Editor’s Survival Guide - Chapter 66

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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 66

 

ep12. It Was a Disappearance (1)

 

-It seems like… the Special Zone has stopped operating.

 

Stopped operating?

 

It was an expression I’d never heard before.

 

Kwon Mu-seop seemed equally confused, standing there dazed for a moment.

 

Then he spoke as if squeezing out his voice.

 

“As of this moment, I designate the entire area of ‘Ant Hill’ as a Grade 8 isolation zone. Team 6 will withdraw support from ‘Time Reversal Meditation Center’ and be deployed to ‘Ant Hill’.”

 

-Yes, I’ll move them immediately.

 

As Yun U-jeong quickly responded, Kwon Mu-seop straightened his body that had been bent toward my smartwatch.

 

Then he gripped my shoulders firmly with both hands.

 

“Well done. Thank you so much.”

 

Kwon Mu-seop was always generous with praise.

 

Even so, his words now carried a different weight than usual.

 

Kwon Mu-seop’s eyes looking at me were fluctuating wildly as if he had gained the entire world.

 

I didn’t fully grasp the situation, but I nodded at his earnestness for now.

 

“Manager, what should we do with this core now…”

 

Just then, Kwon Mu-seop released my shoulders and turned around swiftly.

 

I also shone the searchlight in the direction Kwon Mu-seop was being wary of.

 

Damn it…

 

I ground my teeth with a feeling of utter disgust.

 

Alpha was watching us from the end of the corridor.

 

The distance was about 30 meters.

 

If it charged at full speed, it would reach us in seconds.

 

I stepped back with physiological revulsion.

 

I couldn’t see where the pistol had gone.

 

Manager Kwon Mu-seop still had his rifle slung over his shoulder, but it was practically useless.

 

The magazine was missing from that gun after all.

 

The only weapon we had was Kwon Mu-seop’s knife, so what should we do?

 

If that thing charges at us again…

 

Thud-!

 

Kwon Mu-seop took a step forward.

 

As if intending to face Alpha, he stood directly opposite the creature.

 

A suffocating silence flowed.

 

At the end of the soundless standoff, Alpha slowly retreated.

 

Retreated.

 

And just like that, it disappeared into the darkness.

 

* * *

 

Do you know the joy of sleeping in?

 

Enduring until your brain is overloaded, then falling asleep like fainting while leaving all worries behind.

 

It’s a forbidden pleasure that’s much better not to know if you think about lifespan.

 

Ah, I really slept well.

 

The place where I woke up after sleeping deeply was the Management Bureau Medical Center.

 

That’s right. I was in the hospital’s care again.

 

There wasn’t anywhere I was seriously injured.

 

However, they decided to observe me for half a day because I had been covered in Ant mucus and had directly touched the core.

 

It was when I was having my first meal as breakfast-lunch and enjoying the drowsiness.

 

Knock knock.

 

With a light knock, someone came to visit.

 

“Hello, Otter.”

 

It was Baek Sa-ra.

 

“The Deputy Manager told me to come and update you on the progress.”

 

Cha Si-eon and Kwak Jae-gyeom were still on duty at The Bleeding Island.

 

On the other hand, Baek Sa-ra had been excluded from this Concentration Suppression Period mission due to injuries sustained at the National Theater.

 

So it seemed she had come for the post-mission interview instead.

 

“You really went through a lot. I’m glad you weren’t seriously hurt.”

 

“It’s thanks to Manager Kwon Mu-seop. How is the manager doing?”

 

“He had stab wounds on both arms and legs, so he had surgery. He got stitched up in eight places, but he looks fine.”

 

He could look fine after being stabbed eight times and having surgery?

 

Was this the bravery of Baek Sa-ra or Kwon Mu-seop?

 

It was a stupid question. It would be both, right.

 

“This time, Otter, you really made something big happen.”

 

Something big?

 

I looked at Baek Sa-ra without understanding what she meant.

 

Baek Sa-ra was smiling with somehow overwhelming eyes.

 

“A Special Zone stopping its operation is the first time since observations began. We’ll have to watch more to know if it’s definitely stopped, but still.”

 

That’s right.

 

Baek Sa-ra was also excited about this unprecedented situation, just like Kwon Mu-seop.

 

“Securing a Special Zone core is also a first. So as soon as the suppression period ends, people from the Research Department will enter Ant Hill to investigate.”

 

“I see.”

 

Ant Hill is currently under isolation surveillance with Team 6 deployed.

 

The core I secured was placed back in its original location.

 

They considered separating it from the space, but decided to leave it there for now in case it disappeared if they rashly brought it out.

 

“The Research Department seems more interested in the core we secured this time than in the Special Zone stopping. They’re apparently sending text bombs to the Deputy Manager asking to let them enter Ant Hill immediately.”

 

Baek Sa-ra said with laughter in her voice.

 

Special Zone cores immediately evaporate when artificial contact occurs.

 

Researchers regarded this phenomenon as a kind of self-destruction.

 

Even people, when cornered after doing bad things, first destroy their phones or computers to eliminate evidence.

 

The Management Bureau had suspected that Special Zones also concealed information in that way.

 

But that core had been secured intact.

 

If you were a researcher, you’d be dying to tear it apart and examine it quickly.

 

…I shouldn’t mention that I smashed that core against the wall.

 

Since it turned out fine in the end, I don’t need to say anything, right?

 

I felt guilty about my attempted act, then also recalled the thing I had successfully destroyed.

 

“Oh, the ring you gave me broke.”

 

“I heard. I’m really glad I gave that ring to you, Otter.”

 

Baek Sa-ra smiled even brighter.

 

“They say it’s not certain yet whether this situation is because of you, Otter, or because of that ring. But the ring having some effect is the most likely assumption for now.”

 

“It must be because of the ring, right?”

 

When I grabbed the core, I had two rings on my hand.

 

Of those, the silver ring remained intact and only the black ring broke and disappeared.

 

Even though the black ring was made of much harder material than the silver ring.

 

“Anyway, now that the phenomenon has been confirmed, we should be able to clarify the exact conditions going forward.”

 

“But you’d need that ring for that.”

 

“That’s why Team 1 got an additional mission. That ring is a fragment of Big Cat, the dangerous entity from The Bleeding Island.”

 

“Really?”

 

I had only heard it was ‘part of a Named Dangerous Entity’s body’ so I had no idea.

 

Big Cat – that’s what Team 1 is dealing with right now, isn’t it?

 

“Yes. They went in during the all-out war two years ago and tore it off. So this time they also conveyed it to Team 1. To secure a part of Big Cat.”

 

That worked out well.

 

With that, if we make a few more black rings, we’ll be able to try various experiments.

 

I nodded and added.

 

“It would be good to confirm whether it only works with the Big Cat’s body parts, or if the same effect occurs with parts from other dangerous entities.”

 

“Right. But I think the Big Cat might be special. The other Type 1 entities only fear pieces of the Big Cat, and sometimes that entity gives the impression of commanding other entities.”

 

“Commanding?”

 

“Yes. The mercenary entities particularly gather when The Bleeding Island is under attack, and there have been observations of those entities sacrificing themselves for the Big Cat.”

 

Then the Big Cat might really be special.

 

For instance, like the leader of the Type 1 Special Zone.

 

“So everyone’s excited because of you, Otter. The suppression period isn’t even over yet, but they say they’ll make an official announcement once all the agents dispatched to the field return.”

 

Baek Sa-ra, who was saying this, was also more excited than usual.

 

She was usually so calm that she sometimes felt like an older sister, but smiling so brightly without calculation made her look youthful for her age.

 

Seeing that brilliant smile, I gradually began to realize.

 

The reason heat gathered in Kwon Mu-seop’s eyes.

 

The reason Yun U-jeong’s voice trembled.

 

Until now, Special Zones were a maze where they had to endlessly repeat this cycle.

 

Leave them alone, destroy them, or re-explore the ones that regenerated from the beginning.

 

But this time, the option to ‘end it’ appeared.

 

A new phase had opened for the Management Bureau, which had been withering in the tiresome stalemate.

 

“I wondered if there would ever be an end, but it feels like a miracle happened.”

 

Baek Sa-ra whispered softly.

 

So I looked away for a moment.

 

Wondering if this was really a miracle.

 

Because of my suspicion that it was closer to someone’s intention, or design.

 

These doubts rose to my throat, but I held back my words because I didn’t want to disturb Baek Sa-ra’s joy.

 

Then I belatedly thought of something to agree with.

 

“It did work out miraculously well. Especially at the end, it would have been dangerous if Alpha hadn’t retreated.”

 

Honestly, it’s puzzling.

 

Why did Alpha just turn around at the end?

 

It could have killed us and recovered the core.

 

But Baek Sa-ra tilted her head and asked back.

 

“Which side?”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“Which side are you saying was in danger?”

 

“Obviously Manager Kwon and I.”

 

At my answer, Baek Sa-ra burst into light laughter.

 

“No, Otter. In that situation, it was Alpha who was in danger. Alpha didn’t just retreat then, it fled to save its own life.”

 

This time I was bewildered.

 

That Alpha fled?

 

At that time, we had no weapons and were exhausted and ragged.

 

There would be no reason for that monster to flee.

 

When I was skeptical, Baek Sa-ra said playfully.

 

“I think you’re underestimating too much?”

 

“Ah, of course I know Manager Kwon is amazing. But he was already badly injured then…”

 

“No, I mean you, Otter.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“It was you who subdued Alpha when the manager couldn’t see, wasn’t it?”

 

That was true.

 

“But I had a gun then. I’m not confident I could win fighting barehanded.”

 

“Of course. Who could win one-on-one against that?”

 

Baek Sa-ra, who already had experience, shook her head vigorously.

 

“But this time the manager was there too. If those two fought, what would you have done, Otter?”

 

“If the manager took the front, I think I would have aimed for the lower body from the side.”

 

“Right, that’s it.”

 

Ah, this is how scary rote learning is.

 

Baek Sa-ra nodded as if my reflexive answer made her teaching worthwhile.

 

Come to think of it, that’s right.

 

We were the ones with the advantage then.

 

But I hadn’t thought of it until Baek Sa-ra pointed it out.

 

When I was belatedly impressed, Baek Sa-ra chuckled and said.

 

“Other employees do get scared just hearing about Alpha. It’s an entity that mimics Team Leader Cha of all people. Actually, I feel like they’re more afraid because of the original.”

 

“That makes sense. The original is so vicious.”

 

Come to think of it, Delta, a similar Fake Human, didn’t give this level of pressure.

 

Same with other dangerous entities like Moving Gun or Ant.

 

Alpha hasn’t even directly attacked me yet.

 

I just watched from the side when Baek Sa-ra and Kwon Mu-seop were attacked by Alpha.

 

Yet the reason I feel such intimidation is probably largely due to the influence of the original, Cha Si-eon.

 

“Right. That’s why it’s scarier. Team Leader Cha’s presence is no joke.”

 

I nodded, acknowledging Baek Sa-ra’s words.

 

But Baek Sa-ra smiled mysteriously and added.

 

“That’s true, but I think at least you don’t need to fear Team Leader Cha or Alpha, Otter.”

 

“Me?”

 

“Yes. Team Leader Cha is particularly prickly toward you, isn’t he?”

 

“…Wasn’t that just my imagination?”

 

“No. Have you seen Team Leader Cha nitpick others’ words and start arguments?”

 

I haven’t.

 

I don’t think I’ve seen him open his mouth at all except when giving instructions.

 

“That’s Team Leader Cha keeping you in check, Otter.”

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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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