Editor’s Survival Guide - Chapter 81

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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 81

ep14. Cha-Cinderella (1)

The world collapsed like a shattered mirror.

The moment I felt the ground beneath my feet give way, I was already in the pitch-black water.

Gurgle-

“…!”

The worst-case scenario that could occur when being expelled from the Special Zone.

A transfer to the bottom of the Han River.

The moment I realized I had fallen into the river, I forced my eyes open.

Then I looked around to figure out which way was the surface.

But the water was too murky to distinguish up from down.

Moreover, the current sweeping my body away was too strong.

What should I do? Which way should I go….

I could feel the oxygen remaining in my lungs rapidly depleting.

The terror of drowning overwhelmed me.

Gurgle-!

Eventually, the air I had been holding escaped, and muddy water rushed into my mouth.

At that moment.

A bright light I could feel.

Then something grabbed the back of my neck and began dragging me.

The sound of splashing water.

Pressure that felt like it would crush my ribs.

And then the light returned.

“Ugh, cough!”

I vomited up water violently.

I barely managed to breathe in and forced my eyes open.

The first thing I saw was Cha Si-eon dripping with water.

Next, I saw the brightly lit Han River.

Unlike us, who looked half-dead and reeked of fishy water, the Han River in May flowed peacefully, filled with shimmering light.

I admired that peaceful scenery before closing my eyes again.

* * *

Splash-!

I was running across a pool of blood.

Without understanding why, I ran through blood that surged up to my knees.

A striped necktie swaying against my chest.

It was the necktie from the school uniform I wore in high school.

For some reason, I was running in my school uniform, in the form of my boyhood self.

-Save me.

A voice echoing in my head.

-Please, save me.

There wasn’t just one voice.

-Why are you interfering!

-It’s just a whim.

-Die, die, die die die die!

-I was curious what you would do.

-Devil! You devil!

-You’ll definitely regret it.

Incomprehensible words stirred me up.

I was pushed by those words and ran blindly.

But there was someone beyond the pool of blood.

It was a woman.

A frail woman crouched down, sobbing.

I stopped running and approached the woman.

Then I pushed her shoulder and knocked her over.

Splash-!

The woman fell over from my push, and I collapsed with her.

I strangled the woman’s neck with all my strength.

But the woman being strangled smiled at me instead.

With a very familiar face.

…Author?

The moment I recognized that face, a crow cawed.

At that moment, the dream ended.

* * *

Thud-!

I flinched and kicked my feet.

When the bed shook with a thump from that, someone next to me muttered.

“You’ll grow taller.”

I turned my head in surprise and discovered Cha Si-eon lying in the bed next to me.

Ah.

Only then did I realize I had been having a nightmare and let out a sigh of relief.

“I’m past the age of growing taller….”

“How unfortunate.”

“…?”

Though I was half-asleep, I could tell Cha Si-eon was picking a fight.

“What’s unfortunate is… Cough!”

I was about to retort with “What’s unfortunate is Team Leader’s personality” when I burst into coughing.

“Cough cough!”

Ah, this is killing me.

The coughing started again.

This was the Management Bureau Medical Center.

Cha Si-eon and I were expelled from “The Bleeding Island” yesterday and returned to reality.

Then we ended up hospitalized side by side.

Cha Si-eon was here because of external injuries like cuts and bruises from “The Island.”

I was here because of internal injuries from water entering my lungs when I sank to the bottom of the Han River.

It’s so unfair, really.

I managed to avoid getting hurt inside, only to have an accident on the way out….

My current symptoms were chest pain and frequent coughing.

And since there was also concern about dry drowning, they were monitoring my progress.

“Cough cough!”

“If you feel like you’re dying, call the medical staff.”

“If I look like I’m dying, cough! At least pretend to worry…!”

When I complained, Cha Si-eon took out a bottle of water and threw it toward me.

Having barely stopped coughing, I moistened my throat and caught my breath.

Ah, what a rough start to the morning.

Even my dreams were rough.

I recalled last night’s dream that was completely red.

A dream of strangling my assigned author in a pool of blood.

It seemed the final scene I witnessed on “The Bleeding Island” was more shocking than I realized.

Yesterday, “Alpha” pulled out some woman from “The Big Cat’s” body.

What on earth was that woman?

Cha Si-eon also said it was the first time he’d seen something human-like separate from inside the “Big Cat.”

But Team Leader Cha Si-eon didn’t seem to attach much significance to this.

Among the entities in the Special Zone, there are quite a few that have human forms, so he seemed to view it as just one of those types.

So I was also thinking that’s all it was.

But to have such an absurd dream.

Most importantly, that female figure that emerged from inside the “Big Cat” had no resemblance to Author Nabbit at all.

Though her face was barely visible due to being stained with blood, just looking at her body, she was a completely different person.

Author Nabbit’s feet, which wore sandals, were small and blunt.

But that woman’s toes were sharp and sleek in shape.

So I don’t know why I had such a dream.

Maybe it’s because Author Nabbit is the only woman I know well.

I was trying to shake off that delusion when.

Knock knock-

A visitor came with the sound of knocking.

“Do-un, how are you feeling?”

It was Manager Kwon Mu-seop.

Kwon Mu-seop, who entered the hospital room with Kim Woo-in, was carrying some kind of snack set again this time.

Even though I’m hospitalized like eating meals, he still brings get-well gifts every time.

“Just stay sitting.”

When Cha Si-eon tried to get up from the bed, Kwon Mu-seop said briefly.

Then he put down a bakery shopping bag next to my bed and smiled again.

“Is there anything you want?”

What is this blatant offensive?

“Ask him to buy you a house. If you say it now, he’ll really buy it.”

Kim Woo-in offered advice from the side.

Then how about cash instead?

I was about to say this but closed my mouth again.

Because it seemed like he’d really pull out a bunch of real cash like before.

“Just say it, I’ll do whatever you ask.”

“A house, a house. A 24-pyeong apartment in a Seoul school district.”

Kwon Mu-seop speaking as if he’d really give everything he had.

And Kim Woo-in giving advice that seemed realistic yet unrealistic.

“Just settle everything in a lump sum when I resign.”

When I casually deflected, Kwon Mu-seop laughed heartily.

“You really did well this time, Do-un. Thanks to you, we got over a hurdle. Without you, we would have been in trouble for a while.”

Since anything I said now would sound like false modesty, I just nodded.

Kwon Mu-seop looked very pleased.

The reason is, well, understandable.

Is it just Manager Kwon Mu-seop?

When I was dragged to the “Blood-Raining Island,” the atmosphere at the Management Bureau was very tense.

But when we secured fragments of the “Big Cat” and even Team Leader Cha Si-eon returned alive, the atmosphere completely reversed 180 degrees.

They say everyone regained their deep humanity.

Of course, it wasn’t a festive atmosphere since there were employees who died in the line of duty.

“First, the fragments you secured have been handed over to the Research Department. We decided to process the small ones first.”

“Making them into rings?”

“Right. We’ll melt them and combine them with titanium like before.”

“Then how many will we get?”

“Two with the same purity as what Sara had. And one that’s slightly lower quality.”

“Ah…”

That’s fewer than I thought?

So this is why Team Leader Cha pushed himself to the end to secure fragments.

Though that additional attempt ultimately failed due to “Alpha’s” intrusion.

“No need to be disappointed. Just starting ring production is exceeding our target. You saved us again, Do-un.”

“No. It wasn’t something I did alone, and Team Leader Cha did all the real hard work.”

I glanced at Cha Si-eon, embarrassed by Kwon Mu-seop’s excessive praise.

It was both to share this burden and a confession that the real hardship was done by him.

Right, the one who actually rolled around inside and suffered was Cha Si-eon.

“Mm, right.”

But what’s this?

Kwon Mu-seop nodded without even glancing toward Cha Si-eon.

Cha Si-eon also didn’t bother joining our conversation and just sat there waiting.

I felt the atmosphere was somehow strange and changed the topic.

“The ‘Island’ was reset yesterday, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“How did you do it? Did the core appear right away?”

Yesterday, the time when “Bleeding” stopped was 8:30 AM.

And the time when the “Island” was reset was 10:30 AM.

If the rescue team was deployed after “Bleeding” stopped, their activity time was only 2 hours.

Moreover, the core of the “Blood-Raining Island” was found in Area J, which we never even saw.

Then how did the rescue team reach Area J in such a short time?

To my question, Kwon Mu-seop answered with a bitter smile.

“Apophysis does their job for what they’re paid.”

Apophysis?

“Didn’t those people say they gave up searching?”

“They did, but when we attached sufficient hazard pay, they went in.”

“Ah…”

When they say they can’t do it because it’s dangerous, you just need to spend enough money to make them willing to take the risk.

…Isn’t this too unscrupulous?

“How, how much…?”

“Mm, that’s internal confidential information.”

They must have spent an enormous amount.

“But how did those people find the core so quickly?”

“It’s because the Special Zone was weakened. A total of 45 people went in, and as they explored, the space turned out to be more manageable than expected, so they split into pairs of two. It seemed to take less than 30 seconds to break through one space.”

As expected, Apophysis’s mercenaries immediately recognized the “Island’s” downgrade.

So after completing their assessment, they divided into 22 teams and began conquest.

They used bullets like water and began individual attacks, with each team destroying areas at a rate of about two per minute.

With this firepower, the Special Zone had no way to withstand it.

Even if the number of rooms was around 8,400 as Cha Si-eon estimated.

“I also saw your side’s report. You did some reckless things here and there, but since the results were good, I can’t really say anything. Anyway, you really went through a lot.”

If I ask for an apartment, he might really buy it.

No, but a report already?

How can he already be reading a report?

…Team Leader Cha, could it be you?

You got your side stitched yesterday and already wrote and submitted a report?

Why? Why on earth…?

“Ugh, cough!”

Is it because Cha Si-eon’s outrageous act was too shocking?

“Cough cough!”

The coughing that had stopped briefly started again.

When I started coughing, Kwon Mu-seop clicked his tongue.

“Your body is badly injured, this is serious. Rest more, Do-un. If you need anything, tell me right away.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Kwon Mu-seop got up from his seat, and I finally stopped coughing and answered.

“Cha Si-eon, I need to see you.”

But then Kwon Mu-seop called Cha Si-eon aside.

Cha Si-eon immediately stood up and went outside with Kwon Mu-seop.

However, Kim Woo-in didn’t go out with them and remained in the hospital ward, just sighing.

What’s with this atmosphere since earlier?

I couldn’t read the mood, so I just blankly observed the situation.

Cha Si-eon and Kwon Mu-seop seemed to be talking in the corridor, as I could hear scattered voices from outside.

Then suddenly there was a loud noise.

Crash-!

Even with my eyes closed, I could tell it was the sound of Cha Si-eon getting hit.

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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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