Chapter 28.2

Chapter 28.2

“Oh, it looks exactly like Soleum-ssi, doesn’t it? Could it be a trap?”

“Squad Leader, maybe it’s time to at least give him the basic manual...?”

“Oh, sure. I suppose you’re right?”

A-squad’s leader looked at me, seemingly weighing the idea, then finally spoke slowly, as if granting a rare favor.

“Soleum-ssi, you’re inside a story.”

“......”

“Think of it as entering a novel or a movie.”

Yeah I mean, I already figured that out myself.

The moment I saw my own corpse, I realized which Darkness this was.

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Dark Exploration Records / Ghost Story

[The Day I Died]

: A ghost story featured in <Dark Exploration Records>

: Daydream Inc. identification code – Qterw-C-406

A ghost story that pulls the victim into an unsuccessful thriller-mystery, making them the sacrificed character.

The first witness is always faced with the discovery of their own sacrificial corpse.

Exploration Records indicate a total of up to 25 entries.

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It’s a creepypasta tailor-made to drive someone to the edge of a mental breakdown.

‘This is... a potato—a potato.’

I tried to brainwash myself as best as I could, looking away from the corpse-shaped thing in front of me...

“Don’t use your special equipment. Check it directly. Look carefully and examine every detail...”

Are you kidding me?

“No, I can’t.”

I replied without even taking a breath.

The eyes behind the teal duck mask narrowed.

“...Hm?”

Oh no.

I just talked back to a superior who’s already prone to workplace harassment?

‘I need to fix this, pronto!’

Instinctively, I added more, smoothly following a well-tested routine I’d already used once.

“There’s a faster way to escape.”

Not again.

Why does it always go this way...?

* * *

My work conditions just expanded.

Stipulations

1- I must not let them find out that I’m a coward.

2- I must not reveal that I already know the correct strategy to use.

I hadn’t realized I had a talent for rapid-fire responses.

“Evidence? You sound like you’re in a detective novel.”

“It’s not quite deduction—just a simple guess. And...”

I stood up.

“I found it.”

“What?”

“The answer.”

Immediately, I surveyed the area. Naturally, I used my special equipment to do this remotely.

Let’s see here.

In a shadowy corner, partially hidden but not entirely, in a place that would be easy to overlook if you weren’t paying attention...

‘There it is.’

I pulled out a cylindrical object from a musty corner under the shelf.

“That’s... a can of food?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm, there are cans all over the place here, though.”

Yes. After all, this place does seem like an abandoned canning factory.

But this one was different.

The can I picked up had a slightly dented edge with bloodstains on it.

It was a classic cliché—the ‘hidden in plain sight’ trope.

– Hooh, Mr. Roe Deer! If this were a mystery story, this would be the decisive evidence. The shape matches perfectly with the wound on the head.

Exactly.

“This matches the indentation left by the blunt-force trauma on the back of the head.”

– Ah, classic. The weapon was just an everyday object in the background that no one noticed! This is the structure of a typical work of fiction...

Right, right.

Anyway, A-squad’s assistant manager seemed to accept this, nodding.

“So that’s the weapon, then...?”

Tuk.

I let the potential ‘weapon’—the can—drop to the ground.

Then, I stomped on it with full force, crushing it hard.

“......??”

“......????”

– ?!??!

“Ah.”

I tilted my head to the side.

“There’s no way a human skull would be damaged by something with this level of force... Hmm. It doesn’t add up.”

Tremble, tremble.

At that moment, the space around us shook slightly.