Editor’s Survival Guide - Chapter 187

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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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Survival Rules for an Editor Chapter 187

ep26. Body Swap (5)
“So I’ll die after 72 hours?”
「It’s quite likely, Master, but the result isn’t confirmed yet. If we take measures to sustain Yeon Ga-ram’s life before then, he can survive even after 72 hours.」
“What kind of measures?”
「When the soul leaves the body, the human Yeon Ga-ram loses meaning as an individual entity and is stored as a memory. Preserve the soul through taxidermy before that and maintain Yeon Ga-ram as an individual entity. Oh, but that’s a method your civilization still cannot perform, Master! How unfortunate!」
“…So there’s no way for us to save this person?”
「Yeon Ga-ram’s death after 72 hours is nearly certain. However, if he leaves this space, the time reserve generated in his rented body section will be released. Then death may come even before 72 hours pass.」
The exchange between me and the Guide would sound like my own self-questioning to everyone else.
Perhaps for that reason, the others still wore faces that hadn’t grasped the situation.
Yeon Ga-ram especially, the one directly involved, stared blankly at me before letting out a hollow laugh.
“You’re joking, right?”
Yeon Ga-ram muttered, his face turning ashen.
“No, yes, I get it. I’m sorry. I was the one who should apologize. So don’t joke around and…….”
I had nothing to say.
At my silence, Yeon Ga-ram’s gaze wavered in disarray.
A man with a fox-like face, my age.
Despite half his face being gone, that still delicate man clung to tragedy like a sculpture by an artist of poor taste.
As his whole body expressed despair, the others too began to grasp the gravity of the situation.
“Don’t, don’t lie……!”
Yeon Ga-ram’s voice broke through the heavy silence.
“What did I do so wrong! What did I……!”
“Hey, why are you taking it out on him!”
“Senior, let me go! How can I trust this bastard! He’s lying because he’s got it out for me!”
Yeon Ga-ram lunged at me, and the Response Team 4 agents blocked him.
Yeon Ga-ram strained desperately to break free, but it wasn’t enough. Eventually he began to bark pitifully like a dog straining against a leash.
“Hey! Tell me straight! Is it real? Is it?”
“Calm down!”
“Do I look calm right now!?”
“When have you ever been calm? That’s why I’m telling you to be now! I’ve said it a million times—you get into accidents because of your personality!”
“If you knew an accident would happen, you should have stopped me!”
Yeon Ga-ram’s pale face flushed red.
His face burning with emotion, Yeon Ga-ram grimaced, then finally couldn’t contain himself and burst into tears.
“Damn it…….”
Yeon Ga-ram collapsed slowly, clinging to his senior’s arm, and the Response Team 4 agents watched from above with heavy expressions.
Crumpled on the floor, Yeon Ga-ram buried his head between his knees and wept bitterly.
Then, choking back his tears, he spoke.
“S, Senior, am I then counted as dying in the line of duty?”
At Yeon Ga-ram’s question, the Response Team 4 Senior’s face twisted violently.
“Kid, is that what matters right now?”
It was everyone’s question.
But instead of answering, Yeon Ga-ram buried his head again and shed tears.
Instead, the Guide heard the question and rattled off an answer of its own.
「To speak plainly, it is ‘very important’ to Yeon Ga-ram!」
「Yeon Ga-ram spends all his life’s momentum fleeing his own wretchedness and emptiness.」
「Yeon Ga-ram is a person who would willingly sacrifice his conscience, his future, and even himself if only he could shine for a moment. Death too falls within what he’s willing to consume!」
It was an answer that made my head spin.
* * *
“From now on, anyone other than me who talks to you must prefix their words with ‘command’ if it’s a command, or ‘question’ if it’s a question. Without this word, whatever I say to you doesn’t count, so don’t process it or answer on your own.”
「Yes, understood!」
I added this setting to the Guide.
Meanwhile, another Response Team 4 agent who worked at the Management Bureau came into the Small House carrying food.
The Response Team 4 agents forced food into the still-crying Yeon Ga-ram.
If he continued crying without eating, he’d end up with an empty stomach and things would discharge on their own, so they were trying to prevent that.
The two Response Team 4 agents who would stay here with Yeon Ga-ram ate food together with him.
Jae-gyeom and I hadn’t eaten anything, and we left the Small House in the evening, our stomachs empty.
We returned to the Management Bureau between evening and night.
Kwon Mu-seop, Cha Si-eon, and the Response Team 4 Team Leader were waiting for us at the Management Bureau.
“Heard the situation. So about 65 hours left now…….”
Kwon Mu-seop opened his mouth in a heavy voice.
The sudden accident had stiffened Kwon Mu-seop’s expression as well.
Moreover, there was no measure they could take.
As if their helplessness was unbearable, the knuckles of Kwon Mu-seop’s interlaced hands had gone white with tension.
“Section Chief, Yeon Ga-ram said he wanted to see his parents one last time.”
The Response Team 4 Senior who had returned to the Management Bureau with us spoke.
It’s natural for someone facing death to seek their family.
Yet for some reason, Kwon Mu-seop’s expression grew darker.
“I’ve already reported it to the Secretary.”
The Secretary?
“But they said they’d receive the remains in three days. Like the other parents.”
“What? No, he’s their son—they should at least say goodbye.”
“I tried to convince them that way too, but they said they’d follow protocol. That other parents don’t even know where or how their children died, so they can’t offer special treatment to just this one.”
“…….”
At Kwon Mu-seop’s words, the Response Team 4 Senior fell silent.
I couldn’t follow this conversation, so I turned to Jae-gyeom.
But Jae-gyeom only shook his head with a confused expression.
Kwon Mu-seop noticed us and offered a brief explanation.
“Yeon Ga-ram’s father is a high-ranking government official. He helped us a lot when the Management Bureau was nearly shut down.”
“Ah…….”
Jae-gyeom nodded with a startled expression.
But I couldn’t muster such a perfunctory gesture.
I was feeling heartburn again for the first time in a long while.
* * *
Tiger Father, Dog Son.
It means a noble father produces a worthless son.
The very fact that such a proverb was created and widely used suggests it’s common for good parents to father disappointing children.
From what I heard, Yeon Ga-ram’s father seemed to be an excellent man.
He had apparently pushed his own son into the Management Bureau and given the organization strength when it was on the verge of dissolution.
Back when not just field agents but researchers too were being dragged away and dying.
So Yeon Ga-ram was a parachute.
Not a person riding a parachute, but the parachute itself given to a falling Management Bureau.
Somehow…….
Somehow it felt strangely familiar.
I sat with Yeon Ga-ram’s newly known aspects churning in my mind, and finally got out of bed.
My head was too unsettled to sleep.
Besides, my stomach had been aching since earlier, and I felt this couldn’t go on.
It was already past midnight, but I knocked on Jae-gyeom’s door.
“Jae-gyeom. Are you awake?”
“Huh? Oh, what?”
“Let’s go back to our house.”
“Right now?”
“Yeah, there’s something I need to check.”
* * *
“Huh? Agent, why at this hour…….”
2 AM.
The Response Team 4 agents who had been in the Small House greeted Jae-gyeom and me.
“How is Yeon Ga-ram?”
“He’s sleeping.”
Yeon Ga-ram was asleep in the bedroom while the other agents kept watch in the living room.
“That’s good. I wanted to talk more with the Guide.”
“Ah, yes.”
The Response Team 4 agents nodded at my words.
I approached the Guide, leaving them behind.
Then instead of speaking aloud, I typed to the Guide.
「Is there really no way to save Yeon Ga-ram?」
「Yeon Ga-ram’s death after 59 hours is nearly certain.」
「Nearly certain and certain are different. Why are you dodging the question instead of just saying yes or no?」
「It was an effort to provide the best answer, Master.」
「Just answer yes or no. Is there a way to save Yeon Ga-ram?」
「Yes. There is a method. But internal regulations prevent me from providing the specific details.」
This damned pseudo-AI…….
I thought it couldn’t give me a straight answer, but it was hiding the answer instead.
「Can you lie to me?」
「No, I cannot lie. I swear before all the stars that watch.」
「Then, if I break you, will Yeon Ga-ram survive?」
「Master, that’s not a good decision for you either!」
「Answer yes or no again.」
「Yes. But there’s also a probability of death.」
「By probability?」
「12 percent survival, 85 percent death.」
「What about the remaining 3 percent?」
「He could merge with me and be scattered into the Primordial Sea. If he reaches this slim probability, Yeon Ga-ram becomes neither alive nor dead but gains eternity.」
“…….”
Isn’t that 3 percent worse than death?
And the survival rate is already terrible……?
「Master, to reiterate, that’s not a beneficial judgment for you or your colleagues. Moreover, Yeon Ga-ram does not acknowledge the efforts and sacrifices of others. Even if I save him, it won’t benefit you, Master.」
That’s for me to decide.
「I don’t want to break you anyway.」
「The Special Zone Guide was moved by Master’s affection!」
「So unless I break you, give me another way to save Yeon Ga-ram.」
「Unfortunately, there is no such method, Master.」
「What if you spit out what you ate and consume a different part instead? You can do that much, can’t you?」
「It’s impossible by regulation.」
「It’s not regulation—that’s just your own misunderstanding. Besides, you didn’t give advance notice that this situation would occur.」
「Master, gravity gives no advance warning to the lives that fall to their deaths!」
「Then break, I guess.」
「Please lock it down! Wahhh!」
The Guide was piling on crying emojis.
But I wasn’t fooled by its theatrics and kept pressing.
「Gravity doesn’t communicate with humans, but you do. Since we’ve started talking, you bear responsibility for your words and actions.」
「It’s not a false statement, Master, but regulations are regulations.」
「So you’re saying you can’t even swap to a different part? I’m not asking you not to eat—」
「The Special Zone Guide makes the most advantageous decision when collecting its price. Among the components of Yeon Ga-ram’s body, the left hemisphere of his brain is most valuable to the Guide. To spit out the left hemisphere and take lower-priority parts would constitute a breach of duty!」
So that’s how it was set up…….
Damn it, I wondered why it ate the left hemisphere—the order had been fixed from the start.
Was there really no other way?
Was breaking the Guide and clinging to a 12 percent probability really the only method?
I was tapping the keyboard in agitation when I noticed the ring on my finger.
Wait. Maybe…….
「Can you eat gods, not just humans?」
「What a joyful question. Gods are superior to humans in every aspect, and the same goes for taste and nutrition.」
「Then between Yeon Ga-ram’s left hemisphere and the ring of Big Cat, which is more valuable as food?」
「Obviously Big Cat’s ring is more valuable, but since it’s not part of Yeon Ga-ram’s body, it’s not included in the exchange targets!」
「What if Yeon Ga-ram swallows Big Cat’s ring?」
「That would be far too much of a workaround……..」
「You bear some responsibility here too, so accept this much of a workaround.」
「That’s an unreasonable request, Master…….」
「Do you want to break, or would you prefer to eat Big Cat’s ring in Yeon Ga-ram’s stomach instead of his left hemisphere?」
「…….」
Like someone deliberating over an answer, dots appeared and disappeared repeatedly on the Guide’s screen.
「It would be a breach of duty to eat something different when there’s a tastier part available.」
I pressed again.
Then a flat statement appeared on the screen.
「I will conditionally accept your proposal.」
“……!”
“Brother, why? What happened?”
I clenched my fist silently, and Jae-gyeom asked in confusion.
I laughed, all the tension draining from me.
Then I tried to explain the situation to Jae-gyeom when a new sentence appeared on the laptop screen.
「Furthermore, I was impressed by your humanity, Master! You are truly a humane person!」
What kind of statement is this?
I replied to the Guide with a strange feeling.
「Rephrase that just now in language that humans actually use.」
「Yes. Master, you are somewhat of a son of a bitch.」

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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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