Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work (Novel) - Chapter 9

Chapter 9

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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A rainy Monday afternoon.

The employees of Field Exploration Team Group D wrote down the situation report at a speed never seen before, even completing the proxy approval using the group leader’s ID.

The reason was one.

The rookie who ignored the time limit and cleared the ghost story!

“Surely… the duration wasn’t three days?”

“That is correct.”

The assistant manager and the supervisor, who sat opposite the rookie, had plundered the pantry to arrange snacks in front of him.

They made eye contact and nodded.

It was finally time to ask proper questions.

“But by what means did you come out so quickly?”

“Ah.”

The new employee seemed to ponder for a moment, but soon replied with an understanding expression.

“I fast-forwarded the time.”

‘Answering so casually as if he just had lunch……!’

…Before they could even speak, the new employee slowly explained the method he had used.

“Since there was a time limit, I figured there must be an event to judge that ‘time has passed.’ I focused on that part…….”

Even the method of pulling the ‘time alarm’ using the expiration date.

The bosses listening silently thought.

‘He is a genius.’

‘Resignation is prohibited.’

The intuition and logical power to pierce the essence of a ghost story at a single glance?

This was a talent born for the Field Exploration Team. We must never let him run away from this team… No, we must help him adjust well!

“I was not in a position to welcome you or anything. Mr. Roe Deer.”

“You’ll probably bypass me and become an assistant manager in no time.”

“……?!”

Such a rookie cannot be found again……!

“Don’t forget us when you succeed… and come boast to us when you receive the Wish Ticket…….”

The rookie seemed a bit flustered.

“No, it’s not. Uh… actually,”

“Hmm?”

The rookie added as if making a grand confession.

“It’s because I was scared that I tried to come out quickly.”

“…….”

Was an urban legend usually something you could escape quickly just because you were scared……?

It felt like cognitive pollution would occur, making it seem like some kind of escape room.

‘His modesty is excessive……!’

But the rookie was persistent.

“Next time, I hope you would give me a heads-up at least. I almost fainted from fear.”

“Is that something a guy who cleared it in an hour should say……?”

The new employee, who had a subtle expression, spoke.

“I thought I was going to die.”

‘Liar!’

Why would a person who felt like dying perform a time attack like breaking the shortest record? That was a purely crazy act that even veterans who had been around wouldn’t do.

But apart from that, they understood the sense of betrayal.

‘Honestly, it is a harsh thing.’

Even if it was safe, falling alone into a strange phenomenon was no ordinary matter.

And they knew well how to soothe this hurt heart.

The office worker’s remedy!

The assistant manager asked as she drank her coffee.

“Roe Deer, how much did you get?”

“Pardon?”

“The money that comes out when you clear it, I mean.”

“Ah, yes. Ten million won came out.”

That was correct. This F-grade Dark gave a prize money upon completion.

And it was clearly stated in the manual.

-When clearing a Shadow (F) grade Dark whose manual is fully completed by our company, 50% of the auxiliary revenue generated is paid to the employee as a prize.

In other words, it meant that the company took 50% of the money the employee made in the Dark using the completed manual.

Furthermore, the Dark initially assigned to a rookie was not subject to this clause!

The company’s logic was that since they assigned a ghost story whose safety was guaranteed through dozens or hundreds of attempts, they couldn’t pay danger pay.

The rookie had also read this manual.

But you see.

“Usually, the company takes all of it… but you should just keep it.”

“……Pardon?”

When you build experience and know-how, there are always ways to process it informally!

Since there was even a wonderful company regulation exception like ‘since he cleared it with a new escape method, it does not correspond to the manual,’ they could process all of it. Yes.

Having a large sum of money wired on the very first day of work beautifies everything!

The assistant manager and the supervisor enacted the technique they had also experienced on the rookie with warm faces.

“Ehey. Keep it, keep it. There’s a way to process it all.”

“…….”

‘Actually, it was twenty million won.’

Kim Sol-eum, who had intended to keep half for himself, broke out in a cold sweat.

Suddenly gaining the joy of a massive profit of another ten million won whose source he couldn’t explain, along with a momentary pang of conscience, he stood up following the bosses.

“Since you successfully completed the Dark exploration, we should go register the most important thing.”

“Register… you say?”

“Uh.”

The supervisor smiled broadly.

“Employee benefits mall points!”

* * *

“Phew.”

There is no happiness like being in the middle of a city full of people in broad daylight.

Even the future where I wouldn’t be able to sleep even with all the lights turned on tonight wasn’t worrying for now.

‘Does having twenty million won in cash in my pocket create peace of mind…….’

Even if I fell into a ghost story, this place was 21st-century Korea and a capitalist society.

I finally sat at my assigned desk, turned on the computer, and accessed the intranet.

Sitting on a posture-correcting office chair in a bright fluorescent-lit office, the crazy reality of being in a standoff with a ghost just moments ago felt like a lie.

Furthermore, a fairly cute writing utensil and a lizard plushie with wide eyes were resting on the desk.

‘…Somehow, doesn’t it show signs of use?’

Well, I only hoped the previous user had resigned immediately due to winning the lottery and hadn’t been able to clear the desk.

Anyway, because the benefits mall was already registered as a bookmark on the PC, I could access it easily.

[Daydream Co. Employee Benefits Mall]

Entering my employee ID, I proceeded with the registration rapidly, and pressed the ‘Point Registration’ tab as the bosses had told me.

-Select the Dark grade you cleared, enter your name, and then attach the PDF and submit it.

I did exactly that.

And five minutes later.

[Employee Kim Sol-eum / Registered Points: 100p]

“……!”

It was screened and registered at a remarkably rapid speed.

‘So clearing an F-grade alone gives 100 points.’

Well, apart from my having a hard time, it wouldn’t be a large sum because it was F-grade……. Let’s discard expectations.

Still, since I had points now, I tried to check if there were items I could buy for 100p.

And I was flustered from the very first page.

“……A robot vacuum?”

The items were actually decent.

Most items offered as special deals were 100p, and top-tier large home appliances that one only buys as wedding gifts were around 500p.

Furthermore, Daydream Co.’s unreleased reagents were also sold for around 1000p, among which were numerous jaw-dropping levels of over-technology, such as corneal regeneration potions.

Ah, for reference, the hair loss treatment cost about 500,000 won as a non-insured item on the market, but here it could be purchased for 100p.

‘It really is decent.’

I moved the mouse with a slight expectation.

Now was the moment to check the most important thing.

The brilliant name that appeared when sorted by ‘highest price first’ in the ‘proprietary products’ tab.

‘Wish Ticket.’

The price of that miraculous potion introduced as the representative benefit as soon as the death survival ended was indeed…….

Wish Ticket: 500,000p

“…….”

Is this a joke?

‘Five hundred thousand?’

What I just got from clearing the ghost story is 100 points…….

500,000 points?

‘Theoretically… assuming I enter an F-grade alone every single day, it would take 15 years.’

But there was no way it would be as easy as it sounded.

‘If it flowed according to my plan, it wouldn’t be a corporate job.’

Not only was it impossible to select and clear only F-grade Dark every day, but there was also bound to be numerous anomalies.

‘Surely, there would be many cases where I am forcibly deployed into high-grade Dark along with colleagues.’

Wait, do they split that by N too?

I searched the point registration tab of the benefits mall to find out the basic points paid for each Dark grade.

F-grade: 100p

D-grade: 1000p

C-grade: 2500p

B-grade: 10000p

A-grade: 100000p

S-grade: Separate screening

Here, additional allowances were attached according to the specificity measured internally by the company.

Such as if the clear was urgent, if there was no information yet, or if there was an additional risk.

‘Since three people are in a group, if a three-person clear is the basic…….’

……I have to clear B-grade 150 times to receive it?

‘Are they insane?’

Just reaching B-grade causes the civilian survival rate to drop to about 2%.

From that grade onward, it is a grade where whichever choice you pick from the given options, you either die or suffer a fate worse than death!

Entering that 150 times meant a regular employee was as good as dead.

A crazy situation where even if ordered, one would have to prostrate and beg not to go.

It meant that speedrunning by targeting only high-grade was an impossible feat.

‘In the end, to increase the survival rate even slightly, one has to invest over ten years.’

This isn’t even some gentleman’s revenge…….

Yet, if the Field Exploration Team had the fastest speed among the departments, it meant people in other departments had a higher probability of never getting the Wish Ticket during their entire service period.

Since there were various products in the benefits mall, there would be many in other departments who resigned themselves and were satisfied with that…….

But I couldn’t.

Because my goal was extremely surreal and clear.

Return to my original world.

But they want me to live here for 15 years? Before then, I would die of shock from a heart attack?!

‘No!’

A plan, a plan was needed.

‘I must properly weigh which ghost stories I absolutely must enter, and which I must avoid.’

So, while maintaining a golden balance with safety, I had to gather 500,000 points in the shortest period.

Just before falling into deep agony. The supervisor tapped my back and asked.

“Roe Deer, did you register? The computer works well, right?”

“Yes. Ah, the personal belongings here are……”

“Ah, that’s the group leader’s desk.”

“…….”

No wonder there were signs of use!

“Just don’t break the monitor. Use it comfortably today, comfortably.”

Is this company… really okay?

Is it okay to do something crazy like letting a rookie temporarily use his boss’s desk?

‘Thinking about it, there’s no way it’s okay.’

It is a company that grinds people into ghost stories to extract potions, after all. If I apply the common sense of a well-meaning 21st-century Korean worker, wouldn’t shocking situations keep occurring?

……Indeed, it might be right to use some tricks.

“Ah, Roe Deer, do you smoke too?”

“I’m fine.”

I did not follow the bosses’ smoke break.

Instead, looking down at the desk I was using, I took a deep breath and flipped the keyboard over.

Sure enough, a post-it note was attached.

[Group Leader Lee Ja-heon / 105105301]

ID: yongj1111

PW: dydajflgodks!111

To call it a lack of security awareness, it was a sight too commonly seen in workplaces.

‘If he is a group leader… he must be a manager.’

And actually, in this company, there is a certain site that can only be accessed from the manager rank…….

That would be really helpful when clearing high-grade Dark.

“…….”

Seeing that crazy target figure of 500,000 points once made it really hard to miss.

Okay.

‘Let’s do it.’

With a made-up mind, I accessed the benefits mall again.

Only this time, it wasn’t my ID.

ID: yongj1111

Password: dydajflgodks!111

I attempted to log into the benefits mall with the Group D leader’s ID.

The password does not match.

“Hmm…….”

It’s fine. I expected this level of hurdle.

Let’s see. If I press sign up, I can check the password setting requirements.

‘A capital letter was needed.’

If so, by changing only the very front of the password written under the keyboard to a capital letter, and attempting to log in with ‘Dydajflgodks!111’…….

Ding.

[Welcome, Manager Lee Ja-heon]

‘It worked!’

I clenched both fists under the desk. It was a celebration one could perform in the office without drawing surrounding attention. Although right now, I was the only one in the office.

Anyway, what I had to find in this page now… was a kind of phishing link.

The so-called ‘Alien Shop.’

In <Records of the Dark Exploration>, there were quite a few alien ghost stories, among which were those who tried to sell items to earthlings through clumsy communication methods.

‘They had no malice, but they also sold things that were chilling or dangerous from an earthling’s perspective.’

Well, even so, it was close to comedy, so it was a rarely warm ghost story.

And they also had a commercial mindset in their own way. Perhaps they wanted to target customers who had a usable demand for their goods…….

They even planted something like ransomware on the Daydream Co. intranet.

‘The shopping mall advertising phishing link was visible only to the manager rank or above.’

I also remembered well how to view that phishing link.

‘If you just click around at random in the benefits mall, and then press back five times in a row…….’

Click, click, click…….

Beep.

Suddenly, a small green hand appeared in the corner of the benefits mall screen.

A pixelated left hand that drew attention by waving as if greeting.

Above it, a speech bubble rose.

1st Anniversary Thanksgiving Discount in Progress! ~80%

Is your job boring? >> Click

Do you want to get stronger? >> Click

Do you want to have wonderful things? >> Click

‘Shoddy.’

It looked just like an old-fashioned internet banner ad.

But amazingly, if you clicked this clumsy thing!

Like a lie, the external internet would open from the intranet, kidnapping you to the alien site.

I want to click it right now, but!

‘Let’s endure.’

Instead, copying only the link with a right-click, I pasted the corresponding link address into Excel and took a photo of it with my smartphone.

‘A record of all connections is left on the company PC.’

Leaving a record of clicking alien ransomware was of no benefit. Especially with someone else’s account.

A moment later, looking at the bosses who returned from their smoke break, I nodded and greeted them as if nothing had happened.

“Roe Deer~ When the group leader returns from his field work, let’s also have a welcoming dinner. With the corporate card.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

And I waited until it was time to leave work.

* * *

The evening after the monumental first day of work ended.

But my work was not yet over.

“Let’s try it.”

I went home after depositing twenty million won.

And right now, in my bedroom, I was copying the phishing link of the ‘Alien Shop’ I had taken a photo of in my smartphone gallery through image analysis.

After correcting a few parts that weren’t read properly, I opened an internet window and pasted it into the address bar.

“Phew.”

Taking a deep breath… Enter.

Click.

Riding the complex link address written in the address bar, the page turned over.

Then, a screen of a format similar to the Daydream Co. benefits mall page rose… and cracked apart.

And a new page rose.

Like the internet of the early 2000s, a screen with stark underlines and fonts.

<Space Shopping Mall>

※ Wonderful things from outer space ※~!!

>> I look at the goods

Pop-pop-pop. A green spaceship spun in the corner.

‘It’s really shoddy.’

But one must not let their guard down due to the tackiness.

If you click ‘goods’ here, you can see extraordinary supernatural items for sale.

…Though the prices are also extraordinary, which is a problem.

It started from a minimum of millions of won.

……It was the result of imaginary inflation arising from the self-aggrandizement of ghost story creators, who thought ‘I should use something more expensive!’

If it were the me of just yesterday, I wouldn’t have been able to purchase even a single one of these items, but…….

‘I got twenty million won.’

My heart pounded slightly. Being able to directly purchase an item from a fictional world was certainly a dopamine-inducing thing.

“Phew.”

I finally clicked the ‘goods’ tab.

The screen rose.

Goods

Vampiric Tableware – ₩14,999,999

Wider Walkie-Talkie – ₩4,999,999

Alice Picnic Set – ₩11,999,999

We Help! – ₩66,666,666

※ Discount! ※ Silver Coin Snake – ₩4,999,999

₩19,999,999

“……!”

The majority were items I knew.

Has my luck finally turned!

‘Great.’

In my delight, I quickly recalled my memories.

Vampiric Tableware.

It was a weapon consisting of a small fork and knife, a blade that sucked the blood of victims to evolve larger and sharper.

Literally a growth-type weapon.

Wider Walkie-Talkie.

It was a toy walkie-talkie that enabled remote communication with others even inside a ghost story.

It would be extremely useful when there are colleagues.

Alice Picnic Set.

The name itself evoked associations, food inspired by Alice in Wonderland.

It must be a set consisting of a beverage that temporarily doubled the size or effect of an object, and a cookie that reduced it to 1/2.

Up to here were the items I knew.

I didn’t know the remaining two, but first, ‘We Help!’ surpassed my budget by far even leaving aside the interesting title, so skip.

‘The Silver Coin Snake is on discount.’

Purchasing something on discount makes one feel like they are getting a bargain in a way.

“……Hmm.”

I crossed my arms.

A weapon, a communication device, a buff potion, and a discount item…….

My budget is twenty million won.

Within this, what would be the most profitable to buy.

“Okay.”

Having decided, I clicked.