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It Seems I Must Go to Work Even After Falling into a Horror Story 044

In the dark, bronze mansion.

I was quietly following Chief Park Min-seong.

The chief, who had achieved the crazy feat of “transforming into a guidance machine to deceive machines and rescue poor newbie employees,” had evaluated himself like this.

“AI doesn’t seem like a great machine. More like a robot vacuum? So I figured I could fool its appearance for a bit!”

While the machine’s intelligence didn’t seem that bad, I was just teary-eyed grateful that it happened to save me at the right moment.

“U-Um, but how did you manage to be a guidance machine…?”

“Oh! My personal equipment.”

Chief Park grinned and showed me the cloth hanging around his neck.

Ah!

I recalled what Chief Park had previously said about introducing his personal equipment.

– Mine is a camouflage item, but it can’t transform into a person, and the duration is short. I just use it in emergencies.

I had only heard about things that didn’t work or were meaningless horror stories until now, but finally, I was seeing the real deal.

‘It’s okay in limited situations??’

I wanted to borrow that for a new personal equipment creation even if it costs money.

Of course, that wasn’t an urgent matter right now!

“Alright. Phew. Now that we’ve found the doe, let’s quickly get out of this crazy place.”

“You found a way out?”

“…….”

Chief Park Min-seong just smiled without answering.

‘Seems he has some faith in something.’

For now, I decided to follow him quickly.

“This way.”

We ascended the stairs again from B1.

Before long, the surroundings began to turn yellowish, revealing a vast hallway tinted with brass instead of bronze.

‘We’re above ground.’

You could say that was comforting, but…

A chaotic scenario was unfolding on the 1st floor.

Aaaah!

Guh!!! Uuugh!!!

Eeeeeeek… my ears!

Screams echoed from all around.

‘Two hours have passed.’

The employees, who had been hiding, were slowly getting caught by the guidance robots and it seemed like another body part was being ripped off… just like I had earlier.

“…….”

The chief continued to move forward, not even turning to see where the sounds were coming from.

“Don’t look away, doe.”

“……”

My hands tightened to the point my veins popped.

“It’ll be tough, but right now, we have to prioritize our team’s survival. If we keep collecting points here… we have to learn how to give up too.”

“……”

Suddenly, the moment the chief had resigned to surviving during a talk show popped into my mind.

– …I have a hospitalized family member; I hope someone could check in on them after this shoot! If possible.

For some reason, I feel like I now understand how this seemingly likable chief has been enduring here…

But still, I didn’t rebel.

Soon, the chief seemed to carefully survey the surroundings and felt like we had safely reached our desired location.

And that place was…

“Here.”

“…….”

It was a window.

The opaque glass window that Ko Yeong-eun had struggled to open earlier.

‘Could it be that we’re supposed to exit here?’

However, instead of trying to pry the window open with brute force, the chief raised his finger and timidly knocked.

Knock- knock knock

At that, the window suddenly opened.

“…?!”

No, it wasn’t just opening.

This type, pushing all the way down…

‘…a terrace door!’

This wasn’t a window at all!

‘Could that be why there’s an exploration record too?’

———————=

The 19th record is a testimony left by a visitor who attempted to pass through the window, but due to credibility issues, it will be omitted.

There are no windows in this exhibition.

———————=

I thought it was just a typical manual-style horror story narration, but it turned out there really were no windows.

“Let’s go in.”

“Yes.”

But there was no time to be flustered, so we rushed out through the now-open terrace door. A small hexagonal terrace space, furnished with a long couch and table, lay revealed.

But strangely, the view outside the terrace was obscured. Only a thick black fog lingered…

As if we were denied sight.

Thud.

At the moment the chief cautiously closed the terrace door, someone sitting on the couch got up and patted my shoulder.

“I knew you’d be safe.”

“Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je.”

It was Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je.

And I locked eyes with the lizard team leader, whose pupils were strikingly vertical.

“Our team leader said to expand the search range since you weren’t near, and you really popped up from the lower floor.”

“Thank you.”

“Were you intentionally diving deep into that strange atmosphere to find an exit? Totally sounds like you.”

I looked at Chief Park again.

Descending to B1 without any information about the floors, especially when the atmosphere suddenly shifted, was a tremendous decision.

‘Thanks a lot for that…’

Thanks to you, my eyes are still intact.

Oh, and by the way…

“How on Earth did you get in here? Someone tried to open the window, but they failed….”

“? I opened it with my hands.”

“…….”

I see.
‘When your body isn’t up to par, your brain suffers….’

Now that I notice, the terrace door handle seems a bit loose too.

If that gets caught by a guide, wouldn’t that result in a real disaster?

However, the higher-ups from Group D calmly started discussing, unfazed by this situation that the lizard team leader had just created.

“Now that all our members are gathered… should we attempt our escape, Team Leader?”

“Yes.”

“…Do we have a viable escape method?”

“Yes.”

“……I’d like to ask what that method is.”

Lizard Manager Lee Ja-heon simply answered.

“We will tie a rope to the terrace railing and explore the outer walls of this exhibition space.”

“…….”

Huh?

“There should be a floor with a main entrance when viewed from the outside. We can get out from there.”

Well that’s…

“That makes sense.”

If this cursed mansion didn’t have 7,000 underground floors, I might have been tempted to entertain the thought.

And right now, if only I had an item that would make escaping easier in my document bag…

‘I could get out with this.’

With the candle firmly in mind, I raised my hand.

“Please wait a moment.”

If I show it physically while explaining, I think I could persuade them.

Let’s buy a little time until it’s ready.

And while I’m at it, let’s also do some rescue activities.

“I was with two colleagues and we got separated; they should still be nearby. If you give me a moment, I’ll go find them….”

“…….”

“…….”

Ah.

“Hey, doe.”

Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je said nonchalantly.

“There’s exactly three newbies who entered here, including you.”

“…….”

“They said a few who had performed well were selected and placed inside… they probably know. They were just filler.”

“Senpai,”

“Shush.”

Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je interrupted Chief Park.

“Remember the higher-ups you saw at lunch? Those morons are hoping this place isn’t an A-grade.”

It dawned on me.

– No, if a civilian survivor popped up from what’s guaranteed to be high-grade darkness, that could become an innovative case for acquiring high-quality raw materials.

“Then there’s a good chance the place with the highest survival rate among A-grade darkness will come to light. A-grade dream essence is always sold out.”

“…….”

“Newbie? They basically expect them to die and are putting them in for cost processing.”

Extracting A-grade manuals and breaking into a severely depleted high-grade raw material source is more profitable.

Indeed, as the Field Exploration Team accumulates experience and survives longer, the value of their lives does increase, but still, disposable is disposable.

They will be overshadowed by more valuable resources.

“Remember this. The further you are from the Field Exploration departments, the more they treat human lives like flies.”

Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je sighed and put away his cigarettes.

“So take care of your life.”

“…….”

“We have no time, let’s head down. Having sympathy for them will only make it tougher for you.”

I barely managed to open my mouth.

“That’s not it.”

“Good kid, yeah. If you’re lucky, they might also make it out….”

“The escape item was with my colleague!”

“…?!”

Of course, that was a lie.

“Who knows what’s outside? No need to risk it by holding onto a rope and going down.”

But this one fact is clear!

“With that item, we could safely escape from here.”

I went back down to B1.

Wandering alone made my legs shake, but since my goal was very clear, my fear dulled a bit.

Finding my colleagues.

– Just give me 20 minutes. If I can’t find them in that time, I’ll just return.

My lie about having an escape item that would astonish the universe and amaze the world worked out somewhat.

So the time given was short but… manageable.

‘They probably haven’t gone far.’

When people are shocked, they tend to move less. They’re probably looking for a spot to hide nearby to gather themselves.

Besides, I had given a hint already.

Where would be a good hiding spot?

‘Ventilation duct.’

And after seven minutes into the search…

I finally found a colleague crammed into the outer ventilation of the B1 floor.

But it was Baek Sa-heon.

“…….”

“…….”

“Hey.”

Baek Sa-heon avoided my gaze.

“Wanna get out?”

Baek Sa-heon looked at me with a very suspicious expression.

But at the same time, nodded his head.

“Then tell me where the goat lady is.”

Um, for some reason, this feels like I’m threatening to turn in a colleague’s location….

“She went into the left exhibition hall. She’s probably hiding behind the couch!”

“…….”

Without hesitation, he spilled her location. What a disloyal guy.

Nonetheless, with that, I successfully found Ko Yeong-eun too.

At this point, 14 minutes had passed.

“Doe, Doe…! I’m so glad…!”

I briefly explained to the puffy-eyed Ko Yeong-eun that I had received help from my superior and quickly resumed our movement.

And then I stressed:

“I said I had entrusted the escape key item to the two team members, so we have to find them. Please go along with it.”

“…!”

I handed Ko Yeong-eun the paper with the candle mold stuck in my document bag.

With utmost caution, Ko Yeong-eun tucked it neatly at her chest and nodded.

“Just keep your mouth shut and act accordingly, right?”

Yes!

In this process, Baek Sa-heon, who seemed naturally ignored, looked at me with a lot to say but ultimately didn’t open his mouth.

He must have felt that we were getting closer to escaping.

When we opened the terrace door and stepped out with my two colleagues, exactly 19 minutes had passed.

I wrapped it up within 20 minutes. Phew.

“We made it.”

“Wow.”

“I honestly figured since you’re a doe you’d know this would happen.”

As the assistant manager and chief tossed out retorts, my two colleagues began to sense the atmosphere. It wasn’t a warm welcome.

Even on the terrace, the lizard manager had already started pulling out ropes.

“Ah, um….”

“I’ll skip the greetings.”

Manager Lee Ja-heon said bluntly as he tied the rope in a pulling knot to the post.

“Please explain the item you own within 200 seconds.”

My colleagues swallowed their saliva in unison.

I immediately interjected.

“Can I explain it instead?”

“Yes.”

Now it was time to explain properly.

Following the keywords I had crafted, this candle…….

“This item can deceive guidance machines.”

Manager Lee Ja-heon halted his hand.
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