186 Chapter
186 Chapter
My second exploration of Yuquai Theme Park had finally come to an end.
And then…
The assigned research team went into a frenzy.
Exploration Results:
Out of 12 personnel deployed, 8 returned.
Among them, 2 completed the exploration within the scheduled time, while the remaining 6 were discovered in the meeting room where the board game had begun, on the sixth day.
Of these, one employee displayed symptoms of complete contamination (mask deformation confirmed). Referred to the Fox Counseling Office.
Of the 4 who didn’t return, 3 deaths were confirmed through eyewitness accounts. All were individuals who drew red tokens. One of them had only their head retrieved by a survivor, but it was lost in the Yellow Zone.
Special Note 1:
Upon visual inspection, the collected Dream Solution was determined to be of higher quality than usual. Comparable to Grade A.
Upon visual inspection, the collected Dream Solution was determined to be of higher quality than usual. Comparable to Grade A.
Special Note 2:
Several exploration team members who returned on the sixth day testified to having worked as theme park staff. They claimed to have received items from the Gift Shop as wages.
Several exploration team members who returned on the sixth day testified to having worked as theme park staff. They claimed to have received items from the Gift Shop as wages.
Had this been a Wiki entry, it might have been summarized just like that—with persistent, dogged verification.
The exploration period had stretched to six times the norm, but the extracted solution had ranked one grade higher. A true irregularity.
And there was only one variable in that irregularity.
Me.
A staff member from the Special Security Department.
But even though I looked like a ghost-story entity or something tainted, I scared the research team enough to escape the interview hell and go straight home.
—"Um, thank you so much, by the way… if I wanted to treat you to a meal, where should I—"
—"S-Senior! No, you can’t!"
…During that process, Assistant Manager Lee Seong-hae tried to show me her gratitude with a friendly gesture, only to be blocked by a researcher.
‘Which was for the best, really.’
There’s no way to contact me anyway.
All of this—this entire identity—is just a disguise created by Director Ho.
And then…
Before I could go home, I had to face Director Ho—a boss far more persistent and terrifying than any research team.
—"You’ve really worked hard, Mr. Soleum!"
As soon as I removed the security suit, I checked my empty right arm and the goblin-fire, now reverted into its lantern form.
It looked petrified. Frozen solid.
Director Ho observed it with an oddly amused glint in her eye… but thankfully didn’t confiscate it.
Instead, she looked at my discarded security uniform and said:
—"Wow! It looks like the uniform picked up some interesting effects from traveling through the Darkness with you this time."
—"Even without that, it’s a fascinating outfit, isn’t it? I’ll extend your rental period. Who knows when you might need it again."
I nodded along.
Refusing didn’t feel like an option. Especially since I was about to make a request of my own…
—"By the way, do you happen to know where Jang Heoun is?"
Sigh.
—"He was the employee deployed with me to assist during the exploration. I wonder if he was useful to you."
…I told the truth.
That an agent from the Disaster Management Bureau had unexpectedly intervened, and that Jang Heoun’s cover was blown. The Bureau took him away under the pretense of rescue.
—"…Oh my!"
Director Ho’s response was flat and shallow.
‘…She’s pissed, I bet.’
—"But, Director, he wasn’t exposed as an employee of Hundred Dreams, so he should still be able to carry on as a spy."
—"Aha, is that so?"
Thankfully, my excuse—that he’s likely being detained and examined for contamination post-rescue—seemed to work. At least, for now.
—"In that case, was Mr. Jang’s Dream Solution collector retrieved? I hear the research team’s in an uproar about an A-grade sample being gathered this time."
—"Unfortunately, it was destroyed while attempting to prevent it from falling into the Bureau’s hands."
Which wasn’t a lie.
Because I destroyed it.
To patch that logical hole—just before escaping the theme park—I retrieved the collector from Jang Heoun and crushed it in the form of a disposable mascot.
If the Bureau found it on him, it would’ve been definitive proof he was a spy.
And if I left it behind in the ghost story, it would automatically be returned to the company… revealing through the recordings exactly what state he was in. Ho would know everything.
Destruction was the only option.
—"That’s unfortunate. Usually, destroying a collector means the assigned staffer has to pay the point penalty, but… oh right! This was a special case. I’ll smooth it over myself!"
—"…Thank you."
—"Haha, you’re welcome! Though it’s not like I’m doing you any favors, Mr. Soleum."
Thankfully, Director Ho let it slide.
I’d been worried she’d flip over the high-grade solution, but surprisingly, she didn’t seem too attached to it.
‘…Weird.’
Either way, A-grade is A-grade, so I figured I should check the elite team’s collector as well. But for now…
…I collapsed into bed the moment I got home and slept through until the next morning.
‘I thought I was gonna die.’
The only comfort was that I didn’t wake up once all night—pure exhaustion knocked me out cold.
But if you put it another way—
…That means I lost six whole days of vacation.
This morning.
I woke up and went straight to work at the Disaster Management Bureau.
Tch.
"Whoa, long time no see. You cold-hearted MZ Podo who didn’t even call during your break…"
Agent Choi entered the Hyunmu Team 1 lounge holding an Americano and stopped when he saw me.
"Did you go train on some mountain or something? You look like you’ve been starved to death! Hey, Jaegwan, doesn’t he?"
"Huh?"
Bronze Agent, frowning as his superior dragged him forward, also flinched when he finally got a look at me.
"…Did something happen?"
I barely managed to answer.
"I… didn’t get much sleep…."
"……."
"……."
It was true.
I’d spent five nights and six days working nonstop as a mascot in a ruined resort.
Agent Choi and Bronze exchanged a glance, and as if reaching some unspoken agreement, quickly sat down beside me on the nearby couch.
"Did you not rest well?"
I looked at them with a tired, awkward smile.
Ryu Jaegwan asked cautiously:
"I heard you didn’t come in to recharge the goblin lantern during your leave. …Are you alright?"
Ah.
"Yes. I’m fine… I must’ve forgotten since I didn’t really need it."
"……."
Sigh.
For reference, the goblin-fire barely regained its energy after a lot of coaxing and care.
It seems it got suppressed by the mascot aura or something went wrong—but after getting a recharge this morning, it returned to my arm and regained its usual cheer.
Though now, just mentioning the security suit makes it tremble and probably want to give me a big thumbs down.
"I’m sorry. You went out of your way to give me leave, and I…"
"That leave was yours to begin with, wasn’t it?"
Agent Choi’s previously playful tone softened into something more reassuring.
"Hmm… Hey, Podo. There’s a Bureau-run hot spring up at Seoraksan. Pretty nice for a welfare facility. Wanna go there next break? All of us together?"
"……."
A hot spring with coworkers?
…but once I realized which hot spring he meant, I nodded immediately.
I did want to see what kind of amenities the Bureau’s welfare facilities had.
"Yeah. Good call. …Heh, still got some spirit in you, huh!"
"…?!"
Agent Choi ruffled my hair and patted my back.
"When you’ve been working hard nonstop, the crash after rest hits hard. Your body, your mind—everything."
"……."
"Still, you showed up for work right on time. Good job."
I came here so no one would find out I’m a spy…
Besides, after experiencing a ghost story, Daydream Corporation-style, I’ve come to realize just how ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) tame the Bureau's ghost stories actually are…
Of course, I couldn’t say that out loud, so I simply nodded.
"Thank you."
Then I leaned against the sofa and spent the waiting time doing nothing…
Aside from desperately trying not to freak out as Agent Choi eagerly recommended we play board games, there was nothing out of the ordinary.
Thankfully, there were no callouts either.
And then, in the afternoon after lunch—
"Agent Podo!"
While delivering some paperwork, I ran into Ko Yeongeun from the new investigative unit.
"Did you hear? About the Phoenix Unit 2 agent, Hwagak, who worked with Agent Podo?"
Ah.
Ko Yeongeun didn’t seem to know about the amusement park incident yet, but she must’ve learned about Jang Heowoon’s condition through other channels.
"...No, this is the first I’ve heard. What happened…?"
Ko Yeongeun’s expression gradually grew vague, like she was trying to hold something back.
"Yesterday… he was found in a severely contaminated state, and they said he’s in isolation care. I heard he was transferred to Seoraksan…"
"……"
"They said he got caught up in a supernatu…ral disaster while on break."
"Are you talking about our rookie?"
"…!"
Ko Yeongeun and I both turned our heads at the same time. There stood the Phoenix Unit 2 team leader—Jang Heowoon’s superior—watching us with a bitter smile.
Ha…
"Yeah. New agents can get a little scared. It’s weird when your colleague suddenly stops showing up to work, right?"
"……"
"But this isn’t too bad. People find ways to carry on. The important thing is that we rescued him."
Behind the team leader’s glasses was the kind of determined will typical of agents.
But at the same time, I could sense a familiar kind of fatigue and sadness.
…As if he were remembering all the agents they hadn’t been able to return to their original forms.
"Damn."
I held in a sigh—and a curse.
At least the fact that Jang Heowoon was in a medical facility, not a glass prison, meant his identity hadn’t been exposed. That was a relief…
"Still, it’s thanks to him that we’ve got Haeggeum here!"
"Huh?"
When the Phoenix 2 team leader waved his hand, someone walking from down the hall approached us.
A team leader-level agent who had entered the theme park—the Hyunmu Unit 3’s team leader, Haeggeum.
'T-Team Leader…!'
I almost choked.
"Ah. Rookies?"
"Yeah, one of them came in with our kid… and this one’s a new recruit for Hyunmu Unit from the latest intake."
"Oh, the Destruction King!"
…….
"I’d heard how good Agent Choi is at keeping things under wraps, but this is the first time we’ve met. Nice to meet you."
"Ah, hello…!"
I nearly snapped back, but luckily held it in.
I forced a composed greeting to Team Leader Haeggeum.
Meanwhile, a memory of our ‘staff dispatch deal’ quickly ran through my head.
‘…We had to get something in return for letting Jang Heowoon go, or it would’ve looked suspicious.’
Which is why I’d received five jade tokens produced by the Bureau from that team leader.
…Recalling the wiki entry:
Jade tokens crafted by the Baridegi Atelier are often treated as currency in supernatural phenomena.
I understand they were originally made for ritual use, but I’d like to request permission for them to be included in standard agent issue.
A ghost story currency.
It probably wasn’t a big deal for them, but it was definitely useful.
"Still, we’ve got to properly greet our Destruction King new recruit. Come on, handshake."
"Y-Yes… Th-thank you."
Even without meaning to shrink back, my shoulders moved on their own. Team Leader Haeggeum gave me a light pat on the back and waved as he walked off.
I quietly let out a sigh of relief and turned back to Ko Yeongeun—
"Wait a second."
…….
"Haven’t we met before? You look kind of familiar."
Chills ran down my spine.
"Uh, I actually greeted you once in the hallway outside the waiting room… but you looked tired and didn’t notice…"
"Oh?? Sorry about that. I’ve been swamped lately. I shouldn’t blame it all on that Choi fellow. I had my chance."
Team Leader Haeggeum scratched the back of his head and laughed.
"Well, since you know, I’m the Unit 3 team leader. If you’re bored after work, drop by the waiting room sometime. Got it?"
"Th-thank you…"
Phew.
And with that, Team Leader Haeggeum walked off, chatting with the Phoenix Unit 2 team leader.
"……."
When I turned back, Ko Yeongeun was looking right at me with a face that screamed: "What the hell is going on?"
A lot’s happened, Yeongeun…
***
And then at 6 p.m.
I finally got off work.
‘Oh thank god.’
I was lucky to have had a daytime shift.
And the fact that there’d been no dispatch calls was fortune within misfortune. Still, even if I wanted to collapse and sleep forever, I couldn’t afford to.
‘Gotta get to work.’
"……."
I slipped a hand toward the inventory tattoo and touched the ‘thing’ I needed to handle.
The plush stuffing of a soft toy brushed against my fingertips.
Yeah.
A stuffed toy sold at the gift shop in Happy Theme Park.
I’d successfully smuggled out the original Good Friend.
I’d used all sorts of tricks to make it happen, but I’d go over those again during the ritual… What mattered was this:
Now I could summon the Good Friend using the proper medium under the right conditions.
"Let’s do it."
If I waited any longer, I might end up reliving that horror from the late-night talk show again. Cold sweat broke out as I quickly unlocked the motel room and stepped inside.
But then.
The moment I opened the door, someone was already inside.
Lizard head.
"Mr. Deer."
……??
The familiar lizard face I’d spent the last six days with looked at me quietly.
I nearly rubbed my eyes.
"Wh-what, Section Chief Lee Jaheon??"
I looked outside the motel room and then back in again, but no matter how many times I checked, it was really the lizard section chief.
No…!
I rushed into the room and carefully locked the door behind me.
Don’t tell me…
"Did Director Ho send you?"
"No."
"Then how did you…?"
"I infiltrated."
"……."
You can’t just… stand there like that so casually if you infiltrated…!
‘Director Ho probably already knows we’ve been in contact, but… is this really okay?’
Can you really just waltz into a spy’s hideout like this? More importantly, who just shows up unannounced in someone else’s motel room?
"Uh… would you like to sit down first?"
"Yes."
Flustered, I sat across the table from the lizard.
I was about to explain my confusion when—
"I see. But I came here because there’s something with higher priority that needs to be dealt with."
Whew.
"I’m sorry, but I have something I need to do first."
"What is it?"
"……."
Well.
Do you remember that talk show ghost story where you shelled the place and rescued me?
Strictly speaking, I’m about to re-summon the host who caused all that chaos…
Should I say it? Or would not saying it make me some kind of dangerously naive fool?
Feeling like I was about to be swept up in something again, I opened my mouth and roughly explained the situation.
Assuming he would understand that this wasn’t something I could avoid.
"I see."
Sure enough, the lizard section chief accepted it right away.
However…
"Follow the proper safety procedures for the ritual. I’ll supervise."
"……."
He clearly had no intention of leaving.
And so, with Section Chief Lee Jaheon at my side, I began the full summoning of Good Friend Brown…
‘Is this… really happening?’
I was gonna lose it.