Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work-Chapter 162

When you think about it, something was off.

The catastrophe that had occurred before—when a Bureau agent forced an infected child into an escape vessel—

Acute molting began, ulcers erupted across the entire body, and all vital signs ceased.

The infection spread rapidly, resulting in instant death.

That kind of reaction wasn’t something an escape vessel would do to eliminate internal threats—

It was exactly how an infected entity would behave.

Right.

This had to be seen as the work of the biohazard—mermaids.

A punishment for a host that dared to stray from the hive mind,

an execution for those attempting to escape.

A retrieval of lost energy.

But this knowledge was something only the Bureau agents knew.

In contrast, the employees of Hundred Dreams Corporation had more detailed information about the escape vessel itself.

Fragmented knowledge.

And because of that, nobody had been able to predict this situation rationally.

“Oh.”

A child raised a hand.

“The Mermaid Princess is here!”

BOOM!

A deafening explosion rang out as a massive mass crashed through the ceiling, shattering the station.

Kyahahahahaha—!

The sound of ulcers bursting, eerily resembling children’s laughter, filled the station.

And then, countless tendrils of tumorous flesh spewed out thick, grotesque mucus, planting themselves like monstrous feet across the ground.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!

Like a spiderweb extending, the flesh that excreted mucus spread its limbs across the ruined station, gripping the walls with grotesque appendages.

Revealing itself.

The largest tumor cluster of the infected hive—

the very monstrosity that coiled around the entrance to the ‘Dragon Palace’.

Kyahahahahaha—!

It slammed down onto the station.

BOOM!

“F**k!!”

Baek Saheon, standing dumbfounded, screamed, then shoved aside a Hundred Dreams employee who had tried to push past him and quickly retreated.

A horrific sound echoed—

the sound of the employee’s head being crushed, blood and mucus being sucked away.

Run!

He gripped the bag containing the conch shells and dashed toward the escape vessel.

But at that moment—

Someone grabbed the back of his neck.

“…!”

A baby mermaid.

No.

He had already confirmed it with Halo, though he had never dared to say it aloud.

Kim Soleum!

Infected Kim Soleum slammed his head into the ground.

“Argh!”

A fleshy mass flew right over his head at that exact moment.

Baek Saheon swallowed hard.

Running blindly would get me killed.

The infected mass was coiling itself around the escape vessel, making it the center of its territory.

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

At that moment, Kim Soleum suddenly looked up at the grotesque flesh above him, his expression unreadable.

What the hell is he doing?

“What are you—”

A strange silence fell over the area.

“…….”

Baek Saheon hurriedly looked around.

The baby mermaids—

Every single one of them had the same expression.

Looking up.

Raising their hands toward the sky.

“Princess!”

“It’s the Princess!”

The two Bureau agents followed their gaze, looking up at the massive entity that had descended through the shattered ceiling.

And for a brief moment—

Both of them froze in place.

Come closer.

A radiant, enormous mermaid descended through the ceiling like sunlight, filling the empty white void with her presence.

She was beautiful.

A statue of the Mermaid Princess, come to life.

A halo of divine light radiated from her massive form.

Overwhelming awe.

A crushing sense of reverence.

A spellbinding beauty that took over their thoughts.

Come closer.

The white emptiness turned into the Shiny Dragon Palace.

A golden, shimmering cathedral—

like a chapel glowing with divine light.

Praise. Worship. Adoration.

Raise your eyes to gaze upon your ruler, children.

The escape vessel—

The escape vessel doesn’t exist.

This place isn’t an escape vessel.

This is a chapel.

Pray to the Mermaid Princess.

“Sh*t.”

Agent Choi raised a Sun Catcher, barely blocking his vision in time.

Beside him, his junior did the same, biting his tongue to regain focus—blood dripped from his mouth.

But then—

That overwhelming gaze turned downward again—

Come cl—

“Elder!!”

A brilliant flash exploded from Agent Choi’s grip.

A blazing flame erupted from his lantern.

Red and blue flames surged—

erasing the golden halo of the mermaid’s divine light.

A goblin house.

The goblin fire roared, creating a realm of illusion.

Wherever the firelight touched,

tiled-roof houses flickered into existence,

and the silhouettes of dancing, singing goblins swayed within.

A phenomenon to counteract another phenomenon.

“I can’t hold this for long. In the meantime—!”

They had to cut as many tails as possible and load the children onto the escape vessel.

The mermaid—no, the flesh mass—was desperately thrashing, trying to reclaim the space near the escape vessel,

but the distorted reality of the goblin fire kept forcing it to the ceiling.

They had a chance.

Now—

Move!

The adults in suits scrambled toward the escape vessel.

Those wearing animal masks—

The employees of Hundred Dreams Corporation.

“…….”

Agent Choi’s gaze darkened.

At the same time.

I need to follow them…!

Baek Saheon gritted his teeth as he watched the same scene.

This was the perfect timing to make a run for it—

but the problem was that Kim Soleum still had him pinned down.

F**k.

A glint of cunning flashed in Baek Saheon’s eyes.

Could he shove him off somehow?

That bastard… he looks like a kid, so shouldn’t he be weaker than him?

No—he was infected, so he might actually be stronger.

But one thing was certain:

Most infected beings lacked human intelligence.

They were governed by madness and bizarre laws of the hive.

“Hey. Shouldn’t you be more concerned about the big one above us than me?

She still can’t get inside, right? Don’t you need to cheer her on?”

A diversion.

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Would it work?

Oh, wait—could a baby mermaid even understand his words?

Then he’d just write it on the ground!

But the moment he reached down to scribble the same thing in the dust-covered floor,

The pressure pinning his head down vanished.

“…!”

It worked!

Baek Saheon sprang up, ready to run—

But Kim Soleum pushed him back down.

“Ah!”

What now?!

And then, Kim Soleum wrote on the ground.

— Carry me.

“…?!”

— Pick me up and run.

“What the hell are you—”

Baek Saheon snapped back to his senses and blurted out.

“To where?!”

Kim Soleum’s eyes shifted.

Not toward the escape vessel.

Toward the exit passage leading outside.

“…?!”

***

At the same time.

“What a bunch of idiots.”

Jin Nasol twitched her temple in irritation as she watched the General Team employees swarm the escape vessel like flies.

Even if they boarded it, how did they plan on getting out?

The escape vessel’s launch path was still blocked by that disgusting biohazard mass.

Just like those dumb newbies who were more obsessed with the payout than actually thinking.

“Hey! Is there a laser cannon on this escape vessel or something?!”

Jin Nasol ignored the money-crazed rookie’s question and assessed the situation.

…Why the hell am I even doing this?

It pissed her off—it felt like she was handing these General Team idiots an easy way out for free.

But if she wanted to escape herself, there was no choice.

That flesh pile started going berserk after we brought the baby mermaids here.

Hmm.

As an experiment, she grabbed one of the baby mermaids by the nape, ready to throw it into the bio-mass to see what happened—

Smack.

“You’re out of your f**king mind.”

“What’s your problem?”

A glow of cold, blue fury flashed in the eyes of the Bureau agent who blocked her.

Agent Bronze.

He had reverted to his adult form, having rushed through the goblin trick ritual while Agent Choi held the line.

Because the situation was getting out of control, and it had been the right call.

He gritted his teeth and growled at the butterfly-masked employee.

“You saw they were originally children.”

“So what? Without a conch shell, they’re just infected monsters.”

“Even without it! If they just cut their tails, they can board the escape vessel. So hurry and—”

“Hey.”

Jin Nasol cut him off, barely suppressing her irritation.

“And then what? After they board, what’s your plan?

Do you think you can blast through the launch tunnel?”

“…….”

“Did you bring a mortar cannon or something? No? Didn’t think so.”

No.

There was no guarantee that even conventional firearms would work against this thing.

Even if it was a biohazard, not a ghost.

“All we need to do is throw a few of them outside to distract that thing. Then we can escape.”

“If you wanna save the rest so bad, go ahead.”

“Deputy Manager! But that cat told us to take all of them! If we don’t, we might get cursed, or miss out on our payout, or—”

Smack.

“Are you seriously worried about a curse right now?

Think about that after we get the hell out of here.”

That cat wasn’t even showing itself.

There was a high chance this was just some random irregular phenomenon.

“So forget the cat, and—”

“Cooperate with the civilian rescue operation.”

A restraint line shot out from Agent Bronze’s grip.

Jin Nasol scoffed and reached for her own equipment.

No time to waste.

She had to disable him as fast as possible.

Agent Bronze gritted his teeth as he glanced at Agent Choi’s flames.

The infected hive’s pull was piercing through the spatial distortion, seeping toward them.

Come closer.

A golden light shimmered, gripping the children once again.

They were running out of time—

Even if they cut all the tails,

How the hell were they supposed to escape from here?

…Would they have to make a choice?

A selection.

Agent Bronze’s eyes darkened as he reached out his hand.