192 Chapter
192 Chapter
Underground lab.
Gwak Jegang’s gaze trembled as he looked around the Dream Incubation Chamber of the Yuquae Research Center—at the massive central incubator.
But the countdown had already begun.
A cheap, tinny melody and a peppy child’s voice rang out:
[10! 9! 8!]
"You want to know what I know? You’re telling me to spill everything I know about the potion manufacturing device?"
I stared at him in silence.
[7! 6!]
"Wait, wait, haha—potion manufacturing? Maybe I saw it once during onboarding? I’m a raw materials procurement researcher, you know! I mean, sure, the appeal of the darkness is its irrationality, but this is just…"
Gwak Jegang suddenly froze.
“…Hold on.”
His voice shook.
"Is that… what I think it is?"
Not fear—excitement.
[5! 4!]
A gleam of mad delight sparked in his eyes.
"It’s a prototype potion maker!"
The countdown stopped.
But Gwak Jegang’s mouth did not.
"An unregulated, unrestricted production model! I mean, I’m not all that passionate about Daydream’s potions themselves, but the manufacturing tech? That’s a different story, haha…"
A smile spread across his face.
"It’s from the darkness, right? And that’s the original model they ripped straight out of it!"
……!!
"I can’t believe I’m seeing it in person! You didn’t have to go through all this—you could’ve just shown it to me and I would’ve spilled everything!"
He murmured as though licking the incubator with his eyes.
"Where did you even get this? If it came with a wish token, it must’ve been from an Abyss-tier darkness, right? What kind of ghost story was it? Who’s running this whole thing? You need another researcher? I’m discreet and passionate and fully certified!"
He beamed with a wide, eager grin.
"Way better than the wasted effort at the annex! Hey, would it be alright if I took a peek? I mean, that’s…"
Whoosh.
Before he could rise, I cast a heavy haze of black smoke in front of him.
Gwak Jegang froze mid-step.
But when he lifted his head, his eyes sparkled—not with fear, but curiosity.
"You’re not the average type, are you? Haha… Where’d you come from? What kind of darkness answered Daydream’s call through you? Fire? Water? Mad imagination? Fairy tale? Throne of Sterling Silver?"
I didn’t answer.
But in my mind, I flipped through the special exploration records he had been involved with.
What should I make him think I’m from?
‘Something powerful—and something he wouldn’t know too well.’
But still abstract enough to let his imagination run wild.
I reached down and pointed.
At the yellow lantern hanging from my belt, coiled in bone-like ribbed horns.
“…A star?”
Gwak Jegang muttered.
So that’s what he assumed.
"A darkness related to celestial bodies… golden, binding… haha, intriguing… You interested in humans?"
I said nothing.
Instead, I pressed the carrot button.
[Next round begins.]
[Alright, next question!]
Gwak Jegang was now looking at me with anticipation instead of nerves.
He seemed excited at the thought that the questions might reveal info about the incubator.
But.
This question wasn’t about the incubator.
It was aimed right at his skull.
[Is the darkness Qterw-B-553, into which you secretly deployed Team J without your superior’s knowledge, still under observation?]
His face froze.
[10, 9, 8…]
“It’s under observation.”
The countdown stopped.
"…How do you know that? Did the company already find out?"
As if.
I just knew about this bastard’s insane antics from the Exploration Log #Bonus: Team J’s Endless Life.
An irregular entry infamous for leaving readers with a foul taste in their mouths—the kind of thing that makes your stomach churn just thinking what if that actually happened.
But it was undeniably useful right now.
‘There’s no way he’ll think I’m just some former employee.’
Doesn’t matter how good Gwak Jegang is at reading people—it’s impossible.
So he has no choice but to assume:
‘Ah… someone higher up must’ve noticed what I did.’
From there, it’s easy.
"Haha… if this isn’t a formal disciplinary hearing and you’re using the security team to question me off-record… then… what exactly did I tamper with? What secret did I stumble onto?"
Letting him misinterpret it works just fine. I could steer the entire situation any way I wanted.
"Was it connected to this place somehow?"
I didn’t answer his murmuring. Instead—
[Next…]
I turned off the carrot.
Then stepped forward and reached out toward Gwak Jegang.
“…!”
Still strapped to the chair, I shoved him forward—dragging him up to the incubator.
“H-Haha!”
He laughed nervously, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
Even in fear, the anticipation of what was to come shone through—kind of repulsive, honestly—but either way, he stopped before the glowing dream incubator.
The light of the Dream Distillate reflected in his glasses.
I turned the carrot recorder back on.
A cheerful child’s voice rang out.
[What do ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ you think this machine in front of you is capable of?]
“…A stronger, more fundamental potion maker! Since it came from the darkness, it must be even more extreme, governed by logic humans can’t grasp! May I touch it? No, just observe?”
I allowed him to rise, but monitored his every movement with utmost caution as he touched the incubator.
Even as cold sweat streamed down, he couldn’t contain his excitement, flitting from part to part, tapping and inspecting everything.
“It’s crude… but somehow more complex than the final company versions. That makes sense, I suppose. Fewer buttons… but emojis? What is this? And this here…”
He pressed something on the side.
…A pipe similar to the one I used to inject the distillate revealed itself.
Didn’t know that was there.
‘So that’s how you extract the distillate? Good to remember.’
If needed, I could siphon off the Dream Distillate from there.
Meanwhile, Gwak Jegang was completely engrossed, eyes glued to every piece, peering inside the glass container where the Dream Distillate was stored.
Specifically, the faint silhouette floating within it.
A crimson mass about five times the size of an egg.
"That thing in the center! What is it? That wasn’t in the company’s machines!"
I said nothing.
Because I didn’t know either….
But thanks to the mood I’d set, Gwak Jegang interpreted my silence all on his own.
He seemed to take it as “You’re not authorized to know.”
He clicked his tongue and pulled his hand back—but his gaze still roamed hungrily across the incubator.
Until it landed near the bottom.
Where a single button was missing.
◎
"Ah, this spot... it's probably for producing the wish slip."
……!
"Right? I think I’m right. Oh—did you remove the button just in case I might try pressing it?"
Hold on.
That’s where the wish slip was originally supposed to go?
So even the prototype had a function to print wish slips?
‘That means… the original wish slips were even stronger than the ones we know.’
Just what kind of monstrosity was Yuquae Research developing?
And—
‘If I locate and restore that missing button, could I get my hands on a Yuquae Research–version wish slip?’
Thump. Thump.
My head throbbed with the sound of my own heartbeat.
No. Calm down.
This was still just Gwak Jegang's speculation.
And even if it was true, all the wish slips I’ve seen so far have been refined by Daydream Inc.
No one could say what kind of absurd effect the original one might have had.
Stick to what’s real. Don’t get seduced by long shots.
Hoo.
“If you gave me a little more time, I think I could figure out a lot more. Whoever you are, if you’d let me join this project…”
Gwak Jegang made his pitch smoothly, eyeing me.
I stared silently.
A strand of black smoke slithered toward him.
He flinched.
The smoke curled around him—less a threat, more an evaluation—and as I inhaled, it drew back into my body.
"Hah."
I reached out and turned on the Carrot Recorder again.
Time to wrap this up.
‘Push your luck too far and he might catch on.’
And the final blow—was to seal the narrative perfectly.
[In today’s game of truth, what was the one thing you didn’t want anyone to know?]
“…!”
A staple final question in security team interrogations.
A direct hit—no matter how you danced around the truth earlier.
But Gwak Jegang only grinned.
“Nothing at all. Haha!”
He was absolutely insane.
“You already know about the thing I tried to hide, and you’re letting it slide. What else would I hide?”
He smacked his lips.
“It’s just a shame, really. Guess I’m not what your team is looking for. Hm… then who is on that team? Confidential ops, disappearances, hmm.”
And then—
“Kim Soleum, maybe?”
I nearly jumped out of my seat.
“Now that I think about it, the build's about right… And yeah, Kim Soleum's mask had horns too, didn’t it? Did you hijack that staffer on the train and use them as a vessel?”
You bastard.
“Something about that whole disappearance felt off! That ghost story wasn’t the type where people just vanish like that—this finally puts the puzzle together! Hahaha!”
Hold on.
He said that ghost story wasn’t the kind where people vanish.
Like he already knew about the Tamna-bound ghost train?
In that moment, it clicked.
This bastard planned the whole thing.
The sudden out-of-town assignment. Getting tangled up in the ghost train on the way.
It wasn’t a string of unlucky coincidences. It was all laid out by this freak.
‘He had advance data on the Tamna ghost story.’
Right. Gwak Jegang could manipulate ghost stories in ways that never made it into the official Exploration Logs.
Because of me. Because of the variable named "me."
“A morally upright rookie who knows fear… really, just listing the traits, sounds like a perfect sacrificial offering, doesn't it?”
That tone—like he’d done a full background check on me.
…He knew?
Knew what I was like?
"Anyway. Now I really want to confirm my hypothesis. That security uniform—was it made from that unfortunate employee's skin? Did it match your resonance?"
Stay calm.
I gave no reaction.
Whether he spouted nonsense or stumbled onto the truth—I gave him nothing.
I had no interest in anything outside the task at hand.
Then, casually, I picked up the Carrot Recorder and gave it a small shake.
"……Tch. So stoic…."
And then—
The Security Captain lunged from behind the desk and struck the back of Gwak Jegang’s neck, knocking him out cold.
“Mmgh.”
Thump—he collapsed to the floor with a short grunt.
Hoo.
Oddly satisfying.
“Outside… okay, right…?”
I nodded quickly.
As the captain began to drag Gwak Jegang out, I hurried to strip off the security uniform.
…Done.
So what now?
The security captain would dump Gwak Jegang near the Daydream HQ.
And he’d be ‘found’ by Assistant Manager Park Minseong and returned to the company.
That way, Minseong could officially report that he discovered Gwak Jegang unconscious near the premises.
That would be the last sighting.
Meaning his interaction with me—or the captain—never officially happened.
So Park Minseong wouldn’t have to lie to leave me out of the report.
-Mr. Deer! Oh, that was delightful to watch. Deception, misdirection, secrecy—three of my favorite things, brilliantly executed!
After changing back, I picked up Brown, who had been seated at the edge of the room, and tucked him into my front pocket.
He burst into applause.
‘Really? It didn’t come off weird?’
-Oh, seamless! That unflinching calm even when your own name came up—simply superb! A marvelous performance.
-But… aren’t you worried? That man might go back and spill everything.
Oh, that?
I grinned.
‘Not a chance.’
-Oho?
Gwak Jegang was a smart man.
Security interrogations came with a natural code of silence.
Unless someone directly involved asked him about it, he’d keep his mouth shut.
Especially in his case.
If he spilled that the whole thing was about his own gross misconduct?
He’d only be hurting himself.
Especially before he’d even had the chance to observe the fallout.
‘He’ll keep quiet just to see what happens.’
-I see!
This was better than some corporate gag order.
I remembered what Park Minseong had said, worried.
-If only we had some memory-wiping potion… or a truth seal or something.
I could’ve bought those.
But I didn’t.
Because those are Daydream-made potions.
Someone like Gwak Jegang would know how to undo them. He could buy the antidote from the point store.
If I used something like that, he’d grow suspicious.
The important thing was to make this feel natural.
Like there was no point in talking.
And even if, somehow, he did talk—
It would still sound like some faction’s top-secret project, and no one would be able to tell for sure.
-So Mr. Deer went all-in on perfectly recreating what a ‘Security Team interrogation’ would feel like.
-Even if the story spreads, the people involved will all be fooled.
‘Exactly.’
Only thing that bothered me was… that bit where he said Kim Soleum’s build looked similar to mine.
But even if Gwak Jegang went around blabbing with that level of detail—
By the time it reached Director Ho’s ears, I’d be long gone.
“That’s that.”
I’d squeezed Gwak Jegang dry and managed to cover everything.
My whole body ached….
Maybe I’ll rest a bit before the captain gets back.
Dealing with that lunatic researcher left me drained.
I stowed the security uniform back into my inventory tattoo and sat down in front of the dream incubator.
Then quietly stared at it.
-Sorry to disturb your break, Mr. Deer—but ah, I simply can’t resist giving you a teaser.
‘…A teaser?’
-That’s right! Let’s heighten the suspense just a touch.
-Something very fun is about to happen.
“…Brown?”
That’s when it happened.
Bzzzzt.
My phone buzzed.
“…!”
A call? At this hour?
Did something happen at the Disaster Management Bureau?
Maybe a double ping of overlapping SOS requests?
I immediately checked my screen.
And then—
[K.LEE: Hey long time no seeee lololol]
[K.LEE: How’s life been?]
[K.LEE: How’s life been?]
What?
Hawaiian beach pic for the profile photo.
The guy who introduced himself as Assistant Manager Lee Kangheon from Team C, the one who’d connected me to Salmon Market.
But…
He texted me?
That shouldn’t be possible.
Because, well—
I’m supposed to be dead to Daydream.
And I changed my number long ago.
‘…….’
Something’s wrong.
And the phone kept buzzing.
[K.LEE: Oh yeah lol heard you’re a manager now]
[K.LEE: Wait…]
[K.LEE: Are you a spy?]
[K.LEE: Wait…]
[K.LEE: Are you a spy?]
“…Really now.”
I turned.
Behind an office chair in the dream incubator lab, someone pulled off a goblin mask.
Agent Choi.
Holding a crumpled note—the one I had handed him.
“You’re gonna be a spy?”
His eyes locked on mine.
“If you were serious about that… you should’ve made sure this little clue disappeared somewhere along the way.”
“…Mr. Deer.”
The axe came down.