WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

The Legendary Newbie of the Ghost Story Labyrinth

[Translator – Aren]

Chapter 79 - Backrooms Settlement (4)

The stale, musty air hung heavily throughout the abandoned mine tunnels of Floor 8.

Breaking the eerie silence, Director Yoon, the man who held the true power of TBU, personally made his appearance.

He was accompanied by more than 20 bodyguards. At a glance, several of them were clearly mid-rank Awakened, radiating formidable anomalous energy.

The fact that Director Yoon employed multiple mid-rank Awakened as mere bodyguards spoke volumes about the extent of his influence within Fortress City.

"Welcome."

Park Minho greeted him calmly. Standing beside him were dozens of Miner entities, neatly lined up with pickaxes resting on their shoulders.

And that wasn’t all. Behind Park Minho stood a formation of enormous Minecart entities venting menacing clouds of steam. Their sheer presence was so intimidating that even the mid-rank Awakened couldn’t completely hide their unease.

"So, we finally meet, Park Minho-ssi.”

Even amid that tense atmosphere, Director Yoon approached with an easy smile and shook Park Minho’s hand.

"It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Director. Please, come inside. It may only be a temporary building, but it’s more than adequate for a private conversation with an honored guest.”

"Haha, expecting anything grander in the middle of the Backrooms would be asking a bit much, wouldn’t it?”

Leaving his escort outside, Director Yoon entered the temporary building with Park Minho.

-Clunk.

The heavy steel door shut behind them, cutting off the outside world. The atmosphere changed completely.

The confident, composed leader of TBU vanished as if he had melted away. Director Yoon immediately bent into a deep bow.

"Minho-nim, it's good to see you again.”

To anyone watching, the hierarchy between them would have been unmistakable. Park Minho simply nodded as though it were only natural and gestured toward the chair across from him.

"Have a seat, Director Yoon. You’ve worked hard.”

Director Yoon carefully perched on the edge of his chair. Park Minho, meanwhile, leaned comfortably against the backrest. The contrast between them was striking. They began discussing the future administration of Floor 8.

"Director Yoon, how many concessions do you think you can secure from TBU this time?”

Faced with the blunt question, Director Yoon carefully laid out the plan he had prepared beforehand.

"At present, I believe we can achieve three major objectives. The first, and by far the most important, is persuading the Directors’ Council to provisionally recognize you as the administrator of Floor 8."

"Provisionally……”

Park Minho’s brow narrowed ever so slightly. It was obvious he wasn’t entirely satisfied. Seeing even the subtle change, Director Yoon immediately broke into a cold sweat, worried he had displeased his master.

"It would be extremely difficult to obtain permanent recognition of your authority at this stage. The idea of a single human privately controlling an entire Backrooms floor is unprecedented. If we pressure them into approving ti immediately, the Directors’ Council will certainly push back. They’ll need more time.”

"So you're saying, if we try to swallow everything at once, we’ll choke.”

"Exactly. We begin with the deliberately vague position of provisional recognition. Then, little by little, we turn it into an established fact and solidify your position. Eventually, they’ll have no choice but to accept it.”

Resting his chin on one hand, Park Minho quietly considered the proposal.

"Very well. We'll proceed that way. No rushing things. We’ll build this step by step. Besides, I have no intention of charging explorers tolls for passing through Floor 8 just yet.”

"Yes, an excellent decision, Sir. Instead, we should establish alternative sources of revenue.”

At present, the trading post was rather unimpressive. Only Wang Wei’s merchant company regularly came and went.

The plan was to expand it significantly so that merchants from all across Fortress City would begin stopping there.

"Mino-nim, I understand one of your primary products is the rare ore mined on Floor 8. Exactly how much of it do you have?”

Park Minho stood from his seat and pointed toward the door.

"Come see it for yourself. There’s more than enough there to do business and to grease the palms of the Directors’ Council.”

* * *

Three Miner entities led the way. Park Minho, Director Yoon, and Ivan followed behind them.

Their destination lay deep within Floor 8, in a remote section of the mine far removed from the routes normally used by explorers. Several Miner entities stood guard near the entrance. Park Minho had stationed them there purely for security. Unlike the others, these weren’t mining. They existed solely to protect this location.

"It’s here…"

As they reached the end of the tunnel, the passage suddenly opened up.

"...This is!”

Director Yoon stopped in his tracks, stunned.

It was an enormous cavern. Its ceiling stretched so high into the darkness that it was impossible to see. And at its center stood a massive hill.

A hill of ore.

Countless varieties of minerals emitted anomalous energy, glowing with their own light. Golden yellow, deep blue, violet, dark emerald. The sight was

"All of this…it’s all rare ore……?!”

Director Yoon’s voice trembled. The sheer scale was almost beyond comprehension.

The Miner entities had simply piled anomalous crystals and every other type of rare mineral into one enormous heap. Since Floor 8 considered these materials useless, this palace was effectively nothing more than a gigantic landfill.

To humans, however, it was an unimaginable fortune.

Director Yoon couldn't hide the concern on his face.

"If news of this ever gets out it’ll cause a catastrophe.”

"Is it really that serious?”

"It is. The importance of rare minerals is growing not only inside the Backrooms but in the real world as well.”

There was another issue as well.

"With a stockpile this large, supply absolutely has to be controlled. If too much enters the market at once, mineral prices will crash and throw the entire economy into chaos. And naturally, their value as bribes for the Directors’ Council would also plummet.”

It was a valid point. Park Minho decided to follow Director Yoon’s advice. He also chose to strengthen Director Yoon’s position.

"I’ll leave the distribution of the Directors’ Council’s incentives to you, Director Yoon.”

Realizing exactly what Park Minho meant, Director Yoon’s face lit up.

"Thank you. Are you certain?”

"Of course. If Director Yoon prospers, then so do I, right?”

If Director Yoon became the one responsible for distributing those regular gifts, the other directors would inevitably have to stay on his good side.

Once their discussion concluded, the two announced the details of their agreement.

First, TBU would provisionally recognize Park Minho’s authority over Floor 8. In addition, TBU would guarantee the safety of Park Minho and his close associates.

Second, a full-scale trading post would be established along Floor 8’s trade route. Operations would be overseen by Sam, the Miner entity that had gained intelligence. Its projected monthly revenue was estimated at no less than 50 gold coins.

And that estimate was deliberately conservative. The trading post was expected to become a veritable gold mine, delivering bundles of gold coins to Park Minho every month.

Third, both parties agreed to cooperate against the increasingly dangerous Molting Church.

Together, they would investigate the cult and lay the groundwork for securing TBU’s assistance when the time came to assault Floor 24.

* * *

One clear advantage of working alongside a major organization soon became apparent.

They now had access to a wealth of intelligence on the Molting Church that they hadn’t had before.

"Suyeon, according to these reports, your brother was considered the future of the Molting Church. It says he was supposed to succeed the late High Priest.”

Seol Suyeon studied the documents beside him, her expression grim.

"Suhyeok was involved a lot more deeply than I thought."

"Honestly, judging by these reports, it doesn’t look like he was simply kidnapped and brainwashed. It makes him sound like a devoted believer.”

"...I know."

"We’ll have to investigate this much more carefully."

Based on what they knew so far, barging into the Molting Church’s headquarters and demanding they hand Suhyeok over no longer seemed like the right approach.

First, they needed to learn what Suhyeok truly wanted. And they needed a much clearer picture of what was happening inside the Molting Church.

"Fortunately, TBU is finally launching a full-scale investigation into the cult. For now, let’s wait and see what they uncover.”

"Okay.”

With both the TBU situation and the Moltinc Church temporarily settled, Floor 8 was running smoothly even without Park Minho personally overseeing everything.

Before long, construction on their headquarters was completed, and they finally moved out of the temporary building into their new base.

"It finally feels like we’ve settled down in the Backrooms.”

Seol Suyeon nodded.

"It really does. At this point, if we go back to the real world, the NCE will just be waiting for us. So this is home now.”

With the immediate crises behind them, Park Minho’s thoughts drifted toward Floor 15.

'It’s about time I went.'

Somewhere within Floor 15 lay the Error Junkyard, a palace connected to the White Room. He didn’t know exactly where it was.

The Error Junkyard existed as a sealed-off world, one that could supposedly be entered using Park Minho’s Reality Manipulation ability.

It was a place he absolutely had to investigate if he wanted answers about the White Room.

'Who should I bring?'

He decided to leave Seol Suyeon behind. She was still troubled by everything concerning her brother. Besides, she’d recently claimed one of the rooms in the headquarters and had been busy installing grow beds and plant LEDs.

"Suyeon, I’m going to check out Floor 15.”

"I’ll go with you."

"No, you stay here.”

"Why?”

"Because I need someone I can trust watching over Floor 8.”

"But how can I just let you go by yourself?”

"I’m only scouting. I won’t push my luck. I just want to locate the Error Junkyard. When it’s time to actually clear it, we’ll go together.”

After some persuasion, Seol Suyeon reluctantly agreed to remain on Floor 8. For now, it was probably best to let her focus on her plants.

"I’ll leave Unit 2 here as your bodyguard. Hey, take good care of Suyeon."

"Kwik!”

Unit 2 had already undergone about half of the upgrades planned by Gu Bonjae. Instead of emphasizing armor, the modifications focused on preserving mobility and stealth.

Unit 1, on the other hand, had recently been fully upgraded.

Since brute strength was already its specialty, they’d rebuild it into a dedicated tank.

"So? What do you think?”

Gu Bonjae, Jung Manchun, and Nicola proudly presented Unit 1.

Its defensive capability had been dramatically increased by skillfully welding armor plating salvaged from a Minecart entity onto its body. Its left arm had been fitted with an industrial power hammer and its right arm with an industrial drill.

"That’s terrifying. I’d say it'd tear apart just about any entity.”

Gu Bonjae looked thoroughly pleased with his handiwork.

"I’ve already run a few tests. To be honest, even I’d have to be careful fighting this little guy now. Those things attached to its hands are no joke.”

Unit 1 clearly loved the upgrades.

"Kek!”

For some reason, it puffed out its chest, squared its shoulders, and lifted its chin proudly. Its confidence practically radiated off it.

"It’s not something you can simply put on and take off like a suit of armor, but if necessary, we can dismantle it and return it to its original form.”

"That’s good to hear. I’ll be taking it with me this time.”

"Hm? Where are you headed?”

Park Minho explained that, while they waited for more intelligence on the Molting Church, he intended to explore Floor 15.

"Sir, would you be willing to help with the expedition?”

Gu Bonjae agreed without hesitation.

"Gladly. I’ve been wanting to see how Unit 1 performs in a real battle. This works out perfectly!”

"Hyung-nim, I’m coming too!”

When Jung Manchun tried to join them, Gu Bonjae immediately shot him down.

"Not a chance. You’re an old man!”

"I’m perfectly healthy!”

"Maybe when you were an explorer back when you were a young buck. Just stay behind! I’ll take the kid instead. Kuhahahaha!”

Nicola beamed the instant he realized he’d been chosen. Lately, he’d practically become Gu Bonjae’s apprentice.

"What a miserable life, being treated like an old geezer.”

Ignoring Jung Manchun’s grumbling, the party was decided. Park Minho, Gu Bonjae, Nicola, and Unit 1. A four-person expedition.

As for Ivan, he had far too much work to do and would be sitting this one out.

"By the way, Sir, what kind of place is Floor 15?”

He’d heard about the Error Junkyard, but almost nothing about the floor that concealed it.

"Floor 15 is an abandoned military base.”

"An abandoned military base?”

For some reason, that sounded more ominous than anything he’d heard so far.

Gu Bonkae nodded as though he didn’t even want to think about it.

"That's right. Put simply, it’s the army.”

"Th-the army?”

"Worse than that. The military that’s recreated depends on the people who enter. Judging by this group, we’ll probably end up in a version of the Republic of Korea Army.”

Park Minho suddenly felt dizzy. After all this, he was about to end up back in the military.

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