Editor’s Survival Guide - Chapter 48
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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 48
ep9. Exposing the Fake (9)
We climbed onto the empty stage.
When we pulled back the curtain and entered behind it, half-finished Fake Humans greeted us.
The woman who saw them was horrified.
“Oh my god…!”
I hurriedly covered the woman’s mouth with my hand to stop her from screaming.
The woman flinched and looked at me, and I cautiously surveyed our surroundings before shaking my head.
Nod-
At the woman’s nod indicating she understood, I slowly removed my hand.
We were now moving to the escape location with the Fake Humans.
That location was none other than backstage.
The backstage area with stage equipment was as deep and wide as the auditorium.
Moreover, the ceiling was much higher.
While the theater entrance and lobby side were only 3 floors, this back area was a full 6 floors.
The center was completely open with only corridors lined with railings stacked layer by layer along the walls.
And in the center, steel structures for moving stage equipment were tangled together in a complex web.
If only these had been there, it would have looked as bleak as a construction site.
But on these structures, what must have been hundreds of Fake Humans hung like fruit in clusters.
Well, calling them fruit was generous – the sight was closer to hundreds of hanged corpses.
The most horrifying thing was that they kept their eyes open, watching us.
They continued to stare at us.
As if trying to learn human behavior.
As if trying to remember the fate of their predecessors who had been exposed.
“Huu…”
I swallowed my tension as I passed between the legs of the Fake Humans.
The other people also dragged their assigned Fake Humans and followed behind me.
As we went deeper into the stage area, the forms of the Fake Humans hanging from the steel frames became more grotesque.
The ones further inside hadn’t yet fully taken human form and looked like roughly clumped masses of flesh.
Even their clothing had merged with their skin, as if humans and clothes had been roughly mixed together and solidified again.
Their forms, their overwhelming numbers, their persistent stares – everything was chilling.
The only fortunate thing was that they didn’t engage in predatory activities here.
The reason was that this was their cultivation chamber.
Instead, there remained danger elements of an entirely different dimension here.
I glanced up at the ceiling.
The ceiling at a dizzying height, shrouded in darkness.
They were probably hiding somewhere in that darkness.
Alpha and Delta.
Those things that even the Management Bureau couldn’t catch and had barely managed to confine here.
Since they would immediately deploy if there was a disturbance on stage, we had to desperately hold our breath.
We finally reached the stairs.
After climbing those dizzying railings to the 3rd floor, a door appeared.
When we opened that door, a lush green meadow spread out before us.
And in the center of it, something in a black uniform with its face covered by black cloth.
—
If you have identified the Fake Humans, please exit to the outdoor terrace through the 3rd floor door at the back of the stage.
There you will find “the one in the old uniform.”
If you hold the hand of a Fake Human and stand before “the one in the old uniform,” it will send you home.
※Do not be concerned if “the one in the old uniform” draws a gun. You are not its target.
—
“One at a time, in order.”
At my words, the person at the front took the hand of a Fake Human and went before the Hazmat Suit.
The Hazmat Suit, which had been standing like a mannequin, drew its gun.
Bang-!
It shot the Fake Human in the heart, and the person who had been with that Fake Human disappeared simultaneously.
Once these people left today, everyone who had arrived before me would be gone.
Except for those still wearing skull masks.
“Thank you, really, truly thank you.”
And among those leaving today was the woman who had informed me about this place’s situation.
The woman said goodbye tearfully, then pulled out a business card from her pocket.
“Please come visit later.”
It was a coupon for a small cafe.
“Until I close the shop, I’ll give you everything free – coffee, pie, whatever. Um, even if you don’t really need it, please come at least once. You can bring lots of friends too.”
“Yes, I’ll come visit.”
When I nodded, the woman smiled and waved her hand.
Bang-!
With the sharp gunshot, that woman also returned home.
* * *
“I’ll give you the money back. Please just get lost.”
This was when I returned after sending the people away.
Teddy Bear, who had called me aside, said this abruptly.
“What money? The water fee?”
“Yeah, I’ll give you back the 100 million, so just leave. You’ve done enough.”
A tone mixing irritation and pleading, really like a little kid.
Right, it was about time for the whining to start.
So far, 9 people had passed this guy and left.
Even calculating at just 30 million won per person, that’s 270 million won.
It had already easily exceeded the food costs that I – or more precisely, the Management Bureau – had paid.
And this loss would continue going forward.
He seemed to have finally realized this and come to me, but I flatly refused.
“I don’t want to.”
“Ah, why!”
“Why? You’re the one who should just go somewhere else. You can’t make money here anymore.”
“Don’t talk nonsense, ah, then I’ll give you 130 million!”
“You were making hundreds of millions daily here before I came. But only 30 more?”
I asked back not because I was interested in bargaining, but because I was flabbergasted.
This guy couldn’t even negotiate properly.
I knew the scale of money this bastard was raking in here.
But who would accept an offer of 30 more in this situation?
When I looked incredulous, Teddy Bear actually shouted back.
“I didn’t eat all of that money! Then 150 million won. This is my entire fortune right now. I’ll give you 50 million more, so please just leave, okay?”
“Hey, is that really your money?”
“Then what am I supposed to do! I have to pay tribute too! Why are you interfering when it’s none of your business!”
Teddy Bear stamped his feet and threw a tantrum.
And I focused on a word that had slipped by.
“Tribute?”
“Yeah! I came here paying money too! I pay 60 million won daily to the hyung-nim who sends the goods! I was just starting to make money and now it’s all gone again because of you!”
Right, the profit structure was a bit too sophisticated for this idiot to have created.
There was a separate planner and this guy was just site management.
“So please spare me… Please save me, hyung. You’re rich anyway, so you can leave and live well…”
The teddy bear had even dropped to his knees.
There was no need to provoke this guy who had become completely servile.
But I was so dumbfounded that I asked out of pity rather than anger.
“Did you save the other people?”
“….”
“What you’re saying ‘save me’ means is asking me to let you squeeze other people again. But why should I grant that request?”
“Fuck… You’re acting so fucking superior… You unemployed bastard who just had good parents… If I was born like you, I wouldn’t live like this, you asshole.”
“Don’t compare and just talk about yourself. What would you do if there are people who live properly even if they were born like you.”
“Shit! Then what am I supposed to do, I’m going to die at this rate! If I get ruined here, I’ll really die!”
“Why don’t you just wash your hands of it?”
“What?”
“Take this opportunity to quit the dangerous stuff and go out and live honestly.”
“…Will you take responsibility when the hyungs come to get me?”
“You have to take responsibility for that. It’s a landmine you stepped on.”
“This son of a bitch….”
I sighed watching the teddy bear get angry again.
“Of course there’s an environment to blame. But didn’t you have any choices at all?”
“….”
“The reason trash-like guys stuck to you is because you were in a garbage dump. Then at least try to get out of there and ask for help.”
The teddy bear had nothing more to say.
I couldn’t tell what expression he was making because of the mask on his head.
The teddy bear mask was just cute.
* * *
Day 6.
Ding-dong- Ding-dong-
The performance started again.
I bit into a dry biscuit and remained on the 3rd floor today too, looking down at the 1st floor.
Choi Sang-eun and the people now acting naturally.
On the other hand, the teddy bear was alone again today.
It seems like the skeletons were left at the base in case they got persuaded by Choi Sang-eun, but other than that, there still seemed to be no countermeasures.
This is quite troublesome.
The escape routine for the 「National Theater」 was almost figured out.
The person who came first tells the escape method to those who came later and leaves.
If the stay period gets shorter, food won’t be necessary either.
Just fast for one day, what.
I have quite a bit of bottled water and biscuits left, so I can store these for emergency use.
As long as this circulation structure is maintained, escaping from the 「National Theater」 isn’t difficult at all.
Now the remaining problem is that teddy bear.
Honestly, I thought he would leave on his own when his money source dried up.
I thought he’d leave without regret since he made a lot over the month.
But seeing him talk about tribute money, that bastard also seems to be in a position where he can’t move freely.
Moreover, with income cut off and only the expense of tribute money piling up day by day.
When cornered like this, whether human or animal, they tend to become fierce, so how do I chase him away…?
Just yesterday Cha Si-eon warned me.
-The contaminator Kim Hae-seong’s condition is unstable. He might cause an incident soon.
Right, I think so too.
So I asked Cha Si-eon back what he was going to do about that teddy bear bastard.
-Internal review confirmed that Kim Hae-seong intentionally damaged the rule book placed in the performance hall. We decided to file charges considering this as intentional obstruction of official duties.
-However, it’s difficult to directly connect this to casualties, so it’s hard to request a response from the management company.
-We also suggested deploying our team, but to enter an A-grade danger zone, we need to go through internal approval procedures. It seems approval will take some time.
This won’t work and that won’t work either.
Give it a rest, you damn civil servants….
What should I really do?
I also need to leave soon.
The appropriate stay time within Special Zones set by the Management Bureau is a maximum of 9 days.
If I ignore this regulation and stay in the Special Zone indefinitely, contamination might begin.
Besides, I can’t eat these biscuits anymore.
It’s not like I did anything grand, so if only that teddy bear bastard wasn’t here, I could leave it to the next person and go.
Of course, if that teddy bear goes crazy and rampages, I don’t have any particular solution either.
Hmm, what should I do?
I bit into the unappetizing biscuit and pondered.
Ding-dong- Ding-dong-
The performance ended again.
The selection also proceeded quickly.
“Two people, three fakes!”
After Choi Sang-eun informed me of the situation, he tried to come up to the 3rd floor.
But suddenly the teddy bear stealthily approached the people.
“What, what…! Why are you doing this?”
Choi Sang-eun was startled and on guard, but the teddy bear just passed by him.
Then he earnestly spoke to the woman standing behind him.
“Miss, would you like to come to our side? We have more food on our side too.”
Hey man, you’re doing this in the middle of all this….
I was so absurd that I looked toward the woman the teddy bear was hitting on.
The woman who made the teddy bear even more stupid was wearing a beige cardigan and long skirt.
Her outfit did give off a pretty feeling, but I couldn’t see her face well from above.
But just then, that woman looked up toward me.
Our eyes met and I dropped the biscuit I was biting.
…Ms. Baek Sa-ra?
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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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