Chapter 156

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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The field exploration team employees of Daydream Co. are people who work at the risk of their lives because they have wishes they desperately want to fulfill.

What this meant was that the majority of employees were prepared to utilize colleagues, civilians, or crazy ghost stories to fulfill their wishes!

People for whom only the welfare points for their wishes were important.

Three people who were like representative runners of that were in front of my eyes.

Although it didn’t seem like that personality was necessarily… only because of wishes.

“Assistant Manager, those who fell behind when we met the baby mermaids earlier….”

“Not interested.”

“Mr. Pony, of course those who were captured are really unfortunate… but it’s their fate. Shall we advance quickly? We have to find items….”

“Right, right. But since they might have dropped equipment while being captured, I’ll take a quick look… Hahaha!”

“…….”

They are truly consistent people….

‘Even if I tell those people that the baby mermaids are actually children….’

It wouldn’t work at all. On the contrary, they are humans who would contemplate whether there is something more to squeeze out based on that. It’s useless even if we have a connection.

No, in the first place, in a situation where I couldn’t step forward in my current form, a connection was originally useless anyway.

While hiding in the black shadow cast by a collapsed streetlight in the form of a street animal, I observed the Daydream Co. employees searching here and there in the alley.

But then….

“Quiet.”

Jin Na-sol stopped her steps and bent down.

“It’s a mermaid.”

“…….”

“A baby.”

All three employees held their breath and stood against the alley wall.

Giggle….

A sound is heard.

Something like a child’s laughter.

‘Ha.’

Although my entire body felt frozen cold… I must, check.

Very carefully, gently contracting my four legs, I jumped and soundlessly mounted on top of the wall.

Like that, the moment my vision beyond the alley opened slightly, finally, the appearance of the ‘baby mermaid’ entered my eyes….

Giggle….

It was strange.

It was strange. Small bodies mimicking humans are walking the broken avenue of the infected city.

Among them, there were those that were elaborate or smirked as if mimicking a human expression, but some had their faces already completely swollen with tumors and pulsing at their own will.

And the terrible mucous membrane below!

Each time the mucous membrane pulsed together, air leaked, making a sound similar to a child’s laughter.

A pink tumor mass, a green lump of flesh, an infected mass trailed long down the legs and dragged like a tail.

The belongings and clothes of the dead.

Things worn haphazardly looked as if they were trying hard to deceive humans….

Actually, even to my eyes that knew they were all innocent children.

“…….”

My spine and whiskers stood upright enough to make me sweat coldly.

Instinct tells me.

Must run away.

Upon encountering an infected larva.

Flee and widen the distance without standing out as much as possible. No manual upon failure. Rescue attempts for failed employees are not recommended.

The infected larvae run down the avenue like a grotesque march. In the alley, me and the Daydream Co. employees all held their breath.

And someone popped out of another alley.

A person encounters an infected larva.

“……!”

However, that person was already covered in infected slime, and their joints were covered in tumor masses and they were being controlled.

A hopeless appearance.

The infected person was already out of their mind, but they could scream.

Because they had a mouth.

“Ah!! Aaargh! Ah!”

The infected larvae burst into laughter and rush in.

A mass of tentacles attached like a tail violently rushes forward.

The tumor attached to the infected person’s belly opened wide, making blood, slime, and unspeakable things burst out.

“Ah, haaargh, gasp……”

Having their ‘honey’ collected, and collected….

I huddled my paws and endured that time.

Soon, the scream disappears.

“…….”

Passing the dead person, the infected larvae that collected blood and mucous membrane fully in their tail-like tumors march again.

To the mermaid statue.

To the tumor of infection, the colony of the biohazard.

Giggle….

“…….”

Only after the sound completely disappeared did the three employees in the alley begin to move again.

“…If you get caught by that tail, it’s over just like that, right?”

“Yeah.”

It was the reason to flee.

In the tail of the infected larva, slime causing fatal paralysis is secreted, and if stung even once, the movement of muscles is immediately lost permanently.

And if infected in that state, that person had to be seen as already dead.

If you hear up to here, you might wonder how on earth this ghost story received a Grade C rating.

‘Because there is a very clear ending method.’

And like two sides of a coin, the ending method is also actually in those infected bodies.

Thump, thump, thump….

An unfamiliar sound was heard from the avenue again.

But this time it was not infected larvae.

Figures like grown humans.

However, as their size grew, their elaborateness seemed crushed. Those fluttering things no longer had expressions.

The tumor mass cords that had looked like tails turned like blood vessels and were connected to each other… and trailed long all the way up the avenue.

Connected with the colony.

Things that had transformed into a shape almost shedding the human appearance, like a bait of the colony to tempt humans.

…What was estimated to be the appearance that the infected larva finally mutates into.

The ordinary infected is understood to be completely absorbed by the colony and move like nerve endings.

It appears as a kind of accessory part rather than a single individual.

A bit of motivation returned to the eyes of the butterfly-masked Assistant Manager.

“It came out.”

So when the encountered danger is an ordinary infected rather than an infected larva.

“Catch it.”

Kill it and harvest the evidence.

The three employees go out, lure the infected, and kill it.

In the case of the ordinary infected, surprisingly, when the connection cord with the colony is cut, it easily shrivels and dies.

“…….”

Upon presenting the evidence, one can board the escape pod remaining in the city and clear the corresponding Dark.

So… the children.

While being infected and utilized, when that creature like a tumor completely spreads throughout the body, they lose their reason and transform into grotesque creatures.

The reason why kids disappear each time the agents visit.

Because when they completely get infected and die, they connect with the colony of that grotesque biohazard as one and become a part of it….

‘…Fucking hell.’

Suppressing my urge to vomit, I tightly clenched my front paws.

Curses are about to surge.

In fact, when it reaches that state, there is no way to save them, and even though it was something I had read several times in the exploration records, physiological revulsion made my fur stand on end.

“Evidence collection complete!”

“Shut up a bit.”

“Ah, yes yes.”

Soon, the three employees succeeded in hunting the ‘mermaid’ and harvesting the sensory organ-like thing attached inside the tail as evidence.

That appearance strangely overlapped with the baby mermaids that harvested blood and mucous membrane from infected people.

They could now escape from this place.

But instead of immediately running toward the escape pod, they continue to search the alley and advance.

‘…Because there is a second goal.’

If you became familiar with the behavior patterns of Daydream Co. employees, you could realize it immediately.

‘Items.’

The reason why this Dark was not distributed to the general group as a charge even though it was rated C.

The reason why it is still under the research team because of the judgment that ‘considering its scale and clues, a greater secret might be hidden’.

They conduct exploration by receiving applicants… the reason why there is always no lack of applicants.

‘There is a reason.’

Because of the item which is also the ‘clue’ itself found here.

There was a very mysterious and miraculous trace of civilization that could be found in this ruined city.

Namely….

‘Angel’s Sigh’.

* * *

“Ah, jeez, there is no sigh or whatever.”

“Be quiet.”

Wearing a suit and a bizarre mask, the Daydream Co. employee grumbled on one side of the alley.

Although there was a mysterious civilization but it had already perished, leaving only grotesque creatures, pollution, and terrifying attacks, entering here was not just because of points.

Actually, this exploration was composed of applicants who were more interested in the side benefits than the main duty.

Angel’s Sigh.

A seashell-shaped item, which was occasionally discovered inside and outside the residential area of this city.

Its true value comes when this item is brought to the ear.

Hearing the beautiful humming coming from inside the shell calmed the mind, healed wounds, and boosted energy.

A healing item.

Naturally, because it was an item helpful in Dark exploration, and one of the few items that Daydream Co. purchased, there were many employees who searched with eyes lit up.

Even so, because it was a place explored dozens of times, it was no longer easily discovered now.

They had to enter the increasingly dangerous center, or find secret spaces that others had not found.

And there were also countless cases of being caught by infected.

Like those employees now.

“Aaargh!”

‘Idiots.’

Listening to the scream heard from the alley over there that they passed earlier, Baek Sa-heon was briefly satisfied with the companions he had chosen.

‘It was good that I pushed my way in.’

Although the humans here were out of their minds, they didn’t do foolish things with short-term perspective because they were blinded by items.

Touching the escape pod entry ticket harvested from the tail, he twitched the corner of his mouth unnoticeably.

‘Preparation to clear is also finished.’

Now, while searching for items, if worst comes to worst, I can just leave the people next to me as mermaid food and flee… wait.

Just now.

Did something pass by?

‘…Uh?’

Baek Sa-heon blinked.

Certainly, something popping out of the lamppost shadow down the alley and going around the corner seemed to have been visible on the outer edge of his vision.

He hurriedly checked his companions, but they had no reaction.

‘That I saw it wrong?’

Living while desperately relying only on his senses and judgment, Baek Sa-heon could not accept that conclusion.

Still, he didn’t want to tell the Group A Assistant Manager either.

…Instead, she was a human character who was not easy to lure into action.

-Hey. If you want to say something like a new monster in a Dark where only mermaids have appeared for 7 years, describe it properly.

-If you interfere just once more, I am leaving you behind.

‘She is a bastard who would do that and more.’

Ah, fuck. I don’t even have time to search for items.

Although it was a waste, he grit his teeth and decided to be on guard at the alley corner.

It was at that time.

Swish.

A shadow brushed past the streetlight in the alley.

It was definitely that black something he had seen earlier. That silhouette was….

Triangular ears, a streamlined body, and four legs.

……Phew, what.

It was familiar.

‘It was just a cat.’

Baek Sa-heon let out an irritated sigh of relief. That is just one of the bothersome street beasts commonly seen on the streets.

Thinking so….

‘……Uh?’

For a moment.

A cold shiver passed behind Baek Sa-heon’s back.

In a Dark where no life had ever been discovered other than the biohazard-mermaid.

There is no way a stray cat exists.

“…!”

In Baek Sa-heon’s cold mind, calculation formulas run quickly.

And quietly, so that other employees wouldn’t notice, he slightly lifted his eye patch…. To check the danger with the purple equipment of the inverted pupil hidden inside.

And.

He saw the danger.

“…!”

A terrible red halo surged beyond the corner of the alley.

It was visible even in the cast shadow. A colony of all kinds of humble harmful organisms that could be witnessed on the streets—such as rats, cockroaches, wings, and teeth—was surging.

No.

It is not a cat!

That is not a four-legged beast. Something went wrong! It’s a mermaid! No, something more dangerous than a mermaid, meaning, that halo’s unique shape was something like I had seen somewhere….

‘……Kim Sol-eum?’

Baek Sa-heon suddenly raised his head.

“What are you doing.”

“Ah, no.”

With a stiff neck, he looked at the alley corner again….

There was no shadow.

The red halo beyond the corner had disappeared as if it were a lie.

“…….”

Pretending to search, he moved his stiff steps and headed toward the corner.

His heart beat.

And the moment he turned the corner, he saw.

……On the floor, writing that looked like it was written by scraping the dust with sharp nails or the like was written.

Prepare for death.

“……!!”

* * *

Whew.

‘Atmosphere build-up complete.’

With this, if worst comes to worst, I have laid the groundwork to guide the Daydream Co. employees.

Running through the alley, I held back a sigh.

‘Indeed, Baek Sa-heon’s eye performance is good.’

The effect of the eye-shaped equipment I gave him seems indeed certain. Honestly, it also feels like a level that doesn’t fit the profit-and-loss balance of the brainwashing fountain pen I received in exchange.

‘I haven’t used it even once because I was worried I’d be suspected as a spy….’

Since the item became precious, I come to have all kinds of thoughts.

At any rate, I saw and grasped the situation directly with my eyes. …The living hell where ordinary infected and children kill each other in a place teeming with infected.

Hell.

‘…I feel like throwing up.’

The bigger problem is… that it is lacking.

Time, information, power.

All of it.

‘…How on earth do you rescue kids here.’

As the shock fades, reality is seen.

There is no answer.

‘If I tell this to the agents, there is a probability they would rather say it is better to humanely kill them….’

It looks like a situation where looking after my own body is overwhelming.

Moreover. At any rate, the moment the sun sets today, I will leave this paranormal disaster together with the agents.

I know.

That even if I learned this terrible truth right now, I don’t have the responsibility to rescue them, and since my own situation is urgent, it is more comfortable to just ignore it.

Roughly taking care of my body and spending a day and then leaving seemed like a moderate solution.

But….

‘…Somehow it is ominous.’

I have already learned of this duality.

But because I am treated as a child, can I safely escape based on the ‘Disaster Management Bureau’s’ method…?

‘…It seems there is a probability I might not be able to.’

It seemed better to look into it more deeply and prepare counter-measures.

If I can rescue one more child in this process… that would be good.

And because it was a ghost story with many meaningful corners, if I dig more, I might obtain items helpful for my survival later or unexpected information.

‘…Good.’

Let’s do as much as I can.

For now, before the promised afternoon time, even if I do not show myself, the Black Tortoise Team 1 agents won’t search for me.

Since children are also scattered in a wide space, it won’t be awkward even if we don’t run into each other.

‘Method, a usable method….’

I searched my head’s , whose details had faded a lot now, and pondered if there was any hint.

Even if it wasn’t about the Mermaid Tomb itself, if I dig into similar ghost stories, a breakthrough method to try might come to mind….

Oh, wait a minute.

“…!”

Ah.

‘There was.’

Another exploration record where this Mermaid Tomb was mentioned…!

Even that Dark… is something I have already experienced.

‘…Good.’

I will try.

I moved my four legs again.

Running.

Although danger lurks everywhere in the city perishing from the infection of grotesque creatures, since I have the body of an agile four-legged beast, it is a bit better.

‘Because I am small, it is easy to evade.’

My destination running while evading slime and tumors was clear.

‘Western outskirts.’

An area far from the infection colony.

Even among them, especially… a place that felt relatively safe because there were fewer tumor masses.

But since it is not the residential area where items are, no Daydream Co. employee searches there.

There are also no… baby mermaids.

So the exploration is slow there.

‘Somewhere here… right.’

Found it.

Between half-collapsed and old buildings, a door of a small brick house that was buried downward and became a semi-basement as the ground collapsed is visible….

And looking closely at the corner of that door, such a phrase is visible.

Moonlight Tattoo Shop

“…!”

It was carved small at the edge of the door, in a more elegant cursive font than what I had seen before.

“…….”

Found it.

The back door of the Moonlight Tattoo Shop.

Although the connected door was also discovered in Qterw-C-1642 (Mermaid Tomb), a nameplate saying ‘We only accept reserved guests’ was hung.

This seems to be a closed back door rather than the front door.

All signals to try to open the corresponding door and sneak inside failed.

It was one of various sightings about the Moonlight Tattoo Shop.

However, in most of the sightings, the door was closed so that they couldn’t enter the tattoo shop, and the visit records Daydream Co. secured did not exist except for using ‘This is vacant’ that I had used.

Actually, the small window of that door made to check the outside is completely covered by a note.

[We currently accept reserved guests only]

This thing.

‘…Although a reservation was not made.’

Knock, knock.

After politely knocking on the door with my front paw, I slid the prepared note under the door.

It was hard writing with my front paw.

-Hello. I am the person who received a tattoo cover-up last time, and I came because I have inquiries regarding that.

“…….”

And a few seconds later.

It was heard.

Click.

The sound of the back door unlocking.

“…!!”

It worked.

I jumped up with my hind legs, grabbed the doorknob, opened it, and quickly went inside before the door closed.

Into the Moonlight Tattoo Shop.