Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work - Chapter 44

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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 044

The dark bronze mansion.

I’m walking silently behind Park Min-seong.

The team leader, who had achieved the insane accomplishment of ‘disguising as a guide machine to fool the machine and rescue a poor new employee,’ evaluated himself like this:

“The AI didn’t seem like a particularly excellent machine. About the level of a robot vacuum? So I thought I could fool its appearance for a moment!”

The machine’s intelligence didn’t seem that bad, but anyway, I was just tearfully grateful and thankful that the timing worked out and he saved me.

“Um, but how did you become a guide machine…?”

“Ah! My specialized equipment.”

Team Leader Park grinned and showed me the cloth hanging around his neck.

Ah!

I recalled what Team Leader Park had told me before about introducing his specialized equipment.

-Mine is a disguise item, but it can’t transform into people and the duration is short too. I just use it to try my luck when things get desperate.

Since we’d only entered ghost stories where such things didn’t work or were meaningless, I’d only heard about it in words, but now I finally see the real thing.

‘It’s pretty good in limited situations??’

I wanted to pay money and borrow it as collateral for creating new specialized equipment.

Of course, that’s not what’s urgent right now!

“Good. Phew. Now that we’ve found Noru too, let’s quickly get out of this crazy place.”

“Are you saying you’ve found a way out?”

“…”

Park Min-seong just grinned without answering.

‘He seems to have something he’s counting on.’

I decided to quickly follow the team leader for now.

“This way.”

We climb the stairs again from basement level 1.

Before long, the surroundings became yellowish, and a massive corridor dyed in brass instead of bronze was revealed.

‘It’s the ground level.’

That alone could be considered reassuring, but…

On the first floor, pandemonium was breaking loose.

Aaaahhhhh!

Mmph!!! Uuuuugh!

My eaaaar… ear! My ear!

Screams echoed from all directions.

‘Two hours have passed.’

The employees who had been hiding were gradually getting caught by the guide robots and having other body parts pulled out…

Just like me earlier.

“…”

The team leader moved his feet without even looking back at the corners where the sounds were coming from.

“Noru, let’s not turn our heads.”

“…”

His hands were clenched so tight that veins were bulging.

“It must be hard, but right now we’re in a hurry to save our own team’s lives. If we’re going to keep collecting points here… we need to learn how to give up too.”

“…”

Suddenly, I remembered the moment when the team leader had resigned himself to survival in the talk show.

-…I have a family member in the hospital, and I’d like someone to check on them once this filming is over! If possible.

Somehow, I feel like I understand how this seemingly good-natured team leader has been surviving in this place…

Anyway, I didn’t resist.

Soon the team leader seemed to have safely arrived at his desired destination while surveying the surroundings.

And that place was…

“Here it is.”

“…”

A window.

The tightly closed opaque glass window that Go Young-eun had desperately tried to open earlier.

‘Don’t tell me we’re going to exit through here?’

However, instead of desperately trying to pry open the window, the team leader raised his finger and timidly knocked.

Knock- knock knock knock

Then the window opened with a click.

“…?!”

No, it didn’t just open.

This form that slides open all the way to the floor is…

‘…A terrace door!’

This wasn’t a window after all!

‘Is that why the exploration record too?’

======================

The 19th record is testimony left by a visitor who attempted to pass outside through a window, but we will arbitrarily omit it due to credibility issues.

This is because there are no windows in this exhibition hall.

======================

I thought it was just typical ghost story manual-style description, but there really were no windows.

“Let’s go in.”

“Yes.”

But there was no time to be flustered, so I immediately went outside through the open terrace door. A hexagonal small terrace space with a long sofa and table was revealed.

But strangely, the scenery outside the terrace wasn’t visible. Only black fog was thick…

As if we weren’t permitted to have vision.

Click.

The moment Team Leader Park closed the terrace door while keeping watch of the surroundings, someone who had been sitting on the sofa stood up and tapped my shoulder.

“I knew you’d be safe.”

“Deputy Manager.”

It was Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je.

And Lizard Team Leader’s vertical pupils calmly met my eyes.

“Our team leader said to expand the search range since you weren’t nearby, but you really just came out from the floor below.”

“Thank you.”

“Did you deliberately go down to that weird atmosphere place to look for an exit? That’s so like you.”

I looked at Team Leader Park with fresh eyes.

Because I newly realized what an enormous decision it had been to go down to basement level 1 where the atmosphere suddenly changed, in a situation with no information about the number of floors.

‘Thank you so much really…’

Thanks to you, I preserved my eyeballs.

No, and also…

“How on earth did you get here? There was someone who kept trying to open the window but failed…”

“? I opened it by hand.”

“….”

I see.

‘They say when your body suffers, your mind follows…’

Now that I look at it, the terrace door handle seems to be rattling.

If the guide catches that, won’t we be in for something truly horrific?

But Team D’s supervisors seemed accustomed to situations where Lizard Team Leader had created his own unique path, and simply began the meeting calmly.

“Well, now that all our team members are gathered… shall we attempt an escape, Team Leader?”

“Yes.”

“…Do you have a viable escape method?”

“Yes.”

“…I’d like to ask what kind of method it is.”

The Lizard manager answered simply.

“We’ll tie a rope to the terrace railing and explore the outer walls of this exhibition space.”

“….”

Excuse me?

“If we look from outside, there should be a floor with the main entrance. We can exit through there.”

Well now…

“I see.”

If only this damned grand mansion didn’t go down to underground seven thousand floors, it might have been tempting.

And if only I didn’t have an item in my briefcase right now that could get us out much more easily.

‘I can get out with this.’

Thinking of the candle that should be setting well, I raised my hand.

“Please wait a moment.”

If I show them the actual item while explaining, I think I can convince them.

Let me just buy a little time until it’s complete.

And also do some rescue work.

“I got separated from two colleagues while traveling together, but they should still be nearby. If you give me just a moment, I’ll go out and find them…”

“….”

“….”

Ah.

“Noru.”

Eun Ha-je said matter-of-factly.

“There were exactly three new employees who entered here. Including you.”

“….”

“They picked a few kids who had good performance records and put them in… they know it themselves. They’re just filling numbers.”

“Senior,”

“Be quiet.”

The team leader who had silenced the supervisor continued speaking.

“You saw it at lunch earlier, right? The upper management in the conference room. Those bird-brains are hoping this might be A-grade.”

It comes back to me.

-But civilian survivors came out when it’s definitely high-grade darkness? This could be an innovative case of opening up a new high-quality raw material supply source.

“They were all excited saying this could become the supply source with the highest survival rate among all A-grade darkness cases. A-grade dream essence is always out of stock.”

“….”

“New employees? They put them in with the cost processing assumption that they could all die from the start.”

Because it’s more profitable to pull out an A-grade manual and open up a supply source for the highest-grade raw materials that are in short supply.

While it’s true that the longer field investigation teams survive and gain experience, the more their lives are valued, consumables are still consumables.

They’re pushed aside by more precious resources.

“Remember this. The bastards who work in departments far from field investigation treat human lives like flies.”

Eun Ha-je sighed as she put away her cigarette again.

“So take good care of your own life.”

“….”

“We don’t have time, so let’s go down now. If you feel unnecessary sympathy, you’ll only make it harder on yourself.”

I barely managed to speak.

“That’s not it.”

“Good kid, yeah. If they’re lucky, they’ll also get out…”

“My colleague was carrying an escape item!”

“…?!”

Of course, it was a lie.

“We don’t even know what’s outside, so there’s no need to dangerously climb down holding a rope.”

But this much is definitely true!

“With just that item, we should be able to escape safely from here.”

I came back down to basement level 1.

Although my legs are shaking from wandering around here alone, the fear has dulled a bit since my goal is very clear.

Finding my colleagues.

-I’m giving you exactly 20 minutes. If you can’t find them within that time, just return.

My lie about my colleague having an escape item that would amaze the universe and shock the world worked well enough.

So the time I got is short, but… it’s manageable.

‘They couldn’t have gone far.’

When people are shocked, their mobility decreases. They’re probably looking for a place nearby to hide and trying to pull themselves together mentally.

Besides, I had given them a hint before.

About where it would be good to hide.

‘Ventilation ducts.’

And at the 7-minute mark of the search.

I finally found my colleague crammed into the outer ventilation duct of the basement level 1 corridor.

But it’s Baek Sa-heon.

“….”

“….”

“Hey.”

Baek Sa-heon avoided eye contact.

“Do you want to get out?”

Baek Sa-heon looked at me with a very suspicious expression.

But at the same time, he nodded.

“Then tell me where Sanyang is.”

Uh, this somehow sounds like I’m threatening him to reveal a colleague’s location…

“She went into the left exhibition hall. She’s probably hiding behind the sofa!”

“….”

He revealed her location without any hesitation. What a disloyal guy.

Anyway, I successfully found Go Young-eun as well.

14 minutes had passed by this point.

“No, Noru! Thank goodness, really…!”

I briefly explained to Go Young-eun, whose eyes were puffy from crying, that I had received help from the supervisors, and quickly resumed moving.

And I made a request.

“I told the team members that we need to find the key items for escape because they were entrusted to you two. Please go along with this story.”

“…!”

I handed Go Young-eun the paper with candle mold drawing that I had put in my document bag.

Go Young-eun very carefully tucked it into the front of her business suit and nodded.

“I just need to keep my mouth shut and read the room, right?”

Yes!

Baek Sa-heon, who was naturally ignored during this process, looked at me with an expression that said he had a lot to say, but he didn’t bother opening his mouth.

He must have sensed that escape was drawing near.

And when I opened the terrace door and went out to the terrace with my two colleagues, exactly 19 minutes had passed.

I wrapped it up within 20 minutes. Phew.

“We came looking for you.”

“Wow.”

“Honestly, I knew this would happen since it’s Noru.”

Seeing the deputy and team leader each throw out a comment, my two colleagues began reading the room. Anyone could tell they weren’t exactly being welcomed.

The Lizard was even already in the middle of taking out rope on the terrace.

“Ah, we….”

“We’ll skip the greetings.”

Lee Ja-heon twisted the rope and secured it to the pillar using the Pulling Knot Method while speaking in a dry tone.

“Explain the items you possess within 200 seconds.”

My colleagues swallowed in unison.

I immediately intervened.

“Would it be alright if I explained on their behalf?”

“Yes.”

Now it was time to explain properly.

According to the keywords I had combined, this candle was….

“This item can deceive the Guide Machine.”

Lee Ja-heon stopped moving his hands.

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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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