It Seems I Must Go to Work Even After Falling into a Horror Story 090

In the horror story of ‘Dead End Street’, each alley has its own theme.

Just like in reality, where shops dealing with similar industries or materials cluster together to form a commercial district.

Of course, they appear completely unpredictably, and their frequency of appearance varies.

Confirmed alleys of Dead End Street so far:

And now we’ve entered an alley selling daily necessities.

But at first glance, it seems like the shop I am heading straight for is the one I least want to enter.

A butcher shop with live organs and flesh hanging down.

Wiggle wiggle.

‘Let’s think of this as a haunted house.’

It’s fine. There’s nothing hanging here that’s still in its original form… they’re all just body parts, so let’s just consider it an animatronic attraction at a theme park….

Wait, thinking of a theme park makes me recall Cheerful Theme Park, which is actually scarier, isn’t it?!

‘C-calm down.’

I must not panic.

I walked briskly towards the butcher shop, trying my best to appear calm.

Fresh Meat Shop

Under the red and blue lights shining through the glass window, the owner who was sharpening a knife looked up.

A large figure covered in blood.

Upon closer inspection…

A head of a cow, poorly skinned, turned to look back at us with chunks of flesh still attached.

Gulp.

It motioned to us.

As if inviting us over…

“Ch-chief, wait a moment!”

Kang Lee-hak blocked my path.

“Ha ha, w-well. It doesn’t look like we need anything from that shop, let’s go to another one!”

“The owner even waved at us, it would be rude not to go in.”

– Ah, that’s true. That’s the charm of it!

“No!”

Kang Lee-hak immediately realized his voice had risen and hurriedly spoke again.

“You read the manual, didn’t you? It said never to enter the alley with meat…!”

That’s correct.

If you discover an alley themed around meat in Dead End Street, you should never enter and simply stay in the existing alley.

In unavoidable situations (like being chased by a vendor), if you’ve already entered, block your hearing with headphones or the like and quickly take 1000 steps to move on to the next alley.

If your companions get caught by a tasting invitation, it’s recommended to leave them behind and advance at a faster pace.

Reading just the items in the manual sends chills down your spine.

“That’s right.”

“Ah, you remember, right? So….”

“And?”

“…!?”

“I want to go shopping.”

And then I began to march straight towards the butcher shop.

“D-Doe…!”

I’m sorry, Jang Heo-woon! It’s okay to run away…!

But I could hear the footsteps of the two following me. It seems both of them decided to stick with me.

Hmm. I thought they’d run away.

‘In fact, I wanted to run away even more than anyone else….’

However, I felt that if I paused here and hesitated, I’d get pulled into whatever scheme my colleague had, so I continued moving forward.

Eventually, the three of us stood in front of the butcher shop, where squirming body parts were displayed under intense lighting….

Naturally, I was in the front.

Ha.

….

The skinned cow looked at me.

‘Ugh.’

I should not examine it too closely.

I blurred my gaze and looked at the owner’s neck area, but the veins were wriggling, so I quickly turned my attention away to my clothes.

Better to look at blood-soaked clothing.

“Hello. Do you happen to have fresh packaging?”

Gulp.

“There seem to be many good cuts. Um… may I see the front leg?”

Thud.

The skinned cow’s head rose from its place and opened the glass door.

From inside, the ‘front leg’ was being pulled out and presented before my eyes.

…Wriggling and still alive, its flesh.

Beast’s foot.

Primates’ hand.

Primates’ hand.

Tentacle?

Beast’s foot.

Primates’ hand…

A hand with a ring on its finger, trembling like it was pleading on the glass floor……

‘Ugh.’

I had to hold back.

I looked down calmly.

…But there was no suitable left hand.

‘What a pity.’

I bore this mental anguish, and it would have been nice if there was at least some reward for it.

I shook off my thoughts of Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je and said to the owner after a moment of deliberation.

“A sturdier bone would extract the broth better… um. Do you happen to have one with eyes?”

Thud!

After being rejected once, the owner’s hand grew rougher. I could hear my companions holding their breath behind me.

I too breathed slowly, trying to suppress my fear.

‘Display….’

The front leg was removed,

And eyes appeared in front of me.

Black with purple irises.

Blue eyeballs the size of fists.

Crystals still attached to some flesh.

Trembling white circles without focus….

Desperate brown eyes staring right at me.

‘Ah.’

I closed my eyes and opened them again.

“That one looks nice.”

I pointed with my finger.

The first one displayed, a black eyeball sparkling with a purple iris.

“I would like to purchase it. Ah, there’s no need to cut it.”

…….

The skinned cow blankly stared at me.

And then extended its hand.

A very clear gesture to pay.

Kang Lee-hak whispered in a quiet voice.

“…Chief, can you just check what we should pay for….”

“No.”

I took a box out from my tattoo.

Thud.

A heavy box packed full of corn and carrots was set down in front of the shop.

“…??”

“…?!”

“I’ll pay with this.”

When attempting a trade by barter at this butcher shop, you must always trade for food that the cow can consume.

Yeah. Shops in Dead End Street might use bizarre currencies, but fundamentally, we lack that currency.

‘So, let’s barter.’

However, since every shop accepts different items, I had filled my tattoo with various essentials, precious metals, and snacks….

Including a box of vegetables.

Of course, there are shops that demand something that humans can’t possibly give up, but this was sufficient here.

“How much should I offer?”

…….

The butcher reached for the pile of vegetables I pulled out.

The expressions of my companions brightened as they were astonished by my tattoo inventory performance.

“Oh, a successful transaction….”

“Wait. Is that much okay?”

“…?!”

I frowned and interrupted.

“That’s too expensive. No, it’s just that even if it’s called fresh packaging, there must be limits. It’s not easy to bring that here with that level of freshness….”

“D-Doe…?!”

Looking to the side, my companions started looking at me in shock, as if they thought I was insane, but I kept talking.

“Did you raise the price because I decided to buy? No, is it just a supply issue lately?”

Gulp.

“…You must have struggled a lot. But still, I’m exceeding the budget I had in mind… sigh.”

I intentionally fell silent.

The owner also went quiet.

The skinned cow’s head seemed to be staring at me blankly, but eventually wandered off to what looked like the cash register, coming back with a handful of coins.

All the numbers and letters were written upside down, rusty coins.

The currency of this place.

‘Ugh!’

Got it…!!

Some shops won’t accept barter, but for those, you absolutely must have coins to escape!

– Ah, it aligns perfectly. How delightful!

I received the coins with a smile.

“…The change is enough. Thank you. I’ll take these.”

……!

The skinned owner excitedly rose, packaging what I bought.

The wildly rotating black eyes became wrapped in a transparent liquid and came into my hands.

I tried my best not to look too closely at the coins and the item.

“Thank… you.”

In the meantime.

Thud.

Blood splattered on my face as the butcher made a large motion.

And on Jang Heo-woon’s face as well.

“…!”

Jang Heo-woon, wearing a buffalo mask, froze and lowered her head.

It seems she’s desperately trying to suppress her nausea…….

‘Damn.’

I interjected and spoke.

“Ah. That friend looks weak from hunger. We should hurry back and get something to eat.”

Please, please!

The skinned cow looked closely at Jang Heo-woon.

Just before she completely stiffened and started to sweat cold.

Thud.

The shop owner dropped something at her.

…The corn I had paid with.

“Th-thank you….”

Jang Heo-woon took the corn with trembling hands.

The shop owner stared at her blankly and then sat back down in front of the glass door of the butcher shop.

‘…We passed.’

We left ‘Fresh Meat Shop’ at a quick pace.

At the same time, I looked at Jang Heo-woon’s face tightly gripping the corn.

More precisely, what she was wearing.

‘…Is it because of the mask?’

It seemed she was mistaken for a buffalo.

It seems the mask from Daydream Corporation isn’t an ordinary item. Just like the Dream Collection Device.

‘Phew.’

Don’t give up your body!

Remaining Steps: 7999

Our steps only stopped when the next alley appeared, and I immediately checked on Jang Heo-woon.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes? Ah, yes… um, it wasn’t too much blood, and it was all well-prepared, so this much is… fine now….”

‘Wasn’t it weirder that it was neatly prepared but still alive…?’

But fears vary from person to person. Let’s respect that.

Anyway, I was glad she was okay. Her complexion didn’t seem bad.

Just as I intended to move again.

“W-what was that? How did you make such a transaction…?!”

Kang Lee-hak finally started questioning.

Hmm.

‘Let’s go one more time from here…!’

I nonchalantly asked back.

“What do you mean?”

“What you just bought! The manual clearly stated to avoid alleys with meat, yet how did you act as if you were prepared for it….”

I was indeed prepared!

But I couldn’t say it like that, so I replied.

“It was rather obvious.”

“…?”

“When I looked at the manual and saw the description of stores related to meat, it looked like a restaurant. Normally, it seems like there’s a problem if you eat there….”

I lifted the item I had purchased.

“This is a butcher shop. I figured I could just buy without eating.”

“…!”

“And considering how it was presented….”

I turned the bag around to show the strange black eyeball.

“Since it’s alive, I thought I could use it in another way.”

“……”

“For instance… organ transplantation.”

“…!”

That’s right.

Explorers do not purchase food at the Fresh Meat Shop.

The explorers who successfully attached the tongue purchased from the Fresh Meat Shop in their mouths are able to function without issue while executing various movements that the human body cannot.

By adhering the ‘parts’ from that butcher shop, which are packaged alive for freshness, to missing body parts, they would function.

Sometimes the abilities originally possessed by those parts come along as well.

Of course, it’s insane to approach a butcher shop without knowing this and attempt to buy something!

So I kept babbling.

“In a place like this, creating reasoning with limited hints is essential.”

Yeah. No, seriously.

‘Trying to gain an advantage with limited hints will likely get you killed….’

Only when you see no way to escape do you resort to desperate measures, everyone knows that…!

But I had to feign madness while acting calm, it can’t be helped. After all, madmen usually have their own illogical logic.

“I succeeded in that reasoning. What’s wrong with that?”

A lot, I presume!

Sure enough, Kang Lee-hak’s mouth dropped open as he stared at me.

Yeah, of course, you’d be bewildered….

“Wow!”

Oh no, I was startled.

“You’re right!”

…?!

The eyes shone through the pony mask.

“Wow, right. People need to think differently to achieve high profit, but… have I been too cautious about risks and such?”

“…….”

“Anyway, life is either all or nothing! Ha ha ha! That’s right!”

Wait a minute.

Something feels off….

“Come on, let’s move forward. It’s been a while since I met a boss worth emulating!”

“…….”

At that moment, I realized.

‘Eun Sim-jang!’

I still had Eun Sim-jang hanging inside my pocket.

‘And I just successfully persuaded them while ranting like a madman!’

The problem is that it still feels like a strange situation.

Eun Sim-jang is set up as a persuasion tool, not a brainwashing tool.

It means I must possess logical validity and emotional resonance for it to be effective.

‘So making these absurdly mad statements shouldn’t normally persuade someone….’

“I’ll support the Chief’s activities from now on! Ha ha.”

“…….”

Ah.

I understood.

This person thought the crazy logic I was babbling about was plausible.

‘What kind of human are you?’

Cold sweat ran down my back.

With my last straw, I looked at my rational colleague.

‘Heo-woon, can you at least….’

“Yes, I’ll support well too!”

“…….”

How did this get so tangled up?

Jang Heo-woon wore a face saying “Wow! I got help again! Thank you!”

Already in a state of being persuaded.

– Congratulations. You’ve earned the trust of your colleagues working together, friend!

“…….”

Yeah.

But still… something feels off.

But for now, the only choice left was to walk in order to get out of here…….

‘For now, escape first.’

Don’t give up your body!

Remaining Steps: 6999

The next alley went surprisingly smoothly.

Even to the next alley.

“It’s a lighting store. If we look towards the windows, we might get blinded or burn, so let’s pretend to converse among ourselves and shift our focus while moving.”

“Yes!”

Alleys lined with all sorts of bizarre and mystical shops.

Since I already knew the manual, it felt like studying for a short answer exam with all my textbooks memorized.

However, since even a single mistake could lead to death, I remained in a state of high tension….

“Oh! A pharmacy! Should I try purchasing something from there this time? Chief, what do you think? Does that sound good, Doe?”

“Yes! I’m fine with it!”

“……Let’s move on, it doesn’t look valuable enough.”

“Ah, indeed, I should save up my bullets for larger opportunities, ha ha!”

The atmosphere suggested I was naturally going to make another brazen purchase, didn’t it?

And it felt incredibly sweaty to think that my companions would fully support me in doing that.

Meanwhile, the store I had intended to find chocolate in didn’t seem to be anywhere in sight.

It was tough not to make eye contact with the shopkeepers while glancing around. Phew……

Then it happened.

Don’t give up your body!

Remaining Steps: 4999

“Ah, Chief. A new alley has appeared….”

I stopped and glanced at the gap between the pharmacies.

Within, a foul stench wafted.

‘Ugh.’

It was a very cramped back alley.

It didn’t seem to be half as large as the alley with street vendors… it was overwhelmingly dark.

“…….”

Whirr.

The old side doors lined the alley, creaking in a ghostly manner. Gas lamps flickered only a couple here and there…

In the hazy light, I could see a sludgy liquid, resembling sewage, flowing and disappearing from the pipes beside the wooden door.

And beneath the gas lamps, standing against the wall, were strange silhouettes of precariously thin and bent spines.

Glance.

They were staring at us, dressed in filthy and worn-out uniforms.

……To sum it all up.

‘It feels like the kind of place you’d want to turn around and run away from without realizing it’s a horror story.’

There was an eerie sense that no proper purchases would occur in this alley, layered with discomfort and fright.

“…This wasn’t in the manual.”

That was true.

At this point, Daydream Corporation hadn’t undertaken any real explorations, and it was an unfamiliar, unknown alley for the employees.

…The problem was.

‘I need to go into there….’

Tears welled up.

And somehow… even in such a mad place, it seemed like I wouldn’t need to persuade anyone to enter… it made me even more emotional……

I looked back at my colleagues with a heavy heart.

“Let’s go into that alley.”

And the reactions were like this.

“Yes…!”

“It looks like a place selling stolen goods? Wow, guaranteed high profits!”

“…….”

Let this crazy bastard in this area handle it by himself, please…!