My legs are trembling.
I'm looking at a tunnel at the foot of a mountain in the dead of night, a place where entry is forbidden due to numerous disappearances, a place that haunts the internet and people's conversations as a strange rumor.
The end of a desolate road.
A single streetlight eerily illuminates the meaningless shadows in the pitch-black tunnel where nothing can be seen.
'Ha.'
Go in there, tell scary stories, and walk all night.
Ignore whatever happens and just keep going.
'No, this is…'
My senses, which had been dulled to fear while in the state of 130666, or perhaps numbed from experiencing only large-scale disaster-type ghost stories with backstories in Segwang Metropolitan City, spring back to life as if I've been punched in the gut.
That's right.
I'm a fucking coward…!
"Well, let's head in!"
"…Yes."
It's been a really long time.
This feeling of being dragged to a slaughterhouse!
But it was a small mercy that I didn't have to struggle to keep this agitation from showing by breaking into a cold sweat or backing away.
The Reptilian Alien's body was not easily swayed by emotions.
'Manager Lee Jaheon…. Thank you.'
It feels like a lie that I was so creeped out by body-switching horror.
No, honestly, it probably wouldn't be a huge problem if Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae found out I was a coward. I don't think she'd despise me and say I should have been shoved into the Cleanup team.
But the problem is that the other person selected.
"..."
"Wh-what is it."
"You're really lucky."
"…?!"
"You never miss out on anything fun."
I patted Baek Saheon's shoulder with a grin.
"Entering a Darkness where you get to hear scary stories from the two of us… isn't it fun? Shouldn't you be thanking Deputy Manager Dolphin?"
"..."
"You're not going to?"
"Thank you."
"Yep. Not that I did it for your sake or anything!"
Baek Saheon's face turned red and blue, but he kept his mouth shut. Good. Let's push him like this so he can't have any other suspicions.
That way, even if I happen to collapse or step back, he'll misunderstand and think, 'That's just another one of his crazy acts to pressure me.'
'Ha…'
To think I have to do this again.
"Then let's go in now! Only one person in the group should have a flashlight… I have one, so I'll turn it on."
"Yes."
Trudge, trudge.
The three of us walked into the abandoned tunnel.
"..."
It smells damp and musty.
Moss-covered stone and cement. And traces of where electricity was once supplied.
The beam from Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae's flashlight illuminates the inside of the tunnel.
[My, even the ventilation fans are rusted. It seems to have been abandoned for quite some time. It's a ruin, plain and simple.]
Right.
And I'm getting a real-life experience of being one of those people who come to a deserted house or facility for a test of courage, tells scary stories, and then goes missing….
'Ughhhhh.'
Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae with the flashlight is on the left, Baek Saheon is in the middle, and I'm walking on the far right.
I want to beg her to let me hold the flashlight, but I'm holding it in.
To make matters worse, I ended up in the spot farthest from the flashlight. Haaa....
'I'd have no other wish if I could just walk in the middle…'
The right side, where no one was, felt empty.
But since I had no good reason to ask to switch places, I endured it and walked on.
"Well, shall we start with the scary stories?"
Act natural. Act natural.
"What are the criteria for the scary stories?"
"It seems to be about the level of a ghost story you'd find online. Chilling or gruesome?"
Hoo.
"The important thing is to do it all night, so we can take our time telling them. They say as long as you don't fall asleep, it's fine to stop and rest while walking."
I don't think I have to worry about falling asleep. Fainting, on the other hand…
"Then I'll go first."
"Yes."
Trudge, trudge.
"Hmm… it's a story about the people who went missing in this tunnel!"
"...Yes."
Of all the things!!
"According to the rumors, this tunnel was a place with frequent traffic accidents."
"..."
Our footsteps echo.
"There's another, newer tunnel nearby. A two-way tunnel with lanes for traffic in both directions, but it seems there were quite a few cars that mistook this place for that tunnel on the mountain road at night and drove the wrong way."
The pale light of the flashlight illuminating the dark tunnel.
And Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae's voice, booming and echoing in the tunnel.
"Isn't it strange? Usually, people look at their navigation, so that kind of thing is rare. But strangely, this tunnel in particular had frequent accidents where people 'mistakenly took the wrong turn.' And then one night…"
Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae's flashlight moves.
"A car driving the wrong way by mistake in the mountain fog hit a compact car."
Screeeech— CRASH!
It feels like I can hear that sound.
…Strangely enough, on the road ahead, illuminated by the flashlight, some marks look like they were left by skidding tires.
"The accident scene was discovered and cleaned up the next morning. It was a hit-and-run. But the strange thing was… only the car was left."
"That's…"
"There was no one in the car."
As if tracing the image in her mind, the flashlight draws a circle on the tunnel road.
"Not just the driver's seat of the crashed compact car, but all the seats were empty. All that was left was the airbag, the shattered windows, and…"
"..."
"Bloodstains and handprints."
A chill runs down my spine.
"The license plate was also gone, so the identities of the compact car's occupants were only identified much later. It was a family returning from a trip. And…"
"..."
"After that accident, people started to go missing."
Trudge, trudge.
My own footsteps, trying to keep up with their unhesitating pace, sound excessively loud.
"Day or night, if someone entered this road when it was deserted, they would disappear. And the missing people sometimes left a final text message or call record…"
"..."
"It was always the same words."
Trudge.
"They'd always say that there was a crashed compact car up ahead, and an occupant was waving their hand from outside the glass window."
"..."
"And that they grab your shoulder."
Tap.
I almost fell over right then and there.
"Like this."
When I barely managed to turn my head, Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae, who had reached out and tapped my shoulder, met my eyes and smiled brightly.
"Of course, it's all just a rumor!"
Ha.
"How was it?"
"…That was a very situationally appropriate scary story."
I almost cried.
It was so appropriate that it felt chilling, as if a ghost was following me from behind….
I was glad I wasn't holding the flashlight. If I had been, I would have been providing a vibrating lighting effect.
'I only survived because I already knew the story.'
Gangnyeong Town Tunnel
A ghost story appearing in the Darkness Exploration Record, Daydream Inc. identification code Qterw-D-2076.
A 2076m long one-way tunnel located on the mountainside of ■■ City. The word Gangnyeong Town is not an official administrative name but a nickname that stuck as ghost story rumors spread on the internet.
Its official name was ■■ Hill Tunnel, but it was closed after a wrong-way hit-and-run accident, and the name is no longer in use.
For the accident in the ghost story, refer to the relevant document.
Upon entry, an exit will only appear after walking through the tunnel while telling scary stories all night.
During this process, one must never turn back and run or act alone.
"..."
How is this safe in any way, Deputy Manager…!
Well, of course, for the Field Investigation Team folks for whom nerves of steel are the average, they probably would have thought this was a piece of cake.
'So the plan is to pull an all-nighter here and then go get food…'
My mind felt dizzy, but in the end, I listened as Baek Saheon took the next turn and continued the 'scary stories.'
"…Does it just have to be moderately scary? Well, then. It's a story I heard when I was young."
And Baek Saheon's story wasn't as situationally terrifying as Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae's.
It was about a girl who found a cassette player in a country house that strangely played songs with advice that was perfectly suited to her needs.
"They said it was perfect for knowing when to pick a birthday present for her younger sibling, or when to hide to avoid adults she disliked. The problem… was, obviously, that the content started getting weirder."
At some point, the song lyrics became more and more chilling or aggressive, and the scared child finally decided to open the player to throw away the tape…
"The inside of that player had been empty from the start."
"..."
"The end."
"Oh. But what's so scary about that?"
It was scary, though.
I barely managed to defend it.
"Um. It's a sufficiently creepy supernatural story, so I think it should be fine."
"Is that so? I understand. Well then, now it's Lord Cat's turn!"
Wait a minute.
"Lord Cat…?"
"Yep. Your mask is a black cat, isn't it?"
"Um. Yes."
No matter how I look at it, the shape of this mask feels more like a larger feline species than a simple cat… but well, it doesn't really matter.
'As long as it doesn't overlap.'
I don't even know what mechanism makes this mask show this form in the first place.
-It's similar to the Field Investigation Team masks. It's a cognitive impairment function. Haha.
…Just like the Security Team uniform I'm wearing, I suspect it's equipment that Ho Yuwon had been siphoning off and modifying.
Anyway, so it's my turn now. Hoo.
[Oh, let's tell the most thrilling story of anyone here, my friend!]
Rather than that, let's moderate it so I don't get scared while telling it….
"Then, the story I'll tell is…"
"What the."
"…!"
We stopped walking.
In the distance, on the road illuminated by Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae's flashlight, other figures in suits could be seen.
'Another Field Investigation Team…!'
Two people. And one of them was a familiar silhouette.
A slender, tall woman with a ponytail.
"Huh? Deputy Manager!"
It was Deputy Manager Jin Nasol of Elite Team A.
"I heard you went in first. I didn't expect to run into you like this."
"Is that so?"
Deputy manager Jin Nasol frowned.
"Join us since you're here. As you can see, we have a problem."
And the way she didn't even glance at her companion standing next to her, it seemed she was not pleased with that employee's performance….
'Familiar…'
That sharp cutoff was typical of a Field Investigation Elite Team. I gave a brief, pitying look to the insect-masked employee who had been accompanying Deputy manager Jin Nasol.
Then, the gaze from under the butterfly mask narrowed and looked at me.
"Who are you."
"Ah, this person is also an employee from our company, but not from the main office's Field Investigation Team. They're really kind and competent!"
"Is that so?"
And sharp eyes scanned me.
"Rank?"
"Higher than me!"
"So what is it, exactly."
"Um. I guess… something like a team leader?"
Excuse me?
"It's true, isn't it? You're in a leader-like role in the Project team!"
The look in her eyes under the mask changed.
"…Director Ho's Project team?"
"Yep!"
"Hmm."
I answered as calmly as possible.
"Team leader is a bit much. Please just call me 'Cat.' I probably haven't been at this company as long as you have, Deputy Manager."
"…Is that so?"
"Yes."
"Then I'll do that."
And Deputy manager Jin Nasol's gaze left me.
I secretly swallowed.
'It's been a while.'
I'm getting nervous for no reason. …Is it because I remember Deputy Manager Eun Haje imitating Deputy manager Jin Nasol to get into the Annex?
'Did she… find out about that?'
No, I don't need to worry about that for now. For the moment, she's met me in a ghost story while I'm wearing a mask, so she doesn't recognize me.
'Let's just be glad.'
The number of people has increased.
And not just by one, but two. This is the best.
No, in the first place, why are the employees of this damn company not scared at all, splitting into teams to go in and causing a ruckus?
How nice would it have been if we had all filled the maximum capacity and held hands while going in together!
"Let's go for now."
"Yep."
Jin Nasol stood next to Lee Seonghae, and the insect-masked employee stood next to me.
Thank you. You probably did it because you wanted to get away from Deputy Manager Nabi, but thanks to you, I can finally enjoy being sandwiched….
And the 'scary stories' started again.
"This time, let's start with the deputy manager who just joined us."
"What a pain."
But Jin Nasol proceeded without hesitation on matters that were already decided.
"Some idiot bought a used wooden wardrobe, and anyone who slept near it would get sleep paralysis."
"Ooh!"
"He called a carpenter to open it up, and there was a strange Talisman stuck to the bottom panel of the wardrobe. But the next day, the carpenter was found hanging inside that wardrobe."
Aaargh.
As expected of a Field Investigation Team elite, a gruesome, traditional shamanistic ghost story followed, as if she had experienced it herself….
"And then the Disaster Bureau came and made a mess and took the wardrobe. Annoying."
…Wait, did she actually experience this?
"End of story."
Hoo.
Anyway, the story was finally over.
"Alright, now for the last one, Lord Cat!"
"Yes."
And just as I was about to open my mouth to tell the 'less scary but probably scary enough to pass' story I had finally thought of.
Ah, come to think of it.
"It's not the last one. There's one more person left."
"What?"
"The person to my right."
"Lord Cat."
"There's no one there right now."
"..."
Huh?
"You're standing at the far right end of our group, Lord Cat."
"…What about Deputy Manager Nabi's companion?"
"Him? He ran off a while ago."
....
"The idiot who came in with me saw something earlier and turned around and fled."
Ah.
"That's why I joined you guys. It's a pain in the ass to tell scary stories alone."
....
I couldn't turn my head.
But to my right, where it should be empty, I could clearly feel the presence of a person.
The sound of someone walking next to me.
A shadow.
Click.
From behind, a headlight shines on me.
…I can hear the engine sound of a broken-down compact car.
"Excuse me?"
Tap, tap.
The person on my right taped my shoulder and whispered in my ear.
"There's someone trapped in here??"