Don't Feed the Professor! - Chapter 10

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Malo was watching my troubled expression with half-closed eyes, smiling.
“Want to grab a meal with me?”
“I, um…”
I hesitated. Whatever this person—this professor—really was, sitting across from him to eat still felt a bit uncomfortable.
But then again, when the semester starts I’ll be seeing his face regularly anyway.
My stomach gurgled.
…
Besides, if the superior’s treating the subordinate, I could probably wrangle a meal out of him. I mean, if it wasn’t for me, wouldn’t that whole class have been canceled?
“Well, I suppose a professor and student can share a meal together.”
“Professors can eat with students?”
What kind of question is that? One thing’s certain—neither of us has ever actually set foot in a proper university before.
Now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure I heard somewhere that you’re not supposed to eat alone with a professor. Something about getting dragged to graduate school if you do.
Well, I don’t need to worry about that anyway. High school diploma.
“That would be nice.”
“Good. Let’s treat that knee first though.”
Malo hummed contentedly as he spoke, quickening his pace.
We left the Walking Path and made our way to the main street, but there still wasn’t a soul in sight. A small café next to the Student Hall caught my eye, but it didn’t look open yet.
Noticing where I was looking, Malo said,
“You can use my name to get coffee there sometime—they’ll hook you up.”
Sweet deal.
“Do they sell food?”
“They do, but you won’t want to eat it.”
“Why’s that?”
“Beats me. But I heard the last professor, Gwon Tae-hyeon, ended up getting replaced after eating a tart from there.”
“Ah, I see…”
As we made small talk, we arrived at the Student Hall.
Once we passed through the main entrance, we found ourselves in a lobby with a bulletin board. I was about to check if that memo from before was still there when a bell suddenly rang. I absentmindedly checked my pocket, but it wasn’t mine.
“It’s mine.”
And what Malo pulled from his pocket was…
“Don’t tell me that’s a Smartphone?”
“…? Yeah.”
…
And it was the latest model too. What had Ameli been doing, not upgrading her device?
Wait, more importantly—why does this strange being have a Smartphone? The more human-like it acts, the more suspicious I get, actually.
‘Is it really a strange being?’
Whether Malo noticed my suspicious stare or not, he answered the call. Without saying anything back, just listening to whoever was on the other end, his eyes moved down to look at me.
“Looks like we’ll have to get food another time.”
At the sudden shift in atmosphere, I quickly waved my hand.
“Go on, hurry. I don’t know where the infirmary is anyway.”
Hmm, Malo stared at my face for a moment as if deliberating something, then started rummaging through the pockets of his lab coat.
“Here, take this.”
What is this?
What he handed me was a small business card-sized slip of paper. In bold serif typeface it read “The Goldilocks,” and in one corner was a tiny stamp of a baby bear.
“What is this…”
“I’ll see you in class.”
“Wait…”
But Malo was already pressing the elevator button. It was the same elevator I’d taken with him before—the one that led to the Underground Research Facility.
“Wait, Professor.”
With a ding, the elevator doors opened and Malo disappeared between the closing doors, waving his hand fluttering.
“Sigh.”
There’s no making sense of him.
When I put my hand in my pocket to store the business card, my fingers brushed against something that crinkled.
“…?”
The memo I’d forgotten about.
E2A4N700#**
“Hmm?”
Could this possibly be…
I pulled out Ameli’s phone.
Unlike Malo’s latest smartphone, this old keypad phone had physical keys.
And on the worn, glossy keypad, numbers were paired with their corresponding letters—A, B, C under 1; D, E, F under 2, and so on.
If 2 pressed four times gives E—E2—and 1 pressed four times gives A, then stringing it all together…
“…and then #, *, *.”
A shrill dial tone.
As the grating sound of connection played, the screen went dark and bright green text scrolled up.
[- ̗̀ෆ Survivor Exclusive Hotline 89th (day +299 after last explosion ヽ( ຶ▮ ຶ)ﾉ!!!)ෆ ̖́-]
[Enter? YES/NO]
Oh, this is interesting.
“Hmm…”
Could a message from an old keypad phone damage my sense of self?
Maybe.
With no clues, no one I could trust, I might need to take a little risk if I wanted to survive in this world.
“That’s probably true.”
I operated the phone.
[YES] And then…, [OK].
[Welcome! (´ ˘ `)♡ Please enter a chat name while you wait!]
A chat name?
Hmm…
[Input – Goldilocks]
Shrill tone.
[Approved.]
[※Notice: ‘Goldilocks’ has entered. Everyone say hello!৻(≧ᗜ≦৻)]
[Cart Collector: Like I’m saying,]
[Cart Collector: The moment you have a house, all the older generation are living fossils, right?]
[Cart Collector: Huh? Someone’s coming in.]
Before I could even react, texts came flooding in, filling the screen.
[Highest Sweetness: Oh, a newbie’s here!]
[Someone on 12th Floor: But Goldilocks? Is that the one out back of Gwangryun University?]
[Cart Collector: Huh?! Could you be the Goldilocks owner?! I love the hamburgers there!!]
Ah, so Goldilocks is a restaurant name? Good to know.
Anyway, what is this? It’s not really a “hotline” so much as… just a chat room, isn’t it?
I hesitated a moment, then typed a message.
[Goldilocks: Hello, is the person who invited me here by any chance around?]
[Highest Sweetness: Who invited you?]
[Goldilocks: I’m not sure. Someone left what looked like a code on my door.]
Shrill tone.
[※Notice: ’48’ has entered. Everyone say hello! (≧ᗜ≦৻)]
[48: Heyyyy my adorable friends!! Oh my gosh who just came in who is it??(´ ˘ `)♡♡]
[Goldilocks: wow]
[48: Oh my gosh are you swearing right now???]
Thud.
What was that?
At the sudden noise, I lifted my head and looked around. The lobby was still empty.
…
[Goldilocks: No, that was a typo. But anyway, are everyone here all Drifters?]
[Someone on 12th Floor: Most of us are]
[Someone on 12th Floor: There are no outsiders right now, but some do come and go]
[Someone on 12th Floor: By the way, who left that code on your door?]
[Bibi: The dorm?]
How did she know?
Thud.
When I looked up at the louder sound,
Bang.
Someone was standing at the main entrance of the Student Hall. Vacant eyes, wrinkled face, grayish-white foam dripping from its mouth. A “Student.”
I flinched, but the Student just stood there, peering through the glass.
‘Can’t get inside?’
I cautiously approached the main entrance. Then, as the Student looked at me with a sickly grin, it gave a soft sniff.
As if detecting some scent, it sniffed the air repeatedly,
“Hghhh.”
covering its face with its elbow as it shuffled backward.
“What the…?”
Do I smell bad?
I gently pushed the middle door.
Thud-thud, the Student shuffled backward further. Still covering its face, it bolted away somewhere.
Shrill tone.
With the alert continuing to sound, I had to check the screen again.
[Cart Collector: So you’re a Gwangryun student? You’ve already received a Role?!]
I’m not sure if I should be that straightforward with these people.
[Highest Sweetness: I don’t intend to pry. Sharing information among Drifters is the goal, not an obligation.]
[48: Right haha but if you’re a Gwangryun student, we could actually be pretty helpful to you?]
[48: Bibi works there too, and I’m actually a Gwangryun student as well!]
[Goldilocks: Oh, really?]
[48: I’ve already received my Role!]
[Cart Collector: Can you just talk about stuff like that?ㅋㅋ]
[48: What’s the big deal? We’re all friends!(≧ᗜ≦৻)]
[Cart Collector: ㅋㅋ]
[48: Goldilocks, if we run into each other on campus, say hi!]
[48: I go by Ameli! It’s just the name I use at the Fortress haha ㅋㅋ]
Maybe I should listen more.
[Goldilocks: Ameli? Is that the name of the Role 48 received?]
[48: That’s right! I was super lucky (●ˇ∀ˇ●) if I hadn’t been, surviving at Gwangryun would’ve been way harder]

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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