Editor’s Survival Guide - Chapter 56

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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 56

 

ep11. Depriving the Five Senses (1)

 

Weeeeeng-!

 

I opened my eyes to the sharp sound of a siren.

 

Since it was still dark outside the window, I doubted myself with my head still on the pillow.

 

Did that sound really just happen?

 

Or was it my dream?

 

Weeeeeng-!

 

Then the siren sounded again.

 

Kuwoong-!

 

Vibrations traveling up through the floor.

 

As soon as I realized it wasn’t a dream, I kicked off the blanket and got up.

 

Where is this place again?

 

This sound, is it “The Siren-Ringing Train Station”?

 

No, no. This is my room.

 

I haven’t been dragged to the Special Zone yet.

 

When I came out to the living room, Kwak Jae-gyeom was already out there before me.

 

Jae-gyeom, standing in pajamas holding a tablet, glanced at me lightly.

 

“Oh, hyung.”

 

“What was that sound just now?”

 

“It seems to be from the Contamination Containment Facility, but it’s probably nothing serious.”

 

Jae-gyeom said nonchalantly and sat on the sofa.

 

Ttiring-!

 

Then an alarm appeared on my smartwatch too.

 

-Yeast two.

 

It was a simple alert informing about the internal situation at the Management Bureau.

 

‘Yeast’ was a code word used when contaminated individuals held at the Management Bureau caused problems.

 

‘Two’ was a mid-level alert.

 

It meant that contaminated individuals were causing some disturbance, so respond calmly.

 

Weeeeeng-!

 

The siren sound repeated again.

 

That sound came faintly from far away.

 

The Contamination Containment Facility should be much further underground than here, so it was amazing that could be heard all the way up here.

 

The vibrations continued intermittently, but Jae-gyeom sat on the sofa looking only at his tablet as if he was used to it.

 

I also sat on the sofa across from him.

 

“Hyung, just go back in and sleep.”

 

Kuwoong-!

 

“But it keeps shaking?”

 

“Sigh…”

 

Kwak Jae-gyeom sighed and ran his hands through his disheveled hair.

 

Somehow he looked restless.

 

“Is this the contaminated individuals who were caught this time causing a riot?”

 

“No, that’s not it…”

 

Then what is it?

 

Usually this guy would ramble on about all sorts of things, but now he’s strangely tight-lipped.

 

I couldn’t tell if it was because he just woke up or because the situation was serious.

 

Kung-!

 

Meanwhile, the vibrations continued.

 

Kung- Kung- Kuwoong-!

 

Just when I thought the vibrations were getting more intense, they suddenly stopped.

 

Ttiring-!

 

-Yeast two lifted.

 

The alert was lifted.

 

“The situation’s over. It’s fine now, so go to sleep, hyung.”

 

Kwak Jae-gyeom, who received the same alarm, got up first and said.

 

The time then was 2:19 AM.

 

* * *

 

The next morning.

 

Cha Si-eon’s face had scratches on it.

 

Wow, who managed to do that?

 

“Did something happen?”

 

I asked while looking sequentially at Cha Si-eon’s split lip, torn forehead, and bruised cheekbone.

 

“It’s nothing serious.”

 

Cha Si-eon refused to answer.

 

Team Leader Cha always had this attitude toward small talk outside of work.

 

I also had no particular reason to chat with him, so I’d been letting it slide.

 

But today I deliberately asked again.

 

“You seem quite injured.”

 

“There’s no need for you to worry.”

 

“I’m not worrying.”

 

“You did well.”

 

“Don’t mention it.”

 

Damn… Do you have no concept of social interaction whatsoever?

 

Cha Si-eon not only completely blocked unnecessary conversations but also employed speech patterns that neutralized all attempts at conversation.

 

Even if I asked that bastard about the 200 million, I doubt I’d get an answer.

 

I was curious about the large reward money I received, but I was holding back my questions because of Heo Gu-yeong.

 

Chief Heo Gu-yeong, who had beaten his own mouth asking me not to let the Field Team people know that he had inflated the amount.

 

Right, I met Chief Heo yesterday, so let me just endure exactly two more days.

 

Then on the third day, let me try saying ‘The reward money I received seems different from the Management Bureau regulations?’ Yeah.

 

I decided to wait for the right time.

 

And this plan of mine would be quietly crushed by another major event and fall through.

 

* * *

 

“Your contamination level is normal.”

 

Kim Woo-in said while flipping through the chart.

 

Just as I was relieved by the good news, Kim Woo-in took out the candy he was sucking on and became serious.

 

“What are you relieved about? Weren’t you hanging around there because you wanted to get contaminated?”

 

“Of course not…”

 

“I was absolutely sure that’s what it was. You were eating snacks and making yourself at home like it was your own house.”

 

“Hahaha…”

 

Kim Woo-in looked at me with eyes that said ‘How can you laugh?’

 

That was right.

 

My attending physician was quite displeased that I had stayed in the Special Zone for as long as 6 days.

 

“The regulations say up to 9 days is okay, so I was planning to come out within that time.”

 

I explained while reading the room.

 

I should have just stayed quiet.

 

Murderous intent formed in Kim Woo-in’s eyes.

 

“What are you talking about, which regulation says up to 9 days is okay? It says absolutely don’t exceed 9 days. If the lethal dose of poison is 100ml, are you going to say it’s okay because you drank 90ml? Do you think this is a game where you just cleanly move to the next round as long as you finish 1 or 2 seconds before the time limit?”

 

“That’s not it, but I heard there are cases where people weren’t contaminated even after staying for over a year…”

 

“Those are cases, exceptional cases that were recorded because they were unusual! No, if there are people who were fine for up to a year, why would the regulation be less than 9 days? It means individual differences are that severe. But they still needed a standard so they made a regulation by forcing a compromise, so why do you gamble with your own body believing in that!”

 

“I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful from now on.”

 

In the end, I was crushed without even breaking even.

 

“I’m not saying you did wrong, but rescue is good and all, but take care of your own safety first. Do you know how terrifying contamination is… sigh.”

 

Kim Woo-in sighed and bit into another candy.

 

For some reason, I was reminded of Jae-gyeom sighing at dawn.

 

After pouring out a round of nagging, Kim Woo-in softened a bit and continued speaking.

 

“Anyway, Do-un’s stay time in the Special Zone this time was 120 hours and 12 minutes. According to Management Bureau regulations, after entering and leaving a Special Zone, you must rest outside for three times the stay duration.”

 

This was also a Management Bureau regulation for contamination prevention.

 

If you wandered around a Special Zone for 6 hours, you had to rest outside for at least 18 hours.

 

Since this regulation wasn’t created for no reason, I should follow it properly without being stubborn.

 

Three times 120 hours and 12 minutes would be 360 hours and 36 minutes.

 

In other words, 15 days and 36 minutes.

 

Since it had already been a week since I left the National Theater, I just needed to be careful for about 8 more days.

 

Of course, in my case it was force majeure…

 

“But it’s not like Do-un can avoid being dragged there just by restraining himself.”

 

Kim Woo-in seemed bothered by this fact too, irritably rubbing his brow.

 

“Acting Director Oh said Do-un’s full recovery date and Special Zone entry date overlap. Would you rather get hurt a bit?”

 

“Are you serious?”

 

“It’s a joke.”

 

Kim Woo-in spat out curtly while biting down on an innocent candy.

 

Watching the lollipop crumble mercilessly, I let out a dry laugh.

 

He was originally prickly, but today he was more like sandpaper than usual.

 

Of course, he wasn’t acting this way without reason.

 

“You heard that next week is Intensive Suppression Week, right?”

 

“Yes, I heard.”

 

“I heard Response Team 3 is being deployed for operations too, so who’s going to watch Do-un during that time?”

 

This was the reason my attending physician was on edge.

 

Next week, a major Management Bureau event called Intensive Suppression Week was scheduled.

 

The main players in this event that came around every few months were the Response Teams and Exploration Teams.

 

Response Team 3, which supported me, was no exception, so there would inevitably be gaps in my protection system.

 

Kim Woo-in seemed worried about this situation overlapping.

 

So I said this to reassure him.

 

“I’m scheduled to receive support from the Field Control Department’s Command Division during that period.”

 

Within the Field Control Department, there was another higher department that managed and supervised the Response Teams, Exploration Teams, and others.

 

The Command Division that Section Chief Kwon Mu-seop belonged to.

 

In other words, since higher-ups than before would be looking after me, I thought it wasn’t bad for me.

 

But why was it that…

 

“The Command Division, you mean Section Chief Kwon Mu-seop?”

 

“Yes.”

 

At my affirmation, Kim Woo-in made the sourest expression he could muster.

 

It was an expression that could thoroughly undermine my trust in the Command Division, or Section Chief Kwon Mu-seop.

 

* * *

 

Intensive Suppression Week.

 

To understand this, you first need to know the cycles of Special Zones.

 

Special Zones have cycles.

 

Stage 0: Genesis Phase.

 

The stage where a completely destroyed Special Zone is recreated.

 

During this stage, you cannot approach the Special Zone.

 

Stage 1: Active Phase.

 

The stage where a fully formed Special Zone actively draws in humans.

 

All the Special Zones I was dragged into were in their active phase.

 

Stage 2: Reorganization Phase.

 

The stage where a Special Zone temporarily stops for growth.

 

During this time, the Special Zone doesn’t draw in humans, but it’s possible to enter through entrances secured by the Management Bureau.

 

Stage 3: Awakening Phase.

 

The stage where a Special Zone that successfully grew starts activity again.

 

An awakened Special Zone operates more actively than before and sucks in humans.

 

In other words, Special Zones grow.

 

And the Management Bureau periodically destroys Special Zones to prevent their growth.

 

This makes recovery more urgent than growth, causing the Special Zone’s awakening itself to fail.

 

To summarize, it’s a kind of pruning.

 

The important thing was that this pruning wasn’t done on random days, but was conducted in sync with the Special Zone’s reorganization phase.

 

Special Zones in the reorganization phase stop their activity like caterpillars entering cocoons.

 

This is the optimal time to destroy Special Zones, but the problem was that this stage typically lasted only 4 days.

 

So when this time comes, the Management Bureau runs around like crazy and unleashes firepower.

 

This was Intensive Suppression Week.

 

It was an indispensably important regular event for Special Zone management.

 

—

 

■ [72nd Intensive Suppression Week] Mission Assignment Table

 

Group 1

 

Composition: Response Team 2, Response Team 3, Response Team 4

 

Personnel: 30 people

 

Mission: Initialization of The Bleeding Island

 

Group 2

 

Composition: Response Team 5, Exploration Team 1, Exploration Team 5, Exploration Team 7

 

Personnel: 29 people

 

Mission: Growth prevention and follow-up exploration of The Church that Extracts Revelations, The Abandoned Factory that Captures Movement

 

Group 3

 

Composition: Response Team 6, Exploration Team 2, Exploration Team 4

 

Personnel: 24 people

 

Mission: Growth prevention and follow-up exploration of The Amusement Park that Seeks Angels, The Water Park Connected to All Water

 

Group 4

 

Composition: Response Team 7, Exploration Team 8

 

Personnel: 17 people

 

Mission: Growth prevention and follow-up exploration of The Funeral Home Where the Dead Visit, The Meditation Center Where Bodies Change

 

Group 5

 

Composition: Response Team 8, Exploration Team 9

 

Personnel: 9 people

 

Mission: Deep exploration of The Forest of Fruit Trees Where Memories Fade

 

Group 6

 

Composition: Response Team 1, Exploration Team 3, Exploration Team 6

 

Personnel: 26 people

 

Mission: Situation control room standby and field support

 

—

 

First day of Intensive Suppression Week.

 

“With that, I hope everyone returns safely. Well then, good luck.”

 

In front of 135 agents in formation, Section Chief Kwon Mu-seop spoke in a solemn voice.

 

The agents silently saluted and then boarded the official vehicles.

 

Shortly after, the space where everyone had left became quiet.

 

It felt like the calm before the storm.

 

As I was contemplating the lingering atmosphere of that place, Section Chief Kwon Mu-seop came down from the platform.

 

“Do-un, this is your first suppression week, right?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“It might be a bit chaotic, but nothing major will happen. It’s just the usual work.”

 

Section Chief Kwon Mu-seop smiled warmly as if trying to reassure me.

 

“I’ll take good care of your safety too, so don’t worry.”

 

Section Chief Kwon Mu-seop spoke in a friendly manner and extended his hand.

 

Thinking he wanted to shake hands, I naturally extended my hand as well.

 

But instead of shaking hands, Kwon Mu-seop put something around my wrist.

 

Click-!

 

What is this…?

 

“Well then, let’s get along well for the week, Do-un.”

 

I slowly looked at Kwon Mu-seop in shock.

 

Surprisingly, Section Chief Kwon Mu-seop had connected our wrists with a cord, just like Kwak Jae-gyeom had done before.

—————
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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