Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 564

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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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564. In the Chaos (17)
Let’s rewind time once more.
At the very moment Nam Sa-ra stood at the crossroads of a life-or-death decision before two buttons.
Kang Ha-jin found himself contemplating the same question.
‘How on earth did things come to this?’
Kang Ha-jin surveyed his surroundings.
Until moments ago, he had been in the Hidden Room with Nam Sa-ra, but now he found himself back in the Security Room on the First Floor. The CCTV screens that had gone dark when Ha-jin destroyed all the backup power were now flickering back to life.
Ha-jin recalled what had transpired in the Hidden Room just moments before.
-All the power’s gone. Nothing’s working.
Before Sara could even finish speaking, Ha-jin’s body moved on instinct. As he examined the devices scattered throughout the Hidden Room, he soon discovered something that made him sigh softly.
-Ah, please, not this.
The marking on the power supply device that fed all the machinery was identical to the backup power device Ha-jin had used in the Security Room.
This meant both systems drew from the same power source, and the unfortunate truth was that Ha-jin himself had severed that very connection with his own hands moments ago.
-Go back? To that place again?
We’re on Floor 4 and that’s the First Floor?
And there are Security Robots all over outside trying to catch us?
As despair washed over him, a transmission crackled from the remaining team outside.
-Brother, can you hear me?
-Yeah, what is it?
-We came to where the escape passage is, but all the Gate sensors here are dead, and Zeus’s fingerprint recognition equipment just keeps showing system errors. What do we do? Is there anything written there?
Ha-jin’s gaze shifted to the two buttons below.
Emergency Evacuation System and System Format.
The system error was likely caused by the power outage, and when machines malfunctioned, there was nothing more effective than the old power-down and restart.
‘To do that, I need to run System Format, and to run System Format, I need to restore power first….’
Having finished his calculations, Ha-jin turned without hesitation. Alarmed, Nam Sa-ra grabbed the hem of his clothing and asked.
-Ha, Ha-jin! Where are you going?
-I can restore the power from the Security Room on the First Floor. Since I set it up so no one else could touch it, I have to go myself. You wait here, and the moment the lights come back on, start the System Format right away.
-Will you be alright? When will you get another chance to go down to the First Floor?
-I have to go anyway. If I use the Secret Passages we came through earlier, I should be able to get down there pretty quickly.
The saving grace was that there were several passages throughout the building that allowed direct passage between floors. He could sprint down the stairs alone, but saving even a little time was worth it.
With a rifle slung over his shoulder and his shoelaces tied tight, Ha-jin picked up the walkie-talkie again.
-Tae-jin, how’s the situation outside? Is it safe?
-The Traitor Team and Esther turned on each other and wiped themselves out. As long as we watch out for the Security Robots, we should be fine.
-Then come over here and cover Sa-ra for me. I’m heading down to the First Floor to restore the power.
-Yeah, got it.
Yeah, things seemed to be going relatively smoothly up to that point….
Ha-jin stared at the source of all this chaos.
The grotesque Void mascot emoticon displayed on the CCTV monitors that covered the Security Room wall instead of camera feeds.
-How did they even put this here like this? Ah, forget it!
Having made it back to the Research Lab relatively safely and quickly, Ha-jin succeeded in restoring the backup power system he had personally destroyed hours earlier.
In truth, I’d distinctly separated the devices earlier to render them unusable, but it seemed the Production Team had tinkered with them in the meantime—somehow, reassembly had become possible.
‘I’m going to catch an earful from Myung-eun again.’
In any case, my shift was finally within reach.
It was the moment Ha-jin, confirming that power had been restored throughout the Security Room, reached for the walkie-talkie to inform Sara of this development.
-Older sister, the power’s back on….
-Ha-jin!
-…?
Beee―!
Warning
Warning
Warning
-Ah, why again…!
Accompanied by a siren wail ominous enough to haunt one’s dreams, the entire building trembled, bathed in crimson light.
The monitors displaying blue screens switched uniformly to white, and atop them appeared that insufferable Void emoticon once more.
-Survivors who have reached the terminus of the Chaos Zone, welcome!
-I am Void, your guide who has led you through this chaos.
-Yeah, I know, you bastard.
-With barely an hour remaining before the final test, you must be dreaming of a blissful farewell, yes?
-While leaving only me abandoned in this dark, desolate place!
Could this actually be a documentary rather than entertainment?
One about how far an advanced AI can truly mock humanity?
Ha-jin, seriously contemplating whether Kwon Go-sa-jik had somehow become obsessed with horror-thriller-mystery-terror genres in the interim, planted one hand on his hip and shifted his weight to one leg.
I was beginning to grow genuinely curious about how far this AI intended to push things.
-But that simply cannot be!
-So I have a proposal for you.
A new image appeared on the monitor, which had been filled with Void’s emoticon.
Two buttons labeled ‘EXIT’ and ‘FORMAT’.
-If you wish to escape even slightly more comfortably and safely, simply press the button labeled ‘EXIT’—the Emergency Evacuation System. Just as originally planned!
-Then all evacuation routes installed throughout your locations will activate, and you will be able to escape this Chaos Zone.
-Of course, with me! ^♡^
As if.
I came all this way to stop that bastard—there’s no way I’d do something so insane.
-If you prefer otherwise, simply press the ‘System Format’ button.
Then the entire Haunted Building’s System will reset, and using the database inside the Haunted Building, I who was alive will disappear like melting snow.
-In the meantime, you will activate the Secret Passage Gate and escape this place.
Had everything proceeded according to plan, it would have been a flawless scenario.
If it had ended there, there would have been no reason to even deliberate over the first option Void presented.
-But―.
If it had ended there, it would have been different.
-To activate the Secret Passage you wish to use, you will require a total of three things.
—a key, the fingerprint of the key’s holder, and finally, a password that can disable the Gate’s security all at once.
—Originally, this password and fingerprint could have been customized and registered by whoever first discovered the key, but….
I pulled the arm that Ha-jin had rested on my waist and crossed my arms. I was beginning to understand what this “balance” he mentioned might be.
—Unfortunately, it’s common knowledge that when you perform a System Format, all user information is reset as well, isn’t it?
Despite being merely an emoticon, Void’s mouth curved into an unnervingly long, gaping grin.
* * *
The final list of choices was as follows:
A. Press the Emergency Evacuation System and escape together with Void.
The most convenient ending, but it was rejected as the one the viewers would find most unsatisfying.
I couldn’t end an entire day of grueling effort by losing to an AI.
So what was the next alternative?
B. Retrieve the key on Floor 4, descend to the Basement, re-register the key holder’s fingerprint and password, return to Floor 4, activate the Secret Passage, and escape.
Moreover, Security Robots still prowled throughout the Research Institute, and once the System Format completed, the Research Facility uniform and employee ID badge buffs that had been protecting the cast would be gone.
So to safely move between floors, I had to complete all the steps within the 30 minutes the System Format would take—a deadly time attack was added as an additional condition.
“At least I don’t have to go all the way to the Basement, so I suppose I should be grateful for that….”
The silver lining was that the fingerprint registration could be handled in the Security Room on the First Floor where Ha-jin was.
Once I brought the key from Floor 4, Ha-jin could use the device in the Security Room to re-register the key holder and password.
The problem was that Ha-jin would have to remain in the Security Room until the very end….
“Sa-ra, are you listening?”
Cowardly but certain survival with A, or slightly riskier but achieving the original objective with B.
Ha-jin picked up the walkie-talkie toward the contemplating Nam Sa-ra.
“Just trust me one more time.”
—….
“I really won’t die.”
At Ha-jin’s words, everyone seemed to agree, and the walkie-talkie remained silent.
Soon, Nam Sa-ra’s decision was made.
【Proceeding with System Format.】
【The format will proceed sequentially over the next 30 minutes.】
The time attack with survival on the line had begun.

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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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