Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work - Chapter 320
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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 320
Baekillmong Corporation’s Interrogation Room.
In the unprecedented situation where the Potion Manufacturing Machine had disappeared, the Interrogator’s mouth fell open at my bombshell statement at the Field Site.
“You saw a bo, bomb in the Elevator?”
“Yes.”
I nodded expressionlessly. And calmly declared.
“I’m telling you it was there.”
And chaos broke out.
But the Employees who dragged me along to the Elevator confirmed the Interior was completely clean with nothing there.
“Oh, it’s gone. It was definitely there though.”
“….”
“Anyway, I saw it.”
A truth detector appeared.
At Baekillmong, ‘ghost-possessed items that reveal the truth’ are a regular staple. This time, a Twilight-grade Knitted Doll appeared.
The big-eyed Knitted Doll asked using Ventriloquism.
『Was there really a bomb?』
“I’m telling you there was.”
….
『It’s true.』
The Interrogation Room fell into chaos!
And from that moment on, I started spouting all kinds of nonsense.
“Oh, I also saw a cult-affiliated Employee in the Elevator.”
“I saw Researchers racing through the Alley.”
“I saw the dragon and fox from the New Employee training video getting beaten up by the Rabbit.”
“I saw the Security Team beating up the Director.”
『It’s true.』
All of them were judged as truth!
“Confession Potion! We need a Confession Potion!”
“He just seems crazy, why waste a Confession Potion! Does any of that make sense?”
Yeah.
“It’s nonsense!”
It’s real though.
But the realistic and experienced Interrogation Officers make a very appropriate guess.
“Even if it’s not really the truth, if you believe it’s the truth, it comes out as true.”
“Ah…!”
The verdict was that I’m a crazy bastard.
Eventually, the Interrogation Officers who had been whispering to each other in disgust declared:
“Let’s check if that Researcher is contaminated.”
“…!”
“I think…”
The sound of whispering.
“It seems like someone released Darkness here.”
“Then could it be that the machine disappeared too…”
“That’s right.”
There was the sound of swallowing saliva.
“It seems like the work of Darkness that failed containment. People are getting contaminated, and I think that Researcher might be the first symptom case.”
[…That’s what they’re saying, Friend!]
Hmm.
From the comfortable Interrogation Room, I heard from Brown about the Company Employees in charge of my interrogation outside developing their theories intensely.
Now, what follows is…
“We need to test that Researcher for contamination. And we should also properly request another inspection to see if there’s any Darkness that failed containment in the Annex Building.”
And so, 30 minutes later.
“Please take him away!”
“Yes…”
I was transferred to the Security Team.
I was being transported to a Containment Room to verify my ‘contamination status.’
Thus, after drawing all kinds of aggro in the Interrogation Room, I naturally made my exit.
The New Researchers who had been quarantined on the 10th Floor were looking at me like they were looking at a crazy person.
Goodbye, Park Kyung-hwan Researcher’s brilliant career.
[Everyone was in such a panic, oh, it was like a comedy show!]
‘Whoever stole it should be grateful to me.’
Thanks to me, they probably bought an hour or two. Plus, with an additional hypothesis to verify, they’ll have more trouble with tracking.
Of course, there was something I paid in equivalent Exchange.
‘This Researcher’s bright Company life…’
To waste administrative power like this during the unprecedented situation of the potion manufacturing machine disappearing – contamination or whatever, I must have really gotten on their bad side.
Same with my relationship with my Colleagues.
‘You… are really screwed for working well at this Company…’
Just quit.
I try to think that I did something beneficial for the countless Field Investigation Team People and Civilians who died or got screwed because of you. Hmm.
I inwardly shrugged my shoulders, then followed along as the thin, hunched Security Team Employee dragged me away.
With the theft incident, all traffic to the Annex Building itself was blocked.
I took the elevator with the Security Team Employee and was transported to the Temporary Isolation Zone on the Annex 2nd Floor.
“….”
“….”
Thud.
The moment I entered the Containment Room and the door closed, leaving just the two of us, the thin Security Team Employee pressed a device on the Wall to stop the recording function.
“…Um.”
I saw the face of the other person lowering their Mask in the CCTV Blind Spot.
Security Chief J3 blinked at me.
“Noru… right…?”
Ah.
“…Why do you think that?”
“Well… the smell is exactly the same…?”
Body odor.
Even though I had deodorized myself and even sprayed the perfume this Researcher used, it seems that still gave me away.
‘It must be because of the Security Chief’s Contamination Trait.’
I eventually held back a sigh and lightly nodded my head.
“Yes. That’s right.”
I was planning to talk with the Security Chief anyway, so this worked out better.
But the Security Chief’s Gaze looking at me blankly remained the same.
“You’re… talking.”
…Ah.
“Yes.”
I smiled faintly.
“I’ve recovered.”
“…!”
“It’s not something I can do just by disguising myself, I can really do it.”
I said while waving my hand.
The Security Chief’s Gaze followed the movement of my bare hand.
That clean thing without Gloves, without Black Smoke, without dripping Flesh.
A human hand.
“I can even eat meals now. I couldn’t do it even when we were on the same team, so it would be nice to do it together sometime.”
“…Yeah.”
The Security Chief slowly nodded.
And likewise slowly, a faint smile spread across that face too.
“That’s good…”
“…Thank you.”
[Still, this has-been knows their place. Oh, the entertainment market is filled with sand-grain-like characters who reveal worthless jealousy while lamenting their situation of having gone as far as they can go…]
…Because there’s absolutely no hope for recovery.
That might be it.
“Um… should I bring some snacks…?”
“Ah, I’m fine for now. I’ll buy some later myself.”
“Mm, thanks…”
Looking at the Security Chief who seemed oddly less bothered by everything than before, I suddenly had that thought.
‘If you drink a Wish Potion… couldn’t you wish for something like complete recovery from contamination?’
Has no one ever tried wishing for that?
‘…Ah, right, only full-time employees can take them.’
And the ‘full-time’ Field Investigation Team members would use any Wish Potion they had for their ‘desperate wish’ – the reason they joined this company in the first place – before using it for their contamination recovery.
So recovering from contamination with a Wish Potion would situationally almost never happen.
But still.
‘…What if someone else made the wish for them?’
What would happen then?
Just like how Go Young-eun made a wish on behalf of Jang Heo-un.
‘…Has there really never been anyone who did that?’
[An interesting question, Noru. Though it won’t be easily resolved right now!]
I decided to keep that question in my head for now.
Since there was a more urgent topic at hand.
We were able to continue our conversation in a much lighter atmosphere.
The disappearance of the Daydream Potion Maker!
“Um… the machine, did you steal it…?”
“Absolutely not.”
Though I was planning to steal it.
“Didn’t you steal it, Security Captain?”
“I didn’t…”
“…”
“…”
We both felt a bit awkward.
“Um, about seeing a bomb in the elevator…”
“Ah.”
I nodded solemnly.
“That means I’m the bomb.”
“…”
No, seriously, I have similar items in my inventory.
The other things are similar too.
‘It’s a trick of omitting the subject or object.’
I’ve actually witnessed or experienced it before, but that doesn’t mean I saw it just now.
‘But since it all comes out as truth, it drives people crazy.’
Of course, if it had come to the truth serum, I was planning to deal with it in a different way, but anyway.
“Then neither of us did it.”
“Yes….”
The two would-be thieves who had been outmaneuvered blinked and looked at each other.
“…Do you think someone else might have stolen it?”
“I don’t know….”
I, I suppose so….
“Then was there anything strange?”
“Strange…?”
“Yes. Like someone acting suspicious, or something feeling off.”
The Security Chief seemed lost in thought for a moment, then answered slowly.
“Hmm… somehow… right now… seems a bit strange… too.”
…Right now?
“What do you mean?”
“Uh….”
The Security Chief looked like he found thinking bothersome, but slowly turned his gaze outside the containment room.
“Someone seems to have died….”
“…What?”
At that moment.
Flicker.
“…!”
The indoor lights blinked.
As if vision had almost disappeared, all light sources vanished for a moment….
Then the lights came back on.
“….”
“….”
Ding-dong.
-Attention please! All personnel in the Annex Building, please do not be alarmed by the sudden power outage and remain at your positions….
A voice came from the speaker mounted on the wall.
It was the Orientation Host’s voice.
-Until the Dream Maker is recovered, the lockdown of the Annex Building will not be lifteeeeeeeekkkzahhkkreuuugieuugeujiaguijaugijaueukeuuuuugujigidikiiiiigidigigikikeuk
-….
-….
-Sealed.
Click.
The announcement broadcast cut off.
“….”
“Shh.”
Creak.
Before I knew it, the Security Chief who had pulled up his mask reopened the door to the temporary isolation room. Then he turned to look at me and said.
“Stay still, here…. I’ll go check and come back….”
“…Yes.”
“If it’s dangerous… lock it.”
Thud.
The Security Chief left the containment room door open with just a very small gap.
Soon I could hear the sound of him walking out into the corridor outside the door….
“….”
I waited for a moment.
‘Stay calm.’
Right now I’m infiltrating under someone else’s identity. Let’s not waste this advantage.
Information is important, so I planned to wait until the Security Chief finished checking things and came back.
But the ominous atmosphere made my hands grow cold.
And after several dozen seconds.
Flicker.
“…!”
My vision disappeared.
Power outage.
Without leaving a single point of light, everything vanished completely into pitch black, leaving only cool darkness.
“….”
I sat frozen in my chair, quietly adapting to the darkness….
This time the lights didn’t come back on.
And.
-….
…From outside the door gap of the containment room, I thought I heard some kind of voice.
“…Security Captain?”
But there was no response.
I carefully got up, took a deep breath to calm myself, then brought my eye to the gap in the containment room door…
My hands trembled as I was about to do something you’d only see in horror movies.
And to my eyes that had finished adapting to the darkness, a very faint silhouette became visible.
…The sight of a dark corridor.
-2F-
“….”
No one was there.
‘Is this… a ghost story?’
Could it really be that the potion manufacturing machine disappeared because of a ghost story?
Then I might have helped with the deduction by working backwards.
[Now, what action will you take, friend?]
I looked outside the door gap again.
Then I realized that this corridor wasn’t completely empty.
Some kind of black rectangular device was lying on the floor.
‘…What’s that?’
But it was hard to see clearly in the darkness.
After hesitating for a moment, instead of taking out contamination, I quietly stepped outside the door.
This way, even if someone discovered me, they’d just think the crazy researcher was acting up again.
And very carefully, I walked through the dark corridor and approached the object on the floor…
Stop.
When I stopped my steps nearby and crouched down, I identified what the object was.
‘…A camcorder.’
The old camcorder didn’t look like something that would be used in modern times.
A handheld camcorder with a screen part that opened to the side.
[Oh, quite an elegant filming tool. Though it does look shabby.]
‘….’
Camcorder ghost story.
Several candidates flashed through my mind. After deliberating, I stood up without touching the camcorder…
“There…”
“…! Security Captain.”
It was Jay.
I barely managed not to mess up the title as I watched Security Chief J3 walking toward me from the other end of the corridor.
“Are you alright?”
“Yeah… nothing happened…”
The Security Chief walked toward me.
I let out a sigh of relief as I looked at him, then lowered my gaze to the camcorder.
“That’s…?”
“Oh, it was lying on the floor…”
There’s no shadow.
“…”
Right now, even though the Security Chief has approached right in front of me, there’s no shadow beneath him.
I couldn’t notice it well from a distance in the darkness.
“Um…”
“…”
Cold sweat ran down my back.
In my head, I frantically searched through the Darkness Investigation Records to find the corresponding ghost story. So this, this is…
“…!!”
I picked up the camcorder from the floor.
The moment I hurriedly opened the side panel, the camcorder powered on and the screen activated.
I pointed that camcorder at the ‘Security Chief.’
“What… are you doing?”
Inside the camcorder screen.
A face that isn’t the Security Chief is looking at me.
Grinning wickedly.
Filling the screen while rolling its eyes and grinning, a face with disheveled hair and protruding cheekbones.
Worn hospital gown.
…Below those baggy lower garments, instead of legs, only nerves and blood vessels are swaying in the air.
But when I look up, there’s the Security Chief standing there with a puzzled expression.
“What’s wrong…?”
“…”
Shit.
I turned around and ran.
The sound of something chasing me frantically echoed.
‘Damn it,’
Damn it, damn it damn it!!
This is a hospital ghost story…!
======================
Darkness Investigation Records / Ghost Story
We record our final moments
: The ghost story appearing in the Darkness Investigation Records, Baekillmong Corporation’s identification code is Qterw-C-1004.
A camcorder recording of some incident that occurred at a nursing home located in XX Northern Province.
The moment someone views this recording in a sealed building above 5 floors, the events that occurred on this nursing home’s final day of operation are reenacted.
For incident records of the closed nursing home, refer to the appendix.
A total of 43 explorations have been recorded.
======================
‘Was that thing in the annex building?’
No, why was this even released in the first place? No…
Get it together!
‘Since it’s already started, be grateful you grabbed the camcorder!’
When staring at the screen of a camcorder randomly acquired in the mutated space (excluding the 4th floor), you can confirm the actual truth of what’s happening.
I almost added another type of contamination.
…Though that danger still exists now.
Tadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadak
Damn, damn!
I felt ‘something that appeared to be the Security Chief’ persistently following and chasing after me.
The sound of footsteps from something chasing me to reenact what had happened to it.
No, not feet… the sound of something whip-like striking the walls and floor!
‘Ha.’
Goosebumps rose to the tips of my hair.
But I looked at the camcorder in the darkness to check my vision and formulated a plan for now.
I’ll shake it off at this corner for now…
Something pushed me.
“…!!”
No, it pulled me at the same time.
With my mouth covered, I tumbled into one of the offices. Someone pushed me and shoved me under a desk.
I reflexively tried to counterattack, but stopped because the behavior pattern seemed strange for a ghost story.
‘Who is it?’
I lifted my head to see who was responsible…
It was Baek Sa-heon.
“…!”
I reflexively brought the camcorder up, but nothing was reflected in it…
It’s really Baek Sa-heon.
With an expression of rising irritation, Baek Sa-heon grabs my camcorder.
‘Fire!’
I hurriedly folded the camcorder and lowered my body.
The guy who was trying to snatch the camcorder eventually looked at me with an expression that said ‘shut up’ and crouched down himself.
‘…No.’
How is this bastard in the annex building?
And…
‘Don’t tell me he was trying to save me just now?’
Why? I reflexively focused my gaze to read more of his facial expression. Baek Sa-heon glares back at me as if asking what I’m looking at. But…
Creeeeak.
“…”
“…”
We both froze.
“…Excuse me?”
The door opened.
“Where are they… They definitely came this way…”
…I can hear movement.
The shadowless ‘Security Chief’, the sound of walking.
Not normal footsteps, but strangely, the sound of thin strands sticking to the floor and then falling off…
Squish, squiiish-
Curses rise to my throat and sweat flows.
I was crouched quietly under the desk with Baek Sa-heon, keeping our mouths shut. Holding our breath in the space shrouded in darkness, staying still…
“Are they in this hospital room…”
‘…Hospital room?’
And I gradually realize.
The air has changed.
Among the office’s characteristic smell of paper and diffuser, there’s a peculiar scent.
A cool and uncomfortable scent.
…The smell of disinfectant.
I realized.
We were no longer crouched under the desk, but under a hospital bed.
“…”
I lowered my gaze.
The camcorder automatically turned on, and the red light was lighting up.
“There it is.”
The Patient’s hand suddenly grabbed my camcorder.
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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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