Editor’s Survival Guide - Chapter 8

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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 8

Episode 8. ep2. Thought I Had Escaped (3)

Ba-ba-ba-bam bam-!

Familiar classical music played as the screen brightened.

Then a snake wearing a scarf suddenly popped out from the center of the screen.

Of course it wasn’t a real snake, but a cartoon character-like snake.

The snake opened and closed its mouth as it spoke.

-Hello, citizens! I’m Mumoo Agent, here to help you return home.

-First, I sincerely congratulate all of you watching this video on your survival!

The reptile that introduced itself as ‘Mumoo Agent’ hit its own body with its tail.

Clap clap clap-!

Wait, is that thing clapping?

I mean, if you’re going to make an animal mascot, at least use something with front paws like a tiger or bear.

A snake? Really?

Though it was absurd from the start, I quietly watched the video.

-The Special Management Zone where you briefly stayed is a space currently under research and safely controlled by the Government of South Korea!

-However, very rarely, accidents occur where ordinary citizens get swept in. We extend our deepest condolences to all of you caught up in such disasters.

Mumoo Agent bowed its head.

Then it spun around once to change the mood.

-Now, let me guide you through some precautions for your return to daily life!

Wait a minute.

So what exactly is the Special Management Zone?

Don’t tell me that’s the end of the explanation?

-First, all content regarding the Special Management Zone, hereafter referred to as the Special Zone, is classified as a state secret. So it’s best to quickly forget what you experienced here.

-If you share information about the Special Zone with others, you may be punished for leaking national security secrets!

-Also, you must not leave any traces in any form – writing, pictures, videos, codes, or any other method – on paper, electronic devices, communication media, etc. Even personally creating or possessing records about the Special Zone can result in punishment, so please be very careful!

-If problems arise, the compensation money we’ve provided will also be reclaimed. So let’s all be careful to avoid any unfortunate incidents!

This is blatant silencing…

You don’t need to know what the Special Zone is, just don’t tell anyone what you saw, don’t even write it in your diary. That’s what they’re saying, right?

And how would they know if I secretly wrote in my diary to punish me for it?

As if answering my question, Mumoo Agent added:

-To maintain confidentiality, monitoring will be conducted for a certain period after you return home.

-This is a measure for the safety of our society, so we ask for your cooperation and understanding.

The reptile, whether it was called Snake-snake or Mumoo, bowed its head again.

No, this isn’t right!

This is blatantly saying they’ll surveil us!

Is this something you can just gloss over by having an animal character bow and scrape?

Meanwhile, Mumoo Agent suddenly collapsed as if it had fallen ill.

-After returning home, you may experience PTSD symptoms.

-If you experience previously absent insomnia, auditory and visual hallucinations, panic, suicidal impulses that persist for more than 2 weeks, or phenomena such as physical transformation, encounters with strange creatures, or abnormal abilities, don’t seek treatment facilities but write ‘Mumoo Agent, please help me!’ in your personal phone’s memo app.

-Then Mumoo will hear your voice and be there for you!

This is getting worse and worse.

Now you’re going to peek into people’s phones too?

But before that, are those things it listed really normal PTSD symptoms?

What the hell is physical transformation? Encounters with strange creatures?

-Citizens, you’ve all worked so hard.

-Mumoo and the agents will do our best today as well to help you return to a safe daily life after overcoming this disaster!

Mumoo Agent saluted with its tail.

Ba-ba-ba-bam bam-!

The classical music from the beginning played again as Mumoo Agent disappeared into the darkness.

The screen turned off and the surroundings became bright with fluorescent lighting.

But I just sat there in a daze.

What did I just watch?

It was strange from the beginning and seemed especially bizarre at the end.

As I remained frozen, Topknot, who had been waiting beside me, held out a clipboard.

“This is a confidentiality agreement. Once you sign it, we’ll arrange for your return home.”

I looked back and forth between Topknot and the clipboard with a disgusted feeling.

The clipboard in front of me had several documents clipped to it.

Skimming through them, I saw they contained almost exactly what Mumoo Agent had just said.

I really didn’t want to, so I asked Topknot.

“Do I really have to do this?”

“You have to.”

“What if I don’t?”

“We’ll arrange accommodation for you until you sign.”

What a polite way to say they’ll lock me up.

I looked at the documents with distaste.

Then Topknot casually said:

“There’s also a compensation payment confirmation form on the back of the confidentiality agreement, so please sign that as well.”

…This bastard, trying to bribe people with money again.

I gritted my teeth at Topknot’s obvious scheme.

But my hand quickly signed the documents.

Yeah, what’s the point of struggling here. Let’s just go home quickly!

When I finished signing, Topknot collected the clipboard and said:

“Thank you for your cooperation. Please be assured that monitoring is conducted with care not to infringe on the rescued person’s privacy.”

“Yes, I’m sure you will.”

When I answered halfheartedly, Topknot handed me a water bottle.

Oh, I’ve been thirsty since earlier anyway.

I took the water bottle and drank it straight down.

As I quenched my thirst and put the bottle down, Topknot started babbling again.

“I’ve emphasized this several times, but please maintain confidentiality. Even if you spread information about the Special Zone, it will be immediately controlled by Monitoring Personnel. So it would be mutually beneficial not to make pointless attempts. We also don’t recommend opening phones under false names to evade monitoring. Whether it’s under a false name or a false false name, if it’s an electronic device used by Seo Do-un, it’s all included in our monitoring range. Finally, if you’ve committed any crimes in the past 6 months, we recommend turning yourself in before receiving contact from the police. We’ll overlook minor infractions once or twice, but if serious criminal behavior is confirmed, we’ll also take legal action according to guidelines.”

What are you saying to an innocent citizen?

The words “get lost” rose to my throat.

But wait, what’s this?

I felt my eyelids gradually drooping.

My body became heavy like waterlogged cotton, and my head felt foggy.

What, why am I suddenly so sleepy…?

I looked at Topknot in a state where I felt like I might collapse at any moment.

But the man looking down at me had an utterly indifferent expression.

You’d think someone would be startled if a person suddenly started swaying…

Wait, hey. You didn’t…?

I looked back at the water bottle I had drunk, struck by a suspicion.

There was an empty water bottle on the desk, but no cap.

The cap was already open when Topknot handed it to me.

The circumstantial evidence was sufficient, but I still wanted to trust people and asked:

“Surely not…?”

“It’s a safe medication. Rest assured and sleep.”

“Hey, you…!”

The guy who was talking about crimes drugged someone’s water!

I wanted to condemn him thoroughly.

But no voice came out.

I simply lost consciousness and fell into a comfortable dream.

* * *

The ceiling.

A very familiar ceiling….

Having just woken up, I looked at the ceiling with drowsy eyes.

Then I startled and bolted upright.

“Huff!”

Where is this?

My room?

Unexpectedly, I was lying in my room, on my bed.

How did this happen? Why am I lying here? Was it all a dream?

I couldn’t distinguish what was reality and what was a dream.

So I was looking around frantically when I noticed the clothes I was wearing.

Gray tracksuit.

Clothes I had never bought, the suspicious clothes I received from that place.

It wasn’t a dream.

I got up from the bed feeling like I was under some spell.

When I came out to the living room, there was an unfamiliar box on the floor.

Not wanting to touch it with my hands, I kicked it over with my foot.

Then a note and a bundle of fifty-thousand-won bills came spilling out.

I picked up the note first and read it.

It said this:

-This is 50% of the assessed compensation. The remaining amount will be paid after a certain period of monitoring, so please take note.

I threw away the note and counted the spilled cash.

“Huh….”

The amount of cash scattered on the floor was exactly 100 million won.

* * *

“Seo Do-un, did you buy a new keyboard!?”

“What’s Seo Do-un buying?”

When Colleague Yang next to me spoke noisily, Manager Jo in front also poked his head over the partition.

So I showed off my new item to them.

“Ooh….”

“Ooooh…!”

Truly slaves to text.

Not a watch or wallet, but getting so excited over a keyboard.

Colleague Yang next to me examined my new keyboard and asked.

“What’s with you, Seo Do-un? Suddenly changing your phone and buying a new tablet too, did your materialism explode after coming back from the dead?”

“Colleague Yang, that’s a bit harsh.”

Manager Jo in front took my new keyboard and interjected.

“No, this wouldn’t be because of materialism, right? Seo Do-un got that thing this time. You know, hush money.”

“Manager Jo, hush money?”

I corrected my teammates’ vocabulary.

But they just giggled together, and I chuckled along too.

Right now my work colleagues think I was in a traffic accident, was in a coma for three days but miraculously woke up fine, and received a substantial settlement.

It was a ridiculous misunderstanding from start to finish.

But since I had signed a confidentiality agreement, I couldn’t correct this fabrication.

Ten days had passed since I experienced that nightmare.

Today was my fourth day back at work.

I was doing better than expected.

First, I treated it like I had gotten vacation time and rested well for a few days.

Since a large sum had rolled in, I bought things I’d always wanted.

I also gave return gifts to colleagues who had covered for me during my absence.

Fortunately, there were no PTSD symptoms.

Sometimes when the carnage I saw in the Special Zone came to mind, I’d break out in cold sweat, but if I endured it for a few seconds, I could soon shake it off.

Rather, the problem was the thoughts that kept repeating even while laughing and chatting with company people.

What exactly is a Special Management Zone?

How does such a space exist?

The identity of those people who claim to be government affiliated….

…These questions and curiosity that wouldn’t subside.

“Seo Do-un, what time are you leaving today?”

I snapped to attention at Colleague Yang’s voice.

Looking at the clock, it was already time to leave.

“Ah, I have a lunch meeting so I need to leave now. I’ll be back from my external appointment!”

I had been lost in thought and hurriedly gathered my things and stood up.

This must be why Topknot kept emphasizing maintaining secrecy.

There would probably be quite a few people who’d end up blurting out this bizarre secret while mulling it over alone.

Honestly speaking, that’s me right now.

-Has anyone been inside a place called a Special Management Zone?

-There really are other dimensions in this world!

-If you have friends who suddenly disappeared, please contact me.

I want to post things like this on the internet.

But if I did that, I’d pay the price the Mumoo Agent mentioned.

Ah, let me stop these useless thoughts and just work.

Today was the day for the author meeting that was postponed last time.

At the author’s request, we agreed to meet at Yongsan Station.

I brought the corporate card so we should eat something expensive and delicious, but I haven’t been to that area so I don’t know what places are good.

I searched for decent places in that area while riding the subway.

Soon I got off the subway and went up to the station.

“…Huh?”

But having carelessly come up to ground level, I froze in place.

The place I got off was definitely Yongsan Station.

But the place I arrived at was The Siren-Ringing Train Station.

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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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