WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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Chapter 150: urban legend
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I handled long-distance travel with Mass Teleport whenever possible, but it was limited to places I had set foot on before.
That also applied to places I had visited before I gained Martim's Spatial Leap.
In other words, I could leap to any place I had visited and remembered in my life.
But I had never been to Busan.
You'd think any Korean would have visited Haeundae at least once, but I guess I just never got the chance.
"But I've been to Jeju!"
My parents were not the type to travel often, but every now and then, they took me on trips to Jeju.
They never allowed overseas travel, but Jeju seemed to be acceptable.
Of course, even when we went to Jeju, they never let the trip include a weekend.
They said it was because we had to go to church, but I understood now.
My parents had always tried to keep me from drifting away from church.
Anyway, that was why I leaped to Jeju.
Then I rode Jinju across the sea.
"A pterosaur... I knew the Black Lotus Society worshipped dinosaurs as Dragon Gods, but I didn't know pterosaurs were possible too."
"Pterosaurs aren't classified as dinosaurs, but they're related, right? I have a technique for turning things like that into familiars."
"Even so, controlling something that big must require incredible spiritual power... Th-that's amazing."
Was Jinju the only one?
There were so many members of the family now that naming them was getting difficult.
"This is the famous pork and rice soup place?"
"Ah, yes! This place is known for being good!"
I came to a soup restaurant with Team Leader Shin Sanghyeon and Assistant Manager O Yujin from the Mystic Association's Urban Legend Division Team 4.
"I was going to eat lunch in Jeju, but I heard Busan was famous for pork and rice soup. What else is Busan known for?"
"There's milmyeon and freshwater clam soup. Ah, do you like grilled hagfish? I know a good place."
I felt bad about making Association employees act as my guides, but I was hungry, so there was nothing I could do.
After finishing my soup, I picked up the extra pork and rice soup and sliced boiled pork I had ordered for takeout and headed to a nearby park.
"I'm going to feed the kids."
"Pardon? Ah, yes..."
"It won't take long."
I took care of Gari first.
I mixed a generous amount of white rice into the pork and rice soup in its plastic delivery container, then poured it all out.
Gulp!
Mm, our Gari.
Gari was eating pork and rice soup with rice mixed in. Practically Korean now.
"I want to feed the rest too. Is that okay?"
"We still have time, so please let them eat comfortably."
Apparently, the urban legend had a set time when it appeared.
Thanks to that, I got to sightsee around Busan until evening.
Since we had to leave in the early morning, I took a short nap beforehand and met up with them again.
"Some time ago, a Japanese broker smuggled in an urban legend."
"Ah, that time? I tracked it down too, on an Association request."
"Yes, urban legends that move around like that are easier to deal with. They can be handled physically."
This urban legend was apparently different.
"This is a case where an urban legend has encroached upon a space."
We arrived at a warehouse district on the outskirts of Busan Port.
Since Busan Port was filled with trading ships from around the world, it needed vast warehouses to load and unload cargo.
This warehouse district existed for that purpose.
"Warehouse No. 13 at Busan Port is the type of urban legend that has fused with and encroached upon a space."
"No. 13? It looks like there are only twelve."
I looked around, wondering if I had missed something, but there was only empty land. There was no thirteenth warehouse.
"It appears at night. More precisely, at two in the morning."
The urban legend of Busan Port Warehouse No. 13.
Rather than a traditional anomaly like Red Mask or the Eight-Foot Sister, it was an invasive type where the space itself had become an urban legend.
The first person to discover it was Mr. Kim, a civilian security guard at the management office.
While patrolling the warehouses they were responsible for, Mr. Kim found a thirteenth warehouse that could not possibly exist.
"Uh? Was there always a warehouse here?"
Mr. Kim approached it and heard the sound of a forklift inside.
The sound of cargo being unloaded and moved.
The forklift rattling, even the calls of a signaler.
Security Guard Kim went inside to investigate and had yet to return.
"Huh? Did they die?"
"Not exactly. Their survival has... been confirmed."
It was almost two in the morning.
As we waited for the warehouse to appear, fog began to gather around us.
"That's strange timing. Is this connected to the urban legend too?"
"Yes. It's common."
"Going back to my earlier question, what does it mean that their survival was confirmed?"
"The truth is, when people are taken by this urban legend... they become part of it."
When I asked what that meant, I learned that they became wraiths working for the urban legend.
Seven civilians and two Association employees had fallen victim to it.
"It's fortunate the missing-person reports came in quickly. Otherwise, it could have become a much bigger problem."
"It'll become a much bigger problem if we don't save those people and send them back."
Then, at two in the morning, we found Warehouse No. 13.
"Wow, there really are sounds coming from inside."
The sounds of people working busily came from within.
"Be careful. No one who entered has ever come back out."
Did that mean we couldn't leave until we resolved the urban legend?
That was chilling.
"Let's go in first. We have to try something if we want to solve this."
"Yes. Assistant Manager O, wait outside."
"Pardon? But, Team Leader..."
"If something goes wrong, someone has to pass on what happened. Don't worry. This time, I'll bring Assistant Manager Gong and Employee Han with me."
After giving the instructions, Team Leader Shin entered the warehouse with me.
"I guess the Association members bound to the urban legend were your subordinates?"
"...Yes. They were members of Urban Legend Division Team 4."
It seemed Team 4 had originally tried to resolve the urban legend themselves and failed.
At the entrance, we found a sign-in sheet.
[Warehouse No. 13 Night Shift Rules]
1. Upon arriving at work, you must sign the attendance sheet.
2. There must be five workers today. If there are not enough workers, report to the supervisor.
3. The supervisor normally wears a yellow safety helmet.
4. If the supervisor wears a white safety helmet, work is over. Everyone must clock out.
5. If the supervisor wears a red safety helmet, unnecessary employees will be dismissed.
6. If you attempt to leave work without permission, warnings will accumulate immediately, and you will be processed for resignation.
"Oh..."
"You understand the rule-based nature of these stories, correct?"
"What does being processed for resignation mean? Everyone must have tried to escape."
"...It most likely means death. No one has come out so far."
Resignation meant death?
"What a brutal workplace."
"Well... it is an urban legend."
Then were all the civilians dragged in here dead?
Probably not.
"It says warnings accumulate, so anyone with a little sense probably held back, right?"
Team Leader Shin nodded at that.
Soon, we signed the attendance sheet.
It asked for our names, phone numbers, and resident registration numbers. I hesitated, but decided to write down what it asked for.
"There are no other workers..."
After signing the sheet, we looked for the supervisor and other workers, but no one was in sight.
Had all the captured civilians and Association employees died?
Just as I began to worry, a black shadow approached us.
It had a human shape and wore a safety helmet.
"That's the supervisor!"
"They're wearing a yellow safety helmet."
The supervisor stopped in front of us, pulled out some papers, and pretended to read them.
Aside from being a shadow, they looked like an ordinary person.
Honestly, I felt like I could easily win in a fight.
But I couldn't do that.
Our goal was not only to resolve the urban legend. We also had to rescue the people it had taken.
If we destroyed the urban legend physically, would the captured people be safe?
More than anything, an urban legend was an entity formed from a story. Could it really be killed just by killing it?
There was no guarantee beating up one supervisor would resolve the urban legend.
For now, we should follow the rules as closely as possible.
"Supervisor? It seems we're short on workers."
There had to be five workers today.
Only two of us were here, so three were missing.
When I pointed that out, the supervisor scribbled something down, then crooked a finger.
Aaaah!
At that moment, screams erupted from somewhere, and black shadows approached us.
They were black shadows just like the supervisor.
"A-Assistant Manager Gong?!"
Team Leader Shin recognized one of them and approached.
The shadow seemed to recognize Team Leader Shin too and struggled, but it could not speak.
"Parts of their body... are still human?"
"I think these people... are the ones caught up in the urban legend. Most of their bodies have become shadows, though."
In other words, did people become more shadow-like the more the urban legend consumed them?
Some had not been completely consumed yet, but others had already become shadows from head to toe.
I was worried about them.
The person Team Leader Shin had called Assistant Manager Gong seemed to be trying to convey something.
But in shadow form, they could not make their voice carry. Even when we gave them a pen, they could not hold it.
"Let's use sign language! You remember, right?"
Assistant Manager Gong's shadow nodded.
Then the supervisor gestured, giving some kind of order.
They were leading us to the work site.
As we followed the supervisor, we exchanged signs with Assistant Manager Gong's shadow.
"What are they saying?"
"The workload! They say if we fail to finish our assigned workload, we'll be dismissed! And dismissal means death!"
Before the words had even finished, the shadows ran toward the work site.
Assistant Manager Gong's shadow ran over and started working too. Their job was moving cargo with forklifts.
The shadows each climbed into a forklift and skillfully began transporting cargo-laden pallets.
Had they all used forklifts before?
No. They had learned to survive.
"W-We need to start quickly too! They said we'll be dismissed if we don't finish the workload. Huh?"
Team Leader Shin stopped as they tried to climb into a forklift after the other workers.
Only one forklift remained.
In other words... one person would not be able to use a forklift.
The cargo piled up in one corner of the warehouse was obviously too heavy to move with human strength.
That meant one person would definitely be dismissed.
"V-Venerable Gari..."
Team Leader Shin glanced nervously between me and the forklift.
Their survival was on the line. They probably thought I wouldn't willingly give up the forklift.
"I-If everyone finishes their work and helps with the last person's share..."
"Normally, that would be how it worked, but isn't it cutting things close? The person who can't use a forklift will probably fail to meet their quota."
Most people wouldn't know how to use a forklift, so it would take time just to learn.
They wouldn't have the spare capacity to help anyone else.
"T-Then..."
"Team Leader Shin, you use it first. Do you know how to operate a forklift?"
"I have done field work before, so I have some experience..."
"Oh, you were experienced. Hurry up."
"Ah, all right!"
Perhaps afraid of wasting any more time, Team Leader Shin climbed into the forklift.
They couldn't get it going right away. It seemed different from the one they had used when they worked in the field.
Team Leader Shin considered asking Assistant Manager Gong too, but Assistant Manager Gong looked too busy with their own task to pay attention to Team Leader Shin.
"I-I got it!"
After some time, Team Leader Shin finally began working.
They slid the forks under a pallet, lifted it, and set it down at the unloading area.
It was simple, but it looked like it would take longer than expected.
There was more cargo prepared than I had thought.
Meanwhile, I watched the supervisor's shadow.
A yellow safety helmet...
The rules said everyone could clock out if the supervisor put on a white helmet because the work was over.
That meant the people captured by the urban legend would be freed.
As long as no one was dismissed, it didn't seem like anyone would die.
Either way, finishing the work came first.
"Shall I get started?"
Snap!
I snapped my fingers, and the Eight-Foot Sister and the Mountain Lord appeared.
Why not?
My familiars were all part of my workforce.
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