Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work-Chapter 140

The unethical practices of Daydream Inc. might be questionable, but the effects of their potions were undeniably real.

Like magic.

“...!”

The C-grade Regeneration Potion worked instantly. At the stumps of the Bronze Agent’s severed thighs, new flesh sprouted rapidly, reconstructing into fully formed legs as if they had never been severed.

Go Yeong-eun gasped, holding her breath. Although she had used the potion herself, witnessing its effects was an entirely different experience.

Even I couldn’t help but marvel. Watching such large injuries heal in a matter of seconds with a mere C-grade potion was surreal.

‘They said it costs about 10,000 points, right?’

No wonder such an effect was mesmerizing to anyone who saw it.

I tried my best not to touch my recently regrown arm, courtesy of Nostalgia Candy, and watched silently.

“Hah...”

The Bronze Agent stood up, mechanically testing his restored legs. He grabbed the restraint rope that bound the two collapsed staff members and bowed his head slightly, avoiding my gaze.

“...Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Unable to hold back any longer, Go Yeong-eun muttered softly.

“...You could express a little more gratitude, you know.”

Ah.

“What do you mean by—”

“Let’s discuss this after we’re out of here,” I quickly interjected, cutting off their exchange.

But before we could leave, the restraint rope around the subdued staff began trembling.

“...!”

The forms of the two staff members, who had been punctured and deflated, started twitching unnaturally within the ropes.

And then, from the door to the staff area we had just exited...

Thud, thud, thud, thud.

The sound of something heavy striking repeatedly echoed through the air before the iron door creaked open.

Creeeak.

More staff members poured out in waves.

“......!”

“This way!”

Dodging the mob of charging staff, we quickly pulled the Bronze Agent into the shadows of the candlelight.

With three of us now, the mystical candle’s protection extended fully again.

The three of us pressed against the wall, desperately avoiding the ominous surge of staff rushing past us.

“...!!”

“It’ll be fine. You’re within the candlelight now...”

The Bronze Agent glanced at the candle in Go Yeong-eun’s hand.

“...That’s also yours, isn’t it?”

“......Yes.”

I intentionally murmured softly while looking at the Bronze Agent.

“I told her it was something I got from you... Could you play along?”

“......”

The agent gave a slight nod.

‘He’s cooperating.’

Even though he must have realized it was an item from my days at Daydream Inc., the effect of the regeneration potion seemed to have earned me some goodwill.

Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak.

‘Damn it, they won’t even let me think!’

The number of staff swarming the area kept growing.

Go Yeong-eun, now visibly pale, stepped back nervously.

The two staff members who had been hit by the Glass Handgun were breaking free of the rope, their distorted forms bubbling grotesquely.

The new wave of staff enveloped them, spinning wildly around in what resembled a horrific ritual.

Arms were crushed and heads caved in under the sheer number of bodies, only to spring back unnaturally.

It was an unsettling, nightmarish sight.

“They # Nоvеlight # seem to be looking for whoever attacked them...”

“In this mart, if you harm staff and are seen doing it, they’ll chase you down relentlessly until you’re caught.”

“...!”

Yet the Bronze Agent had shot them without hesitation and even pinned them down afterward?

He narrowed his eyes coldly.

“...I planned to take responsibility for it since this was the end anyway.”

“~!!”

Go Yeong-eun visibly restrained herself from saying something.

“Let’s move quickly.”

“Understood.”

We hurriedly distanced ourselves from the grotesque scene.

The haunting, squeaky noise from the staff persisted as we retreated.

‘Hah...’

I glanced down and noticed the Bronze Agent walking barefoot on the mart’s cold floor.

“Agent, do you have spare shoes?”

“...They’re in the camping section.”

Good. I checked the time on my wristwatch.

Thankfully, we had found the Bronze Agent relatively quickly—perhaps within two or three hours, at most.

‘Even accounting for how distorted time feels, it should still be evening...’

Roughly 7 p.m., I guessed. I glanced at my watch.

But...

[09:04]

Nine o’clock.

“......!”

I looked at the numbers again.

But the ten-hour discrepancy remained.

We couldn’t have gone back in time, so that meant...

‘...It’s the next morning?’

“Something’s wrong with the time...”

The realization hit me mid-sentence.

“Agent Podo, time flows inconsistently within the staff area of this mart.”

“......”

Of course.

The nonsensical layout of the staff area—the way rooms and corridors were patched together without rhyme or reason—suddenly made even more sense.

A deliberate setup to make things feel even more surreal and horrifying.

‘A classic trope.’

It might have been mentioned in the Exploration Records, but it was probably so common that I didn’t bother remembering it.

But that wasn’t the main issue.

‘How long have the kids been left alone?’

To make matters worse, the Bronze Agent’s face hardened as he muttered.

“Nine o’clock.”

“...Yes.”

“We need to move quickly. The protective equipment I set up at the store won’t last much longer.”

“...!!”

We sprinted to the camping section as fast as we could, somehow managing not to drop the candle.

“Hah, hah...!”

And we were just in time.

At the camping section, the high schoolers were moments away from making a break for it.

“They’re not coming back! And something weird’s happening!”

“But—”

‘Damn it.’

The kids were completely terrified. The agents hadn’t returned for what felt like a day, and the sounds of staff moving around had driven them into a panic.

They seemed ready to flee to another floor, even debating whether to abandon their traumatized friend, who was too out of it to move.

But as soon as they saw us, they crumpled to the ground.

“Aah!”

“A-Agent!”

God.

We had to deal with a torrent of emotions—somewhere between “Why did you take so long?!” and “You’re finally here!”—as we brought the students back to the center of the camping section.

The Bronze Agent immediately began inspecting the protective stones he had set up.

“How much time is left?”

“About an hour.”

Damn it.

“At least we have one hour to rest. Let’s make the most of it and get ready.”

Go Yeong-eun quickly extinguished the candle and began checking on the students, asking about their condition and what had happened while we were gone.

It was reassuring to watch her work.

‘Hah...’

“I’ll keep watch. Agent, you should grab your gear.”

“...Alright.”

While Go Yeong-eun was inside the tent with the students, the Bronze Agent changed into a spare Disaster Management uniform he had apparently kept in reserve.

As I listened to the rustling sounds, I tried to plan our next steps after leaving the camping section.

‘The stairwell is too narrow.’

God, I hoped the mart would reopen today. But banking on that kind of luck wasn’t good for anyone’s sanity.

I swallowed the sugary aftertaste of the Nostalgia Candy and focused on something else.

“Are you feeling alright?”

“......Yes.”

The Bronze Agent retrieved several items from the pockets of his bloodied uniform and quickly reequipped himself.

But one item gave him pause—a slight flinch as he picked it up.

A white grip ring.

“Give this to them.”

The label attached was handwritten.

It reminded me of the Memorial Grip Ring—another Disaster Management item.

“Agent, what’s that?”

“......”

The Bronze Agent stared at the grip ring for a moment, then tucked it into his new uniform.

“It belongs to another agent. I found it in the inventory storage.”

The tone of his voice made it clear.

‘There was another agent in the storage.’

Likely someone who had already died and been “stored” there for a long time.

The Bronze Agent finished adjusting his uniform and met my gaze.

“Did you enter the inventory storage?”

“......”

I shook my head. Relief flickered across his face.

“Good. Avoid ‘places that feel wrong’ as much as possible. Human intuition is surprisingly useful in these situations.”

“......”

What horrors must that storage hold?

Even without specifics, I could imagine. The descriptions from Exploration Records were vivid enough.

‘Dozens of people processed into inventory, rapidly corrupted, and trapped.’

I forced myself not to think about it and focused on something else.

“So, what does that item do?”

If it had been particularly useful, the agent would have mentioned it by now.

Sure enough, his expression grew somber.

“It helps send a confirmed rescue request to the Disaster Management Agency.”

“......”

Ah.

“It’s a smartphone attachment. I thought I might be able to send out a single message, but... it only works if the user is a rescue target.”

A restricted item designed specifically for its intended purpose.

‘The deceased agent must have been carrying it for someone else.’

It was an undeniably useful item—being able to send a confirmed rescue request in this hellish ghost story—but its conditions made it unusable for us.

I couldn’t imagine what the Bronze Agent must have gone through to retrieve it from that storage.

“Are you finished changing?”

“...Yes.”

Go Yeong-eun stepped out of the tent.

“It might be good for the agent to say a few words to the students. They’ve already figured out that he’s the highest-ranking among us.”

“......”

The Bronze Agent gave a small nod and entered the tent.

Go Yeong-eun sighed and sat down beside me.

“How are the students?”

“They’re alright. Their morale shot up the moment they realized the agents had all returned and even rescued someone.”

They didn’t know that we’d soon have to flee this tent section as well.

Hah.

We both sighed in unison.

“It’d be nice if the mart reopened today.”

“...It really would.”

God, I hoped so.

I slumped onto the floor.

“I mean, the mart was open just fine when we came in. Why has it been closed for so long...?”

Exactly.

Every word echoed my own thoughts.

‘The mart was open just fine when we came in...’

Wait.

“Podo?”

I shot to my feet and bolted toward the tent.

Flinging it open, I shouted.

“Agent!”

The Bronze Agent and the students inside turned to me, startled.

“That rescue item—can it be used now?”

“...What?”

The agent looked at me, momentarily taken aback, but soon responded with surprising patience.

“The item itself is operational, but agents cannot use it.”

“What if a student uses it?”

“Duplicate requests... would rank lower in priority than the initial one.”

The students flinched.

Of course, they were the ones who had already sent out the first request, prompting our deployment to this cursed mart.

But there was still one student left.

“There’s another student, isn’t there?”

“...!”

I gestured toward the other tent, where the traumatized friend lay, still unresponsive.

The student the Bronze Agent had found. The one who had gone missing earlier.

A civilian who had never sent a request to the Disaster Management Agency.

“Calm down, Agent.”

The Bronze Agent, sensing my urgency, spoke carefully.

“This item can only send a vague, 33-character message. It cannot include detailed explanations.”

“That’s fine.”

I didn’t intend to use it to explain our situation.

“That student can send whatever message they want. As long as they send it...”

If my assumption was correct...

I swallowed hard.

“...The mart will reopen today.”

“...!!”

***

I ran to the neighboring tent.

Out of the three remaining Nostalgia Candies, I took one and gave it to the high school student who lay there dazed and unmoving.

The student’s name was Lee Subin.

They were one of the missing people who had entered this mart a few days before the high schoolers who reported the incident to us.

At Ko Yeongeun’s suggestion—that having familiar faces nearby would help calm them—the other high schoolers stood anxiously to the side, watching.

I unwrapped the Nostalgia Candy and placed it into Lee Subin’s mouth.

“...”

“S-Subin, are you okay?”

Tears suddenly began to roll down the student’s face.

Then, they started to sob.

“Hic... Hic... Huuuk...”

“It’s okay. It’s going to be okay...”

The other high school students rushed over, embracing them tightly and trying to console them.

...Nostalgia Candy restores the mind and body to their peak state, but it doesn’t erase painful memories or experiences from someone’s head.

I waited patiently as their friends tried to calm them down.

Checking the time as I did.

[ 09:22 ]

When the timing could no longer be delayed—

[ 09:43 ]

I finally opened my mouth to speak.

“Lee Subin.”

“Hic... Yes...”

“The truth is, we really need your help to get out of here faster.”

I handed the student my smartphone, which had a grip ring attached to it.

“Could you write down your name and personal information, type ‘Lucky Mart’ in the message, and send out a rescue request?”

“...”

“Please.”

With trembling hands, the student took the phone.

And then they began to type furiously.

[Please, save me. I’m trapped in Lucky Mart. My name is Lee Subin, and I live in ■■ District. Please...]

It was a message that seemed wrung out of desperation. Tears streamed down their face as their fingers moved across the screen.

And then... it was sent.

“...”

“You’ve done well. Please, get some rest now.”

I couldn’t bring myself to tell them to spit out the Nostalgia Candy.

...If my guess turned out to be wrong, I might need to save the candy by making them spit it out later.

But for now, waiting was the only option.

I left the high schoolers to comfort each other and stepped out of the tent.

[ 09:51 ]

Ko Yeongeun, seated in front of me, looked up at me as I stepped out.

I sat down next to her and kept checking the time, waiting for it to arrive.

Waiting for ten o’clock—the mart’s opening time.

[ 09:54 ]

Bronze Agent prepared to retrieve the protective item.

[ 09:58 ]

I calculated how long we could hold out on the second floor food court in case of failure.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

[ 09:59 ]

I even considered the worst-case scenario—deciding who should receive the two escape items.

And then—

[ 10:00 ]

The time came.

“...”

“...”

“Agent Grape, are you okay—”

Na-na-na, na-na-na-na-na, na-na-na~

“...!!”

A chime-like announcement echoed throughout the mart.

[Lucky Mart’s doors have now opened. Thank you for visiting us today, dear customers! We’ll greet you with bright smiles!]

A cheerful automated voice.

The familiar logo song played brightly, unchanged, as it resonated through the mart.

Tick-tick-tick.

Lights illuminated the entire mart, and sunlight began streaming in through the glass windows outside.

The monstrous employees disappeared as if they were rewinding, sucked back through the creaking metal doors of the employee-only area.

And then—

Bang.

The doors shut.

They were gone.

Not a trace remained.

“...”

Business had resumed at last.

“Huff.”

‘...We survived.’

I collapsed into my seat.

“It worked! It really worked!!”

Ko Yeongeun, looking more excited than I’d ever seen her in the past few days, slapped my shoulder with a trembling hand and glanced around the mart with a face flushed with relief.

“How on earth did you—No! It doesn’t matter right now! Let’s just get out of this insane place first!”

But the Bronze Agent, who had been staring blankly at the mart, suddenly seemed to realize something. They turned toward me with wide eyes.

“The rescue request! Is it because of that...”

“Yes.”

They figured it out.

I smiled as I finally answered.

“To get a rescue agent inside, the mart has to be open for business.”

“...!”

Exactly.

‘It’s a sort of reverse thinking.’

I created a situation where the mart had to be open for things to make sense.

It all boiled down to the conditions.

“You told us there’s no way to stop people from entering Lucky Mart, right?”

Both the rescue agent’s handbook and the Darkness Exploration records explicitly stated as much.

[Currently, there are no known methods to conclude or seal the Lucky Mart incident. Preventing disappearances in advance is also impossible.]

The entry condition itself was clearly written down:

[Lucky Mart Entry Condition: Travel within 3 km of the site where the old Lucky Mart building used to stand and look for the mart for more than 20 minutes.]

What does that mean?

‘It means that as long as someone fulfills those conditions, they can enter the horrifying Lucky Mart ghost story.’

Now flip that around.

“When someone’s trying to enter, it means Lucky Mart must be open for business.”

[For a victim to enter, Lucky Mart must be operational that day.]

“And...”

“Today, a new agent will come in,” Ko Yeongeun interjected suddenly.

Her face was a mixture of shock and realization.

“Because the high school student sent a rescue request earlier!”

Correct.

So, if a rescue request was made and the disaster management bureau decided to send someone—

“Yes. Today had to be a business day.”

I smiled.

Ko Yeongeun smiled back briefly but soon furrowed her brow in confusion.

“...? Wait a second. That means the causal relationship is backward...”

She was right about that too.

“The doors don’t open to cause disappearances. The doors open because someone is about to disappear, so the mart starts business in the morning. The sequence of events is completely backward.”

“That’s why it’s a ghost story.”

It’s something incomprehensible, following strange, reversed rules.

Like the endlessly looping seasonal event sections on the third floor.

“That... makes sense.”

Ko Yeongeun’s face shifted from confusion to a calm but unsettled determination, the kind that comes from wanting to escape this place as soon as possible.

...I could relate.

Let’s hurry up and get out of here.

We began preparing to leave immediately.

‘We’ve got the vouchers and the escape items.’

It was enough for all three high schoolers and the three of us to make it out safely.

“Excellent work.”

As we packed, the Bronze Agent whispered quietly, nodding toward the three students stepping out of the tent, their faces brightening at the news that they could finally escape.

“Those civilians are being rescued thanks to you, Agent Grape.”

Honestly, that wasn’t true. Without either the Bronze Agent or Ko Yeongeun, we all probably would’ve died.

Still, I was about to thank them when—

“...”

I suddenly realized.

My mouth felt far too comfortable.

The usual stickiness that hindered my speech was gone.

‘Ah.’

And the sweet taste of sugar in my mouth had vanished.

“...”

The Nostalgia Candy had completely melted.

Which meant...

“...!”

“Agent!”

A searing pain tore into the right side of my body like a raging storm.