Editor’s Survival Guide - Chapter 57

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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 57

 

ep11. Stealing the Five Senses (2)

 

I looked at Kwon Mu-seop with eyes experiencing a pupil earthquake.

 

“It might be a bit uncomfortable, but safety comes first.”

 

Kwon Mu-seop responded cheerfully to my silent outcry.

 

“Safety…?”

 

“We don’t have personnel to respond immediately if you get dragged away this week. So I thought it would be better to go together.”

 

It was true.

 

Section Chief Kwon Mu-seop was really trying to recreate the belongings experiment that Jae-gyeom and I had done.

 

We decided not to do this after that major accident.

 

Besides, is it right for a section chief to step forward personally?

 

“But why does it have to be you, Section Chief…?”

 

“There’s no spare personnel. The kids are all busy.”

 

“Still, wouldn’t it be a big problem if something happens to you, Section Chief?”

 

“Haha, it would be a big problem if anything happens to anyone.”

 

Kwon Mu-seop smiled brightly at my concern.

 

Right. All lives are precious.

 

But would the absence of the Field Control Department chief be the same as the absence of a regular agent?

 

“Don’t worry too much, Do-un. I have pretty good instincts. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

 

The fact that his basis is instincts seems like a problem in itself.

 

I looked at Deputy Section Chief Yun U-jeong standing behind Kwon Mu-seop, hoping she would try to stop him.

 

Then Yun U-jeong smiled and reassured me.

 

“It’s okay, Do-un. If something happens to the Section Chief, we all get promoted one level.”

 

Section Chief, did you just hear that?

 

The Deputy Section Chief seems to be eyeing your position.

 

“Well then, let’s do our best for a week.”

 

Kwon Mu-seop, taking my silence as acceptance, patted my shoulder.

 

So I came to understand Kim Woo-in’s sour expression, even if just a little.

 

* * *

 

Naturally, carrying Kwon Mu-seop was much more difficult than carrying Kwak Jae-gyeom.

 

Kwon Mu-seop is a superior 10 years older than me.

 

Kwak Jae-gyeom is a roommate 5 years younger than me.

 

Even setting aside these characteristics, it was the same.

 

Section Chief Kwon Mu-seop’s daily routine itself was much more complex than Jae-gyeom’s.

 

Plus, the timing was chaotic too.

 

“Team 2, standing by at 「The Church that Extracts Revelations」 entry point.”

 

“Team 3, arrived at 「The Amusement Park that Seeks Angels」 entry point.”

 

“Team 1, ready to enter 「The Bleeding Island」.”

 

Situation reports coming from here and there.

 

Split screens displayed on the large front screen.

 

And clearly visible from the command seat, about a hundred Control Team agents and the monitoring booths surrounding them.

 

This was the Situation Control Room of the Management Bureau.

 

In a space that could fit two movie theaters, communications, reports, and real-time footage moved rapidly.

 

It was an overwhelming sight.

 

So this is where they monitor the internal situations of the Special Zones.

 

…Then was my appearance also broadcast extensively on that giant screen?

 

Cold sweat broke out just from imagining it, so I turned my eyes away from the main screen.

 

Naturally, my gaze reached the Control Team monitoring booths, where I made eye contact with a man there.

 

A familiar face.

 

The fox-faced Control Team agent who had picked a fight with me at the training ground for no reason and got thoroughly beaten by Baek Sa-ra.

 

His name was, what was it, Yeon Ga-ram?

 

Yeon Ga-ram was glaring at me with blazing eyes for some reason.

 

Yet when our eyes actually met, he startled and turned his head away.

 

Still an odd person.

 

“Section Chief, everyone is ready to enter.”

 

“Team 4 enter, Team 2 standby.”

 

At Kwon Mu-seop’s command, Team 4 agents who had been waiting in what looked like a hangar entered the tunnel ahead.

 

The heavily equipped Response Team led the way, followed by the relatively lightly dressed Exploration Team.

 

They ran through that tunnel for about 10 minutes.

 

The other end of the tunnel gradually brightened, and a new space appeared.

 

They had arrived at 「The Funeral Home Where the Dead Visit」.

 

“Team 2 enter, Team 3 standby.”

 

When Team 4 arrived safely, Kwon Mu-seop gave another command.

 

This continued several times.

 

“Team 1 enter.”

 

Finally, Team 1, which included Response Team 3, also entered their operation site, 「The Bleeding Island」.

 

The initialization of 「The Bleeding Island」 assigned to Team 1 was the main mission of this intensive suppression week.

 

「The Bleeding Island」 was one of the few outdoor-type Special Zones where an entire island had been replicated.

 

And the original was a very small island that took only 20 minutes to walk around.

 

However, 「The Bleeding Island」 had already succeeded in growing once, so the space had expanded several times over.

 

Moreover, as the space became distorted, existing exploration data became meaningless, and its power to devour humans grew stronger.

 

The fact that 16% of this year’s first quarter casualties occurred here says it all.

 

Eventually, this Special Zone received an out-of-grade rating in the last risk assessment and was decided for initialization.

 

“Team 1, successful entry into 「The Bleeding Island」. No anomalies.”

 

With the report from Team 1’s monitoring supervisor, the island’s scenery spread across the screen.

 

It was the view of 「The Bleeding Island」 captured by Team 1 agent’s body cam.

 

At first glance, it looked like a well-maintained park.

 

Where green grass and artistic architecture harmonized.

 

But looking more carefully, you could discover impossible distortions.

 

That space was distorted and expanded to its limits, with terrain and buildings extending infinitely in all directions.

 

Team 1 had to find and destroy the Special Zone’s ‘core’ in that vast space.

 

The platoon-sized Team 1 slowly entered the interior of 「The Bleeding Island」.

 

Their steps carried a weight similar to, no, identical to heading to a battlefield.

 

* * *

 

Pam pa-ba-bam pam-!

 

With the now-familiar music, the Mumoo Agent, the Management Bureau’s mascot, appeared on screen.

 

-Hello, prospective agents of the Special Management Bureau! I’m the Mumoo Agent in charge of your basic education.

 

-Today we’re going to learn about Special Zone cores!

 

The Mumoo Agent winked while blinking its black dot eyes.

 

The educational character was unnecessarily seductive.

 

-A core is the heart of a Special Zone.

 

-Every Special Zone has one core, and when this core is destroyed, the Special Zone stops functioning and collapses.

 

-But destroyed cores recover over time. So permanently eliminating Special Zones is currently impossible.

 

The Mumoo Agent looked sad.

 

Next to it, several low-quality photos appeared.

 

They were photos of pitch-black spheres buried in smoke, flames, or complex materials.

 

-This is what we’ve observed cores to look like.

 

-These cores are hidden in the deepest spaces of Special Zones or inside specific entities.

 

Mumoo suddenly put on a white coat and smartly raised its eyebrows.

 

A black sphere floated up beside it.

 

-The Management Bureau is attempting to investigate the cores of Special Zones, but there are still many difficulties.

 

-The biggest problem is that we can’t secure the cores. The cores disappear immediately when artificial contact occurs.

 

Next to the dejected Mumoo, the black sphere melted away and disappeared.

 

-So right now, we only find and destroy cores when initializing Special Zones.

 

-Of course, this isn’t easy either. Special Zones have a tendency to desperately protect their cores.

 

-So when destroying cores, it’s advantageous to target reorganization periods!

 

Mumoo, who had given up on research, slung a rifle across her torso instead of wearing a white coat.

 

Mumoo was shooting bang-bang at new cores with it.

 

-But you mustn’t let your guard down during reorganization periods!

 

-If the core is threatened, the Special Zone will withdraw all activities and focus on protecting the core.

 

-So when destroying cores, be careful and swift! Let’s value everyone’s lives!

 

Mumoo Agent winked again.

 

I was being confused by this snake character’s seductiveness when it happened.

 

Knock knock.

 

“Come in.”

 

Manager Kwon Mu-seop responded to the sudden knocking sound.

 

The door opened and Deputy Manager Yun U-jeong appeared.

 

“Is Do-un doing well?”

 

I quickly removed my earphones and answered.

 

“Ah, yes. I’m doing well.”

 

“Oh my, look at him standing at attention next to the manager. Poor thing.”

 

“Haha…”

 

“And Manager, oh dear… this reminds me of the old days and makes me feel troubled.”

 

Yun U-jeong sighed while looking back and forth between me and Kwon Mu-seop.

 

I could guess why she was acting like that, so I glanced toward Kwon Mu-seop.

 

This was the Manager’s Office of Field Operations.

 

Manager Kwon Mu-seop was handling work with his back straight like a monk.

 

I was also solemnly watching the educational video to match that atmosphere.

 

Manager Kwon Mu-seop was even wearing full combat gear right now.

 

Sitting at his desk with a gun strapped on was quite a disturbing sight.

 

But Kwon Mu-seop asked me as if he hadn’t thought about it at all.

 

“Do-un, are you uncomfortable by any chance?”

 

“Asking like that is what’s uncomfortable, Manager.”

 

Before I could answer, Yun U-jeong clicked her tongue.

 

“Suffering outside and suffering inside too, Do-un has it rough… Do-un, if the manager talks in his sleep at night, you can stuff tissue in his mouth.”

 

Yun U-jeong grinned and whispered to me.

 

Kwon Mu-seop, who heard that, chuckled.

 

“Tissue seems a bit dangerous though.”

 

“If it’s dangerous enough, he should wake up. And what are you worried about when I’m here?”

 

Kwon Mu-seop worrying about safety accidents.

 

Yun U-jeong eyeing opportunities for promotion.

 

Even though a subordinate was being cheeky like that, Kwon Mu-seop just smiled and asked back.

 

“Deputy Manager, aren’t you busy?”

 

“I’m busy, I was in the control room until now and just came out.”

 

Yun U-jeong answered listlessly while searching her pockets.

 

Jingle-

 

“Your ID tag and ring, Manager.”

 

“You brought this personally?”

 

“Killing two birds with one stone, visiting Do-un too.”

 

What Yun U-jeong handed to Kwon Mu-seop was a Management Bureau ID tag that looked like dog tags.

 

And a silver ring attached to it like an option.

 

“Well then, take it easy, and don’t make Do-un stand at attention too much.”

 

Yun U-jeong just handed over the ID tag and quickly left again.

 

Manager Kwon Mu-seop hung it around his neck, then asked me to confirm.

 

“Do-un, you have a silver ring too, right?”

 

“Yes, I’m wearing it.”

 

I raised my hand with the ring to show Kwon Mu-seop.

 

Two rings were fitted on my left hand.

 

One was the black ring Baek Sa-ra gave me.

 

The other was the silver ring issued by the Management Bureau.

 

Since it was uncomfortable for the rings to bump into each other, I put them on one finger, making the black and white contrast stark.

 

“Good, you never know when you’ll need it, so it’s good to keep it with you.”

 

The silver ring is an item that works mysteriously in Special Zones.

 

So it’s one of the essential items for Field Team agents, and seeing Manager Kwon Mu-seop prepare both the ID tag and silver ring gave me a newly solemn feeling.

 

“It was hard following me around all day, wasn’t it?”

 

“No, it wasn’t.”

 

Actually, it was hard.

 

“It was busy with this and that since it’s your first day, but it’ll be better from tomorrow.”

 

Kwon Mu-seop smiled apologetically as if understanding my hardship.

 

And to my eyes, that looked like the smile of a holy saint.

 

Well, that makes sense, since someone who’s a manager is operating an emergency system alone to save me.

 

Deputy Manager Yun U-jeong mocked this sight as disturbing, but I found that seriousness rather amazing and grateful.

 

Respect for Kwon Mu-seop was growing fresh within me when it happened.

 

Kwon Mu-seop suddenly called me seriously.

 

“But Do-un.”

 

“Yes, Manager.”

 

“What happened with your girlfriend?”

 

“…”

 

I’m really sorry, but on one hand, I could understand.

 

Why people look down on the manager like this too.

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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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