Editor’s Survival Guide - Chapter 38

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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 38

 

ep8. What Do You See? (3)

 

The Designer who created the Special Zone.

 

That simple sentence hit my head hard.

 

Does this mean there’s a being who created that monstrous space?

 

“This is not the Management Bureau’s official position.”

 

Cha Si-eon interjected at my shocked expression.

 

Then Oh Tae-o scowled deeply.

 

Almost like he’d bitten into a bug.

 

Wait, he’s making such an obvious face in front of people?

 

Even Cha Si-eon seemed used to it, ignoring that supreme level of contempt.

 

In that antisocial atmosphere, I forgot my surprise and looked back and forth between the two.

 

After cooling his anger alone for a moment, Oh Tae-o continued speaking.

 

“Agent Seo Do-un said it, right? That the Special Zone is unexpectedly logical, like a game made to be cleared. I agree. The Management Bureau defines the Special Zone as ‘a space hostile to humans,’ but if it were truly filled with only hostility and malice, would there be escape routes? The fact that there are holes to slip through means it was designed that way…”

 

Oh Tae-o said, pushing up his glasses meaningfully.

 

“And there must be a special purpose behind the Designer making such arrangements. For instance, human evolution…”

 

“I repeat, this is not the Management Bureau’s official position.”

 

Cha Si-eon interjected again.

 

And Oh Tae-o scowled again.

 

…What are these people doing right now? It almost feels like watching a comedy skit.

 

“You don’t need to nitpick everything like that. I’m just stating a hypothesis…”

 

Having been annoyed from earlier, Oh Tae-o finally confronted Cha Si-eon.

 

But naturally, Cha Si-eon didn’t even blink.

 

“Don’t carelessly convey unsubstantiated hypotheses to someone without basic knowledge.”

 

“This is why the field team is… so damn rigid…”

 

Having no rebuttal, Oh Tae-o grumbled with a scrunched face.

 

That monologue was almost silent, but I heard it.

 

Of course, Cha Si-eon did too.

 

But instead of protesting to Oh Tae-o, Cha Si-eon spoke to me calmly.

 

“Acting Director Oh Tae-o claimed until early this year that the Special Zone was an alien invasion route, and that humanity would be replaced by them. But on the doomsday Oh Tae-o predicted, nothing happened.”

 

I unconsciously looked toward Oh Tae-o.

 

Then Oh Tae-o boldly met my gaze as if he had plenty to say.

 

“So what? It’s not like I said something baseless. It was a sufficiently rational speculation, both deductively and inductively.”

 

“Aliens?”

 

I muttered unconsciously.

 

Then Oh Tae-o looked at me coldly like someone hit with cold water.

 

“What’s wrong with aliens…? In the Silla Dynasty, even foreigners were aliens. If you talk about fire-breathing dragons, it sounds like nonsense, right? But what about electric eels? Both are cold-blooded animals that use elemental attacks, yet we judge one as mysterious and absurd, the other as just natural – don’t you think that’s stranger? Aliens are the same. I wasn’t just spouting nonsense, I was considering possibilities beyond our common sense.”

 

I was almost convinced by Oh Tae-o’s rapid-fire speech.

 

But then Cha Si-eon interjected again.

 

“No need to listen seriously. Acting Director Oh has received warnings multiple times for spreading other groundless rumors.”

 

“What did you just say? Groundless rumors…?”

 

“To elaborate, four years ago, dangerous rumors spread through the Management Bureau and an investigation was conducted.”

 

“That was…”

 

“The content was that the Special Zone was the apocalypse from the Book of Revelation. This rumor caused agents with related beliefs to fall into collective panic, starting an internal investigation, and the rumor producer was also Acting Director Oh Tae-o. When executives demanded an explanation, Acting Director Oh answered, ‘Now that I think about it again, it doesn’t seem like that, so why?’ and nearly got beaten by the research director.”

 

“We, we agreed not to talk about that…!”

 

“But even after that, rumors and confusion originating from Acting Director Oh continued to be generated, and Acting Director Oh received warnings and disciplinary actions each time, but as you can see, nothing has improved. So it’s advisable to generally filter Acting Director Oh’s words.”

 

Well, you should have said that before that person came.

 

If you say that in front of the person involved…

 

Sure enough, Oh Tae-o’s face turned bright red after his embarrassing history was listed.

 

Oh my, anyone would think he’s crying.

 

…Wait, he really is crying?

 

Surprisingly, Oh Tae-o was gritting his teeth with reddened eyes.

 

The sight of him struggling desperately not to shed the tears that had welled up.

 

I wondered if this was real, but Kwak Jae-gyeom beside me was calmly looking away with clouded eyes.

 

Seeing that skilled response, this must be real.

 

More importantly, Team Leader Cha, don’t you see that? You made him cry.

 

But why are you only looking at me, you psychopath.

 

I was bewildered but had no choice but to step in as mediator.

 

“Yes, I’ll listen with good judgment. There are various perspectives in the world, and… exchanging opinions itself is, well, a good thing.”

 

At my Hwanghui Jeongseung-like statement, Cha Si-eon nodded perfunctorily.

 

Oh Tae-o was wiping away tears while pretending to clean his glasses, looking quite pitiful.

 

“Sniff, whew… The digression was a bit long, but to get to the point, I think what Agent Seo Do-un experienced this time is also related to the Designer… When you went missing for 144 seconds, Agent Seo met someone. But now you can’t remember anything.”

 

Oh Tae-o, having finally calmed down, returned to the main topic.

 

“So yesterday, I had a contaminated person who can read Special Zone text listen to the sound recorded through Agent Seo…”

 

A contaminated person who reads Special Zone text.

 

Could it be that person?

 

The one who figured out the game rules by looking at the scoreboard in the 「Sports Stadium」?

 

I asked back with delight.

 

“Did they understand that sound?”

 

“No… They screamed as soon as they heard the recording.”

 

They screamed?

 

“They were completely terrified, so we had to turn off the recording midway. We tried again but the rejection reaction was too severe. Even when we ask for the reason, they won’t answer, but we’re continuing to persuade them…”

 

“…”

 

They didn’t even see anything, just listened, yet fell into panic?

 

Why on earth? What was recorded in that sound?

 

“So right now, you haven’t found out anything about that recording?”

 

“No, not yet. But it’s an important clue, so we plan to try every possible method…”

 

It’s fortunate that they’re making an effort.

 

Though I wonder if I can really trust this seemingly eccentric person.

 

As I was silently doubting, Oh Tae-o spoke up again.

 

“So first, we decided to try hypnotherapy.”

 

“On that contaminated person?”

 

“No, on Agent Seo Do-un.”

 

…?

 

* * *

 

We decided to try hypnotherapy.

 

Who? Me.

 

When? Now.

 

These people really don’t seem to have concepts like advance notice or mental preparation.

 

After announcing the hypnotherapy, Cha Si-eon and Oh Tae-o went out to prepare something.

 

Meanwhile, I quietly asked Kwak Jae-gyeom who remained beside me.

 

“Jae-gyeom, is that person really okay?”

 

“He seems like a weird person, right? You saw correctly, hyung.”

 

Hey, that person is supposed to be in charge of my analysis.

 

When I turned around with a serious face, Jae-gyeom giggled and continued.

 

“He’s obviously an oddball. Acting Director Oh doesn’t get along well with our team leader either. He’s holding back because of the rank difference, but if they were similar, he would have thrown some punches already.”

 

“Which one is holding back?”

 

“Hmm, both?”

 

Then both are impressive.

 

Cha Si-eon for tolerating Oh Tae-o, who by his standards is a handful.

 

Oh Tae-o, who believes in the dignity of civilized people and stands his ground against Cha Si-eon.

 

“They’re complete opposites. Acting Manager Oh is somewhat emotional while the Team Leader is cool-headed, and the Team Leader works like a protractor while Acting Manager Oh is loose and makes quite a few small mistakes.”

 

“So one side just can’t do their job properly.”

 

“Well, that’s true. But Acting Manager Oh is also an irreplaceable genius in his field. So it’s also true that he does more than his share of work, which is how things keep rolling along.”

 

Well, that seemed likely.

 

Oh Tae-o’s eccentric behavior that Cha Si-eon mentioned earlier was quite serious.

 

He even repeatedly keeps causing the same problems?

 

But he’s still maintaining his position just fine?

 

This is one of two things.

 

Either he’s the descendant of absolute power, or he’s truly an irreplaceable genius.

 

And from my standpoint, I’d prefer it to be the latter. Please save me, please work properly.

 

“And what’s this ‘Designer’ thing you mentioned earlier? Is that just something Acting Manager Oh talks about by himself?”

 

“Oh, that? It’s not like he’s talking complete nonsense. There are several theories about the Special Zone’s occurrence, and that’s one of them.”

 

Theories about the Special Zone’s occurrence…

 

“I’ve heard of the vengeful spirit uprising theory.”

 

“Ah, Acting Manager Oh was the first to bring that up too.”

 

Of course. Not even surprising.

 

“Our Team Leader really hates that one too. It’s treated as nonsense now, but when the Team Leader was first appointed, that was the mainstream theory. So he did all sorts of things back then.”

 

I heard about that. Despite his pride, he went around following shamanic rituals.

 

Whether it’s Cha Si-eon or Oh Tae-o, they both have very clear reasons to dislike each other.

 

“But that’s old news. There are two theories that are considered orthodox for Special Zone occurrence now. One is the ‘spatial crevasse theory,’ and the other is the ‘designer operation theory.'”

 

“Crevasse, you mean like cracks in glaciers?”

 

“That’s right, a crevasse is what forms when a perfectly fine glacier splits apart. Like that, it’s the idea that ‘Special Zones are quantum-level cracks that accidentally formed in Seoul’—basically a natural occurrence theory for Special Zones.”

 

Oh, I know this one.

 

It’s the intro setting for Korean-style hunter stories.

 

“But there are too many meaningful points for it to have just happened by accident. So that’s where the ‘designer operation theory’ came from. Whether the designer is an alien, time traveler, neighboring country, or giant corporation, we don’t know, but it’s the idea that ‘Special Zones are architectural structures intentionally created by an intelligent being called the Designer.'”

 

Both seem plausible.

 

To think he could have such reasonable thoughts yet believed in something like the ‘vengeful spirit uprising theory.’

 

Well, Special Zones themselves are removed from common sense, so as Oh Tae-o said, there might be a need to step outside of common sense.

 

“I’m ready…”

 

While we were chatting, Oh Tae-o returned.

 

“Agent Seo Do-un, please follow me…”

 

I followed Oh Tae-o to another room within the Medical Center.

 

The place we arrived at was a space like a counseling room with a reclining chair.

 

And there I met an unexpected person.

 

“What brings you here…”

 

“What do you mean what brings me? I’m going to do it. The hypnotherapy.”

 

The person who said that was none other than Kim Woo-in.

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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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