Got Dropped Into A Ghost Story Still Gotta Work Chapter 229

[ … words ]

Dark Excavation.

A descent into the endlessly repeating images of the Yukhoe Research Lab beneath the main building—extracting the darkness that resides within.

To collect dream fragments, possessing a new urban legend is one of Baekilmong Corporation’s key operational processes.

But now, most of the darkness has already been excavated from the lower levels of the Yukhoe Research Lab.

We’ve reached the point where we must send employees into the deep layers—dangerous, undocumented zones riddled with anomalies….

“The employee has arrived! Haha, Special Department 130666!”

That’s right.

The employees of the Special Department under the Security Team—the urban legends bound to Baekilmong Corporation as staff—are the proper candidates for such missions.

And starting today, I’m one of them.

A week of quiet duty in the annex has paid off.

“Although, I hear you won’t have to go that deep today!”

Exactly.

This is my assignment for today:

Excavating new darkness from the lower levels—within thirty underground floors.

Kwak Jaegang lowered his voice.

“Of course, if you feel like going deeper, I’d welcome it unconditionally. Sir Employee.”

“……”

If I keep going down, maybe… maybe I’ll even find the ruins of that bizarre Dream Incubator room where I first woke up….

Just thinking about it makes my stomach churn, but I held it in.

I was planning to show that I can work diligently today anyway.

Time to build a foundation.

Mentally, and environmentally.

And obviously, this is a solo operation granted only to Special Department employees—no need for a transport unit.

“Um, but if I went along too….”

“Hm? Who said you’d be given that opportunity? This is a solo mission for the Employee! Come on now, you’re just a basic Security Team member who’s only been on a few underground explorations—”

Directive: Silence.

“……”

Kwak Jaegang shut his mouth. The Guard Captain still looked like he couldn’t care less about that guy.

It really does seem like he only picks fights with Mr. J.

Does he have some kind of personal grudge?

The clearer my head gets, the more I notice.

But… if the Guard Captain is truly the same person listed on the wiki—B Unit’s squad leader back in the day—

Shouldn’t it be the Guard Captain who holds a grudge against the Research Team, not the other way around?

A bizarre power dynamic.

“Hmm.”

But the Guard Captain, still far more focused on this exploration than on Kwak Jaegang, seemed to be deep in thought—“So what should we do?” kind of contemplation.

Standing next to him, looking at me with a worried expression, was Deputy Park Minseong.

They were probably both concerned whether someone in my condition should be entering a high-risk darkness zone alone.

……

I secretly traced letters in the air with smoke, hiding it from Kwak Jaegang.

As Kim Soleum would.

I’m back to my senses now.

“…!”

Don’t worry. I’ll be careful and return safely, Mr. J.

And also—

Deputy Osori.

“……”

The smoke dissipated, but Deputy Park Minseong stood still for a moment.

Then, in a slightly choked voice, he replied.

“…Yeah. Take care out there.”

“Be careful….”

Still bound, I was escorted out of the isolation chamber for transport to the main building.

To the elevator.

Ding-dong.

I boarded the elevator.

It wasn’t the aboveground main elevator I’d used during my escape from the isolation chamber.

This one tunneled down into the earth.

The same elevator I’d once ridden with the Guard Captain, wearing Security Team gear, when we went into the Mountain God urban legend.

But unlike that time, I carried none of the usual equipment.

Only the contents of the file folder handed to me by Kwak Jaegang—mentally organized and retained perfectly.

Like an entry in the Darkness Exploration Records wiki.

Main Building Basement Exploration Log: Yukhoe Research Lab

The darkness in question is categorized as a Special Management Class darkness, accessible only via the dedicated elevator leading underground from the company’s main building.

Its appearance and ■■ have been confirmed to closely match the interior of a former institution once known as the “Yukhoe Research Lab,” and thus it is designated with the same name.

Although standard-sized emergency stairwells have been discovered inside, there are no records of anyone successfully returning to the surface through them. Proceed with that in mind.

The layout of the Yukhoe Research Lab appears structurally identical on each underground floor, but the deeper one descends, the more bizarre anomalies are observed.

Floors B1 to B29 are designated as the lower levels, B30 to B59 the middle levels, and B60 onward the deep levels.

And so it begins.

B2 to B9 – The Office During Vacation Season

Ding-dong.

The elevator doors opened on B9, revealing the scene of the “Yukhoe Research Lab”….

A bright hallway with a calm atmosphere.

An office so normal, so mundane, you’d never believe it was underground.

From behind the frosted windows of the offices, you can occasionally hear scribbling or chatter, but most of the time it’s quiet.

Within this lower level, the Yukhoe Research Lab typically maintains a peaceful, subdued environment.

It is presumed that many of the office personnel are absent, and there is little activity overall.

Threat Level: Very Low

Thus, most of the darkness here has already been excavated.

This is not my destination.

Instead of stepping into the office hallway, I turned my body.

And pressed it.

The elevator call button, just to the left.

In the main building’s dedicated elevator, only up to B9 is visibly marked. Occasionally, double-digit basements will appear, but it is not recommended to press them.

The proper method is to exit on the lowest clearly marked floor—then board the elevator on the left.

That left-hand elevator will most likely display buttons for deeper descent. Usually ten additional floors are shown.

Press one of those buttons to continue the exploration.

[Let’s go. Way down below! To find gold, oh yes—we should sing a miner’s song. Just like the dwarves in Snow White…]

B10 to B19 – The Office During Lunch Break

On this lower level, the Yukhoe Research Lab is a bit noisier than the floors above, and occasionally personnel are seen emerging from their offices.

Threat Level: Low

B19.

From here on, you’ll need to be a little cautious….

To avoid being noticed by the residents of the Yukhoe Research Lab, who may be inside those offices.

Though even if they emerge into the hallway—I won’t be able to see them.

And likewise, they can’t see me.

Explorers who enter via elevator and “Yukhoe Lab personnel” cannot perceive each other.

However, they are aware of any impact the other has on the environment.

Do you understand what this means?

I cannot see them. They cannot see me.

But if I destroy this hallway—they’ll perceive something has broken the hallway.

And most domain-bound urban legends… are never merciful toward intruders.

Avoid detection as much as possible.

Taking that advice to heart, I carefully…

descended further below.

I boarded the elevator to the left and searched for a deeper-floor button to press—

B20 to B29 – The Office at Midnight

This is my post for today.

The far end of the lower levels.

Ding-dong.

With a pleasant chime, the doors slid open, revealing the 29th floor.

…….

A dark hallway.

Silence.

Occasionally, a strange clattering noise.

On this floor, all lights are shut off except the emergency ones, and there is almost no observable activity from office personnel.

However, lethal mental and physical hazards caused by individual darkness events occur frequently and without warning.

Deployment of Security Team personnel who have not passed contamination screening is strictly prohibited.

Threat Level: Moderate to Low

(Civilian fatality risk: Over 50%)

The danger level has spiked sharply.

It was fortunate that I still hadn’t fully regained my sense of fear—because it meant I could move rationally, even alone.

I walked down the hallway.

The black smoke of my body is swallowed up by the darkness, barely visible.

Only my eyes, glowing like yellow lanterns, faintly illuminate the corridor….

Even that brightness, I keep as dim as possible.

Any attempts to use artificial light sources brought from the surface have all ended in disappearance.

Note recovered from Security Team R16. Document attachment approved.

Note content: After lights go out, don’t turn the li—

…Following the manual like this makes me feel like I’ve returned to the fieldwork team again.

Though whether such measures are truly necessary for someone like me, who is no longer quite human, is another question.

[Where shall we begin, friend?]

Where it’s darkest.

I’ll look for the places people would instinctively avoid. That’s where the leftover urban legends are most likely to be.

For the first time, I find usefulness in having a body that’s unbothered by the absence of light….

I headed toward the office farthest from the emergency lights.

The one with the least-recorded exploration data on B29.

[3-⋢⟤⦯]

…The sign on the shadowy office is deformed, unreadable.

But I hear no sounds from within.

…At least initially, it’s safe.

Starting from here.

I gripped the door handle and gently turned it, opening the office.

……The inside revealed itself.

It’s identical in layout to the Dream Incubator room.

……!

Before the shock could fully sweep through my body, I rang the bell. A clear, delicate sound rang in my head, the jingle echoing….

…….

I calmed down.

Hoo.

Right.

The office clearly… very closely resembled that underground Dream Incubator room I found—that one—with matching PCs and desks of the same dimensions and models.

Only the Dream Incubator itself was absent.

This office… might not be directly connected after all.

I felt a strange sigh of relief leaking from my mind.

Then I began scanning the office interior.

…Clean.

It looked like a normal office that people might return to and use in the morning.

But oddities began to stand out, one by one, in the darkness.

Brightly colored objects like children’s toys scattered on desks, piles of hand mirrors stacked high, or PCs covered in layers of Post-it notes.

Note: Focus on elements that deviate from standard office behavior, and evaluate wisely.

Even minimal interaction could result in unconsciousness or instant death—typical of artifacts originating from urban legends.

If transportation is impossible, the artifact holds no value as darkness.

Easy to say.

Hoo.

I tried not to imagine the faces of the poor employees who had to do this kind of work, checking each of those strange-looking items one by one.

[Crude, but I suppose one might call it “creative.”]

Maybe because I’d become conscious of the creep factor, the investigation wasn’t exactly pleasant—but it was definitely better having someone to talk to.

Nothing seems to be reacting.

And so I moved on to the next desk—

…….

Hold on.

…This one.

I spotted a palm-sized circular object placed on a shelf between two desks….

A flat black disc, standing upright like a wheel.

…A roulette wheel!

A toy version of the very same black roulette I spun at the Darkness Exploration Record pop-up store.

Even the button next to it, shaped like a walkie-talkie—the one I’d pressed—it had been reproduced, down to the details.

…….

How is this even possible?

What is going on here?

It’s a clue.

The realization hit me instantly.

I reached out for it. I had to check. If I could just understand what effect it had—

“Wow. It’s really good to see you again, Soleum-nim.”

…!!

I turned my head.

My hand, reaching for the roulette—

Right beside it.

A bare hand, belonging to a man, also reaching out to grip the roulette at the same time….

Following that hand up—

“Have you been doing well?”

Director Ho.

That man was looking straight at me.

…With a Yukhoe Research Lab staff ID still hanging around his neck.