Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work - Chapter 89

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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 089

Death Road.

A bizarre alley with a name that seems derived from the trendy hotspot alleys that were once popular.

If there’s a civilian who got caught up after casually downloading the app from the flyer for fun, they might be confused at first.

The ‘Main Alley of Death Road’ that you encounter initially has many street vendors, making it look like a lively night market.

But if you look a little more closely…

Confirmed Death Road Street Vendor Items for Sale

Anyone who reads this far knows.

‘To get out of here safely, I shouldn’t look around at all!’

All the items being sold are things that normal people couldn’t use, and the merchants are even actively soliciting customers.

The best strategy is to pass by quickly with an uninterested face, like someone who has a destination in mind.

However, as you move away from the dazzling signboards and electric lights and flee into the smaller alleys, you’ll gradually start to feel something strange…

Because it doesn’t end.

The alley keeps getting narrower and narrower… until it eventually becomes too narrow for a person to enter.

‘…If you get that far, it’s game over.’

Right. Here, you can’t just walk out of the alley by force.

So what should you do?

It’s simple.

Since you received directions when coming in, you just need to receive directions when going out too.

Ding.

‘…It’s started.’

I looked at the new event page that appeared on the smartphone app.

Death Road 10,000 Steps Walking Event

Don’t give up on your body!

Remaining steps: 10000

This is it.

The culprit that lured people into the ghost story, and also the most orthodox and safe lifeline to get out.

When you successfully complete the smartphone app’s ‘10,000 steps walking’ event, you can escape from that alley.

I have to focus only on this to get out.

…However, regardless of what the coward thinks, the ghost story resident in my pocket is just intoxicated by the night market atmosphere.

-Ah, it’s been a while since I’ve been to a place like this. It’s difficult for a show host to visit privately, isn’t it?

Friend

-The quality isn’t to my liking, but one or two pieces wouldn’t be bad as souvenirs!

Aaahhh.

‘…No. Let’s buy it somewhere else. I should buy something better for Friend.’

Friend

That was the moment.

Guest

“…!!”

One of the street vendors who jumped out grabbed my arm.

Over there

There was nothing behind the street vendor.

No open door, no shop, no space.

But the merchant speaks again.

Inside

I shouldn’t look.

I just need to refuse quietly and naturally without looking closely at their face. I barely tried to open my mouth…

But before that,

Lizard grabbed the merchant’s arm first.

“??”

Tight.

Red vertical pupils turned toward the merchant.

“….”

“….”

The merchant slowly averted their gaze.

Then they quietly let go of my arm and started soliciting other shadowy figures as if nothing had happened.

“….”

This… works?

I realized something new. Lizard can make ghosts show consideration…

“Thank you.”

“Yes.”

Physical exorcism couldn’t be more convenient than this.

‘Come to think of it, I was supposed to receive equipment that increases physical strength from Lee Ja-heon for custom parent equipment.’

I should mention it when this job is over.

For now, perhaps because it was a real threat, Lizard didn’t voice any instructions that only someone whose guts had jumped out of their belly could handle without fainting.

He simply said this.

“When entering this place with 4 or more people, the standard manual is to move in pairs of 2, and if possible, to check new alleys.”

Hmm?

“Noru, please choose an employee to accompany you.”

Ah. I see.

Since I have the highest rank among the three here, he’s probably thinking of maintaining fairness by definitely putting me on a different team from himself.

‘Too bad… Lizard’s power.’

The sweet convenience I just experienced was very tempting.

But it was something I had prepared for. Still, I did enter with Lee Ja-heon, so like at the exhibition, I might be able to get help if needed.

‘So he’s asking me to choose who among my colleagues I’ll accompany?’

Hmm.

I spoke politely.

“Then since we’re acquainted, would it be alright if I accompany Mr. Buffalo?”

“Yes.”

It would be difficult to move around comfortably with a new person around.

‘…Since I need to check that chocolate wrapper.’

Besides, that colleague Kang I-hak would probably prefer to accompany the Team Leader too…

“Oh my! Wait a moment. If it’s okay with you, could I go with Mr. Buffalo?”

Kang I-hak interjected.

Huh?

“Since you two are originally from the same team, it wouldn’t be right for us support people to split up the team! I also have something to discuss with Mr. Buffalo…”

Kang I-hak persuasively conveyed to Manager Lee Ja-heon that ‘since it’s not a high-grade ghost story anyway, two employees should be fine as long as they follow the manual properly’ without offending anyone.

“If you two are okay with it, we colleagues should be fine too!”

“Yes.”

Lizard nodded.

“Move in groups of three.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Noru, Pony, Mr. Buffalo. Move in groups of three.”

Kang I-hak barely managed to respond without losing his sociability.

“Uh, thank you, but wouldn’t it be problematic for you to bear the risk of going alone, Manager?”

“Yes.”

“…”

Oh no.

But with things like this, persuasion was hopeless.

‘Groups of three, huh.’

Manager Lee Ja-heon approached me before leaving.

“Noru.”

And suddenly handed me something.

“Press this if problems arise.”

“…”

A small brown circle fell into my hand.

A small button.

It was something I had used once during the Tuesday Quiz Show.

…It’s Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je’s communication equipment.

“…Have you made contact with Deputy Manager Peregrine Falcon?”

“Yes. Yesterday I was asked to deliver this to you, Noru.”

“…”

I nodded slowly.

“Thank you.”

“Yes.”

And Lizard disappeared to the other side of the alley…

“…Then let’s also walk and move from this street vendor alley to somewhere else.”

“Yes…!”

“Ah, yes yes.”

I also moved my steps along with my two colleagues.

Don’t give up on your body!

Remaining steps: 9130

Walking through the long alley where bizarre street vendor lights flicker while being careful not to turn off the app is surprisingly mentally exhausting.

Even more so when you can’t let your guard down about the surrounding environment for even a moment.

“Phew.”

Jang Heo-un tried to slightly lift his mask to wipe away the sweat that had formed under it.

Wait.

“Be careful.”

“…!”

I stopped Jang Heo-un.

“In this place, it would be better to follow the anonymity manual more thoroughly than anywhere else. …Mr. Buffalo.”

“…Yes.”

Jang Heo-un slowly lowered his hand while wiping away his sweat drops.

…

One of the street vendor merchants who had been watching him intently started soliciting customers again.

Murmur murmur.

‘Phew.’

The merchants in the alley show aggressive tendencies to sell items and receive payment by any means.

To avoid getting caught up in this, do not expose any information, personal details, or appearance that could become weaknesses.

Especially strictly control mentions and actions regarding characteristics of real-world humans, residences, and people around you.

The company’s manual was accurate.

‘The moment you fail to follow this, you’ll passively get caught up in customer solicitation.’

Like those people lurking around at that end over there, for instance.

“It’s really amazing that there was a place like this in this neighborhood.”

“Huh? What’s that? It looks so real… real, real, real, real, real… realistic!! I’ll buy thread!”

“That person is right! Yes! They’re human!”

The problem was that they had no masks to hide their identity, no information…

“Huh? Uh uh… huh? Why does that person have three eyes? Huh? Huh? Ah, humans originally had three eyes! Sorry, what was I confused about? I’ll go buy one more eye, honey.”

“Yeah! Exchange it for ears!”

They followed the street vendor merchant and disappeared to the other side of the alley.

‘…It’s already too late.’

That’s how people go missing.

A chilling fear swept down my back.

But I couldn’t show it. Since I’m in front of company colleagues.

Instead, I gritted my teeth and moved my steps again, pretending to be calm.

“Let’s get out of this street first…”

“Noru, over there…!”

Jang Heo-un pointed at something with a trembling hand.

That was…

A ‘person’ passing right next to us.

A high school student with an anxious face looking around.

‘Damn.’

“This…!”

Jang Heo-un frantically searched through his bag and pulled out a black cloth mask.

Then he approached the high school student and handed it over without warning.

“Wear this.”

“Yes, yes…?”

‘If he does this wrong, we’re screwed…!’

I immediately intervened.

“Stay calm. Quickly put on the mask, and even if someone chatters next to you, ignore them and walk quietly.”

“What… Ah.”

“Please try not to look around too much. You need to act like you came here naturally to have fun.”

Perhaps the ‘Silver Heart’ I was wearing had some effect, as the High School Student seemed to sense something unusual and reflexively accepted the mask Jang Heo-un offered.

“Never turn off the Death Road app, and complete 10,000 steps. Then you can get out.”

“….”

The student, who had been looking at us with a face mixed with suspicion, anxiety, and wariness, eventually turned around and ran off in the opposite direction.

“Ah…!”

Jang Heo-un seemed like he wanted to call out, but gave up after reading the situation. The High School Student was already far away, and Kang I-hak was just watching with a smiling face.

“….”

And I could guess another reason too.

“Um, but you know.”

Jang Heo-un muttered with an expression of disbelief.

“Just now… what that student was wearing, wasn’t that a Sekwang Technical High School uniform?”

“….”

Right.

In this space, you can witness a great variety of things.

Dead friends, family members who went missing in childhood, victims who died in major accidents, pedestrians dressed in 1980s clothing, and even students attending schools that don’t exist in Reality.

Among the countless customers, onlookers, and… merchandise that have flowed into this Alley.

However.

“It seems best to pretend you didn’t see anything, no matter what you witness here. Not drawing attention is the basic Manual rule.”

“Ah. Yes…!”

Jang Heo-un took another Deep Breathing.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Hey, you don’t need to be that tense though. Let’s go like we came here to have fun, just like the Manual said!”

Kang I-hak was right.

Strongly recommended to maintain a natural atmosphere as if you came to visit this Alley Commercial District with acquaintances.

“Still, let’s move while staying alert.”

“Yes!”

We continued walking through the crowd, trying our best not to bump into anyone or stand out.

Step by step.

With each footstep on the Alley floor, the app’s count decreased.

And the moment the thousands digit of the remaining step count changed.

Don’t give up on your body!

Remaining steps: 8999

A gap between the Street Vendors caught my eye.

‘A passage.’

A path leading to another, narrower Alley.

Over there, the Street Vendors disappeared and various shops selling Daily Necessities were lined up instead….

“We’ll turn this way.”

That was the moment.

“Ah, since we’re entering a new Alley… should we try being a bit more natural from now on?”

Kang I-hak interjected.

Hmm.

“Could you explain what you mean in more detail?”

Kang I-hak grinned.

“I’m saying let’s aim for some loot chances!”

“…!”

“No, there are quite a few Investigation Records of people buying decent… ‘Items’ here, so let’s do some market exploration too. That would be the most natural thing to do anyway!”

Outright shopping, huh.

“…! But the Manual said to avoid doing that if possible….”

Mr. Jang Heo-un was right.

Purchasing items under the judgment that they will help with Exploration is not prohibited by the Manual, but it’s not recommended either.

Industrial accident coverage is not available for any risks that occur during purchase.

The bottom line sounded like thug talk, but the reason the Manual didn’t recommend it was clear.

Because there was a high probability of impulse buying.

The longer you walk, the more this street makes tempting shops and products catch our eyes.

Then employees who gradually lost their reason as if bewitched in this bizarre place would often buy things impulsively, regardless of the Item’s danger.

Despite the fact that what they were paying with wasn’t ordinary currency.

Yet the reason Kang I-hak specifically brought this up was….

‘What is he aiming for?’

It definitely meant he had some ulterior motive.

-Ah, politics! It’s life’s variety show.

-But if you back down, it becomes a documentary from that point on. We can’t have that. Let’s go, Noru!

‘Sigh.’

I finally met someone new and got acquainted, but here we go again….

‘Can’t be helped.’

I looked at Kang I-hak and grinned.

“Let’s do it.”

“…!”

“Shopping sounds good.”

“Oh! Team Leader, you were thinking the same thing! I knew it, right?”

“Yes.”

Then I raised my hand and calmly pointed.

Toward a certain shop nearby that I knew well.

“How about that place?”

Raw Meat Butcher Shop

“….”

“….”

“The Items look good. Let’s go in quickly.”

I moved my feet toward the butcher shop.

“…?!”

The so-called ‘You can’t communicate with crazy bastards’…!

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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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