Chapter 128.2
ââŠNope. Absolutely not.â
I swallowed hard.
For now, letâs put this on hold!
“Huuu⊔
I shoved the cylinder back into my pocket.
Even so, my heart was racing.
A raw potion-like liquid, capable of granting wishes.
There was no way the wiki would simply describe this as âused as raw material by a ghost story specialist corporationâ.
âThereâs got to be other uses for this.â
It wasnât just something to hand over to the company for pointsâthere had to be other ways to use it.
âThatâs what Iâll aim for.â
For now, thoughâŠ
“First, I need to call someone.”
I left the park, just as the first light of dawn crept over the horizon.
After getting my left arm treated for fractures and bruises, I immediately used a free public phone charger to power up my phone.
Then, I made the call.
To the one true boss of this eraâthe person who had played the biggest role in my escape.
That eveningâ
“Kim Soleum-ssi.”
“Squad Leader.”
The moment I saw Section Chief Lee Jaheon, I bowed my head. Deep.
Because I owed him. A tonâŠ
“Thank you. Truly, sincerely⊠thank you.”
“Yes.”
I may have spent 66,660,000 won, but honestly?
It was the best deal Iâd ever made.
âPhysical strength⊠is an amazing thing.â
No wonder Employee D was a staple character in so many special exploration logs.
âŠI just never expected him to be an alien.
âMaybe I shouldâve suspected something when he literally had a lizardâs head.â
I exhaled in relief as I looked at Lee Jaheonâs still-lizard-like face.
Who wouldâve thought his âCoalitionâ was connected to the bizarre Space Shopping Mallâone that could even bombard creepypasta entities with orbital strikes?
âHe did call it the Coalition⊠right?â
There was no mention of this in the wikiâs Employee D entry.
I couldnât suppress my curiosity any longer.
“Uh⊠Squad Leader. May I ask what exactly this âCoalitionâ you mentioned is?”
“You may not.”
“âŠâŠ”
Ah. Gotcha.
Guess weâll move on to the main topic.
I made sure to get a firm agreement first that he wouldnât report anything to the companyâthen I showed him the Dream Essence Collector.
“This liquid inside the collector.”
His vertical slit pupils stared at the deviceâan unusual design, even by company standardsâas if trying to dissect itâŠ
I took a steady breath and asked,
“This is⊠an S-grade essence, right? That is, Dream Essence of an Abyss-grade Darkness?”
A tense silence.
Then.
“No.”
Ah.
“It exceeds the standard concentration for âGrade: Void (A)â classification within the company database. However, it does not qualify as Abyss-grade.”
I let out a long breath.
âKnew it.â
There was no way S-grade would appear that easily.
âSo this is basically A+ or something.â
Satisfied, I put the collector back into my pocket.
“Then⊠what color does an actual S-grade look like?”
“There is no precise term in the language currently in use. However, upon witnessing it, one would have no doubt regarding its concentration.”
“âŠI see.”
Wow. He really just screamed âI am an alienâ in the most roundabout way possible.
Suddenly, another thought struck me.
âWhat exactly is Lee Jaheonâs connection to the Space Shopping Mall?â
And more importantlyâwhy is he working at Daydream Inc. in the first place?
I had a lot of questions.
But right now, the real issue wasâŠ
Could I even keep working for this company?
“Squad Leader, I was under the impression that if an employee goes missing for a month due to unexcused absences, they are automatically processed for termination.”
I swallowed hard.
“Does that apply to me as well?”
“Yes.”
Damn it!
“Would it be possible for me to return if I claim that my absence was due to being caught up in a Darkness and was therefore unavoidable?”
“Yes.”
Phew.
That was a relief. As long as I could talk my way through this, I should be fine. Letting out a sigh of relief, I spoke,
“Then I’ll justâ”
Bzzzzztâ
At that moment, Lee Jaheonâs phone rang.
He glanced at the screen before speaking.
“Kim Soleum-ssi.”
“Yes?”
“There are people who wish to meet you.”
.
.
Moments later.
“Roe!”
I came face-to-face with familiar faces outside Lee Jaheonâs residence.
Assistant Manager Eun Haje and Supervisor Park Minseong.
The very people who had gone looking for me, even delving into a ghost story in their search.
Seeing them again made my chest tighten strangely.
âThey really went through so much.â
Barely surviving the Chorus of the Sacrificial Lambs, only to deliberately enter its sequel, Braunâs Late-Night Talk Showâthat wasnât just determination.
One of them had to constantly avoid company surveillance, while the other was practically confined from even stepping outside.
Yet, when I had been fully immersed in the show, becoming one with the Darkness, I hadnât been able to feel anything.
But nowâstanding here, seeing them againâI was overwhelmed with an indescribable emotion.
I bowed deeply.
“Thank you. The candy you gave me helped me find a lead.”
That clue had ultimately led me to press the âWe Can Helpâ button.
Eun Haje waved it off.
“Itâs fine. We didnât do much, really.”
“I only found out about it because these two talked about it, and then I just went in at the end,” Park Minseong added with a grin.
He did look far more stable than when we had last spokenâduring the New Yearâs isolation room cleanupâbutâŠ
My gaze drifted to his outfit.
Unlike before, he was wearing black casual clothes instead of a suit.
“Supervisor⊠have you returned to work?”
“âŠYeah. Iâm with the Security Team now.”
He was no longer part of the Field Exploration Team.
And he didnât elaborate beyond that.
He simply said, “Itâs nice to be earning points again.”
