Editor’s Survival Guide - Chapter 197

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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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Editor’s Survival Manual Chapter 197

ep27. A Simple Solution (4)
It was Cha Si-eon who first conceived of the idea of killing the owner of a Special Zone.
—Can we kill the owners of Special Zones too?
“No. Humans cannot kill gods. But we can feed them.”
“Feed them to the Newly Born God. Then you can kill the god you hate!”
The Guide explained the situation that would follow once the owner of a Special Zone disappeared.
“A space that has lost its owner will collapse on its own after forty-nine days.”
That’s why Kwak Jae-gyeom had argued as much.
—If the owner abandons it, the Special Zone will disappear on its own, so we just need to capture the owner and lock them away. If the owner of the Special Zone is the Big Cat, that’s not impossible either.
Until now, Special Zones had been a disaster that regenerated no matter how many times they were destroyed.
And humans had been forced to make choices within this relentless calamity.
Who to save, who to abandon, how much longer to watch people suffer without even the mercy of death.
But now a solution had been presented that could end all of it.
“Now it’s truly time to meet the Newly Born God!”
I could no longer ignore this mysterious pressing.
If the Guide’s words were true, all of this fighting could be resolved through the Newly Born God.
* * *
“Is that possible?”
But Cha Si-eon showed no agreement with my reasoning whatsoever.
“It isn’t possible, is it…….”
“It isn’t.”
Team Leader Cha was more resolute than usual.
“Isn’t the condition for meeting the ‘god’ that Seo Do-un goes into the ‘School’ alone? Right now the Big Cat is also roaming around the ‘School.'”
“That’s true.”
“So are you really asking because you think it will work?”
“Couldn’t we at least discuss the possibility…….”
As I muttered, Cha Si-eon looked at me again with eyes that said, “Will it really work?”
So I had nothing more to say.
I had no intention of rushing blindly into the ‘School’ either.
I’d merely floated the idea because, given the circumstances, such a proposal seemed worth considering.
But my words landed nowhere.
More than that, they only drew silent reproach.
After a long pause, Cha Si-eon suddenly asked me something.
“Can Seo Do-un fully trust everything the Guide says?”
Trust it all?
I paused to think before answering.
“I think it’s trustworthy. The Guide did save Yeon Ga-ram this time, after all.”
“One could also say the Guide created the problem and then cleaned it up.”
Looking at just the facts of the incident, that interpretation wasn’t entirely unreasonable either.
When I nodded in acknowledgment, Cha Si-eon continued.
“What I mean is, the whole situation surrounding Yeon Ga-ram could have been designed by the Guide.”
“That’s…….”
“Does that seem like excessive suspicion?”
“Suspicion is possible, I think. But I feel it’s different. Originally the Guide was just going to let Yeon Ga-ram die.”
“Can you prove that?”
“……No, I have no way to prove it.”
I lost my words again.
Upon which Cha Si-eon continued with a firmer voice.
“I hear Division Chief Kwon made similar points. Only Seo Do-un can read the Guide’s messages, and the rest of us have no way to verify the validity of that information.”
“…….”
“The Meditation Center operation was conducted under the division chief’s responsibility, but that’s purely precedent. We cannot act on uncertain information.”
This is entirely true, what Cha Si-eon is saying.
So there’s no room for rebuttal.
“Moreover, not everyone trusts Seo Do-un.”
The same applies here.
“In the worst case, suspicion could arise that Seo Do-un is deceiving the Management Bureau by exploiting the anomalies of the Type 5 Special Zone.”
“But isn’t that too much of a conspiracy theory…….”
“Does having a conspiracy theory mean you have evidence to refute it?”
“No.”
“That’s why it can’t happen.”
I was again at a loss for words.
In truth, I’d privately considered the possibility that the Small House and I could be painted with the same brush.
If Yeon Ga-ram had died, what would people’s perception of the Small House have been?
Furthermore, if Yeon Ga-ram had truly become an entity there.
Could the Management Bureau people view this as merely an accident?
Could they continue to regard my home’s bizarre space and the suspicious Notebook that calls me owner as merely objects of research, as before?
If feelings like fear, resentment, hostility, and disgust arose, could they avoid spreading to me?
My head would insist they wouldn’t.
But I’d soon be overwhelmed by an unspeakable revulsion.
Because I’d considered such a scenario, I couldn’t rebut Cha Si-eon.
But I also couldn’t simply nod and retreat.
I wasn’t sure how to explain it, but somehow it felt wrong to dismiss what the Guide had said.
As I was swallowing my frustration in a sigh, Cha Si-eon added.
“I also hope the Guide’s words are true.”
I looked up and met Cha Si-eon’s eyes.
And I could no longer feel frustrated.
Because someone who looked even more frustrated than I was stood there holding it in.
To be honest, I don’t particularly want to kill the Big Cat.
I acknowledge it as an enemy, but I don’t harbor great resentment or burning hatred toward it.
I simply thought, as one would approach pest control, that it would need to be dealt with if necessary.
But Cha Si-eon wasn’t as lukewarm as I was.
“That’s exactly why verification is all the more necessary. Even if the truth is ninety percent right and the lie is just one percent, it can produce catastrophic results, and in that case all responsibility could fall on Seo Do-un alone.”
Swallowing all of that, Cha Si-eon issued another warning.
“That’s why the information the Guide provides must only be used after cross-verification becomes possible, and after it’s proven that the Guide exists independently of its interactions with Seo Do-un.”
* * *
Two things that must precede the Management Bureau’s acceptance of the Guide’s information.
Cross-verification of the information the Guide provides.
Proof that the Guide exists independently of its interactions with me.
Both were difficult propositions.
As long as only I could read the Guide’s messages.
It’s understandable why Division Chief Kwon and Team Leader Cha are being cautious.
Even in stories, prophets are praised at first.
But once people stop receiving the prophecies they want, or something goes wrong and causes trouble, they bear all the blame and get burned at the stake.
There was a non-zero probability I’d end up the same way, so I needed to be careful.
“That’s Yeon Ga-ram.”
Jae-gyeom muttered, looking down the corridor.
I unconsciously followed his gaze and spotted Yeon Ga-ram just as he’d said.
Walking with his team members, Yeon Ga-ram spotted us as well.
And despite all that had transpired, Yeon Ga-ram was…….
Sizzle—
still burning with animosity toward me.
The moment our eyes met, he narrowed his eyes into axes and glared at me ferociously.
“He’s still at it…….”
Jae-gyeom muttered, utterly dumbfounded at Yeon Ga-ram.
But he didn’t rush to deal with Yeon Ga-ram in a fit of anger like before.
That was because he understood why Yeon Ga-ram acted that way.
After leaving the Small House, Yeon Ga-ram rested for a while before returning to work.
For some time afterward, he was quite friendly toward me.
The problem was that Yeon Ga-ram’s friendliness was as bothersome as his hostility had been—or rather, it was aggressive.
—Did you eat, Agent Seo?
—I returned to duty today.
—Will you be training with Agent Baek Sa-ra again tomorrow?
Incredibly, Yeon Ga-ram began sending me individual messages like these.
What internal conclusion led him to this behavior remained a mystery.
It was a mystery then and remains one now, but at first I politely sent replies.
—Oh, already? With who? Kwak Jae-gyeom?
—Our team leader has a serious temperament.
—What do you do after training? Is Agent Baek Sa-ra not busy these days?
But when I replied, another reply came back.
When I tried to end the conversation, he’d bring up a new topic.
Conversation after unimportant, curious conversation continued in an endless stream.
Even when I barely managed to close one exchange, another text would arrive an hour or two later.
As my replies grew slower and slower, Yeon Ga-ram eventually started sending messages like this.
—You must be busy.
—Hmm.
—ㅇㅅㅇ
At this point I classified it as a psychological attack.
So I communicated my position to Yeon Ga-ram diplomatically.
—Agent Yeon Ga-ram, I’d appreciate it if future contact could be kept to necessary business only.
That’s when it started.
The ceasefire between Yeon Ga-ram and me crumbled.
Yeon Ga-ram began hating me again.
And in this matter, Jae-gyeom unexpectedly sided with Yeon Ga-ram.
“He was just trying to get close, after all…….”
Jae-gyeom muttered in Yeon Ga-ram’s defense.
I didn’t deny what he said and merely nodded.
“I’m grateful for the sentiment.”
“That sentiment doesn’t seem to be sticking around much.”
“Then I’m even more grateful.”
Kwak Jae-gyeom looked at me as if to say I was being too much.
Meanwhile, Yeon Ga-ram disappeared down the other end of the corridor.
Until the very last moment, glaring at me with fierce intensity.
At that pathetic display, Jae-gyeom finally gave up defending Yeon Ga-ram.
“That guy’s really something else…… I wonder how his brain is wired to be like that?”
“He probably has his own logic too.”
“Of course. But when you’re dealing with people, there’s a certain range of predictability, right? This guy’s so petty, yet a woman who literally kicked him and knocked him down in front of everyone thinks he’s good, and he throws this fit over a guy who saved his life not replying to a text. Does any of this make sense?”
Of course it doesn’t.
No one in my range of understanding sends a co-worker a cat face made of three consonants.
But do we really need to understand everything about beings who exist far beyond our comprehension?
I once agonized deeply over Yeon Ga-ram, but learned it was all futile.
So let’s just watch.
This too is coexistence.
I’ve already released my obsession with Yeon Ga-ram and found peace of mind.
But Jae-gyeom, as if just beginning, asked me persistently.
“Couldn’t you ask the Guide once? What is Yeon Ga-ram?”
“Will it even work…….”
Your team leader’s already watching the Guide with sharp eyes, suspicious as it is.
And if the worst-case scenario Cha Si-eon described were to unfold, the Guide’s interpretation of Yeon Ga-ram could appear to be my fabrication.
Statements like “Yeon Ga-ram is a moonfish,” “Yeon Ga-ram is pathetic,” “Yeon Ga-ram is shameless.”
No.
I don’t want to buy any more of Yeon Ga-ram’s resentment—a splinter of annoyance, gravel in my shoe.
So using the Guide would have to wait until we found a cross-verification method…….
Until we found a cross-verification method.
A cross-verification method……?
“What’s wrong?”
When I suddenly stopped walking, Jae-gyeom stopped too and asked.
But instead of answering, I quickly turned back to look in the direction Yeon Ga-ram had disappeared.
Why hadn’t I thought of this before?
A cross-verification method.
That simple solution is right there.

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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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