…The situation quickly settled afterward.
Or rather, it couldn’t not settle.
The lizard had doubts about my earlier behavior.
– Mr. Roe Deer, were your questions last night intended to engage in lengthy conversation with a ghost because you mistook me for one?
That moment was genuinely spine-chilling.
– …How could that be? I was simply keeping both possibilities in mind after seeing you clapping with the backs of your hands, sir.
And I raised an imaginary thumbs-up toward the respected superior.
That means I smoothed it over with flattery.
– I couldn’t afford to miss the first chance to have an in-depth conversation with you, even if it meant risking a misunderstanding.
– I see.
– Thank you for kindly consulting with me for such a long time.
– Yes.
Phew.
For the record, the C-squad members, who had slept peacefully through the night, woke up before Lee Jaheon and I left.
They chuckled casually.
“Ah~ It just had to be the two of you, huh? What a coincidence.”
“Wow. That must’ve been really scary.”
“Right? Pretty chilling~”
Liars!
Watching them laugh as they recalled the things the ghosts imitating them had done, I was once again struck by how bold the so-called elites of this company were.
Oh, before I forget.
‘Now’s my chance to figure out who referred me to the Salmon Market.’
“Um, would it be alright if I ask for your names, please?”
“Of course!”
Supervisor Dolphin raised her hand energetically.
“I’m Supervisor Lee Seonghae, and over there is Assistant Manager Kang Dojun.”
Huh?
Wait a second.
The assistant manager who introduced me to the Salmon Market was… Ah!
“By any chance, is C-squad’s manager named Lee Kangheon?”
“Huh? No.”
‘I’ve been had.’
No wonder that person had been so quick to share their information. They were all lies.
‘They must’ve counted on the fact that the elite units, A, B, and C, are off-limits for direct contact via the company directory for regular employees.’ Ŗ
Well, it didn’t really matter. It just made me glad I’d created an alternate ID to bypass their scheme.
As I was about to wrap up the conversation with some casual remark along the lines of, ‘I must have confused that person with someone else’—
“Pardon me, Supervisor Roe Deer.”
While Assistant Manager Leopard was talking to Section Chief Lee Jaheon, Supervisor Dolphin suddenly turned to me, speaking in a hushed tone.
“By any chance… Did you also get a katalk message about making money?”
“…From someone with a Hawaii beach background on their profile?”
“Famous, huh?”
“Is it a word-of-mouth thing?”
Supervisor Dolphin glanced at her colleague to ensure they weren’t paying attention, then quickly continued.
“Um, well, I was also the top recruit in my batch when I joined.”
Ah.
“They contacted me too. That… fish bears eat a lot of… oh, Salmon Market! Yeah, Salmon Market.”
So she’d been fished—or maybe phished—too…
“I’ve heard a few other promising recruits got contacted as well!”
According to her, the identity of the sender varied each time, but two details always matched.
[K.LEE: Oh hello, Mr./Ms. Employee lolol]
The profile photo and the name “K.LEE.”
Supervisor Dolphin whispered conspiratorially.
“Want to hear my theory?”
“Of course.”
“I think the site admin sent it. Like, they’re recruiting people to sell actual items from the Darknesses on their secondhand platform!”
Oh.
“You think the site was created by a company employee?”
“They must at least be connected! They knew way too much about the Field Exploration Team.”
Interesting.
I rubbed my chin.
‘If such an employee really exists…’
A named character?
I mentally sifted through the profiles in the company wiki for employees who might pull something like this.
“Thank you. That clears up some of my questions.”
“No problem.”
Supervisor Dolphin grinned and shrugged.
“By the way, are there that many employees using Salmon Market within the company?”
“Quite a few, actually. The company doesn’t care as long as we’re not selling Dream Essence Collectors or masks. It’s like how looting gets overlooked in wartime to keep soldiers’ morale up. Ugh.”
Supervisor Dolphin grumbled.
“Honestly, this company is so annoying.”
I nodded without thinking.
“There’s definitely a tendency to disregard human casualties.”
“Well, I mean… technically, people dying is eco-friendly, so whatever.”
“But it’s the randomness that bugs me. If it were me, I’d send them off in order of personality. Ugh.”
I… think I’m scared of the C-squad.
“Anyway, that’s just my take.”
“Thank you.”
“No worries.”
Supervisor Dolphin tied her long hair into a ponytail and answered cheerfully.
“You know, you were so polite even when I was a ghost, Supervisor Roe Deer. I think good people should live long.”
She gave me a thumbs-up and a bright smile.
Um. Thank you.
In the end, I parted ways with C-squad on a relatively pleasant note.
“Next time, let’s meet in a Darkness that gives lots of points! We’ll show you how awesome we are then!”
“And it’d be even better if only the person giving us points shows up! Hahaha!”
Hmm.
‘I’d rather not encounter the greatness of the elite unit in Darkness…!’
Still, working with C-squad seemed smoother and less friction-filled compared to A-squad.
Of course, C-squad also appeared to have a certain sense of elitism, but that could be chalked up to being an inherent trait of elite units.
…Except for the endless replaying in my head of the shocking ghost-version C-squad I saw today.
‘Ugh.’
Let’s go home.
Let’s indulge in the luxury of sleeping while the sun’s still up in the sky…
Feeling a small sense of gratitude for having the day off, I bowed to Lee Jaheon.
“Squad Leader, thank you for today. Once again, I appreciate you patiently answering my questions in the chaos of the Darkness.”
“Yes.”
“Please feel free to ask me anything in return anytime, Squad Leader!”
“Yes. Then I’ll ask now.”
Already?
Lee Jaheon asked bluntly.
“Supervisor Kim Soleum, have you used the ‘Fox Counseling Room’ before?”
That was one of three locations I gained access to after becoming a supervisor:
1- Security Team Rentals Warehouse
2- Annex (two free equipment customizations per year)
3- Fox Counseling Office
It was the only one I hadn’t used yet…
“No, I haven’t.”
Of course, I hadn’t had the time or opportunity.
“Do you plan to use it?”
Hmm.
“…Squad Leader, you’re suggesting the Fox Counseling Room to help me recover from the psychological effects of contamination, correct?”
“Yes. I recommend scheduling a session soon.”
That was reasonable advice.
Except for one issue.
‘There’s a side effect to that place.’
The Fox Counseling Room had a severe, unwritten side effect not mentioned in the employee manual.
Granted, it was a very low probability, so regular employees didn’t need to worry about it.
Still, I didn’t want to take that risk, no matter how small.
…With everything that’s happened lately, I’m a bit tired of dealing with probabilities.