…?

“Ah, are you worried there might be someone you know among those entering? That they might recognize Sol-eum?”

“Yes. I do have such concerns as you mentioned.”

“Right! So Sol-eum, unfortunately…”

Director Ho pointed at me.

“I don’t think you’ll be able to infiltrate in your original appearance.”

I know.

“Yes. So I was planning to purchase and take a disguise potion with the welfare points you distributed…”

“That would be too inconvenient for you. And recently, you’ve had to live as someone else even in daily life due to work… I want to minimize such inconvenience.”

“…”

“So I found a method that won’t raise any suspicion at all!”

Excuse me?

I looked at the other person with an ominous feeling.

Director Ho looked at me with a bright smile.

“How about Sol-eum goes with a special identity?”

“…!?”

The next day.

Conference room of Baekillmong Corporation’s Research Team 2.

“They said it’s B-grade today.”

“They’re giving extra points, right?”

People began to show up one by one. Modern people wearing suits and strange animal masks. They were Field Investigation Team employees.

These were also General Team employees who had gathered despite the risk of ‘slightly special exploration’ because of talk about better point compensation.

“Cheerful Theme Park, right?”

“We have to go to this one.”

Because word had spread through the grapevine.

That this darkness, while high-grade, had a well-prepared manual, and was relatively safe because a certain employee’s predictions from previous explorations had been amazingly accurate.

So when the special entry was scheduled, and word leaked that it was Cheerful Theme Park, they came while shushing each other.

The fact that it’s for research is a bit unsettling, but as long as I’m not the only one dying, that’s enough.

‘It would be more reassuring if there was at least one Cleanup Team member.’

People pretended not to care while narrowing their eyes and looking around. But unfortunately, there were no employees who appeared to be from the Cleanup Team.

However, there was someone who used to be on the Cleanup Team.

“Huh?”

Tall with long hair. An employee with brown hair wearing a cow mask was quietly standing against the wall.

“Didn’t you get transferred to a branch office? Can you still apply for this from there? Long time no see.”

“That… Um. Yes.”

It was Jang Heo-un.

He broke out in cold sweat seeing an employee whose name he barely knew come up and talk to him.

It was a side effect of spy work…!

“How’s the branch office? Is it livable?”

“Haha, yes…”

Jang Heo-un smiled awkwardly and withdrew.

The people who had tried to talk to him didn’t follow up and ignored him.

Because they misunderstood that he was acting that way out of embarrassment.

‘I heard the branch office is such hell.’

‘His wish ticket days are over anyway.’

Every person who escaped from the branch office to headquarters kept their mouth shut and just shuddered with disgust, not even wanting to describe it.

And a subtle label was attached.

Wouldn’t the entrance exam difficulty have been different from headquarters personnel?

Looking at the treatment and welfare levels, it seemed like any random nobody could work at the branch office.

So there’s no one here to share information or have friendly conversations with this severed kite who got kicked from headquarters to a branch office.

‘If push comes to shove, that guy will die for us.’

‘He’s originally from the Cleanup Team anyway.’

So an atmosphere of tacit ignoring forms.

“Are you okay?”

Except for this person.

“Um, are you doing well? It was cool how you got out of the Cleanup Team. Let’s fight together today.”

“Th, thank you…”

Team Leader Lee Seong-hae from Elite Team C, wearing a dolphin mask, shook hands with Jang Heo-un and sat next to him.

‘Fucking acting all nice.’

‘Concept poser.’

But since he’s from the Elite Team, everyone keeps their mouths shut and looks away for different reasons.

And here, there’s also a figure whose position is ambiguous – neither clearly Elite Team nor General Team.

“It’s Manager Lee.”

Team D Manager Lee Ja-heon sat upright like a stone statue in the conference room chair, wearing a lizard mask.

‘That person is going too?’

‘After screwing up in the Elite Team, he’s been doing all sorts of things lately.’

‘What a waste of a face.’

But they avoid eye contact as if they’re scared.

Originally, fists are closer than the law… Especially if those fists can crush steel.

Anyway, that ended the reconnaissance.

“Now that everyone’s gathered, we’ll start the briefing shortly.”

Soon a researcher came in to set up the darkness entry method, while the employees quickly scanned the people seated at the table.

1, 2, 3…

“There are 11 people?”

“What, who didn’t come?”

Some impatient and experienced employees looked at the researcher.

But.

“Well, um…”

The researcher was breaking out in a cold sweat.

“…”

…Somewhere, an ominous premonition ran down the employees’ spines.

“Sorry, but who is the remaining person?”

“Supervisor Park. You know that properly briefing us is advantageous for clearing, right?”

“Well, the thing is.”

No matter how junior he was, a researcher is still a researcher. Yet the fact that he showed such obvious panic made people even more scared.

‘What is it.’

‘Who on earth…’

Then.

Knock knock.

Suddenly, there was a sound of someone knocking on the conference room door.

“…”

“…”

Silence fell over the conference room.

People turned to look at the door.

The black door remained motionless after exactly two knocks. As if permission was needed to enter.

“…”

“…Come in!”

Click.

The door opened.

Black smoke entered.

“…?!”

The smoke thickly covered the floor, then repeatedly got absorbed as if being sucked back outside the door. And in the middle of it…

Black boots stepped across the smoke onto the conference room floor.

The smoke was breathing in and out with someone’s footsteps, as if it were alive.

And from within the black smoke, the silhouette of a sturdy person was revealed.

Light.

Ooooo-.

A yellow lantern-like light was emanating from around the waist and eyes.

People froze at that eerie sight.

However, they could at least recognize the affiliation.

“Se, Security Team…!”

A mask that completely covered the face.

And above it, countless protruding horns filled the space above the head like branches.

“…!”

Wrapped entirely in black special equipment, he looked as if he had fully armed himself with custom gear.

Or… was bound by that equipment.

“…”

“…”

Gulp. Someone swallowed.

Why is the Security Team… here?

-The Security Team does not enter darkness.

This principle usually held true. The Security Team doesn’t have dream essence extracted even when they enter darkness.

They only appeared for incident suppression…

But sometimes, depending on their special nature, there were entities that displayed tremendous transcendent abilities.

“To, today… this is the employee who will be conducting the exploration with us.”

“…!!”

People looked at the strange employee standing quietly by the door with a feeling like they might faint.

That Security Team department ’employee’ wore special clothing with unusually many belts and a mask with a distinctive logo carved near the head area.

A strange shape like a twisted rectangle.

The employees recognized it like being struck by lightning.

‘It’s a special department…!’

Security Team Special Department.

The Security Team had many departments under it that operated with only their names listed on the company intranet organizational chart, without even properly knowing what groups existed there.

So rumors spread through occasional unpleasant encounters while working in the company were all that was known.

The Special Department had particularly ominous rumors among them.

This was because the prevailing reputation was of witnessing monster-like employees who were hard to believe were originally from the Field Investigation Team, appearing from who knows where.

And this researcher, breaking out in cold sweat, had also heard more specific rumors…

-Supervisor Park, if people claiming to be from Security Team Special Department appear, treat them politely. …Those guys aren’t human. No, I don’t mean contamination…

-…Really, they weren’t human from the beginning.

‘A department that employed entities from darkness in human form…!’

A rumor like a ghost story itself, about making employee contracts with darkness using Daydream Company’s ‘know-how’.

Cold sweat dampened the back of the researcher seeing the real thing for the first time.

While analyzing darkness and deploying Field Investigation Teams, this was his first time directly encountering a monster.

“…”

He swallowed and looked at the bizarre employee before him.

Somehow the conference room seemed to have gotten a bit darker…

The employee’s yellow lantern-like eyes and the glimmer around the waist flickered even more eerily in the black smoke.

Looking closely, what was wrapped around the waist like lanterns were also rib-like horns.

‘Ugh.’

The researcher, barely squeezing out courage, spoke.

“Um… hello.”

Silence.

“Oh, please take a seat.”

No response came back.

In the conference room wrapped in silence, the researcher continued speaking in a voice that sounded almost tearful.

“Um, I’ll, I’ll proceed with the briefing…”

Only then did the bizarre horned mask walk over.

And sits in the seat closest to the door.

…It was next to Jang Heo-un.

‘Ha.’

Thank goodness it’s not me.

People swallowed nervously and tried their best not to look in that direction.

‘Please don’t let us be on the same team.’

‘Please…!’

As long as we weren’t on the same team, it would be fine!

The theme park’s name and zones changed each time we entered, but the only constant was the rules.

-Follow the mascot’s rules.

-If you cannot follow the rules, move to another mascot’s zone.

And.

-The four team members who draw the same colored piece must always stay together.

So, it meant if we weren’t on the same team as that monster, we could clear it without encountering it at all.

If we just got a good zone, we could simply ride three rides, get high-grade dream essence, and rake in tons of points.

The problem was… this was a special entry.

A research entry that included other purposes.

And no matter how I thought about it, this ‘variable’ was… that employee.

‘Please.’

The employees looked at the researcher giving the briefing.

They weren’t going to tell us to find and follow that employee, were they?

“And for this entry, there are no… special instructions.”

Phew!

“However, um, that, the Security Team employee… whatever they do inside, please don’t interfere.”

“…”

“Everyone… understood, right?”

Yes.

The Field Investigation Team gathered in the conference room desperately nodded their heads.

And the very person who instilled this terror in them, the ‘Security Team Special Employee’…

‘The performance is really reliable…’

Was breathing a sigh of relief.

That’s right. It’s Kim Sol-eum!

I looked around at the people in the meeting room and held back a sigh.

Well, even if I sighed, it would just be blocked by the mask and come out as black smoke anyway.

‘I didn’t know Director Ho would go this far for me.’

-It was equipment made as a prototype, so I’m really glad we can test it like this!

He had stolen Security Team equipment for me.

The so-called suit that shows your hidden side.

A monster resembling you appears over the suit.

That’s what was written in the development notes that came with the game-like combat suit.

I desperately avoided asking why the Security Team was developing a suit that made people pretend to be monsters.

I had a feeling that knowing wouldn’t be good for my well-being…

‘It must be for a project.’

Anyway, even though I didn’t know the operating principle, I had heard about its characteristics.

‘They said the appearance manifested differently for each person.’

And I ended up looking like I was carrying a pile of horns on my head.

My appearance would probably be… a strange creature trying to burst out but forcibly contained in a human suit.

‘Hmm.’

I tried hard not to scratch my head by accident.

‘It somehow reminds me of my original mask…’

I felt a strange sensation as I recalled the wooden horned mask that had given me the nickname Noru.

“Um, I’ll explain how to enter Cheerful Theme Park.”

Meanwhile, the briefing was nearing its end.

The entry method.

‘We need to go to that theme park with the Blue Dragon Mascot.’

Whether that place would actually be selected as this round’s playground was the issue, but I had a strange confidence about that part.

It was an inductive confidence gained from experiencing ghost stories so far.

‘Probably… that side will call for me.’

Just like that TV Head Host from a certain talk show who had assured me he would come if I just called him as a ‘suitable medium.’

“…”

“Um, please draw a piece…”

The researcher politely held out a capsule for drawing board game pieces with both hands.

For some reason, I was first.

‘Actually, I feel like I’m the youngest one here…’

Since I couldn’t show it, I pretended to be calm and reached out to grab the capsule…

“Eek!”

“…”

“Huk, s-sorry…”

This person… doesn’t seem to have the temperament to last long in the research team.

‘I hope you consider changing jobs.’

I politely ignored the startled researcher and grabbed the capsule again.

And shook it.

With a rattling, rolling sound, a piece fell from the capsule.

Bright yellow.

“Yellow piece!”

Okay.

I picked up the piece and passed the capsule to the next person.

“Ah…!”

It was Jang Heo-un.

…I don’t know why Director Ho recruited someone who’s already busy as a spy, but I’m breaking out in cold sweat thinking I made him use his precious day off.

I barely managed to use mine, so didn’t this person also have to squeeze it in somehow?

‘Why on earth did you volunteer…!’

You almost threw up last time when you entered and saw the visceral parade in the Magic Bunny Zone!

Of course, I couldn’t ask about that now.

And Jang Heo-un…

“Yellow!”

“Got it!”

He drew the exact same piece as me.

By the way, that wasn’t what Jang Heo-un just said.

The other employees were clenching their fists in joy. Because someone else drew yellow, reducing their chances of getting picked.

Because they didn’t want to be paired with me.

‘Haha…’

Meanwhile, Jang Heo-un bowed his head to me.

“Please, take care of me.”

“…”

I nodded slightly to Jang Heo-un.

Thank you for understanding that this is the best situation we have…

However, from then on, things started getting a bit awkward.

“Please…!”

Everyone was openly hoping they wouldn’t draw yellow.

“Ah! Red!”

And when someone drew red, they practically cheered with joy.

“…”

Excuse me, you all read the exploration records I left behind, right? Then you just need to run like crazy to the blue zone as soon as you see Magic Bunny…

Still, seeing familiar faces remain calm during all this was quite reassuring.

It went like this.

“Oh.”

I confirmed that Lee Seong-hae drew a red piece. And…

“It’s blue.”

…I also saw Lee Ja-heon draw a blue piece.

‘Why is that Lizard manager even here.’

No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t shake the suspicion that Director Ho had placed him there as a whip among the carrots.

…Knowing that I had already shared all the progress of his project with Team D when I joined it.

A reminder not to do anything foolish.

‘Making sure I don’t let my guard down even when receiving favors?’

I really want to quit.

‘Sigh.’

“This is the last one now.”

Anyway, the distribution was almost finished.

I drew the yellow piece and ignored the employees in field mouse and ladybug masks who were staring at me with tense expressions.

‘Let’s quickly get on the rides.’

I’ll send them off first and then take care of my business.

Rattle.

And the moment the last employee drew their piece.

-Departing for Fantasy Land~

The board game board flew up into the air and swallowed everyone’s vision.

We’re entering.

Having experienced this once before, I could review my future plans with a bit more composure.

Let’s see, there was no yellow zone, right.

‘Magic Bunny killed the yellow mascot, wasn’t it.’

I recalled the memory of escaping through the ruined yellow zone by activating the gate to the resort.

‘I’ll go straight to the blue zone.’

Make sure to check the gift shop. With that thought, I blinked in my gradually fading consciousness…

Before long, my mind became clear again.

Now it was time for the lively theme park music to reach my ears…

…

‘…Huh?’

Everything around me was silent.

“…”

I opened my eyes.

In the dim indoor space, I could see walls with peeling paint and dust-covered lights.

The place without light even had all its windows broken.

A musty, dead space.

“…”

What… is this?

This wasn’t inside an amusement park. This was definitely not an amusement park…

“…!”

I immediately got up and ran to the window to look outside.

I could see a crumpled giant sign swaying precariously in the wind with one of its fixtures fallen off…

[Flower Golden Resort]

“…!!”

I stared blankly at the sparkling lights of the blue water park in the distance.

Looking down, I could see ruins.

“…”

I had opened my eyes in the ruined yellow zone.

‘What is this…’

That’s when it happened.

With a click, the lights in the indoor space where I was began flickering back on.

“…!”

I realized that where I was wasn’t just a simple room.

A desk, chair, old cabinet.

Through the open door of the old cabinet, I could see a huge machine.

It was like a small office or management room.

And on the desk… a single sheet of paper written in formal style.

“…”

I approached and read the paper.

Welcome to your appointment as the new mascot of Flower Golden Resort!

“…!!”

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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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