Bailonz Street 13-Chapter 225.2

What if.

Jang Heowoon was never able to return to being human?

And if the Wish Ticket had been used to turn him back into a human?

Then Jang Heowoon wouldn’t have a Wish Ticket left to fulfill his original wish.

That would mean the reason he returned to the company was to earn another one…

‘It’s possible.’

There was definitely a chance.

‘Wait, what if it was the other way around? What if Go Yeongeun used her Wish Ticket to save Jang Heowoon…’

……I couldn’t say.

Most people who pass the aptitude tests for the Field Exploration Team and attend orientation are probably people who have wishes too desperate to ignore.

[Either way, that’s a rather chilling and fascinating line of speculation, Mr. Roe Deer. It seems plausible.]

[And it seems this has sparked another thought, hasn’t it?]

……

Right.

If Jang Heowoon used a Wish Ticket to regain his human form…

Then couldn’t I also use a Wish Ticket to get a human body?

‘No. That’d be a waste.’

If I somehow managed to earn another Wish Ticket, I’d make a proper wish this time. With a perfectly phrased wish, I could go back home……

……

But wasn’t that blind, instinctive longing for ‘home’ something implanted into me during the experiments?

Had I forgotten that experiment log, the one that used me as a ‘Good Friend’ to summon me into this world?

‘Ah.’

My insides churned with nausea.

The thought of trying to get another Wish Ticket.

It was impossible anyway. The Security Team earned barely any points. All of mine went toward maintenance costs. On top of that, I… Basement. Laboratory. Shattered incubation tank. Collapsing body. Falling…

No.

Jingle.

The rapid collapse of my mind steadied again at the sound of the bell.

I exhaled sharply.

Then rang it once more, between my horns.

Jingle.

‘Pull yourself together.’

Forget about clinging to the idea of earning a Wish Ticket through Daydream.

I needed to come up with another way.

First… I needed to fully understand my situation.

Goal : Get closer to the truth.

And I realized something.

Even with my fragmented self, that had been my resolution. And even now, with a clear mind, it hadn’t changed.

‘…I’d been heading in the right direction all along.’

A faint stirring rose in my chest.

I mentally pictured myself taking a deep breath and steeled my resolve once more.

And one more thing.

Additional Goal : Meet Jang Heowoon again.

Good.

If possible, I’d make that happen.

[You’ve found your direction, Friend! Excellent.]

And just then, work began.

– Your work shift has begun. Please wake up. Your work shift has begun. Please wake up…

‘Seriously, that’s so loud…’

I couldn’t even sleep, and yet it insisted I ‘wake up’…

[Such a crude, graceless way to draw attention. I should’ve guessed from that tacky training video, but this level of cost-cutting is enough to make one’s head ache!]

I sort of agreed with that.

Before long, the complicated locks of the probation room’s door clicked open, and someone stepped inside.

“Mr. Employee!”

Researcher Kwak Jekang.

The researcher who had dismissed the Security Team stationed outside entered with an expression brimming with excitement.

Hmm, now that I was in my right mind, he seemed even weirder than before…

‘And, I mean, why won’t he regenerate the tip joint of his pinky finger…’

He should have enough points, but was he choosing to endure it until further physical loss occurred? Or maybe the ‘Red Finger’ ghost story made regeneration potions ineffective. The wiki didn’t have exploration logs detailed enough to say.

Either way, both were plausible. And the fact that he didn’t seem bothered by it made him truly fit the ‘mad scientist’ archetype.

“Did you rest well last night? Hahaha, the ‘Man in the Screen’ you so brilliantly captured yesterday was safely delivered to the Research Team!”

Detailed explanation of the processing procedure

: Cannot be omitted based on arbitrary reasoning

“Of course!”

And just as he had ‘pinky-sworn’, Kwak Jekang thoroughly explained everything.

The Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau had successfully brought the situation under control. Director Cheong was pleased they had acquired a Darkness of at least C-class so quickly, saving processing costs in the process.

‘…Huu.’

And then…

“Supervisor Kang Yihak has gone missing.”

…?!

“Oh, they said it seems she was taken in by the bureau. Well, nothing will come of it, right? Even if they find out about the USB now, it’s already in our hands.”

It felt like my nonexistent digestive organs ached…

Ah, no, maybe? Were they there? With my clarity of mind, I could examine my body more objectively now. Even though it was broken and collapsed, it felt like they might still exist somewhere.

[That’s an interesting line of thought, but you seem to be veering off track, Friend!]

R-Right.

In any case, Kang Yihak was still just a supervisor, so nothing serious should happen. And it was probably better for humanity that the bureau knew Daydream had taken the ‘man in the screen’…

‘……’

A flicker of longing or regret started to rise, but it wasn’t strong, and I could easily push it aside.

I asked Kwak Jekang for the next step.

Results

“Results? Of course there are! Thanks to you, Mr. Employee, I even managed to secure a private meeting with Director Cheong!”

Kwak Jekang burst into laughter.

“It was the first time I was able to have such a long conversation… I managed to pull so many fun— I mean, fascinating tidbits, valuable enough to count as real intel. Haha! …To think I’d live to hear such things.”

The researcher’s eyes gleamed with the thrill of having satisfied his personal curiosity.

“These are foundational pieces of information that bring us closer to our goal… to the truth about your origin, Mr. Employee…”

…!

Request for explanation

Salt Goblin

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