GDCG c293

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Chapter 293

My legs trembled.

Late at night, I stared at the tunnel beneath the mountain—the one closed off due to numerous disappearance cases, the one that drifted around the internet and people’s conversations as a bizarre rumor.

At the end of the desolate road.

A single streetlamp cast a grim light meaninglessly upon the shadows inside the pitch-black tunnel, where nothing could be seen.

'Ha.'

Go in there and spend the entire night walking while telling scary stories.

No matter what happens, ignore it and keep going.

'No, this is….'

After spending so long feeling fear only dulled through 130666’s condition, or having my senses numbed by nothing but massive, backstory-laden disaster-type ghost stories in Segwang Special City, it felt as though those dulled senses had suddenly been punched awake.

Right.

You’re scared shitless of this kind of thing…!

“Alright, let’s head in!” 

“…… Yes.”

It really had been a long time.

Since I’d felt like livestock being dragged into a slaughterhouse!

Still, at least I didn’t need to desperately suppress this agitation from showing itself through sweating buckets or stumbling backward.

The reptilian alien body wasn’t easily swayed by emotions.

'Section Chief Lee Jaheon…. Thank you.'

It almost felt ridiculous that I’d once been horrified by body-switching horror.

No, honestly, even if Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae realized I was a coward, it probably wouldn’t be a huge problem. She didn’t seem like the type who’d look at me with disgust and say I belonged in the Cleanup Team.

But the problem was the other person here.

"......."

“W-What?” 

“You’re seriously lucky.”

"...?!"

“You never miss out on interesting situations.”

I smiled faintly and patted Baek Saheon on the shoulder.

“Entering a Darkness where you get to hear scary stories from both of us… fun, right? Shouldn’t you be thanking Assistant Manager Dolphin?”

"...…."

“You’re not gonna thank her?”

“Thank you.”

“Yep. Though I didn’t do it for your sake or anything!”

Baek Saheon’s face cycled red and blue, but he kept his mouth shut. Good. If I kept pressing him like this, he wouldn’t have room to grow suspicious about anything else.

That way, even if I collapsed or started backing away, he’d probably misunderstand it as, ‘That lunatic’s trying to pressure me again.’

'Ha…'

To think I’d end up doing this again.

“Then let’s head in now! Only one member of the group is allowed to keep a flashlight on… and since I brought one, I’ll use it.”

“Yes.”

Step. Step.

The three of us walked into the abandoned tunnel.

"......."

It smelled damp and moldy. 

Stone and cement are overgrown with moss. And traces showing that electricity had once run through here.

The beam from Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae’s flashlight illuminated the inside of the tunnel.

[My, even the ventilators have rusted over. It must’ve been abandoned for quite a while. It’s practically in ruins.]

Yeah. 

And meanwhile, I was personally reenacting the role of the idiot who enters abandoned houses or abandoned facilities to test their courage, tells scary stories, and disappears….

'Uuugh.'

Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae, holding the flashlight, walked on the left, Baek Saheon walked in the middle, and I walked at the far right end.

I desperately wanted to beg them to let me carry the flashlight instead, but I held myself back. 

Worse still, being at the far edge meant I was the farthest from the light. Ha…….

'I’d have no greater wish than walking in the middle….'

The empty darkness to my right felt horribly vast. 

But I had no good reason to ask them to switch positions, so I endured it and kept walking.

“Alright then, should we start telling scary stories?” 

Pretend to stay calm. Pretend to stay calm. 

“How exactly are scary stories judged?” 

“I think it’s basically just the kind of stuff people post online as ghost stories. Creepy or horrifying things?” 

Hoo. 

“The important thing is to keep it going all night, so you can tell them slowly. Apparently, it’s fine to stop and rest while walking too, as long as you don’t fall asleep.”

At least I probably didn’t have to worry about falling asleep. Passing out, maybe.

“Then I’ll start first.” 

“Yes.” 

Step, step.

“Hmm… this is a story about the people who disappeared inside this tunnel!” 

“.… Right.”

Of all things!!

“Rumor says this tunnel used to be notorious for traffic accidents.” 

"......"

Footsteps echoed.

“There’s another newer tunnel nearby. A two-way tunnel with lanes going both directions. Apparently, at night, quite a few cars driving through the mountain roads mistook this place for that tunnel and accidentally drove the wrong way in here.”

The pale flashlight beam illuminating the dark tunnel. 

And Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae’s voice echoing through it. 

“Pretty strange, right? Normally people use navigation systems, so things like that are rare. But for some reason, this tunnel in particular had lots of accidents where people ‘mistakenly took the wrong road.’ And then one night….”

Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae’s flashlight moved. 

“Inside the mountain fog, a car driving the wrong way by mistake crashed into a compact car.” 

Screeeech— BANG!

It almost felt like I could hear the sound.

…Strangely enough, on the road ahead illuminated by the flashlight, there really were marks like scraped tire tracks.

“They say the accident scene was discovered and cleaned up the next morning. It was a hit-and-run. But the strange thing was… only the car remained.”

“That means…”

“There was nobody inside the car.”

As though sketching out the scene in imagination, the flashlight slowly circled across the tunnel road.

“Not just the driver’s seat of the compact car, but every single seat was empty. The only things left behind were the airbags, shattered glass, and….” 

“.......”

“Bloodstains and handprints.”

A chilling sensation slid down my spine.

“The license plate had disappeared too, so they only identified the family riding in the compact car much later. Apparently they’d been returning from a trip. And then….”

“.......”

“After that accident, people started disappearing.”

Step, step.

My own footsteps following their steady pace sounded unnaturally loud.

“Whenever people entered this road while it was deserted, day or night, they vanished. And sometimes the missing people left behind final text messages or call records before disappearing….”

“.......”

“They always said the same thing.”

Step.

“They said there was always a crashed compact car ahead of them, and someone inside was waving through the broken window.”

“.......”

“And then it grabs your shoulder.” 

Tap.

I nearly collapsed on the spot.

“Like this.”

Barely managing to turn my head, I saw Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae smiling brightly at me after reaching over and tapping my shoulder.

“Though of course, it’s all just rumors!”

Ha. 

“How was it?” 

“…It was a very fitting scary story for the situation.” 

I almost cried. 

It fit the atmosphere so perfectly that it genuinely felt like a ghost was following right behind us….

At least it was fortunate I wasn’t the one holding the flashlight. If I had been, it would probably have been shaking like a horror movie lighting effect.

'Thank god it was a story I already knew.'

Gangryeong Town Tunnel

A ghost story appearing in the Dark Exploration Records, identified by Daydream Inc. under the code Qterw-D-2076.

A one-way tunnel measuring 2076 meters located midway up a mountain in ■■ City. The name Gangryeong Town is not an official administrative district name, but rather a nickname that spread online alongside ghost story rumors.

Its official name had originally been ■■ Pass Tunnel, but after the wrong-way hit-and-run accident, it was closed down and that name reportedly ceased to be used.

For details regarding the accident within the ghost story, refer to the corresponding document.

Upon entry, one must walk through the tunnel all night while continuously telling scary stories in order for the exit to appear.

During this process, one must never turn around and run, nor act alone.

"......."

How is this safe at all, Assistant Manager…!

Well, to be fair, for the Field Exploration Team lunatics whose average courage level was absurdly high, this probably did seem like a jackpot.

'You’re saying we’re supposed to stay in here all night and then casually go eat afterward….'

My mind felt like it was going numb, but eventually I listened as Baek Saheon took the next turn and continued the “scary stories.” 

“…Does it just need to be moderately scary? Well then. This is a story I heard as a kid.”

And compared to Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae’s story, Baek Saheon’s story wasn’t quite as horrifying for the situation.

It was about a little girl who found a strange cassette player in an old countryside house—a player that always played songs containing advice that perfectly matched whatever she needed at the moment.

“They said it was really useful for things like picking out birthday presents for her younger sibling, or knowing when to hide from adults she didn’t like. The problem was… well, pretty obviously, the contents gradually started getting strange.”

At some point, the song lyrics became increasingly disturbing and violent, and the frightened child eventually opened the player to throw away the tape, but….

“They say the inside of the player had been empty from the very beginning.”

“.......”

“The end.”

“Oh. But what part of that was scary?”

It was scary though.

I hurriedly defended it.

“Mm. It’s still sufficiently eerie as a supernatural story, so I think it counts.”

“Really? Got it! Alright then, now it’s Mr. Cat’s turn!”

Wait a second.

“Mr. Cat…?”

“Yep. Since your mask is a black cat.”

“Mm. Right.”

No matter how I looked at it, this mask resembled some larger feline species rather than a simple cat… but whatever.

'As long as it doesn’t overlap with anyone else’s.'

To begin with, I still didn’t really understand what kind of mechanism this mask used to display this form.

—It’s similar to the Field Exploration Team masks. It lowers cognitive recognition. Haha.

…Just like the Security Team uniform I was wearing, it was probably equipment Ho Yuwon had secretly diverted and modified separately.

Anyway, now it was my turn. Hoo.

[Oh, let us hear the most thrilling story from anyone present here, my friend!]

More importantly, I needed to make sure I didn’t scare myself while telling it….

“Then the story I’ll tell is….”

“What the.”

“...!”

We stopped walking.

Beyond the road illuminated by Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae’s flashlight, several human figures wearing suits appeared.

'Another Field Exploration Team…!'

Two people. And one of them had a familiar silhouette.

A tall, slender woman with a ponytail.

“Eh? Assistant Manager!”

It was Assistant Manager Jin Nasol from Elite Team A.

“They said you’d gone in first, but I didn’t expect we’d run into each other like this.”

“Really?”

Assistant Manager Jin Nasol frowned.

“Since we’ve met up, travel together with us. As you can see, there’s been a problem.”

And judging by how she didn’t even glance at the employee beside her, it seemed she wasn’t very pleased with that person’s behavior….

'This feels familiar….'

That ruthless cutoff attitude really was typical of a Field Exploration Team elite. I briefly looked at the employee accompanying Assistant Manager Jin Nasol — the one wearing the insect mask — with sympathy.

Then the gaze beneath the butterfly mask turned toward me.

“And what are you supposed to be?”

“Ah, he’s also an employee from our company·, just not from the headquarters Field Exploration Team, and he’s really kind and capable!”

“Oh, really?”

Sharp eyes swept over me. 

“What rank?”

“He’s higher than me!”

“So what exactly?”

“Mm. I guess… something like a team leader?”

Excuse me?

“It’s true! He’s basically the leader role in Director Ho’s project team!”

The eyes beneath the mask changed.

“…Director Ho’s project team?”

“Yep!”

“Hm.”

I answered as calmly as possible.

“A team leader is exaggerating things. Please just comfortably call me ‘Cat.’ I probably haven’t worked at this company longer than Assistant Manager.” 

“…Really?” 

“Yes.” 

“Then I’ll do that.” 

And Assistant Manager Jin Nasol’s gaze moved away.

I secretly swallowed. 

'It’s been a while.'

I was nervous for no reason. …Maybe because it reminded me of how Assistant Manager Eun Haje had imitated Assistant Manager Jin Nasol while trying to enter the annex building?

'Did she… notice that?'

No, there was no point worrying about that right now. At the moment, she couldn’t recognize me because I was wearing a mask inside a ghost story. 

'Just be happy to see her.'

Our numbers had increased.

Not just by one, but by two people. This was the best.

Seriously, why were the employees at this damn company so fearless that they split into separate teams before entering?

Wouldn’t it have been so much better if everyone just filled the maximum party size, held hands, and went in together?!

“For now, let’s move.” 

“Yes.” 

Assistant Manager Jin Nasol stood beside Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae, while the insect-mask employee stood beside me.

Thank you. It was probably because he wanted to stay farther away from Assistant Manager Butterfly, but thanks to him, I finally got to experience the blessing of being sandwiched safely between people….

And then the “scary stories” began again.

“This time, let the newly joined Assistant Manager start.”

“What a pain.” 

Still, once something had been decided, Assistant Manager Jin Nasol proceeded without hesitation.

“Some idiot bought a wooden wardrobe secondhand, and everyone who slept near that wardrobe got sleep paralysis.”

“Ooh!”

“When they called a carpenter to pry it open, there was some weird talisman stuck underneath the baseboard. But the next day, the carpenter was found hanging himself inside the wardrobe.”

Aaaagh.

As expected from a Field Exploration Team elite member, it was a savage, authentic occult ghost story that sounded like she’d personally experienced it….

“And then the Disaster Bureau came in, wrecked the place, and took the wardrobe away. Annoying bastards.”

…Wait, had she actually experienced this personally?

“Story over.”

Hoo. 

Anyway, the story finally ended.

“Alright then, lastly, Mr. Cat!”

“Yes.”

And just as I opened my mouth to tell the ‘less scary but probably still scary enough to pass’ story I’d barely managed to think up—

Ah, right.

“This won’t be the last one. There’s still one more person left.”

“Huh?” 

“The person standing to my right.” 

“Mr. Cat.”

“There’s nobody there right now.” 

"......."

Huh?

“Mr. Cat, you’re the one standing at the far right end of the group.”

“…What about the person accompanying Assistant Manager Butterfly?”

“Him? He ran off ages ago.”

…….

“The idiot who came in with me must’ve seen something earlier, because he suddenly turned around and ran away.”

Ah.

“That’s why I joined up with you guys. Telling scary stories alone is annoying and hurts my throat.”

…….

I couldn’t turn my head.

But on my right side, which should’ve been empty, I could clearly sense the presence of a person.

Footsteps walking beside me. 

A shadow. 

Click. 

From behind me, headlights illuminated my body. 

…I heard the engine sound of a broken compact car.

“Excuse me?” 

Tap tap. 

The person on my right tapped my shoulder and whispered into my ear.

“There’s someone trapped in here, you know??”

 

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