Underground Laboratory.
Kwak Jekang’s eyes tremble as he looks around the Dream Incubation Room of the Cheerful Research Institute, specifically at the giant dream incubator in the center.
However, the countdown had already begun.
A low-quality recorded melody and a cheerful shout.
[10! 9! 8!]
"What do I know? You want me to blabber everything I know about the Potion Brewing Device?"
I watched him in silence.
[7! 6!]
"No, haha. Potion brewing? Did I see it once when I joined? Even if you make such demands of a raw material supply researcher... Though irrationality is the charm of the Darkness, this is—"
Kwak Jekang stopped moving.
"……Wait a minute."
His voice trembled.
"Could that be, is it that?" Not with fear, but with excitement.
[5! 4!]
The flames of madness sparked in the eyes of one who had realized the truth.
"It’s the potion device prototype!"
The countdown stopped.
But Kwak Jekang’s mouth did not.
"The version where production quality isn't restricted! Ah, I don’t have much passion for Daydream potions, but the Potion Brewing Device is a different story, haha..."
A smile spread across Kwak Jekang’s face.
"It originated from the Darkness, didn't it? And that’s the original device extracted from the Darkness!"
……!!
"To think it’s right before my eyes! If you had just shown me this instead of doing all this, I would have testified to anything!"
He muttered while looking at the dream incubator as if he were licking it.
"Where on earth did you procure this? If it's enough to produce a Wish Ticket, it must be an Abyss-grade Darkness. Which ghost story did it come from? I don't know which higher-up is doing this, but don't you need a researcher? I'm a tight-lipped expert full of passion for research!"
A wide grin spread across Kwak Jekang’s face.
"Better than the wasted effort I was doing in the Annex! Hey, can I take a closer look? That’s..."
Whoosh.
I heavily laid out Black Smoke in front of Kwak Jekang as he tried to stand up.
Kwak Jekang stopped in his tracks.
However, the eyes in his upturned face gleamed with interest, not fear.
"Your temperament is no joke. Haha... Where are you from? Which Darkness responded to the call of Daydream? Fire? Water? Insane imagination? Fairy tales? The Throne of Pure Silver?"
I did not answer.
But in my head, the special Exploration Records that Kwak Jekang had been involved in flickered past.
What would be the best thing to let him misunderstand me as?
'Something as powerful as possible, and something Kwak Jekang doesn't know well.'
But a place where he could spread the wings of his imagination.
I reached out and pointed.
Right at...
The yellow lantern wrapped in flames like ribs, hanging from my waist.
"…A star?"
Kwak Jekang muttered.
So that's how he understood it.
"Darkness related to a star. Gold, binding... Haha, interesting... Are you very interested in humans?"
I did not answer.
Instead, I pressed the Carrot.
[Starting the next round.]
[Now, the question!]
Kwak Jekang was now looking at me with interest rather than tension.
He seemed excited by the thought that he might gain information related to the dream incubator from the question.
But you see.
This isn't a question related to the incubator.
It’s a question to strike your head.
[Is the Darkness IW-B-553, which you secretly swapped to deploy J-Team without your superior's knowledge, still under observation?]
Kwak Jekang’s face froze.
[10, 9, 8...]
"It is under observation."
The countdown stopped.
"…How did you know? Did the company already know?"
There's no way.
It’s just that I know all the crazy things this bastard Kwak Jekang did through the '#Exploration Record (Extra)' page of the Dark Exploration Record.
Among them, I just had to pick an unexpected incident that was large enough to cause a stir in the Development Department if discovered, but remained undetected until the very end.
'The Endless Life of J-Team.'
This Irregular Record, famous for making people feel disgusted after reading it, made one feel quite uncomfortable just thinking that this happened in reality.
But it was certainly useful in this situation.
'He'll never think I'm just an individual who resigned.'
It didn't matter how well Kwak Jekang read people or how quick-witted he was. Because that was impossible.
On the contrary, he had no choice but to think like this:
'Ah, someone among the company's higher-ups noticed what I did.'
From here on, it was easy.
"…Haha, if you used the Security Team to call me separately like this instead of a formal disciplinary action... what did I touch there? What kind of secret was there?"
While letting the opponent misunderstand, I could lead the situation as I desired.
"Did it have something to do with this place?"
I did not answer the muttering Kwak Jekang. Instead...
[Next...]
I turned off the Carrot.
And I approached Kwak Jekang and reached out my hand.
"…!"
I pushed him, still bound to the chair, and dragged him in front of the incubator.
"Ha... haha!"
Kwak Jekang laughed while breaking into a cold sweat.
It was a bit gross to feel that he had expectations for what was to come even amidst fear, but regardless, he stopped in front of the glowing dream incubator.
The light of the Dream Essence Liquid reflected in his glasses.
And I turned the Carrot recorder on again.
A cheerful child's voice was heard.
[What functions do you think the machine in front of you has?]
"…A more powerful and fundamental potion brewing function! As much as it originated from the Darkness, there must be more extreme rules that are difficult for humans to understand! Can I touch it? No, even just observing it."
I allowed Kwak Jekang to stand up, but I strictly monitored everything as he placed his hands on the incubator.
Kwak Jekang, while breaking into a cold sweat, could not hide his excitement as he busily inspected and tapped various parts of the incubator.
"It's crude... but it's actually more complex than the company's completed brewing device, yes. Is that natural? There are fewer buttons... emoticons? What's this? This is..."
And then he pressed the side of the incubator.
...A pipe similar to the one I had used to inject the liquid revealed itself.
To think there was such a thing.
'Can you drain the liquid through there?'
I should keep that in mind. In an emergency, I could extract all the Dream Essence Liquid from there.
In the meantime, Kwak Jekang inspected various places as if possessed, and soon peered into the glass container where the Dream Essence Liquid was stored.
To be precise, the silhouette faintly visible inside the Dream Essence Liquid.
An orange mass about five times the size of an egg.
"That thing in the center! What is that? It's something that wasn't in the company's brewing device!"
I didn't say anything.
Because I didn't know either...
However, thanks to the situation I had created, Kwak Jekang seemed to have interpreted the suggestion of 'this isn't a story for you' on his own.
He smacked his lips and took his hands off, but his gaze still greedily scanned the incubator.
Then his gaze stopped at the very bottom.
The spot where a button had been removed.
"Ah, this place... looks like the spot for manufacturing Wish Tickets."
……!
"Is it? It seems so. Ah, did you leave it like this for fear that I might press it?"
Wait a minute.
That spot... was originally the place for Wish Tickets?
Did even the prototype have a function to extract Wish Tickets?
'Then, originally... it means Wish Tickets were even more powerful than they are now.'
Just what were they making at the Cheerful Research Institute?
And...
'If I find that button and restore it, can I... also obtain the Cheerful Research Institute version of the Wish Ticket?'
Thump. Thump.
My head grew dizzy with the sound of my heart beating.
No, no... let's calm down.
This was merely Kwak Jekang’s speculation.
And even if that speculation was correct, the power of the Wish Tickets I knew was all based on those refined by Daydream Inc.
What kind of crazy effect the 'original' produced by the Cheerful Research Institute would have... no one could guarantee.
Let's not be seduced by a gamble when there's a certain answer!
'Phew.'
"I think I could find out more if you gave me more time. I don't know who you are, but if you let me join this project..."
Kwak Jekang spoke suggestively and looked at me.
I looked at him without a word.
Black Smoke stretched out toward him like a line.
Kwak Jekang flinched.
The Black Smoke circled Kwak Jekang once as if telling him not to do anything foolish, or perhaps as if appraising him... and then was sucked back into my body when I took a breath.
"Ha."
I reached out and activated 'Everything the Carrot Can Know' again.
Let's wrap this up.
'If I get too greedy, he might notice.'
And the final touch... was for the perfect setup.
[What was the thing you wanted to hide during today's game of truth?]
"…!"
It was the question the Security Team always asked at the end of an interrogation.
A direct hit that drives people into despair—the ones who thought they'd be fine as long as they didn't lie and tried to talk in circles.
However, Kwak Jekang gave a thin smile.
"Nothing in particular. Haha!"
He really seemed like a madman.
"You already seem to be turning a blind eye even while knowing all the disciplinary matters I was hiding, so what's there to hide?"
He smacked his lips.
"It's just a shame. I suppose I'm not the kind of talent that team wants? Hmm, then who would be in that team... A secret team, disappearances, hmm."
And then.
"Assistant Manager Kim Soleum?"
I almost jumped off the floor.
"Looking at you like this, your physique seems similar... Come to think of it, yes. Soleum's mask also had a light attached to it. Did you perhaps spirit that employee away from the train and use him as a vessel for your arrival?"
This crazy bastard.
"I knew something was strange! That train Darkness was the kind where disappearing in such a way didn't fit. Now the puzzle pieces are clicking together. Hahaha."
Wait a minute.
The train Darkness was 'the kind where disappearing in such a way didn't fit'?
Those words sounded as if...
'It’s like he knew about the Tamra-bound train ghost story in advance!'
At that moment, I realized.
'This was a trap this bastard set up!'
The fact that a business trip to the province was suddenly decided, and the fact that I got caught in a train ghost story on the way.
It wasn't an unlucky coincidence; it was a trap this bastard had set.
'He had collected information about the Tamra-bound train.'
Yes, Kwak Jekang could play tricks in ways that weren't in the <Dark Exploration Record>.
Because of the variable called 'me'!
"A moral rookie who knows fear. Geez, just listing those makes him seem like the perfect candidate for a Human Sacrifice..."
And that way of speaking, as if he had looked into 'Kim Soleum' more thoroughly than I thought.
...He knew?
My personality?
"Anyway. This makes me want to confirm if my hypothesis is correct! Whether that Security Team uniform was made using the skin of that unlucky employee as raw material! Was there a compatibility?"
Let's stay calm.
I deliberately did not react.
As if I wouldn't give any information, whether he was talking nonsense or deducing the truth.
As if anything other than the task I was assigned was meaningless and of no interest.
Then, I suddenly picked up the Carrot recorder and shook it slightly.
"……Tsk. You're taciturn—"
At that moment.
The Sergeant, who had been hiding behind the desk, popped out and struck the back of Kwak Jekang’s neck, knocking him unconscious.
"Ugh."
With a short thud, his body collapsed to the floor.
'Phew.'
Somehow, I felt refreshed.
"I just have to... leave him outside, right...?"
I quickly nodded.
And as I watched the Sergeant move Kwak Jekang, I quickly took off the Security Team uniform.
'…Done.'
What would happen now?
The Sergeant would dump Kwak Jekang near the company as he was, and he would be 'discovered' by Supervisor Park Minseong and transported.
That way, Supervisor Park Minseong could testify, 'I discovered Manager Kwak Jekang unconscious near the company and brought him back.'
Because that would be the last eyewitness account!
'Seeing me or the Sergeant would become unrelated to business.'
In that way, Supervisor Park Minseong could erase my eyewitness account from the report without having to lie.
—Mr. Roe Deer! Ah, it was a truly enjoyable viewing. Wit, deception, secrets. You used the three elements very entertainingly.
After finishing changing, I picked up Braun, whom I had seated in a corner of the office, and tucked him into my front pocket, and he showered me with applause.
'Really? It wasn't awkward?'
—Ah, it was seamless. That boldness to not even bat an eye when you were mentioned yourself! It was a very wonderful performance.
—But aren't you worried that fellow will return and expose this whole situation, Friend?
Ah. That.
I laughed confidently.
'That won't happen.'
—Oho?
Because Kwak Jekang was a man whose brain worked.
Security Team interrogations are non-disclosure matters.
It was common for everyone to keep their mouths shut until a related person who knew something asked directly.
Especially in Kwak Jekang’s case, it would be even more so.
If the interrogation was related to his own crazy abuse of authority, even more so!
'Why would he go around blabbering in advance that he did something to get disciplined for?'
And that's even before he gets to feel the catharsis of 'observing what kind of result comes out.'
—Indeed!
This was better than a Binding Restriction.
I recalled Supervisor Park Minseong’s worried voice.
—It would be good if there were a memory-erasing potion or a non-disclosure potion.
I could buy them, but I didn't use them.
Weren't those potions made by Daydream?
Someone of Kwak Jekang’s position would be able to purchase potions with dispelling effects from the Point Mall, and he would have doubts about a Binding Restriction that could be easily broken like that.
The important thing was to handle this matter naturally.
In a way that suggested 'it's meaningless even if you blabber about it.'
And even in the off chance that Kwak Jekang did blabber, so that the higher-up who heard it would think it wasn't strange that someone from some faction was conducting such a secret project.
—So Mr. Roe Deer put all his effort into perfectly recreating that 'Security Team interrogation.'
—So that even the related parties would be fooled if word got around.
'Exactly.'
The only thing weighing on my mind was... that he associated Kim Soleum with my Security Team attire.
Even if Kwak Jekang went around talking very specifically later, by the time this news reached Director Ho, I wouldn't be here.
"Done."
In this way, I succeeded in cleaning up the situation while scraping all the information out of Kwak Jekang.
My whole body aches...
'Should I rest for a bit before the Head of Security comes?'
Dealing with a crazy researcher gave me heartburn.
I organized all the Security Team uniforms and stored them in my inventory tattoo, then sat in front of the dream incubator.
And I stared at it quietly.
—Friend, sorry to disturb your rest, but... ah, now I feel like giving you a slight hint and a preview.
'…A preview?'
—That's right! Let's heighten the tension a bit.
—A very interesting event will happen soon.
"……Braun?"
It was then.
Buzz.
My phone vibrated.
"…!"
A contact at this time of night.
Could something have happened at the Disaster Management Bureau? Like rescue requests coming in so redundantly that they couldn't be handled.
I immediately opened my Smartphone. But...
[K.LEE: Oh, it's been a long time since I contacted you, Employee-nim lolol]
[K.LEE: Are you doing well?]
Huh?
A person with a picture of a Hawaiian beach as their profile photo.
The employee who introduced himself as C-Team Assistant Manager Lee Kangheon, the one who connected me to the Salmon Market, appeared there.
But...
A text message came?
'That's impossible.'
Because, because...
I was already a dead person to Daydream.
It had been a long time since I changed my number.
'…….'
Something was wrong.
Even in the meantime, the phone kept buzzing.
[K.LEE: Right lol I heard you're an Assistant Manager now]
[K.LEE: No...]
[K.LEE: Are you a spy?]
"Exactly."
I turned my head.
"To be a real spy, you see."
From behind the office chair in the dream incubation room, someone appeared, taking off the Goblin Hat they had been wearing on their head.
Agent Choi.
In his hand, the note I had given was held, crumpled.
"You should have intercepted a hint like this somehow. ...Mr. Roe Deer."
The Executioner's Sword plunged down.
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