Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work Novel - Chapter 212

A familiar name.

Something I knew.

Something surged up inside me again, but….

I did not react.

“Employee?”

Because I knew that expressing this would not be good.

…….

‘Why?’

Suddenly, a strange sensation began to well up in my mind.

A feeling like forcibly pulling up an anchor thrown into the deep sea.

With the previous sensations lost, my crushed brain and mind struggled to think as before.

‘Jang Heoun….’

He died.

The sight of the corpse lying on the resort room floor.

But…, that is… I reconstructed Jang Heoun in a corrupted state as a resort employee.

And I….

‘I passed on a wish.’

If the wish I passed to Jang Heoun was truly successfully delivered, and he revived because of it.

And if I saw him living like a human again.

‘…….’

My broken mind reached a conclusion.

I very slowly recognized that it was a relief.

The direct emotion, felt after an excessively long time, was almost like a dull ache.

“How did you feel when you heard the names? Lee Jungin, Park Yonghae…, Jang Heoun.”

And the judgment that it was by no means a wise choice to tell this to the notorious researcher in front of me.

It was connected with difficulty in my mind.

“How is it?”

I stared at him silently.

Kwak Jegang, who had been full of anticipation, eventually clicked his tongue as the silence lengthened.

“No response again. As expected, the memory of the sacrifice used as a medium is meaningless… Haha, I’m sorry. But as a scientist, I can’t help but ask. Hahaha!”

Kwak Jegang laughed alone, as if embarrassed, then muttered to himself.

“Still, I had a good show today, employee. For the past half year, you’ve been reacting like a machine….”

…….

Half a year?

“They say if you’ve been working for 6 months, you should have a fun event like this once in a while so you don’t want to quit. Don’t you think so?”

I realized.

Only half a year had passed since I was stuck in B13.

No, half a year has already passed?

“Wow~ you must have had fun. You helped three employees, clearly new, explore the annex basement floors!”

Kwak Jegang asked subtly and persistently.

“Did you have any déjà vu? Seeing that, did any similar knowledge or experience come to mind about what kind of work that was….”

Silence.

“Didn’t you feel any sympathy?”

Silence.

“Well, you’re quite taciturn. But… then why on earth did you help them?”

…….

“Clearly, your work area is designated as B13. Well, I understand you used a loophole by not leaving the elevator….”

Kwak Jegang’s eyes gleamed with delight.

“What on earth was the reason you went to such lengths to help them!”

…….

“Perhaps you ‘felt like it’? Out of a sense of obligation to save people?”

…….

“Haha, silence is also a meaningful response. Is it confusing? I’m curious if similar results will come out even if the variables are adjusted just, just a little… hmm?”

I raised my hand and pointed to Room 666.

Specifically, at the old TV in the corner of the ceiling.

It was where the employee training video played.

“…Oh.”

And I formed a sentence with smoke.

Work Rule 17: Cooperate with fellow employees.

A sentence from the training video.

Kwak Jegang recognized it immediately, even the font was reproduced.

“Aha, indeed!”

The sound of the researcher frantically typing something on his tablet PC echoed.

“Because of the training video, it’s very… haha, well. Whether to call it gentle, or generous, or to say that rules and order are important keywords! I see. The special division employee’s… haha, I understand.”

And his pen stopped, then a subtle voice emerged.

“But you wasted your efforts, you know. The participants you helped….”

He raised both hands and waved them as if in surprise.

“They weren’t fellow employees. Haha!”

…….

I know.

“They’re not new employees, they’re just test subjects!”

This wasn’t even an orientation for the field exploration team in the first place.

It was a research experiment project of the same name, inspired by that format.

Experiment Name: New Employee Orientation

They weren’t real new employees.

To be precise, they were individuals who applied for the entrance exam to become new employees but were rejected for various reasons.

But the company deceived them by sending emails as if they had been accepted into the department they applied for.

The reason was….

“You could say they’re like part-timers recruited for collecting experimental samples!”

Supplementing civilian exploration records.

Planned to collect meaningful additional information in the darkness where there was a lack of civilian exploration cases without prior knowledge.

Among the rejected applicants, those with suitable aptitudes were selected, and a simulation was conducted in the form of a new employee orientation similar to what successful applicants received.

It is difficult for the company to arbitrarily release the darknesses it possesses to the public.

Therefore, the company’s exploration records are accumulated by the field exploration team, who are experts in darkness exploration.

There were orientations where new employees, who were closer to civilians, were put into the darkness, but the darknesses used there were carefully selected ones whose abilities could be verified.

So, one researcher came up with a brilliant idea.

—Let’s reuse the applicants!

There was no need to recruit subjects separately, avoiding the eyes of public authority, making it a convenient time for securing experimental participants.

Of course, not all of this was simply fraud.

There was a deceptive reward.

Unsuccessful applicants who successfully completed the mission in this experiment could be specially hired by the field exploration team and officially join the company.

Thus, the company’s official justification was this:

‘Let’s create additional successful applicants and give them a chance to join.’

So….

“Well, you might meet them as fellow employees later….”

Since those who completed the ‘mission’ and survived this experiment were given a chance to join, in a way, it was no different from an orientation.

And I know.

‘Jang Heoun’ made it.

…….

Is it really Jang Heoun?

“Hmm. Do you want to meet them again?”

I tried to recall the faces of the three new employees I met earlier.

I couldn’t remember. Because they were melting mosaics.

“Do you have a preferred age group or gender for colleagues?”

I couldn’t remember their voices either. Because they sounded like low-quality radio static.

“Do you have a preferred corpse?”

I looked back at Kwak Jegang.

“No preference? Not even one? Really?”

…….

I raised my hand.

Kwak Jegang’s face lit up as the smoke moved.

“That’s right! Communicate with words like that….”

Warning 1 Reason: Work request outside working hours Cumulative Warnings: 1 / 2 until disciplinary action

“…Ah.”

From Room 666, an announcement began to echo in my mind.

The sound signaling my end of work.

—Your working hours have ended. Return immediately. Your working hours have ended. Return immediately….

“No, this interview is more of a light….”

Warning 2 Reason: Work request outside working hours

“……”

Cumulative Warnings: 2 / 1 until disciplinary action

Smoke billowed from beneath my feet.

Kwak Jegang closed his mouth. The tense shoulder muscles of the security team members standing nearby were visible.

Though unseen, I could feel the isolation barrier set up between Kwak Jegang and me for safety….

But I also knew that in B13, my security area, I could ignore it and discipline that researcher.

I know.

“…Hahaha! That’s right. You mean the contractually guaranteed break time must be strictly observed! I agree. Of course.”

Kwak Jegang seemed to be smiling faintly through the melting mosaic.

It was the quality of an experienced darkness researcher.

Knowing the timing.

“Have a good rest. …You have plenty of time!”

However, his voice wasn’t overly regretful.

Kwak Jegang, who had picked up his handwritten interview notes and was standing in the middle of the security team, laughed with a cheerful wave of his hand.

“Because I am your researcher in charge.”

…….

“I will sincerely assist you from now on. For a long, long time… please take good care of me. Hahaha… And in your newly assigned workplace too.”

A while later.

I would open my eyes in a different place than Annex B13.

At a new workplace.

Kwak Jegang typed frantically, his excitement reaching its peak.

Recording experimental results was so enjoyable.

Especially when so many test subjects were involved, resulting in unusual outcomes through various interactions!

“Hahaha, to think this is possible, by what means did they make a contract with such a thing….”

Kwak Jegang stared at the PC, his eyes still smiling.

On it was a simplified experiment log, a neat transcription of his own notes.

21st Attempt of New Employee Orientation

It listed cases of interaction between the orientation participants and the security personnel in charge of each annex basement floor, the ‘Special Division Employees’.

And undoubtedly the longest entry.

2.2.1 B13 Security Personnel (hereinafter referred to as 130666)

“To be able to meet it like this.”

When Director Cheong first assigned him to ‘special duties’, he had secretly hoped for this.

And it actually appeared!

Kwak Jegang recalled the employee with strange horns, gas lamps, and thick smoke who had interrogated him.

That bizarre entity summoned using the fastest-promoted member of the field exploration team as a vessel.

Of course, compared to that time, the entity he met again now seemed somewhat mechanical and restrained, but….

He was truly curious why it had become that way!

‘Perhaps a side effect has appeared.’

It was truly fascinating!

Even more so when analyzing the tendencies shown in this experiment.

He couldn’t help but look at the annotations he had added.

This entity, 130666, working as the security personnel of B13 for 179 days, strictly adhered to work rules, with no observed instances of uncooperative or aggressive special cases typically seen in special division entities.

However, in this experiment, it found a loophole in the rules, boarded the elevator that stopped in its security area, accompanied the test subjects who entered the area, and showed a tendency to help many test subjects survive.

This, you see.

This tendency is similar to the dream-collection propensity of the employee’s corpse used in 130666’s employment contract process before death.

Suspected to be an indirect influence of the ego, further experiments will be requested in the future.

“This is definitely going to be censored.”

He expected a disclaimer like “researcher’s personal opinion” to be added, or the entire content to be deleted.

Well, it wasn’t surprising that an entire employee was sacrificed for a special security division employee’s contract, but the identity of that employee was the problem.

“Would they want to reveal that it was the elite employee who was promoted fastest?”

They probably wouldn’t want to specify it.

Especially if some crazy research team employee deduced it without being told….

Kwak Jegang shrugged, recalling the interesting employee… Kim Sol-eum, and moved his hands faster over the keyboard.

Because the next content was even more interesting!

130666’s Anomalous Aggression: : When covered by the entity’s smoke (hereinafter referred to as 130666-1), humanoid darkness transforms into a corpse. No vital signs. Blood and cell sample analysis confirmed it to be a human corpse whose decomposition had just begun. CCTV analysis of the elevator carrying 130666 while using this ability intermittently confirmed the entire elevator being covered by 130666. A type of psychic phenomenon.

He hummed, recalling the security personnel of the annex basement who had turned into corpses.

They were slowly recovering into darkness, but they were undergoing confused and bizarre mutations, as if suffering from after-effects.

And the security team employees sometimes showed special reactions just by going near them, as if they were getting contaminated.

Kwak Jegang grinned.

“They’re really interesting fellows.”

…So, you see.

An interesting idea couldn’t help but come to mind.

No other dangerous anomalies were observed, and 130666 recovered its employee form before exiting the elevator.

Therefore!

Therefore, it is officially recognized that this entity is suitable for full-fledged special division work.

“Hahaha!”

However.

A dedicated personnel will be assigned to prevent unforeseen situations and fatal safety accidents.

Kwak Jegang was thrilled.

This had already been approved by the higher-ups.

Meaning… it was his specially chosen selection.

Safety Officer: Security Management Guard Team 3 Leader (J3, real name ■■■) Control Assistant: Security Management Special Management Team Member (Badger, real name Park Minseong)

And so.

“…Ah.”

130666 would meet two security team employees at its newly reassigned workplace.