Bailonz Street 13-Chapter 222.2

All eyes turned to me.

Affirmative

“…That’s right!”

“It’s unbelievably hard! We’re absolutely in need of help to contain him!”

The Field Exploration Team members shouted this as they held the elevator.

[…I see.]

There was a faint sound of approval, almost proud.

A soft, fleeting laugh slipped into the sergeant’s voice, then faded.

[I’ll be off, then……]

And the moment Lee Seonghae and Kang Yihak stepped into the elevator.

Beep.

From the shadow of the walkie-talkie in their hands, a black silhouette emerged.

“…!”

The sergeant.

Unlike usual deployments, the uniform covering his body was now topped with a heavy, intricately patterned hood.

Beep.

The elevator’s CCTV switched off. A heavy sense of pressure and wrongness filled the confined space.

“……”

The sergeant reached out and took the carrier from them.

“I’ll keep reporting to the company through another staff member… so don’t worry about that.”

“Yessir.”

Ding.

The elevator arrived at their floor. The three of them quickly made their way to the assistant director’s apartment number that the PD had given them…

The front door was ajar.

“……”

From inside, laughter spilled out.

The sound of a variety show.

Tension settled on the Field Exploration Team members’ shoulders.

“I’ll go in and take a look…”

The sergeant opened the door.

From inside the crate he was carrying, I could already see the scene through the open doorway…

The assistant director lay collapsed on the floor, both eyes gouged out.

“…!!”

Blood covered the cramped living room. An overturned chair, a desk, and on top of it…

The computer monitor.

Its screen flickered.

The editing software was open on the display, showing a man’s twisted expression in close-up. Black eyes. A smile baring teeth. Mouth open, gaze fixed straight at us and—

CRUNCH.

The monitor and the computer tower crumpled together in one brutal motion.

A massive black beast’s paw withdrew back to the sergeant’s shoulder.

“…!!”

“Since he’s already been stored in the USB… then smashing everything else like this… should do it, right?”

That was correct.

But the dead would not return.

…It was already too late.

And there was more.

“But you know… The door, it was open.”

The sergeant tilted his head, sniffing through his mask as he spoke.

“Someone else was here and… ran… away.”

“…!”

“Someone who was in another room…”

There had been a witness.

To what extent they had been caught up in this phenomenon, or what they had seen, was unknown.

“……”

Bzzzzzt.

Just then, a new message came from the PD.

– 4 people aren’t answering their phones or reading messages.

With this, it was confirmed that four of the PBS Variety Department’s editing staff had gone completely silent.

And one of them had even left a bizarre message in the group chat.

– N: imlookkingiml ooking imlookingpleaseiwontimtrluysor r’y

– youreallgoingtodie

Even from the screenshots, a chilling aura seeped through.

– Please, please call me back.

The PD’s desperation was evident as he begged for news about what was happening, whether the assistant director in this apartment was okay. He also sent over the addresses of all those they had lost contact with.

Everyone on site understood.

The situation was rapidly escalating beyond the point where individuals could possibly contain it.

“First, I’ll report the witness situation to the company. Then we’ll head to the home of one of the others we’ve lost contact with…”

“Come on, Assistant Manager.”

Kang Yihak cut her off.

“Shouldn’t we just leave this place before the police arrive?”

“……”

Lee Seonghae looked at Kang Yihak.

She didn’t seem very interested in the corpse.

Instead, she scanned the house as if checking whether there was anything of value, gauging its worth.

“We’ve done enough, haven’t we? There’s no guarantee we won’t be too late if we chase down that address, and it’s not like this job comes with any special hazard pay. Honestly, our work should be considered done back at the editing room!”

“Oh.”

“We’ve already reported everything to the company, so let them handle the rest. You should take a break, Assistant Manager. Haha, we’ve definitely earned what we were paid for.”

“And if someone dies because it’s too late?”

Kang Yihak gave her a thumbs-up.

“Well, that’s for the company to deal with!”

“Aha.”

Lee Seonghae smiled faintly and simply looked at Kang Yihak.

The sergeant, standing by, seemed detached from the scene, blank-faced and still.

……

[Oh dear, Mr. Roe Deer. You seem impatient.]

Am I feeling impatient?

[Yes. Of course, an uninvited guest who ruins the mood of the show is an unwelcome nuisance! Especially one with neither wit nor charm. How dreadful. Oh, dear.]

Braun seemed to be recalling the ‘man in the screen’ he had seen.

I thought back as well.

To the reaction of the late-night talk show host whose face had filled the monitor in the editing room, alongside that man’s face.

– Look at that pitiful sight! He can’t accept that he doesn’t deserve to appear, and so he’s desperate to be seen, even if only for a moment in some clip of footage.

– Ah, of course. On set, he’d be thrown out in an instant. This is the only way he can appear, I suppose. Good grief.

Mockery.

Contempt.

Not the dull, hazy fear I had felt, but vivid verbal scorn.

[But listen.]

A generous offer was given.

[If my friend here is so worried about this pathetic, third-rate, worthless intruder’s whereabouts, I can invite him to my splendid talk show as an audience member.]

[Even a shabby little corner seat would thrill him. In three days—no, two—he’d burn himself out from the glory and vanish completely.]

[What do you say?]

Salt Goblin

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