"So, you're going in with this lineup this time?"
"Yes."
I looked ahead.
The agents, visiting the Fox Counseling Room after four days of rescue work, wore complicated expressions as they looked at the newly added members.
Their schedule must have been tiring and exhausting, but their eyes were sharp, perhaps because so many incidents had occurred in their absence.
Director Cheong, the Security Team, and even newly introduced equipment.
Agent Choi, roughly scratching the back of his head, spoke.
"If you go in on a schedule like this, we can't follow. You know that, right?"
…I knew.
The agents had regrettably used up all their vacation days, but instead, they had taken a call from another Hyunmu Team during the latter half of their leave and worked as substitutes.
They had received more vacation days instead of overtime pay, but it was only natural that they couldn't use them on such short notice….
'No, even if it were theoretically possible, it would be suspicious.'
It might have been suspicious from the moment those workaholic agents took vacation days instead of overtime pay. It was a time to be careful.
They had to sit this one out.
But then, the two people going in their stead were….
Long-term Recovery Room
(No Visitors)
A person so contaminated that even seeing their face was forbidden.
"Hello...."
And a member of the Security Team, dressed in a security guard uniform, who looked anything but ordinary.
Their feelings must be complicated….
"…Aha, we've met before, haven't we? You're the one who attacked me in that 'Underground Laboratory'."
"Um…, yes...."
Agent Choi, who had once confronted the Security Chief and witnessed the immense scale of his contamination, offered a handshake with a smile that didn't reach his eyes, scrutinizing the Security Chief from head to toe.
However, the Security Chief, with a worn-out and feeble attitude as if everything was a bother, just accepted the handshake perfunctorily.
Agent Bronze let out a low groan and said.
"At the very least, form the team with only one of them."
"You civil servant,"
"When we enter Segwang Metropolitan City, no one can be certain what state they will be in, can they?"
He was right.
It was only an inference based on an inductive method from past experiences; no one could be certain.
That was why I had originally intended to exclude the Security Chief.
"Hey… you said we just have to kill them…."
"…!"
He had volunteered himself.
"When it comes to killing contaminated entities… the Security Team knows better.... It's better if both of us go… if we have to go… it's better."
Because it would be easier to control each other.
"I won't eat them either…. I'll just… kill them...."
"...."
At that hair-raising statement, Agent Bronze barely managed to open his mouth again.
"If you're from the Security Team, you wouldn't normally perform duties that involve directly entering a Supernatural Disaster, and this particular metropolitan city is no ordinary Supernatural Disaster. From experience…."
"I have… experience...."
"…!"
"You civil servant. Most of our company's Security Team members used to be in the Field Investigation Team."
Making thrifty use of contaminated employees.
Agent Bronze's face turned cold as he belatedly understood the meaning of those words.
And his gaze turned to me.
…Right. In a way, I might look like a similar case.
"Let's just agree to 'pull out' immediately if anything seems off after we enter."
In any case, Agent Bronze no longer objected.
The Security Team's participation was thus confirmed.
All while making Daydream Inc.'s impression sink below rock bottom in Agent Bronze's eyes.
"Hmm."
Agent Choi wasn't surprised.
He just asked a few more questions to confirm.
"Right. You were originally an Elite Team leader?"
"Well... I guess so...."
J3, once the leader of Elite Team B, answered reluctantly, slumping.
…Hearing that, a certain thought came to mind.
'Maybe if we go into Segwang Metropolitan City.'
Perhaps the Security Chief, too, would return to his pre-contamination self.
[Transformation. A theme everyone loves.]
I couldn't bring myself to attach the word 'hope' to it, merely pushing the thought to a corner of my mind.
And next, the new equipment I had requested was introduced to the team members.
"Is this… that collector."
Positive
Agent Bronze picked up the special item from Daydream Inc. with a strange expression.
The Dream Collector.
The reason the Daydream Field Investigation Team risked their lives to enter ghost stories.
Director Ho, under the pretext of 'a security measure to maintain confidentiality for the project,' had gotten approval for and smuggled out a few Dream Collectors belonging to 'Long-term Missing Persons' with their registration numbers erased.
'Official' Unlabeled Dream Collectors.
Something you couldn't even dream of unless you were the director of the development department.
'It's amazing we even got three.'
Naturally, the Dream Collector was practically the only distributed item whose whereabouts the company counted with fiery eyes.
They would probably try to chew us up alive if they even knew an agent was currently inspecting one.
'He must have faced quite a bit of opposition internally.'
I really had to hope that a high-grade Dream Weave would be extracted. I couldn't imagine what hell would break loose if we happened to lose one.
But if it worked.
'The company won't be able to look down on this project, at least for this year.'
And I judged the probability of it working to be extremely high.
'At Sekwang Technical High School, even with the gimmick of dying to get out, the Dream Weave was extracted intact.'
In short, as long as it wasn't counted as 'truly died in reality,' the collector would work properly.
So, in the middle of an Extinction-class Disaster, inside a subway ghost story that was still somewhat functional….
'A high-grade one will definitely come out.'
And one more thing.
I took out a fourth collector, one that looked different from the rest.
The Elite Team's Dream Collector.
One of the merchandise items that came from the 'Dark Exploration Record Merch Box.'
I had taken this opportunity to get it back.
-Manager, can I possibly buy back some of my things with this?
-Yes.
By melting down the precious metals that had fallen from the 'Golden Jar of Canopus,' I had barely managed to pay off my debt to Lee Ja-heon Section Chief and buy back the item he hadn't disposed of yet….
'Hoo.'
If a Dream Weave was also extracted from this Elite Team collector.
I would be able to smuggle out that Dreamy Solution.
As for its use… I had several thoughts. But first.
Question
Target: Agent Choi
"Hm?"
I created a small wisp of smoke, visible only to Agent Choi.
The current status of the Dream Incubation Room
The space where the Potion Making Room used to be.
It was also the space where Agent Choi had exposed me as a spy.
"…Ah, that Underground Laboratory."
Agent Choi asked smoothly, his tone unchanging.
"Why. Is there something you want to use there?"
Positive
"Hmm."
And there was no answer.
But I read a strange nuance in that silence.
'He didn't just hand it over to the Disaster Management Bureau.'
I'll have to try and make contact again once a Dreamy Solution comes out of this exploration.
I gave Agent Choi a nod and moved on.
Finally, the personnel check.
"Unfortunately, it looks like Assistant manager Dolphin will be sitting this one out too."
Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae was excluded.
The moment she opened her eyes in Casino Station, she could be in big trouble due to her contamination as a dealer.
Besides, since she had been missing for a long time, she had a lot of work to handle upon returning to the company, and since she hadn't been officially assigned to Director Ho's project team yet, she needed to sort things out.
"This leg equipment will last at least a few months, so don't worry about that. It's just a shame I can't directly help the kind people who are going on the exploration…."
"Yeah. We'd feel more secure with you too, Assistant manager Dolphin."
It was true.
I knew how helpful an elite team member like Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae was in an unexplored Darkness.
For her to accompany the Segwang Metropolitan City exploration again….
"Hmm, I wonder if the contamination would be resolved if we won all of Assistant manager Dolphin's body parts at the casino. Or maybe if we just bankrupted the casino?"
For something like that to be possible….
'We'd need someone like a Gambling Master to explore the Body Casino.'
For now, there was no one like that on the roster, so I had to be frugal with the remaining Casino Coins and take the bare minimum.
I took out the coins I had left in my pocket.
They were the coins I had stored in my tattoo, so thankfully they weren't confiscated when I left the casino.
Though I couldn't grab the coins I had bet on Russian Roulette because the situation was so urgent.
"How much is there?"
Casino Coins: 924
It wasn't a small amount.
However.
"To be precise, there are 424 coins left."
More than half of them were already promised to someone.
I checked on Baek Saheon, who was looking at me with expectant eyes.
But.
"500 coins, as promised…."
"I'll keep a good eye on this one here!"
"…?!"
He was caught by Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae.
I ignored him.
"~!"
Well, you're scheduled to sit this exploration out….
'No matter how I think about it, people who entered the VIP Room will be treated as a group, and if they enter the casino, they'll probably have their remaining property damage debt collected from their bodies….'
This exploration had many new variables, so Baek Saheon acting alone could be fatal.
Don't worry. I'll give you the promised coins. …When you use them on the next entry.
Order: Stand by
"...."
The surprising thing was that Baek Saheon accepted this.
'I thought he'd make a scene, demanding I hand them over right now because he couldn't trust me.'
The look on his face as he glanced at Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae suggested he was planning to get something out of sticking with the elite team.
'Hmm….'
Well, give it a shot if you can….
Anyway, the finalized members were as follows.
Lee Ja-heon Section Chief.
Assistant Manager Eun Haje.
Kim Soleum (130666).
J3 (Security Chief).
And.
Supervisor Park Minseong (Contaminated).
"Another officially sanctioned cult company team from the government. Let's go."
With both hope and fear.
We jumped into the passage leading to the Annihilation-class Foundation.
I opened my eyes.
Colorful light bulbs. And in the distance, the squirming movements of those who had lost their bodies were visible on the subway platform.
Midnight Station.
The place in Segwang Metropolitan City where the Body Casino was located.
"…!"
I pushed myself up.
'I was worried we might reappear at the place where we died.'
Everyone woke up on the platform floor again. It was a relief.
And.
"...."
A man who pushed himself up at the same time as me turned to look at me.
It was….
"Noruya?"
"Supervisor."
Supervisor Park Minseong, staring at me as if in disbelief.
His face, damp with a cold sweat as if he'd had a nightmare, was….
Perfectly fine.
"Are you alright?"
It was a success.
The eyes of Supervisor Park Minseong, who had escaped the contamination of being the 'Sprout Class Teacher' and fully regained his sanity, trembled.
Looking down at his own armless hands.
"Wh-where is this? How…."
"Badger!"
In the meantime, the others who had woken up checked on Supervisor Park Minseong's condition and started taking care of him.
"Take this."
"Ah, uh…!"
They had him drink a C-Class Regeneration Potion first.
Before long, both of Supervisor Park Minseong's arms grew back.
"Hoo!"
We undid the restraints on Supervisor Park Minseong that we had used to tie him up to be thrown into the Well, and let out a sigh.
"It worked."
"…Yes."
It was a relief.
And in the process… another person who had newly entered Segwang Metropolitan City, who had been lying there blankly, had just opened his eyes.
The Security Chief.
J3 was….
"...."
Still in his Security Team appearance.
Wearing a shabby coat and a security cap.
[Oh my, what a shame. It seems some condition wasn't met!]
…I didn't know.
I was just satisfied that the Security Chief didn't seem to be in pain.
He was a competent person to begin with.
Besides….
"Looking at it like this, doesn't it feel like the old exploration days?"
"…It does."
All the team members, except for the Security Chief, were the same people from the former Field Investigation Team D.
Right now, with Supervisor Park Minseong dramatically recovered from his contamination and his arms regenerated, the mood was too elated for that kind of feeling, but I thought it would be good to be mindful so that the Security Chief didn't feel left out.
"Um… should I help you up...."
"Ah, um... Thank you."
I didn't refuse the offer to help me, who had no legs, up.
Of course, the Security Chief might not care about feeling left out at all.
'He'll definitely be bothered by the fact that he's the one who tore off and ate Supervisor Park Minseong's arms….'
Even now, the Security Chief seemed to be subtly avoiding eye contact with Supervisor Park Minseong.
And Supervisor Park Minseong seemed too dazed and happy right now to notice.
Of course, the moment he heard the explanation of the situation, his mood completely sank.
"…World-ending Class? Uh, that, if it's by the Disaster Bureau's standards…."
"Yes. We can't say the standards are identical, but compared to Daydream, it's an Abyss Grade Darkness."
"…!! Ah, I get it."
Hearing that he was in the middle of a top-grade ghost story, Supervisor Park Minseong's unique survival-oriented situational judgment as a field investigator returned first, and he quickly grasped what he needed to do.
"I just need to go to the casino and buy Roe Deer's legs, right?"
"Yes. We need your help, Supervisor, since you're not involved in the property damage incident."
And so, Supervisor Park Minseong took the few hundred coins I had left and infiltrated the casino, and before long, he came back with my legs.
He was as reliable as one would expect from someone experienced with ghost stories.
"Here…!"
"Thank you."
Hoo.
Thus, I got my legs back at Midnight Station.
'I figured they'd be in a regular pawnshop since they were confiscated for property damage costs, not traded in a game in the VIP Room.'
If things had gone wrong, I might have had to eat a Nostalgia Candy, disguise myself, and go buy them.
Let's be thankful that I saved myself from excessively consuming Nostalgia Candy.
"So… where are we going now?"
It was obviously difficult for the majority of this group to enter the Body Casino right now.
So there was really only one plan.
"We have to take the train."
And.
"I want to wait for the train that Ms.Goral told me about."
-It's that train. Train G1572, if I just get on that, just that….
…I had gone to the Fire Hydrant where Ms. Go Young-eun had pushed me in, but there was no trace of it left.
Not my body, not even a single bloodstain, only a single water bottle was left inside the fire hydrant.
'She must have taken the train.'
I was sure of it.
I wanted to wait for and find the train that Ms. Go Young-eun had taken.
But.
"Hmm. Usually, for trains…. The cars put into service each day… can change periodically, can't they…."
"…!"
"You don't know exactly… how long you'll have to wait, do you...?"
....
I nodded heavily.
And asked back.
"Do you perhaps have another opinion?"
"…My opinion…?"
"Yes."
"Um…."
The Security Chief answered slowly.
"Well, since we have an exploration objective... how about we check another station first… and from that station… we wait for the train…."
"Because the train will come to that station too?"
"I suppose… so...."
It was a surprisingly quick and accurate assessment of the situation.
[Hoh!]
"Then we will board the train."
Lee Ja-heon Section Chief adopted the Security Chief's words, and we immediately boarded the train that came into Midnight Station right after.
Heading to the next station.
[The platform screen doors are closing.]
This train was empty, giving it a strange feeling.
"...."
The friction sound of the train running on the rails.
After a quiet silence, an announcement finally came on….
[This stop is Midnight Night, Midnight Night Station.]
[The archive of knowledge, a resting place for citizens, the sanctuary of ■■. Passengers going to Hanbit Library, please get off at this stop.]
A library.
"This feels okay."
"I agree."
At the very least, isn't it much better than a place like Noose Forest or a casino that steals your body?
[The doors are opening.]
But when the train doors finally opened upon arriving at the next station, and the platform of 'Midnight Night Station' came into view….
We froze.
"...That."
The platform was fine this time too.
However, the problem was the A4 paper printed and attached to the platform pillar.
Sekwang Technical High School Graduation Ceremony
To Exit 4! ->
This place.
It was a station near Sekwang Technical High School.