WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

The Legendary Newbie of the Ghost Story Labyrinth

[Translator – Aren]

Chapter 33 - Manager's Office (4)

Seol Suyeon’s face had gone pale as she watched Lee Yumi suffer.

“Oppa…Is this really the right thing to do?”

Park Minho gritted his teeth and shouted.

"Get a hold of yourself! We already talked this through. This is the only way to strip the Cleaning Supervisor of its administrator status.”

According to the admin, the reason the Cleaning Supervisor was so powerful wasn’t just because it was an entity, but because it was a special being that managed the entire level.

Naturally, it had additional protection layered on top of it, something the admin referred to as “Administrator Privileges.” And those Administrator Privileges could be broken by Lee Yumi’s error code.

However, Lee Yumi in her normal state wouldn’t be enough. It only worked when she went berserk, when she started spewing those sticky, blood-like error codes everywhere.

"Yumi has to face the truth eventually anyway. So for now, focus on the plan.”

"...Understood."

"It’s close. Hide!”

The sharp, stinging smell of bleach was already filling the air.

Park Minho and Seol Suyeon quickly hid nearby.

-Thud! Thuuud! Thud!

Heavy footsteps soon approached, and then one side of the wall collapsed as the Cleaning Supervisor burst through. Its eyes burned a vivid red behind the gas mask.

It locked onto Lee Yumi and shouted.

"Contaminant—! Contaminant—!”

The steel scrubber in its right hand twisted and compressed in an instant, forming into a massive axe. It swung it down at Lee Yumi without any hesitation.

"No!"

Seol Suyeon screamed from her hiding spot. But the axe didn’t split Lee Yumi in half. Instead, it was blocked by the blood-like error code erupting from her back.

The Cleaning Supervisor visibly faltered.

"Co-contaminant…! Error……! Deletion…!”

It strained with all its strength, but it couldn’t erase the out-of-control Yumi.

It was trying, and failing, to uninstall a glitched program from the system. The admin had already explained this.

▶Admin: The Cleaning Supervisor will try to delete the contaminant on instinct, but it won’t work. Once a ghost record goes berserk, the only solution is the admin quarantine stick. At best, you can contain it until the next shutdown.

▶ Cheezza: Won’t it try to run away or smth?

▶Admin: It’s strong, but stupid. It’ll keep trying to complete its assigned task until it gets completely overwhelmed by the error code.

And just like the admin said, things played out exactly that way.

"I’m not some kind of contaminant! Aaaaaaagh!”

With Lee Yumi’s scream, the sticky, blood-like error code clung to the Supervisor’s protective suit.

-Hisssssss!

A horrifying smell filled the air, like chemicals burning. The suit that had withstood every attack until now began to melt away, bubbling into black foam.

"KWEEeEEEeeEK!”

The Cleaning Supervisor writhed in agony. But the more it struggled, the more it became drenched in this corrosive blood.

"Contaminant! Contaminant—!”

In desperation, it even started scraping at its own skin with the steel scrubber. The more it did, the more its suit and the blood-soaked flesh beneath were torn away.

"Now!”

At last, the moment they had been waiting for arrived. Park Minho and Seol Suyeon burst from hiding, raising their SCAR-H and DD MK18 straight at the Cleaning Supervisor.

The moment both rifles’ laser sights locked onto the creature, they opened fire.

-Ratatatatatatatatata!

-Ratatatata!

A merciless barrage poured onto the Cleaning Supervisor, now stripped of its protective suit.

-Crack! Pow! Thud!

The first thing to shatter was the gas mask fused to its face. Under Park Minho’s fire, the goggles cracked, then the filter canister blew apart.

-Smash! Clang!

Fragments of the shattered lenses flew outward, along with the pooled blood and bodily fluids inside, splattering everywhere.

"Gweegh! GWEK!”

The Cleaning Supervisor staggered back, clutching its face in agony. With its body now fully exposed, Seol Suyeon unloaded everything she had into it.

-Ratatata!

Each bullet tore into it, spraying red blood and shredded chunks of flesh.

"Reload and keep firing!”

"Got it!”

They didn’t stop until all three spare magazines were emptied.

-Click!

The bolts locked back as the last rounds were spent. At the same time, the barely standing Cleaning Supervisor finally collapsed with a heavy crash.

-Thuuuuud!

It was a horrifying sight. Its body was half-melted from the error code and riddled with bullets to the point it looked like a hive.

But this still wasn’t enough to consider it finished off.

Park Minho and Seol Suyeon immediately rushed forward. Grabbing the limp body, they began dragging the Cleaning Supervisor toward the elevator.

"Uwaaah! This thing’s heavy as hell! Suyeon, grab the legs!”

"Okay! Uuuugh!”

They dragged it several meters before finally using the elevator pass.

-Ding!

With a bright chime, the elevator doors slid open.

“Alright, shove it in! One last push!”

"Got it!”

Entities were bound to the floor they belonged to. If they were forced onto another floor, they would die or go insane.

So the plan was quite simply. Throw it into the elevator and send it to the next level. That was the perfect finish the admin had suggested.

“I’ll get inside. Push from there!”

Park Mino hooked his arms under the Supervisor’s armpits and stepped into the elevator, panting as he forced its massive body inside.

"Huff…! Haah!”

He was drenched in sweat within seconds. Looking up, he saw the buttons.

[Floor3]

[Floor 4]

Park Minho pressed Floor 4 without hesitation, then jumped back out.

And just as he thought it was over…

-Pierce!

Park Minho couldn’t even scream. The breath caught in his throat.

"Ghk...!”

A sharp pain. He looked down and saw that something had pierced straight through his abdomen and was protruding out the other side.

It was the Cleaning Supervisor’s steel scupper, twisted into a spearhead. A moment later, the spearhead morphed into something like an anchor and yanked Park Minho backward.

-Whooosh!

The force was so immense his feet lifted clean off the ground, and he was dragged straight into the elevator.

"Oppa!"

The instant Seol Suyeon screamed, the elevator doors slammed shut, and it began moving.

-Whirrrr!

At the same time, the Cleaning Supervisor rose back to its feet. Park Minho clenched his teeth.

'It can still move like this?!”

It was a monster among monsters. The creature raised its right hand, and Park Minho, who was still impaled, was lifted into the air. A blinding pain exploded through him, turning his vision white.

“Gaaaaaah!”

Blood surged up his throat, likely from his torn-up insides.

"Cough! Kugh!”

Still, Damage Suppression barely kept the bleeding in check.

The Cleaning Supervisor, its body half-destroyed, fixed its one remaining eye on him.

“Occupant…! Severe violation of regulations…! Removal…!”

Its appearance was nothing short of a demon that had crawled up from hell. Its melted protective suit still dripped like tar, and its entire body was mangled from gunfire.

Then it swung its free left arm at Park Minho.

-Whoooosh

It sounded like a sledgehammer tearing through the air. Park Minho instinctively raised his arm to block, but it was useless.

-Crack!

His arm snapped with a sickening sound, bending at an unnatural angle. The bone didn’t just break. It burst through the flesh.

"AAAAAAGH!”

He didn’t even have time to writhe in pain before the second blow came. This time its target was his abdomen.

-Boom! Crack!

It felt like being hit by a car. In an instant, all his right-side ribs shattered, fragments stabbing into his lung.

"...!"

The only reason his heart hadn’t ruptured was because the Cleaning Supervisor was already severely weakened.

But its rage didn’t stop. Now it began pummeling Park Minho’s face.

A fist the size of a pot lid smashed into him again and again.

-Pow! Thud! Crack!

His nose collapsed instantly. The skin above his eye split open, blood flooding down his face. His vision blurred completely, replaced by a high-pitched ringing in his ear. Still, the blows just kept coming.

-Thud! Crack!

His cheekbone caved in. His front teeth were knocked clean out, spilling down his chin mixed with blood and saliva.

"Ghk…kgh......!"

At last, Park Minho went as limp as a corpse. That was when the Cleaning Supervisor finally stopped, seemingly convinced he was finished, and began inspecting its own damaged body.

But there was one thing it didn’t know. Adrenaline Pump. Even with catastrophic injuries, it allowed him to keep moving like a zombie for 15 minutes.

Taking advantage of that brief opening, Park Minho reached into his pocket and pulled something out.

It was the black sphere, also known as the Gastrolithe.

A lump of soot-like material capable of triggering Noise Phenomena when combined with intense human emotion. And right now, Park Minho was drowning in rage and fear.

He forced himself to move without hesitation.

“Eat this. You bastard……!”

The cleaning supervisor looked up at the sudden outburst, and in that instant, violent electricity erupted around Park Minho’s body like a hedgehog’s spines.

-BZZZZZZZZZT!

As expected of something called an energy core, the power unleashed by the Gastrolithe was on an entirely different level from the weak sparks he used to generate with that knife.

The crackling arcs of electricity surged through the metal impaling his abdomen and straight into the Cleaning Supervisor.

The entity couldn’t withstand the overwhelming force and began to burn.

-Pop!

Chunks of flesh burst apart, sparks and smoke erupting in all directions. Its bodily fluids boiled and the stench of grilled flesh filled the cramped elevator.

-BZZZZZT!

It was a truly suicidal attack.

In the end, the Cleaning Supervisor stiffened and collapsed forward.

-Thuuud!

Park Minho also collapsed beside the half-charred, massive corpse.

"Haah…Haah…Haah…!”

Gritting his teeth, Park Minho reached down and yanked the object piercing his abdomen free.

"Aaaaagh!”

-Spurt!

Blood poured out from the wound. Even with Damage Suppression, the hole was too large to fully contain the bleeding.

Just then, the elevator, which had been moving the entire time, came to a stop.

-Ding!

He had arrived at Floor 4.

* * *

Floor 4 was a uniquely divided environment.

Because it was split into two completely different zones. An elegant, luxurious hotel and a completely ruined underground parking lot.

Where one ended up determined everything.

One side was practically heaven, filled with mystery and indulgence. The other was hell, where one would be endlessly hunted by entities in the dark.

The only thing that decided between the two was whether you had a hotel invitation.

"Looks like it’s coming down.”

An anomalous entity dressed like a Hotelier spoke while watching the elevator.

He wore a sleek, tailored suit, but his face and feet were those of a crow. In his human-like hands, he held a refined cane.

“Everyone, prepare yourselves.”

At his command, the nearby entities nodded. They were mannequin-type Facelings, the hotel staff. Notably, every single one of them carried ominous weapons.

They stood in front of the hotel’s freight elevator, used to transport goods out of sight of guests.

They had gathered under orders from above to eliminate a certain entity.

"I heard it’s an exceptionally powerful one. But once it arrives here, it will descend into madness. Follow procedure, and there will be no issues.”

The Facelings responded in unison.

"Yes, Sir.”

A moment later, the elevator display locked onto Floor 4.

-Clunk. Ding!

With that, the heavy doors slid open, and the waiting hotel staff were met with a scene they could never have imagined.

"Ahem……! Good heavens!”

Inside were two figures. A massive entity lay collapsed on the floor, and nearby, a human sat, barely breathing.

The entity wasn’t moving. The man beside it was gravely injured, struggling to stay conscious.

The Hotelier understood the situation instantly.

"......Impossible."

The Hotelier, whose greatest strength was his constant composure, felt his crow-like eyes contracting. He was beyond astonished. A mere human had reduced that monster to something like slaughtered livestock.

He cleared his throat, masking his reaction.

“Ahem! Remove the corpse. I will speak with the gentleman.”

"Yes, sir.”

As the staff carried away the dead Cleaning Supervisor, the manager stepped into the elevator.

“Remarkable. Did you defeat it yourself?"

Park Minho weakly lifted a golden key in his hand. It was the safe key taken from the Cleaning Supervisor’s body.

"Got lucky……rather, it’s cold…”

The Hotelier bowed his head in admiration.

"I would like to express my respect for your accomplishment.”

"You one of the admin’s people…?”

"Admin…? Ah, I’ve heard that it’s what you call them.”

The Hotelier nodded, then took something out from his coat and knelt down.

"Originally, we intended to handle the Cleaning Supervisor ourselves. However, since you have accomplished it so splendidly, allow me to assist you in another way.”

He produced a syringe filled with blue liquid and injected it into Park Minho.

"Ugh...!"

"It’s alright. This substance will extend the duration of your anomalous abilities. Despite your injuries, you should have no trouble moving.”

"Thanks for that…”

Sure enough, as Adrenaline Pump was beginning to wear off, a wave of drowsiness and cold had been settling in, but now his mind cleared, and warmth returned to his body.

“What comes next is what matters. You still have unfinished business on Floor 3, correct?”

"Correct."

“You'll need to move quickly. Once the Goshiwon Manager learns something has happened to the Cleaning Supervisor, he will not remain idle. I would assist you further if I could, but we are bound to Floor 4. Instead, please take this.”

The Hotelier handed Park Minho a hotel invitation. And not just any invitation, but a Platinum Ticket, the highest tier of invitations available.

"We promise the finest service. Even your current, ruined body can be completely restored.”

Rising to his feet, the Hotelier pressed the Floor 3 button on the elevator and gave a parting bow.

"...If you manage to return alive, that is.”

Truthfully, even getting this far was astonishing, but against the Goshiwon manager, the odds were still very slim. Even so, the reason the Hotelier gave him a Platinum Ticket was because he saw a flicker of something.

'A threshold just before awakening. And awakening…creates miracles.’

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