Chapter 81
Just moments ago, the white room had a charming view of the outside scenery.
But now, this place.
Was pitch dark.
A place where not a single ray of light entered. In the suffocating darkness.
In a deep, dark corridor where even the faintest light couldn’t penetrate, I was alone.
Lonely.
Lying flat on the ground.
As I moved here, I rubbed my sore buttocks from hitting the ground and cursed the one who sent me here.
Noise, that guy….
‘Couldn’t you at least give me a heads-up!’
What if you just send me flying without warning!
My butt still hurts.
Entering a ghost story requires a solemn mindset, but.
Pushing aside my anger toward Noise and the pain in my butt, I slowly got up.
Amid the silence filling the entire space.
My mind raced with thoughts about the events that had just happened in that place.
The first question that crossed my mind was.
The mysterious voice that echoed in my skull.
The second was my voice directed at Noise.
‘Why did you kill that girl?’
That sentence flowed so naturally out of my throat.
At the time, I was aware of what I was saying.
But I don’t know why that sentence suddenly came to mind.
It just….
Felt like something I had to say.
It just felt like the natural thing to say.
Why I blurted that out to Noise is still the biggest mystery to me.
At the same time, the identity of the mysterious voice that brushed past my mind.
-You killed her.
It wasn’t Noise’s voice.
But it wasn’t someone I knew either.
Even now, it feels like that voice is still lingering around my ears.
Could it be….
It’s not really a ghost or something, right?
The chill and lingering numbness in my left arm still felt somewhat present.
Since coming here, I feel like I’ve learned more about unfamiliar emotions than familiar ones.
Of course.
Unwillingly….
Not only did I learn about the girl who created Noise in this world today.
-I killed that girl.
I also found out that Noise had killed that girl with its own hands.
That’s the extent of the information and events I heard from Noise today.
But,
The information is still insufficient.
Even if I try to deduce from the limited information, it’s just a guess based on incomplete answers.
My current goal is.
To capture more ghost stories.
And enter [Check-in is at 666 o’clock] as many times as possible.
The rest of the information can be obtained while searching for an escape route.
Slowly piecing together the information to flesh out the story.
Eventually, I’ll reach the destination of the story.
Thud.
So for now.
I just need to keep moving forward.
After sorting out the situation to some extent, I continued walking through the deep darkness.
Flash.
The destination of this ghost story was a dimly lit space with only faint light.
Through the faint light, the first thing that caught my eye was giant toys the size of houses.
A subspace clearly influenced by the ghost story’s owner.
The more such a space, the higher the likelihood of it being a high-grade ghost story.
…….
It’s not another A-grade ghost story, right, Noise?
For a while, my footsteps couldn’t move forward, and I stood in one place.
Busy observing my surroundings.
……It’s really not A-grade, right?!
In a space filled with pitch-black darkness.
Click.
A person’s footsteps pierced through the darkness, heading somewhere without hesitation.
Click.
The footsteps stopped at a specific location.
Tap, tap.
A loud echo reverberated throughout the space, followed by a delicate woman’s voice coming through the microphone.
“Before the briefing begins, I’d like to take this moment to thank nine out of the ten Department Head who took the time to be here despite their busy schedules…Let’s begin the briefing.”
As the beam projector illuminating the dark space emitted a bright light.
The first thing that caught the attention of everyone gathered here was a phrase written in bold font.
[The Man with Black Flames]
Along with the phrase ‘Cd-S-008’ and the name ‘The Man with Black Flames,’ the woman standing on the podium grabbed the microphone.
“The reason we’ve gathered all of you here today is to discuss the recently observed ghost story, ‘The Man with Black Flames’……”
“Hey!”
“…Yes?”
A man’s irritating voice echoed throughout the space, directed at the woman who was about to start her explanation.
Tsk.
After clicking his tongue.
A pair of glowing red eyes in the dark space shot a blatant look of displeasure at the woman.
“Cut the long-winded explanation! Just get to the point! The point! You call busy people here and plan to explain everything from A to Z?”
“…….”
The red eyes glowed even brighter.
The sharpness of his voice was directed at the woman.
The woman standing at the podium couldn’t withstand the man’s glare and froze on the spot.
She tightly closed her mouth.
Snap.
But,
That only fueled the man’s irritation.
The hot-tempered man with glowing red eyes stood up and shouted at the woman.
“Fck! Are you going to start or not?!”
“…….”
As the atmosphere in the room quickly filled with the man’s anger.
“That’s enough.”
Another executive sitting in the same row spoke up.
“Department Head Kang from Team B. Please act according to your position. You’re not a teenager anymore. Do you really think this is a marketplace?”
“…What?”
Amid the shouting of the man with glowing red eyes, a woman with purple hair adjusted her glasses and continued speaking.
Or rather, she added fuel to the fire.
“The agency’s biggest problem, the troublemaker. A personality disorder, a brute with only strength, the sore thumb of the executives…Do you know all these titles are attached to your name, Department Head Kang? Is your head just for decoration? Stop acting like you’ve never worked in society.”
“……You’ve really lost it, haven’t you, Purple? A nobody from Team L. How dare you, a btch like you, talk to me, the Department Head of Team B!!”
Click.
Department Head Kang from Team B drew the gun from his waist.
In a situation where it seemed like he would pull the trigger on the head of the Team L Department Head who had insulted him.
“Enough. You’re not kids.”
A large man sitting next to Department Head Kang stood up.
He gently covered the drawn gun with his hand.
“Why are the younger ones so bad at controlling their emotions? Han Ji-eun, you should stop too.”
“……Sorry, Department Head Kwon.”
The man who stood up to stop Department Head Kang was Department Head Kwon from Team J.
With his own team member, jeong Da-ram, already causing enough trouble, he didn’t want to raise his voice at this briefing.
Dealing with troublemakers.
Was enough with his own team members.
But….
Department Head Kang Tae-sik from Team B, as Han Ji-eun from Team L had said.
Was a well-known figure in the agency, known to everyone.
The troublemaker Department Head of Team B.
“Team J’s old dog, step aside! Unless you want a bullet hole in that head of yours!”
“…….”
Crunch.
The gun in Department Head Kwon’s hand was crushed in an instant.
The veins on his face and arms bulged prominently. He radiated a dangerous aura from his entire body.
“……They say kids these days need a beating to come to their senses…Kang Tae-sik, it seems you need one.”
His voice was filled with thick killing intent.
“I’ll turn this place into your funeral! You old dog from Team J!!”
But Department Head Kang was no pushover either.
Department Head Kwon’s overwhelming physique and Department Head Kang’s intense glare filled with venom.
The room was on the verge of an absurd fight.
“F-fighting is…bad!”
A woman in a gray long jacket sitting at the far end of the room weakly spoke up.
With her disheveled hair hanging down, she tried to intervene between the two men who seemed ready to fight.
But as she rushed forward.
Thud.
“Huh?”
She stepped on her own long jacket, which was longer than her body.
Crash.
And fell flat on her face in front of everyone.
The sound echoed throughout the room, bringing a momentary silence.
The woman on the podium seized the opportunity to regain her composure and began to restore order.
“Currently, ‘The Man with Black Flames’ is a matter of interest even to the higher-ups. Please pay attention to all the materials I’ve brought. According to recent sightings and reports, this ghost story might be classified as a ‘City Calamity-level’ ghost story!”
“……City Calamity-level?”
At the woman’s bold statement, Department Head Kwon quickly regained his rationality.
And suppressed his anger.
Department Head Kang, after hearing the woman’s words, clicked his tongue briefly.
Thud.
And sat back down.
The woman in the gray jacket, who had tried to intervene boldly.
After making eye contact with the woman on the podium.
Blush.
“S-sorry!”
With a red face, she quickly returned to her seat.
After a brief commotion, once all the executives returned to their seats, the woman continued.
“Let’s continue with the briefing.”
The woman’s voice through the microphone delivered shocking news to all the executives gathered here.
“The higher-ups have ordered that if you encounter ‘The Man with Black Flames,’ eliminate him by any means necessary.”
!!
Everyone here showed a look of surprise upon hearing that.
Their reaction was simple.
They had heard orders to capture ghost stories before, but never to eliminate one.
But,
The woman continued to read the contents of the documents she had brought.
“From now on, any employee entering a ghost story space must report immediately to the higher-ups if they encounter someone suspected to be ‘The Man with Black Flames.’ The respective team’s executive will be deployed immediately.”
“You’re telling us to directly eliminate him?”
“…Yes.”
Department Head Kang’s voice carried a hint of irritation.
But the woman didn’t falter.
“Yes, there’s a possibility that ‘The Man with Black Flames’ is capturing other ghost stories or using their powers for himself.”
As the woman continued her explanation, she showed the next page of the beam projector to everyone gathered.
———-
<Missing Ghost Stories List.>
-And the performance began.
-The Match Girl.
-The Seven Knights. (Unconfirmed)
-The Wonderlot Circus.
———-
“The reason why a ghost story is hunting other ghost stories is still unknown. But one thing is certain: this case is different from any ghost story we’ve encountered before.”
Department Head Kang, listening to the woman’s explanation, didn’t seem too displeased this time.
“It’s definitely better for me to handle this personally than to leave it to those amateurs.”
The other executives also didn’t seem to have any objections.
Since the target was an S-grade ghost story.
It was only natural for them to take action.
Flash.
Except for one person.
A woman with strikingly white hair in the meeting room raised her hand toward the woman.
“…What if…this ghost story is already far beyond our control? What will…the higher-ups do then?”
The voice came from.
Department Head Lee Joo-i from Team R, who had been silent until now.
And her words touched a nerve with Department Head Kang.
“Hey, Snow woman. That sounds like you’re saying I’d lose to that ghost story brat.”
“…Yes, that’s…exactly what I mean.”
“You snow bitch!”
Department Head Kang was about to draw his gun again, but Lee Joo-i ignored him as if it didn’t matter.
Her gaze was fixed on the woman on the podium.
“Do you have…a plan for that scenario?”
“…….”
The woman hesitated for a moment, looking at Department Head Lee Joo-i.
“In that case, the higher-ups…”
When she spoke again, the content was shocking to everyone present.
“Are considering a confrontation between ‘The Man with Black Flames’ and ‘Cd-S-001.’”
!!!
Everyone here instantly understood what that meant.
Considering a confrontation with Cd-S-001 meant….
They were preparing for an ‘Earth Destruction-level’ scenario.
Please review this novel @ NovelUpdate.
