Even if I fall into a ghost story, I still have to go to work
Chapter 76
Baek Sa-heon was, for once, doubting his one remaining eye.
Am I dreaming right now?
No, he technically was dreaming. A nightmare within a ghost story… No.
No!!
In truth, until just a moment ago, he had simply been pissed off.
‘I came here because I heard there was an item with a powerful brainwashing effect in this faculty office…’
Seeing all these different factions gathered here, he fumed inwardly, realizing the information hadn’t been that exclusive after all.
‘…I’m going to kill whoever told me that when I get to work tomorrow.’
He gritted his teeth, updating his mental hit list with the person who’d sold him that “high-level intel.”
Still, he was confident.
In fact, he thought this tense standoff between the two forces was actually a good opportunity to exploit.
‘If I shake things up just a little, it’ll be total chaos.’
Whether he played them against each other or lured a monster in to wreck the place, he figured he could grab the item and slip away.
That was how he’d climbed the ranks until now—by using the idiots around him as bait at every critical moment.
He could even tolerate his weak teammate in the Bull Mask, who was whimpering and holding back tears. The guy looked like he could be useful for something.
But…
‘That bastard… what the hell is he?’
Baek Sa-heon stared ahead, stunned.
An employee with a familiar face, wearing a black school uniform, was standing boldly next to the Disaster Management Bureau people as if he belonged there.
He was wearing the same metal badge they were, holding a strange, toy-like pistol.
…Kim Sol-eum!
“Agent Grape.”
Gra, Grape??
What the hell was that supposed to be?
When he’d seen him in the classroom earlier, he definitely wasn’t carrying gear like that. No…
‘Why is a Baekilmong Corporation employee standing on the other side acting so natural?!’
“It seems everyone is trying to secure the item. Is it the one we were looking for?”
“It might be.”
They were even having a perfectly natural Bureau-style conversation!
The other Baekilmong employees standing nearby began to whisper.
“They don’t look like ordinary guys.”
“Is he a high-ranking Agent? It looks like he was called in, right?”
“…….”
Beside him, Jang Heo-un’s mouth hung open as he looked back and forth between Baek Sa-heon and Kim Sol-eum.
Excluding himself, Jang was the only employee here who had seen Kim Sol-eum’s bare face and would recognize him.
Even through the mask, his shock was palpable.
Then, Jang opened his mouth, clearly intending to call out to Kim Sol-eum!
‘Yes. That’s it!’
You do it instead!
“Th-That…”
“Would it be possible for you to simply step back?”
“Pardon?”
But the opponent was Kim Sol-eum.
That… ‘Agent Grape’ cut off Jang Heo-un just as he was about to speak and scanned the employees with a grave expression.
Then, he continued in a persuasive voice.
“In a supernatural disaster like this, an individual possessing a dangerous object can lead to catastrophic results. As you’ve likely experienced, a good-looking item doesn’t always yield good results here.”
His voice sounded… strangely…
Very convincing.
“…Even now, monsters are roaming around outside.”
“…….”
Kim Sol-eum spoke with desperate eyes.
“I ask that you please step aside for the sake of saving more lives.”
You?
Goosebumps rose on Baek Sa-heon’s skin.
However, Jang Heo-un blinked, then slowly opened his mouth as if entranced.
“W-Well, then… maybe this time, we should yield—”
You crazy bastard!
“…! Hey! What are you talking about, you rookie?!”
“You, shut your mouth.”
The other employees snapped out of it and began shouting protests.
Baek Sa-heon didn’t know it, but this was only possible because they were carrying mental defense items strong enough to partially resist the influence of the Silver Heart.
Of course, the optics weren’t great, and the Agents across from them began to mutter.
“Their corporate culture is trash too.”
“Tell me about it. Still, that Agent is quite the smooth talker.”
“…….”
He was being completely accepted by the Agents!
‘What the hell is that guy doing, pretending to be an Agent…’
Wait a minute.
In that moment, a bolt of realization struck Baek Sa-heon.
‘W-Was he… a Disaster Management Bureau Agent from the very beginning?’
Looking closely, the civil servant standing next to him was the same guy he’d met at that insane Murder Mountain Villa!
The masks provided by the company had a perception-blurring effect on non-employees, so the man didn’t seem to recognize him, but…
‘…Could it be?’
Was this all a setup?
Was Kim Sol-eum a spy for the Disaster Management Bureau from the start?
A chill ran down his spine.
But at the same time, it felt like he’d gained a new card to play.
‘Then if I reveal that bastard’s identity…’
Just then, his eyes met Kim Sol-eum’s.
Kim Sol-eum gave a thin smile and tapped his own chest.
Then, he mouthed the word:
‘Debt.’
“……!”
—Debt.
The word he had written when leaving the emergency flashlight behind.
‘Y-You crazy bastard, that’s the debt you owe me…!’
Was he saying that if he wanted the debt repaid, he should shut up and cooperate?
How could a debtor threaten the creditor like this… No!
‘Fuck, forget that!’
Baek Sa-heon gritted his teeth.
Right now, his team was outnumbered.
‘The Agents have more people.’
At this rate, the Field Exploration employees, who were aiming for a High-Score Clear, would likely just back down and give up the item.
Then he wouldn’t be able to cause any distraction. The opportunity itself would vanish!
‘I’d rather…’
“…….”
Baek Sa-heon agonized for a moment before making a decision.
He absolutely needed that item.
…Absolutely.
He also knew that his personal equipment, which he’d invested a fortune of a thousand points to prepare, was firmly attached to the sole of his shoe.
This item, created with great care by selecting parent equipment, was…
A lethal weapon intended for causing chaos.
Owner: Baek Sa-heon
Registered Equipment Description: An item in the form of a three-color ballpoint pen. When the end is pressed, the pen tip shoots out and explodes like a firework.
Manufactured at Qterw-E-99.
Enjoying the thin, cylindrical pressure against the sole of his shoe.
Baek Sa-heon deliberately turned to Jang Heo-un and spoke.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t you think there’s a strange sound coming from outsi—”
And then, he naturally fired at Kim Sol-eum.
“—de?”
He aimed for the head.
‘Die!’
Die instantly.
That way, even if he woke up from this nightmare, he wouldn’t know it was Baek Sa-heon who shot him.
‘A guy like him probably has a name tag anyway!’
He couldn’t afford to get caught ruining the situation after he’d finally hung a debt over the guy.
‘I’ll just pin it on someone else.’
The personalities of this company’s employees were all pretty much the same anyway.
Baek Sa-heon wore a hidden, triumphant smile.
Thwip.
The pen tip of his personal equipment flew from the sole of his shoe, silently hurtling toward Kim Sol-eum’s head to pierce…
…Wait, it didn’t?
Kim Sol-eum naturally tilted his head, dodging the pen tip.
“…?!”
Kim Sol-eum glanced at Baek Sa-heon.
‘How many times do you think I’ve read the manual for your personal equipment on the wiki?’
He already knew the loading motion.
‘You click your left heel twice.’
Since he’d been preparing for this since they became roommates, this level of reflex was only natural.
In truth, he had zero expectations for the guy, so he wasn’t even angry, but…
‘I can’t let him push me around.’
In that moment, Kim Sol-eum looked at Baek Sa-heon and smirked.
‘I know you fired that.’
And it meant: You are so fucked.
“…….”
A chill ran down Baek Sa-heon’s spine.
A learned fear rose to the level of near-panic.
However, his goal of causing chaos was successful.
“Argh!”
“…!”
The pen tip hit a locker behind Kim Sol-eum and exploded in every direction.
Instantly, light, noise, and smoke filled the faculty office.
“…Who was that?!”
Now, it didn’t matter how quietly they spoke.
With this much noise, the ‘students’ would come hunting, even if it meant risking a bit of property damage. Which meant…
They would be swarming in soon.
“…!!”
“Flashlights!”
Everyone crouched low and pressed against the walls. Having your vision obscured by smoke was the worst possible condition in this nightmare school.
‘Which bastard was it?’
Just before survival took priority over finding the culprit in everyone’s minds.
‘Since it’s come to this…!’
I’m taking what I came for!
Baek Sa-heon lunged toward the table.
[2nd Year ■■■’s Fountain Pen]
He grabbed the item and shoved it into his pocket.
Then, he naturally rejoined the employees as they bolted out of the faculty office together.
The Agents, who had formed a defensive perimeter with no blind spots inside the office, only realized what had happened after the smoke cleared a bit.
The fountain pen and the employees had vanished simultaneously.
“…! Dammit!”
“Those Baekilmong Corporation bastards…!”
They were suddenly held collectively responsible.
‘Well, look at that.’
Only Kim Sol-eum, who had been keeping a close eye on Baek Sa-heon, witnessed it.
But the situation was too urgent to talk about it.
[A fatal accident has occurred in the 3rd-floor hallway.]
[The deceased student is 2nd Year Kim So-ra.]
The Baekilmong employees had killed one of the students on their way out.
“…Ha.”
A blackout followed.
Five seconds of darkness.
Frantic flashlight beams.
Screams.
Corpses.
‘This is insane.’
With so many people and supernatural creatures, this was nothing short of a B-movie splatter horror.
A different kind of fear from the suffocating silence of earlier.
“Aaaaagh!”
“There, at the window!”
“Blood! Blood!”
“Requesting backu— hkk!”
While gruesome sights unfolded all around me, making my hair stand on end, I was doing my best to spot the students trying to enter the faculty office through the smoke and freeze them.
It felt like playing some horrific defense game.
Or rather, being trapped in a horror game where I was so cornered that this was all I could do.
“Go!”
The only silver lining was that because the Agents were aggressively attacking, almost no aggro was drawn to me.
But even that had its limits.
Blink.
The moment I was forced to blink because blood splattered into my eye.
A student’s hand stopped like a hook right above my head.
“…!!”
I scrambled backward.
…My skull was almost pierced just now.
My scalp tingled.
‘Phew…’
My heart felt like it was falling into my stomach.
‘This isn’t working.’
This was a quagmire.
‘There are more than a single flashlight can cover.’
From what I knew, although it varied by run, there were at least twenty students on each floor.
What happens when a student is killed and the announcement goes out?
[A fatal accident has occurred in the 2nd-floor faculty office.]
They come again.
Along with another five-second blackout for a moment of silence.
‘It never ends.’
There was a high probability we’d all die here and the exploration would end. So…
‘I’d rather take this chance to escape.’
I gritted my teeth.
I’d find the others on a different floor and regroup.
The smoke was thinning, and the blackout had just ended…
Blink.
‘…Now!’
I dove across the faculty office, which had become a scene of blood, organs, and violence, sliding through the door that had been open from the start.
At that moment,
“Agent Grape!”
“…!”
As the smoke cleared, I saw Agent Bronze.
He was in a standoff, holding onto a masked employee, and that mask was…
“Hieee.”
“Quiet.”
The Bull Mask. Team Y’s finishing team.
‘It’s Jang Heo-un.’
Did you fail to follow the other employees when they escaped?!
“Use this to bind him…!”
The Agent threw an item that looked like handcuffs toward me.
He probably wanted me to restrain Jang Heo-un. He mistakenly thought I had come over to help him.
But I had already decided to cut everyone loose…
“R-Run away, Roe Deer-ssi!”
“…!”
Dammit.
Jang Heo-un blurted it out, then quickly covered his mouth in shock.
My mask’s name.
“……Roe Deer?”
“No, that’s…”
I could tell just by looking at the Agent’s expression.
‘I’m busted.’
Hell, if that’s how it’s going to be…!
I quickly grabbed the handcuff item the Agent had held out.
And instead, I snapped it onto the Agent.
“……?!”
The handcuffs expanded, restraining the Agent’s mouth and arms, and a silver chain extending from them connected to my hand.
“Mr. Bull, let’s run!”
“Ye-Yes…?!”
And so, I bolted out, dragging Jang Heo-un and the Agent with me.
“Aaaaaaaagh!”
[The moment of silence has ended. May the deceased rest in peace.]
We escaped the carnage of the faculty office and sprinted up the stairs like madmen.
One or two entities followed us out of the office, but they turned back toward the office as the chaos erupted once more.
“Please keep an eye on the ceiling!”
“Yes!”
Jang Heo-un answered quite sharply and looked up the stairs.
‘Whew.’
Watching from midway up the stairs as the students stopped following and disappeared, I turned my head, feeling like I wanted to wipe away the cold sweat.
Then, my eyes met the person bound at the end of the chain I was holding.
Agent Bronze of the Disaster Management Bureau was staring at me as if he wanted to kill me.
“…….”
Since it’s come to this.
There’s no other way.
‘Time to run a con…!’
I began to spin a systematic sob story faster than I had ever done anything in my life.
