GDCG c279

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Chapter 279

Ryu Jaekwang looked at his superior.

An agent of Black Tortoise Team 1—someone who had even infiltrated the downsized branch’s secret archive on a precise date to read forbidden information.

‘…It’s a dangerous choice.’

He had clearly thought that.

But he hadn’t stopped it.

To begin with, investigating a supernatural disaster personally sealed by the Disaster Management Bureau was itself a dangerous act.

And on top of that, collaborating with a director from Daydream Inc.

Normally, even Ryu Jaekwang would never have done something so reckless if things hadn’t progressed ‘like this.’

‘It’s grounds for disciplinary action.’

So at this point, he had decided it would be better to at least have more information.

And then… after learning that information, he intended to decide.

‘…Whether it’s really okay to leave this exploration as it is.’

About the danger of continuously entering a ghost story so severe that the Disaster Management Bureau had sacrificed an entire city for it.

It was certainly a direction that made sense….

But the result was… “we forgot something important.”

“…You mean about that city?”

“No. It’s not just that. Our team—Team Leader….” 

Team Leader? 

‘Why bring that person up all of a sudden….’ 

Agent Choi, who had been speaking, suddenly lifted his head and met Ryu Jaekwang’s gaze. 

For a moment, Ryu Jaekwang felt a strange heaviness pass through that look… 

“…Hm. For now, shall we leave the archive? Things like this should be handled safely.”

Soon, Agent Choi returned to his usual composed demeanor. 

He shrugged, exchanged a few familiar gestures with the dokkaebi fire, and finished preparing to withdraw. 

And when they left the archive, they were even seen off by an excited dokkaebi fire, clutching a heap of buckwheat jelly.

“Thank you~ See you next time!” 

That attitude, as if he had already assumed they might be discovered by higher-ups. 

—This kind of thing is better done lightly. Like usual. 

—As if we just cut corners because paperwork is annoying and takes too long. 

It was meant to create the impression that “Agent Choi is just being Agent Choi.” 

So no one would suspect that they had actually entered a sealed Catastrophe-Level disaster to examine records of cognitive erasure. 

And he had already deceived Agent Grapes in a similar way. 

—See? I told you—if you said we’d skip this exploration because we’d get suspicious looks for using too many vacation days, I’d believe it! 

—Ha…… 

—I’m telling you, that guy Grapes has a soft side! 

‘Hoo….’

Of course, as a result of this decision, only people working for a quasi-cult-like private company (including contaminated entities) had gone on the exploration… and that weighed heavily on his mind.

Ryu Jaekwang continued to feel uneasy, thinking that either he or his superior should have stayed behind for the exploration. But his superior seemed quite unconcerned about that part. 

—Hmm, well, there were some decent people among them. And we needed to see how things proceed when they’re on their own at least once.

Ryu Jaekwang wondered.

Was Agent Choi thinking the same thing right now? 

Even after reading the records about Segwang Special City, his superior continued to act calm. 

—Well, Grapes is probably leading things just fine. 

***

"Employee Dragon, we need to move."

“Just—just a moment, please.” 

I paused, trying not to be overwhelmed by the flood of information swirling in my head. 

So then. 

‘The Dispatch and Rescue Unit was originally the Azure Dragon Team.’ 

But after the Azure Dragon Team disappeared in Segwang Special City, that vacancy… had been filled by the Black Tortoise Team? 

‘And the Black Tortoise Team… was in charge of concluding disasters?’ 

…….

Then why wasn’t any of this on the wiki? 

‘No.’

I couldn’t get too buried in this right now.

There was no time to agonize over unanswered questions inside a ghost story where my companions had already vanished.

‘What I can do.’ 

Right. I needed to start with what I could do. That was…

“…Show me that again.”

“Hm?”

The torn talisman.

I grabbed the library loan slip that the wolf team leader had found in the glass lantern and carefully examined the back again.

Every pattern, every line, every structure. 

“What are you doing?” 

“I’m trying to memorize it.” 

The shape of this talisman. 

“Ah, you’re planning to get a similar talisman from the Disaster Management Bureau.” 

“…!"

“You’re guessing the problem started when that talisman was torn.”

"......."

“Seems you still have ties with the Disaster Management Bureau, Employee Yong.”

I simply nodded slowly.

For a moment, I wondered if this was a new expression of suspicion, but—

“Be careful with that. The company won’t like it much. Still, when it’s something like a school full of children’s lives on the line… well, that’s just how people are.”

“…….!"

The wolf team leader just gave a faint chuckle and patted my back.

“Alright, you’ve memorized it, right? Let’s move again. We need to find another way to escape.” 

“…Yes.” 

I placed the torn talisman back into the shattered glass lantern and buried it again in the dirt of the backyard. Even if it was broken and torn, I couldn’t be sure what role it might still be playing. 

Instead, I took something else. 

“A small fragment, huh.” 

“Yes.” 

A piece of the shattered glass lantern. 

I carefully dug out just that one fragment from the dirt and kept it. 

“Want to borrow a handkerchief? If it’s for sample collection.” 

“It’s fine. I brought something.” 

I wrapped the glass shard in tissue and put it into my pocket. 

Come to think of it… 

“Do you also collect samples from the darkness?” 

“If we have time before escaping, we do. The researchers ask for it.” 

Wait. A researcher who would ask a Field Exploration Team to collect samples like that… 

“Does their name happen to start with Kwak?” 

“Oh, yeah.” 

“..…...”

“Looks like they’re still working there.” 

‘Still working’ isn’t even the half of it…. 

I couldn’t bring myself to say that you were also still working there. 

But with a gentler, more relaxed air than before, the Wolf Team Leader continued the conversation. 

In a completely unexpected direction. 

“Hm, if they’re still around… is Haegum still with the Disaster Management Bureau?” 

“….!?"

Wait.

“You mean Agent Haegum…?”

“Yeah. Bold moves, great nerve. And above all… lucky.”

“......"

“She would’ve done well even if she’d come to Team B.”

His assessing gaze shone through the wolf mask.

“Anyway, she was such a passionate young agent. I figured she’d still be in service.”

That was correct.

Though imagining Agent Haegum as a passionate young rookie somehow felt strange.

For a moment, I almost showed him the bell I had received out of sheer familiarity, but I held back, reminding myself that the person before me wasn’t truly the ‘past Team B leader.’

At the same time, a very fundamental question arose.

If he trusted me, at least somewhat, as someone from the future… then why—

“…Aren’t you going to ask what happens to Daydream Inc. in the future?”

Wasn’t he curious about his own direct future?

“Of course.”

"......"

“There’s no need.”

The wolf team leader smiled silently.

Then, preparing to head back up to the infirmary, he asked gently,

“You’ve heard of Oedipus, right?”

“…You mean the Greek myth?”

“Right. He received a prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother—and it came true…. Why do you think that is?”

His low voice climbed along the wall.

“Because people heard the prophecy. Like a butterfly effect, it ended up making the prophecy come true.” 

"......"

“Knowing the future itself might lead me straight to that future. No need to invite that kind of headache. Got it?”

“……Yes.”

It was astonishing restraint.

[Self-fulfilling prophecy… quite an interesting excuse you’ve come up with. Indeed, you seem in far better condition than that shabby, washed-up beast….] 

[Oh? Roe Deer, why not take some advice from this Braun for once?] 

‘…What is it?’

Soon, the cheerful host’s voice lowered slightly, as if realizing something.

[How about we kill him right now?] 

What?

[Then he might wake up in reality just as he is now.] 

'….!'

[As if hoping that your ordinary former superior—who had regenerated both hands within the dream of this sealed city—would awaken in reality still possessing those same hands.] 

Like Supervisor Park Minseong? 

'No, that’s ridiculous.' 

Because from the start, that wolf team leader was a being created by a ghost story …. 

[Of course, maybe not. But who could know? Guesses can’t be guaranteed! Just in case—just in the slightest chance ….] 

…….

[You can at least try once. There’s nothing to lose. It’s a safe gamble.]

I looked at the wolf team leader.

Recalling his current state.

…In the annex, the sight of him driving a stone into his own stomach.

[Wouldn’t the person himself like it too? Oh, returning to a good old form. That must be every actor’s dream.]

"......"

[Of course, this is only a suggestion, Mr. Roe Deer. As your kind friend, I merely offered advice for a new path!]

[So let’s think about it.]

"Come on, climb up." 

"Yes."

I couldn’t give Braun any definite answer.

I simply followed the wolf team leader, climbed along the school wall, grabbed the third-floor infirmary window frame, and pulled myself up.

Amid the confusion, I set aside the fact that Braun’s words were logically sound.

But then, the very next moment.

The instant I lifted my head toward the infirmary ….

"Well now. Looks like we have a guest ahead of us." 

“......!”

A situation unfolded that blew away all confusion.

There was a student in the infirmary.

A black silhouette standing by the door.

Wearing a school uniform, it was watching us climb up through the window…

And then, the next moment.

“...!”

As the student turned to flee, both the wolf team leader and I lunged forward at the same time and grabbed them.

Thud.

The black figure collapsed, unable to escape the infirmary. I hurriedly tried to bind them using the infirmary curtain. But at the same time….

I recognized their appearance.

Bleached hair. Piercings.

A transfer student?

Unlucky bastard.

It was the same student I had borrowed a uniform from.

“…..….!”

In that instant, the wolf team leader, who had completely pinned down the struggling student, asked:

"Can you speak?"

But there was no answer. I saw the student stare at the wolf team leader with an expressionless face.

There wasn’t the slightest trace of seeing him as human in that gaze….

'Wait.'

—To the students of Segwang Technical High School, outsiders appear as monsters.

Because we had entered the game using an error. Of course, we had entered this school by reading the book, not a text version, but….

We still wouldn’t be accepted as members of the school. Because…

'We’re not wearing uniforms.'

And,

I… can wear one.

"......."

Thump, thump.

Feeling my heart pound, I brought my hand to my chest.

The tattoo.

The circular, intricate structure that had organized the contamination was still etched into my skin.

I selected one of them.

A word that looked like it had glitched, as if a font had broken due to a computer error.

"…… Team leader."

I asked for understanding.

"I’ll try a different method."

I placed my hand over the tattoo.

The next moment.

The bell of Segwang High School rang.

I was standing in the infirmary as a student wearing an old uniform.

"...!!"

The pupil of the student pinned to the floor shrank. A half-breath of shock.

And now, I ‘knew.’

'We don’t use our voices.'

Because only communication through text was permitted.

Like before, I took out a sheet of A4 paper from the infirmary and wrote on it with a pencil.

Thanks for lending me your uniform last time

I’m the transfer student

who brought you to the infirmary

Remember?

I handed it to my classmate.

When I glanced at the one wearing the wolf mask, he slightly loosened his grip on the arm holding the student.

I watched as the classmate, barely freeing one arm from the outsider’s restraint, scribbled hurriedly on the paper ….

What are you?

Why are you here again?

Because I want to know about this school

There were many things I wanted to ask.

For example, how do you move?

What do you know about the torn talisman?

But….

The first question I chose was something entirely different.

Because of a certain intuition.

Why can’t we speak?

Why?

Because we have to be quiet

Why do we have to be quiet?

As if suffocated and filled with frustration, the classmate scratched the words harshly across the A4 paper.

Because we’re inside the library, idiot!

…….

'As expected.'

Like a blow to the head, everything fell into place.

The reason nothing could be seen around our high school.

The reason we could only see this school through the window within the countless passages of Hanbit Library’s bookshelves….

Simple.

'Because it’s not a window to the outside.'

This high school exists inside the library.

The reason nothing is visible around it is simple.

Because there is nothing.

A space enclosed by the backs of bookshelves.

So this place has become part of Hanbit Library.

Segwang Technical High School.

Its existence entirely swallowed inside the Hanbit Library ….

'.......'

The wiki updated.

Strange High School

A peculiar high school facility that can be entered by activating a special trigger inside Hanbit Library.

It appears that a nearby public high school, once a partner institution of the library, was swallowed into it.

'.......'

After the Day of Disaster, some of the agents trapped within the sealed Segwang Special City made a certain decision in order to preserve the students until they could be rescued.

As a result, the high school where the students remained came to reside as a special annex of the library, under the protection of ■■, who made the library their sanctuary.

Because the Azure Dragon Team placed the high school inside the library.

And this means—

Right

So if you can, leave immediately

It means that every single student in Segwang Technical High School… was originally human.

 

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