Baek Saheon, for once, doubted his one remaining eye.
Was he dreaming?
No, he was definitely dreaming—trapped in this ghost story nightmare. But…
No!!
Just moments ago, his mood had been one of pure irritation. 'I came here because I heard this school's faculty office had an item with powerful mind-control abilities…'
Seeing the number of people gathered, it was clear this wasn't some exclusive, top-tier information. Inwardly, his anger was simmering. '…Whoever gave me that tip is going on my blacklist.'
Grinding his teeth, he mentally updated his list of people to take revenge on after returning to the company.
Still, he had confidence.
In fact, he saw opportunity in the standoff between the two factions. 'Just a little push, and it's chaos, right?'
Whether by stirring up infighting or luring monsters into the mix, he figured he could snag the item and make a clean getaway—just like how he'd always used fools around him as bait at critical moments. Even the sight of his weak-willed coworker in the bison mask struggling to hold back tears was tolerable—the guy might still be useful. But then…
'That fucker… What the hell is he doing.'
Baek Saheon stared ahead in disbelief.
There, standing nonchalantly alongside the Disaster Management Bureau agents, was an all-too-familiar face in a black school uniform. The employee, who had been carrying nothing special earlier, now wore the Bureau's signature metal badge and wielded one of those strange toy-like pistols.
…Kim Soleum!
"Agent Grapes."
G-Grapes??
What even was that?
The last time Baek Saheon had seen him in the classroom, that guy hadn't been equipped with any of this gear. And now…
'Why is a Daydream Inc. employee standing so comfortably on the other side?!'
"Looks like everyone is securing the item. Could it be what we're looking for?"
"Perhaps, sir."
Kim Soleum was casually engaging in Bureau-like dialogue! The other Daydream employees nearby whispered amongst themselves.
"They don't seem ordinary."
"Do you think he's a high-ranking agent? Maybe he was summoned here?"
"..."
Jang Heo-un, the bison-masked coworker, alternated between staring at Baek Saheon and Kim Soleum, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.
As one of the few here who knew Kim Soleum's face, Jang Heo-un's astonishment was palpable despite the mask.
And then—he opened his mouth, clearly about to call out to Kim Soleum!
'Yes, that's it! You do it!'
Let him handle it!
"Th-that…"
"Would you mind stepping aside and letting us handle this?"
"What?"
But of course, it was Kim Soleum.
This… 'Agent Grapes' instantly cut Jang Heo-un off, looking around at the employees with a serious expression.
He spoke in a voice dripping with authority: "In supernatural Disasters like this, personal possession of dangerous items can lead to catastrophic results. As you may have experienced, things that seem beneficial here don't always bring good outcomes."
His voice was, somehow… convincing.
"…Even now, there are monsters roaming outside."
"..."
Kim Soleum spoke earnestly, his eyes filled with feigned desperation. "Please, for the sake of saving more lives, I ask for your cooperation."
You?
Baek Saheon felt chills run down his spine.
And yet, Jang Heo-un, blinking slowly as if entranced, began to murmur, "Then, maybe this time, we could—"
'You've got to be kidding me!'
"...! Hey! You're just a newbie—what are you talking about?!"
"Shut your mouth, would you?"
The other company employees snapped out of it and began shouting in outrage.
What Baek Saheon didn't know was that Jang Heo-un had been carrying a mental defense item strong enough to partially mitigate the influence of the Bureau's Silver Heart.
Still, the scene was chaotic enough to make the Bureau agents on the other side whisper to each other.
"Corporate culture is trash, huh?"
"Right? But that Agent Grapes sure knows how to talk."
"..."
That punk's even being recognized by the agents…!
'Just what is that guy, pretending to be a government agent…'
No, wait.
In that moment, a realization like a bolt of lightning struck Baek Saheon's mind.
'W-Wait… was he actually a Disaster Management Bureau agent from the start?'
Looking closer, the agent standing beside Kim Soleum was the same one Baek Saheon had encountered at that insane murder lodge! The mask issued by the company had an effect that disrupted recognition for non-employees, so it seemed the agent hadn't identified him… but still…
'…Could this all have been planned from the start?'
Could Kim Soleum have been a Bureau spy all along?
A chill ran down Baek Saheon's spine.
But at the same time, he felt like he'd just been dealt a new card.
'If I reveal his true identity…'
At that moment, Kim Soleum's eyes met his.
Kim Soleum smirked, lightly tapped his chest, and mouthed a single word: 'Debt.'
"...!"
– Debt
The very word Baek Saheon had written on the note he left with the emergency flashlight.
'Y-You crazy bastard, that's the debt you owe me, not the other way around…!'
Was Kim Soleum implying that if Baek Saheon wanted the debt paid, he'd better shut up and cooperate?
How was the debtor turning the tables and blackmailing the creditor?
No, wait—
'Fuck, that's not important right now!'
Baek Saheon gritted his teeth.
The agents now outnumbered the Daydream employees.
'If this continues, the Field Exploration Team members aiming for a highclear bonus will likely back off and give up the item.'
If that happened, the chaos would end, and with it, his opportunity.
'In that case…'
"..."
After some hesitation, Baek Saheon made up his mind.
He absolutely needed that item.
…Absolutely.
Moreover, he knew the specialized equipment he had invested a fortune— 1,000 points—into acquiring was securely attached to the sole of his shoe.
This equipment, meticulously chosen and crafted for this purpose. A lethal weapon with the purpose of confusion.
Owner: Baek Saheon
Registered Equipment Description: A device in the form of a three-color pen. When the pen tip is clicked, the nib ejects and explodes like a firecracker.
Manufactured by: Qterw-E-99
Enjoying the cylindrical pressure against the sole of his shoe, Baek Saheon deliberately turned to Jang Heo-un and struck up a conversation.
"Hey."
"Yes?"
"Don't you hear something strange outside…"
And with that, he naturally aimed at Kim Soleum and fired. "…Out there?"
His target was that fucker's head.
'Die!'
Instant death would ensure that even if Kim Soleum woke up from this nightmare, he wouldn't realize who had shot him.
'He probably has a name tag anyway!'
There was no way Baek Saheon could risk his sabotage being traced back to him, not after he'd set up the debt narrative.
'I'll just pin the blame on someone else.'
After all, every employee in this company had the same level of moral ambiguity.
Hiding his glee, Baek Saheon allowed a sly smile to creep across his face.
Fwoosh.
The pen tip launched silently from the sole of his shoe and flew straight toward Kim Soleum's head…
…but it didn't hit.
Kim Soleum casually tilted his head, dodging the pen tip.
"...?!"
Kim Soleum glanced at Baek Saheon.
'How many times do you think I read about your equipment usage on the wiki?'
He already knew how it was loaded.
'You click the left heel twice.'
Having prepared for this ever since they became roommates, Kim Soleum's reflexes, in hindsight, were only natural.
Not that he had expected much, so he wasn't even angry…
'But I can't let this slide.'
At that moment, Kim Soleum grinned at Baek Saheon.
'I know you fired it.'
And that meant one thing:
You're fuckin' screwed.
"..."
Baek Saheon felt a chill run down his spine.
The learned fear surged to near panic levels.
But his objective of creating confusion had succeeded nonetheless.
"Ahhh—"
"...!"
The pen tip struck the locker behind Kim Soleum and exploded, filling the room with light, noise, and smoke.
"…Who did that?!"
At this level of chaos, it didn't matter how softly anyone spoke. This kind of commotion was enough to lure the 'students', even if it meant they'd tolerate some damage to the school's property.
They'd be coming soon.
"...!!"
"Flashlights."
Everyone crouched and pressed themselves against the walls. The smoke obscuring their vision created the worst possible conditions in this nightmare school.
'Who did this?'
For now, survival instincts overrode the need to find the culprit.
'In that case…!'
Baek Saheon seized the opportunity to lunge at the table.
Fountain Pen of Second-Year Student ■■■
He snatched the item and stuffed it into his pocket.
Blending seamlessly back into the crowd of employees, Baek Saheon joined the rush to flee the faculty office.
Inside, the Bureau agents, who had maintained a near-perfect formation to monitor all angles, only realized what had happened once the smoke began to clear.
The fountain pen and the Daydream employees were gone.
"Those Daydream bastards…!"
Kim Soleum had suddenly become guilty by association.
'Wonderful.'
Kim Soleum, who had been keeping an eye on Baek Saheon the entire time, caught the exchange.
But the situation was too urgent to dwell on it.
[There has been a death in the 3rd-floor hallway.]
[The deceased is second-year student Kim Sora.]
The Daydream Inc. employees fleeing down the hallway had killed one of the students.
"…Hah."
The power went out.
Five seconds of darkness.
Flashes of light from flashlights.
Screams.
Corpses.
'This is insane.'
With both people and monstrous entities running rampant, this resembled a scene from a B-grade slasher film.
A suffocating type of terror different from the earlier stillness.
Aaaagh!
There, in the window!
Blood! Blood!
Requesting ba— thud!
Amid the gruesome carnage unfolding in every direction, I somehow managed to spot the students trying to enter the faculty office through the mist and freeze them in place.
It felt like playing a nightmarish tower defense game. Or maybe a horror game where I was trapped and utterly cornered.
"Move!"
The only silver lining was that the agents were taking the brunt of the aggression, leaving me mostly out of the spotlight.
But even that had its limits.
Flicker.
The instant a drop of blood splashed into my eye, I had no choice but to blink.
A student's hand, hooked like a claw, stopped just above my head.
"...!!"
I quickly stepped back.
…My skull had almost been crushed.
My hair stood on end.
'Hah…'
My heart felt like it would give out.
'This is bad.'
This was a death trap.
'The range a single flashlight can cover is no longer enough.'
From what I knew, the number of students per floor varied by each exploration round, but there were at least twenty students on any given floor.
And if someone killed a student and triggered the announcement?
[There has been a death in the second-year faculty office.]
More would come.
Accompanied by another five-second blackout for a moment of silence.
'It never ends.'
The likelihood of everyone dying here and the exploration ending was overwhelmingly high.
So…
'I need to escape while I still can.'
I gritted my teeth.
I needed to find the others on another floor and join forces with them. The mist was beginning to clear, and the blackout had just ended…
Flicker.
'…Now!'
I slid across the faculty office, cutting through the carnage of blood, gore, and violence, and made it out through the door that had been open from the start.
In that instant—
"Mr. Grapes!"
"...!"
As the mist dissipated, I spotted Agent Bronze.
He was grappling with an employee wearing an animal mask— and the owner of that mask was…
"Hiiek—"
"Quiet."
Jang Heo-un, from the Y-squad Round-Off Team.
'So you didn't manage to escape with the others, huh?'
"Use this to restrain him…!"
The agent tossed me what looked like a pair of handcuffs. Clearly, he thought I had come to assist him.
But I had already decided to cut ties with everyone here…
"R-Run, Roe Deer!"
"...!"
Damn it.
Jang Heo-un, startled by his own outburst, slapped a hand over his mouth.
He had called me by the name of my mask.
"…Roe Deer?"
"No, that's…"
The look on the agent's face said it all.
'He knows.'
Damn it. If that's the case…!
I swiftly caught the handcuff-like item the agent had handed me. And then I clamped it on him instead.
"...?!"
The cuffs expanded, binding the agent's arms and mouth, with a silver chain extending from them to my hand.
"Let's go, Bison."
"Y-Yes…?!"
Dragging Jang Heo-un and the restrained agent, I bolted out of the faculty office.
Aaaagh!
[The moment of silence is over. May the deceased rest in peace.]
Leaving behind the chaos of the faculty office, we sprinted madly up the stairs.
A couple of students followed us out but were drawn back by the ongoing commotion inside the office.
"Keep an eye on what's above us."
"Got it!"
Jang Heo-un responded quickly, diligently watching the upper stairwell.
'Huu.'
I stopped midway up the stairs, watching as the students who had been following us disappeared, and turned my head, wanting nothing more than to wipe the sweat off my face.
And that's when I made eye contact with the restrained person at the end of the chain I was holding.
Agent Bronze from the Disaster Management Bureau was glaring at me like he wanted to kill me.
"..."
At this point, I had no choice.
'Time to bluff…!'
With a speed I'd never achieved before in my life, I began crafting an elaborate, emotional appeal.
(T/N: I changed Jang Heo-un's mask to 'bison' instead of 'cow'! The terms are similar in Korean and it wasn't specified at first, but since author-nim's using the clear term for bison now, let's go with that. I've already edited the past chapters to reflect this change.)