Chapter 264: Ch 264: Annihilation-Sanctioned Ghost Story
An annihilation-sanctioned ghost story.
In the very heart of the underground station beneath Sekwang Special
Metropolitan City, I came face to face with the familiar face of someone I
never would have expected.
My mouth opened reflexively. With a title I barely managed to pivot to her
codename.
"...Ms. Goral?"
"Wait."
Go Yeongeun-ssi, wrapped in a worn padded jacket, scanned the
surroundings with tense eyes.
The equally dilapidated casino scenery.
And...
The dealer, smiling brightly the moment our eyes met.
Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae’s head.
"..."
"..."
"This way."
Go Yeongeun-ssi grabbed my arm and suddenly started running. I hurriedly
chased after her, and as I did, I realized something...
’...There are some missing.’
That several of her fingers had only been shaped with bandages.
An ominous feeling ran through me.
’How long has she been in this casino.’
"Huu."
Only after stopping in a secluded corner of the slot machine room, beside a
wall with broken machines lined up, did Go Yeongeun-ssi let go of my arm.
Only then did she begin to speak.
"That dealer. It really is Supervisor Dolphin, right? The... elite team
member."
"Yes."
"I knew it."
Go Yeongeun-ssi’s face darkened.
"I had a feeling. The way she spoke felt familiar..."
But then, with unavoidable hope and tension mixed into her voice, she
asked.
"Then... has the company started managing this ghost story? I mean, the
entry route or the clearing method..."
I shook my head with difficulty.
"Assistant Manager Dolphin got caught up in this ghost story for personal
reasons, and I also came here outside work hours."
"Ah,"
Go Yeongeun-ssi’s expression clouded.
Then, after a brief silence, she continued.
"So she’s not just a supervisor anymore. She’s an assistant manager now."
"...I heard she was promoted a few months ago."
"A few months."
Go Yeongeun-ssi lowered her head.
"So much time has already passed."
"Ms. Goral."
This wouldn’t do.
"What exactly happened?"
"..."
She said nothing back.
But why someone who had been working normally as an agent at the
Disaster Management Bureau was in Sekwang City was... wait.
’Why did I never once think to look into Yeongeun-ssi’s whereabouts...?’
A chilling sensation ran down my spine.
While staying at the Disaster Management Bureau, I could have looked her
up, but I never once thought to.
The same symptom as when thinking about Assistant Manager Lee
Seonghae.
Being forgotten.
A phenomenon that occurs to people trapped in Sekwang City.
’Damn it.’
...I also considered the possibility that this was a hallucination or some
strange phenomenon, but it really did seem to be her.
And the reason that came to mind for why Go Yeongeun-ssi would be
standing in the middle of an annihilation-sanctioned supernatural disaster
sealed into an unperceivable state was...
...In practice, there was only one.
Something I had used myself.
"Ms. Goral. After using a Wish Ticket, did you wake up here?"
"..."
Go Yeongeun-ssi suddenly answered.
"I don’t know."
"Pardon?"
"I mean, I did use a Wish Ticket, but even here, I..."
Go Yeongeun-ssi looked confused, then quickly composed herself.
"No, what matters right now isn’t that. How long have you been here?"
"In Sekwang City?"
"No. This Casino of Corporeity."
Keeping her gaze fixed on the missing persons of Sekwang Special
Metropolitan City clustered around the slot machines, Go Yeongeun-ssi
explained quickly.
"If you stay too long, your way of thinking starts to change, like a gambling
addict’s. So you shouldn’t spend more than one night here. You have to
leave, then stay outside for at least as long as you spent here before coming
back in..."
"How do you know that, Ms. Goral?"
"That’s... something I should explain after we get out."
She glanced once more toward the casino entrance.
"With just you, Mr. Roe Deer... it should be okay. There’s a shelter where
you can stay."
"...!"
"For now, it’d be better to get settled there a bit and then talk again about
Assistant Manager Dolphin."
’A shelter?’
If there was such a place in the subway, that was a relief.
At the very least, it meant Go Yeongeun-ssi had been able to hold out.
But...
"I didn’t come alone."
"...Pardon?"
At that moment.
"Mr. Roe Deer."
"...!"
I was the one being called, but it was Go Yeongeun-ssi who spun around in
shock.
Section Chief Lee Jaheon was already standing behind us, wearing the same
reptilian face as always.
"S-Section Chief?"
"Ms. Goral."
Chief Lizard recognized Go Yeongeun-ssi at once, even as she stood there
with her mouth agape.
Then the barrage of questions began.
"Has the Daydream branch secured this Darkness and deployed you into it,
Supervisor Goral?"
"Ah, n-no...!"
"Are you currently exploring of your own volition?"
"No!"
"Is more than twelve percent of your body currently lost?"
"..."
Go Yeongeun-ssi closed her mouth, then answered with difficulty.
"Yes."
"I see. Take this."
Skipping all explanations, Chief Lizard pulled something from his pocket.
A potion shimmering with a pale green light, like new leaves.
"This is..."
Having received it once before, her complexion changed.
A Daydream C-grade regeneration potion.
Holding out a provision issued by Director Ho Yoowon, Section Chief Lee
Jaheon gave a calm instruction.
"After consumption, provide all usage and environmental information you
have learned regarding this casino."
"...Yes."
Unable to refuse even this, she extended her bandaged hand, trembling
slightly.
At that moment, through the slightly parted padding, I saw her ear...
’...It’s gone.’
Her left ear was missing. The gap had been wrapped neatly in bandages.
[Oh dear. She offered up her ear as an admission fee at the exhibition too.
She must be getting used to it.]
’No.’
[Hm?]
Rationally, she might have judged that using an ear she had already lost
once was the better choice, but injuring the same place again would just as
easily become trauma.
Perhaps because of that, Go Yeongeun-ssi’s hand holding the potion moved
straight toward the cap, as if about to open it immediately...
But then.
"Wait."
I stopped her urgently.
"It might not work."
"Pardon?"
"Did you exchange the lost body parts at the casino?"
"Not all of them, but... yes."
"..."
Then.
"You saw Assistant Manager Dolphin earlier. Her entire body was made of
other people’s body parts."
"...Yes. Probably from the people pawned here—!"
As if realizing it mid-sentence, Yeongeun-ssi’s complexion changed.
Exactly.
"Seeing that, it seems the body parts exchanged at this casino continue to
function fully even after being taken. Meaning."
I looked at the glove on Section Chief Lee Jaheon’s hand, missing a finger.
"It seems you didn’t sell a lump of flesh called a ’finger’, but the function
itself to the casino."
"..."
"There’s a high chance the regeneration potion won’t work properly. ...
Even if the flesh regrows, the function might not return."
At that moment.
As if reflecting on my deduction, a notification appeared on my
smartphone.
Coin exchanges at the Casino of Corporeity must be
conducted exclusively through the sale of body parts
owned by the individual, and any body parts sold in this
manner are permanently lost.
’...!’
Is this being updated based on information I’ve figured out?
Now that I think about it, new pages were updated whenever we entered a
station or viewed notices.
’It’s like a game help menu.’
In any case, I quickly tore my gaze away from the phone and continued.
"I just wanted to let you know so you don’t panic if the potion doesn’t
work."
That’s usually how ghost story rules go.
’Unless something stronger than this casino intervenes...’
It might be better than the outside annihilation-sanctioned threat, but this
casino was still a viciously powerful ghost story.
In that sense, it would be wiser to give up expecting a mere C-grade Dream
Essence potion to work properly.
"...Then, if you don’t mind, would it be alright if I hold onto the potion and
use it at a more appropriate timing?"
"Yes. Then, please provide the information."
"Of course."
Nodding, her face pale, Go Yeongeun-ssi quickly put the bottle away.
Then she asked.
"For now, did only the two of you come here?"
"Actually, there are more. There’s even someone else in this room right
now..."
Ah.
"Come to think of it, Section Chief. Where’s Goat?"
"He’s at the fourteenth slot in the second row of the slot machines."
Go Yeongeun-ssi and I turned our heads at the same time.
Sure enough, there was Baek Saheon, standing and watching a missing
person stuck to a slot machine, pulling the gambling device’s lever.
It looked like he was trying to analyze the machine’s pattern using his eye,
or at least check the accumulated number of failed non-winning spins, but
he didn’t even glance in our direction.
"...Should I drag him over if you need?"
"No. It’s fine. Um, then is that everyone?"
"...Six in total."
I looked at the people who had just appeared in front of the slot machine
room.
"Assistant Manager Falcon and two agents."
"Oh, you’re all here..."
Agent Choi spotted us and raised his hand, then froze when he saw Go
Yeongeun-ssi wrapped in a padded jacket.
Then the next moment.
"...Agent Mint."
He recognized her.
As if wanting to hide her face by pulling the padding over her head, she
tried to lower it, then seemed to realize it was pointless now and stayed still.
’Ah.’
She must have reflexively tried to hide for fear of being exposed as a spy,
then realized the situation made that meaningless.
The two agents approached quickly, their expressions stiff.
"Why on earth are you here..."
"..."
"I heard you lost contact after submitting your resignation. Then we saw the
official notice of your dismissal from the bureau by request..."
"You already know I was a spy planted by Daydream, right?"
"...!"
Agent Bronze’s pupils shook as he turned to look at Agent Choi.
Agent Choi gave a bitter smile.
"I had my suspicions."
"..."
"It wasn’t confirmed. You filed for resignation right after Grapes
disappeared, so given the circumstances, I thought you might be a spy. And
there was never any sign you leaked particularly meaningful information in
the first place, right?"
"Then, if you’ll forgive me for asking."
Go Yeongeun-ssi lifted her head and spoke in a stiff voice.
"Could you please share a way to get out of this subway?"
"..."
"I really can’t see any way out..."
...It seemed Yeongeun-ssi had assumed that since Daydream employees
and Disaster Management Bureau agents were here, they must have secured
an exit method.
It was a reasonable inference. But.
"At present, there isn’t one."
"Pardon?"
Agent Bronze explained in a firm voice.
"We entered using a special method, so we’ll be returning via a means that
others can’t use."
"Ah."
I hurriedly cut in.
"But we’ll try to find a way for you to get out too, Agent Mint."
"Of course we will."
Agent Choi’s voice as he said that was solid enough to inspire trust. But...
"..."
"...No. Please don’t worry about me for now."
"...!"
A worn, subdued voice.
"I don’t even know how many people are trapped in this city’s subway
alone. ...If the bureau could rescue these people, I think you would’ve done
it long ago."
"..."
The agents’ faces hardened.
Because what she said was an extremely accurate truth.
In reality, there was currently no method or hope for those physically
trapped in Sekwang City to get out...
"I just asked on the off chance. You all look so capable, so I thought,
maybe..."
But the next moment, as if pushing away her fear, she steadied her
breathing and changed her tone.
"For now, it’d be better for you to focus on rescuing Assistant Manager
Dolphin. You’re trying to rescue her because the escape method you can use
will work on her, right?"
"Yes."
Chief Lizard answered immediately, and Agent Choi followed up gently.
"...Then do you know how that civilian became a dealer? Even a small clue
or theory would help."
Go Yeongeun-ssi raised her hand and pointed at something.
"She was probably aiming for that."
A banner.
Royal Casino Exclusive
Premium Product
Emergency Exit 10,000 coins
That much-talked-about product that lets you leave anywhere. A high-end
transportation method for busy ■■ contemporary people, a luxury item for
the top 0.01 percent.
"Countless people must have seen that as their only hope and gone after it."
"..."
"...Including you, Agent Mint?"
"No."
Go Yeongeun-ssi closed her mouth, then opened it again.
"...Once you know the accumulated number of failed cases, it becomes
difficult to muster the motivation to try."
Her gaze turned toward the addicts filling the slot machine room.
"But Assistant Manager Dolphin seems to have tried."
"How did you know that?"
"I heard rumors."
From whom, exactly.
But Go Yeongeun-ssi continued without explaining that part.
A few days ago, there were stories about someone new who had been
winning an enormous number of coins at the Casino of Corporeity...
"At first, she only exchanged for food and water, but one day she traded in
one more body part to get coins, and using that as capital, she earned
hundreds of coins in the dealer room in a single day."
"...!!"
"So I came to this casino to check, but by then..."
"By then?"
"That person had already entered the VIP room."
"..."
"She had earned over 1,000 coins."
So Go Yeongeun-ssi couldn’t confirm it and came back to the Casino of
Corporeity again today. And...
"...And it seems that the person from the rumor is the new dealer you saw."
"Yes."
Assistant Manager Dolphin.
"She probably lost big in the VIP room. Or, she became severely
contaminated."
"..."
At that point, Agent Choi, who had been closely observing Go Yeongeun-
ssi, spoke.
"I did find Assistant Manager Dolphin’s other body parts inside the
pawnshop glass."
"...!!"
"They were carefully set aside deeper in. No wonder they were hard to see."
"How many are there?"
"Well. It’s hard to say for sure, Ms. Civilian. But... I definitely saw her
elbow, her hand, and her left foot."
I almost asked how he could tell, then realized who I was talking to.
’He identified me just by looking at the veins in my wrist.’
In that case, the same would apply to a Daydream Inc. employee he’d been
traveling with for over a day.
But.
"The body parts stored deeper inside couldn’t be purchased by designation.
I was told it was impossible because they’re ’special items’."
Special items.
Could it be...
Agent Choi and I met each other’s eyes.
"Are they used for games in the VIP room?"
"...That’s very possible."
Given that it seemed certain Lee Seonghae-ssi lost most of her body and
became a dealer in the VIP room.
Tension spread across everyone’s faces.
In that case.
"To exchange enough body parts to return Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae
to her original form, we also have to enter the VIP room."
"..."
"It’ll be difficult."
Assistant Manager Eun Haje said, putting a cigarette to her mouth, then
taking it out again.
"First, we need to make 1,000 coins, but gambling is something you
shouldn’t do assuming you’ll win."
"..."
"That’s how you end up handing over land deeds and house deeds, then
signing papers to give up your body. You know that, right?"
Of course.
"But Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae made over 1,000 coins in just a few
days," I answered.
"...!"
"And she did it in a much worse situation than ours."
Given her personality, it didn’t seem like Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae
habitually gambled. Which meant she likely wasn’t a seasoned professional
gambler.
[Indeed. Even for a gambler with talent and luck, that wouldn’t be easy.
Such unnaturally consecutive wins. Then... oh.]
[It seems she may have added a little magical ’seasoning’.]
Exactly.
"There has to be ’another method’ that lets you win with high probability."
A way to clear it by exploiting gaps within the ghost story’s rules.
It was the kind of capability you’d expect from an elite team employee.
So.
"From here on, let’s figure out that method, stack up 1,000 coins, and enter
the VIP room."
"...Yes."
Tension flowed among us.
At that moment.
Brrriiiing!!!
"...!"
I turned my head.
One of the slot machines was flashing, spewing out lights and music.
The sign of a jackpot.
And the one sitting in front of it was wearing an excited expression,
clutching both the coins pouring out of the slot machine and some kind of
’product’.
’Baek Saheon!’
He’d finally hit it.
But...
"...That."
Every patron in the slot machine room was staring at Baek Saheon.
Then they rushed him.
"...!!"
Baek Saheon hastily swept everything into his arms, then met my eyes.
And without a moment’s hesitation, he started running toward us.
’Hey!!’