188 Chapter
188 Chapter
The Universal Shopping Mall.
How much had I spent there?
Even if I didn’t remember every single item I bought, it wasn’t hard to calculate that it was in the hundreds of millions of won.
I had blown an amount equivalent to a full deposit on a decent apartment in the greater Seoul area, all to buy random items from that mall.
And then, one day, I received that golden card.
I was a VIP of the Universal Shopping Mall!
With Gratitude Cell Enclosed
Back then, I had absolutely no idea what that so-called gratitude cell even meant.
Until now.
"Dear customer."
I looked up.
I remembered placing the cell under my tongue, but everything after that was blurry.
So… did I just doze off for a second?
"Dear customer."
Wait a second. Assistant Manager. I need a moment to figure out what—
Wait.
Dear customer?
"Assistant Manager?!"
"I am not."
Only then did I get a proper look at the figure in front of me.
A lizard was staring blankly at me.
"Assistant Manager."
"I am not, dear customer."
That was the second time he clearly denied it.
I looked closely again at the reptile in front of me. The scaly snout and glinting vertical pupils were the same.
But the color—was different.
‘G-grey?!’
A grey lizard was now sitting exactly where Lee Jahun had been just moments ago!
Even the snacks and coffee I’d hastily set out on the table were gone.
I swallowed hard.
"Who are you?"
"I am a Shopper dispatched to act on behalf of the Universal Shopping Mall's sales representative, here to assist our VIP customer with a private shopping session."
Oh no.
"Would you like to begin your shopping?"
I stood up. I was still sitting at the same cheap motel table.
But across from me, Assistant Manager Lee had been replaced by some alien-looking being… Hold on.
VIP shopping… from the Universal Shopping Mall?
Don’t tell me… is this like an in-person sales rep showing up for a one-on-one home shopping visit?
‘…Assistant Manager!’
We were just talking about the fact that I’ve become completely contaminated!
Was all that a build-up to sell me some anti-contamination items? I mean, honestly, even if that’s what it is, if it can actually cleanse me, I’m not against it!
I barely calmed down, sat back down, and quickly said:
"I’d like to speak with Assistant Manager Lee Jahun."
"Are you referring to the individual currently employed at Daydream Corporation with the rank of Assistant Manager?"
I froze.
"Do you require his presence for psychological stability due to the friendly rapport established between the two of you?"
"What happens if I say yes?"
"I will explain that there is no problem."
The lizard’s snout opened.
"We are aware of Mr. Roe, and that knowledge is identical to what Assistant Manager Lee Jahun possesses."
"……!"
"Moreover, we would like to continue maintaining a friendly relationship with you. Dear customer."
"……."
It was strange.
Now that I thought about it, Assistant Manager Lee often used “we” when referring to himself.
And the name of the button I used back then… was “We Help.”
We.
"Who exactly is ‘we’?"
"We are the Collective. Speaking to Assistant Manager Lee or to the individual currently before you is the same as speaking to the Collective."
This conversation was getting more metaphysical by the minute.
So… this was some alien hive-mind lifeform that shared memory and emotions…
‘I did hear there were ghost stories like this.’
How perfectly sci-fi for an alien shopping mall. I held my head and muttered:
"Look… I’d just like to talk to Assistant Manager Lee. I’m not in the mood to shop right now."
"Mr. Roe."
"……!"
I looked up.
But the white lizard still wasn’t Lee Jahun.
However, it spoke in exactly the same tone.
"You are in need of assistance. If that help comes in the form of shopping, then please allow yourself to receive appropriate treatment."
"…What kind of treatment?"
"My existence in this place is solely to assist you with your shopping. Would you like to begin your VIP session with the Universal Shopping Mall?"
It was a dodge.
But the nuance wasn’t lost on me—I slowly nodded.
So I had to shop to move forward?
"…Yes."
"Understood."
The grey lizard nodded.
In the next instant—
The table began to expand.
“…?!”
To the left, the table stretched on endlessly, with countless items appearing atop it, shrouded in mist. And floating above them—tentacles wandered… wait. Where the hell was this?
"You accessed us through the gratitude cell you ingested. Due to your complaint about the homepage UI, VIPs are now provided with the most familiar and comfortable space possible for shopping…"
"Did I ask that out loud?"
"Yes. Please sit back and enjoy your shopping experience."
The lizard spoke with disarming professionalism. No, hang on—I was accessed through a cell?!
"Before you begin shopping, we’ll proceed with identity verification. In your current state, it is difficult to confirm intent to purchase, so we will divide accordingly to assist you in making a smooth decision."
"Divide?"
"Yes."
People began appearing along the ever-expanding length of the table.
"…!"
They were veiled in mist, hard to make out. But those seated closer to me became vaguely visible.
A supermarket cashier uniform, a sharply dressed announcer with elegant gloves, a kindergarten teacher holding a lesson book, a high school student in uniform…
All ghost stories I had been part of.
Versions of me, corrupted within each of those ghost stories.
"……!"
And the two seated closest to me were not obscured at all—they were completely visible.
I slowly turned my head, creaking.
A yellow mascot.
A black cat.
I’M FINE
CALM DOWN
[THIS WAY]
They even spoke to me.
A chill ran up my spine.
Each of their spots at the table had a distinct color and ornamentation representing their respective ghost story.
I jolted to my feet, trying to run from the table—
"Dear customer. You are currently connected to the Universal Shopping Mall through the gratitude cell. This mental projection is just a manifestation of your psyche; there is no actual fragmentation of personality or identity."
"……."
"Please don’t treat yourself as more dangerous than necessary."
"…So this is a visualization of my contamination? Something to help guide my decision-making during purchase?"
"That is correct."
This is insane.
I sat back down and pressed my fingers against my temple. The yellow mascot fretted and tried to fuss over me.
This is driving me nuts.
"Would you like to confirm?"
Confirm what?
"For a smooth shopping experience, would you like to re-examine the visual traits of the nearby projections of yourself?"
"……."
I realized instinctively—
This was advice.
So I lifted my eyes and looked at the versions of ‘me’ gathered at the table.
Where is this? I’m confused. I need to get my teacher’s guidebook back. Losing it was a huge mistake.
Welcome to Lucky Mart!
[The graduation ceremony is about to begin again. I must return to school.]
–What a fascinating place. If I dig deeper, perhaps the great host will prepare a new segment just for me!
I wanted to throw up.
But that nausea came from familiarity—because I knew these versions. Because I could imagine them, I could feel the fear they stirred.
But still…
"……."
I looked at the versions of me sitting nearby.
Their appearances were relatively clear, not obscured by mist.
But then—
"Who are you?"
The one sitting just beyond the massive mascot beside me.
That figure was draped in ragged cloth, like some discarded sack.
"I don’t remember you."
A version of me I didn’t recognize.
Swallow me whole
The mascot turned its body to give me a clear view of the stranger.
Now that I could see better, I noticed the fabric of that shabby cloth—
It was… aged parchment.
"You."
I stared at the unfamiliar me.
"Take it off."
"……."
The one seated at the table slowly removed the parchment cloak from over its head.
And revealed—
A version of me wearing a red janitor’s uniform.
–Busted.
The mimic from the Nameless Radiance Cult twisted its head toward me.
–pfffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff
"I will hide anything that may interfere with your shopping."
And in the next instant—
The janitor-uniformed version of me vanished from the table.
"……."
My heart pounded hard.
"Dear customer. Does anything about that manifestation remind you of something?"
"Yes."
I remembered.
I reached into the inventory tattoo—and pulled out the item I had forgotten… no, the item that had been suppressed so I would forget.
A tightly rolled, aged parchment.
Nameless Radiance Cult Scripture, Verse 4
Story Thief
Story Thief
The item that appeared when the security chief eliminated the mimic I met while doing disciplinary cleaning duty in the company basement.
A fragment of the Nameless Radiance Cult’s sacred law.
I even remembered that I had wrapped it in ‘Wrapper 12B357-Na’ to block its effect.
‘And… I unwrapped it and tied it around my body to defend myself on the Tamna-bound Train!’
After that, I got swept up in Brown’s Midnight Talk Show and hadn’t had a single ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) chance to recall this sacred law.
Or no—maybe at some point, the script of my story had been altered so I couldn’t recall it at all.
‘…If I hadn’t just now received that music box from the RealGoods box—also from the Nameless Radiance Cult—I would’ve completely forgotten it.’
Because they were from the same origin, the memory had been triggered.
And then—
"Dear customer. The parchment is consuming something."
"Yes."
I saw it too.
I pulled free a black, cylindrical object that had nearly been absorbed into the parchment.
A fountain pen.
“…!”
The item from Segwang Industrial High School used for brainwashing—one I had reversed and taken back from Baek Saheon.
‘I forgot about this too.’
It hit me.
The sacred law must’ve been leeching off the narrative of the fountain pen.
Feeding off it, gaining strength—and at some point, I was completely overtaken by it, swallowed by the strange phenomenon of the Nameless Radiance Cult…
…….
Wait a second.
‘What else have I forgotten?’
I quickly ran through my mind—but nothing came up.
Of course not. It was likely memory already stolen from me.
In that case…
"Can I get a list of items I’ve previously purchased from the alien shopping mall?"
"Yes. Are you attempting to trace the whereabouts of your items?"
"...That's right."
"Then I must inform you of something."
The lizard looked directly at me.
"You have forgotten an item."
"What is it?"
"You received strength-enhancing gear from Assistant Manager Lee Jahun and used it to craft new equipment—but its status after creation is unclear."
“…!”
"Assistant Manager Lee tried to inform you of this, but realized that simply telling you would not be enough to resolve the issue."
…It came back to me.
—I will now introduce the item.
—It strengthens physical power?
—Similar. Use it as a parent item when crafting specialized equipment.
I definitely had that conversation.
And as I recalled it, I slowly realized what the item had been.
‘…It was a bracelet.’
The one I crafted with Deputy Manager Eunha back at the Daydream Corporation annex.
She had shown up in my room out of nowhere—just like how Assistant Manager Lee had appeared at my motel room now.
But I had no memory whatsoever of what happened to that bracelet after it was made.
There were several life-threatening moments since then where I could’ve used it, but I never even thought of it.
And I probably never would have thought of it… because it had already been consumed by the sacred law scripture fragment.
…A cold chill ran down my back. I forced my mouth open.
"I'm sorry. You lent it to me, and I just…"
"It's fine."
He says that so casually—for someone who claimed not to be Assistant Manager Lee just moments ago.
‘Phew.’
Calm down. Just calm down.
At least I noticed it in time.
‘So the collector didn’t fill because the mimic had nearly consumed me entirely.’
Not to mention, I’d been copying everything—from Special Division Security to mascot suits, playing the roles of various anomalies.
I was literally ‘mimicking’ them—no wonder the effect was compounded.
…I’d probably been judged not as a human anymore, but as an anomaly of the Nameless Radiance Cult.
‘Phew.’
No wonder the contamination had deepened.
I looked around the table with a depressed gaze, taking in the eerie versions of myself.
The cat slammed its paw against the table, its red eyes glaring at me in disapproval. The mascot sagged, its horns drooping as if dejected.
The others… their reactions left my head spinning.
I wasn’t ejected from the table, but the part of me devoured by the mimic was still inside me somewhere…
‘Ha.’
One thing at a time.
I gestured toward the sacred law fragment from the Nameless Radiance Cult.
"Can this parchment be disposed of through the shopping mall?"
"It is not an item the Universal Shopping Mall purchases."
"Do you handle any of the contaminations sitting at this table?"
"They are not items the Universal Shopping Mall purchases."
Sigh.
Right. Either way, these were too dangerous to be sold to humans—makes sense that they’re off-limits.
‘But Assistant Manager Lee did guide me here as an alternative to the Fox Counseling Room.’
Which means… there has to be a way.
At that moment, the “We Help” button popped into my mind.
"Then—is it possible to commission the Collective to eliminate them? In exchange for a fee?"
"Yes."
“……!”
The lizard looked at me.
"Are you requesting the permanent destruction of a part of yourself?"
Do not
Too dangerous
Wait—hold on.