Got Dropped Into A Ghost Story Still Gotta Work Chapter 225

[ … words ]

I sank back down onto the bed.

The bell was still in my hand.

The thing that serves as a landmark to keep me thinking like myself.

Jingle.

[Oh, it seems I can finally ask you again.]

[Mr. Roe, how does it feel to realize that you’ve regained your ability to think?]

I lifted my head.

…My head feels clear.

Startlingly, I was… myself.

[What a wonderful thing!]

Right. But…

That’s what made it strange.

[Hmm?]

That I wasn’t overwhelmed, or moved to tears, upon realizing I was sane again—

It felt odd.

And with that came a sense of dissonance.

For example, something like this:

…Why am I not scared?

[Well, goodness, there’s nothing in this bedroom that should cause fear. Of course, this pink-themed merchandise plushie is terrifyingly charming!]

Y-yeah.

But that’s not what I meant….

Given the overall situation, I should be plenty scared right now.

My body is something monstrous, my future is a sewer, and I’m currently locked up alone in a folklore-confinement chamber. Normally, I’d be screaming inside and swallowing sobs….

But all I feel is “uneasy.”

When I used the Nostalgia Kitty and briefly became Deputy Roe again—when I got my body and mind back and it all came undone—I felt terror and helplessness I couldn’t even bear.

This is a situation where panic is the default.

But now, even though I’m supposedly back to my senses, I’m… unusually calm.

A little afraid, sure—but my fear reflex feels deactivated, like someone’s flipped the switch off. As if I’ve taken some kind of mental stabilizer.

Maybe this bell is standard issue for agents.

Maybe it doesn’t return extremely negative or intense emotions?

Then again, I don’t seem to feel any subtle or nuanced emotions either.

[Oh. In the old days, those Greek philosophers categorized the human mind into layers: reason, will, and emotion.]

[A dusty old theory, but intuitive enough for a time when foundational knowledge didn’t exist. Would you like to try applying it?]

Hmm. If we go by that…

Then maybe I’ve only recovered parts of reason and will… and not emotion?

A state where I can think clearly, but feel very little.

It would make sense—emotion is heavily influenced by the body.

[As always, Mr. Roe, your understanding is swift. Of course, it’s only a hypothesis, but seen from your current perspective, that’s quite a fair conclusion, friend.]

[Once you readjust and become more accustomed, perhaps the rest will return gradually as well?]

…If so, then maybe right now is actually the best time to take action.

If I’m dulled to panic and fear, that makes survival in this mad folklore-world a bit easier…

Not sure about later, though.

I held back a sigh.

After all, sighing in this body would probably just blow out [N O V E L I G H T] some steam, which is kind of depressing.

Let’s be thankful that I’m only a little depressed…

And then I began a productive activity.

Jingle.

Throughout my designated “rest time,” I adjusted the interval at which I rang the bell to test how long its “sanity retention” effect would last.

The result:

…About four hours, huh.

After four hours, it became difficult to maintain rational thought.

If I wanted to keep my mind intact, I’d have to hear the bell once every four hours. At least for now.

Hmph.

I stared at the little bell, thinking hard.

Would it break if I overused it?

[All objects are consumables—except in very special cases.]

[But it still seems to be in perfectly good condition. Must’ve been crafted by a skilled artisan.]

Then I should be able to use it without issue for a while.

Thank you, Team Leader Haekeum…

I exhaled again, then tucked the bell into the space between the horns that had grown from my head.

I can move the horns by flexing my skull.

So this way, I can shake it when I want to. It wouldn’t be easily visible either.

With that, the urgent matters were taken care of.

Until the next shift began… I could indulge in some wandering thoughts.

Hmm.

…I lay down as comfortably as I could.

And while carefully avoiding topics that might emotionally shake me, I began to reflect on what I’d been through so far.

Mainly, the people I’d met passed through my mind.

Kwak Jaegang, J3, Deputy Park Minseong, Deputy Lee Seong-hae, Kang Ihak… Agent Choi.

And then, rewinding all the way to the first scene—

I realized something.

…!

Mr. Jang Heowoon.

One of the new employees who came to see me in Room 666, Basement 13 of the annex, under the pretext of a “Special Hire” experiment.

At the time, I think I only felt a vague happiness that Jang Heowoon was still alive… but now that I can think again, I realize this isn’t something I should’ve let pass so lightly.

He recognized me.

Jang Heowoon entered Yukhoe Theme Park’s resort together with me, knowing full well that I was Kim Soleum, and in that process saw the Security Team’s costumes too.

Which means, of course, he can connect who I am now with the Kim Soleum he once knew.

Though there’s a big assumption involved.

That it really was Jang Heowoon.

My vision renders people’s faces as melting mosaics…

I can’t distinguish voices well either, so I’ve been relying almost entirely on vague outlines and speech patterns. Expressions, at least, I can kind of see.

No—wait. If his wish ticket worked properly, why would he even be here?

And unlike me, he wasn’t classified as missing or dead and terminated—he was reassigned to a branch office. He could’ve just returned to HQ.

So… did he not contact Director Ho? Why?

……

…!

[Hmm?]

A chilling thought ran through my mind.

What if—

What if Jang Heowoon never fully turned back into a human?

And someone used a wish ticket to restore his humanity?

In that case, Jang Heowoon wouldn’t have his own wish ticket anymore.

Then the odds that he returned to the company to try winning another one…

Are real.

The possibility is definitely there.

Wait—what if it was Ko Yeongeun who gave up her wish ticket to save Jang Heowoon?

……I can’t say.

Most people who qualify for Field Investigation Team aptitude tests and attend Orientation tend to have wishes so desperate they can’t afford to give them up.

[Either way, that’s a deliciously eerie and interesting theory, Mr. Roe. And it does seem possible.]

[And based on that, it looks like you’re starting to form another idea, aren’t you?]

……

That’s right.

If Jang Heowoon used a wish ticket to become human again—

Then maybe I… could use a wish ticket to get a human body, too?

No. That would be a waste.

If I manage to get another wish ticket, I need to make a proper wish this time. Then—if I can phrase it just right—I might be able to return home…

……

But wasn’t that blind yearning to return also something fixed by the experiment?

Have I forgotten the lab log that summoned me into this world like a “good friend”?

Ah.

My stomach churned.

Winning another wish ticket?

Not happening. The Security Team barely gets any points. All of it goes into maintenance costs. And besides—I’m in the basement. The lab. The shattered incubation tank. Me, collapsing. The ceiling caving in…

No.

Jingle.

My mind, which had started to collapse again, snapped back into focus with the sound of the bell.

Whew.

I shook the bell again between my horns.

Jingle.

Pull yourself together.

Let’s not cling to the idea of earning a wish ticket from Baekilmong again.

I need to think of another way.

First… I need to fully understand the situation I’m in.

Objective: Approach the truth.

And I realized something.

That the resolution I made while my self was shattered… hadn’t changed even now that my sanity was restored.

…I was on the right path.

A small stir fluttered in my chest. I imagined myself taking a deep breath, at least mentally, and renewed my determination.

And one more thing—

Additional Objective: Meet Jang Heowoon again.

Good.

If possible, I’ll do it this way.

[You’ve chosen your direction, friend! Excellent.]

And right around that moment, my shift began.

–It is now your work hour. Please awaken. It is now your work hour. Please awaken….

God, that’s annoying…

Not like I can even sleep, so what’s the point of telling me to wake up….

[Such a crude and vulgar way to draw attention. I knew it from that tacky training video—truly a cost-cutting nightmare that gives me a headache!]

I agree with that one, a little.

Anyway, soon enough, the complicated lock on the containment chamber door disengaged, and someone entered.

“Staff member!”

Researcher Kwak Jaegang.

The one who had waved off the outside Security Team came in visibly excited.

Huh. Seeing him while I’m sane makes him seem even weirder….

Why… why won’t he regenerate the last joint of his pinky finger…

He should have enough points. Is he holding out until more of the body is lost? Or maybe the “Red Finger” folklore anomaly renders regen potions ineffective? There weren’t detailed exploration logs on the wiki.

Either way, it’s plausible—but the fact that he doesn’t seem to care really proves he’s a proper mad scientist.

“Did you sleep well through the night? Hahaha! The ‘Man in the Darkness’ you so splendidly captured yesterday has been safely handed over to the research team!”

Detailed Process Report

: Based on arbitrary objectives, omission not permitted.

“Of course!”

And as promised—pinky swear and all—Kwak Jaegang explained everything thoroughly and clearly.

That the Supernatural Disaster Response Agency had successfully brought the situation under control; that they quickly secured at least a Class C-level Darkness, saving on processing costs; and that Director Cheong was quite satisfied as a result.

…Whew.

And then—

“Deputy Kang Ihak has gone missing.”

…?!

“Oh, they say it looks like the Disaster Response Agency detained her. But, I mean, is it really a big deal? Even if they just now found out about the USB, it’s already in our possession.”

My nonexistent digestive organs hurt…

Wait—do I even have those?

Now that I’ve regained my rationality, I feel like I can objectively evaluate the state of my body a bit more…. It’s all broken, sure, but something might still be in there.

[That’s an interesting line of thought, but we’re definitely spiraling in the wrong direction here, friend!]

R-right.

In any case, Kang Ihak is still a Deputy, so things probably won’t get too serious. And maybe it’s actually better for humanity that the Disaster Response Agency knows Baekilmong has the “Man Inside the Screen”….

…….

A flicker of longing or regret tried to rise up, but it wasn’t strong, so I was able to swallow it down easily.

I asked Kwak Jaegang for the next update.

Results

“Results? Of course there are results! Thanks to you, Staff member, I even managed to secure a one-on-one meeting with Director Cheong!”

Kwak Jaegang burst into laughter.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever been able to talk with him at that length… I managed to draw out all kinds of fascinating—no, I mean informationally valuable—bits. Haha! …To think I’d ever get to hear something like that.”

His eyes gleamed, full of curiosity satisfied.

“It’s information that gets us closer to our goal—your origin, Staff member. A foundational piece.”

…!

Explanation Requested

“Of course! …It’s about the way this company collects Darkness. Turns out, it’s astonishingly systematized and multi-layered.”

Kwak Jaegang pulled out a pen, flipped over a document, and began furiously scribbling a diagram in front of me.

“The way Baekilmong Corporation collects Darkness is divided into two major methods.”

External Collection.

Internal Collection.

“The first, of course, you’re already familiar with.”

That’s the external kind.

Discovering new stray folklore to bring in, or retrieving previously distributed specimens for reuse.

External Collection – Capture.

External Collection – Retrieval.

“And the second kind… well, this is where the Research Team really shines!”

This is the kind done inside Baekilmong Corporation.

“Development and excavation.”

Internal Collection – Development.

Internal Collection – Excavation.

“In development, we generate new Darkness through experimental grafting and manipulation of existing anomalies.”

Fitting for a world built on folklore horror—this is commonly known to be the Research Team’s domain.

They also work on increasing danger grades while maintaining survivability, building hypotheses for manuals, and so on.

Naturally, it’s something I already know well.

Which means the truly important one is….

“But excavation—you’ve never heard of that before, have you?”

The last one.

“Just as the name implies. …Excavation means digging up Darkness from the depths below this company.”

…!!

Kwak Jaegang grinned broadly.

“By any chance, do you know what’s underneath our company’s basement…?”

…….

Yukhoe Research Lab

“…! I knew it. I knew it’d be connected… hahaha!”

I quietly looked at Kwak Jaegang.

He quickly stifled his laughter.

“That’s right. If you go down past the current lowest floor, you’ll find the same office spaces repeating endlessly.”

I know.

I’ve seen it twice.

And… the Guard Captain risked everything to track it down and tell me.

—Even if you go further down… it’s the same office hallway… over and over again….

—It’s the same place, yeah, but… the time period feels… slightly off, maybe?

At the time, I’d thought it was just data I didn’t need anymore—since I’d already used my wish ticket—but I was wrong.

“That’s the folklore anomaly called Yukhoe Research Lab.”

It’s a giant piece of folklore, in and of itself.

Kwak Jaegang showed me a printed document that looked like he’d requested access himself—notes copied from the page on Yukhoe Research Lab.

…it matches the Guard Captain’s information.

And then—

“There, you’ll find all kinds of prototypes manufactured back when Yukhoe Lab was still operational—and intermediary artifacts connected to future folklore.”

The source of Baekilmong’s earliest Darkness.

“It’s from this place that Baekilmong excavates its folklore-to-be. Especially in the early days.”

Kwak Jaegang’s eyes gleamed with the joy of new discovery.

“And maybe that’s why Baekilmong Corporation built its headquarters right on top of this site. That’s a hypothesis we could entertain. Hahaha! Isn’t that fun?”

[My goodness. If he ever tried stand-up comedy, he’d be pelted with raw eggs for that delivery.]

“Anyway, they’ve already dug up everything they could from the upper levels… and now they’re trying to go deeper. But the deeper they go, the weirder things get—it’s becoming quite a headache, apparently.”

Kwak Jaegang looked at me.

“Even the regular Security Team is struggling. …That’s why your help is critical, Staff member.”

…!

“I’m certain this is tied to your creation.”

I clenched my invisible hand in the smoke.

“In the end, the excavation job will probably be assigned to you…”

Expedite Assignment Request

“Of course! But to get there, we need to build more mutual trust!”

Kwak Jaegang suddenly began watching me closely.

“For example… if the way I’ve designed you to operate in 130666 proves effective and useful. Hahaha.”

Hmm. In other words, I need to act compliant before I can move to the next stage….

Make them think the company can control me to some degree.

This is insane.

Well, whatever… I did sign that slave contract, after all.

Let’s go along with it. It’ll make movement easier anyway.

Approval

“…! Excellent. Then allow me to suggest a very appropriate and amusing way…”

Please don’t say anything. I’ll come up with it myself.

I quickly formed words from the smoke:

Perform standard Security Team duties.

“…Ahh.”

Kwak Jaegang’s voice deflated a bit.

“Well, it’s kind of boring—I mean, a bit too calm. But if you’re the one doing it, I suppose it’s a bit different.”

I’m not done talking.

Excuse:

‘Identified additional controlling factor; wish to test its application.’

“…! Ahh, so you’re framing it as an experiment to identify what controls you! Excellent. Fear? Pleasure? Rewards and punishments? Haha, whatever direction—”

Money

“……”

Greed rooted in order:

Wage request based on employee salary table.

“……I see.”

Thank you, Kang Ihak.

People who move for money are oddly reassuring.

And Baekilmong has money. Lots of it.

A few days later—

I found myself sitting at the annex front desk with two members of the Security Team.

They said they’d pay me. That was nice.

A little sad, though—since I was still stuck inside a transport crate….

Ghhhk.

And one more thing.

[Oh. I believe that’s your ear, friend.]

During the quiet shift hours, I began rationally exploring and analyzing my crumbled body—examining how it had melted, what part was where.

Because if any part of me still retained its proper shape, there was something I wanted to check.

And I found one:

:恩主:

The Inventory Tattoo.