WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

The Legendary Newbie of the Ghost Story Labyrinth

[Translator – Aren]

Chapter 75 - The Disposal Site (6)

Gu Bonjae suddenly raised his head.

The entity that had been collapsed on the ground, calling his son’s name over and over, slowly rose to its feet. Its four mangled arms hung limply at its sides.

"I have to go.”

His voice dropped to a low growl.

“I’m going to their stronghold.”

Park Minho frowned.

"You’re planning to go alone?”

“I can’t leave Taeson in those monsters’ hands. I’m going now! Move!”

Gu Bonjae staggered toward the tunnel. Park Minho stepped directly into his path. Units 1 and 2 immediately moved to either side of him.

“What are you doing? Didn’t I tell you to move?!”

Gu Bonjae trembled with rage. Park Minho didn’t budge, though.

"Fool.”

"What...?"

"What exactly do you think you’ll accomplish by charging into Floor 24 alone? That’s their headquarters. You’ll rush in and end up lying dead beside your son, you know?”

"You…!”

Gu Bonjae was about to explode but stopped himself because deep down he knew Park Minho was right. As silence settled over him, Park Minho continued.

"Look at me. I’m in a better position than you are.”

"What are you trying to say?”

"I’m the Administrator of Floor 8. I command countless entities. I’ve even captured members of the Molting Church and gathered intelligence from them.”

"So?"

“And yet I’m still not marching on their headquarters because we’re not ready.”

"So you have unfinished business with the Molting Church, too?”

“I do. The difference is I’m not letting my emotions dictate my actions. I’m weighing the odds of success with a clear head.”

“Grrgh……! But there’s no time! Who knows what those bastards are doing to Taeson right now?!”

Park Minho shook his head.

"There is time.”

"What? How could you possibly know that?”

"Because not long ago, I ruined one of the Molting Church’s major plans.”

He explained what had happened at the Entity Rift. How the Molting Church had gathered in force to carry out one of their grand rituals. And how his group had defeated their leader, causing the entire operation to collapse.

"It’ll take them a long time to recover. Their last ritual failed only recently. There won’t be another one anytime soon.”

"......"

"You can charge in now like a rabid dog. You might satisfy your anger. But I guarantee you, you won’t save your son.”

Gu Bonjae stood in silence for a long time. The faint tremor in his glowing yellow eyes told Park Minho his words were finally getting through.

"As I said, I have my own reasons for going there. Family is involved on my side too.”

"Family?”

“Yeah, the younger brother of one of my companions is mixed up in all this. Our goal is to bring him home.”

Park Minho continued trying to persuade Gu Bonjae without breaking eye contact.

“Our goal is the same. To save our family from that cult. That means we can work together. But if you’re still determined to charge in without thinking, I won’t stop you. Just leave the Molting Church tome behind, as promised.”

Gu Bonjae stood there in silence. Then he let out a long sigh.

"Haaah……”

His massive shoulders rose, then slowly slumped.

Par Minho wasn’t wrong. No matter how powerful he was, he couldn’t fight the entire Molting Church by himself. As his reason gradually returned, he was finally able to face reality.

Tension drained from his body.

"Use me.”

"What?”

"If I can help stop the Molting Church or save Taeson, then use me however you want. I don’t care what role I play as long as it gets results…”

Park Minho studied him for a moment before speaking.

"Let’s make one thing perfectly clear.”

"Go on.”

"Your son can’t be saved.”

Gu Bonjae flinched.

"The best thing we can do now is let his soul finally rest. When we attack Floor 24, it won’t be to bring your son back. If you can’t accept that difference, we can’t work together. But if you can promise me that you won’t let your obsession twist everything again, then we can.”

Black oil streamed from Gu Bonjae’s yellow eyes. He wept silently. After standing there for a long time, he finally accepted reality.

"......Very well.”

Pain seeped through every word of his low, cracked voice.

"No matter how foolish I have been…I’m not so hopeless that I can’t learn even from suffering like this. I’ll let Taeson go….I’ll be satisfied if I can simply set him free.”

Park Minho nodded, and his tone softened.

“Understood, sir. Now that you’ve come back to your senses, I’ll treat you not as an entity but as a respected senior explorer.”

That settled their agreement.

Gu Bonjae would join them under one condition. His involvement would be limited to matters concerning the Moltinch Church. He would take no part in anything else.

Park Minho instructed the Miner entities to prepare the most secluded corner of the mine. There happened to be an abandoned dead-end tunnel that had been unused for years. It would become Gu Bonjae’s quarters.

"I'll designate the area as off-limits to explorers. You won’t be disturbed.”

"...Thank you, young man.”

Gu Bonjae gave a small nod. Then with fear in his voice he asked,

"What happened to Manchun?”

His voice trembled.

"Give me a moment. I’ll check.”

Park Minho picked up one of the Floor 8 radios, which allowed communication throughout the floor. After speaking with Seol Suyeon for a moment, he nodded.

"The surgery’s still underway. He still hasn’t regained consciousness.”

"...Can he be saved?”

"I don’t know.”

Gu Bonjae covered his face with both hands.

“I must seem completely deranged. I stabbed Manchun and now I’m worried about him. That’s proof I’ve become a monster……”

Park Minho watched him quietly for a moment before answering.

“You don’t need to justify yourself to me. Whether you’re forgiven is Boss Jung’s decision to make.”

"...You’re right.”

Gu Bonjae gave a bitter smile.

"Even after all these years…my pride and my foolishness made me far more shortsighted than someone as young as you. It’s deeply shameful.”

* * *

Three days passed.

Fortunately, Nicola’s surgery had been a success. Jung Manchun was expected to make a full recovery.

He finally regained consciousness on the morning of the fourth day.

"...Where am I?”

Jung Manchun slowly opened his eyes. An unfamiliar ceiling light and clean bedding came into view. He was lying in a recovery room inside one of Floor 8’s temporary buildings.

Seol Suyeon, who had been nearby, brightened immediately.

"Boss! You’re awake!”

Delighted, she hurried off to call everyone else.

Park Minho soon arrived and looked down at him.

"How are you feeling?”

"This is…Floor 8?”

"It is."

"Thank goodness……”

A moment later, Jung Manchun asked hesitantly.

"And Hyungnim……?”

Fear lingered in his voice. The fact that he himself was still alive could only mean Gu Bonjae had been dealt with.

But the answer he received was entirely unexpected.

"He’s resting in his quarters. He’ll be here shortly.”

Jung Manchun’s eyes went wide.

"What? Really?!”

"Yes, a lot happened.”

Park Minho explained everything that had taken place. Jung Manchun listened in stunned amazement.

"My god…So that’s who it all ended!”

He still clearly carried a heavy burden of guilt. When Park Minho told him about Gu Taeson, he couldn’t hide his sorrow.

"So it came to that..."

Just then the door to the room opened. A gigantic entity ducked awkwardly through the doorway.

It was Gu Bonjae.

He hesitated, then walked over to the bedside and knelt down. Despite his massive frame, he somehow looked very small.

Park Minho caught Seol Suyeon’s eye and quietly motioned for them to leave the room.

"Hyungnim…”

Jung Manchun spoke first. Gu Bonjae lowered his head.

“I’m sorry. Manchun, I’m so sorry. I stabbed you…”

"......"

"The only thing that matters is that you’re alive. Kgh……I don’t even have the right to ask for your forgiveness. I only wanted to thank you for surviving.”

Yet, completely at odds with the somber atmosphere, Jung Manchun smiled.

“Well, I never thought I’d live long enough to get a hole punched through my stomach. Does that make us even for giving you bad information all those years ago?”

"Manchun. That was never your fault…”

"That doesn’t matter anymore. I’ve carried that weight all these years too. Honestly, I’m not even sure I deserve to be forgiven this easily.”

"No! Manchun, don’t say that.”

"Hyungnim. Let’s leave all of that behind us. From now on, let’s focus only on saving Taeson.”

At those words, Gu Bonjae finally broke down and wept openly.

"I understand…Thank you, Manchun.”

* * *

Somewhere beneath Seoul inside an NCE command center.

The Gray Square had already disappeared. The agents who had completed the search of the area had returned. Their commanding officer now stood before the commander.

“I’ll begin my report.”

"Procced."

"We’ve finished searching the site. To summarize, it’s the worst-case scenario.”

The agent operated the massive monitor. Photographs from the scene appeared one after another.

"12 merchants and craftsmen from Sallim-dong’s hardware alley are missing. Large amounts of blood were found, but no bodies. Evidence indicates that a powerful ritual took place there. At present we believe it was a human sacrifice.”

"What about Zeta-9?”

The agent hesitated briefly before answering.

"...They’ve been completely wiped out."

The atmosphere inside the control room froze.

"We recovered portions of several bodies. However, their condition was abnormal. They had been horribly mangled and dismembered by various tools.”

"So it really was an entity?”

"Yes. Residual anomalous energy was detected around the wounds. We’re dealing with an exceptionally powerful being.”

"Estimated threat level?”

"At minimum, Deep-class. Possibly even Abyss-class.”

These were the classifications used to rank entity strength.

Surface-class, Deep-class, Abyss-class. Each level represented a dramatic increase in danger. Beyond even those stood the Cataclysm-class. An entity so powerful that even the NCE Foundation would have to stake its very existence on defeating it.

An entity capable of wiping out a Special Operations unit like ‘Zeta-9’ by itself was classified as Deep-class. To engage a Deep-class entity, a unit like ‘Sigma-4,’ equipped with Awakened personnel, was considered the minimum requirement.'

"Haah……”

The commander squeezed his eyes shut. Among non-Awakened Special Operations units, Zeta-9 was considered one of the Foundation’s elite forces. Armed with cutting-edge specialized equipment, they were capable of suppressing almost any ordinary entity. Yet judging by the evidence, they hadn’t even managed to put up a proper fight.

'There’s no way I’m escaping a reprimand from Headquarters…'

The commander was already certain that this incident would cost him his position. He had underestimated the threat and deployed Zeta-9. He should have at least sent Sigma-4. Perhaps an even stronger task force had been needed.

"The suspect? You’ve identified them, right?”

"Yes."

The agent advanced to the next slide. Gu Bonjae’s personnel file appeared.

Photographs from his younger days, his expiration records, and the disappearance of his son, Gu Taeson, 13 years earlier.

"He’s a former explorer. Records confirm he reached Floor 14.”

"So one of the upper-tier explorers."

"Correct. He was officially listed as missing, but we now believe he spent the past 13 years in hiding. He’s currently our primary suspect.

"Have you apprehended him?”

“...I’m afraid not. Since he was listed as missing, we were unable to take action.”

The commander stared silently at the monitor for a long moment. They didn’t know where the missing people had gone. They hadn’t recovered the bodies. And the prime suspect had vanished.

It was the worst possible outcome. A chill crept up the back of the commander’s neck.

"Any other leads?”

The agent hesitated before speaking.

"...There is one. To be honest, this may be an even bigger problem.”

A photograph of Gu Bonjae’s workshop appeared on the screen.

The floor had collapsed inward. Black scorch marks covered the area. Strange symbols had been carved into the pillars and walls. One of them immediately stood out.

A cicada shedding its shell.

"The Molting Church.”

Several analysts in the control room sucked in sharp breaths.

"We recovered a large quantity of ritual implements. Specialized censers. Ceremonial vessels used for secret rites. And fragments of their religious texts. All of them were found inside Gu Bonjae’s workshop.”

The commander’s expression hardened. The moment the words Moling Church were spoken, the nature of the incident changed completely. This was no longer just an anomalous disaster. A highly dangerous cult had been operating in the very heart of South Korea’s capital.

“I’ll have to report this to the director immediately.”

The NCE’s Korean branch was about to become extremely busy. A full reinvestigation of the Molting Church’s network, backtracking their operations, and launching mass arrest operations would throw the entire branch into chaos.

"One more thing to report.”

"Go on.”

"We believe several third parties entered the affected area during the Gray Square incident. Most appeared to be unrelated to this case, but they still warrant investigation.”

"The CCTV footage?”

"We’re in the process of collecting it. Every camera from the hardware alley and every CCTV camera throughout the Euljiro Sallim district.”

"Do it. Don’t miss a single frame.”

"Understood.”

* * *

That same night.

NCE Digital Analysis Division.

The lights were still on well past midnight. Dozens of monitors played CCTV footage simultaneously.

At one workstation…

An analyst in his mid-30s sat wearing a headset, his full attention fixed on his screen. Only a single cup of coffee rested beside him.

His hands moved with unusual speed.

On the monitor, clear footage showed a young man and woman walking into the alley.

It was Park Minho and Seol Suyeon.

The analyst quietly opened a secure communication channel.

-I’ve confirmed them.

A calm male voice answered from the other side.

-Erase it.

-All of it?

-As much as possible. The entire sequence, if you can. Just don’t make it obvious.

The analyst immediately got to work. He manipulated the video’s timeline, overwrote specific sections with replacement frames, and edited portions to make them appear as though the footage had simply been lost.

-If I erase too much, it might attract attention.

-Understood. Leave enough behind to look natural. We can’t hide everything. Focus on creating confusion. Buying time is what matters.

-Will that be enough?

-That’s for Professor Kim to decide. You just focus on your job.

The objective was to delay the investigation from reaching those two as long as possible.

-Understood.

The transmission ended. Following the mole’s instructions, the analyst busily continued altering the footage.

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