Editor’s Survival Guide - Chapter 144

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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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The Editor’s Survival Manual Episode 144

ep20. The Editor’s Checklist (1)

■ This Week’s To-Do List

1. Write Hotel exploration report
2. Hotel exploration debriefing meeting
3. Train Station operation meeting
4. Health checkup
5. Designate legal representative
6. Write will, organize belongings
7. Nabbit

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“Your contamination level is normal again.”
Kim Woo-in said it while clicking a candy between his teeth.
At those words tinged with orange flavor, I felt my chest lighten.
“That’s a relief.”
“It really is. It’s quite the blessing, actually. Some people can spend days down there without incident, while others get contaminated in just an hour or two. The individual variation is enormous, but fortunately it seems you have good immunity.”
I nodded at Kim Woo-in’s words.
Contamination in the Special Zone is a kind of disaster.
Some people luck out and avoid contamination even after taking actions that should guarantee it, while others suddenly become contaminated despite taking every precaution.
Fortunately, I seemed to be in the former category.
Contamination levels are confirmed through EEG Tests and Blood Tests.
When contamination begins, abnormal brain activity is detected, inflammatory markers rise throughout the body, and red blood cell count skyrockets.
The Management Bureau views this as an early sign of Body Transformation.
And there is still no treatment for it.
All that can be done is Quarantine until the levels drop naturally.
“Anyway, you went through a lot. It was quite an unusual team.”
“Ha ha…….”
I gave a dry laugh at Kim Woo-in’s comment.
“Manager Jo is the one who went through the most.”
And Kwon Mu-seop’s ordeal was still ongoing.
Yesterday, Kwon Mu-seop, Go Hong-sang, and I managed to escape from the Hotel safely.
We returned to reality at 11 p.m.
Since we’d entered around 2 p.m. the same day, we’d spent almost nine hours inside.
Kim Sun-woong, who escaped earlier than us, also made it out safely and received treatment.
The outcome was ultimately favorable, yet the Management Bureau seemed to have bled dry from this incident.
The Bureau’s leadership had been dragged into the Special Zone one after another—it was inevitable.
That’s why Baek Sa-ra said this about the crisis:

-Why do I keep getting caught up in even more shocking situations.

As if I want this either…….
Anyway, that harrowing situation was resolved in nine hours, and as a result, we all came back safe.
We even obtained considerable intelligence from inside.
But there was still an unresolved problem…….

-The Train Station operation is not approved, so understand that.

It was a stab in the back from Go Hong-sang.
It was something he said after the rescue, just before the EEG Test.
The mindset changes between entering and exiting the restroom, they say.
Go Hong-sang, once out of the Hotel, quickly recovered his grip on reality.
Moreover, he wanted to deny everything that happened inside.
Understandably so.
I hadn’t realized it at the time, but Go Hong-sang identified himself as a “dignified and capable high-ranking official,” a “shining elite in the bureaucratic establishment.”
So his pleas through tears, his pathetic floundering, his loss of emotional control—all of it was an unforgivable disgrace he could not accept.
In the end, Go Hong-sang abandoned all pretense and shifted his posture entirely.
The goodwill he’d shown us near the end—as if he might adopt us—seemed to cancel out against those unpleasant memories, leaving him neutral.
So barely thirty minutes after leaving the Hotel, Go Hong-sang reverted to the stern manner he’d displayed in his office at first meeting.
But Kwon Mu-seop seemed to have anticipated that Go Hong-sang would react this way.
He countered calmly without a hint of alarm.

-Did you not already authorize it?
-I said I would consider it. I didn’t authorize anything.
-You made the judgment and gave the authorization both. Blocking the operation now is dereliction of duty.
-Dereliction of duty? Watch your words.
-You yourself explained the necessity of this operation in detail. Failing to execute it despite knowing that is patent dereliction of duty.
-Do you have proof that I said such a thing?
-I do.
-A recording? Are you blackmailing me with that?
-No. I intend to use this recording as the basis for our actions should any problems arise later.
-What did you say? Kwon, that itself is dereliction of duty. Dereliction and abuse of authority.
-Keeping the noise contained will be more advantageous for you as well.

Of all times, my bed was in the middle.
I had to lie there listening to these two superiors—both my age, judging by zodiac—deploy trap cards against each other.
Go Hong-sang expressing his displeasure and detonating ancient stubbornness.
Kwon revealing unexpected audacity, as if to say you bark, I’ll walk.
This standoff ended when Go Hong-sang became contaminated.
The EEG Test showed contamination levels spiking dramatically, and Go Hong-sang was quarantined.
He ended up trapped in Kwon Mu-seop’s domain—unable to leave the Management Bureau.
Resolving the contamination condition required the Bureau’s help, making him dependent on them.
Ah, what a melodramatic villain’s ending…….
In the end, Go Hong-sang changed tactics again, and this grimace of a standoff was slowly winding toward Kwon Mu-seop’s victory.
“It’s not easy managing the Director’s mood.”
“Still, it seems the Train Station operation will likely get approval soon.”
“Of course. Manager Kwon’s stubbornness is no joke, after all.”
Kim Woo-in rolled the candy in his mouth as if none of this was remotely surprising.
I must have been here longer than I thought.
I too found this farce unsurprising.
“Agent Seo, this is your first time preparing properly before entering a hazardous zone, right?”
“Ah, yes. Now that you mention it, you’re right.”
I’ve been dragged into situations plenty of times without warning, but directly participating in a dangerous operation is definitely a first.
“The pressure will feel different.”
It probably will.
Being pushed off a cliff is different from jumping on purpose.
“Tell me right away if you’re not doing well. Don’t hide it. This isn’t just you—all agents have this rule. These days, with only veterans left, people just pop in and out like they’re going for a stroll, but back then there were plenty of rookies who’d get nervous before an operation and cause incidents.”
“Ah, I saw it in the will template.”
“Right, it’d be written there. No desertion, no fighting, no impulse purchases, no confessions.”
Kim Woo-in murmured while gazing into the distance.
That hazy look behind his glasses seemed to speak of countless ordeals.
Yes, all safety rules are written in blood…….
But then again, impulse purchases aren’t so bad, are they?
The delivery packages waiting for me when I return from hard work.
Never mind.
That’s only if I make it back alive. If I don’t, someone will have to receive and dispose of a dead man’s packages.
“You’ve already written your will, haven’t you?”
“Yes. I wrote it right after I was hired.”
The will is simple enough—”Please dispose of my assets this way” and “Keep the funeral modest.”
“Normally we rewrite it every time we go on a dangerous operation. But you got dragged in without warning, so you probably haven’t written one since.”
That was true.
Writing a will was a rite of passage for joining the Management Bureau, and I haven’t consciously thought about it since.
Kim Woo-in said to me:
“Why don’t you write it again this time? As a way to prepare yourself mentally.”

* * *

To write a will, you must first imagine your own death.
And you must fully account for all the direct and indirect consequences that death would bring.
So the will I wrote the first time was necessarily brief.
There would be people saddened by my death, but none to suffer, bear responsibility, or claim rights.
In that sense, my life was free.
That remains true.
So there’s nothing particularly to change from the will I wrote before.
But since my physician recommended it, I should write it again.
Then, what time is best for writing a will?
Among early dawn when the mind just wakes, evening when the day’s work ends, or night when emotion grows honest.
Writing it at night, revising in the evening, reviewing at dawn—that seems ideal.
For now, it’s still afternoon.
I had to finish today’s work first before writing the will.
“It’s good to see you again. I really thought the Management Bureau was done for yesterday…….”
The Research Manager sighed toward Kwon Mu-seop.
Having endured considerable worry yesterday, his face looked more worn than usual.
Kwon Mu-seop replied with a smile:
“It seems like Raven really wants us to carry out the Train Station operation?”
Kwon Mu-seop treated the Director’s contamination as another trick by Raven.
If that’s true, that would be genuinely insane.
Contaminating him, forcing him to stay at the Management Bureau, dragging him into the Special Zone, and then continuing to keep the dead alive.
The Research Manager nodded at Kwon Mu-seop’s words and added:
“On the other hand, it seems Big Cat really doesn’t want us entering the Train Station.”
“Yes, Alpha doesn’t move without purpose. Ah, this time, it’s not just Alpha either…….”
Kwon Mu-seop trailed off and looked at me.
Then all eyes turned toward me, and the mood grew strange.
For some reason, everyone looked caught in quiet deliberation.
After a brief silence, one Researcher broke the ice:
“Should we assign a Fake Humans identification code for Agent Seo as well?”
Why is that a question?
Another Researcher answered:
“Let’s make it Otter.”
“What is that?”
“An otter. Otter.”
While the others get Alpha or Delta, I get……?
“Should Agent Seo have a distinguishing characteristic too?”
Wait, is Otter finalized?
“The Field Team can decide that.”
For a brief moment, I couldn’t find words.
Cha Si-eon looked at me as the Research Manager deferred to the Field Team’s judgment.
His eyes said: if you insist.
“If Agent Seo eats well and exercises, distinguishing marks will probably develop naturally.”
I’m being massively underestimated today too…….
Whatever the Vice Director said must have painted Seo Do-un as a miscalculation, error, or once-in-a-lifetime fluke of the Type 1 Special Zone.
So no one seemed to feel much need to assign a special numbering like Epsilon for Jae-gyeom’s Fake Humans.
Whether to dislike or appreciate that…….
For my part, it’s better that entity doesn’t appear again.
But has the Management Bureau ever had a calamity they boasted would never happen actually not happen…….
“Anyway, let’s return to the main agenda.”
So I couldn’t even become the main agenda—Seo Do-un.
The Field Team and Research Department had gathered hastily due to yesterday’s sudden exploration of the nascent Hotel.
But today’s agenda notably excluded anything about Agent Lee Seob.
Discussing that could itself trigger forced entry into the Train Station.
So today’s meeting would focus on the internal state of the nascent Special Zone.
“You said it seems like Raven who brought the Director back to life…….”
During the meeting, Oh Tae-o suddenly spoke up.
“Isn’t this Raven a bit too omnipotent……?”
Omnipotent?
“It’s like how they manipulated Kim Ji-an who was outside the Special Zone, and even though it was a special environment, continuously resurrecting the dead. And every target touched by this Raven shows high contamination readings. Whether it’s Kim Ji-an or the Director.”
Oh Tae-o tapped his tablet as he muttered, then suddenly looked at me.
Then he said this:
“But why is it only Agent Seo who keeps coming back normal?”

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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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