Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work - Chapter 236

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

Even If I Fall Into a Ghost Story, I Still Have to Go to Work Episode 236

“Jisan Village.”

After confirming the location of the Happy Ending Cult’s air raid shelter, the three of us returned to Ho Yu-won’s zone.

The back of my head throbs from this unexpected situation.

Coincidentally, all three of us here were people who had attended Jisan Village’s festival celebration.

Though one of them experienced it by parasitizing someone else’s body and got exorcised by Tiger General in the end.

“Was that cult village connected to this Mumyeong Chanran Temple and Happy Ending whatever?”

Deputy Manager’s muttering was half correct.

It seems they were indirectly connected to other sects of Mumyeong Chanran Temple.

I think it was the Mimic, something like that.

“Ah, Noru pulled out the golden rod and got captured then. Did you hear it then? Well done.”

Thank you.

Please go with that for now.

“But why did these guys come here? They’re from a different sect.”

That’s what I’m saying.

‘Even they were sealed and taken away by the Disaster Management Bureau.’

What’s left that they’d come here for?

“Hmm. Maybe there’s another reason.”

And so naturally, I was reminded of the original reason why Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je had appeared in Jisan Village.

Could it be because of that well?

I remember Director Ho was looking for it, so I thought it might be a particularly special place.

“Ah. Right. That well.”

And if Ho Yu-won found it…

‘Is it related to Segwang Special City?’

Ho Yu-won, receiving both our gazes, readily admitted it.

“That’s right. I had heard that the well was connected to Segwang Special City…”

I thought so.

Question: Source

“As I mentioned, it’s my turn to ask questions, so it’s not Noru’s turn to ask. Truly unfortunate though.”

Wow, really.

But even if you don’t say it, there are ways to guess everything.

‘It must be someone from the Disaster Management Bureau.’

How else would Ho Yu-won know that information about the extinction-level disaster, Segwang Special City, exists in the Disaster Management Bureau’s secret archives?

‘He does have connections there.’

Separate from Ho Yu-won’s feelings toward the Disaster Management Bureau.

And Ho Yu-won’s interest is still only in that.

Extinction-level disasters.

“If the Happy Ending Cult is interested in Segwang Special City, then a future where they gather information through that well would be natural, wouldn’t it?”

But Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je is frowning.

“…Tsk.”

As if something bothers her.

“I’m sure the Disaster Management Bureau deployed then and thoroughly smashed those bastards’ heads…”

As soon as the Disaster Management Bureau was mentioned, Director Ho’s smile deepened, but neither of us paid attention.

“Don’t those government officials handle follow-up measures too?”

Of course they do.

-This Jisan Village… still has many suspicious aspects. We’ll conduct a full-scale search from now on. Looking for people too. The well as well.

“But why didn’t they know this underground was a cult den?”

That’s…

Perhaps this underground bunker was moved here after the follow-up measures were completed.

Let’s think about it.

The Disaster Management Bureau’s Field Cleanup Team agents and Vermillion Bird Team members would have come to finish the cleanup and left.

‘They would have taken care of the village people too.’

There’s evidence of that.

The ground level I saw through the glass earlier.

Not a single person was visible in the village.

Not one person.

But what’s strange is…

‘They definitely said they would conduct a full-scale search.’

For that, the village looks exactly the same as before.

A situation as if it stopped right on the festival day.

It’s strange because it seems like a situation where agents should be dispatched regularly for management, but that doesn’t seem to be happening.

“Right. It’s unsettling…”

“Don’t you think they decided it wasn’t worth searching?”

Ho Yu-won’s gentle voice pours out without pause.

“That government agency always prioritizes. Instead of already concluded cases, they’re probably deploying personnel to rescue people they consider more valuable.”

Hmm.

‘That sounds like a malicious interpretation.’

“Well… yes. The workload overload for provincial civil servants isn’t a recent thing.”

Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je dismisses her superior’s words with dead fish eyes.

And the main point.

“Anyway, it would be good if we could investigate the village above more thoroughly. There are limits to what we can do from inside here…”

Ah.

“Director, do you happen to have any other guys we could mobilize from outside? Someone who could investigate this place.”

…Well.

About that.

‘There is one…’

I thought of the paper boat that would be sleeping quietly under my tattoo.

That guy who was a native of Jisan Village that I left behind.

Baek Sa-heon had just spent a shitty day.

‘What kind of fucking darkness is this.’

It was a crazy boarding school ghost story, and he had suffered like hell when one team member died with all the skin torn off their face.

‘Had to abandon them and run, almost died myself too.’

Of course, he didn’t really care that the team member died. He was just pissed that after all that suffering, it was only a measly D-rank.

‘…Well, it doesn’t matter now anyway.’

His wish to completely escape from the village seemed to have already been fulfilled.

Still, the reason he continued working at this company… he didn’t know.

Same with not properly burying or cremating his older sister’s skull.

‘Fuck.’

He was just glad that he could finally get off work and lie down on the company housing sofa.

But right at that moment, he realized new writing had appeared on the paper boat.

Hello, Citizen.

Have you been well?

“…!!”

Baek Sa-heon almost rolled off the sofa.

‘What the hell.’

Last time they had just left a thank you message and disappeared in a hurry, so he had written some curses telling them not to eat and run, and that was the last contact.

And now suddenly…

The items aren’t ready yet, but

I found information about

the current state of Jisan Village.

“…!!”

Baek Sa-heon gripped the paper with both hands.

The text was updating…

There are currently cult

facilities underground in the village.

What?

How did you

find that out

I have infiltrated

that cult.

“Are you insane?”

Could it be that this agent had been in the darkness all this time because of that cult…

‘Then of course they couldn’t get the items!’

In cults, it’s hard to secretly keep your own belongings. At least from what Baek Sa-heon had experienced.

‘…Are they really an idiot?’

Why would they walk into such a place on their own?

Baek Sa-heon expressed exactly that and wrote it on the paper boat.

And the response that came back was this:

There’s someone who requested help.

“…Bleeding heart bastard.”

But somehow, no sneer came out.

It was probably because he had directly experienced and remembered in Jisan Village that this agent was someone who actually followed through on their promises.

“…”

Baek Sa-heon looked at the paper.

The agent was making a request.

I found a place in this facility

where I can see outside.

Could you look at my drawing and tell me

where this view is located

in Jisan Village?

Just as he was about to write ‘What nerve’.

If I learn any information about Jisan Village

from this operation, I’ll share it.

Since you’re directly involved.

One more sentence was added at the end of the message.

Sorry I can’t give you items.

…

Ah… Fuck. Really!!

Baek Sa-heon grabbed his hair and eventually scribbled a response.

Fine, show me the drawing first

‘Oh.’

Baek Sa-heon cooperated in providing Jisan Village information.

Following the last time, this time was also surprisingly smooth. It seems the setting of an agent infiltrating a cult worked better than I expected…

‘I guess providing information about Jisan Village was the key move.’

Or maybe, judging by how he nitpicks everything, he’s just using me as an emotional dumping ground.

Anyway, I was now able to get even a simple village map that Baek Sa-heon had sketched with a pencil into my head.

[Ho, Noru’s ordinary former roommate does have some drawing skills.]

Indeed.

The map was easy to read, with the well, pine tree, the traditional house where we were held, and the location of the village shrine all properly marked.

And the current location of this Authority Zone, where we could see outside, was…

‘…Under the well.’

-If there’s an entrance, I think it would be around this area.

In other words. The Jisan Village well is located near the entrance of this underground bunker.

It’s a strange feeling.

[Yes, it’s quite an interesting situation indeed. I wonder if the twins who disappear every lunch break are checking the well through the entrance? Or are they heading to some other hidden facility inside the underground bunker!]

[This fact is… oh, if things go according to Noru’s plan, it will be revealed soon!]

That’s right.

When I indicated my intention to communicate with someone using an item to gather information, Ho Yu-won and Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je took on a different task.

-It’s surveillance.

Specifically, carefully tracking the whereabouts of the twins who disappear during lunch break.

To find out what exactly they’re preparing in this underground bunker.

-As I keep saying, we need to fundamentally understand what’s happening here before we can deal with unexpected incidents or extract specific information.

If I stick with the convert grandmother, I might draw some attention, but I’d be less suspicious even if found in strange places.

Thanks to the performance I showed yesterday evening.

‘Even if we get caught, Ho Yu-won doesn’t seem like someone who’d go down easily.’

Besides, how should I put it, this Happy Ending Cult executive… well, I’ve seen that he’s theoretically powerful, but somehow he doesn’t give me psychological tension.

‘I’d call it a shallow and one-dimensional image…’

Anyway, the situational mystery and questions about the location did give off a sufficiently eerie feeling.

So I quietly calculated the angles between the map and the underground bunker, matching the positions of each facility with the village structures, and waited for the two of them.

And when lunch break was almost over.

“Found it.”

Ho Yu-won and Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je also came back having discovered something.

Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je, in her grandmother disguise, caught her breath and urgently began drawing a map on the floor with her finger.

The interior layout of the underground bunker.

“Looking at it this way, this is the north side. The connected east side is the cafeteria, and the east-west area is the convert living quarters.”

And… right in the central area.

“Here there’s a large hemispherical space where they pile up those coffins. The place where they dispose of bodies under the guise of rituals.”

Symbolic.

And…

“In this space, there was a corridor behind the coffins.”

Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je’s finger moved downward.

South side.

“The twins are going here.”

…

“So? Is there anything worth comparing with the information your ‘informant’ told you?”

There is.

In my mind, I overlaid Baek Sa-heon’s map onto the drawing Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je had made…

And I realize.

The location where the twins went.

It’s directly beneath the Jisan Village shrine.

And what was underground beneath the shrine?

‘The Centipede Monk.’

Of course, that centipede was dead, and all its techniques were sealed by the Bronze Agent’s bullets, so nothing remained.

Only the empty space where the shrine used to be. But…

What exactly are they trying to do there?

“Hmm. It doesn’t seem ordinary.”

Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je frowned at my explanation.

“Shall we check once more?”

Hm?

“Just a quick look at what’s inside. We’ll peek in after the twins come out.”

Ho Yu-won smiled and looked at Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je.

“Peregrine Falcon. If you refuse, I might feel sad thinking you don’t find me trustworthy…”

“Well… yes. Just don’t abandon me and run if things go south.”

Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je answered reluctantly and looked at me.

“Then we’ll go check it out and observe the initiates’ situation, so wait for us.”

Hmm.

“Don’t worry. We’ll assess the situation and pull out quickly if anything seems off.”

Well then.

Should I go this time?

Wouldn’t it be dangerous for the same people to go twice? I should really…

“Um, Noru…”

Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je patted my shoulder.

“You know that you’re currently… carrying around black smoke, right?”

Ah.

“Sorry, but with that yellow blinking added on top, you really have quite the entrance effect. You’re like a walking advertisement board.”

…

Yes…

“Just stay here. And… instead, could you try to find out the exact location of this bunker’s entrance if possible?”

I nodded obediently.

“Okay, then see you at dinner time.”

So we set out on another search mission…

“Let’s all gather together and pray for happiness.”

Eventually, time passed and the promised dinner time arrived.

However.

“…”

“Grandma Kim Bok-ja… didn’t come?”

Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je and Ho Yu-won did not appear at the dinner gathering.

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