Don't Feed the Professor! - Chapter 34

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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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Hello, Gwon Tae-hyeon.
I heard from Bibi that you left the Fortress for a regular Mental Evaluation.
At first I worried you’d gone through something serious, but once I learned it’s mandatory for field operatives, I felt relieved.
It’s like a health checkup, isn’t it?
Anyway, I apologize for the delayed reply to your check-in. I meant to visit the Administrative Office myself, but things have been hectic lately.
To get straight to the point, I have nothing to report yet regarding Marlo’s lectures.
I’m definitely attending twice a week, and we’re already two weeks in, but somehow…
I have no memory of it.
I know—it’s strange.
But it’s true. For example, when I was a child, I had a fairly major surgery. Before the anesthesia kicked in, they told me to count backward. I remember feeling a bit embarrassed because I was still clumsy with numbers back then.
But when I came to, everything was already over.
Marlo’s lectures feel similar.
Just before I entered the classroom, Marlo made some joke and I laughed—I think. The next moment, everything was finished.
There are scattered fragments I remember. A droning sound, maybe. Lights flickering, maybe.
It was pitch black, then suddenly very loud, then the space seemed to dissolve thin, or maybe it was me that dissolved.
In that moment, as if I didn’t exist at all.
But according to Marlo, existence cannot be suspended. What I’m feeling is simply because I’m too good a student.
I was so perfectly absorbed that I essentially deactivated my own self.
Do you understand what I’m saying, sir?
I don’t. And honestly, trying to understand feels dangerous. Perhaps I need a Mental Evaluation too.
Sorry for rambling. I’ll try to find some answers on my own.
Please contact me when you return.
Amelie.
* * *

1. Operating Information
□Eligibility: Welcome Discount Mart customers
□How to use: Board at the rear entrance station or temporary parking lot
2. Operating Hours and Routes
04:00 / Welcome Discount Mart rear entrance → terminal
08:00 / Same
14:00 / Welcome Discount Mart rear entrance → Anrak Apartments
16:00 / Temporary parking lot → Hoejeong Station (toward Gwangnyun University)
└The Organization sends regular expedition teams to Hoejeong Station. If rescue is needed, this route would be the most feasible option.
Of course, if the situation demands avoiding contact with the Organization, it’s best not to linger at all.
18:00 / Welcome Discount Mart rear entrance → terminal
└Not in operation since 2007. Though I doubt any idiot would still be here at that hour.
21:00 / Welcome Discount Mart rear entrance → depot
3. Important Notes
□Welcome Discount Mart operates shuttle buses to ensure safe shopping for our valued customers.
(Bullshit.)
Non-customers who board the shuttle may be asked to disembark.
└But seriously, don’t try it. If you want to kill yourself, go to Nest Building instead. I’m the one who has to clean up the fragments here.
□For safe operation, always wear your seatbelt and keep windows closed.
└Windows can stay closed, but the seatbelt—absolutely not. Don’t look outside. Don’t draw the curtains. Just leave the belt draped over your legs.
Be ready to jump out at any moment if necessary.
Follow the driver’s instructions, and we take no responsibility for any losses incurred by noncompliance.
└Better not to draw attention in the first place, but if it’s unavoidable, treat the driver with respect.
If the driver acknowledges you, your chances of survival go up—and I don’t have to clean up your fragments.
□Photography or presentation of identification inside the vehicle is strictly prohibited.
└I’m talking about actual IDs. This rule exists because of external Organization operatives, so don’t bank on luck.
□Some vehicles do not run to the terminal.
The first shuttle at dawn is for staff commute only; please understand.
※If you’re here for personal effects, contact the hotline first.
Don’t bother trying to negotiate. I’m not peddling corpses for blood money.
Also, I posted this guide behind the Logistics Warehouse. If you find it anywhere else, you should leave that place quickly.
The mart staff know how to set bait.
Hm, I should’ve written this part first ㅋ
If it’s too late already, well…. Not resisting would be your best bet…?
Anyway, rest in peace—no, good luck! ㅋ
-C
* * *
“Trash falls from the sky.”
Bibi tossed a bag of Mixed Nuts into the shopping cart, grinding her teeth.
It had been a full two weeks since Lilac Petals began scattering across the entire campus.
While they never accumulated past a certain point, they often rolled across building floors like dust on the wind.
“It’s pretty though.”
Momo poked her head out from the liquor section, cradling an armful of Miniature Vodka bottles.
Bibi’s expression darkened at the sight.
“Going to get rice.”
She threw the words at me curtly and turned away.
“I’ve never seen her talk this much.”
Momo had drifted over to my side, gesturing toward the corner where Bibi had disappeared.
“Really?”
“I’ve run into her a few times at school. Whenever I’d say hi, she’d glare at me like she wanted to kill me. When you said we were going shopping together, I thought you were joking.”
“You must have gotten under her skin somehow.”
“Me? How am I the problem?”
Despite her protests, Momo kept giggling.
“It’s nice being here together like this. Feels like we’re out in the real world.”
I found myself agreeing with that sentiment.
Getting to the mart from the Fortress was no small feat, and there were plenty of rules to memorize once you arrived…
But in this Welcome Discount Mart at the eastern edge of the city, there were no physical enemies. As long as you followed the rules, that is.
“But seriously—you memorized all the advertisement copy here? Just from seeing it once?”
Momo asked.
“Only the ones I actually saw myself.”
“Recite a few for me.”
“Well…”
Momo had collected bundles of Discount Information Sheets obtainable only during sale periods here. I’d spent the entire morning transcribing them into my mental index.
Since learning the new memory technique, not only had I cut the time needed to retrieve memories, but also the time to convert what I’d seen into long-term storage had decreased dramatically.
I was amazed by it myself.
I used to think it was a useless skill with no practical application, but now it’s keeping me alive—that much is certain.
“When the Signal Music starts playing, rush immediately to the seafood section! Fill your basket with fresh seafood! Stuff it until it’s bursting! It’s fresh! Really, really fresh!”
As I recited the manic-sounding advertisement copy, Momo clutched her belly with laughter.
“Stuff the basket with seafood until it bursts! Your hands will grow heavy—but ‘don’t worry’! The shuttle bus is always standing by!”
The rules at Welcome Discount Mart are simple: never follow the instructions in the advertisement copy.
The problem is they keep issuing new flyers.
For instance, the most recent one instructed us to always listen to the announcement broadcasts.
Especially when it’s a child’s voice—stop everything and pay full attention, and under no circumstances should you shatter your eardrums with anything long and sharp, no matter what.
Which is why we all carried a Phillips Head Screwdriver in our pockets.
“How’s the lecture going?”
When I asked, Momo’s face lit up.
“It’s manageable. No, seriously manageable! If I do well, I might even pull a B+ or higher! Though I can’t share the lecture content…”
“You’re serious.”
I turned to look, and Bibi clicked her tongue from beyond the ramen shelf.
“You heard all that because of her in the first place. But now you can’t share the lecture content?”

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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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