Editor’s Survival Guide - Chapter 30

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Editor’s Survival Rules Episode 30

ep7. The Corpse Runs(2)

And so, back to today.

Inside the Member-only Warehouse-style Mart.

The gunfire that had been raging beyond the storage racks was now quiet.

The explosions had also been silent for a while.

However, my possession Kwak Jae-gyeom was still busy.

“Everyone give me a status report.”

-A-4, no traps.

“Yes, standby for a moment.”

-B-7, we’re screwed… Used up all the borrowed dummies but couldn’t finish.

“Then just stop there. If the trap density is that high, there’s no point finding a green zone anyway.”

-Z-0, Jae-gyeom. These guys won’t give us membership cards? They get angry when we try to just take them.

“That’s better left to the Exploration Team. Don’t fight with the ’employees,’ just check how many membership cards there are. I’ll go with Do-un hyung later and we’ll beat them up.”

Kwak Jae-gyeom radioed the agents scattered throughout the mart while tapping on his laptop.

Tap, tap-tap-tap-

Whether he was coding or something, complex English characters streamed across as Jae-gyeom typed rapidly.

After a moment, when something started loading, Jae-gyeom radioed again.

“Data compilation complete. Hyungs, rest and standby until the analysis results come out.”

Ohh…

I looked at Kwak Jae-gyeom with admiration.

Then Jae-gyeom felt my gaze and turned to look at me.

“What?”

“You guys really are special agents after all…?”

“Hyung, our training is really brutal…”

“I didn’t know. I found out for the first time today.”

“You’re really too much.”

What Kwak Jae-gyeom and the Response Team agents are doing now is Special Zone stabilization work.

The Management Bureau’s Special Zone exploration proceeds through step-by-step collaboration between multiple teams.

The first step is stabilization work.

It involves identifying and eliminating dangerous elements within the Special Zone in advance to lay the foundation for other teams to operate.

The Response Team is responsible for this tough work.

And I’m currently quite surprised by the Response Team’s performance.

I thought they were a frustrating organization that only looked at manuals and monitors, using personnel shortages as an excuse.

But when these people work, they really do it properly?

Moreover, Kwak Jae-gyeom, who was generally frivolous at home, now looks quite professional.

Dressed in black special forces gear with a submachine gun, he looks quite intimidating, and looking at him like this, his physique is also extraordinary?

Right, he was just overshadowed because Cha Si-eon was too overwhelming, but this guy was also an agent.

“Hippo!”

But agent Kwak Jae-gyeom shouted toward somewhere again.

Why does he keep looking for a hippo?

I looked puzzled and followed Jae-gyeom’s gaze.

At the far end of the corridor, someone was approaching us.

It was a woman with short hair.

Unlike the fully armed Response Team agents, she wore light work clothes.

Under her arm, she carried what looked like rolled-up posters.

And most of all, she was so small I couldn’t understand why she’d be called a hippo.

The short-haired woman walked briskly toward us.

Then she pushed Kwak Jae-gyeom’s face away with her palm.

“Move, don’t get in the way.”

A voice that was an exquisite mix of fierceness and indifference.

But Kwak Jae-gyeom didn’t even blink.

“What are you saying, I was here first.”

“Do I care?”

“Why are you wandering around alone, it’s dangerous.”

“My team is over there, you know? Ah, I’m really dying!”

The woman was snapping back when she suddenly got angry.

It was because Kwak Jae-gyeom had roughly messed up the crown of her head, which barely reached his chin.

When her neat hair became disheveled, the woman flew into a rage and swung her fist.

Crack-!

But an improper sound rang out.

Jae-gyeom had raised his arm to block, and unfortunately his hard arm guard collided with the woman’s fist.

Oh dear, that must hurt.

“It wasn’t intentional.”

When the woman’s expression became solemn, Jae-gyeom explained.

Even so…

The woman threw down her luggage and started beating up Jae-gyeom.

Amazing. To beat up someone with a gun like that.

And Jae-gyeom, dressed like special forces but just taking the beating, well.

He could probably take a bit more.

Seeing him smile while keeping his guard up.

Are they friends?

Certainly Miss Hippo had a face as youthful as Jae-gyeom’s.

Moreover, what had seemed like ordinary black short hair at first glance was actually dyed blue only on the inner parts.

What do you call that? Two-tone dyeing?

It was a style as distinctive as Jae-gyeom’s bleached blonde hair.

Overall, these two seemed like peers who appeared to dislike each other but were actually close.

What they were doing now was closer to playing than fighting.

But kids, is it okay to play around like this here…?

I awkwardly watched the two young people, unable to read the atmosphere.

Then the hippo, who had been busy beating up Jae-gyeom, noticed me.

“Huh?”

The hippo stopped her assault.

Then she made a somewhat uncertain expression before suddenly going “Uh, uh, uh” and opening her eyes wide.

“Aren’t you Otter Agent?”

One wetland creature had recognized another wetland creature…

When I was flustered, Jae-gyeom intervened.

“Hey, don’t touch our hyung.”

“Get lost, why would Otter be your hyung?”

You’re both wrong.

I’m neither your hyung nor an otter.

The hippo beat up Jae-gyeom a few more times and forcibly pushed him away.

Then she changed her fierce face to a shy one and bowed politely to me.

“Hello, Agent. I’m really a fan…”

“Excuse me…?”

When someone greets you, it’s common courtesy to return the greeting.

But I was speechless because I’d heard something so absurd.

A fan? Why on earth?

Then Miss Hippo suddenly showed me her wrist and said.

“I’m also part of the Otter Rescue Association!”

A flat bracelet was hanging on that wrist.

It was a silicone bracelet with an otter design printed on it.

“…What is that?”

“It’s limited goods for first-generation Otter Rescue Association members. I made this myself.”

“Oh, really?”

I forgot all about feeling awkward and asked back in surprise.

I have my own expertise when it comes to merchandise.

The publishing company often makes them for marketing purposes too.

Even to my experienced eye, the bracelet that Hama offered had considerable quality.

You might say it’s just a silicone bracelet, but look.

This otter design uses a full 4 colors including the border.

To achieve such a vivid otter on slippery silicone with 4-color printing—this is definitely the work of a skilled professional.

“Which company manufactured this?”

“It’s self-produced. I did everything from design to manufacturing myself.”

“You made this yourself?”

How? The equipment alone must be considerable.

Hama, who had been grinning at my reaction, suddenly looked surprised and introduced herself.

“Ah! My name is Ha Yu-ju. I’m from the Formation Team.”

Formation Team? Ah, then that makes sense.

The Field Management Department of the Administration Bureau consists of 4 teams.

The Response Team that gets deployed for crisis situations and Special Zone stabilization work.

The Exploration Team that conducts in-depth investigations into how Special Zones operate.

The Control Team that measures and monitors the internal environment of Special Zones.

And the remaining one is the Formation Team.

“I designed this too, would you like to take a look?”

Hama—Ha Yu-ju picked up the poster she had thrown aside and unfolded it.

It was a product advertisement flyer commonly seen in marts.

But instead of product descriptions, it had this written on it:

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■ “Member-only Warehouse-style Mart” Escape Guidelines

One. Take only 1 membership card provided below.

Two. Move while avoiding sections with installed traps.

Three. Purchase 3 items and submit the receipt to the “Staff.”

※Items with confirmed prices so far are as follows:

1. Cobb Salad – 1 fingernail (“Coupon Book” discount applicable)

2. Strawberry Trifle – 200ml of blood

3. Variety Cookies – 1 silver ring

(Additional updates planned)

—

It definitely looked like a flyer but the content was a manual.

But it was made quite well without any sense of incongruity.

When I expressed admiration, Yu-ju excitedly showed me other things too.

“And this is a banner to be set up in trap sections.”

—

Warning! Stop Immediately!

Traps are installed where you are currently standing.

This is an actual dangerous situation, so please move carefully according to the map below.

—

This was also a banner that could plausibly exist in a mart.

Yet a completely different message from the design reads without any sense of incongruity.

The map and movement directions are also clearly visible.

“You really made this well, didn’t you?”

“Wow, really? We worked really hard on this. Since it was based on guidelines discovered by the Otter Agent, we really put our heart and soul into it!”

“You made these flyers and banners in-house too, right?”

“Yes, we can’t use civilian companies due to security reasons.”

“You must have had a hard time making all this.”

“Oh, hard work? We really had fun working on it. We’ve been so bored lately because we had no work.”

“You had no work?”

“Yes, when those guys don’t give us work, our team has nothing to do.”

“Hey, when you say it like that, it makes our team sound like we’re slacking off….”

Kwak Jae-gyeom, who had been designated as “those guys” by Yu-ju, grumbled quietly.

Well, that makes sense.

The Response Team has to work hard first before the Formation Team has anything to do.

Because the Formation Team is the department that creates and places manuals.

Can’t you just roughly print and distribute manuals?

That won’t work.

“This level of quality is necessary for it to be maintained, right?”

“Yes, if there’s even the slightest sense of incongruity, they notice right away. Then the entities come and tear everything down.”

Yu-ju nodded enthusiastically in response to my question.

It’s said that entities within Special Zones don’t like external objects.

So when they spot suspicious objects, they frequently damage or remove them.

However, even external objects that blend well with the surrounding environment go unnoticed.

That’s why the Management Bureau has a separate department for creating manuals.

Because they need precise manuals that can fool the Special Zone’s perception.

As I nodded with deep impression, Yu-ju suddenly brightened her eyes and said:

“Agent, do you have any merchandise you’d like?”

How could there be any?

“By the way, our team leader is the president of the first-generation Otter Rescue Association.”

That’s excessive TMI.

“We’re planning to recruit third-generation members soon, are you interested in our activities?”

Yu-ju said with sparkling eyes.

I was a bit surprised earlier when she was beating up Kwak Jae-gyeom, but Yu-ju was just a normally energetic person.

However, her energy level is a bit too high for me to keep up with….

As my energy gradually waned, Kwak Jae-gyeom intervened.

“Aren’t you busy?”

“Tch.”

“Wow, look at her expression change.”

“Agent, I’ll send you an Otter Rescue Association merchandise set later. We have keyrings, magnets, and name tags too.”

Yu-ju promised future contact with a regretful expression.

It seemed like Yu-ju was someone who enjoyed fangirling itself.

And I’m apparently just being used for that.

…I’m really relieved.

Yu-ju, returning to her main job, unfolded the poster behind us.

Then she looked around as if searching for a suitable location.

“Help me?”

“Hold this and stand there.”

When Kwak Jae-gyeom offered to help, Yu-ju readily accepted.

As expected, these two are definitely close.

The problem is that because I’m tied to Kwak Jae-gyeom’s wrist, I have to move along too.

At this rate, who knows who’s the belonging….

Kwak Jae-gyeom and I stood side by side holding the poster as we walked around, while Ha Yu-ju continuously took pictures of us with her camera.

After a moment, Ha Yu-ju came over and showed us the photos.

“Does this look okay?”

“It seems too much in the corner.”

“I wanted it to be clearly visible from over there.”

When Yu-ju pointed toward the corridor, Jae-gyeom’s gaze followed.

They look like college students working on a group project.

I was watching this scene with warm feelings when it happened.

Suddenly, the surroundings became dark.

At the same time, an alien sensation enveloped my entire body.

The air changed without any process.

No way.

I raised my head.

Sure enough, the space had changed.

But I wasn’t alone.

“…This really works.”

Kwak Jae-gyeom smiled with a troubled expression.

Then he frowned at Ha Yu-ju standing beside him.

“Why did you follow us?”

He seemed to be speaking harshly on purpose so Yu-ju wouldn’t be surprised.

But his voice was full of dismay, which had the opposite effect.

Moreover, Ha Yu-ju, who had been caught up in this without warning, was already pale as a sheet.

“Hey, Hama…”

Kwak Jae-gyeom called out again, but Ha Yu-ju grabbed her left arm and screamed.

“…!”

In that scream I’d never heard before in my life, I saw it clearly.

Ha Yu-ju’s severed arm, and the blood gushing violently from the cut surface.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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