Bailonz Street 13-Chapter 236.1

“Jisan Village, huh.”

After confirming the location of the Happy Ending Sect’s underground bunker, the three of us returned first to Ho Yoowon’s quarters.

The back of my head still throbbed from the shock of the discovery.

By coincidence, all three of us here were present at Jisan Village’s holiday festival last time.

Though, well. One of us had only experienced it while parasitizing someone else’s body and had been exorcised at the end by the Tiger General.

“So that cult village was tied to this Church of the Luminous Unknown’s Happy Ending Sect or whatever?”

The assistant manager’s mutter was half right.

It seems they were indirectly linked to another branch of the Church of the Luminous Unknown.

The Mimicry Sect, I believe?

“Ah, right. You drew the golden stick and got taken back then, right Roe? Did you find that out then? Good work.”

Thank you.

Please, let’s just go with that.

“But why are they here now? You said this is a different sect.”

Exactly.

‘They were sealed up and taken away by the Disaster Management Bureau too.’

What’s even left for them to be doing this?

“Hmm. So there’s some other reason?”

Naturally, my thoughts drifted back to why Assistant Manager Eun Haje had appeared in Jisan Village in the first place.

Could it be because of the well?

I remember Director Ho sought it out. Maybe it’s a place with some special significance.

“Ah. Right. That well.”

And if Ho Yoowon had looked for it…

‘Then this ties back to Sekwang Special Metropolitan City, doesn’t it?’

Meeting both our eyes, Ho Yoowon nodded easily.

“That’s right. I’d heard that well was connected to Sekwang Special Metropolitan City….”

Of course.

Question : Source

“As I’ve said, it’s my turn to ask questions now, so Roe Deer-nim, it’s unfortunately not your turn.”

Wow. Seriously.

But even without your answer, there are ways to guess. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

‘Must be someone from the Disaster Management Bureau.’

How else would Ho Yoowon know that information on an annihilation-sanctioned Disaster and Sekwang Special Metropolitan City is locked in their secret archives?

‘He’s got some contact there, clearly.’

Whatever feelings Ho Yoowon holds toward the Bureau, that much is separate.

And still, his focus is only one thing.

A certain annihilation-sanctioned Disaster.

“If the Happy Ending Sect has an interest in Sekwang Special Metropolitan City, then a future where they dig up information about it through that well would make sense, wouldn’t it?”

But Assistant Manager Eun Haje frowned.

“…Tsk.”

Something must be bothering her.

“I’m sure the Disaster Management Bureau went in back then and smashed their heads open, didn’t they…?”

At the mention of the bureau, Director Ho’s smile only deepened, but neither of us paid him mind.

“Those government folks. Don’t they always follow up with cleanup?”

Of course they do.

– There’s still a lot that’s suspicious about this Jisan Village… so from here, they’ll begin a full-scale investigation. They’ll search for people. The well, too.

“Then why didn’t they notice a cult lair down here?”

That…

It might be because this underground bunker moved in after the cleanup was done.

Think about it.

The bureau’s Site Cleanup Unit and Fabrication Team would have finished and left.

‘They would have processed the villagers too.’

And there’s proof.

That view I saw through the glass just earlier.

There, up on the surface.

The village was empty.

Not a single soul.

Yet the odd thing about it is…

‘They said they’d be doing a full-scale search soon.’

But the village looks unchanged, frozen as it was on the festival day.

It seems like the kind of situation where agents would be dispatched for regular maintenance, but it doesn’t look like that’s happening. It’s strange.

“Yeah. Feels… off.”

“Maybe they decided it wasn’t worth searching anymore?”

Ho Yoowon’s calm voice flowed without pause.

“That government agency always ranks priorities. They’d rather put manpower into saving people they consider more valuable than revisit a case they’ve already closed.”

Hmm.

‘Feels like a cynical interpretation.’

“Well… sure. Local civil servants being overworked isn’t new.”

Assistant Manager Eun Haje’s eyes went dull as she halfheartedly acknowledged the boss’s words.

And back to the point.

“Anyway, it’d be nice if we could probe more about the village above, but there’s only so much we can do from inside here…”

Ah.

“Director, do you have anyone outside you could mobilize? Someone who could look into this place for us.”

……I do.

I mean, about that.

‘Actually….’

I pictured the paper boat sleeping quietly under my tattoo.

And the guy who left me with it, a native of Jisan Village.

* * *

Baek Saheon was having a truly garbage day.

‘What the hell kind of Darkness is this.’

It had been some insane boarding school ghost story. One teammate’s face skin got ripped clean off and died, and he himself had nearly died running and dodging.

‘Got split off, bolted, almost ended up dead too.’

Not that he cared about the teammate dying. It was just infuriating that after all that hell it was barely rated D-class.

‘…Whatever, not my problem anymore.’

His wish to escape that cursed village for good seemed to have been granted already.

Why he was still working for this company, he didn’t know.

Why he’d never buried or cremated his sister’s skull, either.

‘Fuck.’

Right now, he just liked that he was finally off shift and could collapse on the company dorm couch.

But at that very moment, he realized new writing had appeared on the paper boat.

Hello, Mr. Civilian.

Have you been well?

“…!!”

Baek Saheon nearly rolled right off the couch.

‘What the.’

Last time the other guy had left only a quick thank-you and vanished, so he’d scrawled a curse back telling them not to just eat and run. Now suddenly, a message.

And then…

No item yet, but

I have found information

on the current state of Jisan Village.

“…!!”

Baek Saheon grabbed the paper with both hands.

The letters updated…

There is a cult facility

beneath the village.

What?

How did you

find that out?

I am currently

infiltrating the cult.

“Are you insane?”

Could it be that the ‘Darkness’ this agent was staying inside all this time was actually this cult?

‘Then of course he couldn’t get any items!’

In a cult, keeping something personal hidden is nearly impossible. At least from Baek Saheon’s own experience.

Salt Goblin

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