I lined the Goe Bungs up in a row and began roll call.
「All personnel, attention.」
"S-screech?"
「Salute the Rookie.」
"Grrrkk??"
"Backrooms, they’re too dumb to read."
They could communicate to some extent, but apparently they couldn’t read.
Well, that was probably why they were low-intelligence anomalies.
Anomalies whose intelligence literally just ‘existed.’
"Still, we managed to catch them all somehow. I thought it’d be a real hassle when they started running the second they saw us."
「I did good, right?」
"You were amazing. As expected of the GOAT among location-type ghost stories."
「Heheh.」
Thanks to Backrooms’s help,
I was able to capture the entire Goe Bung family.
They leaped over me to escape, slithered like snakes between my legs to escape...
There had been plenty of twists and turns, but with Backrooms’s help, I eventually caught every last Goe Bung.
"All right, everyone, time to work. Get a handover from Goe Bung on how to do it."
"Screeech!!"
"Goe Bung, you go back in there one more time too."
"Kigigik!"
After hearing the Goe Bungs’ spirited metallic screeches,
I nodded and went to sit in a corner.
「What are you doing?」
"Browsing the gallery. I’ve been exploring lately, so I haven’t been able to get on at all."
Clatter.
I took a charger out of my pocket and plugged it into my phone.
I’d gotten it during the last big exchange.
It was something I absolutely needed, so I’d paid five energy bars for it.
[Chat]: Ah, aren’t you selling any more energy bars?ㅠㅠ
[Chat]: Why are godnergy bars so GOATed?
[Request]: Rookie, I’m so hungry..
"Guess it’s about time I put out more. Maybe I should just give them away this time?"
Was it because I hadn’t logged in for a while?
A whole mountain of posts I hadn’t seen had piled up.
Most of them were about me and energy bars.
From now on, I was planning to give them out for free instead of selling them.
I’d already gotten more than enough out of it.
And if those guys didn’t have energy bars, they’d go around hunting people, wouldn’t they?
Better for me to make a little sacrifice on my end.
As I scrolled down,
"...Huh? What kind of bait is this now?"
One popular post caught my eye.
[Request][★]: Rookie, please, I’m begging you, make it stop..
Author: CleanlinessKing
(Photo of a wire anomaly overturning an office desk)
I searched the gallery, and it looks like this thing is your subordinate.
Please, just get it out of here;;
It’s causing a scene even now, smashing the bookshelf I painstakingly organized.
When am I supposed to clean up all the powder it dropped on the floor? Ugh..
I don’t know what its purpose is,
but all someone weak like me can do is beg.
I’ll show you the crown of my head, so please take it away ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
[Total comments - 12]
ChaoticLife: What an absolute fucking mess lolㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ChaoticLife: Ah, wait, fuck, why is it coming after me?
└LookAtMyEyes: This guy got hit by Rookie too wwwww
└ElectricalEngineeringNeeded: Dude, this isn’t the time to laugh..
└ProtectJustice: For real, if it were just one or two people getting hit, maybe,
└ProtectJustice: but this many gallery users being harmed is kind of serious..
HappyBath: Rookie, this really isn’t okay.
└HappyBath: You haven’t been posting on the gallery lately, so quit hiding and come apologize.
└AshesMimic: Gasp.
└DontTurnAround: Is this person brave, or just low-intelligence?
└EightSpiderLegs: Where do you live?
└FenceLover: Gasp.
└CandyOldMan: You crazy bastard, HappyBath, run away already.
"...Fuck."
This bastard, Goe Bung...
What the hell had he been doing outside?
I used the search bar to read posts related to me.
Posts saying they’d suddenly been attacked by a wire anomaly, and that after holding out for a while, it had left on its own.
Even if I watched it while doing a forward roll, it was obviously Goe Bung’s doing.
That was strange. I definitely told Goe Bung not to fight, didn’t I?
"Wait, then that stuff you had on you last time, could it have been..."
「...」
Just as I blankly stared at my phone,
Thud! Crash!!
Doors opened all over the place,
and Goe Bungs began popping out from them.
"Stop right there. You’re the original Goe Bung, aren’t you?"
"Ch-chik?"
"Come here. Take your beating."
I grabbed a crowbar and charged at Goe Bung.
*
[Chat][★]: I apologize to everyone at the Ghost Story Minor Gallery.
Author: Anonymous (999.1)
(Photo of wire anomalies bowing their heads)
First of all, the low-intelligence anomaly that attacked you all really is my subordinate.
I dispatched them for certain reasons,
but I never imagined they would forget the order to avoid fighting.
This is clearly my responsibility,
and I would like to offer my sincere compensation to all anomalies who suffered damage.
(Photo of RapidExchangeSlave holding energy bars and almond water)
(Photo of RapidExchangeSlave shedding tears of joy)
@RapidExchangeSlave
I have delivered a large quantity of supplies to the gallery user above.
I have explained the outline of the incident, so if you need energy bars in the future, please take as many as you want.
I will take special care to ensure nothing like this happens again.
In conclusion: I’m sorry, ghost-gallery users.
[Total comments - 69]
Facting: Sincere?? Compensation???
└Facting: Fuck, does he think this is some kind of game quest?
└WhiteBear: That’s not the kind of compensation he means, dude......
EightSpiderLegs: Is this for real!?!? Woooooo!!!!!
└EightSpiderLegs: I can’t hold back anymore, Rookie! Get ready for a big kiss!!!!!
└FenceLover: Why is this person so happy?
└DontTurnAround: Energy bars are fucking delicious, so of course they can be happy lol
└DevotedSpider: I was just about to run out of the energy bars I’d been saving.
CleanlinessKing: I wasn’t expecting anything this huge..
└ProtectJustice: So you’re not going to eat them?
└CleanlinessKing: Fuck, of course I’m gonna eat them lolㅋㅋㅋㅋ I guess I’ll put off cleaning today.
└ProtectJustice: Mm-hm, it’s worth it.
Drinker: Wow, that’s some insanely generous compensation.
└Drinker: I forgive you for smashing up the Gatorade in my house, yeah.
└AshesMimic: Wait, why was he stockpiling Gatorade when he can’t even drink beverages? lolㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└Drinker: It’s my meme.
MadamRabbit: Hehe, I’m so happy I can eat unlimited energy bars!
└YoungIsBest: Ma’am..
MadamRabbit: What. What is it this time?
...
*
Meanwhile, in the Bureau cafeteria.
"I’m not going! I can’t go!!"
"It’s the branch manager’s order. Don’t be like that and get up..."
"How the hell am I supposed to go into that insane place again!?"
Everyone stopped eating and looked in one direction.
The Exploration Team Leader and Kang Seoyun.
They were both on their feet, having a heated argument.
"I still can’t forget the senior who died right in front of me! I mean Assistant Manager Seo, who got crushed to death by an anomaly!"
Bang!!
Seoyun slammed the table, venting her rage.
As though he understood how she felt,
the team leader wore a troubled expression.
"He died because of his own mistake. He was the one who manipulated the staff into bullying you in the first place. He wasn’t suited to be an assistant manager."
"But his ability was exceptional. Exceptional enough to become an assistant manager at such a young age."
"..."
Assistant Manager Seo.
A man who had encouraged workplace bullying along with several other employees, yet whose competence had been unquestionable.
He was an employee whose strength was his durability, gained by combining item-type ghost stories.
And he had died in an instant within Void.
"I have no intention of getting revenge. He’s someone I have nothing but bad memories of, but..."
Thump.
Seoyun sat down and glared firmly at the team leader.
"That’s exactly why I have no intention of entering Void."
"...Hah."
The team leader exhaled sharply through his nose as if frustrated.
He rummaged through his pants pocket for a moment,
then pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to Seoyun.
"Take it. And read it."
"This is..."
[Void & The Untouchable Subjugation Report]
[Personnel in Charge: Yoon Chaewon, Seoul Branch Manager; Employee Kang Seoyun]
1. The above operation shall be carried out solely by Yoon Chaewon and Kang Seoyun...
It was an utterly ordinary report.
However, the sentence written on the very last line shook Seoyun to her core.
12. Effective immediately, failure of or withdrawal from the operation will result in immediate resignation from the Bureau.
"...What exactly is this supposed to mean?"
"It means you have no choice."
Seoyun couldn’t take her eyes off the report for a long while.
Only after some time had passed did she startle and snap at the team leader.
"N-no! I didn’t even sign this!?"
"The Seoul Branch Manager signed it for you, apparently."
"This is blatant forgery! Q-quick, we need to report this...!"
"You know we can’t use state agencies. The Bureau is a classified organization."
Kang Seoyun fell into a panic, clutching at her white hair.
After looking at Seoyun with pity,
the team leader patted her shoulder and whispered into her ear.
"This is only a rumor I heard, but if you earn merit in a Catastrophe-rank anomaly operation, they’ll promote you straight to an executive position."
"...Gasp."
"Kang Seoyun, you joined the Bureau because you wanted to make money, didn’t you?"
Seoyun’s eyes widened.
"I heard your mother is fighting cancer. An employee’s salary alone probably isn’t enough."
"That’s... right."
"It’s already happening anyway. There’s nowhere to retreat to, so you have to face it head-on, right?"
Unneeded revenge.
The threat of death.
Reasons so small and intangible as those
"...Yes, I’ll do it."
weren’t enough to navigate this capitalist society.
*
Time flowed on and on.
It had already been three months since I’d been trapped in Backrooms (I didn’t actually count).
"Bzzzt! Bzzzzzzzt!!!"
"...Ugh, I dozed off for a second. Why are you calling me?"
"Chizzzzzzzk!!!!"
"No way. You found it!?"
Goe Bung had found a door leading outside.
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