Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work Novel - Chapter 19

A psychopathic doctor used his researcher as a sacrifice for a ghost story investigation.

Perhaps he intended to observe how the field investigation team would die in more bizarre ways through synergy with the researcher.

The problem is that I’m on the same team as that researcher.

‘Ugh…’

I regained my senses.

My ears perceived the ghost story before my eyes did.

-♩♪♬♬~♩♬♬~♩♪♪

A cheerful melodica and orchestra sound.

A typical theme park BGM.

“Whoa.”

When I opened my eyes, we were in the middle of a brightly colored, old-fashioned theme park.

– Hahaha!

Children’s laughter echoed.

However, no human faces were visible.

Only mascots were loitering around.

It seemed like I could see visitors in costume in the distance, but they would disappear like a lie if I approached them.

‘That’s the kind of place it is.’

I immediately checked my wrist.

[(Cheerful) Fantasyland Ticket □□□]

Three blank spaces.

‘As expected.’

It’s that crazy board game amusement park where you have to ride three rides to get out.

———————

Darkness Exploration Record / Ghost Story

[Cheerful Theme Park!]

: A ghost story appearing in <Darkness Exploration Record>, Daydream Corporation’s identification code is Qterw-B-11.

An amusement park within a board game themed around various fantasy lands.

After entering this ghost story, using three large attractions allows you to return.

This ghost story became more famous due to a supplement called ‘Cheerful Theme Park Usage Guide,’ written by people who played the board game in a state of delusion.

If you’re looking for the game based on this ghost story, click this link.

———————

There are many amusement park ghost stories. However, this one became more famous among those in <Darkness Exploration Record> because of its strangeness, peculiarity, and persistent fear.

‘There were theme park-motif goods at the pop-up store.’

The supplement, <Cheerful Theme Park Usage Guide>, also gained a cult following.

They call it the ‘Neapolitan ghost story,’ don’t they?

‘And it’s a B-class.’

Darkness of a dark grade.

Civilian survival rate… 2%.

Perhaps our former civilian survivors were extremely lucky to have four survivors.

Comparing it to the list of missing persons who disappeared without a trace before, it seems that many cases of death would result from this ghost story.

Cold sweat flowed.

‘…Team D might be in danger.’

Of course, right now, I am in a desperate situation.

Because I’m the one who has taken on the variable of ‘the researcher getting involved’!

“Aaack, huhuhu… Let, let me out. This is wrong, wrong…!”

“Quiet!”

I covered the mouth of the researcher who was having a seizure and made him bend down.

At that moment.

Thud.

The numerous mascots of the theme park looked at the researcher who was screaming.

“…….”

———————

Cheerful Theme Park Usage Guide (Applicable to exploration records 64 and earlier)

3. Refrain from negative and intense emotional expressions such as crying, weeping, and screaming!

It doesn’t suit Cheerful Theme Park.

———————

It’s a nightmare.

I tried my best not to shut my eyes tightly.

3.

2.

1.

The noise returned.

Hahaha!

♩♪♬♬~♩♬♬~♩♪♪

The gazes disappeared.

In the scenery of the theme park, which began to actively function again, I slowly released the researcher.

A Team employee slapped the researcher’s chin.

“…!”

Thwack. At the end of a short, dull sound, the A Team employee who had grabbed the researcher’s chin tightly held up their face with a butterfly mask and spoke in a low, ominous voice.

“Hey.”

“……!”

“If you cry one more time, I’ll kill you first.”

“Hi, hiik.”

The researcher backed away with a terrified expression, then sat down and covered his head.

He seemed to be muttering words like, ‘This is a dream,’ ‘It’s a lie,’ mixed with curses, seeming to be panicking.

“…Aren’t you being too rough?”

A Y Team new employee spoke cautiously, but the A Team employee ignored him.

Instead, he asked me.

“That new employee. You said you were the top recruit, right? Your judgment is good.”

“…Thank you.”

“Did you get your equipment?”

Hmm.

So he is treating me as a fellow employee.

‘Not an elite team, but because I’m the top recruit?’

 

I found the criteria too one-dimensional, but I answered politely without showing it.

Special equipment, yes.

“Yes.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a finger that allows remote touch. There are limitations on time and frequency.”

I only said that much.

And I had to ask this much as well.

“What weapon does the supervisor use?”

“None of your business… Hmm. Fine.”

An employee of Team A pulled on their index fingernail.

It was a fake nail for nail art.

From the back of the fallen nail, something sticky stretched out.

A translucent thread.

“It stretches endlessly, and it’s quite strong.”

“…It seems incredibly useful for many purposes.”

“Hmm. I suppose so.”

The other person seemed to be in a slightly better mood.

I immediately nodded and asked.

“May I ask your name?”

“Just call me Assistant Manager Jin. What’s with the formal introductions?”

Isn’t that basic courtesy when people meet…?

Anyway, the surname is unique enough to be easily identified.

‘Perhaps… this employee.’

– Assistant Manager Jin Nasol infiltrated the killer’s bedroom, setting the clock to 4:44.

– Seriously answered Assistant Manager Jin Nasol’s question about whether they had any particular animosity towards carrots. No unusual findings.

– Severed the limbs of the teddy bear (Perpetrator: Jin Nasol Employee).

etc.

While there wasn’t much description to specifically deduce their personality, they seemed to have been depicted in the story as a fairly capable and ruthless employee.

At that time, a new employee of Team Y quietly asked me.

“…What exactly is the special equipment?”

Ah, that’s right. This person wouldn’t know.

“Ah, the company can customize equipment using darkness…”

“Hey. Let’s move quickly. In this large-scale darkness, observation comes first.”

“…….”

“What are you doing, top recruit? I said, “Let’s move!”

They blatantly cut me off.

Without waiting any longer, I followed Assistant Manager Jin of Team A, who was already setting off, and answered.

“Yes. I will explain the current situation to my colleague while moving.”

“What? Why are you bothering… Ah.”

A strange smile plays on the lips beneath the butterfly mask.

“You don’t know, do you?”

“…….”

“Well, do as you please.”

I didn’t object.

Instead, I explained roughly what the ‘special equipment’ was to the new employee of Team Y.

I added this to reduce the dissonance within the team.

“I really struggled with it and spent quite a lot of points to get it. The situation ahead is going to be scary, too.”

“……I see.”

I nodded and continued.

“By the way, I’m late with introductions. I’m Kim Soleum.”

“…I know.”

A slightly gloomy voice came from under the cow mask.

“I am… Jang Heoun.”

“Yes. Nice to meet you.”

I also spoke to the researcher who was sitting down, given the situation, but received something akin to near-panic whimpering.

“No, no, I can’t walk. Help me up!”

“I can help you up… but that will make it difficult for Supervisor Joo to move.”

I added with a worried tone.

“If that happens, the likelihood of the person dying increases.”

Magically, they got up.

‘I knew it.’

The Team A supervisor glanced at me disapprovingly, but didn’t interfere, just looked around as they walked.

I also quickened my pace and looked away.

It was a dreamlike theme park, dazzling yet somehow disorienting and stuffy.

‘Is the theme red?’

In this theme park area, there was no place without the red symbol on the flags, buildings, and tents.

‘We probably drew the red horse and ended up in this area.’

On the flags, a cute rabbit was raising one hand and laughing.

[Magic Bunny Arcade Zone]

A direct translation would be Magic Rabbit Adventure Space…

‘It’s really theme park-like.’

That’s when it happened.

The aforementioned rabbit mascot blocked Team A Supervisor’s path.

“Ah, you’re blocking the way…”

“Just a moment.”

I stopped Team A Supervisor, who was trying to go around the mascot.

Because…

“…It looks like a parade.”

A line formed behind the rabbit mascot, and from far back, cheerful music and various flamboyant rabbits appeared.

But I didn’t feel excited at all.

I tried to keep my hands from covering my face.

‘It’s begun…’

Cheerful Theme Park User Guide (Applicable up to Exploration Record #64)

7. Cheer for the parade with a happy face!

Everything that happens in the Cheerful Theme Park parade is enjoyable and absolutely not negative. Absolutely, absolutely not negative.

 

The parade is approaching.

A rabbit mascot in a dress waves from atop a palace, then…

Bang!

It hits the surrounding carrots with a colorful stick.

Then, all sorts of sparkling red things pour down on the mascots.

– Waaaaah!

Candy, jewels, pollen, firework effects!

But that’s not the end.

Bang!

The next one explodes, pouring out new red things.

Blood, guts, organs!

– Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!

They tumble down.

Tumble, tumble. The mascots dance while messing with the innards. The stone floor right in front of me is stained red… Wow, I’m going crazy.

‘This is a problem.’

This crazy theme park keeps spitting out things that are impossible to laugh at with human sensibility, and if you scream or cry, you get [redacted]!

– Waaaaah!

Splash.

My shoes are soaked with blood.

Something rolled and hit my shoe.

It’s an eyeball.

‘!@#$!@%!%’

Ugh!! Ugh!!!

A silent scream erupts from my spine.

‘I think I’m going to throw up.’

I try my best to narrow my eyes, avoid looking directly ahead, and pretend to be calm…

“Ugh.”

“…?”

Wait a minute.

Just now… that wasn’t my sound, was it?

I glance to the side, and see a cow mask covering its mouth.

‘Perhaps.’

“…Do you find gore difficult to watch?”

“…….”

The cow mask slowly nods.

The lower face, not hidden by the mask, is already pale.

‘A comrade…!’

My heart almost felt warm.

Finally, someone who is experiencing the insane terror of this insane situation with me!

‘Hey, you’re doing pretty well!’

Just as I was about to say, “Let’s avoid this and overcome this difficult situation together…”

“Argh, seriously… what are you saying?”

It was a voice filled with irritation.

…Team A’s representative.

“Can’t handle gore? Why don’t you realize that a consultant like you is a burden, not an extra life?”

“…!”

“Hey, top recruit. I’m telling you because you have potential. That one.”

Team A’s representative’s index finger pointed towards the new Team Y employee.

The Team Y employee flinched.

“Don’t get friendly with those with X, Y, Z attached to their names.”

“…….”

I heard something similar from my immediate superior just now.

– Roe Deer ya. Today, just treat the people from other teams you met appropriately, okay?

…I already know the reason.

‘The field exploration team is assigned letters by team.’

And the order has meaning.

Elite teams: A, B, C.

General teams: D to W.

And X, Y, Z are…

Darkness Exploration Record / Daydream Co., Ltd.

/ Field Exploration Team

Finishing Team

The field exploration team is composed of personnel who passed the entrance exam but have some flaws that prevent them from performing normal exploration tasks.

They are mainly deployed when testing special situations.

Teams are mainly referred to by the last three letters of the alphabet (X, Y, Z).

“Those with the last three letters of the alphabet are all gathered there. They’re just cannon fodder. Don’t worry about it, it’s like an extra life given to capable employees.”

“……Yes?”

“They seem to not properly explain it to the new recruits under the guise of ‘eliminating variables’ or something, but it doesn’t matter anyway because they’re going to die here.”

The cow-masked employee stiffened.

“Th-that’s what…?”

“Finishing Team Cow Mask. Raise your left hand.”

“!”

As if by magic.

Jang Heoun raised his left hand towards the air.

“…!!”

The lower half of his face, not hidden by the mask, turned pale with bewilderment.

“Wh-what…!”

The Team A employee lifted their chin.

“Cannon fodder. That’s how they’re used.”

Employees of a certain rank or higher may demand unconditional obedience from Finishing Team members when entering the darkness together.

Finishing Team members must comply with said demands.

Okay.

‘…It’s a device to get more brutal and dramatic exploration records.’

In short, it’s like slaves or suicide squads.

But seeing it in reality was even more bizarre than I imagined. Especially because the Cow Mask employee seemed to be resisting.

‘I’m going crazy.’

A golden mark near the chin of the A-team employee’s Butterfly Mask glittered.

“If something dangerous comes up that they want to try, they just send these kinds of people first. But it’s driving me crazy because sometimes they understand it their own way, don’t follow instructions, and die!”

“Ugh, ugh…”

“Well, if they were smart enough to understand, they wouldn’t have been assigned to this team, right?”

The harsh words continued casually, ending in the tired voice of an annoyed office worker.

“Ugh, why did I get a job here and cause trouble? Every time, really… mentally ill people, cult members, criminals…”

“…….”

Clearly, they intentionally put people with personality defects in the Cleanup Team.

It was probably a device to lower the psychological barriers of people reading the rumors.

‘It feels a little better if a bad, flawed person dies than if a good, normal person dies like a tool….’

But seeing it in reality felt disgusting enough to spoil my appetite.

What did the Cow Mask employee do wrong to be treated like a suicide squad?

“Even that damned coward…”

Yes, coward…

“……!?”

…W-wait a minute.

Wait a minute, Supervisor!

I think I just heard something amazing…

“…You just said, ‘coward’…”

“Yeah. There’s this cowardly kid who passed the entrance exam and still whines, you believe it?”

The A-team employee gestured.

“Like that Y-team newbie.”

…….

‘Is that all?’

Seriously?

That Cow Mask newbie was put on the Cleanup Team because he’s scared?

Being a coward was that much of a disqualification?

Then…

‘Me?’

…I’m a coward!

Suddenly, like a panorama, I recalled what I said to my superiors after escaping from the convenience store ghost on my first day of work.

– Uh, actually… I was scared, so I tried to get out quickly.

“…….”

I only realize now.

How lucky I was that they didn’t believe me.

‘This coward is marked as trash and becomes an outcast in the company…!’

They don’t even subtly give the cold shoulder; they officially push them into a death trap!

‘I only thought about not letting my weakness be known…’

It wasn’t just that!

Suddenly, the sound of my survival rate plummeting echoed in surround sound.

No!

“Anyway, I don’t really have anything to instruct you right now. It might be a hindrance, so let’s just move you and me. Okay?”

No!

If I go with you alone, I’ll be targeted as a coward in five minutes!

With the A-team employee’s testimony of ‘What, this guy was a coward,’ the future where Kim Soleum will be exiled to the Cleanup Team tomorrow is visible!

“Then, please go ahead.”

“W-what?”

For the first time in a month since I joined the company, I broke the Newbie Ten Commandments.

I rebelled against my superior.

And I have a plausible reason.

“I will go after taking care of my teammate.”

“…….”

The A-team Supervisor stopped moving.

For a moment, I worried that this superior might use the Y-team newbie to get rid of me.

“This idiot…”

Instead, the Butterfly Mask Supervisor seemed to choose to cut me off and disappear.

But… uh, the thing is.

‘You can’t go alone anyway.’

———————

Cheerful Theme Park User Manual (Applicable up to Exploration Record #64)

2. Inside the theme park, teammates of the same color must stay together!

If you are more than 5 meters apart while not riding an attraction, you will be executed. Your neck will be strangled. It hurts. Don’t move any further. Don’t do it.

———————

‘There’s no way I’d let someone with your strong heart just go…’

You have to be our tank.

The supervisor wearing the Butterfly Mask made a choked sound, as if grabbed by the scruff of his neck, and stopped.

“You damn!! Ah!”

A red string.

A leash-like line appeared, connecting above our heads and tightening. When the supervisor cautiously took a step back, closing the distance, it disappeared again.

“This…!”

“Jin, Supervisor.”

I mimicked putting my index finger to my lips.

And rolled my eyes.

Mascots around the parade were all staring at the team leader, Jin.

“…….”

Team A’s leader quickly calmed down.

Competent people are really convenient…….

“Is it that the teams were divided…?”

“Yes. We didn’t draw the same red horse, did we? We were grouped into teams accordingly… It seems we are physically restricted.”

“……Is that so.”

The leader looked at me and asked meaningfully.

“You… anticipated this?”

…?

I just read this urban legend beforehand….

But let’s play along.

I set the mood and opened my mouth.

“As you may remember… there were clearly four civilian survivors.”

“So?”

“Weren’t they on the same team?”

I said seriously.

“Since four of us were assigned to the same team, I thought those civilians might have been the same. I thought it was most likely that one team survived together.”

“…….”

“So, I assume that we four need to look out for each other to safely escape this darkness.”

After a moment of silence.

“…That makes sense. Okay.”

Fortunately, Team A’s supervisor seemed to have rationally accepted it.

“Kim Soleum, thank you, thank you…”

“You’re welcome. Let’s do our best together.”

Additionally, The cow mask colleague seemed moved, but now is not the time to get sentimental, cowardly comrade.

‘Let’s see.’

I objectively looked at this team.

A supervisor steeped in elitism.

Cowardly dumb and dumber.

And an employee from another department who came along for the ride.

‘Heh, it’s a mess.’

If this were <Darkness Exploration Record>, it would be appropriate for everyone to die at the start of the record and the perspective to shift to Section Chief Lizard.

But even with this personnel… There is a way to survive.

‘There is.’

If we follow the rules of conduct and aim for the escape route!

“…Do you remember?”

“What.”

“The phrase written on the <Happy Theme Park> board game box.”

– Team up with your teammates to be the first to ride three fantasy attractions and receive a prize!

The eyes under the butterfly mask narrowed.

“Three attractions… right. There are exactly three slots on this bracelet.”

“Yes.”

I nodded.

“I think we should proceed as instructed. If there’s a request implied by the darkness, following it is the standard procedure for clearing it.”

“…You speak like a professional, a new employee who’s been here for a month, more so than I have in three years at this company?”

Oops.

“Because I’ve been continuously exposed to nothing but the darkness without any manuals for that month…well, I’ve developed a habit of making these kinds of guesses.”

“Well, okay.”

Fortunately, Team A’s supervisor nodded vaguely.

It seems it wasn’t a sarcastic remark.

“Your hypothesis is convincing.”

“Yes.”

He seemed to have accepted it reasonably.

I raised my hand and very politely suggested it.

“So I would like us to ride an attraction first.”

Luckily, one of the nearby signs had the attraction I was aiming for.

[Fantasy Train]

A literal translation would be Magic Train.

“…Isn’t this the attraction that the civilians testified about?”

“Yes.”

I calmly nodded, and the researcher in a state of panic screamed hysterically.

“People who, who rode it all d, died!!”

That’s right.

This is a hellish train with a survival rate of 3%!

‘It doesn’t mean I’m crazy.’

For a veteran of <Darkness Exploration Record>, there is always a way!

…A way to clear it with less fear.