It Seems I Must Go to Work Even After Falling into a Horror Story 047

Chief Park Min-seong sat down next to the couch in the hidden terrace room, holding back a deep sigh.

‘It feels like it’s taking way too long.’

It had been over 70 minutes since Kim Sol-eum took her colleagues downstairs.

He could say it might take this long, but at the same time, Kim Sol-eum left a hint in case neither she nor her colleagues returned even after two hours…

-…You don’t have to wait or look for us.

It meant that if things went wrong, they could just leave her behind.

‘I should have just gone with them.’

Park Min-seong sighed again.

Despite being a company well-suited for survival, there were times when a strong sense of camaraderie existed among the members of the Field Exploration Team, and Group D was particularly noted for that.

Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je, sitting on the couch, also sighed while altering the makeshift Dark Map with a troubled expression.

‘…I thought it would be great if Doe decided to stay with our group even after her probation ended.’

For now, the first priority was to ensure everyone could get out of here safely.

Park Min-seong became slightly despondent, but still held on to some hope.

‘Manager Lee Ja-heon confirmed it.’

That meant the item really did seem useful.

He had no idea where this newbie got it, but sometimes people who had been entangled in urban legends or horror stories ended up being hired.

‘Is this one of those cases?’

One could say they were down on their luck.

Even in the Field Exploration Team, having a newbie thrown into such a dangerous darkness was an event that happened maybe once a year.

But thinking about how Kim Sol-eum had come in just after the theme park visit brought him to tears…

‘At least they’re gathering points properly.’

Park Min-seong held back another sigh and glanced towards the terrace door.

There stood a figure that appeared to be entirely calm, opposite to his troubled heart.

Manager Lee Ja-heon.

He was waiting right in front of the terrace door with no movement at all.

He was probably timing everything with a strangely precise biological clock.

And once the countdown ended, he would get up without hesitation and move according to the plan.

He could only hope that the plan didn’t assume ‘there was no chance of survival for employee Kim Sol-eum, so she should be excluded from the escape plan.’

‘No, I just hope Doe returns before that…’

Outside, aside from the occasional scream, it was eerily quiet.

‘No footsteps.’

If Doe finished her work, they would surely hear the quiet footsteps of the three…

[Can you hear me?]

“…!?”

Park Min-seong jumped up.

He could see Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je also rising reflexively beside him.

[This is information regarding the escape.]

[Due to time constraints, I won’t repeat myself. Please pay attention.]

The newbie from Group D was speaking.

Kim Sol-eum’s voice.

[The exit is on the 0th floor.]

[Once again, the exit is on the 0th floor, and as you go down the stairs, there will be a section that turns a bronze color…]

Doe was definitely correct.

And considering this exceptional newbie, it wouldn’t be too odd if she made an announcement in some fascinating way again… But.

…What was the probability that something non-human was mimicking Kim Sol-eum?

“…….”

The two members of Group D exchanged glances before ultimately deferring the decision to their leader.

That leader, who was coldly rational in such fields, with a ghostly sense.

“…….”

Manager Lee Ja-heon stood tall near the terrace door, listening to the ‘announcement’ more clearly than anyone else.

[You must use the spiral staircase.]

He looked as though he was deep in thought, gazing into space… before making this declaration.

“I’ll move.”

[That’s all.]

I finally finished repeating what I had said six times.

From the 1st floor to the 6th.

‘Is that enough to let everyone on the ground floor know?’

I had actually debated whether to only announce it for the 1st floor where Group D was, but Ko Yeong-eun strongly supported the idea.

-That… you can actually do that? Then we should save as many people as possible!

Such a medical professional’s remark.

But now, it was up to each person’s judgment.

‘I didn’t introduce the company just in case, but I did include a few terms used by the Field Exploration Team…’

But they might still hesitate to come out.

If they were to take the stairs and unfortunately ran into the designated guiding machine for that floor, there was nothing they could do.

Even losing a part or two of their body would be better than dying as a mere human maggot trapped in this insane exhibition.

‘The spread of machines that might come to Group D will have a dispersal effect too.’

I cleared my throat.

“Ah, ah.”

Brown, who must have sensed it, withdrew his power, and the strange resonance felt in my throat and lungs dissipated.

‘Thanks.’

-Thank yous are always nice to hear!

Brown responded cheerfully, albeit in a somewhat tired voice.

But next to him, an annoyed voice broke through, indicating disbelief.

“Why waste points? The more people escape, the fewer points per person, right?”

Here we go again with this ridiculous attitude.

That was an ignorant statement, to say the least.

“Are you an idiot? Even if the newbie doesn’t help, there are veterans who will find the exit on their own!”

“…!”

Employees with a perfectly matched item setup, as well as those who were already capable from the beginning, would escape even without assistance.

Looking at the [Dark Exploration Records], it was already guaranteed that seven people would escape, meaning that the points distributed per person would still be less than 1/8 even without my effort.

This horror story wasn’t going to get anyone rich.

But rather than explaining this, I just smiled brightly.

“Gotta show off a bit; it makes work more enjoyable… and we can observe various reactions.”

“…….”

Baek Sa-heon turned his head away with a sickened expression.

‘Do you even have a conscience?’

If I think about your comments, I’m supposed to respond with that reaction. This world of horror story sociopathy is unbearable.

Still, I called out to the person in front of me just in case just in case Ko Yeong-eun had panicked.

“Doe.”

“…….”

“Doe?”

“…Just a moment. Did you call me?”

“…!”

No way.

“…It seems like the sound is starting to not be heard well.”

“…….”

I looked at the spot where Ko Yeong-eun’s ear, covered by his hair, had disappeared.

I didn’t know what exactly had been sewn into that gaping hole, but the hearing device they had ‘lent’ her was beginning to fail.

In a relatively short period of time.

‘At this time…’

“Though I can still hear a bit. I think we can be cautious since there are still quite a few candles left.”

“Yes.”

I lightly tapped Ko Yeong-eun’s shoulder to signal more precisely.

She flinched a bit but soon began to confidently descend the stairwell…

Baek Sa-heon hastily said.

“I should hold that item. Hand it over to me.”

“What if Doe mistakenly turns back?”

“…….”

Baek Sa-heon shut his mouth.

With tension, we began to descend the stairs on the sixth floor.

Thud thud.

Only the sound of our footsteps echoed through the stairs.

It seemed no one had burst out after hearing my broadcast yet…

“Hey.”

Ko Yeong-eun called out.

“Yes.”

“…….”

Is she not hearing me?

“Hey, you there?”

I softly tapped Ko Yeong-eun’s back. Baek Sa-heon, with a disapproving expression, also tapped her shoulder.

“Ah… thank you.”

Ko Yeong-eun seemed relieved and resumed holding the candle tightly with both hands.

We started descending the stairs again.

Thud thud.

Through what felt like an eternity of silence…

We arrived at the 1st floor.

Creak…

The sound of the guiding machine, moving along its track, echoed all around us.

It was passing right by us… dragging the dead human maggot along.

“…Now I’ll head towards the spiral staircase.”

“Yes.”

Ko Yeong-eun’s voice grew stronger.

Her voice sounded like she was unable to adjust its volume since almost no sound could be heard around.

‘We’re almost there; it’s fine.’

Instead, I walked slowly and cautiously, attentively listening for any sounds around us since I wanted to react quickly.

I believed that this was not the wrong approach.

The problem was that crises could come up regardless of our preparation.

For example… as we were concentrating fully on what we could hear, unrelated obstacles could suddenly appear.

“Huh?”

The figure in front of me disappeared from my sight.

Looking down, I saw Ko Yeong-eun stumbling.

Something shiny slipped under her feet.

A telephoto lens.

The garbage that the guiding machine was dragging along had dropped a transparent borrowed item, slipping neatly right between us…

Thud.

I lunged and grabbed Ko Yeong-eun.

But the candle bounced out of her grasp as soon as her arm hit the ground.

“Damn…!”

I reflexively leaped to catch the candle and threw it to Baek Sa-heon.

But it was already too late.

The candle went out.

“…….”

“……Gasp.”

The guiding machine turned towards us.

Whoosh.

A metallic blade flew our way.

“Eek,”

I rolled to the side. A bird-like shriek could be heard next to me.

The guiding machine that had dropped the corpse put up a gas lamp, illuminating us.

It was clear we were all running up a tab.

And then, a needle-like appendage hanging from the creature’s upper body swiftly flew at us.

First, it aimed for the closest eyes……

“Doe.”

That familiar voice.

“Duck.”

I instinctively pressed down on the back of my two colleagues’ necks, forcing us down on the ground.

Bam.

A loud clashing sound and sparks erupted above us.

“…!”

It was Manager Lee Ja-heon.

The staff member with outrageous strength mercilessly swatted away the guiding machine’s needle.

Ping.

A broken needle tip flew and lodged into the hallway wall. The guiding machine let out an odd friction noise as its joints twisted.

This is insane.

‘It could break?!’

Manager Lee Ja-heon retrieved his gloved hand. He certainly must have sustained a fracture in the process.

In that hand was something metallic that he held like brass knuckles…

The terrace door knob.

“……!”

An alarm rang in my head. That…

‘Exhibition Item Damage.’

———————=
All disturbances, thefts, and acts of property damage within the exhibition hall will be immediately sanctioned by the guides, and appropriate fines will be collected.
———————=

He even smashed the guiding machine.

Even if they didn’t treat this as a criminal act within the exhibition, they would politely charge us for the disturbance and damages…

One thing was certain.

The overwhelming priority of the guiding machines.

And that applied not just to the one in front of us, but to all guiding machines in this area as well…

“Leader.”

“Yes.”

“Let’s run.”

I threw myself forward.

Creeeeeeak, screech, crackle, zzzzzzz, kick, creak, grreeeeeek…

The sound of the malfunctioning guiding machine kicked into high gear.

I could hear my colleagues sprinting madly beside me. The Lizard Manager… wait a second!

“Leader!!”

“Yes.”

“Don’t fight, just run!”

‘No matter how strong the Lizard Manager might joke about it, he can’t defeat all these guiding machines!’

The chaos was getting out of hand, and it made me anxious just thinking about what might happen.

‘…[Dark Exploration Records] even had a censorship in place!!’

I couldn’t even begin to imagine how the concealed contents would manifest in reality.

Creeeeeeak

‘Damn!’

We faced yet another guiding machine on our way to the stairs.

No, two more.

“Ugh!”

I threw myself through the needles swinging down at me. I felt a burning pain in my arm.

Even while running, my biological instincts kicked in.

‘I’m getting caught.’

This was impossible given the human body.

Before reaching the 0th floor, I would definitely get caught by a guiding machine and be charged.

I felt a chill down my back.

‘…what can I do?’

I was gasping for breath. My oxygen-deprived brain couldn’t function well.

Instead, resignation washed over me.

‘At this point… I guess I held on for a while.’

As my thoughts dulled, sounds seemed to separate into layers, echoing footsteps buzzing in my ears.

It felt like dozens of people were running…

No, wait!

“…?!”

I realized.

The multiple footsteps I heard weren’t just echoes.

Real people were starting to appear.

Not two, but at least ten or more.

-N Doe, those listeners who took notice and seized the opportunity after your marvelous announcement!

“…!”

They were the employees of the Field Exploration Team.

The audience observing the situation seemed to be trying to approach the spiral staircase amidst the chaos.

That had an unexpected effect.

The guiding machines began to rebel, erratically calculating the priorities based on the importance of duty and proximity to the visitors.

People who hadn’t paid were suddenly darting in various directions.

“Quickly!”

Taking advantage of that momentary opening, we gritted our teeth and hurled ourselves to the staircase.

Creeeeeeek

We moved our legs as if possessed with madness.

Just as chilling sounds approached from behind us…

We reached the end of the stairs, revealing a silver hall.

The lobby.

And… the front door!

“Go!”

Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je and Chief Park Min-seong were holding the door.

We ran like mad.

The moment I planted my foot in front of the door, my superiors hurled themselves through the entrance.

I nearly stumbled in as well.

I ran until I felt my lungs burn, and as I dashed out into the brightly lit entrance…

“Whoo!!”

I opened my eyes.

Above me appeared a clean fluorescent-lit ceiling.

A moderately spacious, modern hallway.

Before the company’s 31st-floor meeting room.

We had escaped.

“Ha….”

I collapsed onto the hallway floor.

I heard the sounds of people rushing out of the conference room, but I didn’t have the mental strength or stamina to acknowledge it.

With every last drop of energy squeezed out, through my dazed mind…

An alarm resonated.

[Dark Exploration Records Real Goods Box]

-New goods usage rights unlocked!