Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work - Chapter 188

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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 188

Space Shopping Mall.

How much money did I spend there again.

Even without remembering every single item, it’s easy to calculate that it was in the hundreds of millions.

I had invested enough to cover the jeonse deposit for a decent metropolitan area apartment into that shopping mall to purchase all sorts of items.

And then one day, I received that golden card.

I am a Space Shopping Mall VIP!

~Gratitude cells enclosed~

I had no clue what those gratitude cells meant.

Until this very moment today.

“Customer.”

I raised my head.

I remember placing the cell under my tongue, but what happened after that is hazy.

So… did I doze off for a moment.

“Customer.”

Just a moment, Manager. Let me assess the situation right now… wait.

Customer?

“Manager?!”

“No.”

Only then did I properly identify the figure before me.

A lizard was staring blankly at me, making eye contact.

“Manager.”

“No. Customer.”

I heard a clear denial twice.

I looked more carefully at the reptile before me. The scale-covered snout and gleaming vertical pupils were the same.

But the color was different.

‘Gray, it’s gray.’

Some gray lizard was sitting in the seat where Lee Ja-heon had been sitting just moments ago!

The snacks and coffee I had hastily prepared on the dining table had also disappeared.

I swallowed.

“Who are you?”

“I am a shopper who came to act on behalf of the Space Shopping Mall’s sales intentions, to assist with VIP customer personal shopping.”

Good heavens.

“Would you like to proceed with shopping?”

I stood up from my seat. Right, I was still sitting at the motel room dining table.

And Manager Lee Ja-heon who had been sitting across from me was replaced by some similarly-looking alien… wait.

Space Shopping Mall VIP shopping?

Could it be… some kind of employee came out to do personal door-to-door sales to me right now?

‘…Manager!’

We were just talking about how I’m completely contaminated!

Was that buildup to sell items good for contamination? Well, even if it was, it wouldn’t be bad if I could remove the contamination!

I barely calmed down, sat back down, and quickly said.

“I want to talk with Manager Lizard.”

“Do you mean the entity called Lee Ja-heon who works at manager level at Baekillmong Corporation?”

I hesitated.

“Do you need him for psychological stability because he is an entity who built a friendly relationship with you?”

“What would happen if I answered yes?”

“I will explain that there is no problem.”

The lizard’s snout opened.

“We know Noru, and that is completely identical to what Manager Lee Ja-heon knows.”

“…!”

“Also, we want to maintain a friendly relationship with you going forward. Customer.”

“…”

It was strange.

Come to think of it, Manager Lee Ja-heon often introduced himself or brought up topics using ‘we’ as the subject.

And the name of the button I used was… ‘We Help’.

We.

“Who is ‘we’?”

“We are an alliance. Speaking to Lee Ja-heon and speaking to the entity in front of you now are both speaking to the alliance.”

The conversation was becoming increasingly metaphysical.

So… a strange group of alien beings sharing one memory and emotion…

‘I did hear there were ghost stories like this.’

As expected of an alien shop, it’s quite sci-fi. I held my head and said.

“Just… I’ll talk with Manager Lee Ja-heon. I’m not in the mood to shop right now.”

“Noru.”

“…!”

I raised my head.

But the white lizard was still a different entity, not Lee Ja-heon.

However, it spoke in the same tone.

“You are in a situation where you need help. When you can receive help in the form of shopping, please receive appropriate treatment.”

“…What kind of treatment do you mean?”

“I exist in this place to help with shopping. Would you like to start Space Shopping Mall VIP shopping?”

It was an evasive answer.

However, catching the nuance, I slowly nodded.

Can we only proceed if I shop?

“…Yes.”

“Understood.”

The gray lizard nodded.

The next moment.

The dining table began to grow enormous.

“…?!”

Items covered in mist rose onto the table that stretched endlessly to the left. And tentacles wandering in front of those items… no, wait. Where exactly is this place?

“We accessed through the cells you ingested. Through complaints about the homepage UI, we provide service so VIP customers can shop in the most familiar and comfortable space…”

“Did I just ask that question out loud?”

“Yes. Please sit comfortably and enjoy shopping.”

The lizard spoke very professionally. No, wait, what does it mean that I was accessed through cells…

“Then before shopping, we’ll proceed with identity verification. In this state, clear confirmation of transaction intent is difficult, so we’ll distinguish to help with comfortable purchasing.”

“Distinguish?”

“Yes.”

People appeared in the endlessly lined dining table seats.

“…!”

They were obscured by mist and hard to see clearly. However, the closer ones had their appearance and clothing faintly visible.

A mart cashier’s outfit, a radio host wearing an elegant business suit and stylish gloves, a kindergarten teacher holding educational materials, a high school student in uniform…

The ghost stories I had experienced.

Myself, contaminated within those ghost stories.

“…!”

And the two entities sitting closest to me weren’t shrouded in mist, so I could clearly see their forms.

I creakily turned my head to confirm.

Yellow Mascot.

Black Cat.

It’s o k a y

C a l m d o w n

[This way]

They even spoke to me.

Chills ran down my spine.

In front of them at the dining table were decorations and colors symbolizing their respective ghost stories. I bolted up from the dining table to run away….

“Client. You are currently connected to the Space Shopping Mall through cells. This image is merely a projection of your psyche, and your personality and ego have not actually been separated.”

“….”

“Please do not be unnecessarily wary of yourself.”

“…Is this a visualization of my contamination? For reference when making purchasing decisions?”

“Similar.”

This is driving me crazy.

I sat back down and pressed my temples. The Yellow Mascot fidgeted, trying to take care of me.

This is maddening.

“Would you like to check?”

Check what?

“For smooth shopping, would you like to check the appearance and attire of the nearby seated images once more?”

“….”

I instinctively realized.

This was advice.

So I raised my eyes to look at the ‘me’s filling the table.

Where is this? I’m confused. Let’s find the education manual again. Throwing away the education manual was really a huge mistake.

Welcome to Lucky Mart!

[The graduation ceremony will start again soon. I must return to school.]

-This is a unique place. If I do an in-depth investigation, the Great Host might prepare a new corner for me!

I felt like throwing up.

But that revulsion came because these were things I knew. Fear that came from being able to imagine because I knew them well.

But….

“….”

I looked at those sitting nearby.

The appearances and attire that I could see relatively clearly since they weren’t shrouded in mist caught my eye.

But you know what.

“Who are you?”

The one sitting in the seat right next to the giant mascot sitting beside me, hidden behind it.

They were covered with old cloth like sackcloth.

“I’ve never seen you before.”

A me that I didn’t know.

I n t r u d e r

The mascot turned its body to clear the view toward that figure.

As I saw that form more clearly, I noticed the material of the sackcloth that unknown me was wearing.

That was… old parchment.

“You.”

I looked at the unfamiliar me.

“Take that off.”

“….”

The figure seated at the dining table slowly lowered the parchment sackcloth from its head, revealing its appearance.

Me wearing a crimson cleaning uniform.

-I’ve been caught.

The Mimic from Mumyeong Chanran Temple looked at me and scratched its head.

-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

“I will remove what interferes with shopping.”

The next moment.

The me in the cleaning uniform disappeared from the dining table.

“….”

My heart pounded.

“Client. Is there anything you associate with that image of yourself just now?”

“Yes.”

I remembered.

I put my hand into my Inventory Tattoo and pulled out something I had forgotten… no, something that had been eroded to be forgotten.

A rolled-up old parchment.

Mimic Scripture Chapter 4

Story Thief

The item that came out when the Security Chief dealt with the Mimic I had encountered while cleaning in the Company Basement after receiving disciplinary action.

A fragment of Divine Law from Mumyeong Chanran Temple.

I also remembered wrapping it with ‘Wrapping Paper 12B357B’ to block this item’s effects.

‘And… I unwrapped the wrapping paper and wrapped it around my body for defense on the Tamra-bound Train!’

After that, as I fell into Brown’s Late Night Talk Show, there was no opportunity at all to recall this Divine Law from Mumyeong Chanran Temple.

No… perhaps from some point on, my narrative might have been manipulated so I ‘couldn’t recall’ it.

‘…Just now, if I hadn’t received the music box originating from Mumyeong Chanran Temple from the goods box, I would have almost completely forgotten.’

I had recalled it thanks to seeing an item of the same origin just before.

And….

“Client. The parchment is swallowing something.”

“Yes.”

I saw it too.

I forcibly pulled out something black and cylindrical that had been almost melting into this parchment, as if separating it.

A fountain pen.

“…!”

The mind control item from Sekwang Technical High School that I had given my eyes to Baek Sa-heon and received in return.

‘I had forgotten about this too.’

I realized.

It seemed that the Sacred Law had been stealing this fountain pen’s story.

Through that, it grew stronger, and one day the dominated me would be completely eroded by Mumyeong Chanran Temple’s strange phenomenon….

….

Wait a minute.

‘What else was I forgetting?’

I quickly racked my brain. But I couldn’t remember anything.

That made sense. It would already be a memory stolen from me!

Then….

“Could I receive a list of items I’ve purchased from the alien shop so far?”

“Yes. Is this an attempt to find the whereabouts of items?”

“…That’s right.”

“Then I have something to tell you.”

The Lizard looked at me.

“There is an item you have forgotten, customer.”

“What is it?”

“You received strength enhancement equipment from Section Chief Lee Ja-heon and crafted new equipment, but its whereabouts after creation are unclear.”

“…!”

“Section Chief Lee Ja-heon tried to inform you of this fact, but consecutively realized it was a problem that couldn’t be solved by simply notifying you.”

…I remember.

-Let me introduce the item.

-Is it an effect that enhances physical strength?

-Similar. Please use it as a parent item when making specialized equipment.

We definitely had that conversation.

Listening to the story, I slowly came to realize what that thing was.

‘…It was a bracelet.’

It was the item I last made together with Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je at the Daydream Corporation Annex.

Back then, the Deputy Manager had suddenly appeared in my room. …Just like Section Chief Lee Ja-heon appearing in this motel room now.

But what I did with that equipment after crafting it… I have no memory of it at all.

There were several crisis situations where I could have used it, but I couldn’t recall it.

And I probably won’t be able to recall it in the future either… because it’s already been devoured by the Sacred Law Scripture Fragment.

…It’s a chilling feeling. I barely managed to open my mouth.

“I’m sorry. You went to the trouble of lending it to me.”

“It’s fine.”

Despite saying he wasn’t Lee Ja-heon, he naturally accepts the apology.

‘Phew.’

Calm down, calm down.

At least it’s fortunate that I noticed.

‘Was it because the Mimic was on the verge of almost devouring me that the solution didn’t fill in the collector?’

I had even performed the roles of various Strange Entities from the Security Team Special Department to the Mascot, ‘mimicking’ them, so the effect would have been doubled.

…Probably, that’s how I was judged to be not human but a Strange Entity of Mumyeong Chanran Temple.

‘Phew.’

Thanks to that, my contamination seems to have deepened too.

I looked with gloomy eyes at the strange ‘me’s sitting around the table.

The Cat looked at me with blood-red eyes and struck the dining table with its tail as if displeased, while the Mascot drooped its horns dejectedly as if dejected.

I became confused by various other reactions as well.

And although I wasn’t expelled from the dining table, the part devoured by the Mimic would still be inside me….

‘Sigh.’

For now, one at a time.

I glanced at the Sacred Law fragment of Mumyeong Chanran Temple.

“Can this parchment be disposed of at the shopping mall?”

“It is not an item that the Space Shopping Mall purchases.”

“By any chance, do you handle my contaminations currently sitting at the dining table?”

“They are not items that the Space Shopping Mall purchases.”

Phew.

Right. Either way, they would be too dangerous to sell to humans, so they probably weren’t items handled here.

‘But Section Chief Lee Ja-heon guided me here as an alternative to the Fox Counseling Room.’

Then… there must be some method.

At that moment, the ‘We Help’ button came to mind.

“Then, is it possible to request the ‘Alliance’ to remove them? By paying a fee, that is.”

“Yes.”

“…!”

The Lizard looks at me.

“Will you proceed with a request to permanently destroy part of yourself, customer?”

D o n ‘ t d o i t

D a n g e r o u s

Wait a minute.

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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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