Chapter 40

["Roe Deer. Stay home. Don't come in."]

"Pardon?"

I stopped on my way to work as I answered the phone. My immediate superior had called just fifteen minutes before I was due in.

["We'll mark you down as working off-site, so don't come to the office. I've already cleared it with Section Chief Lee Jaheon."]

"Understood. May I ask why?"

["Well... that's fieldwork at this company for you. It's a Darkness problem. Darkness."]

Ah.

Along with Deputy Eun Haje's long sigh, I could faintly hear Supervisor Park Minseong wailing. It seemed the rest of Team D was already at work.

["It's not just you. All the rookies are excluded, so don't get any ideas. Stay home."]

"What Darkness is it?"

["Uh. Can't tell anyone who isn't going in."]

"..."

["No, you're better off not knowing."]

Could it be... the kind where simply knowing about it caused problems?

An information-contamination ghost story, as they were called.

They ranged from creepy rumors about hearing someone's nightmare and starting to have it yourself the next day, to ghosts that pursued you until death just because you knew their names.

Stories born of the paranoid worry that merely knowing about something could bring terrible things down on you tapped into a fear shared by all humanity.

'And if they're going as far as keeping me away from work, it must be something serious...'

Still, judging by her tone, she was only worried a rookie might make a mistake. It wasn't as though she was leaving her last words, so things should be all right.

... Unless she was pretending to be calm to avoid burdening me.

'Either way, I can't go to the office now.'

I had no desire to insist on showing up when I wasn't needed and become a nuisance. That sounded like a perfect way to die.

I said I understood and hung up.

'Maybe I'll clean up the Blood Bathtub today and read through the <Records of Dark Exploration> wiki about five times...'

But a few hours later...

["Kim Soleum."]

"Yes?"

["Report to work."]

"..."

Was this some kind of training for a problem dog...?

Whether I was bewildered or not, Team Leader Lizard simply said his piece.

["Come to the main conference room on the thirty-first floor by two p.m."]

Now there was even a conference room on some high floor I'd never heard of...!

"Wait a moment. I was told not to come in this morning... Has something changed?"

["Yes. One of the executives specifically requested you, Soleum."]

"..."

What?

["I'll see you at two, then."]

Please spare me.

* * *

"You're here."

I found Team D's deputy waiting in front of the thirty-first-floor elevators, her arms folded, looking anxious.

I urgently lowered my voice to ask Deputy Eun Haje a question.

"Has something changed?"

"A little. Ha... That crazy bastard."

With that, I was ushered into the main conference room. My head began to swim.

"He's here. Employee Kim Soleum."

"Ah, yes."

"Why call him all the way to the conference room? You could've just sent him in."

Superiors whose departments I couldn't even identify had been sitting around chattering, only to fall silent and exchange glances when they saw me. Ghost-story universe or not, the back of my neck went stiff.

'Why are the signs that you're fucked at work the same everywhere?'

Eventually, they got worked up and resumed their conversation, allowing me to learn why I'd been singled out and summoned into this baffling situation...

The reason was as typical as it was troublesome.

A staffing shortage.

"I'm telling you, it's definitely high-grade Darkness, but civilians survived it! This could be a groundbreaking opportunity to open up a new source of high-quality raw materials."

"Exactly. And yet you spend all this time agonizing over it, holding another meeting. Good grief... You don't know how to invest boldly, Department Head Kang!"

"Who said we wouldn't invest? I'm saying this isn't something we can solve by throwing a few more rookies into it—"

"You're being incredibly frustrating. He says we need more people. Hm? Our Section Chief Kwak from the research team."

Section Chief Kwak?

I turned my head. Sure enough, research team leader Kwak Jegang had settled into a seat in the corner, grinning.

The mad scientist who'd shoved his own Researcher into the theme-park ghost story.

'Is his disciplinary punishment over?'

Just looking at him gave me a headache.

"Isn't that right, Section Chief Kwak? We need to increase the head count?"

"Oh, absolutely. It's obvious this Darkness needs more people sent in to resolve it!"

"..."

That man was their adviser?

I strongly suspected they weren't actually short of people at all. He just wanted some fresh exploration results from clueless rookies.

'At any rate, it looks like I really am being sent into Darkness today.'

And if they were making this much of a production of summoning me before sending me in...

The suspicion that its grade would be nothing to sneeze at sent a chill down my spine.

Had they said... it was high-grade, but civilians had survived?

Even as I hurriedly searched my mental copy of <Records of Dark Exploration> for similar cases, I calmly reminded myself:

'... Still, I came prepared.'

I'd brought absolutely everything I had today, just in case.

The full item package.

"Now that we've said hello, you can all go."

"Ah, yes."

The deputy gave a perfunctory bow and led me out of the conference room.

THUD.

The instant the conference room door closed, she spoke.

"How many times do I have to watch those birdbrains who've never set foot in Darkness puff themselves up about their 'strategic solutions'...? Ah, this is why I can't quit smoking."

"Deputy."

"What? They're too busy fighting among themselves to hear."

I can hear you, though.

"Those bastards couldn't even have passed the Field Exploration Team orientation, but they milked their hometown and family connections to squat in those top positions... Ah."

Deputy Eun glanced back at the conference room several times with the look of someone desperately craving a cigarette, then finally let out a small sigh.

"... Anyway, you heard them, right? We're going into a newly registered high-grade Darkness."

As I'd thought.

"It's not just us. More than thirty people have already gone in."

"... Does that include the team leader and Supervisor Park?"

"Yes. They both went ahead. ... It'll be dangerous. I'm not going to lie just to reassure you."

"..."

"But don't worry too much. You survived that insane quiz show and brought us out with you, remember? You'll be all right."

"... Yes."

I adjusted the briefcase I'd brought so its strap ran across my body.

"Supplies?"

"Yes. Food and various other things."

"Hmm. The size is fine."

Eun Haje looked me over a few times, then asked, "Nothing that would get flagged at security, right?"

"... Right."

I'd made it through the front entrance without incident.

Somehow, I felt the cursed wild ginseng would've been flagged, but everything I had now was an item, so that must have been fine.

But why wasn't Team D moving as a group today? Why was only the deputy left?

"May I ask how the others entered?"

The deputy jerked her chin, expressionless.

"They all disappeared the moment they read the manual."

"..."

"That's the kind of Darkness this is. Learn even a little about it, and you're dragged in."

Whew.

"I waited without reading it so I could go in with you. We'll read it at the same time."

"Yes."

Oh, this was driving me insane.

"It's fine. They're not people who'd die easily, wherever they go."

Please don't say things that sound like ominous foreshadowing!

'I'll pretend I didn't hear that.'

After a deep breath, I accepted the manual she held out to me.

... Once I read this, I would enter that high-grade Darkness.

'... Brace yourself.'

I read it in one go.

+++

Hello.

You are currently viewing a manual documenting previous visitors to our exhibition.

+++

"...!"

+++

Before you read any further, we would like to inform you that you have been invited to a truly splendid exhibition.

+++

"..."

The back of my neck prickled with dread.

'I'm screwed.'

My eyes squeezed shut.

A wiki page flashed through my mind, filling itself in automatically.

* * *

Records of Dark Exploration / Ghost Stories

[Mansion of the Blind]

: A ghost story appearing in <Records of Dark Exploration>. Its Daydream Inc. identification code is said to be Qterw-B-666.

Hello, dear guest. I am writing today to invite you to a splendid exhibition.

To spare you the trouble of finding your way here, once you have read this, you will arrive at our exhibition no matter where you go.

This document contains records of up to 106 previous visits.

Furthermore, in every attempt to document this ghost story, the text reportedly transformed into a notice sent by the exhibition.

It is an honor to extend this invitation to you.

* * *

The quintessential information-contamination ghost story registered in <Records of Dark Exploration>.

A clickbait powerhouse that racked up hundreds of thousands of views whenever video sites covered it!

'The Eyeball Collector.'

"..."

My heart trembling, I lowered my eyes to the manual again.

The exact words I expected were really there.

+++

To spare you the trouble of finding your way here, from now on, you will arrive at the exhibition no matter where you go.

+++

And that was exactly what happened.

"Ha."

The moment I stepped backward, I realized the flooring beneath my feet had changed.

From matte office tiles to marble with an aged sheen.

TAP.

Slowly, I raised my head.

I saw an enormous mansion wrapped in a silence so deep I could hear the candles burning.

Twilight and candlelight illuminated the grand, aged interior in reddish gold.

Countless exhibits revealed only their outlines in the shadows...

"..."

Deputy Eun Haje was nowhere to be seen.

But I didn't do anything as foolish as opening my mouth to call for her.

Instead, I slowly stepped backward.

And hid in a corner.

'... Whew.'

Crouched behind a sofa, I opened the manual again with trembling hands.

+++

We will now present the points shared by nine visitors' reviews of this exhibition, provisionally collected by Daydream Inc.

1. A diverse collection of rare exhibits unlike anything seen elsewhere is available for viewing.

2. Eating and drinking in the exhibition hall are prohibited.

3. Observing standard visitor etiquette is recommended.

4. Finding an exit is extremely difficult.

The exhibition strongly requests a correction to this statement. All emergency doors at the exhibition venue are appropriately marked.

Anyone may stop viewing and leave whenever they wish.

+++

That was probably true.

The problem was that this "anyone" did not include humans.

People couldn't properly use either the emergency doors or the entrances and exits here.

"... Ha."

An exhibition that took it utterly for granted that its visitors wouldn't be human.

Modern people were merely victims who happened to be caught up in this vast nightmare, experiencing cosmic horror.

That was the kind of unpleasant ghost story it was.

Honestly, I didn't like it. To the point that I couldn't really understand why it had been popular on Wetube...

"My friend?"

"...!"

"Oh dear, Mr. Roe Deer... Are you hiding?"

Who knew having someone to talk to could make me so happy?

I pulled Braun halfway out of my pocket.

"Well, this is quite nice."

"Why not go out and have a look? This seems like a place I could reasonably introduce to the audience..."

Go out?

'No.'

"Oh dear. May I ask why? This exhibition seems to be run by someone who knows how to extend a rather polite, welcoming invitation..."

Exactly what I'd expect from a host who used postcards to lure people into a murderous quiz show.

My head was starting to hurt...

Pressing firmly around my eyes, I rose from my seat behind the sofa.

"Ah, you've decided to view the exhibits!"

No.

'I'm moving over here.'

I carefully examined the walls, searching for the sound of moving air.

Before long, I found what I was looking for near the bottom of a dark wall, hidden behind an enormous vase in a corner the candlelight didn't reach.

'A ventilation duct.'

I quietly climbed inside and held my breath, leaving it unlocked.

It was a temporary safe zone I could remember off the top of my head.

* * *

In the fifth visit record, a gentleman testified that he had entered a ventilation duct and "held out" for over five days, licking droplets of condensation.

On the sixth day, an attendant found the gentleman.

Please note that our exhibition always has guest rooms available for extended-stay visitors.

(※We deeply regret the annotation in the forty-second visit record stating that one must never stay in the guest rooms. The exhibition maintains accommodations befitting the dignity of its collection and has always enjoyed an excellent reputation.)

* * *

"Really, choosing somewhere this filthy when there's a perfectly good sofa!"

Ignore him. I needed to make a plan here.

'How do I get out?'

No, what frustrated me was why they'd thought this ghost story needed so many people in the first place.

Sending in a large group wouldn't offer any advantage whatsoever... Wait.

Had they blindly shoved people in like this...

'Because they don't know enough?'

Was it because exploration was still in its early stages?

'Then wouldn't this exploration be documented near the beginning of the <Records of Dark Exploration> entry?'

"..."

I took out my smartphone and lowered the screen brightness as far as it would go, then lay on my stomach and quickly scrolled through <Records of Dark Exploration>.

And...

'Found it.'

* * *

The seventeenth visit record concerns the results of a company called Daydream Inc. recommending this exhibition to thirty-four employees of its Field Exploration Team.

Seven are said to have returned home safely.

* * *

This was it.

I was here as one of the people in the seventeenth record, when thirty-four people had entered.

Probably as the thirty-fifth person.

'... Seven made it back safely.'

I was just about to compare the manual and <Records of Dark Exploration>, keeping both open to examine the record in more detail.

CREEEEAK.

"..."

A sound began to reach me from far away.

The sound of slowly moving machinery.

And...

"Aaaagh! Why, why is it chasing—!! Get away, get awaaaaay!!!"

Screams and countless frantic footsteps.

"..."

THUD THUD! THUD! CREEEAK, THUD! THUDTHUDTHUDTHUD, CREEEAK, THUD!

The sounds reverberating through the marble drew closer.

Cold sweat ran down my cheek.

"Help me, no, nooooo!!"

"Please let me out, let me ou—!!"

Thudding footsteps reached my ears. The screams and frantic footfalls of people fleeing drew closer and closer.

Then they were practically right in front of me.

There seemed to be at least a dozen of them.

Behind them, the heavy noise of machinery pursued them, slowly and inexorably closing in...

CREEEEEEEEEEAK.

DRIP.

Cold sweat fell from the tip of my chin.

"..."

'Maybe one person.'

After an agonizing internal debate, I leaned my upper body out.

Then I quickly grabbed one of the fleeing people by the scruff of the neck and pulled.

"...!"

I practically lifted them off the ground, hauled them into the duct, and crammed them inside, ducking down with them.

'There's room for just one more person.'

And if they were a field exploration employee, the chances of them sabotaging us were relatively low.

"Hmph."

Fortunately, the person stopped trembling, grasped the situation, and immediately went still.

They seemed to have some sense... Wait.

"...!"

"...!!"

'Baek Saheon.'

My roommate in company housing.

Wedged into the ventilation duct, Baek Saheon stared at me through his goat mask and swallowed.

I'd just saved this guy.