Chapter 109: The Restorer (5)

[Ghost Story] My friend disappeared. Either that, or I’ve gone insane. -4

Sorry. I didn’t realize the post I put up earlier had gotten that many comments.

Like you probably all saw in the comments, I talked things out with the guy who emailed me.

That file, I couldn’t tell because it didn’t have an extension.

But if you open it as an audio file, it plays.

Honestly, I don’t even know what I’m supposed to write anymore.

Since a lot of you are curious, when I played it, there was a voice.

You guys can probably hear it too if you just download the file and convert it to mp3.

It basically says he’s trapped on basement level 4....

The part that’s making me feel like I’m losing my mind is that our data center only has three basement floors.

Fuck. I don’t know how I’m supposed to process this.

If I’m not imagining things....

That voice. It’s J.

Or maybe I just want to believe that?

I seriously don’t know anything anymore.

Today makes ten days since J disappeared.

Maybe there really is some kind of space underground and he fell into a sealed-off area.

Or maybe someone locked him in there to fuck with him....

I can’t stop thinking about it anymore, so I’m going to go check for myself.

If there isn’t another post after this, someone please report it for me.

***

[Ghost Story] (No Title) (My friend disappeared. Either that, or I’ve gone insane. -5)

Integration of 2 new nodes has been completed.

The need for additional device connections has been recognized.

Retrieving the IP address of the device currently viewing this post.

A new data update will now begin.

Heat generation caused by this process is normal, so please breathe slowly.

Once the update is complete, please reboot the device.

***

Everyone in the Governance conference room had been silent for quite some time, each reading through the ghost story on their own.

Mi-ae quietly swallowed a yawn and waited.

Once Su-myeon seemed to be the first to finish reading, she finally continued her explanation.

“The rest of you can listen while you read.”

Su-myeon was the one who would be making the biggest decision anyway.

Mi-ae continued.

“When I looked into it, the prevailing opinion was that the setting of this ghost story is an abandoned data center belonging to some company in Chuncheon.”

Chuncheon.

“Yep, that’s right. It also matches the place on the map the dokkaebi sent us!”

In other words, there was an extremely high chance a ghost story was there!

As Mi-ae continued cheerfully, Ju-hee, who seemed to have done some investigating of her own, added,

“Also, apparently the main reason that data center shut down was a sudden wave of employee resignations and difficulty hiring new workers.”

But there were still strange points remaining.

More precisely, there were suspicious details that looked like signs of a ghost story.

“They kept trying to hire replacements, but maybe because of some regional issue, people apparently quit faster than they could bring in new employees.”

But when they looked at the actual numbers, something was wrong.

“Number of workers, total employees by period, new hires, resignations. None of the figures match at all.”

As was often the case with disappearances tied to ghost stories.

It was as though people had simply vanished into thin air.

The number of vacant positions was far greater than the number of people officially recorded as having resigned.

“Looks pretty certain this time even without a shaman.”

Du-pal spoke while skimming through the material.

He was right.

There was no reason to drag things out, so Su-myeon nodded and stood up.

“Let’s get ready to leave right away.”

***

Since the place was already an abandoned building, there was probably no survivor whose life was in immediate danger.

Most of the people involved had likely disappeared five years ago, before the data center shut down.

And five years....

'It’ll be hard to expect any normal survivors.'

Based on Su-myeon’s experience, one or two years seemed to be about the limit.

Past that, it seemed less like surviving inside a ghost story and more like becoming assimilated into it and absorbed by it.

If enough time passed, they might even lose their bodies altogether, like Cheshire or Mu-yeon....

“You’re storing everything in your inventory anyway, right?”

Jae-hak prepared no fewer than three emergency kits for Su-myeon.

It was enough equipment that Su-myeon felt like they could probably perform surgery inside a ghost story for most injuries.

Of course, infections and similar problems were another matter, but in any case, it was an excessive amount of preparation.

“I even got Director Jang’s approval for this.”

They had also prepared enough anesthetic to use on nearly thousands of people.

Now that they knew a state of suspended animation could also be meaningfully utilized inside a ghost story.

They simply wanted to find out whether anesthesia had the same effect as well.

“If we’re going to test it anyway, then if it works, we should be able to use it immediately.”

Had Jae-hak’s long experience inside a ghost story been that exhausting?

His preparations were almost excessively thorough.

The luggage was heavy, but Han-su would be there, so Su-myeon packed as much as he could for now.

“Mu-yeon can carry a bag too.”

Seeing the pile of food and medical supplies being stacked up for Han-su to carry, Hwi-yeon promoted her younger brother as well.

As though confident in himself too, Mu-yeon let out one loud bark.

For this trip, Su-myeon planned to take Han-su and Mu-yeon with him.

“...I think it’ll be enough if Mr. Mu-yeon carries plenty of food for himself.”

And just in case, Su-myeon also planned to prepare a smartphone for Mu-yeon and put it in his backpack.

A bright yellow sun visor and backpack did not exactly suit the dignity of a giant wolf.

Still, Mu-yeon could carry his own share in his own way.

In the meantime, Su-myeon took a look around the Governance for the first time in a while.

“Ah, I’m dying here.”

Because the wound on Cheshire’s sole was worse than expected, he had been forcibly confined to the infirmary.

At first, he had made a huge fuss about how he was perfectly fine and how suffocating it was to be stuck there.

But once he heard they were going into a data center, he belatedly started exaggerating how much pain he was in.

Not that Su-myeon had ever intended to take someone with a torn-open sole in the first place.

“Try living a little more carefully.”

Su-myeon could only stare in disbelief at Cheshire, who was saying ‘I’m dying’ in the flat tone of someone reading from a textbook without even the bare minimum of sincerity.

It was even harder to understand because he was saying it while enthusiastically devouring jajangmyeon and sweet-and-sour pork.

“Do you really not feel pain properly?”

“No, I told you, it hurts?”

Watching him chew and swallow with his mouth full, it seemed like he had gotten the hang of eating and living normally again.

But they still needed to understand the issue with his senses a little better.

How many days passed while Su-myeon checked around the Governance and prepared various supplies?

Sa-rin suddenly came to the Governance again.

“Just in case.”

Sa-rin had made something for Su-myeon and handed it to him.

Like last time, she also gave talismans to Han-su and Mu-yeon, who would be going with him.

But there was one thing she gave only to Su-myeon.

It was a bracelet made by twisting a sacred straw rope around a piece of peach wood.

Like a wish bracelet, she braided the rope directly around Su-myeon’s wrist so that he could not take it off.

“I hope nothing happens. But it might help again this time.”

If he really ended up meeting a genuine dokkaebi.

Dokkaebi could be auspicious beings, but they were not always friendly.

They were peculiar beings capable of harming humans depending on the circumstances.

“Be careful. And....”

Sa-rin hesitated in front of Su-myeon with a somewhat gloomy expression.

Having a girl several years younger than him standing there looking as though she had committed some terrible crime made Su-myeon uncomfortable too.

“Well, she’s your grandma, so she’s only your guardian deity. It’s not like she has to be one for me too.”

Su-myeon meant it in the sense of, ‘So I understand.’

But Sa-rin seemed to misunderstand something, because now she looked like she was practically about to cry.

And yet even then, she could not deny it.

Apparently her grandmother really had thought, We need to save the dokkaebi, but my granddaughter’s eye is precious.

So she had shoved Su-myeon forward instead.

It would have been ridiculous for him to insist he was truly fine in a situation like that too.

Su-myeon felt deeply uncomfortable.

“Anyway. I’ll make good use of what you gave me.”

Quietly pointing at the bracelet and excusing himself was the best Su-myeon could manage.

***

One bright, beautiful weekday afternoon.

On a date Sa-rin had specifically chosen and told them was auspicious, Su-myeon, Han-su, and Mu-yeon left Seoul and headed toward the outskirts.

“I think it would be best for you to rest after we return from this.”

Inside the car on the way to Chuncheon, Han-su repeatedly warned Su-myeon.

“We need to prepare for Alice Hotel, so use this chance to try everything we can. Other than that, don’t push yourself.”

“That probably is best. Okay.”

It was a little unfamiliar seeing such a quiet man go on and on with a lecture.

Still, he was only saying it because he was worried about Su-myeon, so Su-myeon could not exactly ignore him.

And he was right....

“Let’s go in.”

They arrived at the abandoned data center after making sure to avoid people coming there for thrill-seeking ghost hunts.

The old building’s paint had peeled away and crumbled everywhere, leaving the concrete exposed.

For a place abandoned only five years ago, it had deteriorated far too quickly.

'Though that probably made it look even more appealing to people who came here looking for a haunted-building experience.'

A building that had aged as though it had been abandoned for fifteen years in only five.

When Mu-yeon climbed out of the back seat, there was an adorable sun visor on his head and a backpack strapped to his back.

“Just in case, I’ll take it off once we’re inside the ghost story.”

At Su-myeon’s words, Mu-yeon gave a small bark.

The three of them entered together, and most of the data center was completely empty inside.

There were occasionally rooms lined with racks that looked as though they had once held servers, but most were empty.

There was some trash lying around, probably left behind by people who had explored the place.

“This way.”

Han-su took the lead and made his way to the second floor of Building B without hesitation.

There were not even any obvious signs around, so Su-myeon had no idea how he found the way so easily.

Su-myeon stopped in front of one room that, strangely enough, still had a great deal of stuff left inside.

Click-

Even though it was the middle of the day, the windowless room was dark enough that they needed flashlights.

Su-myeon and Han-su each turned on a flashlight.

They also switched on another one and put it in Mu-yeon’s mouth.

The room was packed full of discarded equipment and electrical cables.

Everything between the racks was literally tangled together.

“All the numbers are gone.”

Su-myeon said as he examined the racks.

What they needed to find was rack 14 in row 7 from the ghost story.

But even without the numbers, after circling the room once, they were able to pinpoint the location.

Because there really was an old CRT monitor sitting there all by itself, still connected to power.

Su-myeon swallowed dryly.

The important part for entering the ghost story came next.

“All right, stay close to me.”

Su-myeon took out the cable and adapter he had prepared in advance and connected the CRT monitor to his phone.

Ding-

Along with a notification that the devices had paired, some kind of data began downloading.

Now, in just a moment, they would enter the ghost story.

“Whoa, what the hell? There are people in here?”

“?!”

At the sudden voice, everyone, including Su-myeon, jumped in surprise.

Had they been too focused on what they were doing?

They had failed to notice anyone approaching, but someone was there.

Mu-yeon must have let his guard down too, because he barked loudly in shock and tried to drive the person away.

The flashlight fell from his mouth and rolled across the floor, wildly sweeping light around the room.

Realizing this was bad, Su-myeon immediately tried to pull the cable connected to his phone.

But.

[Data transfer complete]

It was already too late.