NOVEL WEB Chapter 3
Chapter 3: Transferred Like a Dog
Veritas.
A state-of-the-art augmented reality device developed by Director Jung Yong-jin, the founder of the Paranormal Research Facility.
It looked remarkably similar to the galaxy watches that were popular in the old days.
With simple controls, it could project holograms and handle any computer-based task anytime, anywhere.
Since it was exclusively developed for the Paranormal Research Facility staff, it was strapped to my wrist as well.
Even as a Level 4, I was still an employee.
It was the only electronic device permitted in the bleak research facility, making it my partner in passing the time when Naram noona wasn't around.
Of course, security issues prevented me from accessing unauthorized sites, but still.
8:00 AM.
The morning trumpet sounded, marking the start of a refreshing day.
As usual, I operated Veritas and opened the messenger window.
▼ Artificial Assistant Jordic
「[0_4_138] Today’s tasks have been assigned.」
「1. Cleaning of Zone 0, Zone 5, and the staff restroom.」
「2. Cleaning of [S-O-07] Isolation Room.」
...
...
▼ 0_1_100 Kang Naram
「Seo-ho-yam… Did you enjoy the snack I gave you yesterday~!? ㅎㅎㅎ If you liked it, I’ll buy more on my way to work today!! Reply as soon as you see this!!」
...
...
More important than checking my tasks was replying to Naram noona's message, which included an adorable bunny emoji.
I refined and refined my words like a writer.
Humorous, witty—the key to conversations with someone you liked was having good sense.
0_4_138 Woo Seo-ho ▶ 「I almost died after eating the snack yesterday ㅎㅎ」
0_1_100 Kang Naram ▶ 「?」
Was that not the right approach? Hmm.
0_4_138 Woo Seo-ho ▶ 「I ate too much and almost got diabetes.」
0_1_100 Kang Naram ▶ 「Ah…?」
0_4_138 Woo Seo-ho ▶ 「It was delicious!!」
0_1_100 Kang Naram ▶ 「Ah… That’s a relief! Then I’ll buy the same one today!!」
There was a moment of crisis, but I managed to recover.
I touched the corners of my lips, which had lifted into a smile. Conversations with Naram noona were pure healing.
I could do this all day.
But she was probably busy getting ready for work, so I decided to wrap up with an emoji.
Knowing when to end a conversation was another form of good sense—something that Eighteen never had.
I took a quick shower and changed into my uniform.
Director Jung Yong-jin seemed to have a preference for white.
The research facility’s interior was white, and even the uniforms were color-coordinated in white.
As I brushed my fingers over my name tag, which had [0_4_138] printed in large letters, I headed toward Zone 0.
The research facility was divided into two major areas.
One was the Alphabet Area, where phantoms were contained and studied.
The other was the Number Area, where researchers and staff had their spaces.
My main task was cleaning the phantom isolation rooms, but today, I was also assigned to clean the staff restroom.
I had a rough idea why.
I entered the Zone 0 restroom. And there, I found someone.
A fellow Level 4.
He was dangling from the ceiling at a slightly lower height.
“What a neat trick.”
I gazed indifferently at the rope wrapped around the Level 4’s neck.
Another suicide.
I stepped onto the toilet and cut the rope with a thick knife.
It was a task I had done several times before—practically second nature.
Thud.
I dragged the body off the ceiling and hoisted it onto a cart.
This kind of death was fairly common at the Paranormal Research Facility.
Living in close proximity to incomprehensible, bizarre phantoms—whose very existence defied explanation—was devastating to one's mental health.
Every time we entered the isolation rooms, we risked our one and only life, repeating this over and over, day after day.
In an endless cycle of extreme danger, only a few maintained their sanity.
The average lifespan of a Level 4 was one and a half years.
You either took your own life or were killed by a phantom.
A Level 4 only had two choices.
Of course, none of that applied to me—I came back to life no matter what.
There was another person hanging from the ceiling in the Zone 5 restroom.
I placed the body on the cart and covered it with a blue cloth.
I cleaned up the area, ensuring there were no stains left behind.
Leaving the now sparkling restroom behind, I pulled the cart down the corridor.
Once I incinerated the corpses, the only task left would be cleaning S-O-07’s isolation room.
S-O-07, also known as O-Chil.
Even in a place where everyone avoided me, I had two beings I could call friends at the Paranormal Research Facility.
One was small, cute, pretty, and lovable—Naram noona.
The other was O-Chil, who looked like the Jinro toad.
Unlike that rude H-I-01, O-Chil never tried to snap my neck or harm me.
He simply greeted me with a cheerful, “Hello, 138!” every time.
The problem was, he shat all over the walls, turning them brown.
“Good morning, Senior Kwak.”
As I pulled the cart toward the incinerator, I ran into Eighteen.
As always, I gave him a polite 90-degree bow.
Eighteen glared at me but didn't respond and walked away.
Judging by his hurried steps, he seemed to have something urgent to do.
I thought he would hold me accountable for what happened yesterday.
Or maybe… he was scared?
It was unimaginable for Eighteen, the most vicious demon in the Paranormal Research Facility, to be afraid of me.
He always bowed like a sycophant before Director Jung Yong-jin, the head of the facility, yet acted like an absolute tyrant toward the rest of the staff.
I couldn't be sure, but I should keep an eye on him.
A petty man like Eighteen was bound to seek revenge.
Unconsciously, I turned on Veritas.
There was a new message from Naram noona, sent thirty minutes ago.
0_1_100 Kang Naram ▶ 「Seo-ho-ya! I bought snacks! I also got a drink in case you get thirsty—hope you don’t dislike zero-calorie drinks...? I found a new favorite lately, and I thought you might like it too, so I bought it for you! Drink it and stay strong today! Let me know what you think when you get off work!」
Even in the driest desert, rain falls.
In this dull research facility, Naram noona was the only oasis.
The stiff expression on my face relaxed.
Perhaps the only person in this world who truly affirmed my existence was noona.
Her encouragement, like warm rain, seeped into my heart, weighed down by the harshness of my work.
The suffocating thoughts clouding my mind disappeared, and in their place, I envisioned a far brighter and more hopeful future.
I saw myself living in a house like the one noona once showed me—a normal suburban home.
A bookshelf filled with novels and self-improvement books.
A bed much softer than my current one, covered in colorful blankets.
I would be attending school.
I had no memory of my past, but judging by my body's age, I would probably be a university student.
And knowing how bad I was at studying, the only way I could have gotten into university was with the help of Naram noona, who had aced the college entrance exam.
Bzzz.
A noise snapped me out of my sweet daydream.
The scene before me was eerily different from usual.
The white corridors were flickering between red and darkness.
“What the hell?”
WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!
A blaring siren escalated the tension.
Something bizarre and unprecedented was unfolding—something I had never witnessed in the research facility, or in my entire life.
Researchers were running toward me from the opposite direction.
Like people waking up from a nightmare, every single one of them was utterly terrified, sprinting at full speed.
“Kyaaaaaaah!!”
“R-Run!! Everyone, run!! Right now!!”
It was complete pandemonium.
Unlike Level 4 employees, who had no real connections, the researchers had known each other for years, yet they didn’t spare a single thought for one another.
Some trampled over a female researcher who had fallen while running in heels.
Others shoved slower colleagues out of the way just to get ahead.
And then—I saw why.
Space itself was expanding in front of me.
A vast, infinite void, speckled with black and white dots, was swallowing everything around it.
The gravitational pull was dragging my body toward it, slowly but surely.
“…….”
It was an unprecedented catastrophe.
Had a doomsday-level phantom gone berserk?
Or had some experiment related to the phantoms gone horribly wrong?
Countless simulations ran through my head in an instant.
But while my mind was racing, my instincts, sensing imminent danger, commanded me to move in the opposite direction.
I ran at full speed, leading the fleeing researchers, desperate to escape.
But just like the others, I, too, was eventually swallowed by the expanding abyss.
Gooooooooooo—
An unidentifiable voice from the depths of the darkness called out to me.
Countless lights flickered in the mystical void.
Like a lantern reel flashing before death, memories of my time at the research facility rushed past me.
In my fading consciousness, I thought of the most precious person to me.
“Naram noona……”
The words I just uttered were the most desperate I had spoken in all my repeated deaths.