Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work - Chapter 264

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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 264

An extinction-level ghost story.

In the middle of the underground station in Segwang Special City, I came face to face with someone I never expected to see.

My mouth opened reflexively. With a barely censored form of address.

“…Sanyang?”

“Wait.”

Go Young-eun, wrapped in a worn padding jacket, looked around with tense eyes.

The same old casino scenery.

And…

A dealer who smiled brightly when our eyes met.

Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae’s head.

“…”

“…”

“This way.”

Go Young-eun grabbed my arm and suddenly started running. I hurriedly ran after her, realizing something…

‘…Several are missing.’

Several of that colleague’s fingers were just shaped with bandages.

I had an ominous feeling.

‘How long has she been in this casino.’

“Phew.”

Go Young-eun, who had been running, finally stopped next to a wall with a broken vending machine in a corner of the slot machine room and let go of my arm.

Only then did she start talking.

“That dealer, that’s definitely Dolphin Assistant Manager, right? From the… Elite Team.”

“Yes.”

“I knew it.”

Go Young-eun’s face darkened.

“I had a feeling. Her way of speaking and such seemed familiar…”

But then she asked with unavoidable anticipation and tension.

“Then… did the company come to manage this ghost story? So, like, entry routes or clearing methods…”

I shook my head with difficulty.

“Dolphin Deputy Manager got caught up in this ghost story for personal reasons, and I also entered personally.”

“Ah,”

Go Young-eun’s expression clouded over.

And after a brief silence, she continued.

“So it was Deputy Manager, not Assistant Manager.”

“…I heard she got promoted a few months ago.”

“A few months.”

Go Young-eun lowered her head.

“Time has already passed that much.”

“Sanyang.”

This won’t do.

“What on earth happened?”

“…”

Go Young-eun closed her mouth.

But why someone who was working fine as an agent at the Disaster Management Bureau would be in Segwang Special City… wait.

‘Why did I never think to look into Young-eun’s whereabouts…?’

A creepy feeling ran down my spine.

I could have looked into it while staying at the Disaster Management Bureau, but I never thought to search for her.

Similar symptoms to when I thought about Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae.

Being forgotten.

This is a phenomenon that occurs to people trapped in Segwang Special City.

‘Damn.’

…I was also considering the possibility that it might be a hallucination or supernatural phenomenon, but it seems like it really is her.

And the reason Go Young-eun would suddenly be in the middle of an extinction-level supernatural disaster sealed in an unrecognizable state…

…There’s really only one.

Something I’ve used too.

“Sanyang. Did you wake up here after using a wish ticket?”

“…”

Go Young-eun suddenly answered.

“I don’t know.”

“Excuse me?”

“I mean, that… I did use a wish ticket. But even here I…”

Go Young-eun looked confused for a moment, then quickly pulled herself together.

“No, that’s not what’s important right now. How long have you been here?”

“In Segwang Special City?”

“No. This body casino.”

Go Young-eun, keeping her gaze fixed on the missing people of Segwang Special City clustered around the slot machines, quickly explained.

“If you stay too long, your way of thinking changes to be like a gambling addict. So, don’t spend more than one night and go out, then stay outside for at least as long as you spent here before coming back in…”

“How do you know that, Sanyang?”

“That’s… I think it would be better to tell you outside.”

Go Young-eun glanced once more toward the casino entrance.

“If it’s just Noru… it’s fine. There’s a shelter where you can stay.”

“…!”

“For now, it would be better to reorganize the situation there and talk about Dolphin Deputy Manager again.”

‘A shelter?’

It would be fortunate if there was such a place in the subway.

At least it means Go Young-eun can hold out.

But…

“I didn’t come alone.”

“…What?”

Then.

“Noru.”

“…!”

I was the one called, but it was Go Young-eun who turned around in shock.

Manager Lee Ja-heon was standing behind us with his usual reptilian face.

“M-Manager?”

“Sanyang.”

Lizard Manager immediately recognized Go Young-eun, who was gaping.

And a barrage of questions poured out.

“Has the Daydream branch office secured the relevant darkness and sent Sanyang Assistant Manager in?”

“N-no…!?”

“Are you exploring of your own volition?”

“No!”

“Have you currently lost more than 12% of your body?”

“…”

Go Young-eun closed her mouth, but soon answered with difficulty.

“Yes.”

“I see. Please take this.”

And Manager Lizard, who skipped everything, takes something out of his pocket.

A potion that sparkles with a fresh green light like new buds.

“This is….”

Go Young-eun’s complexion changes upon seeing something she had received once before.

Daydream’s C-grade regeneration potion.

Manager Lee Ja-heon, who offered Director Ho Yu-won’s supply, gives instructions calmly.

“After taking it, please provide usage and environmental information you know about that casino.”

“…Yes.”

Go Young-eun couldn’t refuse this either, extending her bandaged hand tremblingly.

In that process, I saw Go Young-eun’s ear through the slightly opened padding gap….

‘…It’s gone.’

Her left ear was missing. An empty space finished with bandages.

[Oh my, she paid her ear as admission fee at the exhibition too, so she must be used to it.]

‘That’s probably not it.’

[Hm?]

Rationally, she might have judged it better to use an ear she had already lost before, but getting injured again in a place that was already hurt could rather become traumatic.

Perhaps because of that, Go Young-eun’s hand holding the potion heads toward the cap as if to open it immediately….

But then.

“Wait.”

I urgently stopped her.

“It might not work.”

“What?!”

“Did you exchange the lost body parts at the casino?”

“Not all of them, but… yes.”

“….”

If that’s the case.

“You saw Deputy Manager Dolphin earlier. His whole body was probably other people’s body parts.”

“…Yes. Probably handed over by people who were mortgaged here…!”

As if realizing something while speaking, Young-eun’s complexion changes.

That’s right.

“Seeing that, it seemed like the bodies exchanged at this casino all function properly even when taken away. So.”

I looked at Manager Lizard’s glove with an empty ring finger.

“It seems like they handed over the function itself to the casino, not just a lump of flesh called a ‘finger’.”

“….”

“There’s a high probability that the regeneration potion won’t work properly. …Even if the flesh grows back, the function won’t return.”

At that moment.

As if reflecting my deduction, a notification appears on my smartphone.

The coin exchange method at the body casino can only proceed by selling one’s own body parts, and the body parts sold at this time are permanently lost.

‘…!’

Could this be updating based on information I’ve realized?

Come to think of it, I remember new pages being updated when I entered the station or saw the notices.

‘It’s like a game help system.’

Anyway, I quickly looked away from my smartphone and continued speaking.

“I’m just telling you not to panic if the regeneration potion doesn’t work.”

Because ghost story rules usually work that way.

‘Unless a more powerful entity than this casino intervenes….’

No matter how much better it is than the annihilation-grade outside, this casino would also be a considerably powerful and vicious ghost story.

In that sense, it would be better to give up expectations that a mere C-grade dream potion would work properly.

“…Then, if it’s okay with you, could I keep the potion and use it at a more appropriate timing?”

“Yes. Please provide the information.”

“Of course.”

Go Young-eun, with her pale face nodding, quickly put the bottle away.

And asked.

“First, are you two the only ones who came here?”

“Actually, there are more. Right now in this room there’s another person….”

Ah.

“Come to think of it, Manager, where is the goat?”

“He’s at slot machine second row, 14th position.”

Go Young-eun’s and my heads turned in unison.

Indeed, there Baek Sa-heon was standing, watching a missing person attached to a slot machine operate the gambling device.

He seemed to be trying to figure out the machine’s pattern using his eyes or check the accumulated unsuccessful attempts, but he wasn’t even looking this way.

“…Should I drag him over if you need him?”

“No! It’s fine. Um, so are there three people total?”

“…Six in total.”

I saw people who had just appeared in front of the slot machine room.

“It’s Deputy Manager Peregrine Falcon and the agents.”

“Oh, everyone was here….”

Agent Choi was raising his hand after spotting us, then hesitated upon seeing Go Young-eun wearing the padding.

And the next moment.

“…Agent Park Ha.”

He recognized her.

Go Young-eun tried to cover her head with the padding and bow deeply as if wanting to hide her face, then stayed still as if giving up.

‘Ah.’

It seemed she reflexively tried to hide for fear of being caught as a spy, then realized it was meaningless now given the situation.

The two agents approached quickly with stiff faces.

“Why on earth are you here….”

“….”

“I heard contact was lost after you submitted your resignation. After that, we confirmed an official dismissal document was issued….”

“You already know I was a spy planted by Daydream, right?”

“…!”

Bronze Agent’s pupils shook as he looked back at Agent Choi.

Agent Choi was smiling bitterly.

“I had my suspicions.”

“….”

“It’s okay. It wasn’t confirmed. You submitted your resignation right after Grape disappeared, so I just thought you might be a spy based on circumstances. Besides, there’s no trace of you leaking any particularly meaningful information, right?”

“Then, this is shameless of me, but.”

Go Young-eun raised her head and spoke in a stiff voice.

“Could I possibly share information about how to get out of this subway?”

“….”

“I just can’t see any way to get out….”

…Young-eun seemed to assume that since both Daydream employees and Disaster Management Bureau agents had entered, they must have secured a way out.

It was a wise deduction. However.

“Currently, there isn’t one.”

“Excuse me?”

The Bronze Agent explained with a firm voice.

“We entered using a special method, so we plan to return using a way that others cannot use.”

“Ah.”

I hastily interjected.

“But we’ll try to find a way for Agent Park Ha to get out.”

“Of course you should.”

Agent Choi’s voice as she answered was solid enough to be trustworthy. However….

“….”

“…No. Please don’t worry about me for now.”

“…!”

A worn and sunken voice.

“I don’t even know how many people are trapped just in this city’s subway. …If the Management Bureau could rescue these people, I thought you would have done it long ago.”

“….”

The agents’ faces hardened.

It was probably because it was a very accurate truth.

In fact, currently, there was no method or hope for people physically trapped in Segwang Special City to get out….

“Still, I asked just in case. There seem to be so many capable people here, so….”

But the next moment, Go Young-eun, who had caught her breath as if trying to drive away fear, changed her tone.

“Right now, it would be better to focus on rescuing Dolphin. That person… it seems like you’re trying to rescue him because the escape method you can use works on him, right?”

“Yes.”

Following Lizard’s immediate answer, Agent Choi asked gently.

“…Then do you happen to know how that citizen became a dealer? Even small clues or speculation would be fine.”

Go Young-eun raised her hand and pointed at something.

“He probably aimed for that.”

A banner.

Royal Casino Limited

Premium Product

Emergency Exit 10000 Coins

The talked-about product that can take you anywhere! A high-quality transportation method for busy■■modern people, a luxury item for the top 0.01%.

“Countless people would have seen that as their only hope and aimed for it.”

“….”

“…Including Agent Park Ha?”

“No.”

Go Young-eun closed her mouth and then opened it again.

“…When you know the accumulated failure cases, it becomes difficult to attempt.”

And her gaze turned toward the addicts filling the slot machine room.

“But Dolphin seems to have attempted it.”

“How did you know that?”

“I heard rumors.”

From whom exactly.

But Go Young-eun continued the story without explaining that part.

A few days ago, there was talk that someone newly appeared was winning tremendous coins at the Body Casino….

“At first, they only exchanged food and water, but one day they exchanged one more body part to make coins, and based on that, they earned hundreds of coins in a single day at the dealer room.”

“…!!”

“So I came looking for this casino, but at that time….”

“At that time?”

“That person had already entered the VIP room.”

“….”

“They had earned over 1000 coins.”

So without being able to confirm, she visited the Body Casino again today. And….

“…You probably saw that rumored person appear as a new dealer.”

“Yes.”

Dolphin, that is.

“I think he probably lost big in the VIP room. Or became severely corrupted.”

“….”

Then, Agent Choi, who had been observing Go Young-eun carefully, spoke.

“I did find other body parts of Dolphin inside the pawn shop glass.”

“…!!”

“They were carefully stored separately in a deep place. No wonder they weren’t easily visible.”

“How many are there?”

“Hey. That’s hard to be certain about, citizen. But… I definitely checked the elbow, hand, and left foot.”

I was about to ask how she figured it out when I realized it was Agent Choi.

‘She identified me just by looking at the blood vessels in my wrist.’

Then the same could apply to a Baekillmong Corporation employee who had been traveling together for over a day.

However.

“Those body parts stored inside can’t be purchased by designation. The response said it was impossible because they’re ‘special products.'”

Special products.

Could it be….

My eyes met with Agent Choi’s.

“Are they used for games in the VIP room?”

“…There’s definitely enough possibility.”

It seemed certain that Lee Seong-hae lost most of his body in the VIP room and became a dealer.

Tension appeared on everyone’s faces.

Then.

“To exchange as many body parts as possible and return Lee Seong-hae to his original form, we also need to enter the VIP room.”

“….”

“It’ll be difficult.”

Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je put a cigarette in her mouth, then took it out and put it away as she spoke.

“First, we need to make 1000 coins, but gambling isn’t something you should do thinking you’ll win.”

“….”

“That’s how you end up handing over land deeds, house deeds, and writing body forfeiture agreements. You know?”

Of course.

“But Dolphin made over 1000 coins in just a few days.”

“…!”

“Even though his conditions were much worse than ours.”

Given Lee Seong-hae’s personality, it didn’t seem like he enjoyed gambling regularly. This meant there was a high probability he wasn’t a skilled professional gambler.

[Indeed, even for a talented and lucky gambler, that wouldn’t be easy. Such an unnatural series of consecutive victories! Then… oh.]

[I suspect there might have been a touch of magical ‘seasoning’ added.]

Exactly.

“Certainly, there’s an ‘alternative method’ that can win with high probability.”

A method of clearing by targeting gaps in the ghost story’s rules.

It was also an ability befitting an Elite Team employee.

Therefore.

“From now on, let’s figure out that method and accumulate 1000 coins to enter the VIP room, shall we?”

“…Yes.”

Tension flowed between us.

At that moment.

Beep beep beep beep!!!

“…!”

I turned my head.

One slot machine was flashing and spewing out lights and music.

A sign of winning.

And the person sitting in front of it was catching the coins the slot machine was spitting out along with some ‘product’, wearing an excited expression.

‘Baek Sa-heon!’

He had finally won.

But….

“…That.”

All the users in the slot machine room looked at Baek Sa-heon.

And they rushed toward him.

“…!!”

Baek Sa-heon hurriedly swept everything into his arms, then made eye contact with me.

And without hesitation, he started running toward us.

‘Hey!!’

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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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