Editor’s Survival Guide - Chapter 116

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Editor’s Survival Rules Episode 116

ep17. Circulating (12)

-What’s with that guy again?

-He’s a missing person who came in about 50 minutes ago.

-Why is he acting like that, what’s he doing?

-That bastard…!

-Wait! It sounds like he’s saying something?

-Turn up the volume.

-Oh, he’s telling them how to escape!

-How to escape?

-How to escape!

-Waaaah!

…So this was the atmosphere among these people.

I looked at the agents from February 3rd with a somewhat dumbfounded feeling.

They were gathered in front of the screen, scrutinizing my every move and murmuring among themselves.

And when Lee Sol heard about ‘escaping through the Rag Doll,’ they all cheered together.

Some people let out sighs of relief as if drained.

Someone even got emotional and wiped their face.

Meanwhile, Cha Si-eon from that day was standing there blankly, watching the screen.

With all his anger evaporated, he was just watching the situation on screen with surprised eyes.

The Situation Control Room of the Management Bureau probably had a similar atmosphere.

I had roughly expected it, but to think they were watching with such intense focus…

I felt somewhat strange as I looked at myself on the screen.

I did well to hand Lee Sol that leaflet back then.

No, it was fortunate.

It was truly fortunate that I found Lee Sol.

Seo Do-un and Lee Sol on screen headed toward the Lost and Found Center.

The agents watched us with a much lighter atmosphere.

But the situation after that wasn’t so smooth.

-Why is the Rag Doll in that state?

The Rag Doll gradually brightening in front of Lee Sol who was lying down.

-Uh…!

Flames pouring out from the Lost and Found Center.

And black forms.

-What happened? Has this kind of phenomenon been reported before?

-No, it hasn’t. This is the first time we’re observing this phenomenon!

The agents shouted in confusion.

Lee Sol and I on screen began to run away.

But the flames spread at an even faster pace, and to make matters worse, most of the Train Station’s CCTV went dead.

Now only the platform’s CCTV was functioning normally.

Weeeeeng-!

And the siren sounded again.

The agents flinched and checked the time.

Then they hurriedly counted each other’s numbers.

Only 20 minutes had passed since the previous siren.

So they were counting to see if anyone had been dragged to the Train Station.

-The two people are caught on screen again!

Then an agent monitoring the screen shouted.

As he said, Lee Sol and I appeared on the platform CCTV screen.

And the black forms fiercely chasing behind us.

I didn’t realize it back then because I was just running forward.

It was a more tremendous situation than I thought.

Behind us, black masses like a sandstorm were swarming in.

Lee Sol and I were running across the platform, chased by them.

The agents watched us with their mouths tightly shut.

They naturally knew there was only one ticket.

“What were you thinking at that time?”

I asked the current Cha Si-eon, who had been silent.

Cha Si-eon answered surprisingly readily.

“I was regretting not moving sooner.”

This is why people say you’re dying to get yourself killed…

Cha Si-eon from February 3rd was watching.

With his jaw tensely set, watching Lee Sol moving toward death by the second.

But something they didn’t expect happened.

-Ah!

Lee Sol thrown into the train.

-Later.

And my voice transmitted mixed with static.

-Pay it back to anyone.

With those words, I on screen was swept away by the black forms.

Crash-!

-Mister!

Along with Lee Sol’s scream, even the last CCTV broke.

The screen went black.

And silence flowed.

The agents lost their words and froze in place.

Everyone was engulfed in shock, just staring blankly at the empty screen.

* * *

-A survivor has entered the tunnel.

Someone murmured.

After a while, beyond the corridor separated by transparent partitions, one person appeared.

A girl walking while swallowing her sobs.

It was Lee Sol.

Lee Sol, who came out to the hangar through the tunnel, looked around with confused eyes.

Then she spotted Cha Si-eon standing beyond the partition and opened her eyes wide.

-Uncle…? Is that you, Uncle Si-eon?

Lee Sol asked faintly.

Cha Si-eon answered after a long moment.

-Yes.

-Uncle! Call the police, call the police and 119!

As soon as she recognized Cha Si-eon, Lee Sol pounded on the partition and shouted.

-I was at a strange station, and there are still people there! Some mister stayed there alone because of me, we have to go quickly!

Crackle- Crzzzt-!

Lee Sol’s face distorted and noise occurred.

Lee Sol kept shouting with her error-ridden face.

-That mister saved me! Uncle, Uncle…!

When employees in hazmat suits tried to take her away, Lee Sol called for her uncle more desperately.

But Cha Si-eon from February 3rd didn’t say anything more.

No words of reassurance, no words that everything was okay now.

Even as the frightened Lee Sol was half-dragged away by the employees, he never opened his mouth.

With that sight as the end, the memory finished its reconstruction and collapsed.

“….”

A door appeared over the empty void.

I alternately looked at that door and Cha Si-eon standing silently.

The atmosphere felt heavy for some reason, so I asked jokingly.

“Was he an uncle?”

“Almost all members of Kwon Mu-seop’s team were Lee Sol’s uncles.”

Almost?

Ah, Agent Lee Seob would be her father.

Baek Sa-ra would be either an aunt or older sister.

Anyway, they knew each other well, this guy.

The behavior past Cha Si-eon showed earlier was like that too.

And Lee Sol recognizing only Cha Si-eon accurately among dozens of agents was also like that.

Just from this, Lee Sol seemed to be quite a meaningful person to Cha Si-eon.

That child came out of the Special Zone safely.

But why was that memory just now filled with noise?

Was it because the process itself was terrible regardless of the result?

I had considerable questions, but I didn’t bother asking.

But then Cha Si-eon stood in front of the door and suddenly called me.

“Seo Do-un.”

“Yes?”

“You asked before. Whether one becomes a Hazardous Entity when contamination worsens.”

“…?”

Memories from inside here aren’t exported to the outside.

Was that why?

Cha Si-eon told me an unexpected story.

“What did you say?”

I asked back in surprise, but Cha Si-eon didn’t elaborate.

He just silently observed my shocked expression.

“What on earth do you mean by that, Team Leader?”

Even when I questioned him again, it was the same.

“What do you mean, Team Leader! Then Lee Sol is still even now…!”

Before I finished speaking, Cha Si-eon opened the door.

Weeeeeeeng-!

In the terrible noise, a siren sound that seemed to tear eardrums echoed.

* * *

“Ugh…?”

I felt severe dizziness.

It felt like my brain was melting and swaying.

I opened my eyes while holding my throbbing forehead.

Then I suddenly startled and sat up.

“Gasp…!”

I hurriedly reached my hand to the back of my neck.

Fortunately, my neck bones seemed to be intact.

What happened?

Just moments ago I was being crushed in “The Siren-Ringing Train Station”….

I looked around in bewilderment.

This was a dark indoor space.

“Seo Do-un.”

Then I heard Cha Si-eon’s voice from behind me.

I quickly turned around.

“Team Leader Cha, where is this?”

“This is the discharge location of ‘The Circulating Library’. This is reality.”

Why is “The Circulating Library” coming up now?

We were in the “Train Station”?

Besides, I almost got crushed to death.

Even twice.

No, before that.

“When we were dragged to the ‘Train Station’, we didn’t move together. And you were dragged away before me, Team Leader, is that correct?”

“That’s correct. I was pulled into the ‘Train Station’ first, and about 20 seconds later you followed.”

“But ‘The Circulating Library’, does that mean we both moved to ‘The Circulating Library’?”

And now we’ve escaped from the “Library”, so all memories from inside have been erased?

Grumble-

Then my stomach made a sound.

At the same time, strong hunger washed over me.

Hunger? How long has it been since I ate breakfast?

I casually checked my watch and was speechless.

“…A day has passed.”

We entered the survival game field on June 14th at 10 AM.

But now it’s 3 AM on June 15th.

A full 17 hours had passed.

Ah, no wonder my head was throbbing.

It wasn’t pain but fatigue.

But having no memories at all, I strangely felt like I’d struck it rich.

It seemed like we escaped but I didn’t suffer at all.

“I’ve contacted the Management Bureau. They’ll come pick us up soon.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Do you happen to have any notes in your pockets?”

Notes?

I searched through my pockets.

About a dozen roughly folded notes came out of my pockets.

But about half of those notes were burned black.

The intact remaining half had incomprehensible words written in Cha Si-eon’s handwriting.

-15th 14:07. Otter did well.

-15th 16:23. Habitat destruction.

-15th 23:34. Seo Do-un uncomfortable.

What is this?

Moreover, the notes weren’t only in my pockets.

Cha Si-eon also took out notes from his own pockets.

Then he laid them out in chronological order, keeping them separate from mine so they wouldn’t mix.

The notes Cha Si-eon had were equally incomprehensible in content.

But Cha Si-eon examined those notes carefully, then suddenly started speaking rapidly.

“It seems we entered your ‘Biography’ to escape from the ‘Library’. Your memories weren’t of the best quality but seemed to have no difficulty in reconstruction. However, at 16:23 a ‘Memory Flood’ occurred, and you and I became separated. After that I moved to my ‘Biography’, and at 23:34 it appears you and I reunited again inside my ‘Biography’. However, the method and process of reuniting doesn’t seem to have been positive.”

“…?”

Are we looking at the same notes right now?

How can he deduce this kind of process from those cookie-crumb-like words?

No, before that.

“Wait, Team Leader. I can’t grasp the situation at all right now, but why were you dragged to the ‘Train Station’ in the first place?”

“That’s probably due to side effects related to the blinded agent.”

“Did you recently view that blinded agent’s files?”

“No. It’s not like that.”

Cha Si-eon answered expressionlessly.

Then what is it?

I was curious but couldn’t ask for an explanation.

If I brought it up carelessly and got dragged back to the Train Station, that would be a disaster.

Cha Si-eon didn’t seem inclined to explain further either.

But was it just my imagination?

My ears had been strangely muffled since earlier.

I thought I could faintly hear tinnitus too.

Weeeeeng, weeeeeng, like that.

As if I’d been tormented by siren sounds until just moments before.

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