Getting Approval from Otherworld Clients - Chapter 17

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 17.
Mercury’s Orbit
Touchdown…
Thud.
Lee Hyun and I tumbled into an unfamiliar space.
“Ugh….”
A small, circular window.
The view beyond its frame was all that vaguely suggested we’d landed somewhere inside the Spaceship.
‘So the Mini Portal… it’s a means of traveling within the Spaceship.’
I picked myself up and glanced around.
‘I need to get back to the office… wait, my Key Ring.’
Oh no.
My Key Ring—the one that opens the door back to the Agency—is set up in the Conference Room.
So I turned to ask my unreliable fellow crash victim.
“We need to get back to the office… do you have your Key Ring on you?”
“No, I left it at the office.”
…Well, that’s not helpful at all.
If that’s the case, why is she even carrying that bag around?
‘I should take a look around.’
Bewildered, I scanned the cramped space.
My eyes landed on what looked like an examination table and hospital chairs.
…….
Beside the chairs were Robotic Arms of some kind, and
they were holding what looked like gauze, syringes, and surgical scissors…!
“Ahhh!! My eyes!!!”
I reflexively shrieked and shielded my left eye.
“? Did something get in your eye?”
“…No, it’s fine.”
Without meaning to, I’d let my imagination run out loud. I tried to act like nothing had happened….
“This must be the Medical Bay.”
Seo Gwan-yul spoke matter-of-factly.
How could he interpret it so hopefully? Wasn’t biological experimentation usually the first thing that came to mind with an alien spacecraft?
…….
…Still, thanks to him, I was less terrified.
“Should I reach out to the team through the company messenger?”
“The Portal from the Agency connects to the Conference Room anyway. If we’re not in the Conference Room, they won’t be able to help us.”
“Ha, you’re right. We need to get back to the Conference Room first.”
Still, I posted an update in the team messenger to keep everyone informed.
‘While I’m at it, I should chat with Bantabot for a moment.’
Yes—seeking help from a smart AI to deal with this crisis of being stranded in Outer Space.
In sci-fi movies, you see how these small bits of knowledge can mean the difference between life and death.
……Though honestly, I just wanted some reassurance!
– Yes, sir. Outer Space is a place that stimulates romantic imagination for Earth humans. Here are some useful facts.
1. There is no sound in Outer Space.
2. Young, hot stars appear blue, while old stars appear red.
3. Exposure to Outer Space won’t kill you immediately.
.
.
.
I made light conversation, asking Bantabot about Outer Space trivia.
Hearing AI’s unique brand of reassurance actually helped settle my nerves.
Seo Gwan-yul, who’d been watching me fiddle with my phone, finally broke the silence.
“Should we start moving? We need to get back to the Conference Room.”
“Yeah.”
Though I was worried it might be dangerous, we had to go back. I needed to find a way to the Conference Room quickly.
…The thought of staying on the client’s property without permission bothered me!
“Remember how the panel by the door malfunctioned earlier and triggered the Mini Portal? Let’s take a look at it.”
When I activated the LCD screen beside the entrance, an array of unfamiliar icons came pouring out.
“If there were text, it would’ve been translated, but it looks like they only use icons here.”
“Tell me about it. Makes it impossible to understand.”
Still, icons tend to follow the original form to some degree.
‘I saw a black vortex when we teleported, so….’
I tapped the icon that most closely resembled a swirling pattern among those visible.
Then came a voice prompt.
[Please select the location where you wish to activate the Mini Portal.]
Ah, this must be the button I accidentally pressed before.
The space we occupied was drawn as a chair-like shape, and the other spaces were visualized with icons representing each one.
“Which one do you think is the Conference Room?”
“Hmm, who knows? How about this?”
Seo Gwan-yul pointed to an icon showing several small squares arranged in neat, orderly rows.
Indeed, it evoked the image of an office with multiple chairs gathered together.
“…All right, let me give it a try.”
With his nod of agreement, I tapped the icon.
[Activating Mini Portal.]
Whoosh–!
The same darkness as before engulfed our bodies.
This time we landed smoothly, and looking around, I saw an enormous warehouse-like storage structure.
“…This isn’t the Conference Room.”
“Yeah. Looks like this is where they keep the Canvas works organized.”
On metal shelves were the abstract paintings I’d seen before in the Portfolio.
Hmm, they look even better in person. People really do say you have to see art with your own eyes!
But admiration was short-lived.
A Robotic Arm—equipped with a camera and something cylindrical—moved toward our faces.
“What is this…?”
“…A robot?”
Whirrr–
The mechanical device scanned across us from top to bottom, as if reading our faces.
It made a sound like it was processing, then emitted a cold announcement.
…Something ominous, at that.
[Form Recognition. Unregistered user detected. Initiating Security Protocol.]
Zeeee–!
……!
By pure instinct, I ducked.
Bang!
A laser beam burst from the cylindrical muzzle.
“Gasp!”
Fortunately, my hunch was right. I’d dodged at just the right moment.
With my other arm pressing down on Seo Gwan-yul’s head, we both managed to stay safe.
Shhhhh–
The back wall where the beam struck was slightly scorched, wisps of smoke rising from it.
“Dodge!!”
Zeeee–!
Bang!
A second shot came without time to catch our breath.
We narrowly escaped it, by the barest margin.
Leaving behind the acrid smell of burnt cordite and smoke billowing beside us, we bolted toward the door.
“Run!”
Zeeee–!
The sound of the Laser Gun recharging came again.
Damn, the reload is too fast! I was caught in an ominous thought—could we even dodge this one—when…
Psshhh–
…?
The charged laser powered down, and the Robotic Arm moved along the wall, adjusting its position.
“What the—?!”
“Just keep running!”
I glanced back without breaking stride.
Behind where we’d just been stood a shelf lined with Canvas works, arranged differently than before.
‘It only shoots from angles that won’t damage the artworks—true to its purpose of protecting the collection!?’
Breathing hard, I called out to Seo Gwan-yul.
“Didn’t you hear that announcement about Form Recognition before the Laser Gun activated?!”
“Wait, that’s what I thought I heard?!”
Well then, I do apologize to the client, but…!
What if something like this were possible?!
I pulled a Canvas from the drawer beside me.
All right—holding it like a shield toward the Laser Gun’s position, I crouched behind it as we passed the gap where there were no shelves…!
Zing—!
Fwisssh-
Wow, just as I thought—the Laser Gun stopped firing!
Instead, the Robotic Arm shifted position at a speed slightly faster than before.
“Hurry…! I don’t know how long I can hold this, so we need to activate it now!”
We’d reached the door by now, and I began manipulating the panel.
With one hand still gripping the Canvas,
Screeeech-screech-screech!
The sound of the Robotic Arm moving reached us.
Metal grinding against metal—the shriek of friction.
‘The portal took time to activate, didn’t it?’
This time, instead of pressing the swirl icon, I examined it more carefully.
And there it was—two vertical rectangles joined together.
Didn’t that look similar to this door?
Zing—!
Please, please!
Let this be the right button…!
The moment I heard the Laser Gun charging, I pressed the icon with the two rectangles.
Then.
Beep-
A feedback tone as the icon registered, and suddenly—silence.
All sound ceased.
But that didn’t mean I’d achieved what I hoped for.
The door still wouldn’t budge.
“…??”
“What…?”
Confused, I looked at the touchpad screen.
[10]
……A number was displayed.
And then.
[9]
That number changed.
[8]
[7]
…The countdown continued, numbers descending.
The one mercy was that the Robotic Arm had also stopped moving.
‘The arm stopped too? Then…!’
Suddenly, it clicked—the identity of the icon we’d pressed.
“A pause! It’s like an emergency stop button!”
Two vertical rectangles—so the language here follows the same logic as our world!
Damn it, I have to open the door before this countdown finishes…!
[6]
If an abstract symbol like pause is identical, couldn’t other things be the same?
Take arrows, for instance.
[5]
[4]
So if I interpret this icon as arrows pointing outward to both sides…
Wouldn’t that be the door-open button?!
[3]
Beep-
[2]
The moment I pressed the arrow, a guide tone sounded just before the number reached 1.
[Access gate opening.]
Yes! The door’s opening!
Quickly, let’s go……!
[1]
Beep beep beep–
As the countdown reached zero, the Laser Gun charged with a sharp mechanical whine.
Crack–!
Abandoning the Canvas I’d been gripping, I hurled my body through the widening gap as the blast roared down behind me.
Then came the sound of the thick iron door slamming shut.
In its wake: perfect silence.
An empty Corridor stretched before us.
“Haa, haa.”
“Phew.”
We made it.
I collapsed onto the floor, gasping for breath. Drawing air deep into my lungs, I savored the electric joy of still being alive.
After I’d rested in blessed quiet long enough, I pushed myself up and leaned against the glass wall.
“…Haha, we nearly bought it there, didn’t we.”
…He remained impossibly calm even in a situation like this.
I was marveling at his remarkable composure when—
Beep.
…A mechanical sound came from somewhere.
But it wasn’t the sleek, refined futuristic tone of the Spaceship’s systems.
[…
Next time, I
…]
Followed by a voice—low-pitched and distorted.
It was quiet, and the speaker quality was poor, making it nearly impossible to make out clearly.
“…What is that?”
“Oh, something in my bag got pressed by accident….”
Beeeeep—-!
…!
Damn—that same ringing from before…!
I glanced at my watch. It was already well past 1 a.m.
Yet why would it happen again…!
Crackle crackle crackle—!
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Just as before, the panels dotted across the Spaceship’s walls erupted in noise, their corrupted processes spiraling out of control.
[Mini# Portal activat(#…)
[Portal %cancel. Power$…]
[Atmospheric Pressure(* adjusting, user…]
Commands layered atop commands; the garbled voice prompts clashed with one another in a cacophony.
Then—
[…Oxygen Cartridge%+ disengaging.]
[Airlock%opening ^#.
…A sound I’d heard a few times before in science fiction films.
It rang out.
‘An Airlock! Airlock means…!’
…The atmospheric pressure inside a Spaceship differs from that of Outer Space.
That’s why when astronauts go outside, the door doesn’t open directly—there’s a sealed chamber to equalize the pressure first.
That’s what an Airlock is.
‘Which means opening the Airlock…’
……the door leading out into Outer Space is opening!
Whoooosh–
Insane!
The door right in front of where we’re standing—it’s opening.
The pitch-black night sky, its stars glittering brilliantly, came into sharp view.
“Hold on!”
We grabbed whatever fixtures were bolted to the Spaceship to keep ourselves from being pulled out into the void.
…But we weren’t alone in this section.
Screeeech–!
The Gas Generator.
A massive mechanical device.
Upon word that guests were arriving, it seemed the client had activated it for us — the main body of this machine.
…The cartridge had been released.
Clang—bang—crash!
The metal cartridge shrieked brilliantly as it was sucked out beyond the Spaceship,
O2.
…The cartridge bore a large marking that read as denoting oxygen.
[Atmospheric oxygen concentration is decreasing.]
…Now the screen above the Gas Generator spilled warnings.
The numbers showing oxygen concentration inside the Spaceship dwindled.
Far too rapidly.
“Gasp—Lee Hyun! Did you see that? The oxygen…!”
“…….”
Damn it, damn it, damn it!
The Oxygen Cartridge drifted away slowly, rotating as if swimming through Outer Space.
“…!”
In the midst of this desperate crisis, Bantabot’s words suddenly flickered across her mind.
……Right.
Even if you’re exposed to the vacuum with nothing but your body for a moment,
……you don’t die immediately, it said?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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