Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work Novel - Chapter 136

Do you know what it feels like for your blood to run dry?

It means to die from intense agony and anxiety, an expression primarily used when one suffers physically and mentally for a long, persistent time.

That is exactly how we are feeling right now.

The feeling of blood drying up.

“……”

“……”

For three days.

Trapped in a ghost story, experiencing the fear of death, waiting for companions who never came, not properly sleeping or eating—we are experiencing what state a human becomes.

Do you know?

If a person doesn’t sleep properly for three continuous days, normal thought slowly becomes impossible.

We take turns napping for an hour in the 2nd-floor food court, but even that has its limits. Every hour, we repeat the state of feeling our lives are in danger and our nerves are on edge.

‘Perfect for going insane.’

…Especially if the companion is a minor caught in a ghost story for the first time.

“H-hik! Wh-where now…?”

“…It’s 56 minutes. Let’s move.”

The high school student I had to rescue stood up, limping.

His mental exhaustion must be more severe than mine. He was starting to stumble from dizziness rather than his ankle, and instead of crying, he was muttering nonsense into the air.

He no longer had the energy to cry or get angry.

‘Because we haven’t been able to eat properly.’

Naturally, safe food items available in this damn mart were very few, and most were things the high school student would never have touched normally.

…Things like rats or cockroaches.

Things that clearly wouldn’t be considered mart products.

‘A lineup you’d just starve rather than eat for three days.’

Rarely, items that shoppers had already purchased and lost were occasionally found in the food court, and we had to find edible items among them.

I saw it only once in three days.

Had a banana ever been so welcome in my life?

‘Which is to say, a banana was all I’d eaten for three days…’

It was crazy.

Fortunately or unfortunately, we hadn’t encountered any other missing persons on the 2nd floor yet, so there was no competition.

Perhaps it was natural. The missing persons…

‘Most of them… are on higher floors.’

“……”

Anyway.

This was the limit.

‘The high school student under my care is at the end of his physical and mental endurance.’

Filling up on water from the food court dispenser also had its limits.

At this rate, in about two days, we would really start eating rats or bugs.

‘Of course, at this rate, there’s a higher probability that something will ‘go wrong’ before we even eat a cockroach.’

Right now, we were getting up every hour to go to the restroom, but if one of us dozed off or collapsed, and this cycle got messed up…

That would be the end.

‘…We’d run into an employee.’

Whether it was an employee who came to take orders in the food court, or an employee pretending to clean the restroom.

Guided outside. Processed as missing.

Becoming a single line in the exploration log that disappears, leaving only this phrase.

A mix of revulsion and eeriness trickled down his spine.

“……”

Honestly, it was sheer luck that we had survived this precariously for three days with an injured minor.

Of course, I’m not an idiot. Meaning, I didn’t intentionally create this situation.

‘I never imagined I wouldn’t meet Agent Bronze for three days…!’

Right.

My senior agent had vanished.

This is driving me crazy.

“……”

On the first day, I thought our timing was off.

‘Maybe we were hiding under the display stand for tens of minutes, and during that time, he waited on the 2nd floor and then moved?’

If he hadn’t injured his leg like the high school student I was looking after, he might have aggressively prepared for escape.

So, after much deliberation, I decided to keep waiting on the 2nd floor.

‘He’s likely to return to the 2nd floor to rest.’

In fact, there was no other choice.

Trying to go up and down floors again with an injured high school student was tantamount to suicide.

I chose to wait on the relatively safe 2nd floor, and I think it was a rational decision.

But he didn’t come.

So, from the second day, I started searching other floors.

I couldn’t search for long. Leaving the high school student with the injured leg alone for just a few hours felt like abandoning him to death.

But even after going to the insane extent of forcing myself to go to B1, the situation didn’t change.

Agent Bronze was nowhere.

At least, not within the range I could search within an hour.

Three days passed like that.

And…

‘All that time, the mart didn’t start normal business again…’

One of the reasons for strongly recommending escape before business hours end.

The main culprit that turns this mart into a hell and lowers civilian survival rates.

The shortest period confirmed for the mart to resume business is one day, and the longest is 20 days.

Not knowing when business will resume.

Indeed.

Rookiemart’s new day could start at any time.

Sometimes, business resumes normally in just a day, but sometimes, by human perception, hundreds of hours can pass without a single day passing.

‘That’s why there was a speculation that the gap between reality and time widened so much that Rookiemart’s time became a distant past…’

Regardless of how true that speculation was, the important thing was the reality they were in now.

That they had been trapped here for three days.

…He was starting to fear what thoughts were running through the high school student’s mind.

“Um, we, actually, came here to find a kid who lives in our apartment.”

Just then, he heard a delirious mumble.

“…Came to find them?”

“Yes, yes. They DM’d saying they were going to Rookiemart and then went missing. So we were like, it’s like a ghost story, we’ll find them…”

Oh my god.

“But it was foolish. They’re probably dead already… Wh-what if they were ground in the blender?”

“…Let’s not think too far ahead.”

I patted the high school student’s shoulder.

“For now, you’ll be able to leave today.”

“…Huh?”

He had something to believe in.

I was now recalling the record presumed to be Agent Bronze’s.

An unexpected situation occurred, and contact with the agent was lost for three days.

Result: Rescue failed. The agent returned alone.

If I re-interpreted this…

‘It means contact with the agent was made after three days.’

The agent escaped alone at that time.

Although the rescue failed, the agent must have attempted to rescue the civilian.

‘He probably tried to hold out until business resumed.’

So, statistically, there was a very high chance that the door would open at business resumption time today.

“S-surely now…”

“Right. Just wait a moment.”

Filled with hope and anticipation, I calmly looked at my wristwatch.

[ 09 : 59 ]

My heart pounded.

Soon, when the time changed…

[ 10 : 00 ]

Exactly on the hour.

Silence.

“……?”

I waited a little longer.

But nothing happened.

No jingle played, no announcement sounded, no lights came back on.

…The entrance didn’t open.

“……”

The mart, today too, did not resume business.

‘Damn it.’

I blinked.

A cold, dull shock resonated in my sleep-deprived head…

“I-is it over?”

“……”

“Uh-oh, uh-uh-uh…”

“It’s okay. There’s another way…”

I turned my head.

The high school student was rustling something.

A receipt.

It was a notice from the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau disguised as a receipt. It was probably the paper where the high school student had found the rescue request number.

‘Why would he…?’

Was he trying to find some advice?

But instead of looking at the receipt’s contents, the high school student tore something off inside. And was about to put it in his mouth…

“…!!”

I slapped the high school student’s hand.

“Ah!”

I forcefully opened his hand and took away what was inside. He resisted, but I ignored it.

“No…!”

…A white, capsule-shaped pill.

‘This.’

I recognized the form.

The euthanasia drug that the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau had once enclosed when distributing notices in high-level ghost stories.

If you are suffering too much, please take the enclosed capsule.

A peaceful end is guaranteed.

The ominous premonition came true.

‘Damn it, damn it, damn it!’

It had been enclosed in the notice this kid had seen.

“I-I’m sorry.”

The high school student said, whimpering.

“Um, I can’t do this anymore. I don’t want to be ground in the blender. I’m too scared and dizzy, I can’t do it. I want to die peacefully…”

My breath hitched.

“I’m sorry, are you mad because I want to be comfortable alone? Then if half a pill is enough to die, if we share…”

“No.”

I looked at the high school student, who had started rambling, and gritted my teeth.

And with the most relaxed expression I could muster, I patted his arm.

“It’s okay. There’s another way out.”

“How?! We haven’t slept for three days, we haven’t eaten, we haven’t done anything…”

“We can do it.”

I held him tightly.

“Until now, I thought business would resume quickly, so I used the safest method to endure. If the door doesn’t open soon, there’s another way.”

“R-really?”

“Yes.”

It was the truth.

…If he resolved one thing.

-Abandon Agent Bronze.

The worry that he might not be able to escape because he was looking for them, the pressure to confirm each other’s survival, the hope of receiving help.

Abandon it for now.

After all, there was a record that Agent Bronze escaped on his own anyway.

…Though the rescue failed.

‘Trying to take care of the civilian who followed him… is a delusion.’

Get a grip.

I chose to do my best within my capabilities.

‘If only the two of us have to endure until business resumes…’

My priorities quickly shifted in my mind.

Because I had agonized over it for the past three days, the next plan was quickly decided.

“We’re going up.”

“Huh…?”

“Don’t eat this yet, just put it lightly in your mouth.”

I immediately gave the high school student Nostalgia Candy.

A strange item that fixes you to your best condition.

“Wow…!”

As soon as the candy entered his mouth, the high school student’s eyes changed.

“M-my legs are fine!”

“You have to think of it as melting very slowly. It only works while you’re eating it.”

“Yes…!”

The high school student, whose condition had rapidly improved, stood up with a bright face. His mental state seemed to have returned to its ‘best’ as well.

I had prepared for a scene where he would demand why I hadn’t given it to him sooner if such a thing existed, but he seemed too excited by the mysterious item that instantly improved his physical condition to think about it.

“Um, the 3rd floor of the mart is the top floor, right? Are we going there because there’s an escape method? Can we escape from there? Are we going to escape?”

“We’re going to ‘prepare’ for escape.”

And…

“The 3rd floor isn’t the top floor.”

“…Huh?”

“Sometimes, a door appears that goes even higher than the 3rd floor.”

However.

“It, it said on the receipt not to go there…”

That was correct.

This mart is a 3-story building, and the mart spans from B1 to 3F.

Again, do not believe it if you witness an emergency exit leading to the 4th floor. The 4th floor is not part of the mart.

Rookiemart 4th floor.

This was also a gimmick that was almost used as a meme in the <Darkness Exploration Log>.

‘Missing keyword.’

Ascended to the 4th floor.

Everyone disappeared with this sentence as the end.

It didn’t matter what desperate, nail-biting, thrilling exploration had preceded it. They simply vanished, as if possessed, empty and hollow.

That’s why it was even scarier.

No one wrote about ‘why’ they disappeared in the end, or what was on the 4th floor.

It was an unspoken agreement.

Even the case that dealt with the disappearance process in the most detail was like that.

I remembered.

The agent’s challenge, realizing that all rescue targets had died.

/Recording begins

Agent Choi: So I’m on the 3rd floor now. I’ve found the door to the 4th floor.

Agent Choi: I’m just going to open the door a little and come back. I’m not crazy. We can’t just leave the 4th floor alone, can we? Haven’t almost three digits worth of people been recorded as missing after going up to the 4th floor?

(The agent leaves a personal apology and last will.)

Agent Choi: I’m opening the door to the 4th floor now. And… I’ve opened it. Ta-da!

(Sound of door opening, sound of entering, sound of door closing consecutively.)

Agent Choi: It’s normal? It’s just an old emergency exit. There are stairs… There’s really nothing different. The exit door is still there too.

(Observed for a few more minutes, no special notes.)

Agent Choi: Alright. Now I’m going up.

(Footsteps echo. Presumed to be ascending stairs.)

Agent Choi: Let’s see. The exit door is still perfectly fine… Ah. ……It’s gone. I guess I have no choice but to go up. Here I go!

(Footsteps last for 30 seconds.)

Agent Choi: Phew… I’ve arrived. In front of the 4th floor door.

Agent Choi: The exterior doesn’t look particularly different. It’s just an iron door.

Agent Choi: …Then, I’ll open it.

(Sound of iron door opening. Simultaneously, Rookiemart’s jingle begins to play.)

Agent Choi: Huh?

(Jingle gets louder and louder. It changes the tune.)

Agent Choi: W-wait.

(Indescribable grotesque screams. Roaring. Strange sound like filling with wind, begging sound, rubbing balloons, popping sounds, 12 unidentified sounds and ■■■ ■■.)

Agent Choi: (Silence)

Agent Choi: Welcome to Rookiemart!

Nothing recorded for the next 24 hours. Recording ends as the battery runs out.

The agent’s voice recorder was later found in the electronics sales corner on the 3rd floor of Rookiemart.

“……”

It was a record enough to make one resolve never to open the emergency door leading to the 4th floor.

But.

“It’s okay. Once we find the door, I’ll tell you what to do.”

That was their destination.

“……Yes.”

Perhaps due to the trust built over three days, or perhaps due to witnessing the mysterious power of the Nostalgia Candy, the high school student thankfully nodded obediently.

“Let’s move quietly.”

We left the 2nd floor food court.

And we walked the stopped escalator, quietly ascending.

Although we avoided the escalator inspection time for that section, we took off our shoes and walked very carefully barefoot to avoid making even a little noise and attracting the employees’ attention.

Conversation also paused for a moment.

Slowly, silently, one step at a time, making cold sweat.

And finally, the 3rd floor appeared…

“Ah…”

It was strange.

Originally, the 3rd floor of the old Rookiemart was said to be an event hall space.

Various discount displays with different themes were alternately arranged depending on the date.

And the 3rd floor we were now seeing…

“W-what is this…?”

Those display cases were endlessly repeated.

An endless mart.

If Rookiemart below the 2nd floor was unnerving because it faithfully reproduced its past appearance, from the 3rd floor upwards, the space… was grotesquely expanded infinitely.

Currently reported mart 3rd floor event halls are 3611, with an area of 232㎢.

Always confirm your starting point.

If you get lost, you will never find the escalator leading to the lower floors.

A giant labyrinth, or like being in a madman’s plan or painting, the endlessly repeating display stands and special product displays were perfect for driving someone insane.

But then again, it also meant it was good for eluding employees or hiding.

It was said that in some distant stores, employees didn’t appear for several months.

‘It’s also good for secretly stealing food or daily necessities.’

…If you abandon the idea of escape, that is.

So, countless missing persons, whose numbers couldn’t even be properly grasped, would be scattered within this place…

Perhaps, Agent Bronze too.

“……”

“……”

“We need to stick to the wall. If you find an emergency exit there, tell me right away.”

“Yes, y-yes…!”

We stuck to the back wall of the escalator and moved slowly.

And so, we entered the dizzying path made of endless display shelves.

Inside the display stands of the dark department store, where only emergency lights were on after business hours, corners repeated endlessly.

[Camping Gear Special Sale]

[Winter Season Outlet Event]

[Housewarming Gift Event Price]

[Sell Your Flesh Rookiemart]

[Spring Kitchenware Grand Sale]

Eventually, bizarre words began to appear. I turned back and walked again every time I saw such a display or sign.

After tens of minutes, as we were crossing from one store to another, checking the escalator’s position.

A small sound was heard.

A dull, echoing sound from somewhere beyond the display stand.

-…

I quickened my pace.

But the sound became more concrete, and eventually…

-Huh? Is someone…

“Huh?”

The high school student suddenly looked up.

-Who’s there? Can I help you?

A voice speaking from a distance.

“Um, a person…”

“Shhh.”

I crouched down with the high school student.

And warned in a very low voice.

“It might not be a person.”

“…!”

“And… even if it is a person, would someone who’s been here for a long time be sane?”

“…!!”

It was unlikely they were sane.

The possibility was extremely slim.

Especially if they were speaking in such a friendly manner.

‘It’s dangerous.’

It was scarier if it was a person.

-Hey. Is someone there? I’ll help you.

We ran along the wall.

The friendly voice offering help continued to be heard.

-Because of my voice, an employee will follow me. I know the way out. I’ll help you.

Sweat beaded on the high school student’s neck. I kept moving my feet, gauging the distance from the voice.

-Come on. An employee shouldn’t see us.

‘Damn it.’

Should I try to subdue them, even for a moment? No, if employees really swarmed… right, if it was a person, it was better to leave them there until they were caught by an employee.

I had to endure and move… Wait.

‘That.’

The moment I suddenly looked up, something appeared ahead of the wall we were turning around.

An iron door.

An emergency exit with a green light. And…

A sign.

[ 3F ↗ 4F ]

“Th-that…!”

It appeared.

‘The emergency exit to the 4th floor.’

I immediately ran and grabbed the iron door handle.

And urgently instructed the high school student.

The most important thing.

“Never go up the stairs.”

“Huh?”

“Once you open the door and go in, just stand still in that spot. Got it? You absolutely must not move.”

The high school student nodded with frightened eyes.

Right.

This was my hypothesis.

Agent Choi: It’s normal? It’s just an old emergency exit. There are stairs… There’s really nothing different. The exit door is still there too.

‘…But when the employee went up the stairs, the door suddenly disappeared.’

So, to infer the opposite.

-As long as you don’t go up the stairs, the 3rd-floor door won’t disappear.

Because you haven’t left the 3rd floor yet.

And if this idea was correct, there was no safer space.

‘There was no record of an employee trying to go up to the 4th floor.’

Because it wasn’t a mart.

In the end, the emergency exit to the 4th floor became a safe zone where only humans opened the door and passed through.

Then everything becomes easier.

‘I can eat the food I brought in my tattoo there.’

Because once you open this door, it’s not the mart.

Check the outside by opening the door at 10 o’clock every hour from the stair landing, verifying if business has resumed.

‘This is the safest bet.’

If I have to escape with an injured high school student, this is the best option unless Nostalgia Candy is supplied infinitely.

It’s scary with all the 4th-floor disappearance stories lingering in my head, but I have to do it.

I gritted my teeth and opened the iron door.

Creak.

The described sound of the door was heard, and the old staircase area inside was revealed.

“Let’s go in, carefully.”

“Yes, yes…!”

I went inside with the high school student.

And to prevent any unforeseen circumstances, I slightly, just slightly, inserted a piece of paper torn from a notebook into the emergency exit door so it wouldn’t close.

Just enough so that it wouldn’t be noticed from the outside that it was open.

‘Phew.’

With this, he could even elude the crazy person who was chasing them.

And just as he sighed in relief.

“A-Agent Grape…!”

The high school student called me, his voice breathless, pulling my arm.

And pointed upwards.

“Look…!”

Up the stairs.

I looked up with a chilling feeling.

Someone was standing on the stairs leading to the 4th floor.

A short-haired woman with a pale complexion and hollow eyes.

“…A-a person!”

Go Youngeun.

My colleague, a former medical student.

“……”

‘……What?’

My mind couldn’t comprehend what situation this was.

But the next moment, her attire caught my eye.

The iron badge on her collar.

It was an identification for a Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau agent.

‘Ah.’

A certain phrase passed through my mind.

-However, the two agents who entered earlier are in a short-term missing state in that supernatural disaster.

The two missing agents Agent Bronze had mentioned.

“…!”

One of them was my colleague who had infiltrated the Disaster Management Bureau as a new recruit.