Editor’s Survival Guide - Chapter 71

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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 71

ep13. Blood Rain (3)

“Team Leader Cha…!”

I shouted with my throat pressed against Cha Si-eon’s forearm.

“It’s me, Seo Do-un!”

But Cha Si-eon didn’t back down.

Though he didn’t attack further either.

Cha Si-eon was pinning me down just enough that I wouldn’t die, looking down at me.

He saw my face and got fixated on it…!

I felt frustrated at Cha Si-eon’s unmoved expression and protested again.

“It’s really me, I was just dragged here…!”

But Cha Si-eon ignored my words and grabbed my left arm.

Then he spoke into my smartwatch.

“Operations room, can you hear me? Operations room.”

There was no response.

My smartwatch seemed to have stopped working after entering here.

It appeared to be the influence of this Special Zone.

Cha Si-eon’s gaze toward me became even sharper.

Damn, does he think I’m some kind of mimic like the “Fake Humans”?

“Team Leader Cha, I’ve never even been here before! How would this Special Zone know me well enough to make a fake!?”

“You were dragged here before.”

At Cha Si-eon’s assertion, I belatedly remembered.

When I escaped from the “Zombie Sports Stadium.”

Though I don’t remember it, they said I was dragged to several other Special Zones.

Among them was this place, “The Bleeding Island.”

“No, that was only for a few seconds…!”

“Or it could be reflecting my memories.”

“Even so, among the people you know, *cough*, why would it be me of all people?”

“Because you’re the only one who wouldn’t seem strange appearing like this.”

You bastard, if you know that…!

I couldn’t endure the choking and tapped his forearm.

I was afraid he’d completely snap my neck if I clawed at him desperately, so I deliberately tapped, and the pressure lessened slightly.

Finally able to breathe, I gasped for air while checking Cha Si-eon’s face.

His helmet was nowhere to be seen, his hair was disheveled, and his face was dirty with blood and sweat.

His expression seemed calm, but his eyes were bloodshot red.

This might really be dangerous.

Cha Si-eon had been conducting operations here for four days and had been isolated for three days.

He must have scraped together every bit of physical and mental strength to survive.

It was hard to expect composure or patience from such a person.

What should I do about this?

I have no choice, let me just go for it.

“Team Leader Cha, please calm down and listen to me. I’ll prove that I’m not a fake generated here.”

“How?”

“If I were created based on your memories or thoughts, I wouldn’t be able to say things you don’t know.”

“If it’s something I don’t know, there’s no way to prove it either.”

“I know that you’re dating Kwak Jae-gyeom.”

“…What kind of bullshit is that?”

“Yes, it was bullshit. So is this bullshit something you could come up with yourself?”

“…”

“If I were a fake created based on your imagination, my words and actions should be within the scope of your ideas. Then the bullshit I just said would also be your thoughts. Do you normally think about dating Kwak Jae-gyeom?”

Go ahead and tell me!

“…You are indeed Seo Do-un.”

Cha Si-eon muttered quietly and got up.

Finally released, I jumped up and let out a dry cough.

Damn, I thought my neck was going to break…

While I was catching my breath, Cha Si-eon pointed to the snacks scattered on the floor and asked.

“What’s all this?”

“Ha Yu-ju asked me to deliver these to Jae-gyeom…”

I answered through gritted teeth, annoyed.

Regardless of my mood, Cha Si-eon scanned the snacks fallen on the floor.

Then he tore open an ion drink and gulped it down.

When was it that he was suspecting me like he wanted to kill me…

After finishing the drink in one go, Cha Si-eon picked up an energy bar and asked me.

“How’s the situation at the Management Bureau?”

I’m sorry for acting violently.

I was a bit sensitive from being isolated alone.

This is a certain point on “The Bleeding Island.”

…Doesn’t he think to say those things first?

I was dumbfounded but just considered it typical Cha Si-eon behavior and relayed the outside situation.

Team 1’s mission failure and casualties.

How Apophysis went out to search but withdrew again.

And Kwak Jae-gyeom’s situation too.

Cha Si-eon silently consumed calories while listening to me.

Seeing his nonchalant appearance, I asked.

“How have you been doing, Team Leader? Have you been eating and sleeping properly?”

“I just ate, and I’ve slept as much as necessary.”

Cha Si-eon spoke stiffly as usual.

Saying he just ate means he’s been starving until now, but let’s set that aside.

Did he really sleep as much as necessary?

His eyes are bloodshot though?

While I was looking at him suspiciously, Cha Si-eon suddenly stood up.

“I assume you know where we are, so I’ll skip the explanation. Additionally, this Special Zone was reorganized dozens of hours ago, and most existing rules have been discarded. The only rule still in effect is that ‘blood rain’ falls at 2:30 AM. So don’t trust existing information and please follow my instructions.”

“Are we moving right now?”

At my surprised question, Cha Si-eon looked down at me as if it were obvious.

“There’s no time. We need to escape before the ‘blood rain’ falls.”

“Is there a guarantee we can get out by then? You said all the rules changed.”

“What’s your point?”

“Since we’re in this situation anyway, wouldn’t it be better to rest a bit first before moving? You look like you’ve barely slept.”

“If you’re worried about me, don’t be. We’re moving.”

Cha Si-eon turned around as if it wasn’t worth considering.

Wow, Jae-gyeom should see how energetic he looks.

I watched Cha Si-eon’s back for a moment before getting up sluggishly.

At the same time, the reality check I’d been postponing poured down on my head like a downpour.

Right, I did hope for Cha Si-eon’s survival.

But that didn’t mean I wanted to roll around in the mud with him…

—

Survival Rules for Missing Persons in “The Bleeding Island”

You are currently in “The Bleeding Island” managed by the Government of South Korea.

This is a dangerous situation where you could lose your life, so please familiarize yourself with the survival rules below and evacuate quickly.

※Warning! Prepare for “Blood Rain”!

Here, “blood rain” falls every day at 2:30 AM.

The “blood rain” falling from the sky is a powerful hazardous substance that dissolves everything except the existing terrain features of that area.

Once “blood rain” starts falling, it continues for 6 hours, with a precipitation rate of 15mm per hour.

Secure a safe indoor space before the “blood rain” begins.

Also, during the “blood rain,” the dangerous entity “Big Cat” becomes active.

Be careful not to encounter the “Big Cat”!

■ “The Bleeding Island” Escape Guidelines

“The Bleeding Island” is an island-type Special Zone divided into 10 sections.

The escape routes identified so far are as follows, so please refer to the content below and we hope you return safely.

-Next-

Route A. Escape through the bus stop

Route B. Escape through the “Triangle Plate” (deleted)

Route C. Escape through the “Dismembered Corpse” (deleted)

Route D. Escape through the “Lone Child” (deleted)

Route E. Escape through the “Drifting Bundle” (deleted)

Route F. Escape through the “Circulating Library”

※ This manual has been discarded since January 3, 20XX.

Do not refer to the above content.

—

The place where Cha Si-eon was located was a somewhat dim corridor.

Black and white photographs were densely attached to both side walls, and the lighting focused only on illuminating those photographs.

This didn’t seem like a simple corridor but rather a photo exhibition gallery.

If it’s a gallery, it would be Area D or E.

The prototype of this place, “The Bleeding Island,” is Nodeul Island spanning the middle of Han River Bridge.

That small island in reality was developed as a complex cultural space.

Walking paths around the island’s perimeter.

A moderately sized forest on the eastern side of the island.

On the western side of the island was a 3-story building that included an outdoor performance hall, book lounge, gallery, restaurant, and more.

And this diverse space became equally diverse traps when replicated as a Special Zone.

“Our destination is Area A.”

Cha Si-eon said while leading the way.

“We’ll escape from here through the bus stop in Area A.”

“What about Route F?”

“The route leading to the ‘Library’ is already blocked. It seems to be due to the effects of this reorganization.”

Very bad news.

The escape routes from this place, “The Island,” originally numbered 6, from A to F.

But around last fall, “The Island” successfully awakened, and as a result, 4 escape routes secured by the Management Bureau disappeared.

After that, only two escape routes remained: A and F.

But now with this reorganization, it seemed even Route F was blocked.

“Then will Route A be valid?”

“Didn’t you say yourself that Apophysis entered here and then withdrew?”

Right. That’s what happened.

Route A connects to a passage physically created by the Management Bureau.

The passage that Apophysis entered to search and then left was Route A in Area A.

If that’s the case, then that passage was definitely in a valid state.

So if we could just get to Area A, we should be able to escape from here.

The problem was how to get there.

—

“The Bleeding Island” is divided into 10 sections, and each section is as follows.

Area A. Square Lounge

Area B. Indoor Concert Hall

Area C. Citizens’ Bookshelf

Area D. Gallery Hall 1

Area E. Gallery Hall 2

Area F. Artist Office

Area G. Restaurant District

Area H. Outdoor Performance Hall

Area I. Amphibian Forest

Area J. Island Walking Path

—

“The Island” is divided into a total of 10 areas.

And naturally, these areas could be traveled between normally and freely.

However, when reorganization occurred at the end of last year, all these areas changed to become like ‘game stages.’

In other words, you had to break through a given stage to move on to the next stage.

The bigger problem was that when you cleared a stage, you automatically moved to the next stage, but this was completely random with no order or rules.

So if you cleared the stage-ified Area B, instead of Area C coming next, Area F might appear.

If you cleared Area F, Area B might appear again, and after clearing Area B again, Area H might come next.

In other words, we had to keep breaking through each area until Area A appeared.

Like a board game where you keep rolling dice to escape a deserted island.

Moreover, the rules of each area must have changed a lot due to the reorganization, so I wondered how it would be…

I followed behind Cha Si-eon while glancing at the photographs attached to the side.

All those countless photographs were black and white portraits.

“Don’t look at the photographs, just follow me while looking only at my back.”

With even my gaze controlled, I stared at the back of Cha Si-eon’s head and his back.

Then Cha Si-eon suddenly moved to the side.

Only after Cha Si-eon moved did I discover what had emerged from the photograph.

It looked human at first glance, but could never be called human.

Its face was split in half like a fruit, with the cross-section inside writhing.

The moment I confirmed those bright red muscles and blood vessels.

Swoosh- Slash-!

Cha Si-eon severed its neck with a knife.

Literally a decapitation.

Thud- Roll roll roll-!

“…”

I looked at the monster’s head that had fallen to the floor and just thought.

Perhaps after boarding the Kwon Mu-seop bus, I had now boarded the Cha Si-eon bus…?

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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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