The Lights-Out Management Bureau (8)

A familiar scene I've seen countless times welcomes me.

This is an extremely dangerous place. So dangerous that I've already pointlessly burned through five lives, each worth 2,000 points.

If I only count the deaths, this feels worse than the hospital and the giant. If I escape or solve this, will I get points? If not, that's a massive loss.

My mind is racing.

I’m currently guessing that the main culprit in this situation is the ghost that pulls at my neck.

Then I'll need to learn about this ghost before anything can move forward. The people who know... Mr. Spangdal and Gognija, I suppose. Manager Jo Seongchun said he didn't know.

Should I try talking to Mr. Spangdal first?

Maybe they can tell me something before they twist.

If that fails, I can go find Gognija.

Gognija.

He kept saying that the window was the answer.

Why?

I’ve just figured out that simply going out through the window isn't the answer. Is even Gognija deceiving me? Has he been corrupted by this situation and muttering that the window is the answer just to trick me?

Let's think a little more.

I can't just conclude it's all lies because I've seen something.

The medicine from Cheongak Mary Hospital.

Gognija kept picking it up and eating it, and he communicated with me to some extent.

And that pink slime, too... At first I thought it was trying to open the door, but from how it got caught in the destruction, it seems like it was trying to block the door.

In conclusion, Gognija communicated with me while eating medicine from Cheongak Mary Hospital, and the pink slime was trying to help me.

So for now, I can think of one possibility.

The medicine from Cheongak Mary Hospital. Could it have some function that resists contamination or erosion? I'm not sure, but if it's medicine from that hospital, I feel like it could. I'm starting to wish Kim Seonghan were here.

Whatever it is, just barging into the window is the wrong answer. But if certain conditions are met, going in through the window might be the right answer.

All right, let's begin.

"Senior Spangdal!"

I suddenly hugged Spangdal.

"Huh? Why... Aagh?!"

A cute scream.

A burst of fragrance.

Softness and warmth.

From experience, Spangdal had been fine as long as I did this. I don't actually want to do something like this out of nowhere, but I can't help it if it's for solving the situation. This definitely isn't for any other purpose. It's just a tactical judgment to buy time.

"W-why are you suddenly... Y-you shouldn't do that... W-where are you rubbing your face..."

"I'm so scared! I'm shaking all over from fear!"

"Scared...?"

As expected, Spangdal looks troubled, but still rubs my back. It's completely different from the harsh things they usually say to juniors. Did they become this kind because they're a ghost? Isn't there a saying that ghosts act in the opposite way?

Or would the normal Spangdal react like this too?

Seriously.

Every time this happens, I keep thinking it would be great if only Spangdal stayed normal. If Spangdal could communicate like Gognija, this situation could be solved with a conversation...

Wait.

Gognija?

"Ah!"

No, wait...!

If I fed Spangdal the medicine from Cheongak Mary Hospital, couldn't I restore their sanity? Was that the key to solving this?!

A new idea.

A plausible method suddenly came to mind from an unexpected place. I immediately revised my plan. Originally I was going to dig into the neck-pulling ghost, but feeding Spangdal the medicine also looks fine.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Phew... Yes. Thanks to Senior Spangdal comforting me, I feel better now."

"Listen, though. Normally, this isn't okay. Suddenly hugging me, your senior, could be a problem."

"I understand."

"Then... could you let go slowly...? And could you stop rubbing your face against me too..."

Is it about time?

"Wait a moment. I still have one fear left."

"What is it?"

"Senior Spangdal. What if a ghost suddenly appears?"

"A ghost?"

"I mean, a ghost with a stark white face and a long neck. I feel like that ghost will keep pulling at my neck. If a ghost like that appears, what should I do?"

"Well,","the","thing","is","..."

I wasn't expecting anything, you spiky monster bitch!

—Wham!

"

Groong,

what

are

you

doing

?

I

gave

you

a

warm

hug

already

,

though

."

I shook off the leg sweep at once and fled, throwing myself forward.

It was warm for a moment, Senior!

"Kraaah!"

For now, let's find Manager Jo Seongchun first!

To be honest, he wouldn't be much help. Judging from his attitude and insight, I could tell he was a fairly capable agent, but right now he was nothing more than a trapped prisoner. He didn't even have a weapon.

But there is one absolute reason I need Manager Jo Seongchun.

For tanking!

Still, just the two of us should be able to avoid the neck-pulling ghost and make it safely to the laboratory.

—Beep!

I quickly went into the place where Manager Jo Seongchun was being held.

"Manager Jo Seongchun? Could it really be Manager Jo Seongchun?!"

"What...? Who's calling me... Huh? It's not a weird entity?!"

"That's right!"

"R-right! It's me! Manager Jo Seongchun! Then you are!"

I quickly freed him from the restraints in the dark.

"I'm Lee Seungcheol, an Administration Bureau agent! Operation Vacuum has begun! And so has the rescue operation for Manager Jo Seongchun!"

"What! The Vacuum Operation has started! Then you found the location of this fake Administration Bureau and launched a full-scale assault?!"

"That's right!"

"At last...!"

Freed, Manager Jo Seongchun happily raised his fist and savored the joy. Of course, it's all a lie. I'm going to keep deceiving him from here on out.

Suddenly, I felt like I had become some kind of ghost that deceives people. Because through repeated regressions, I'm filling the same person with false hope and tricking him into a death march.

I'm probably overthinking it.

"For now, let's go! This is the underground detention facility of the fake Administration Bureau! We need to find the escape route!"

"Got it...!"

This time, I took the lead.

Even so, I never took my eyes off Manager Jo Seongchun. He might suddenly turn into a lung with a mouth, after all. If I looked away for no reason, that could happen.

Come to think of it, in the last loop I kept him in my sight the whole time.

"Hey! Which way do we go!"

"Honestly, I don't know in detail! We just have to find the escape route!"

"Is it a spatially twisted anomalous phenomenon!"

I had explained it roughly, and he understood perfectly.

As we ran, looking for the laboratory...

—Peek.

As expected.

A stark white face began to appear around the corner.

"Damn it! It's an anomalous phenomenon! Hey! Run the other way!"

"Yes!"

Manager Jo Seongchun quickly turned and ran. I followed him and ran hard too. But just like in the previous loop, a white face kept appearing at every corner, peeking out.

"This is insane! It's showing up at every corner! Do we have to fight it!"

Manager Jo Seongchun rolled up his sleeves and violently yanked his tie loose. He looked pretty cool doing it, but I'd already seen this bastard get instantly killed by that ghost.

"Fight what? Just focus on running!"

"Huh!"

I grabbed his neck as he tried to step forward and pulled him back.

I did hire Manager Jo Seongchun as the tank for my Groong party, but that doesn't mean I can let him die meaninglessly.

The more extra lives I leave in reserve, the better.

"Save that for the very end! Let's run first! We can't win anyway!"

"Can't win? What do you mean can't win, you bastard! I'm Manager Jo Seongchun of the Administration Bureau!"

"So what, you bastard!"

"I've beaten so many entities I could line them up around the Earth..."

"You're bare-handed!"

"W-well, I do need my soulmate, the special electric three-section baton. Ah, but that got confiscated too. Can't you find it somehow?"

Is this guy seriously worrying about that right now?

At least I found out that Manager Jo Seongchun uses some weird weapon.

Anyway.

Even if the neck-pulling ghost is scary, I can somehow run away. Every time I died, it was always at the critical moment.

—Peek.

"Turn!"

I changed direction every time the peekaboo face appeared.

And then, at some point.

—Swoosh.

Windows began appearing along the corridor walls. Hundreds of ominous windows, with stark white hands jutting out of them.

"Gasp! Don't let it grab you!"

"You'll know when you see it! Ah, there!"

How long had we been running?

The laboratory is in sight up ahead!

"Where is that?"

"Let's go, for now!"

Final sprint.

I took out my ID card and scanned it as soon as we reached the front of the laboratory.

The door opened and we went inside.

"What is this...!"

What greeted me the moment I went in was Gognija fused to the display, taking medicine, and the pink slime spinning around in donut-shaped trajectories while scurrying about.

"Where are we, and you! What is that! That card-like thing! How do you have that!"

After looking around briefly, Manager Jo Seongchun glared at me and took a fighting stance.

Did the ID card expose my lie?

His instincts really are sharp.

"It's a card recovered from hostile entities. I was able to come down here with it."

"What...?"

I just said that off the cuff. There's no point in deceiving him any further. I need to ask Gognija for advice about the current situation.

—Bang!

At that moment, the laboratory door shook violently.

—Scurry, scurry, scurry!

The pink slime, jolted once, scurried toward the door. And before long, it clung to the door as if becoming one with it.

So it was blocking it after all.

Then Gognija, too.

"Team Leader of the isolation unit! Are you holding your sanity together with that medicine!"

"Yeah... you... quickly... through the window..."

It really is the window again!

"Where's the window!"

"Window..."

I can't see any window.

Gognija, too, keeps muttering only "window" like he's broken.

"How do I survive the white ghost from the ghost story that pulls at your neck!"

"Window..."

Damn it!

Communication isn't working!

"Hand over the medicine, then!"

If I want to feed Spangdal the medicine, I have to snatch that first.

I'll think about the method then.

The moment I approached Gognija...

—Crash!

The door shattered, and pink mushy liquid splashed along with the fragments. Looking back, the weird entities were coming in. Manager Jo Seongchun had already identified me as an enemy, and was hiding far away behind research equipment.

Then the entire laboratory is plastered with ominous windows.

—Peek.

The neck-pulling ghost peeks out.

"Groong, you were here?..."

A pitch-black Spangdal enters.

"T-that, that's Spangdal?!"

Manager Jo Seongchun shouted in shock.

"And Groong...? T-that strange name, don't tell me!"

He looks at me in horror.

"Don't tell me your codename...!"

"Ah."

So I really got found out.

Come to think of it, this is the first time Manager Jo Seongchun has figured this out. The first time, didn't he say that introducing ourselves would register us in the Administration Bureau database? So we never even exchanged names.

"That's right!"

It was the moment Manager Jo Seongchun shouted.

—Crack.

—Crackle!

"Huh?"

My vision suddenly started to shake.

No.

It feels like it's being wildly distorted and warped.

"What...?"

What hit me?

This is a first.

My warped vision makes me feel like I'm about to fall over, and the nonstop flashes feel like a night watchman is blasting my eyes with flashbangs while I'm asleep...

"Get out through the window!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

In that instant, Gognija's mouth gaped open and an unbelievable shriek burst out. In a scene that felt like the whole world was collapsing.

I can see a window.

The one connected to the Reality Recognition Device.

In the place where the red door had been.

There is a window instead of a door.

"When did that get there...?"

Earlier than I thought.

I was running toward the window.

Wasn't that the correct window?

"U, uaaah!"

The moment I was practically screaming and threw myself toward the window.

The whole world turned white.

.

.

.

—Ding.

.

.

.

[You survived 'The Lights-Out Administration Bureau'.]

.

.

.

[You survived the ghost-story woman who yanks your neck and makes your face go white.]

.

.

.

[Point settlement in progress...]

[You gained 2,000 points as a reward.]

notes

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etc. Could use concise JSON without formatting? Need valid and avoid errors. Must ensure finalLines array includes all strings, no note strings inside array. I can provide multi-line JSON. Need carefully reconstruct without mistakes. Since final answer must be exact. Because of length, maybe easier to provide compact JSON with array entries separated by commas. But risk errors. Need maybe check count in my prepared list. I need produce valid JSON and no accidental field names inside finalLines. Let's rewrite cleanly from scratch using the list. This is long but manageable. Need ensure not include the accidental trailing stuff. Let's do properly. Because of length, I can omit whitespace. Need exact 244 strings. Let's generate in final. Need be careful line 311 string with quotes requires escaping. In JSON, string containing quotation marks needs escaping as `"`. Our finalLines entries with actual quotes must be escaped. Same for `

` etc. Need many quoted dialogue lines. This is manageable but lengthy. Perhaps better to use plain text strings with escaped quotes in JSON array. Many entries contain quotes. Need escape all inner quotes. That's a lot. Yet okay. But line 108 entry currently is `"` as a literal quote line. In JSON string, needs `

? Actually content is a double quote character. Represent as `

`? No, use `"`. So finalLines entry should be `

? Hmm. Let's simplify: lines with just quote marks can be represented as `

? Wait JSON string with a single quote character is `

`? No, content is `"`, represented by `

`? Let's be precise: the JSON string value containing a double quote character is `

`? Actually in JSON the text is `

`? No, that would be comma. To represent quote, use `