Editor’s Survival Guide - Chapter 188

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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 188

ep26. Where Bodies Change (6)

“The Zone Entity has no regurgitation function. However, it can settle debts through what it consumes.”
“The Zone Entity retrieved Moon Ho-san from the Type 1 Special Zone Blooming School on July 25th. Though the Zone Entity classified this as ‘shoplifting,’ according to your needs and requirements, we will revise the concept to ‘Barter Exchange,’ and in exchange for ‘Moon Ho-san’s entire body in return-shipment condition,’ we will remit ‘Yeon Ga-ram’s left brain, still vividly alive,’ to the Type 1 Special Zone.”
“Hereafter, to recover Yeon Ga-ram’s left brain, your tasks are as follows.”

“So you’re saying you need to go to the Body Transformation Meditation Center?”
“Yes. I was told that among Type 1 Special Zones, the Meditation Center is the only space where a human body can be kept in fragmented form.”
“Keeping a fragmented body… I understand the general idea.”
At my response, Kwon Mu-seop nodded.
Then he flipped another page in my notebook.
It was filled with the conversation I’d had with the Guide.
“So to retrieve Yeon Ga-ram’s body that the Guide sent to the Meditation Center, you have to go there yourself. Because you can only bring humans from Special Zones you’ve visited.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
I nodded again.
Then Kwon Mu-seop stroked his chin and asked back.
“But wasn’t that explanation wrong? Moon Ho-san was dragged from the School, but Do-un—you’ve never been there before.”
“So I asked again, but they only said, ‘The School is already connected with your master,’ and refused to explain further.”
“Hmm…”
Kwon Mu-seop nodded slowly, his face lost in thought.
“And then, once you enter the Meditation Center, what happens?”
“Yeon Ga-ram, who has swallowed the Big Cat’s ring, will order the Guide, ‘Bring all of Yeon Ga-ram here.’ Then the Guide will move Yeon Ga-ram’s head to the Small House and take the Big Cat’s ring in exchange.”
Among the Big Cat’s rings, there is a defective one.
Hastily made due to material shortage—one that Type 1 entities don’t particularly fear—which Baek Sa-ra had suggested we simply keep as a souvenir.
I asked the Zone Entity if that ring would work, and it replied:

“It’s possible. I’m impressed by your efficient thinking and frugal spirit. I hope your household improves thanks to such thrift!”

At that moment, I was certain.
This creature is absolutely not some flattering AI designed to humor humans.
It’s the kind that doesn’t hesitate to be sarcastic when it gets annoyed.
“So once we find the head, it just attaches itself?”
“No. The Guide said that a time hold of seventy-two hours will maintain the separation state. So we can only know the result after that time passes.”
“Hmm…”
“If it attaches well, that solves it. Otherwise, surgical intervention might be necessary.”
“Is this something that can be solved with surgery?”
“According to the Guide, yes.”
“I’ll need to discuss this with Director Kim as well.”
“And contamination may occur after revival.”
“We’ll have to accept that much. If we can save a life.”
At my addition, Kwon Mu-seop nodded.
Then he exhaled slowly.
“Whew…”
It was a sigh of relief.
He’d been burning with worry over the sudden loss of an employee, and now an unexpected way out had opened—at least he’d released some of the burden.
But whether because work still remained, Kwon Mu-seop’s expression was still rigid.
Kwon Mu-seop spoke to me with a stiff face.
“First, I’m in favor of attempting the method you’ve discovered. It’s not an overly demanding operation—I think it’s worth trying.”
“Then…”
“But I’m troubled by the lack of cross-verification.”
Cross-verification?
“You’re the only one who can understand what the Guide says, and if there’s an error in this information?”
At Kwon Mu-seop’s question, I fell silent.
“If you misunderstood, or if the Guide has some other intention and is trapping us, and it results in greater additional damage?”
“…”
“Can you take responsibility for that outcome?”
Kwon Mu-seop asked in a heavy voice.
Only then did I become aware.
That I was completely isolated in this domain.
Seeing what others cannot see alone meant I had to prove and be responsible for all of this myself.
So his suspicion was justified.
The Guide’s words reach no one but me.
Moreover, they contradict common sense.
Moving without cross-verification, trusting only my word, is absurd.
And as Kwon Mu-seop said, I cannot be responsible for anything.
“…No, I can’t.”
“Right. This isn’t your responsibility to bear.”
At that clinching remark, I closed my mouth.
Then Kwon Mu-seop added quietly.
“It’s my responsibility for accepting your incomplete report.”
“…?”
I looked up in surprise.
Kwon Mu-seop, sitting across from me, was fresh out of bed in a t-shirt, and for some reason he was looking at me with complicated eyes.
I received that gaze uncertainly, and then suddenly recalled.
What Kwon Mu-seop had told me just last week when he grabbed me.

—”The Small House still has lots to investigate, so don’t rush to use it, and even though it looks good now, nobody knows what side effects it might have. Especially you, Do-un—don’t strain yourself imagining how to use it.”

But this was beyond my control.
I assessed the mood for a moment, then agreed with and affirmed Kwon Mu-seop’s words.
“Understood. This responsibility rests entirely with you, Manager.”
“Ah…”
As I nodded, Kwon Mu-seop only sighed heavily.
He held his forehead with a look of holding back what he wanted to say, then washed his face dryly and opened his mouth.
“Anyway, thank you for finding all this out. I’m sorry, but I need to ask one more thing of you.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t answer so easily.”
“…Yes.”
When I paused before answering, Kwon Mu-seop’s sigh deepened even more.
He sighed a few more times, then smiled with effort and added.
“And thank you.”
“Not at all. It’s all your responsibility, after all.”
“…Really, thank you.”
At my response, Kwon Mu-seop’s smile grew warmer.
Judging by the slightly slurred pronunciation, he seemed to be clenching his teeth.

* * *

“Hyung, what did the manager say?”
As I left the manager’s office, Jae-gyeom, who’d been waiting in the corridor, asked.
“He approved it. Said he’d form the team as soon as work starts today.”
“Oh… that’s good.”
Jae-gyeom marveled lightly.
Kwak Jae-gyeom’s reaction was neutral.
As if he didn’t want to mix sentiment into a matter where someone’s life hung in the balance.
Instead, as we walked down the corridor, Jae-gyeom asked me.
“Hyung, what if there’d been no other method besides destroying the Zone Entity?”
“Why would you ask me to imagine a situation we just barely avoided?”
“Just curious.”
“I would’ve agonized.”
What I mean by agonize is starting from the question of whether to even report this choice to Manager Kwon Mu-seop.
But Jae-gyeom hadn’t caught on yet.
Why I’d said nothing and only typed when talking to the Guide.
Having the lever in your hand meant this.
One person’s life—Yeon Ga-ram’s.
And the clue to the Special Zone—the Guide.
I’d have to choose between the two with my own hands.
And if forced to choose between them, well, naturally it’s the latter.
Whether Yeon Ga-ram or anyone else—it doesn’t matter who.
Destroying the Guide now is like smashing the only vaccine just barely made in a world ravaged by plague.
Does Yeon Ga-ram have some narrative to overcome that overwhelming weight difference?
No. There isn’t one.
So I think myself lucky.
For finding an alternative between the two.
For not needing to move the lever by choosing one side.
But Jae-gyeom had no way of knowing my thoughts, so he griped like this.
“You’ve got a really kind personality, hyung. You woke up from sleep and found a way to save that guy.”
Does he really think I’m doing this because I have a kind personality?
I laughed quietly at Jae-gyeom’s misunderstanding.
“Jae-gyeom, do you watch cooking shows?”
“Huh? Well, I’ve seen some famous ones.”
“When they cook seafood, they bring things like crayfish out alive, right?”
“Yeah, sometimes they pull them straight from the tank.”
“I just can’t stomach watching those scenes.”
“…?”
Jae-gyeom looked at me with a puzzled face.
As if asking what I was suddenly talking about.
So I laughed lightly and added.
“That’s all.”

* * *

“To recover Yeon Ga-ram’s left brain, your tasks are as follows:

1. Insert the Big Cat’s ring into Yeon Ga-ram’s body.
2. You will enter the Body Transformation Meditation Center.
3. Yeon Ga-ram will command the Zone Entity: ‘Bring all of Yeon Ga-ram here.’
4. Once Yeon Ga-ram’s left brain is summoned to the Zone Entity’s space, assemble it properly so it attaches well to Yeon Ga-ram’s main body.
5. That’s all. Wait until the time hold that formed at Yeon Ga-ram’s left brain’s severed site expires.
6. Once the time hold ends, verify whether the severed site has attached properly. Depending on circumstances, treatment or funeral arrangements may be necessary.

Warning!
Yeon Ga-ram’s left brain was partially dismantled and reassembled by the Zone Entity for digestion.
Please note that side effects may occur.”

Me and the members to be deployed to the Body Transformation Meditation Center.
Team Leader Cha, Kwak Jae-gyeom, Han Ji-su, and Jeong Jin-u.
Originally, Baek Sa-ra would have gone instead of Jeong Jin-u, but she was excluded from the operation due to poor condition.
In front of the Abandoned House, which was the entrance to the Meditation Center, Team Leader Cha spoke.
“The Big Cat’s ring implantation is complete.”
“Oh, so we can go now?”
At Jeong Jin-u’s question, Team Leader Cha nodded.
Originally, we’d planned to feed the ring to Yeon Ga-ram.
But we were told that doing so might puncture Yeon Ga-ram’s stomach, so we changed our strategy and decided to implant the ring in Yeon Ga-ram’s arm instead.
Suturing a hole in the arm was far better than performing open abdominal surgery for a punctured stomach.
With the word that preparations were complete, we entered the Meditation Center’s entrance.
As we stepped into the Abandoned House, I momentarily lost my sense of balance.
When I regained my senses, I was standing in a dark forest.
“Agent Do-un, over here.”
Jeong Jin-u, who’d entered first, waved me over.
Jae-gyeom was standing beside him.
“What about Team Leader Cha and Han Ji-su?”
“Looks like they got separated on a different path. We’ll reunite after a bit.”
I nodded, then spoke into my Smartwatch.
“Seo Do-un has entered the Meditation Center.”
—Yes, I’ll relay that to the Small House.
The Situation Room’s response came immediately.
We waited quietly for the result.
Shortly after.
—Success! We’ve secured Yeon Ga-ram’s left head and eyes!
The voice of the delighted Situation Room agent.
At those words, we also exhaled.
There were still more steps ahead, but at least we’d passed the first hurdle.
—Yeon Ga-ram asked me to convey his thanks to you, Agent Seo.
At that, Jae-gyeom snorted and muttered.
“If he’s grateful, he can crawl between Otter’s legs.”
This Kwak Jae-gyeom has surprisingly lingering resentment.
Jeong Jin-u spoke to grumbling Jae-gyeom.
“We’ve achieved our objective—let’s escape.”
“Yes.”
The Meditation Center wasn’t a particularly high-ranking zone.
As long as we didn’t let our guard down, we could escape safely.
But no matter how easy, a Special Zone is still a Special Zone.
Thirty minutes later.
“Jae-gyeom, don’t cry.”
“Hic, sob…!”
“Come on, don’t cry…”
Everything’s going well, but please don’t cry on my face, you bastard…
I pressed my forehead as I watched Kwak Jae-gyeom sobbing against my body.
Though it wasn’t a life-or-death situation, our escape was shaping up to be difficult.
This place, which had sprung an unexpected trial on me, was a Type 1 Special Zone.
The Body Transformation Meditation Center.

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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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