Chapter 124.1

Space Shopping Mall.

Also dubbed as the Alien Shop.

A bizarre creepypasta about a mysterious site that sells high-priced, supernatural, and extraordinary goods—the very place that had allowed me to acquire all kinds of useful items and equipment.

But now…

‘…Chief Lizard is one of the aliens from there?’

I tried to swallow—but then flinched, realizing I had no physical body.

Because right now, my body was being occupied by Chief Lizard.

So instead, I asked him directly.

A question so absurd, I could hardly believe I was saying it.

“…Are you the site owner of the Space Shopping Mall?”

And the answer was—

– No.

Oh.

‘Then what kind of connection does he have to the site?’

I was curious, but that wasn’t the priority right now.

The immediate crisis had been averted.

‘Phew.’

I looked at my dressing room through the CCTV-like view that my consciousness was observing.

The dark blue water that had flooded the floor was now pooling and fading away, leaving the room mostly intact, aside from a bit of a mess.

I still had no idea what exactly had happened, but from the looks of it, when I was ejected and Squad Leader Lee Jaheon took over my body, the situation had stabilized.

At the very least, I wasn’t vomiting water anymore.

‘That’s such a relief, seriously…’

Thanks to Squad Leader Lee Jaheon, my body hadn’t died. I let out a mental sigh of relief and spoke.

“Anyway, thank you. Now that things have settled, please… leave my body.”

– ………

“…Squad Leader Lee Jaheon?”

– Initiating emergency escape protocol via distress beacon.

My vision abruptly moved.

“…?!”

I—no, Squad Leader Lee Jaheon, in my body—suddenly swept all of my belongings from the table and stored them into the tattoo inventory.

Wait, what is he doing—

– In three minutes, I will authorize the ‘Sacred Fire’ bombardment…

What?

“W-Wait, please don’t do that.”

What kind of insane nonsense was this? Bombardment?!

“Why are you even using something like that right now?”

– As part of the distress beacon’s optional features, all available armed forces from the Coalition are mobilized until the user is transported to a secure location.

– In the process of extracting Supervisor Kim Soleum—

“Hold on a second!”

This damn lizard— no, this reptilian alien!

Grinding my metaphorical teeth, I demanded,

“Why do I even need to escape?”

His steps halted.

I hadn’t been in danger.

I had successfully changed jobs and was living a fulfilling, enjoyable life at this talk show.

So why the hell was he acting like this was some prison break?

It had already been over a month since I’d left Daydream Inc.

“I’ve settled in well at my new workplace, I’m doing fine, and there’s no danger at all.”

Honestly, I should be grateful this happened during my break—if this had happened during a live show or a meeting, I don’t even want to imagine the disaster it would’ve caused.

– I see.

Right.

So now that things were resolved, just return my body, and—

– When was the last time you slept?

“……”

That…

That was…

Before I joined this talk show. So…

A month ago.

– For an organism to survive, food and sleep are essential.

“……”

– The fact that you do not require them suggests that you are closer to a supernatural entity than a natural being.

Which meant…

I had become a ghost story.

“……That’s not true. I’m… I’m not corrupted. I can still think properly, and my sense of judgment hasn’t changed.”

– Is that so.

“Of course.”

– Then why was there water flooding your dressing room?

“Because… I ate a churro…”

– Are you referring to the ‘Healthy Snack for Children’ churro you claimed to have received from Cheerful Theme Park?

“……”

– Under normal circumstances, the probability that you would consume food of supernatural origin without hesitation would be extremely low.

– Why did you press the distress beacon?

“……Because… I was drowning. The water was so overwhelming that I couldn’t breathe.”

– And yet, in a state of suffocation, you chose to press an unknown, supernatural escape button without any knowledge of its origin or effect.

– You had once debated for hours whether to press this button in Death Lane, ultimately deciding against it after listening to your superior’s advice.

“But…”

– It is natural to seek help from others.

“……”

Had I…

Had I unknowingly started using ghost story artifacts as if they were just ordinary daily necessities?

– You have been bound to this Darkness.

“…! That’s— That’s not true!”

That, at least, I could confidently refute.

“I can leave whenever I want. If I just ask Mr. Host for vacation, I can leave.”

– ‘Mr. Host’.

– Is that what you have always called that talk show host?

“…!”

B, But…

Even if he was my business partner, Braun was still the one running this show.

So wasn’t it natural to address him respectfully when working?

I was starting to feel uneasy.

Squad Leader Lee Jaheon used to be my boss, but now that I had quit, he was nothing more than a passing acquaintance.

Wasn’t this level of interference in my personal life crossing a line?

Shouldn’t I feel offended?

– Supervisor Kim Soleum.

But right now, Section Chief Lee Jaheon was the one controlling my body.

No.

“D-Don’t launch those bombs. Do you know how much effort the staff put into this show?”

I desperately argued.

“And nobody is actually dying! So—”

– They die.

“……”

What did you just…

– Every audience member invited to this talk show receives a ‘Thank You’ card the next day. The card is sent to the medium through which they applied for tickets.

– And on this card, there are detailed instructions on how they can meet the ‘most impressive guest’ from that night’s episode.

“……”

– Some audience members become entirely entranced by the talk show.

– To meet the guest, they willingly step into the Darkness.

I felt a phantom heartbeat pounding through my nonexistent body.

I recalled the audience member from yesterday.

The one who had wanted to adopt the ‘Happy Ending Teddy’.

The way that teddy bear had stared at them.

At that moment, I felt it.

A deep, instinctive revulsion.

– We have confirmed at least three cases of audience members who were definitively killed or went missing.

“……”

My mind reeled.

My stomach lurched.

Even though I had no body, I still felt sick.

This was a mental reaction.

A reaction to the horrific realization that was dawning upon me.

“……”

What have I been doing all this time?

What kind of show was I working for?

But Braun, he… No.

No.

Braun never promised not to kill anyone from the audience.

He only promised that I wouldn’t be afraid.

I had simply convinced myself of the wrong conclusions.

‘Ghost stories…’

…Were always like this. Always.

“……”

– Supervisor Kim Soleum. You need to escape this talk show immediately.

My mind turned ice-cold.

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