Chapter 108

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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The Security Team Leader handed me a towel so I could tidy up my blood-stained cleaning uniform.

I wiped the uniform mechanically, trying my best not to look at my side.

Because the bizarre corpse of the Church of the Nameless Splendor believer, whose head was blown off by the Security Team Leader, must be lying there now.

-Hmm. It is certainly not a pleasant sight! Leaving the floor dirty without any aesthetics… oh, Mr. Roe! A fun phenomenon is appearing!

“…??”

I reflexively turned my head.

The place where the bloodstains, flesh, and crushed head had been cast aside was melting away before I knew it.

The thing that was drying on the floor, as if time had been rapidly rewound, turned into someone’s dried-up body…

A human corpse.

From the gaping mouth of that person, who was too emaciated to identify, a dry and rolled-up piece of old paper fell.

The inner side, which had written unrecognizable golden letters, wriggled and changed into Hangul the moment my gaze landed on it.

Mimic Scripture Verse 4

Story Snatcher

“…!”

It is a sacred law.

To put it, it was about a ghost story generator of the Church of the Nameless Splendor.

When an initiate swallows a fragment of the sacred law scripture and performs a ritual at the altar, they become able to use the corresponding power.

The Security Team Leader slowly approached it and squatted down.

It seemed he was probably trying to pocket it…

“It’s Grade 4… hey, do you want to have it?”

Yes?

“It seems the company buys it… somewhat expensively… Sell it later, saying you obtained it from somewhere else…”

“…You dealt with it, J, is it really okay for me to pocket it personally like that?”

“Who cares…”

“……”

“I don’t particularly… need money…”

No, I meant whether it was okay for me to pocket it personally when the company’s Security Team took action…

Anyway, since he offered it, I snatched it up quickly.

“Thank you.”

Because several uses immediately came to mind other than selling it to the company.

‘The more cards I can play, the better.’

Besides, since I went through this dog-like suffering, it would be nice to get something…

I wrapped the object in ‘Wrapping Paper 12B357-na’ and put it into my inventory while pretending to slip it into my pocket.

‘Phew.’

“Once again… thank you for helping. Thanks to you, I survived.”

“Don’t mention it…”

In the meantime, the memories of the past two days were slowly returning to my head.

Dry daily life.

Moments that just passed in a flash, and where I wouldn’t bother to write in a diary because there were no special features.

Days that would disappear from memory after about a year… so, to put it in terms of a novel, days that would fall under ‘omission of description’.

So it was chilling.

A feeling of having my time sucked completely dry.

‘The Church of the Nameless Splendor… they really are the worst.’

There was a reason they were the faction I wanted to be involved with the least among the three.

‘A ghost story that blends into reality.’

I never expected to meet them while cleaning. I knew there were Church of the Nameless Splendor members infiltrated into Daydream Co., but to meet an escaping containment unit in this manner without any preparation…

‘I’m glad to be alive.’

I let out a deep sigh of relief. Now I wanted to go off work and rest…

“Ah, here… they were in the corridor.”

Slide.

Beyond the door of Quarantine Corridor B opened by the Security Team Leader, the man in the orange uniform who had lost consciousness slumped down.

“…Supervisor Badger!”

Aaaaack!

So you were here on the 3rd day too!

* * *

Fortunately, Supervisor Park Min-sung regained consciousness not long after being moved to the breakroom.

“…Huh? What? What… someone pushed me,”

“There was an escape commotion in the quarantine rooms.”

“Uh-uh?!”

I explained the things I had experienced so far.

For reference, in this process, the Security Team Leader only nodded when occasionally required. He didn’t seem to have even a speck of desire to interrogate me about the fact that I already knew about the Church of the Nameless Splendor.

It also just… seemed like he didn’t want to work…

‘…Well, since it’s a lifelong job, that makes sense.’

I understood.

And Supervisor Park Min-sung’s complexion changed, as if he also understood my explanation.

“Indeed, I don’t remember well what Roe did on the 1st and 2nd day… it’s just remaining in my mind that we finished the cleaning well without any abnormalities.”

“……”

“It is scary. That cult.”

“Indeed.”

The mimic of the Church of the Nameless Splendor had hijacked and absorbed even the incident it had caused.

Calmly and normally, as if it had never happened.

‘To think that was Grade 4.’

A kind of reality manipulation, that was.

In fact, considering it would be between B and C grade in Daydream Co., it wasn’t low-grade.

The problem was that there were tons of fanatics in the Church of the Nameless Splendor who received Grade 4 or higher ghost stories as ‘powers’…

Recalling the mimic from earlier, who could almost not be considered human, I swallowed hard.

Please, I hope I won’t be involved with them again until I gather all the Wish Ticket points.

“Well… the cleaning is finished, so go change your clothes too…”

“Ah. You’re right. Roe, I’ll go change quickly then. Hold on!”

“Yes.”

I bade farewell to Supervisor Park Min-sung as he left the room.

Beside me, the Security Team Leader was sweeping the paper Supervisor Park Min-sung had dropped with a broom and throwing it into the trash.

Meaning that strange work tip note.

“……”

“Excuse me. About this note…”

The Security Team Leader happened to strike up the conversation first.

“I was actually planning to ask because it was too suspicious, but was that really a tip circulating within the Security Team?”

“Yes… it is correct. But… they would have never given it to that person.”

“…What?”

“Supervisor Badger…”

The Security Team Leader mumbled softly.

While looking at the spot where Supervisor Park Min-sung, who had already vanished outside the room, had left.

“Because that person was a fully contaminated victim of the ‘Hungry Hangman’… he shouldn’t come into contact with any form of work rules document. Because he was contaminated by a similar Dark…”

“…!!”

Wait, right!

‘Since Supervisor Park Min-sung was in a state of being contaminated by the kindergarten education document, a similar form of text could be sufficiently dangerous.’

Because I had experienced the same contamination, though to a different degree, my stomach churned.

Preventing him from accessing things that would remind him of the contamination was extremely natural.

But what the Security Team Leader was trying to say did not end there.

It was a more… chilling fact.

“Supervisor Badger can contaminate a rules document just by reading it…”

“……”

What.

“If he realizes it, he’ll become too conscious of it… and the contamination might accelerate, so he probably doesn’t know himself until now…”

If so.

“…Are you saying someone intentionally gave the forbidden note to the supervisor? So that I would read the work tips contaminated by Supervisor Park Min-sung?”

Nod.

The Security Team member slowly nodded his head.

-Aha, a trap! Classic.

My response also burst out starting with the classic and surest.

“…Can we check the CCTV?”

“In the Security Team quarters area, there are no CCTVs… There’s also a high probability that bad things would be recorded…”

“…They did it aiming for the absence of CCTVs, then.”

“Yes, probably…”

Who on earth was it?

This was perfectly targeting Supervisor Park Min-sung’s shift. It meant the mimic hadn’t escaped by chance due to coincidences and bad luck.

‘Did another member of the Church of the Nameless Splendor in the company cooperate?’

But in this manner, it seems difficult for the Church of the Nameless Splendor member in the quarantine room to escape properly… it was just raising a commotion.

‘If so, escape wasn’t the goal…’

If the goal was the cleaning staff on duty that day.

‘If the goal was to screw me over?’

“……J.”

“Yes…?”

“Could the research team employees also know the Security Team’s underground area well?”

“Hmm… depending on the team…?”

The Security Team Leader’s eyes narrowed.

“Do you have… a suspicious employee… in the research team?”

“…A little bit.”

“Who…?”

“……”

I conflicted slightly.

But the Security Team Leader was the security officer responsible for this area today, so he had the right to hear it.

‘In addition, he could serve as a witness to the situation.’

Fine. I chose to speak out readily.

“It’s Manager Gwak Je-gang.”

“……”

“In the first place, I received this disciplinary action because I didn’t do as he told me. …He told me to leave my colleague from the Cleanup Team in a spot where he would die, and I ignored it.”

“……”

“Of course, rather than suspecting the Manager personally, it’s a circumstantial guess…”

“I got it.”

“…??”

“Hold on…”

Beep, beep.

The Security Team Leader approached the landline phone on one side of the breakroom and lifted the receiver.

Then, after appearing to ponder something for a moment, he pressed the buttons.

A short dial tone went… click.

[Yes, yes, this is Gwak Je-gang!]

“…!!”

I stared with my mouth wide open at the Security Team Leader, who directly made a call to a manager of another department at this hour of the dawn.

But his own expression did not even change.

“Well… I’m J3, the Leader of Security Team 3.”

[…J3? …Wait a minute, who is this?? Leader of Group B… ah, right, you’re not in the Elite Team anymore, are you? Haha, I made a mistake talking to someone who isn’t even in the Field Exploration Team!]

“……”

[Anyway, how long has it been, indeed! I heard you became a leader in the Security Team too. Wow~ capable employees are different! You must be disappointed that you can’t enter the Dark.]

‘Is he mocking me?’

No, there was no need to even doubt it. He was thoroughly getting under my skin…

[Anyway, what made you contact me suddenly? Were you on duty today? Is that the phone in the Security Team area?]

[Did some incident happen? Ah, if you really want to enter the Dark, unfortunately, I can’t grant that. Haha!]

I looked at the Security Team Leader, tense.

“Hey.”

[Yeah?]

“You see… although I can’t enter the Dark… I can kill people.”

[……!]

“Just… saying.”

And he hung up.

“……”

“Is it… okay for you to do that?”

“Yes… well.”

The Security Team Leader shrugged.

“But it probably… won’t work much… The high-ranking research team guys… well.”

The Security Team Leader chose his words.

“Because they are crazy…”

“……”

He didn’t seem to choose them much.

I barely managed to respond.

“Anyway, seeing his reaction, yes, I realized my suspicion is reasonable…”

Seeing him ask implicitly and indirectly if something happened during the shift in the Security Team area today. No matter how much I thought about it, Gwak Je-gang seemed to be involved.

‘I thought he lost interest after getting sick of my MZ energy.’

It didn’t seem to go that easily.

‘This is driving me crazy…’

I should prepare countermeasures again.

Anyway, I nodded to him.

“Thank you, J.”

“Well, then… next time too…”

Aha.

“I will visit again with some snacks. Like donuts.”

“Okay.”

The bribe code is surprisingly simple.

“Anyway… be careful… because we don’t know what he will do…”

“……”

I asked after pondering slightly.

“By the way, may I ask if you also had a bad experience due to conflict with the research team, J?”

“……”

The Security Team Leader avoided his eyes.

“It’s not… a very interesting story.”

A brief silence.

“I entered a strange fairy tale… and came out much… much later.”

And the Security Team Leader spoke no more.

“……”

‘A fairy tale ghost story where the research team caused problems.’

Honestly, I noticed just by hearing that sentence.

What kind of Dark the Security Team Leader had been contaminated by.

And there was an Elite Team named character naturally associated with it.

Also the desperate exploration record of that character… becoming a member of the Security Team.

For the recording of the employee who went missing during the research of Qterw-A-37, check the document ‘And They All Lived Unhappily’.

‘I could pretend not to know and ask more, but…’

And through that I could confirm one more named character, but.

“……”

I also just kept silent.

I decided to respect the Security Team Leader’s silence like that.

A moment later. The Security Team Leader said this to Supervisor Park Min-sung, who had returned after changing his clothes.

“Anyway, since you passed… the cleaning work for three days safely… well, now… you too should be able to work… for the Security Team roughly…”

It was Supervisor Park Min-sung’s primary recovery declaration.

“…! Really?!”

“Yes… And I think you can… go outside too.”

“Gasp.”

“Only after the sun sets, though…”

Hmm.

“Well, then is it possible today as well? Since the sun has set now too.”

“R-Roe? I’m fine. Even if we go another day…”

“Hold on…”

The Security Team Leader uploaded a report somewhere on a vintage computer, then declared.

“Go today…”

“Gasp!”

“From now on… you should be able to go out once a week…”

“Gaaaasp!!”

Color returned to Supervisor Park Min-sung’s slightly gaunt complexion, and a smile spread across his face.

It was the expression I saw back when he was in Group D.

“……”

“Well, you just need to return before the sun rises… hmm…”

“What happens if the supervisor fails to return?”

“They will… request a rescue service from the company…”

“……”

“Don’t do it… Unless you want… a lifelong job.”

Supervisor Park Min-sung hung his head low.

“Yes. I will definitely keep the time. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it…”

The Security Team Leader scratched his cheek.

And a moment later, I went up the stairs along with Supervisor Park Min-sung, who had finished preparing to go out in a flash.

“See you again…”

The Security Team Leader raised his hand slightly to send off us who were leaving the basement.

* * *

“Wow! It’s great to walk outside!”

Supervisor Park Min-sung raised both arms while smiling broadly.

Although people were scarce since it was past 3 AM, just like the center of Seoul, lights still twinkled here and there and people walked about.

“No, it really feels like I’m getting fresh air after a long time… and seeing stars too!”

Supervisor Park Min-sung was wearing a mask and had his hat pulled down. As if trying to hide his face as much as possible.

The outing time allowed for the supervisor now was conservatively set at 3 hours until dawn.

‘Is it a relief that it is winter, at least?’

“Supervisor, are you going back home?”

“Ah, well… I’m going to the hospital.”

“……”

“Because a family member is in the hospital. They are probably sleeping, but… I’m thinking of checking on their face.”

Supervisor Park Min-sung scratched his cheek with a slightly awkward expression.

“Well, I am actually gathering points because of my family…”

Damn it.

“May I ask what family member it is?”

“Ah, my younger sibling. They are very kind! And a genius, you know? A violin genius!”

And Supervisor Park Min-sung excitedly explained how kind and wonderful a child his sibling was in their youth, and how much they loved and played the violin well.

However, there was not a single word about what state they were currently in.

“……”

“Anyway… that’s why I absolutely need points for my sibling. So, if possible, I don’t want to resign…”

“Then will you return to the Field Exploration Team?”

“…Well. I think that might take too much time too.”

Supervisor Park Min-sung somehow trailed off his words, then added the next part in a slightly bright voice.

“Ah, surprisingly, they say there are departments in the Security Team that give a lot of points too. I heard they get paid even more than the Field Exploration Team?”

“…!”

…Ah.

There.

“…Isn’t there a reason they give a lot?”

“Well. That’s true… but.”

Supervisor Park Min-sung muttered.

“Sometimes, I think you have to brave danger for wishes to come true…”

“……”

“Ah, we’ve arrived at Roe’s private residence!”

Supervisor Park Min-sung patted my back.

“Hurry and go inside. I can just take a taxi from here. Go inside comfortably, Roe. You really went through a lot!”

And he spoke softly in a low voice.

“Hey, you don’t have to worry about me too much… Honestly, I worked prepared for this. This is a better result than I expected… It’s thanks to you. Roe. Thank you.”

“……”

I eventually smiled faintly and shook hands with him.

“I will cheer you on wherever you work, but still, if possible, I hope we will have an opportunity to work together.”

“…Yeah. That would be nice.”

We said goodbye like that, and Supervisor Park Min-sung left for the hospital by taxi.

“Sigh…”

I let out a sigh and entered the residence building.

If it wasn’t my misunderstanding, a strange madness somehow clung to Supervisor Park Min-sung when he spoke about wishes…

-He was an ordinary person, but now he has finally acquired a somewhat interesting personality.

Let’s not say such scary things, Brown…

‘Anyway, I can finally sleep too…’

Having a day off on the last day of the year wasn’t bad, but I didn’t expect to spend it just sleeping.

I entered the pitch-dark residence in the dawn and headed to my room, keeping the smartphone flashlight on warmly and brightly out of chills.

And I slept for now.

‘Countermeasures against Gwak Je-gang… I will think of them with a clear mind after waking up… and please, let me rest.’

My overworked body, welcomed sleep sweetly.

It had been a very long time.

Since I welcomed sleep without watching children’s cartoons or comedies before sleeping.

I fully enjoyed a very deep and sweet sleep without even dreaming.

And the moment I woke up from sleep refreshingly yet hazily, as if I had just closed and opened my eyes…

“Ah. You’re awake.”

“…!”

I sat up in bed instantly.

-A guest has visited without notice, Mr. Roe.

Someone was standing by the dim window.

A tired face, casual clothes, tightly tied hair, and…

An empty left hand.

“Long time no see, Roe. …I heard you cleaned with Min-sung.”

The real Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je.