Chapter 151

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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…The words ‘thank goodness you are alive’ imply two premises.

Knowing the opponent.

Guessing that the opponent would be dead.

All of this pointed to one thing again.

The Security Team Leader had recognized that I, sitting in the taxi driver’s seat, was Supervisor Kim Sol-eum of the Field Exploration Team who had been processed as dead.

‘……Since when?’

I checked the Security Team Leader sitting in the back seat through the mirror. The Security Team Leader was wearing a worn-out security uniform like civilian clothes with his hat pressed down.

That face was not well visible.

However, somehow he felt relieved.

Suddenly, the words Supervisor Park Min-sung had told me come to mind.

-Security Leader J3 occasionally asked about your well-being, but I just… didn’t say you were missing in the Dark. Still, a few days ago, it seemed he already knew.

…If it’s a career length like the Security Team Leader’s, he must have already seen many Daydream Co. Field Exploration Team rookies get ground down.

Still, because we had a connection, he seemed to have worried about me…….

‘I am thankful and sorry.’

Moreover, it was also surprising that even after recognizing me, he didn’t pretend to notice and quietly waited until now considering the situation.

Of course, as long as I was currently playing the industrial spy, we could not easily have a touching reunion.

Even without that, Director Ho seemed to have grasped that Group D knew all about my survival, so I couldn’t increase the risk level further.

‘The Security Team Leader isn’t the type of personality to go around blabbering that he saw me.’

Upon getting off, I would just need to give a brief hint like asking him to keep the secret.

After finishing organizing in my head, I spoke in a voice as close to a kind taxi driver as possible.

“Oh dear, what on earth is all of this… I thought my heart was going to drop. U-um, guest. You said you were going to Seoul Station, right? In about 40 minutes, we will arrive….”

“Ah, that… I don’t need to go anymore….”

“……Yes?”

Without realizing, I stared at the Security Team Leader through the mirror.

The Security Team Leader met my eyes through the mirror and faintly smiled.

“Because the reason to go disappeared…?”

“…….”

Wait a minute.

-Excuse me… um, is it right to do this…. Please go to… Seoul Station of the high-speed rail.

High-speed rail Seoul Station.

…This is also the starting point of the Tamra-bound high-speed rail, which is the Dark where I was publicly known to have been missing for a long time.

‘No way.’

No. There’s no way. I fixed my gaze to the front.

While doing so… in the end, I spoke.

“…Ah, did you decide to meet the person you were going to meet in another place?”

“Not that… since I already met them.”

“…….”

“It is fine….”

Ah, damn it.

He really came to find my whereabouts?

‘A person who can only go out at night.’

Even though I had been missing for over a month and everyone had long since processed me as dead because there was no hope, that an employee came to chase my traces all the way to take the high-speed rail at this dawn just because we had a bit of a connection… truly.

Perhaps because I knew the story since he was the named leader of Group B before he became the security team, even more so. Oddly, there was a more thankful and emotional aspect.

And I come to ponder.

“…….”

If it’s this much, isn’t he trustworthy?

‘…The Security Team Leader was originally a person with absolutely no loyalty or passion for the company.’

In that case.

I checked once more.

“Ah, guest. By any chance, did you come out on official duty? Does the company process your taxi fare as an expense, or, well, do they know your location and receive reports….”

“Hmm…… No. They don’t know….”

The Security Team Leader asserts.

“Because they don’t pay that much attention to me anymore… lately, they’ve been letting me go out… a lot more.”

“…….”

Good.

“Then, would you like to drive with me for a bit before the sun rises?”

“……!”

I turned off the vehicle navigation and set the path with my personal cell phone.

The destination was… a place accessible through the keywords ’empathy, attention, toy’.

The laboratory where the prototype machine of Daydream Co. is.

* * *

I parked the taxi at the destination, and as soon as we got off together, I called him.

“Mr. J3.”

The Security Team Leader wasn’t even surprised and suddenly raised his head.

Only, he looked somewhat relieved.

“Ah, so you weren’t polluted by the taxi Dark….”

“…Yes?”

“Since you might have been… um… assigned to the role of a driver in other transportation… because you were polluted while riding the high-speed rail…?”

“…….”

Wait. Did he think I was polluted to the point where I became a ghost taxi driver, so he was just matching the atmosphere for me?!

‘If it went well, he might have dragged me out of the taxi.’

A cold sweat breaks out slightly. It was a relief the misunderstanding didn’t spread that far before getting off.

“No. Still… thank you for worrying.”

“Yes… I am glad….”

‘I almost had a rare experience of entering inside a ghost snout….’

I let out a sigh of relief inwardly and locked the door of the car the Security Team Leader had gotten off.

Then suddenly, such a question arose.

“U-um, but why did you suddenly hail a taxi in the mountains?”

Don’t tell me he got lost while trying to walk all the way to Seoul Station……

“Mountains?”

A puzzled voice.

“I… was in front of the company.”

“…?!”

The explanation that followed was like this.

As expected, the Security Team Leader seemed to have intended to walk blankly to Seoul Station from the front of the company.

Because it was dawn, public transportation was all cut off, and he said he had forgotten how to call a taxi.

Then he discovered it.

Oddly, a conspicuous taxi.

“And because I heard the sound of the radio….”

“…!!”

“Listening to the radio, um, made me think of when we took a taxi….”

So, albeit clumsily, he impulsively followed and caught the taxi.

……There was only one guessable cause in this story.

‘…Brown!’

Edited space-time and spotlight.

If it was the skill of the show business ghost story host, it was impressive enough to make one’s spine run cold.

And the way the Security Team Leader recognized me was also impressive….

“The smell.”

“……!”

“Because my nose is good….”

It was a highly persuasive remark of a person polluted by a animal ghost story that anyone could see had a snout….

At any rate, I roughly grasped the situation. I shook my head once and moved nearby.

The place I tried to show the Security Team Leader.

“This way.”

On one side of the alley, a door disguised as a manhole cover leaning against the wall.

“It would be better to go inside and talk in detail.”

And opening the door, we went down.

“Oh….”

The Security Team Leader, who trudged down along with a listless exclamation, stiffened for a moment the moment he saw the research lab nameplate.

Dream Cultivation Chamber.

“…….”

“This place is… the company……”

“I think it is not.”

I opened the research lab door and showed it to the Security Team Leader.

“But, because it seems related.”

“……!”

Among the people I know, the one who worked at the company the longest and was deeply involved, but had no particular personal interest.

The former leader of elite Group B dimmed his gaze upon seeing the root research lab of Daydream Co.’s pharmaceutical technology.

“Is there anything that catches your eye, Mr. J3?”

Instead of his slow movements that had looked like they had less than an ant’s tear of motivation, the Security Team Leader searched inside the lab with clean and fast movements.

Even his eyes looked like a different person somewhere.

“U-um, because there are many unusual items here, I hope you do not overdo it.”

No reply came back either.

He even tried to quickly scan the research log that I couldn’t endure and had thrown, but a bizarre black shadow tried to pop out over him again, so I got startled and snatched it away.

“…….”

“…….”

Only after such a flurry of searching ended did the Security Team Leader open his mouth.

“…Excuse me, this place… who told you…? An employee?”

“Not that, I accidentally found a hint in another ghost story. Upon finding it, strangely, it didn’t seem to belong to Daydream Co.”

“…….”

“Even though it clearly looks like a prototype of the same technology.”

The Security Team Leader affirmed with silence.

“By any chance, is there anything you guess about this space? Even partial or just a suspicion is fine.”

“…Hmm.”

Looking around the old laboratory space that seemed already dead, the Security Team Leader opened his mouth with a strange face.

“Excuse me. By any chance, do you know…? Our company discarding the Dark….”

…!!

“No.”

Actually, I know.

Because I had directly witnessed that setting being plausibly updated several times.

However, because it was too awkward information for a rookie employee to know, it was right to hear it directly from the Security Team Leader.

“What does it mean to discard the Dark?”

“So… even if a person clears it, if solution is no longer extracted… they throw it away….”

“…….”

“Because it’s no longer useful….”

Right.

A ghost story that was no longer productive from Daydream Co.’s position.

When the Dark loses its supernatural presence, dreamscape solution is no longer harvested.

In this case, it is discarded after the registration number cancellation process, and some of these Darks are recycled through processes like research and recharging.

Here, ‘losing its supernatural presence’ usually meant cases where too many exploration records had accumulated and the manual was excessively complete.

‘They completely figured out that ghost story.’

Non-daily unknown and mystery disappeared, and many employees just treated it routinely and daily without tension.

When all mechanisms were identified and there was no longer any room to be uncomfortable or imagine, in the end, that ghost story became reality.

Just a slightly dangerous reality.

It became no different from a high-risk industrial site.

Of course, because it was originally a ghost story, some chilling parts that would be an unrealistic trigger would remain.

Like the research log covered in blood and filth that the Security Team Leader was currently tapping.

“Things like this too… somehow it feels like that kind of discarded Dark….”

Hmm.

Then, it meant there was a high probability that this space itself was originally a ghost story.

If we piece it together….

‘Daydream Co. extracted pharmaceutical technology from this ghost story… and in the process of thoroughly squeezing it, did the ghost story itself disappear?’

At any rate, it meant it had become a relatively safe space now, so that was good information.

“And this….”

The Security Team Leader picked up the card key placed in front of the Dream Incubator.

The ID card I found on the body of the dead researcher.

Cheerful Researcher

■■■

“This… is it right that it says ‘Cheerful’….”

“I also saw it that way.”

“Ah, indeed.”

Fiddling with the card key, the Security Team Leader spoke slowly with his gaze lowered.

“Then by any chance… ‘Cheerful Lab’… do you know?”

“…!”

The moment I heard the specific name.

I realized.

The reason I felt a bizarre déjà vu at ‘Cheerful’.

‘…Cheerful Lab!’

From the mysterious candle kit I had, to the theme park ghost story I explored before.

Although I had consistently encountered it, the origin of those ghost stories that I had passed over as additional information.

A faction mentioned a few times in the .

Ghost story maker.

———————=

Records of the Dark Exploration / Faction

Cheerful Lab

A bizarre group that manufactures ghost stories with a toy concept. Scale, personnel, and purpose are all unknown.

From various ghost story shopping platforms like Delusion Home Shopping, Space Shopping Mall, and Today’s Catalog, to old rural attics, Cheerful Lab’s products are discovered in various places.

They are frequently registered as Darks in Daydream Co. The most famous case is that very theme park.

———————=

“Hmm… there are also ghost stories that make ghost stories… but because the company preferred such things….”

The Security Team Leader explains.

That Cheerful Lab is a faction whose name can be encountered fairly frequently inside Daydream Co.

And also information heard for the first time.

“I heard that the very first Dark registered in the company also had a Cheerful Lab tag attached….”

Huh?

“…By any chance, what kind of Dark is that?”

“I don’t know, though. That it was already discarded… because I heard the directors talking…….”

Oh my god.

“Do you… remember all of that?”

The Security Team Leader’s eyes stared at me intently.

“Because I remember everything about the company…. Everything.”

“…….”

“Other things… I forgot a lot of this and that, though……”

“…By any chance, do you want to find them again?”

The Security Team Leader presses down his hat.

“Not really… it’s not like there are only good memories.”

“…….”

Isn’t it because he forgot that he thinks that way.

“Understood. Still, wouldn’t it be fine to look for good memories if there is an opportunity next time? Something like an exceptionally delicious food. Or a fun place.”

“Hmm.”

The Security Team Leader’s voice became slightly brighter.

“That… might not be bad.”

“Right?”

I smiled and nodded.

“You suddenly came to a strange place, but thank you for kindly telling me this and that. There would be few employees who know that a Cheerful Lab tag was attached to Daydream Co.’s first ghost story….”

“Originally, one shouldn’t know……”

“…….”

No.

The Security Team Leader put his index finger to his mouth.

“So don’t spread rumors…. If you don’t want to meet the security team….”

My spine ran cold.

“Of course… because Mr. Roe Deer… escaped by pretending to be dead…… it might take some time for the security team to find you, though.”

“…?!”

Pretending to be dead…? Ah, right.

“U-um, I haven’t escaped the company, though….”

“…?!”

“I have entered Director Ho’s project team now.”

Only then did I quickly explain my recent updates. Roughly omitting the part where I was missing in the ghost story for a month, and focusing on the fact that at any rate, I was grinding under the Director’s direct TF team.

“I applied because I thought it was the fastest way to obtain a Wish Ticket.”

“…….”

“This is also originally something I shouldn’t tell you, so I hope you keep it a secret.”

“I have no one to tell either….”

Uh.

The Security Team Leader casually spoke sad words and then looked at the void as if deeply thinking.

“Director Ho… the directors of this company are all not in their right minds, but….”

Yes. I think I know very well now….

“U-um, by any chance, do you know Director Ho well?”

“No…. Director Ho… came as a director after I became the security team….”

Ah.

“I saw Director Cheong a few times, though…. That’s all in the past……”

The Security Team Leader looked around.

“Anyway… don’t tell the directors about this….”

“Of course.”

In the first place, with the employee who originally discovered this facility and reported it to the company dead, I had not an atom of intention to do so.

However, since it became like this….

‘…Should I share more clearly?’

Since I had already shared the place with the Security Team Leader. Moreover, even after seeing my highly suspicious situation, the other party continued to show trust and give information.

‘Wouldn’t it be better to make the trust relationship solid once more here?’

Let’s also tell him what I know.

Because I had confirmed that he was a decent human character, from the detailed records when he was a named character in the to the actual person in front of me right now.

‘Good.’

“…Mr. J3, then could you take a look at this.”

I restarted the dormant Dream Incubator with the card key.

Along with a whirring sound, lights enter the panel and the glass tube….

🥰🥸🤯🧐🤪🥱

“…!”

“It seems that pressing this allows one to manufacture a syrup similar to Daydream’s potions.”

I explained the method of charging dreamscapes while showing the pipe.

“In the future, I will be able to separately charge dreamscapes….”

“That.”

A light entered the Security Team Leader’s eyes.

“The elite team collector.”

Ah.

“Yes. By a chance opportunity, I obtained one whose number is not registered in the company.”

“…….”

The Security Team Leader carefully reached out, and very slightly, touched the collector I was holding, and then lowered it.

“…They said they don’t make it anymore, though……”

“…….”

By any chance, did the Security Team Leader use a collector of this style when he was in Group B?

“Are you sure… you won’t get tracked…?”

“Yes. It was an item that was never registered in the company in the first place.”

“Right……”

The Security Team Leader did not even ask where I got it.

He just looked at the collector with eyes steeped in nostalgia, and then soon turned his gaze to the buttons of the Dream Incubator.

“…Are there any emoticons you know?”

“No…. But this machine itself… is similar to the one I saw at the company, though….”

“…!”

Indeed.

“Do they make potions with a similar machine at the company too?”

“Probably… hmm.”

The Security Team Leader looked at me and faintly smiled.

“If you are curious… shall I go find out a bit…? About Cheerful Lab… and this and that……”

…!

“Wouldn’t it be dangerous for you?”

“…….”

The Security Team Leader returned to his listless face and spoke as if even shaking his head was annoying.

“It’s not dangerous, though….”

W-well, if you say so.

“Thank you.”

“Yeah….”

Like that, I gained an internal collaborator in the company.

“Still, because it can be dangerous, please do only three things according to this guideline.”

The listless but reliable veteran, the Security Team Leader.

After some time.

“Go home safely.”

“Yeah.”

Before the sun rose, the Security Team Leader safely returned home.

And at the end of the conversation with the Security Team Leader, I pressed a new emoticon and obtained one potion.

For reference, what I pressed was… this.

🤯

…I admit that it was a button I would have absolutely never pressed if I were alone.

‘Phew.’

Originally, I intended to hand it over to the Security Team Leader to express my gratitude, but the Security Team Leader rejected with eyes like a dead fish….

-I… don’t need such things, though.

-…Yes.

Let’s give him something else next time.

I fiddled with the glass bottle that came out inside my pocket as I saw the Security Team Leader off.

…For reference, (though not very surprising) the Security Team Leader had no cell phone, let alone a smartphone.

I bought a prepaid SIM card at a convenience store, backed up the smartphone I originally used, initialized it, inserted the SIM card, and handed it over to him.

And I bought a new phone as soon as the store opened.

“You can contact me at this number.”

“Yes….”

What shall I say, he is a person who seems truly devoid of secular desires other than donuts….

‘If you reach a very deep state of pollution, do you become like that?’

I dropped off the Security Team Leader, who was trying to trudge along, at a spot 12 minutes walk from the company on my way to return the taxi.

“Upsy-daisy.”

Like that, right now, the long night shift ended.

‘The Disaster Management Bureau work was also well wrapped up!’

The taxi was well returned on time, and I received an evaluation that I had performed the given role successfully and well!

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Not at all…!”

It was terribly hard, but it was right to deny it here. I bowed my head toward Agent Bronze, trying hard to ignore my right hand that was giving me a thumbs-up.

And after resting well during my off-duty time and learning the related paperwork processing for a few days.

“Today, you will work here.”

At the headquarters of the Disaster Management Bureau where I went back to work, I saw a welcoming face again.

Jang Heo-un.

“Ah…!”

My colleague’s eyes shined upon seeing me, then he quickly bowed his head as if greeting.

The superior standing in front of him chuckled and extended his hand to Agent Bronze next to me.

“It’s been a long time, Agent Bronze. Ah, is this the rookie agent?”

“Y-yes…! Nice to meet you.”

That was right.

Today was the duty of the Site Cleanup Team that I had been waiting for…!

‘I will surely show my aptitude!’

* * *

“…….”

I failed to show it….