Ghost Story Club-Chapter 145: Sixteenth Ghost Story The Mysterious 4th Period (9)

♪ ♬ ♪ ♪

The bell signaling the end of the 5th period rang.

The young detective let out a deep sigh and then said to us.

“Have a good rest during the break, then gather here again for the 6th period. I hope you’ll cooperate until the very end, even if it’s troublesome.”

We too let out a sigh, as if exhausted, nodded in agreement, and then all left the broadcasting room.

[2019, May 13th | Monday, 13:51 PM]

[Lee Joon: Number of Attempts – 2]

[Ghost Story Points: 173]

[Causal Rate: 22%]

“… Hey, you there.”

Just as I stepped out of the broadcasting room and was walking down the hallway, Joo Yeseul, who was following behind, suddenly called out to me.

“You… If you keep bullying and peeping at girls, and doing bad things like that… you’ll go to hell..…”

“……”

“Do you know how scary hell is? And by the way… I, you see…”

She looked around, revealing the slender neckline underneath her bobbed perm hair.

“I’m a Catholic Christian, so… I don’t really like people who don’t go to church…..”

“……”

“I’m sorry….. I think it’s better if you look for another girl….”

She said that and quickly disappeared, walking away with swift steps.

I stood in the hallway, feeling stunned for a moment.

“Is she crazy?”

Jinhee, who had come over, said what I was thinking.

I nodded my head.

“…Right? I can’t believe it either. She thought that the person I was spying on wasn’t Hayoon, but actually her-”

“No, wait. So you were really peeping?”

Jinhee poked my stomach lightly as she asked .

“Why the hell are you even peeking at a girl’s counselling in the first place? Are you an idiot?”

“……”

“If you don’t want Yoon Sunah to find out about this, give me 1 million won right now.”

Hearing this, I was about to open the Store window and summon the money.

But Jinhee laughed and poked my stomach again.

“I’m just kidding, you idiot.”

“…Oh, I see…”

I smiled awkwardly.

Suddenly, Jinhee stopped laughing and grabbed me by the collar, pulling me closer.

“Don’t do anything embarrassing from now on. Got it?”

“Uh, uh…”

“Don’t act in a way that’s embarrassing, considering we’re in the same club.”

“…I’ll keep that in mind. Please, let go……”

I tapped her wrist, signaling her to release me.

Jinhee released me, and just then, the club members came up the stairs from the first floor, calling out to me.

“Prez!”

“Joony!”

Gyeongwon, rushing toward me in a hurry, and Sunah, waddling as she climbed the stairs.

And even Dukhun, panting heavily as he ran the short distance, as if it was the most exhausting thing in the world.

The combination was something that just made me smile whenever I saw it somewhere.

I welcomed those guys with a smile, as if I had never been grabbed by the collar.

“Hey, you guys. I’m so glad to see you. You came at just the right time.”

“Qu-quick, look out the window quickly.”

“The window?”

Gyeongwon, Sunah, and Deokhoon grabbed me and moved toward a window where the playground was visible.

Jinhee and Hayoon, who had been standing still, naturally followed along.

“The outside is strange. A bit, no, a lot…”

“…Really? I couldn’t tell from inside the broadcasting room.”

“This side has windows facing north, so…”

As I walked down the hallway following them, I felt that the outside was unusually dark for some reason.

‘…Is it raining?’

“Prez. There, look over there……”

Soon, we reached the end of the second-floor hallway.

Standing on the middle landing of the staircase leading down to the first floor, we looked at the playground and the cityscape beyond it.

“… Crazy.’’

Rumble- Rumble-

The sky had completely darkened, as if a heavy downpour was about to occur.

Amidst it, a strange sound echoed, and the moon glowed with a crimson light.

“What the f*ck, what kind of toxic gas is that the sky looks like that… Is that the moon? Not the sun?”

A black chemical gas cloud covered the sky of ShinLim Neighborhood, as if a heavy rain was about to pour down.

Within that, the sun couldn’t completely pass through the clouds and hid its form, while the moon in the distance, far off in another direction, was burning darkly with a blood red color, giving off a very ominous aura.

It looked like the calm before the storm.

“Listen, Prez.”

[Breaking news-]

Soon, Gyeongwon took out his smartphone and turned on the live news.

[This morning, due to a chemical gas explosion from a truck of Clover Corporation, the sky here has turned completely black in ShinLim Neighborhood.]

[Amidst the darkness, as if a storm is approaching, a strange, thunderous sound is echoing through the clouds, amplifying the residents’ anxiety.]

[Rumble- Rumble-]

[Currently, the fire at the scene of the accident has already been extinguished, but many are fearing it is too late because the gas has already leaked and risen into the sky.]

Next, a firefighter, whose face was covered in soot and looked exhausted, spoke on the microphones.

[“Yes, we’ve been working since the morning to control the situation, and we’ve just barely managed to extinguish the fire. The smoke has finally stopped, but the pit is still hot.”]

[“Since this is a chemical gas explosion fire and not a typical fire, we are using powder fire trucks to help with the aftermath.”]

[Regarding this situation, the residents’ resentment towards Clover Corporation is only growing.]

[“They caused the accident, but why haven’t they shown their faces? What on earth are the higher-ups doing?”]

[“Since an accident like this has happened, they should have come quickly and taken appropriate action. Instead, it’s the poor firefighters who are the only ones suffering…”]

[Meanwhile, the spokesperson for Clover Corporation held a press conference an hour ago and announced that the incident may be related to a terrorist attack against their company.]

[“For the past several years, there have been consistent cyber and physical terrorist acts against our company by an anonymous group.”]

[“The current incident also appears to be another form of such terrorist attacks.”]

[“The chemical gas in question is completely harmless to the human body, so please rest assured. In any case, we ask that all citizens understand that Clover is also a victim, and we will cooperate to minimize the damage as much as possible. We kindly ask that journalists and media to refrain from using this incident for political purposes.”]

[“Furthermore, for the residents who have been affected in the vicinity, we will conduct an investigation and provide fair compensation, so we kindly ask that you wait patiently and rest assured.”]

[“That’s all.”]

[This is reporter Na Eunsu from KBC News.]

“……”

“……”

Rumble- Rumble-

The black sky, and the ominous sound echoing between the ground and air.

I immediately took out my phone and called Detective Park Gangwon.

The Detective answered right away even before the beep sounded twice.

[Joon.]

“Detective.”

His deep, trustworthy voice.

It felt unexpectedly comforting.

I wonder if it was because I had just been dealing with a local detective who almost made me a criminal just now.

[What’s going on?]

“Detective, there’s been a chemical gas explosion in ShinLim Neighborhood.”

[Yeah. I saw the news.]

“Could you possibly go to the scene and investigate it yourself?”

[I’m out on another case right now.]

Just as I was about to feel disappointed, the Detective spoke up with his usual trustworthy tone.

[But if you promise to turn back time, I’ll go and check it out, even if it means risking my job.]

“…Yes, thank you. I really appreciate it!”

Of course, I wasn’t sure yet whether this was purely a disaster or if it was related to a ghost story.

Still, if I could prevent something like a chemical gas explosion in the area where I live, it would be better to stop it when I could.

NIMBY and PIMBY1[T/N: “NIMBY” (Not In My Backyard) and “PIMBY” (Please, In My Backyard) are terms used to describe opposition or support for local developments.].

The place where I live must be safe without any issues, even without ghost stories.

[Is there anything else you need?]

“Oh! About that, Detective.”

I decided to tell him about the murder case I had encountered as well.

“There has been a murder case at our school right now…”

[…What.]

The Detective spoke in a tone of disbelief.

[At school?]

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

“Yes. During the fourth period…”

[Of all the schools, it had to happen at your Nakseong High.]

“…Yes.”

I couldn’t help but nod.

It was a tone that hinted that this wasn’t an ordinary case.

[Tell me in details.]

“Well, this is how it all started…”

I began by explaining the origin of the incident and told the Detective everything that had happened up until now.

Detective Park Gangwon let out a deep sigh.

[What’s the name of the detective who interrogated you?]

“The, the name……”

I think he introduced himself at the beginning, but what was it again?

When I was feeling flustered, Hayoon answered for me from the side.

“Jang Gihoon.”

“…Detective, it’s Jang Gihoon-”

[Jang Gihoon. Don’t hang up, just wait.]

The Detective seemed to be searching for something for a moment.

[Is this the right person? Detective Jang Gihoon from the 3rd Violent Crime Unit of the ShinLim Police Station.]

“Ah, yes… that’s right…”

[I’ll contact them on my end, so you don’t need to worry about it anymore.]

“…Contact them? What do…..”

[What kind of police officer investigates minors like that without a legal representative? I’ll warn them not to do things like that again. You just focus on what you were doing. I’ll hang up now.]

Dud-

The phone immediately hung up, as if he was quite angry.

“……”

I stood there for a moment, wide-eyed, looking at my phone.

“That’s strange, Prez.”

Gyeongwon pushed up his glasses and gave an intrigued look.

“The Detective, he seems to be quite an influential person. He can even do things like that.”

“….Right.”

I put my phone in my pocket, still feeling a bit dazed.

I guess this is what it feels like to have solid connections.

“Well, Prez, in your previous life, the Detective was assigned as the investigator in charge of a national disaster, so….”

Dukhun answered while stroking his chin.

He was referring to the Nakseong High 300-person head explosion incident when the Detective came to question me.

“To think someone like that is on our side…..”

“Hmm……”

Everyone had a look on their face as if they found the recent conversation interesting.

I suddenly remembered something and asked them.

“The body on the first floor. Is it still there?”

“Yeah, it’s still there……”

Sunah answered right away.

Gyeongwon continued to provide more information.

“Because of the chemical gas explosion outside, all the nearby firefighters and ambulances have been mobilized there, so the body collection is a bit delayed.”

“Really……?”

“Also, Prez, there’s something that’s been bothering me.”

He adjusted his glasses and showed a puzzled expression.

“Have you seen any other police officers around here?”

“……”

I thought about it for a moment before shaking my head.

“No, I haven’t seen any. How about you guys?”

When I looked at them and asked, they all shook their heads as well.

“The same is for us, Prez. I thought the police would be walking around and investigating, but not a single one has shown up.”

“…Really?”

I also felt concerned about that and my eyebrows knitted together.

“Why not?”

“Why, I wonder…..”

“Hmm.”

According to him, the only one investigating around the school right now is the current detective.

‘Is it like he said earlier, that there’s a shortage of personnel because of the accident scene….. something like that?’

Indeed, when I saw the news footage earlier, the accident scene was much larger than expected, with the four-lane road completely collapsed.

However, I decided that I should pull the detective’s Status Window when I go back to the broadcasting room, just in case something else was happening.

If the ghost story is pretending to be a person, the Status Window won’t appear.

“Then who is guarding the body in front of the first-floor teachers’ office without the police?”

“Sometimes the security guard watches over it, and other times the Vice Principal stands there guarding it…”

Gyeongwon answered, tilting his head in the process.

“I guess the teachers take turns to prevent the students from going near.”

“…Then, I think.”

I looked at Sunah, Gyeongwon, and Dukhun as I began to speak.

“You three, I was hoping you could take the chance and check out the body.”

“What!?”

Gyeongwon’s face went pale with shock.

“I know it’s a tough request. But.”

I turned to Sunah and Dukhun as I spoke.

Neither of them showed any change in expression.

“I heard briefly in the classroom earlier that the condition of the body is very strange.”

“….Prez, do you actually plan to solve this case?”

Gyeongwon wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and adjusted his glasses.

“A murder case that happened inside the school. You actually plan to solve it, Prez.”

“Yeah.”

I nodded.

Originally, I wasn’t planning to get involved and was just going to let the police handle it, but after my call with the Detective, I changed my mind.

Anyway, we were stuck inside the school right now, so it was impossible for us to figure out what was going on with the massive accident outside.

Sunah, Gyeongwon, and Dukhun were just pacing around, searching for news articles or browsing on their phones. That was about it.

So, instead of trying to figure out what was happening outside, I thought it might be better to leave that to Detective Park Gangwon, who was already outside, and focus on solving the murder case inside the school.

“What do you guys think? Which one seems like a ghost story?”

“Which one……?”

Sunah tilted her head.

“The murder case inside the school, and the disaster outside. Which one do you think is a ghost story?”

“Couldn’t it be both……?”

“Hmm… Well.”

Of course, as they said, both could be ghost stories.

However, up until now, nothing like that has ever happened.

There have been times when dealing with one ghost story led to smaller ghost stories popping up, but there had never been a case where two completely different ghost stories came after me at the same time.

“Both, huh…”

I fell into deep thought.

“Well, so far, nothing like that has ever happened…..”

“…That’s true.”

If that were possible, the Demon King would have been sending me ghost stories every time I took a breath from the very beginning.

If the intention was to kill me anyway, the Demon King would have sent 100 ghost stories at once, not just sending them one by one.

‘And the fact that that hasn’t happened yet… Is there a reason for that……?’

I looked at Dukhun.

He nodded as if he already knew what I was thinking.

“Ah, damn sure. What you’re thinking is right.”

“…Right?”

“Right.”

The club members looked at Dukhun with bewildered expressions as he agreed heavily.

“Now, look. This is usually called ‘Mana’ in games. You’re thinking that the Demon King probably has it too, which is correct.”

Dukhun crosses his arms, adopting a serious demeanor.

Mana, or mental power.

Or, it can also be referred to as energy, a numerical value representing a specific type of power in games.

Usually, it gets consumed when using skills or something like that, but what if the Demon King also has such a value?

What if there is a clear limit to his power, and he can’t just send out multiple ghost stories at once?

“That’s probably the reason why everything was peaceful when you escaped without completing the tutorial in your previous life.”

The guy nodded his thick jaw.

“It’s called ‘hiding the power’.”

The Demon King is hiding his power.

“No, it would be more appropriate to say he’s saving it. He must have a limit to the energy he can use to summon ghost stories. In the current situation, it’s unlikely that either of them will be ghost stories, Lee Joon.”

“What if they are?”

Suddenly, Jinhee threw out a question.

“It might be possible, you know.”

“Oi, oi, you really don’t know anything.”

Dukhun let out a chuckle which sounded somewhat unpleasant.

“That’s exactly what we call ‘balance breaking’.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Jinhee surprisingly didn’t get angry and nodded in understanding.

I also nodded, as if agreeing.

“If the Demon King could do something like that, he would have done it a long time ago. Anyway, whether a few of them charge at once or not, I can just turn back time and slowly defeat them one by one. Don’t worry.”

I assured the club members.

“So, let’s leave the outside matters to the Detective and focus on the murder case.”

“…The murder case.”

The club members nodded with slightly more serious expressions.

‘Someone was murdered at the school!’

And the Ghost Story Club was investigating the case.

We would investigate the murder case on our side, while the Detective would look into the dark sky outside.

After digging all the way to the end and finding out which side is the ghost story, I would kill myself at the right time so that the checkpoints wouldn’t get messed up and return to the past.

That’s the plan for this situation.

♪ ♬ ♪ ♪

The bell rang, signaling the end of the 5th period break time.

I clapped my hands once to gather their attention and told them to split up to do our respective tasks.

We, who had been on the middle floor between the first and second, would now split into smaller groups, dividing ourselves into two teams of three, one for upper floor and the other for lower.

Before we parted ways, I gave some advice to the members.

“Jinhee, Hayoon, and I will dig into the testimonies and observe the people over here, so you guys should avoid the teachers’ surveillance and closely examine the body until the next break. Check where and how things are messed up.”

“Um… Yes……”

Gyeongwon, with a terrified expression, went down the stairs.

Dukhun and Sunah waved their hands with confidence expressions as if they’ve got it covered, and headed down.

Their abnormal mentality was really helpful at times like this.

“Okay, let’s get going too.”

“Yeah.”

“Coming.”

We watched the backs of those heading down to the first floor and then set off for the second floor.

Hayoon, following along with a sweet response, and Jinhee, strolling casually behind.

Of course, there was an awkward atmosphere because we were not chatting like when we were with Gyeongwon, Dukhun, and Sunah.

If that side has a warm and fun atmosphere, this side is a combination of skilled people who do things properly when it matters.

As I walked down the hallway with Jinhee and Hayoon, I couldn’t help but feel that our teamwork had somehow improved compared to earlier.