Surviving Among the Entities

“Phew.”

The woman in a black suit, Kim Mi-ri, stood in front of the mirror. After washing her face, she slapped her own cheeks to regain her senses.

“My first mission! Fighting!”
『Hey, when are we going?』

At that moment, the same suited man, Shin Yeong-mun, suddenly poked his head through the bathroom wall.

“Yah! You startled me! I told you not to suddenly appear like that!”
『Ugh, if you get surprised this easily, you can’t be an agent.』
“Being an agent is one thing, but being startled is another matter.”

As she grumbled and went outside, he floated along behind her.

“It’s our first mission.”
『Well, it’s not a difficult mission, so don’t be so tense.』
“If it were as easy as you say, why would anyone be tense in the world?”

After receiving training for 2 years in an independent dimension with a different flow of time, the two finally became official agents of the Foundation after enduring indescribable hardships.

『They wouldn’t have assigned a dangerous mission for a C-Class rookie agent’s first job, right?』
“Well, I did take a look at the mission overview, and it’s just visiting ‘Sarang Industries’ operated by the external special consultant to check for any anomalies. But I’m still tense for some reason.”
『It’s because it’s your first time. You’re always tense during your first experience, you know? When I first completed a pure straight in mahjong, my hands were so sweaty I couldn’t grip the mouse properly.』
“Ugh, not the mahjong again!”
『Don’t be like that, you should learn it too. Learning mahjong will change your life.』
“I’ve heard so much about it that I already feel like a mahjong master, even though I don’t actually want to play it.”

Although they could never truly connect as a living person and a ghost, Kim Mi-ri became familiar with all sorts of anomalies and armed entities during her training at the Foundation. As a fellow trainee and as a Korean, she built a friendly rapport with Shin Yeong-mun, and the two were assigned together as Korean agents for their first mission.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, how did you end up passing away, Yeong-mun?”
『Whew, the truth is, I was at the pinnacle of the dark realm of mahjong. I gambled my life in a 10 billion won mahjong game, but my opponent cheated, so unfortunately……』

The two headed to Sarang Industries by vehicle.

“You knew the external special consultant?”
『Yes, he was the only one who could see and interact with me when I first became a ghost. At first, he tried to exorcise me, but after that, he treated me well.』
“So he’s not a bad person. I’m relieved to hear that.”

It was a special vehicle that ghosts could also ride, and the two chatted amiably.

“I wonder how the mentor is doing.”
『If it’s him, he’ll be fine. He’s strong, after all.』
“What’s the point of just being strong? He lacks common sense, so who knows what kind of trouble he’ll cause again.”
『He is a bit peculiar. But since he understands the concepts of nothingness and reconciliation, he’ll be alright.』

Having stuck together during the 2-year training period, they had built a close rapport, but the training had been so grueling that their casual chatter didn’t stop.

『By the way, Mi-ri, why did you join the Foundation?』
“For the money, of course. With the hundred-million-won annual salary and great benefits, how could I pass up such an opportunity? I didn’t expect the training to last 2 years, but fortunately, since the independent dimension’s timeline stretches time, I didn’t actually age, and only two months passed in reality, so that’s a relief. What about you, Yeong-mun? A ghost doesn’t need to work at a good job, right?”
『I joined to experience the feeling of being alive. The Foundation can create things like my clothes and this vehicle that allow me, a ghost, to interact with the world.』
“Ah! Now that you mention it, I was so shocked when I first saw you eating! I never expected a ghost to be eating jjambbong. I screamed because I thought it was a human brain.”
『A brain? I’m a ghost, not a zombie, you know?』

As they chatted, they soon arrived at the Foundation’s headquarters.

“Well, then……”

Shin Yeong-mun picked up where she left off.

『Let’s begin our mission.』

“Welcome. You must be from the National Tax Service? We’ve been expecting you.”

Their mission wasn’t difficult.

“Here are Sarang Industries’ financial statements. I’ve organized everything, so please review them thoroughly.”

Disguised as National Tax Service employees through the Foundation’s power, they inspected Sarang Industries’ internal operations while performing actual NTS duties.

“Are you done?”
『Yes, I’ve just compiled the results of reviewing Sarang Industries’ finances.』

Shin Yeong-mun removed the monocle from his eye. The monocle, embedded with the Foundation’s automatic calculation device, could summarize and display Sarang Industries’ current financial status just by scanning the financial statements.

『It’s a structure that cannot be profitable. The welfare benefits are too excessive. While the welfare policies only started in December last year, so it’s been just a month, at this rate, the annual cost for welfare alone would be in the tens of trillions of won.』
“Tens of trillions?”
『Meanwhile, their revenue structure is 10% manufacturing, 30% import/export, and 60% other.』
“What’s the ‘other’ part?”
『Fees from external use of the welfare facilities. Outside visitors can pay to use the facilities here, and that accounted for 60% of January’s net profit.』
“…What about maintenance costs?”
『It states that all costs are covered by the funds contributed by the chairman and new employee.』
“But a chairman is a chairman, and a new employee is a new employee. What do you mean by ‘chairman and new employee’?”
『Well, Seung-hoon Lee is quite unique. In any case, shall we take a look at the welfare facilities?』

After emerging from the mountains of documents, the two boarded an elevator.

“23 days ago, they asked the external special consultant if the entity threat through Sarang Industries had been eliminated, and he replied, ‘It has been eliminated, but the company will be maintained for the happiness of its people.'”
『Spending tens of trillions annually for no apparent reason does seem suspicious.』
“It seems the Foundation is considering ‘the possibility of a mind-polluting propagation entity that cannot be discussed externally.’ That’s why the external special consultant couldn’t provide details, and their assumption is that he’s maintaining the welfare system to raise employee happiness and prevent the spread of such a mind-polluting entity.”
『I agree, but let’s still take a look. We should focus on the welfare aspects.』

The two toured the company, observing all sorts of welfare benefits.

“Ah, refreshing.”
“This is heaven.”
“Aaack! Stop! My soles are tearing! Aaah! It hurts so much!”

Employees were resting while receiving massages and full-body treatments from skilled professional masseuses.

“Haha! Section Chief Kim! You need to focus on your breathing!”
“Huah! It’s harder than I thought. But I can feel my stamina improving.”
“Hehey! Deputy Manager Yoon! Let’s wear swimsuits next time!”

Employees were swimming in an indoor Olympic-sized pool.

“This is how you play three-cushion billiards!”
“Wow! Nice shot, Director Kim!”
“Hey! Deputy Manager Kwak! Didn’t you know scores under 300 are not allowed?”
“I won? Deputy Yoon! Order some jjajangmyeon! Uhahaha!”

Employees were even enjoying billiards in an indoor billiards room while puffing on cigarettes.

‘Is this really a company?’

All of this was happening in the afternoon at 2 PM, when they should have been busiest.

“…Shall we look around some more?”
『…Let’s.』

The two continued moving around.

“Mmm! This is zazypudding. It’s delicious.”
“Zazy pudding is tasty. Zazy, zazy! But why zazy?”
“Didn’t they say Belgian chocolate is delicious? It’s incomparable to our domestic chocolate.”
“Of course, our domestic chocolate is made with palm oil, so they can’t even call it chocolate overseas, can they?”

One floor was filled with imported foods directly brought in from overseas.

“Team leader, team leader! There’s a stop lurker! Pull, pull!”
“Yes, you can just move and avoid it, right? Can’t you youngsters even do that much?”
“Let’s try eating some chimaek this time.”
“Who ordered the jjamppongae? The smell is insane. I should order some too.”
“Me too, I’ll order some.”
“Me too. It’s a classic at PC cafes, after all.”

One floor was a PC cafe.

“This author’s previous work was a flop, but their new work is quite enjoyable?”
“I wonder who the giant armor knight and the colossal giant are?”
“Wow, how did they bring in this unlicensed work? It’s even been translated!”

One floor was filled with comics and novels.

After touring the various floors, Kim Mi-ri stepped outside the office building with a disgruntled expression.

“This is… unfair……”
『What’s wrong?』
“If I had known this, I wouldn’t have joined the Foundation! The starting salary for new employees is 250 million won after taxes, and the benefits are top-notch! I had no idea there was a company like this!”
『It’s not welfare, it’s more like domesticated livestock levels.』
“Ugh, I’m so envious I could die. If I had just endured a little longer, I could have worked here too!”
『Ah, but if you did, you’d have been affected by the Foundation’s perception alteration and would just think it’s an ordinary major corporation, right?』

Shin Yeong-mun showed her online comments on his personal smartphone.

[I want to get a job at Sarang Industries so bad! The benefits and salary are insane, aren’t they?]
└[Unless it’s an open recruitment or your parents work there so you can inherit a position, there’s no way in.]
└[Well, the benefits are over-the-top, but it’s ‘Sarang Industries’, so that’s to be expected.]
└[Exactly, it’s ‘Sarang Industries’. Nothing particularly special is going on.]
└[How competitive do you think the open recruitment will be?]
└[From what I’ve heard, they randomly select and send invitations to all working-age Koreans to come for an interview? So every Korean between 20 and 60 years old is a competitor.]
└[Then it’s not an open recruitment, it’s just a lottery.]

『As you can see, there’s no way in unless it’s an open recruitment, and the competition is intense. More importantly, Mi-ri, if it wasn’t for the Foundation, you would have just gone to university, right?』
“…Please don’t hit me with facts. It hurts.”

Kim Mi-ri let out a long sigh.

“With over 100 floors in the office building, but only about 30 floors dedicated to actual work while the rest are for welfare facilities, there must be something going on after all.”
『That’s true. Looking around, there were hardly any people actually working. At most, maybe 10% of the total employees? According to the documents earlier, they only need to work 5 days a month, and after that, they can just enjoy the welfare facilities.』
“Phew, let’s check outside the building too.”

There were welfare facilities outside as well. A zoo, a large hospital, a park for strolling, small ponds for fishing, and more.

“Let’s wrap this up by visiting the amusement park.”
『It seems like there’s something going on, but we don’t have the precise details, so I’ll write the report accordingly.』

As an amusement park that outside visitors could also pay to enter, Sarang Industries’ amusement park was bustling with numerous visitors.

“Yeong-mun, look over there.”
『Why?』
“Doesn’t that girl seem suspicious?”

There was an adorable silver-haired girl with red eyes.

“Ddwhae! Ddwhaeddwhae! Ddwhae!”

Shin Yeong-mun immediately identified her true nature upon seeing her.

『Based on the outdoor filming camera she’s holding, she seems to be an internet broadcaster.』
“She looks cute, but why is she talking like that?”
『Maybe it’s her concept? There are broadcasters with concepts like only shouting ‘howoo’, so this is nothing compared to that.』
“Ugh, they only shout ‘howoo’?”
『Yes, there’s a broadcaster who has been doing that concept of only shouting that phrase for years.』

When the girl shouted something, a woman next to her answered on her behalf.

“Sohee says as punishment for failing the previous khan game, she’ll be challenging the ‘Hell Paradise Drop’, the scariest roller coaster in the world! So! She’s entered Sarang Industries’ amusement park!”
“Ddwhaaaaaaaah!”
“Hm? What’s that? If you cry or faint, you’ll have to experience being a zombie too?”
“Ddwhaeddwhaeddwhaeddwhae!”

As the two observed their skit, one of them spoke up.

“Just in case, could that girl be an entity that can only say ‘ddwhae’?”
『We were taught not to make hasty judgments, and you’re already breaking that rule?』
“But what if it’s true? What if she really is an entity? What if Sarang Industries is actually a facility meant to seal that entity?”
『An entity that can only say ‘ddwhae’ doesn’t seem particularly dangerous. Well, it’s not bad to be cautious, I suppose……』

A stage all rookie Foundation agents must go through.

『Let’s follow her for now.』

Suspecting everything as an entity.

“For the sake of humanity!”
『For the sake of humanity!』
“And for the sake of my bank balance!”
『Don’t ruin the mood.』

On a mountaintop 2km away from Sarang Industries.
A towering woman over 2 meters tall was peering at Sarang Industries through a small telescope.

After observing for a while, someone suddenly appeared behind her.

“What are you looking at?”
“Baal.”

The woman, Asmodeus, put down the telescope.

“Did your work go well?”
“Yes, it went splendidly. Look at this, it even made the news.”

The newspaper Baal handed her had an article titled [Famous French Chef’s Shocking Suicide Show Using Drugs and Hallucinogens! Guests Devoured Human Flesh!].

“As expected, classical methods do take time.”
“Well, the quality is good. But what were you looking at?”
“You’ll understand if you take a look.”

Baal received the telescope and observed Sarang Industries.

“Oh.”

And he exclaimed in admiration.

“Truly an excellent system of depravity!”

Countless humans had fallen into depravity.
Without working, they had abandoned themselves to the sweet riches and comfortable environment provided, and any will to improve or strive for progress had been extinguished.

“After Belphegor was punished, sloth became one of the most guarded and despised sins for humans, rarely occurring, but with this, the story will change!”
“But the loss rate is higher than expected.”
“Indeed……”

Beyond the telescope, not everyone had entrusted their lives to Sarang Industries.

Some were still striving to obtain certifications or improve their specifications instead of playing around during this time.
Some aimed to start their own businesses with the money they had earned here, while others, after saving enough to live on for the rest of their lives, retired and were studying to enjoy traveling the world.

“While some abandon themselves to comfort forever, many also view this as a temporary respite to pursue their dreams.”
“The limitation of a system without powerful restraints.”
“No, isn’t that precisely what makes it better?”

Baal lowered the telescope.

“Souls that descend into depravity without any restraints, unable to escape – how exquisite their quality must be, wouldn’t you agree?”
“When you put it that way, I suppose so.”
“So what do you think about Seung-hoon? Wasn’t I right?”

As Asmodeus brought up Seung-hoon, she nonchalantly remarked:

“The moment he joins, he might become the second human-born president in our history.”