[Ghost Story Club LV.7]
[You may spend Ghost Story Points to nurture your club.]
[Points until next level up: 0/200]
[Ability:
- Space Expansion LV.3
- Ghost Story Acquisition Skill LV.2
- Manpower Capacity LV.1]
Just as characters in a game can invest points in stats when they level up, our Ghost Story Club could also invest in one of these attributes whenever we leveled up.
I pressed my finger firmly against the level-up button floating in the air before me.
Then, the points swiftly floated out from before my eyes.
[Ghost Story Points until next level up: 17... 28... 52... 15... 95.. 124... 157...183... 199... 200/200]
Ding!!
Ping~)
[The club has leveled up!!]
[Ghost Story Club LV.7 - LV.8]
[Current available ability points: (1)]
"We're already at level 8."
I wondered what kind of stat we would have reached by the time we actually hit level 99.
Just imagining it made my heart pound.
[Ghost Story Club LV.8]
[Ghost Story Points until next level up: 0/200]
[Current available ability points: (1)]
- Space Expansion LV.3
- Ghost Story Acquisition Skill LV.2
- Manpower Capacity LV.1
'Let's see, what should I invest in...'
Expanding the clubroom. That seemed a bit much at the moment.
That didn't mean it was unnecessary; it was definitely a useful ability, but I didn't think it was good to invest in it right now.
This Space Expansion was, in other words, an ability that allowed me to play a game of claiming territories between the Void cult and me.
What if I were to max out this ability and make the entire 5th floor ours?
What if I swallowed up the entire main
building itself?
If that happened, then awkward situations like just now, where I had to be careful about getting a door lock, wouldn't happen.
"Of course, the school authorities wouldn't be able to mess with it freely."
But reaching that level would cost a significant number of points, and investing in just one or two levels now wouldn't even make a noticeable difference.
That's why, since I needed to prioritize
efficiency, it was hard to invest in that.
"So, let's set aside Space Expansion for now. This time, Ghost Story Acquisition
Skill... Ah! That's right!"
I went outside and opened the small suggestion box attached near the entrance of the clubroom.
Sure enough, inside were one letter in a purple envelope I had received before and had been keeping, along with one new letter in white envelope.
"The envelope is white. That means it's probably a C-rank ghost story.'
After putting it back in, I locked the suggestion box securely and came back inside.
"I can't even properly handle the ghost stories I already have, so increasing this ability would be a disaster, right? Then what's left is...."
- Manpower Capacity LV.1
"Let's go with this."
This ability increases the number of
subordinates each time I level up the club, but aside from whenI recruited Detective Gangwoon, I had never used it and just left it alone.
"Maybe new character will appear."
I felt a sense of reassurance.
Befitting of the traits of talent and helper, Detective Park Gangwoon had truly become a reliable partner for or Ghost Story Club.
If we could add one more person who could help us like this, that would be great.
"Alright. It's been a while, let's level up our club!"
[Current available ability points: (1)]
- Space Expansion LV.3
- Ghost Story Acquisition Skill LV.2
- Manpower Capacity LV.1
"I will distribute it to Manpower Capacity."
I pressed the button in the air.
Beep-
Ping~
[The current ability point is distributed to Manpower Capacity ability.]
[Manpower Capacity LV.1 - LV.2]
[The Manpower Capacity ability has been added to the club.]
[As the level of the club rises, the system would search for and add the best person with an extraordinary talent as extra manpower for the club.]
[Current Available Manpower Capacity (2): Park Gangwoon, (??? )]
[The person searched and added by the system as extra manpower are not considered as a member of the club. However, they are people who would work with the Ghost Story Club as a partner and assist you outside of school.]
[Searching for extra manpower...Please wait...]
I watched the loading bar before me with a slightly pounding heart.
"If we could just get one more person like the Detective, that would be amazing"
I wondered what kind of helper we would have this time.
Finally, the search ended and someone's name appeared before my eyes.
Ding-
***
"You seem in good health now."
"Ah, Detective. Yes, yes.."
The boarding house owner and his wife, who had been chatting in the hospital room, quickly rose to their feet at the visit from the Detective who came holding a bottle of orange juice.
Detective Park Gangwoon waved his hand as if to say it wasn't necessary and set down the drink.
"Please, stay lying down. You're still not well."
"It's okay, haha... the wound wasn't that deep."
The boarding house owner said with an awkward laugh.
Detective Park Gangwoon sat down
next to him and immediately got to the point.
"That day, the day you were injured at the counter around midnight. Do you remember anything?"
"Well...I don't really remember."
The owner shook his head.
"It felt like I was possessed by something, and the atmosphere was really strange
....But what I definitely remember is that someone stabbed me. However, they say nothing was captured on CCTV camera...?
That's why the police thought it was self-harm."
The Detective nodded silently.
The ghost that stabbed him had already been dealt with by Lee Joon, along with the building.
"'And on top of that, the building collapsed whileI was unconscious...Haa..."
"You don't need to worry about that part. You'll receive sufficient compensation from the construction company."
"That's a relief..."
The Detective clasped his hands together as he watched the boarding house owner scratch his head timidly like an ordinary citizen.
Then, in a serious tone, he asked again,
"There was one CCTV video on the counter computer."
"...?"
"The video is from 1999. Do you know about it?"
"1999...?"
The boarding house owner tilted his head with a puzzled look, furrowing his brow.
"Take a look. It's a text messagel received."
[Sender: Lee Joon]
[Just in case you're asleep, I'm sending this by text. I found a video on the boarding house counter computer, and it contains some seriously disturbing footage. I'd appreciate it if you could take a look and let me know what you think.]
And the video attached along with it.
A long-haired manager running rampant through the nighttime study lounge.
It was a video saved under the name [19990225] with a corrupted codec, which the Ghost Story Club had restored.
"Do you know anything?"
"Well, come to think of it.. it resembles the ghost that used to appear in our boarding house...?"
"What about the video?"
"I don't know. This is my first time seeing this video. But..."
The owner made a face as if trying to recall something.
"....Well, if it was saved on the counter
computer of the boarding house, then that's probably it. Actually, before i asked for your help, Detective, I posted a complaint on the Naver cafe for boarding house owners. I posted about the strange things that were
happening"
"But then, a user left a comment saying they had sent something to my email that might help me, so I should check it out. So I checked my email, wondering what it could be, and that video was attached." the old said.
"...This video?"
"Yes, I think I saved it on the desktop folder back then, But that file... well, as you would have noticed if you had clicked on it, Detective, the file was corrupted."
Although Detecive Park Gangwoon hadn't checked it himself, he knew about the conternt because the student named Ahn Gyeongwon, who was good with computers among the kids, had recovered it. So he nodded in acknowledgment.
"It was like that from the moment I first received it. That person sent it, telling me to check it, but when I actually tried to, it wouldn't open. When I said it wouldn't play, they told me it was probably because the boarding house Computer was old and didn't have the necessary codecs installed, and they explained how I could fix it by
installing this and that."
"..So did you do that?"
"No, since I didn't do it, it would still be
corrupted, wouldn't it?"
The owner gave a self-deprecating laugh.
"I'm old, you know. How am I supposed to install some codec like those young people do? Too complicated, so I just brushed it off. I even suspected it was a virus or something, and if I followed their instructions my money would be lost."
"...Who sent it?"
"After that, I kept ignoring him, so he kept asking why I was ignoring him, saying the video contained the truth about what was happening at the boarding house now and that I should check it out immediately. So I asked him who he was, asked his name and
where he works. Then he said I'd know
if I visited his blog. So I went in, and..."
The boarding house owner rubbed his chin as if thinking.
"Well, what... I guess it was just filled with endless conspiracy theories about the Clover company? Claiming they have some dirty secrets he'd uncovered by hacking..."
".....!"
"But after seeing the blog, I became even more suspicious. At first glance,he seemed ike a weird guy. So from that day on, I just blocked him completely, and that's how things ended."
Clover. Hacking.
As Detective Park Gangwoon, who had been listening, flinched at those two words, his rugged smartphone rang.
Ring ring ring~♪
"..Detective? You're getting a call."
"..Excuse me for a moment."
Detective Park Gangwoon, who was silent, excused himself and stepped out of the hospital room.
Then, standing in the hallway, he quietly pressed the call button.
Beep-
"Hello."
[...Detective Park Gangwoon, just now-]
"...!"
His pupils dilated as he received the call.
[....Escaped. He escaped, Detective.]
***
[2019, May 29th | Wednesday, 6:30
PM]
[Lee Joon: Number of Attempts- 2]
[Ghost Story Points: 604]
[Causality Rate: 346]
[Search for extra manpower has completed.]
[Hacker Ryu Jaehun has been added as extra manpower to the Ghost Story Club.]
"Th-this person...."
I bit my lip at the name that appeared before my eyes.
This person was the criminal who had carried out the bombing of the Clover chemical gas vehicle - the incident that led to the Apocalypse ghost story.
As I was briefly flustered, wondering how I should process this.
My phone rang.
It was Detective Park Gangwoon.
"...Hello? Detective?"
[Joon, where are you?]
The Detective's voice sounded a bit urgent.
I answered truthfully.
"I'm at school right now."
[Yeah, something dangerous has happened, so I'm calling to let you know.]
"..What do you mean?"
[The hacker named Ryu Jaehyun, whom I arrested and put in jail before. He just escaped.]
".....!"
I quickly asked while hiding my surprise.
"...He actually escaped? Just like that?"
[Yeah. Just like that.]
The Detective's voice sounded out of breath, as if he was walking somewhere quickly.
[He was awaiting trial at a detention center, but due to what seems to be an administrative mistake, he was unexpectedly called up today and put on a transport vehicle, even though his own trial date was still far off. But now, I hear that vehicle got into an accident and overturned.]
"..So he disappeared from there."
[That's right. Listen carefully, Lee Joon. The way I see it, he planned this from the start.]
The surrounding noises changed, indicating the Detective had entered a building.
[You told me that he's a hacker. My guess is that he tampered with the administrative records in advance to set up an escape route for himself. For now, stay home and don't go out. If he's capable of going that far, he might come after you too. This guy, he's been subtly connected to you all in many ways, including the boarding house incident. That 1999 video you saw. This Ryu Jaehyun guy hacked the Clover company's data and gave it to the owner. Do you understand? Don't go anywhere. Stay somewhere safe until we figure out the situation, for now. I'm hanging up now.]
".....Okay."
The Detective, finishing his words in a hurry, hung up first.
I sat in the clubroom for a moment and pondered.
"What should i do now?"
The Detective thought that guy, Ryu Jaehyun, escaped on his own.
But the way I see it, it was clear that the system somehow intervened.
Just as when the Detective was first designated as extra manpower and brought here, linking together the cause and effect of the past Fourincess incident.
The moment I pressed a single button to raise the club's level, the system pulled some strings.
It all happened at the same time.
"..Should I tell him about this?"
It was difficult.
Because the Detective emphasized many times that he wanted me to do what I was doing while preserving my humanity.
He warned me to refrain not only from morally wrong acts but also from killing myself, unless it was absolutely necessary.
If he found out that I was joining hands with a criminal in such a situation.
And not just any criminal, but a bomber who could have killed countless people.
If he found out I was associating with someone he had personally arrested, would he, given his personality,remain silent?
"Absolutely not."
He would strongly oppose it, and might even arrest him again the moment he finds out.
After all, he would think I could just pick another helper.
He would think there must be another way.
But my thoughts were different.
In this world, there are many people, but very few who possess the information I truly need.
Especially this man, he was such a person of high interest that he even committed various hacks and acts of terror against Clover Corporation.
It was clear he knew far more than I did about Clover and Chun Seungjae.
If I couldn't get him, I didn't know where I'd ever find someone of this caliber again.
Of course, it felt Wrong to accept help from a criminal... but I should at least hear him out.
"Why he hates Clover so much. What secrets he knows."
I couldn't hand him over to the Detective until then.
Having made that decision, I stood up from my seat.
"...Hoo. It's over."
All I had to do was wait.