Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work-Chapter 116

"Did you say the door to Car 1 opened?"

"Yes!"

I immediately moved with the group toward Car 2. Baek Saheon rushed over, his face beaming with pride.

"I did my best to persuade the passengers in Car 1 to open the door. Oh, and of course, the other passengers helped as well... ‘Pioneer!’"

"I see. You’ve worked hard."

It seemed he had knocked on the door of Car 1 at the start of every loop, shouting that there was a solution and asking them to come out.

—And surely, he must have enthusiastically shared tales of what the Roe Deer had done, too!

—Ah, if only I could have been there to hear those fascinating stories... But worry not. A good friend always chooses to stay with their friend!

Yes, thank you, oh legendary host...

In any case, it seemed actively communicating the outside situation to Car 1 had proven effective.

This had been described clearly in the wiki.

All of this had happened dozens of times.

Each loop was a bloody frenzy of madness.

Those two sentences were burned into my memory.

"Indeed, the door to Car 1 only opened after all those loops."

To be honest, I’d planned to just break down the door around the 20th loop myself.

“Loop 14 isn’t bad at all.”

No wonder Baek Saheon had earned the nickname "The Viper of the Field Exploration Team" in the wiki. I acknowledged it as I nodded to myself.

"Well then, let’s go in and talk...."

"Ah, wait!"

Baek Saheon stopped me urgently.

No way...

"The thing is, the door... it’s closed again."

"......"

"Well, technically, communication is still possible. Look at this!"

Baek Saheon hastily handed me something.

A crumpled, dirty piece of paper.

Large letters were scrawled across it.

"Let’s survive seven times."

The messy, cramped letters were surrounded by dark red stains that had spread across the paper, resembling clotted filth.

"Ugh."

"That... it looks like the rotten stuff we saw in the tunnel...."

A murmur rippled through the group.

"Wait a minute. Could Car 1 have turned into some kind of den of horrors, like the tunnel?"

"Yeah! They locked the door and refused to follow the Pioneer, so they must’ve met a gruesome fate!"

Please, calm down.

I hurriedly shook my head, trying to quell the train’s atmosphere, which was teetering on the brink of becoming a full-blown cult.

"I don’t think that’s the case. It seems they’re just in severe pain. Let me try something."

I walked over to the connector between Car 2 and Car 1.

This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.

Standing before the tightly shut door, I knocked.

Knock, knock.

"Is anyone there?"

"It’s no use. I’ve tried so many times...."

"Hello. Sorry to bother you, but I’m the person people call the ‘Pioneer.’ Could we have a conversation?"

I continued to shout.

"There are over 300 passengers behind me. All of them are here to help you."

"Can you hear me?"

"We’re here to help!"

"I told you, it’s no use...."

Click.

"...!"

The lock disengaged.

Ignoring Baek Saheon’s stunned expression, I turned to the passengers and spoke calmly.

"I’ll go in alone."

"Ah, no, you can’t!"

"Pioneer! What if something terrible happens?"

I smiled and reassured them.

"I think the people in Car 1 might feel overwhelmed and frightened if too many of us rush in. And even if something happens, we’ll just go back to the start anyway, right? It’ll be fine."

"At least take something to defend yourself...."

Thank you. I was waiting for someone to suggest that.

"In that case... I’ll ask my colleagues from the Field Exploration Team."

I turned to the two team leaders and one coworker from my team.

The three of them nodded without hesitation, having already discussed it beforehand. Thus, the "Dreamscape Inc. Employee Alliance" was ready to enter Car 1.

‘Good.’

It was a relief, especially since I noticed Deputy Jin Nasol’s patience was wearing thin.

"Be careful, Pioneer!"

After I asked the passengers to wait in Car 2 until further notice, they reluctantly stepped back, though their concern was evident.

Another small victory.

‘Phew.’

...It’s getting harder and harder to manage these people.

‘Sooner or later, things are going to spiral unpredictably.’

For now, we’d been able to maintain a cooperative atmosphere because they still listened to me.

I felt the small badge in my jacket pocket.

The power of the Silver Heart was terrifying.

I took a deep breath.

"Let’s open the door."

At that moment, I sensed a chill in Deputy Jin Nasol’s gaze as she stared at me.

"This is dragging out too long."

"......"

"Did we really need to get to Loop 14?"

"Yes," I responded calmly.

"A safe and secure escape is important. I reduced variables, gathered stories about the altars, and verified an escape method."

Now, all that was left was to escape.

"So, this will be the last train."

"......"

Jin Nasol folded her arms and, after another moment of silence, acquiesced to my actions.

...Probably for the last time.

"Fine. Just hurry up and get in."

"Understood."

With Baek Saheon scurrying along behind me, the Chief opened the door....

Click.

The moment it opened, a stench assaulted my nose.

"......"

The smell from the altars.

And then...

"Scared! Scared! Scared! Scared!"

"Eeeeeeeek, gaaaaah!"

"Sob, sob sob...."

The sounds of wailing.

"Go in."

I stared blankly at the scene beyond the open door.

Car 1 was utterly contaminated.

More than fifty people were writhing on the floor, laughing madly, crying, or rolling around and screaming.

The floor was filthy with vomited blood and bits of flesh.

And lying in the aisle was a small, filthy banner, smeared with blood and grime.

[Blue Photo Club – 17th Annual Trip]

That’s right.

The passengers in Car 1 were part of a large group traveling together.

They had all bought their tickets through a travel agency—a group that had already known each other well.

And now, they were like this....

"These people... were they taking turns throwing each other at the windows? Or... rotating by some kind of order?"

"What? All fifty-three of them look insane. Even if they threw one person per loop, that’s only 14 times."

"That’s a good point. Then... could it be, like Kim Soleum said, there’s a ‘person of interest’ involved?"

Exactly.

Unless everyone had been thrown out, there was only one explanation.

Among the contaminated passengers, someone had exerted incredibly strong influence.

Someone who already had a strong bond with the group, capable of eliciting loyalty and shared delusions.

"Sir."

"...!"

"The thing I asked you for."

Baek Saheon jumped and quickly lowered his eye patch, scanning the area.

The purple artificial eye darted back and forth before he gasped, reaching out his hand.

"There."

It was right behind me.

I turned slowly, following Baek Saheon’s gaze.

A figure lay sprawled on the ground, clutching the handle of the door leading to Car 2.

If we’d passed them on the street, I’d have thought they were a friendly-looking middle-aged person.

...If they hadn’t been convulsing with their body twisted grotesquely.

"Us... usssss...."

Blackish-red bile dripped from their mouth as blood vessels pulsed visibly at their temples. Their entire body was covered with wounds from self-inflicted scratches. And then....

"Can do, can do...."

"Seven, sev...en...."

I approached the mumbling figure cautiously, kneeling to their level.

As their shirt shifted with their convulsions, something glinted at their belt.

A small, shining silver badge.

Found it.

"This is the person of interest?"

"Yes."

The "person of interest" in the Tamna-bound High-Speed Train Incident.

The Silver Heart Owner.

"Hel... help...."

Now, I just needed to confirm it.

"Sir," I said, leaning in to whisper into his ear, my voice too quiet for anyone else to hear.

"You read the pamphlet, didn’t you?"

"......!"

"The one registered with the government... about the 'Paradise Test.'"

For a brief moment, the dazed, vacant eyes regained a flicker of clarity.

"H-how did you...!"

"Just a moment."

So it was true.

‘If that’s the case....’

I hesitated for a moment before pulling out a Happy Maker from my pocket.

—Ah, is this preparation for a new interview?

‘...Yes.’

I needed to have a conversation with this person.

For appearances’ sake.

...To subtly mask any suspicion that I might have known about this whole incident beforehand.

Thunk.

The potent painkiller was injected into the Silver Heart Owner’s hand.

“Gaaah!”

The convulsing, corrupted body suddenly stilled. Slowly, they collapsed to the floor with a heavy thud.

And then...

“Hic... hic... sob... sob sob...”

They began to drool, lying on the ground, tears streaming down their face.

“What the hell? Why are they acting like that?”

“...They’ve been thrown from the altar too many times.”

This person had likely been sacrificed at least five times.

The Happy Maker was a painkiller, not a restorative, so their shattered mind wouldn’t recover.

Still, they were more coherent now than before.

“I... can’t... can’t do it anymore...!”

“...I understand.”

That was what mattered.

Fortunately, the person began providing information.

Tears streaming, the Silver Heart Owner lunged at me, grabbed my shoulders with trembling hands, and started speaking desperately, spraying spit as they did.

“You! You know!”

The grip on my shoulders was desperate.

“Seven times! We only need to endure seven times! W-we can do it...”

“...What are we supposed to endure?”

“The altar!!”

They pleaded.

“I know it! This is... it’s managed by the government! You, you people, you have a department for this, and they have files on it. I’ve seen them.”

“......”

“I read it! I-I worked there...”

From behind me, I heard the elite team murmuring among themselves.

“Oh, so they’re a retired employee from the Disaster Management Bureau?”

“Hmm... wonder if they have any equipment.”

That was correct.

I continued questioning the Silver Heart Owner.

“I see. Then, what kind of supernatural phenomenon is this?”

The retired, low-level office worker from the Disaster Management Bureau, now half out of their mind, began spilling scraps of government secrets.

“Uh, uh, so, this supernatural phenomenon, if you endure, uh, endure the altar seven times, it’s over, it’s just a dream... uh, and that’s why our photography club...”

“......”

They trailed off, their bleary eyes wandering as they surveyed their surroundings.

The other members of the Blue Photo Club were rolling around in agony, utterly deranged.

...I knew why these people had ended up like this.

‘The Silver Heart Owner must have convinced them...’

They would have argued that if everyone sacrificed themselves just once, they could make it to the seventh altar.

But not everyone could be as altruistic or courageous as the Silver Heart Owner.

There would have been resistance, debates, and broken promises. Some would have been too scared to jump. In the chaos, the Silver Heart Owner likely leapt out the window multiple times as an example.

‘And their shattered psyche and corruption spread through the Silver Heart to affect all of Car 1...’

In their agony and contamination, the passengers of Car 1 had all lost their minds.

Eventually, at some point, everyone started jumping out the window, completely losing their sanity.

Then they locked the door and fled to other cars.

‘And that’s where even worse things started happening.’

This was why forcing the door open earlier wasn’t an option.

If I had, I would have faced a partially insane, zealous Silver Heart Owner, now fully antagonistic, which could have turned the situation into utter chaos.

‘That’s why I had to wait.’

Wait for the right timing.

The Silver Heart Owner was no god.

Even amidst their madness, confusion, and the collapse of their ego, there must have been a desperate moment when they sought help from the other passengers.

But by then, it was already too late.

Far worse things had started happening in other cars....

It was at that moment when they despaired and decided to accept help from outside, despite their turmoil.

When the world outside Car 1 appeared calm, and another solution seemed possible.

When even their broken mind could muster the will to unlock the door.

...Loop 14. By this point, Car 1 was already hell, but still.

“I-I’m sorry... kids... it hurts so much... sob....”

“......”

This is maddening.

The overwhelming tragedy of seeing it in reality far surpassed the dry descriptions I’d read in the wiki....

‘We need to escape faster.’

Gritting my teeth, I asked the decisive question that would give me the final clue.

“Sir, what train did you see in the files? Was it this one?”

“Hic... yes. It’s this one, the train to Iksan... the Iksan train.”

The Chief tilted her head in confusion.

“Iksan? That’s strange. This train is headed to Mokpo, though.”

Baek Saheon quickly chimed in.

“Excuse me, Chief. This train does pass through Iksan Station.”

“Oh, I see. So Iksan is a stopover station?”

“Yes.”

The Chief didn’t take Baek Saheon’s word for it. Instead, she moved to confirm it herself.

Wading through the filth and wailing passengers in Car 1, she pulled a booklet from one of the seat pockets.

After flipping through it, she nodded.

“Ah, that’s correct!”

“Is that so? Then we can follow the Bureau’s instructions.”

“Yes. The gentleman here said it’s seven times, right? That means we need... oh, wait.”

She froze mid-sentence.

“Seven times?”

“......”

Ah.

She figured it out.

“Excuse me, Soleum.”

“Yes.”

“Do you know this? Trains often have their routes extended over time.”

“That makes sense.”

“So, it’s possible that this train used to have a shorter route. Maybe... with Iksan as the terminus.”

“......”

“That’s why it was labeled as the Iksan train.”

Correct.

More precisely, this route was extended in the mid-2010s.

From Iksan to Mokpo.

“And you know,” the Chief continued.

Her finger stopped at a specific line in the booklet she was skimming.

“From Seoul to Iksan, on a regular train, there are exactly seven stops.”

“......”

“So, the altars... were probably the stations.”

Exactly.

“And if we extend that logic.”

Flip.

The Chief’s hand stopped at another page.

“Unlike the old Iksan train, this one, which goes all the way to Mokpo, passes through nine stations.”

She snapped the booklet shut with a sharp clap.

“So, we don’t stop at seven altars. We stop at nine.”

“......”

“To clear all nine altars, we’ll need a total of 45 sacrifices.”

It was a chillingly accurate deduction.

‘As expected of the elite team.’

And that revelation explained why the passengers of Car 1 had completely lost their minds.

■■ Loop:

After passing the seventh altar, an eighth altar appeared.

The “correct answer” given by the Silver Heart Owner had been a glimmer of hope—only for it to vanish.

In their fury, terror, and panic, the passengers of Car 1 completely broke down....

‘...Thank goodness we didn’t reach that point.’

I wouldn’t have had the resolve—or even the courage—to deal with it.

Just as I exhaled a faint sigh of relief, the Chief turned to me.

“By the way.”

She glanced at me, her expression deadpan.

“We only have 11 doses of painkillers left.”

“......”

“And we’ve already used one. So...”

“With 45 people needing to jump, we’ll only be able to ease the pain for 10 of them.”