Editor’s Survival Guide - Chapter 181

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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 Survival Rules of an Editor, Episode 181

ep25. Unsealing (7)

The puzzle pieces in my mind began clicking into place on their own.
Lee Sol, transforming into the shape of a siren.
And the Big Cat, which wanted to kill me.
Was it because I had interfered with the Big Cat’s plan?
It had been preparing an ambitious work laced with tragedy.
But my interference had thrown that grand design awry.
While we stood speechless, Cha Si-eon asked in a sharp voice.
-Can it kill the Zone Owners?

「No. Humans cannot kill gods. But they can eat them.」

Eat them?
I was reading that bizarre sentence when something suddenly came back to me.
The fact that when I first met the Big Cat, I had swallowed hard.
I swallowed my confusion at the strangely interlocking memories and asked again.

「What happens to a human who eats a god?」
「They perish together with the god. The god must die because it has been desecrated by a human, and the human must die for having desecrated the god.」

We were left speechless by an answer that was both irrational and rational.
But then an unsolicited answer came back to me.

「If you don’t wish to eat the god directly, feed it to a newborn god. Then you can kill the god you despise!」

It doesn’t seem to be just my imagination.
Something speaking inside this monitor had every intention of foisting a “newborn god” upon me.

* * *

「How to leave this place.」
「Design an exit. However, the exit’s operating method must be organically linked to that space.」
「What if I don’t make an exit?」
「Since the space has already received a soul, an exit must be made. If you break this rule, you will pay the price with your soul, Master.」

Paying the price with one’s soul.
The threat was terrifying.
“That’s why each Special Zone had an escape route.”
I nodded in agreement with Baek Sa-ra’s remark.
“Right. I thought it was surprisingly kind compared to the malice, but it turns out it was mandatory…….”
“So how should we design the exit?”
“It said the exit needs to be linked to the space.”
Just as you need to get a ticket to leave the Train Station.
Just as you need to do enough shopping to leave the Mart, or end the games at the Comprehensive Stadium.
Or you could create an exit by summoning not the current state of the space, but memories of the past.
Such as by rooting out the Fake Humans and handing them over to the Hazmat Suit.
And this space I have is an Officetel, built about ten years ago.
On the 12th floor, no less.
I’d already confirmed that the most common memory here was empty air.
If I created an exit based on past memories, I might end up falling from midair.
So I needed to design an exit that matched the current state of the space.
What escape method would suit this place?
“Automatic expulsion at 7:40 AM every morning.”
“Oh, commute time?”
Jae-gyeom immediately caught my meaning and typed into the chat.

「What a wonderful exit! That method can function as an exit by being linked to the Master’s history.」
「However, to commute using this method, one must be an office worker commuting between 8 and 10 AM. Additionally, this method cannot be used on weekends and holidays.」

“So we’re excluded from this, then?”
Jae-gyeom muttered in disbelief at the answer I read aloud.
The Management Bureau’s day starts at dawn, 6 AM.
Besides, Field Team employees live communally without set commute times.
If they get dispatched to a Special Zone, there’s no commute to speak of at all.
“Oddly restrictive.”
“What else would you leave home for besides work? Going out to play?”
“I mostly just stay home…….”
“Oh.”
I never thought I’d regret being an introvert this much.
It was while I was seriously brooding over my own departure patterns.
Han Ji-su, who had been quietly observing the situation, suddenly asked me a question.
“Agent, when you’re hungry at home, do you cook?”

「Exit ‘I need to eat something’ has been activated. Anyone in a state of severe hunger is automatically expelled from the space!」

Right after the answer appeared on the monitor, Jae-gyeom vanished.
Did he leave safely?
We waited nervously for the result when Cha Si-eon spoke through the Smartwatch.
-Kwak Jae-gyeom is apparently now at Seo Do-un’s house.
“It actually works…….”
I was rather floored by the good news the Team Leader shared.
But there was nothing particularly wrong with this judgment.
The resident of this introverted, non-culinary household would go out to get a quick meal whenever hungry.

「Exit ‘Forbidden Territory’ has been activated. Women are automatically expelled from the space. However, those in professions that visit others’ residences on business—such as landlords, real estate agents, and gas meter readers—are excluded.」

Baek Sa-ra, who had been beside me, suddenly vanished.
And then a voice came through the Smartwatch.
-I came out to Otter’s house. Jae-gyeom’s here too.
With back-to-back successes, Ji-su and I gave each other a light high-five.
“I never thought escaping could be this simple…….”
“It depends on the owner’s nature. It’s both our home base and enemy territory, after all.”
I nodded at Ji-su’s response.
Now only Ji-su and I remained.
But we still weren’t hungry.
I’m someone who feels hunger slowly, and Ji-su had eaten lunch before coming here.

「Exit ‘Fire Evacuation!’ has been activated. If a fire breaks out, everyone in the space is expelled outside.」

“Then we don’t need to wait until we get hungry.”
Ji-su and I high-fived again.
“But Agent, you can use this exit the same way, right?”
Right. That was something I needed to check.

「Can I use the exit I created myself?」
「Yes, Master. The exit you set up applies equally to you.」
「What happens to this space if I leave?」
「A space without its master will collapse after a certain period. Master, are you abandoning me?」

I’d asked it to imitate AI, but here it was, appealing to emotions with sad emojis behind the notebook screen.
I felt like I might grow attached to it.
And the fact that it would just disappear on its own—every characteristic was completely different from the Special Zones we knew.
-Seo Do-un, please ascertain how to maintain that space. More investigation is needed.
-Don’t kill Zone-nai!
Now what in the world is “Zone-nai”…….
I asked another question following Cha Si-eon and Kwak Jae-gyeom’s request.

「How long is ‘a certain period’?」
「The space will collapse after 49 days.」
「If I visit here again within those 49 days, does the collapse stop? So if I visit once every 49 days, this space could be maintained indefinitely?」
「Yes, I can keep living as long as you visit me occasionally!」

Stop that, I’m genuinely going to grow attached…….

「After I leave this space, how do I get back in?」
「Place a laptop of the same model as the notebook that became the space’s Core on the other side of the space. If you set it up as identically as possible, the Synchronization will work more smoothly. When the space’s object and its twin on the other side succeed in Synchronization, you can use that object as a medium to re-enter, Master.」
「This notebook is the space’s Core?」
「Yes, since you cannot create a real Core, Master, I am implementing a Fake Core using this crude computing device.」

This one’s pointless emotional expressions were getting more frequent…….
“The space can be maintained like this.”
-Oh, you’ve got another house now.
“Should we leave then?”
Ji-su asked as she pulled out a Lighter.
I was about to nod, but I changed my mind and turned back to the notebook.
“Wait. I want to ask this one more thing.”

「Can I bring people from other Special Zones into my space?」

Just as I was transported from the Warehouse-style Mart to the Comprehensive Stadium.
And just as evacuation to the Circulating Library is possible from several Special Zones.
If things go well, wouldn’t it also be possible to bring people who disappeared in Special Zones here?

「Yes, it is possible. However, since accessing another owner’s space is difficult, certain conditions must be met.」
「Tell me the conditions.」
「Yes, Master. The conditions for me to bring someone from another Special Zone are as follows.

1. That Special Zone must be a space you have personally visited.
2. The person you wish to bring must have at least a passing acquaintance with you.
3. The soul of the person you wish to bring must be light enough to be transferable.

Since the degree of resistance varies by situation, all of the above conditions must be met!」

“Only spaces I’ve visited…….”
“For ordinary citizens to have even a passing acquaintance with you would be unusual.”
“And if the Weight of Soul means mental fortitude…….”
Ordinary citizens are excluded because they have no acquaintance with me.
And if the Weight of Soul means mental fortitude, then Management Bureau agents would be automatically excluded too.
In the end, is this a completely unusable function?
I felt a quiet sense of letdown, but on impulse, I asked again.

「Does a person with strong mental fortitude always have a heavy soul?」
「No, that’s not always the case. Even a person with strong mental fortitude becomes light-souled when dying.」

So if there were a Management Bureau agent dying in a Special Zone I’ve visited, I could bring them here?

「Bring everyone you can from other Special Zones.」

The atmosphere at the Management Bureau right now is peaceful.
There’s no word of another agent disappearing or getting injured in a Special Zone.
So there probably isn’t anyone I could bring here.
That’s why I tested the command, curious to see what this Zone-nai would answer.
But right after.
Thud!
A sudden noise came from my bedroom.
Ji-su and I started in alarm and headed toward my bedroom.
“Ugh…….”
When I opened the door, a blood-soaked man was groaning on my bed.
A large man in a suit.
He doesn’t seem to be a Management Bureau agent, but who on earth…….
As I examined the man’s form, I noticed a tattoo on his neck.
“……Director Moon Ho-san?”
That’s right. It was Moon Ho-san.
An executive of Apophysis, the mercenary organization working in partnership with the Special Management Bureau.
Why on earth did he end up like this…….
“Discovered wounded Director Moon Ho-san!”
While I stood frozen in shock, Ji-su rushed to Moon Ho-san’s side.
I soon came to my senses and helped Ji-su with her emergency treatment.
We seemed to have discovered an unexpected way to use the space.

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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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