I know it might sound strange that it's a Darkness frequently used by the Daydream Research Team for equipment manufacturing.
Equipment, after all, is usually something that helps you survive a ghost story.
You might wonder why on earth a research team in this company would need something like that directly, but if you see it in person, you'll get the gist.
How the 'Joyful Laboratory's Toy Maker' could be utilized by the research team.
And how it could replace Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae's missing body parts.
"Alright. Let's set our route for E07 and go."
"Yes, yes, sir!"
And so, the first equipment manufacturing location to visit in the Annex was decided.
…Now, it was time to head to our destination.
"We're moving out."
"Yep."
As soon as he made his decision, Section Chief Lee Jaheon began to move without hesitation. We followed him, starting our walk down the dark corridor.
The Annex, Basement Level 3, Darkness containment area.
Ignoring the bizarre noises coming from the firmly shut steel doors on either side, we moved cautiously until…
"Stop."
EXIT
At a dead end.
An emergency exit revealed itself.
Right. This time, we plan to use the emergency stairs here to move directly up one floor to Basement Level 2.
-We can't get access authorization for Basement Level 2 itself, so we'll enter from the floor above or below and move in secret.
The Annex's emergency stairs are different from the strange Pleasant Research Institute emergency stairs in the Main Building's basement, which are marked with 'Absolutely No Entry' warnings.
'There are several records in the
Of course, this too is not a normal route, and strange things can happen while moving through it.
'But it's not like we can't use it.'
Up ahead, Section Chief Lee Jaheon raises his hand.
"I'm opening it."
And this emergency exit, on the contrary, locks down in the event of a containment breach, and normally an alert is sent when it's opened… but this time, 'coincidentally,' that was also broken, so no alarm would go off.
Even if, for instance, someone with absurd strength were to force it open.
Crrrack, …creak.
The emergency exit probably made such a sound as it was opened by Section Chief Lee Jaheon.
....
"Noruya?"
But I couldn't see any of this.
'Just as I thought.'
I cannot see the means to escape the Annex. Just like the elevator.
It doesn't allow me to perceive the way to leave a floor. Because I am a special department employee who must serve as the security manager for each floor.
'I see.'
…To become completely unable to see something you once could gives you a strange feeling.
I can't perceive the emergency exit either; it just looks like an extension of the wall. A wall in smoke and darkness….
However.
Recommendation: Move in front of 130666
If there are other people, I can follow them.
"…Right."
Assistant Manager Eun Haje stood right in front of me.
"Be careful."
"Whoa!"
Section Chief Lee Jaheon, who seemed to have finished re-locking the broken emergency door, lightly lifted the wheelchair.
Then he took a step, and the others entered the wall.
I followed them and 'passed through' the wall.
From my perspective, it looks like an endless void.
"You okay?"
Positive
Even if I can't see the emergency exit, I can see my companions, so it's fine.
Everyone began to climb the emergency stairs.
I used smoke to blink, ignoring my unmoving legs and continuously appearing near the group….
In my head, I'm picturing the shape of the stairs.
'Normally, emergency stairs… go up in a spiral, turning in a semicircle once.'
So, originally, the next floor should appear after one or two turns.
"..."
"..."
The group keeps walking.
Continuously upward.
"Um, there's no door."
"Be quiet."
The space was twisted somewhere.
But I advised them.
Recommendation: Keep walking
It's not a dangerous situation.
'There's a similar record.'
Containment breach of Qterw-E-352 occurred.
To avoid the entity that boarded the elevator, two members of Field Investigation Team F, who were in the Annex, escaped using the emergency stairs.
Time elapsed: 1 hour and 21 minutes.
Beside me, Baek Saheon muttered something like a curse and moved his feet.
And a short while later.
"…We're out."
The footsteps stopped.
B2F
"Basement Level 2 emergency exit. Time to arrival: 12 minutes, 53 seconds."
And.
"Access Denied, Under Security Team Control… it says."
The door is already sealed with the Security Team's warning signs.
Naturally, the Annex's emergency exits are, on the contrary, locked down and won't open during an emergency, and Basement Level 2 is currently in that very 'state of emergency.'
But we have already spoken with today's person-in-charge for the Annex's Basement Level 2.
"I'll knock."
Knock, knock-knock, knock.
Section Chief Lee Jaheon knocked on the emergency exit with the promised rhythm. The string instrument melody learned from the Groom Training Ghost Story.
Then.
Click.
The emergency exit opened just a tiny crack, and the pale, sallow, beast-like pupils of an animal scanned us….
Soon, it pulled its head back and opened the door wide.
"Come in…. Quietly..."
We entered, careful even with the sound of our breathing.
My perception recovers as I face the corridor.
The familiar second basement floor of the Annex, which I had visited a few times before.
[Oh, it's a boring structure, no different from the third basement floor.]
The only difference is…
[There was no need to express individuality with filth!]
It was scarred with gruesome traces.
Sticky black liquid stuck to the floor, claw marks on the walls, half-peeled yellow talismans plastered everywhere, stardust, torn scraps of cloth, and smiley-face graffiti….
Traces of the Security Team's 'suppression.'
Evoking ominous imaginings.
"..."
"..."
J3, the Security Chief, pulls his hat down low.
"That way… other Security Team members are… 'controlling' it… so don't go there now."
He had willingly taken on the role of opening the door for us so that we could travel a relatively safe route without running into the Security Team.
Alone.
-The Chief is so powerful, um… competent, that he often gets assigned to manage an area all by himself. It was the same this time.
-He'll be patrolling half of the Basement Level 2 area by himself. Right?
-Yeah....
"Then are you the only one here, Chief?"
"Yes..."
We reported our destination, and the Security Chief nodded.
"Follow me…. The hallucination… don't turn it on."
The Security Chief lowers his gaze.
"It might provoke it for no reason…."
"..."
"Just be quiet."
The others did as he said.
I followed them quietly from the very back, sensing for danger as we moved.
J3, dressed in his security uniform, walked slowly with a flashlight, but his steps never once faltered, as if he could sense every presence and danger around him.
"Wait, hold…."
When he says to stop, we stop, and when he moves again, we follow.
After that suffocating time passed at corners and forks in the path…
We face it.
E-07
The destination.
The ghost story.
"Just a moment..."
The Security Chief placed his access card next to the steel door.
With a beep, the closed steel door opens. And…
"Hoo."
Inside, it surprisingly looks like a street at night.
An exquisitely realized model alleyway. Beneath the light of a streetlamp, an old shop stood.
A promotional poster saying 'Special Sale for Birthday Gifts!' was stuck to the dusty glass display window, but a 'Close' sign hung on the door.
And all the toys displayed beyond the glass were…
"They're dolls."
That's right.
Knit dolls, their appearances taken from characters in fairy tales and old stories, were on display.
Exquisite bundles of yarn instead of hair, and cubic zirconia for eyes, glistened and shone in the streetlight.
---------------------=
Darkness Exploration Record / Ghost Story
[Joyful Laboratory's Toy Maker]
: A ghost story appearing in the
A ghost story in the form of an old toy shop.
It specializes in knit dolls and can make one birthday gift toy per day if given the recipient's name, birthday, and hair and eye color.
To use this ghost story stably at its Twilight Grade, it must be maintained in a 'night' state. If 'day' arrives, ■■ ■■ will proceed.
A ghost story held by Daydream Inc. since its early days, it is consistently used by the research team for Darkness development clinical trials.
---------------------=
…A 'Pleasant Research Institute' ghost story that Daydream has possessed since its early days, huh.
'Did they have it even when they were founded?'
Before, I would have thought it was just a phrase to emphasize its connection with the research team, but now…
It gives me a strange feeling.
In any case, manufacturing the equipment comes first right now.
"Let's go."
The group, having properly secured the steel door, walked down the midnight model alleyway and approached the front of the old shop.
And they knocked on the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
As per the established manual, the safe phrase is recited….
"I'm looking for a birthday present in a hurry, are you by any chance still selling?"
A moment later.
Flicker.
"…!"
A soft light came on in the dusty lightbulb in front of the shop, and the glass door unlocked.
"…Excuse me."
We carefully stepped inside.
The shop was covered in dust, as if it had been closed for a long time. It had the musty smell unique to old wooden spaces, a moldy odor, and the smell of rusted iron.
But there was just one thing that was lit up.
A machine that looked like a vending machine.
"..."
Behind the machine, a thick and complex connection that looked like a ventilation duct was visible, and next to it was a rail for dispensing finished products.
In the operating part, which looked like a slot for inserting bills, a light was blinking at the very top, displaying text.
This was the equipment manufacturing device we were looking for.
"Wanna try it right away?"
"Yep."
Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae zipped forward in her wheelchair.
Into the device that looked like a bill slot, you actually had to insert a different kind of paper.
An application form.
Please tell us about the child receiving the gift!
Name: Lee Seonghae
Birthday: May 20th
Hair Color: White
Eye Color: Black
It was unsettling to write down her real name and birthday, but this 'Joyful Laboratory's Toy Maker' had never caused any problems related to real names or birthdays despite its long, long usage history, so I was inductively less worried.
After finishing the form, Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae held up the application.
"Okay, I'm putting it in."
Yep.
And the application form disappeared into the Toy Maker's slot….
…No.
It was supposed to disappear.
Thump.
The machine spat the application form back out.
"…Huh??"
Above the slot, a red light blinks and spits out a message….
·Under Repair -
If you wish for a speedy repair, please contact a researcher.
"It's… broken?"
The group, momentarily flustered, looked at each other.
Of course, this wasn't unheard of.
Exploration Record #114
Research Team 1's Assistant Manager Gwak inserted a forged application. Machine displayed an error message.
The Darkness was left unobserved. Upon visiting 7 weeks later, it had automatically repaired itself and was operational again.
I had seen records of it breaking like this sometimes, but I also saw descriptions that it would recover on its own if left unvisited for a few weeks at the shortest, or a few months at the longest….
The problem is that we need to use it right now.
"Wait, did we break it?"
"I don't think so…. We just put in the application. I think it was already broken!"
Then did something else already happen in this corridor?
We reflexively turned to look at J3, but strangely, he was standing far away from the shop, outside.
Just as I was about to go out to talk to him.
'…Wait a minute.'
I paused for a moment and reread the message.
If you wish for a speedy repair, please contact a researcher.
A researcher.
And looking closely, at the bottom of the machine, there is a strange rectangular mark.
I realized that the size of that rectangle was almost identical to an object I possessed….
'…No way.'
After a moment of hesitation, I took out the object.
Pleasant Researcher
Lee Heoun
It was the employee ID card of a Pleasant Research Institute employee, found in the basement of the Daydream Main Building.
"Noruya?"
I held that employee ID card up to the rectangular mark at the bottom of the machine.
At that moment.
Hello, Researcher!
"…!"
A diagram at the bottom of the machine, which looked like a Braille blueprint, lit up.
And the lights moved erratically, pressing various points on the blueprint.
Performing self-diagnostics….
Diagnostics complete!
Indicating point requiring repair.
A red light turned on in one part of the 'Toy Maker's' blueprint.
I approached that area and carefully examined the connection…. Then something strange caught my eye.
Something was stuck in the machine.
'…!'
Using smoke, I carefully pulled out the small object. It was….
'An earring?'
It was something that looked like a rusted piece of jewelry.
The old accessory, which looked like it could have been excavated from ancient ruins or a tomb, didn't fit the place at all, creating a bizarre feeling….
Repair complete.
-Resuming normal operation-
In any case, it was repaired.
"Noruya. That thing just now…"
I showed the group the earring that had been stuck, then recommended we get on with the equipment manufacturing. That was the urgent matter.
"Got it. Thank you, Mr. Noru!"
Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae looked at me with sparkling eyes, then inserted the application form again.
And….
This time, it worked properly.
The machine glittered and let out the sound of a music box, prompting Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae to choose the 'desired size.'
"It has to be one-to-one scale."
Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae pressed the button, and again, with a loud mechanical noise, sounds of something clanging, being cut, and assembled could be heard from inside the machine….
And a few dozen seconds later.
Thud.
A 'birthday gift' popped out onto the rail.
It was….
A knit doll the exact same size as Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae.
"…!"
As if it had been meticulously handmade while looking at Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae, the doll was identical down to the hairstyle, eyes, clothes, and body measurements.
Black cubic zirconia, sparkling with a green light, were embedded as its eyeballs.
Slowly pushed out along the moving rail, it naturally fell off the end and….
It stood up straight.
Greeting us.
No one answers.
The doll's shining eyes look at Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae, sitting in the wheelchair.
<…Huh? Wait a minute. Why do I look like this? This is weird, and why is there another me over there….>
Rip.
…From behind the knit doll, Section Chief Lee Jaheon tears off the tag attached to its head.
At that moment.
The knit doll fell to the floor again like a toy.
Lifeless.
'....'
Dolls created by the Toy Maker exhibit conversation and behavior highly similar to the 'child receiving the gift' entered on the application form.
However, they are not judged as human by the Dream Collector, and the larger the size, the shorter the operating time, so the research team should not be wasteful and use them for the limited purpose of testing new Darkness.
Note that once created for a person, it cannot be created for the same person again.
"Alright, I'm gonna tear it off."
Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae detached the doll's legs.
For some reason, I watched the scene in shocked silence….
I felt strange.
There are many ghost stories that mimic people. So the others seemed to feel a little weird but weren't greatly affected.
'Why?'
I am deeply shaken.
Was that knit doll really just made to mimic Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae's appearance? Or could it be that it really had self-awareness....
'…Let's stop.'
It was a meaningless thought.
I just watched as Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae carefully pushed her own unmoving legs into the knit doll's detached legs.
And I watched as Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae shot up from her wheelchair.
"Mm. It works well!"
Right.
That doll can be controlled as the 'child receiving the gift' wishes, so it can be used in that way.
'Hoo.'
Let's just be relieved and happy that Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae has safely obtained legs she can use for the time being.
Because I really do think it's a relief.
"Are you going to use it?"
"No!"
"Yes."
As I watched Baek Saheon recoil from the knit dolls in horror, I received a suggestion from Assistant Manager Eun Haje.
"Noruya. Shouldn't you get some legs from here too?"
....
About that.
Use impossible
Target: 130666
And I pointed to the warning notice on the side of the machine, hidden in the shadows.
"…!"
※This toy is
for the enjoyment of modern Earthlings
and has been manufactured as such.
For safety, aliens, otherworlders, non-intelligent beings
Bodies, gods, and all other non-human
intelligent beings cannot use this. :)
"Damn it."
I'm sorry, but that's how it is....
'Is this a characteristic of the Pleasant Research Institute's products?'
I remember the candle I used in the 'Mansion of the Blind' had a similar condition, so I couldn't use it and had to ask Yeongeun.
…Back then, I thought it was because I was from another world that I couldn't use it.
"Then let's hurry and find the next thing. This is really frustrating for a Contaminated person."
…Thank you.
I nodded and left the store. Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae, who had regained her ability to walk, came out smiling, and we went together to the Security Chief, who was leaning against the steel door.
'If things go south, let's just go back.'
In any case, even without legs, I can move like this with smoke, so there must be another way to get legs before entering Sekwang Special City.
But….
[Oh my, your condition seems quite strange!]
The Security Chief stood perfectly still, staring at the floor.
'…?'
I puffed out some smoke and brought it before the Security Chief's eyes.
Concern : J3's current state
"I'm fine..."
Only then did the Security Chief raise his eyes to look at me.
But the next moment, another eye popped out from his temple, swiveled, and looked at the store.
The toys on the dusty display shelf. Among them….
Red Riding Hood.
'…Damn it!'
I went on high alert.
The moment I felt J3's gaze suddenly become bizarrely lumpy and ferocious.
"...We're leaving, right…?"
The Security Chief turned his head, and once again became the gaunt, slow-moving employee, dragging his feet toward the steel door.
…That was a relief.
Positive
I followed the Security Chief, obscuring his vision with as much smoke as I could. So he couldn't see the store.
And the unstable Security Chief slowly, regained his composure and opened the steel door….
Something was standing in the hallway.
"...."
"Huh?"
When I lifted my head, a woman adorned with countless ornate accessories was standing there. No, something in the shape of a woman….
'Porcelain…' A Clay Figurine. A human form, shaped from clay and fired. Something too out of place to be in a hallway, it stood vacantly in the filthy corridor.... I realized it instinctively. 'A ghost story.' That, that's the ghost story that failed to be quarantined. '…!!' I pulled the Security Chief back and tried to shut the steel door again. Quickly, before the others came from behind….
"Hngh!"
…A voice could be heard. I listened, frozen stiff. From within the ornate woman-shaped Clay Figurine, a trapped sound was emerging…. And I soon realized whose voice it was.
"Hmph! Hmph-hmph!" It was Ms. Kang Yihak.