[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 2: The Beginning of Restructuring (2)
My life changed ten years ago due to a car accident.
I lost my parents,
my body, once considered my treasure and future, became my greatest obstacle,
and every possibility in my life was blocked.
Despair engulfed me from the moment I opened my eyes in the morning and stepped out of bed, to the moment I climbed back into it to end the day.
When I went to the bathroom.
When I bent down to wash my face.
When I changed my pants.
When I slung a bag over one shoulder and left the house.
When I chose the subway over the bus.
When I went up and down the stairs...
That's why I know better than anyone else.
How stiff and heavy my right leg feels.
How vividly I still feel, even in my dreams, the sensation of it refusing to budge no matter how hard I try.
[Mission reward has been granted.]
[20% recovery of Limp.]
They said the Lump, the limp in my gait, had improved.
If someone told an ordinary person, "Your legs have been strengthened by 20%," they probably wouldn't grasp the significance.
But for me—
—Swoosh. Clack.
I knew instantly.
The subtle difference in my leg.
Even if it was just a few grams lighter.
Clearly, undoubtedly, just a little...
It moved.
According to my will.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The thought of a miraculous possibility made my heart race.
The pleasant stress, something I hadn't felt in ages, cleared my mind.
Time had been frozen for ten years, and now it was beginning to move again.
It felt like standing on the track, waiting for the starting signal, both feet placed firmly on the starting blocks.
“What’s going on? Did you guys see it too?”
“It’s asking me to select a mission reward?”
Game company employees around me started examining the space in front of them.
Swoosh.
They waved their hands once, then again.
“It disappears and reappears.”
Pinching and pulling with their fingers—
“You can adjust the size. Anything else?”
Eyes sparkling, they began shouting random words like, “Status window! Inventory! Skills!”
“Nope, just the status window shows up.”
“Is this virtual reality? Is it finally my turn for a big opportunity?”
“What opportunity? You’ve been reading too many web novels, haven’t you?”
While some made silly remarks with utmost seriousness, others clung to their smartphones, broadcasting real-time updates from elsewhere.
They said a huge circle appeared across the world.
That perfectly fine people vanished into thin air.
Or that it was all a hoax.
My silent smartphone stayed quiet, but notifications and ringtones echoed around me incessantly.
So much so that there was no need to check the news online.
“It’s clear this mission isn’t exclusive to us.”
“Uh, Eunho! Can you see... this too?”
“Yes, I can see it. Glad I’m not the only one going crazy.”
“Can you see my screen? Including the illustrations?”
Was he worried I could see a hologram of him in his underwear?
His unnecessary panic made me hastily add,
“No, only my screen shows up on my end. Stuff like affiliations and stats.”
“Phew. But still, what is this? Earth, they said? Who would play such a prank...?”
A prank?
I grabbed my right leg, pulling and pushing it back and forth.
—Swoosh. Swoosh.
It moved.
Barely, but it did.
If this was a prank—
If it was a miracle of a prank that revived the leg I lost ten years ago—
“...There must be more missions, right? They said ‘first mission’ earlier, didn’t they?”
I was going to give my all to this prank.
“You... think so?”
“Yes. If the broadcast is to be believed, it seems like they’re trying to reduce the number of participants through multiple missions. It would be nice if they told us how many people they plan to keep.”
“Eunho, do you really believe this? Earlier, you said you were just going to leave...”
Jieun bit her lip, glancing nervously at me.
Her reluctance to fully trust the broadcast talking about "restructuring" and "elimination" probably stemmed from not witnessing Manager Choi disappear in real-time.
Honestly, people vanishing into thin air like computer files flickering and being deleted is an absurd concept.
Even knowing that, her hesitation frustrated me.
Perhaps my irritation stemmed from the urgency of my own desperation.
“I’m taking the reward.”
“The reward...”
[The second mission will begin shortly at 1:30 PM. Safe zones will be randomly generated when the mission starts, so please proceed with caution.]
Jieun asked with a worried tone, but I shook my head.
"I’m fine... Not tired at all."
Not tired, no way.
The sensation of my right foot touching the ground was electrifying.
The feeling of running hard enough to drench myself in sweat—it was so unfamiliar and thrilling, I almost wanted to cry.
"If this much is possible with one reward... What if I fully fix it?!"
"Eunho..."
"We’re here. 19th floor."
— Clunk!
When I opened the fire door, the sight before me was far busier than the rooftop.
People were scattered everywhere—some sitting, others gathered in groups, and some hurrying somewhere.
Despite their differing actions, they all shared one thing in common.
Everyone kept glancing at the elevator lobby in the safe zone.
"Hey, Jieun! What’s this chaos all about?"
"Ah, Team Leader Park!"
"People are talking nonsense about people disappearing or whatever. Shouldn’t we discipline those slacking off and creating panic?"
"Haha..."
The middle-aged man called Team Leader Park sighed irritably and turned his puzzled gaze to me.
"Why are you so sweaty? Don’t tell me you two were—"
"There’s no time... We’ll be going now."
"What?"
"Good luck, Team Leader!"
2:20
I quickly turned away without waiting to chat, and Jieun followed right behind me.
"He’s the head of the General Affairs Team. They use the 19th floor for their department."
Jieun added some context, but I wasn’t interested, so I simply replied with an "Ah, okay" before hurrying my steps.
"We’ve arrived."
Through the glass doors, the elevator lobby was visible.
The green-bordered area on the walls marked the safe zone, already packed with dozens of people.
"There are so many people here."
"Yeah. How many do you think can fit in this space?"
The elevator lobby was the same size on every floor of the building.
If that’s the case...
"If we squeeze in, about 100 people, maybe."
"A hundred?! How do you know that, Eunho?"
"Here, it’s sixteen steps across and seven steps deep."
"What?"
Jieun widened her eyes in disbelief.
"My stride is about 30 cm, so if one person stands per step, that’s 16 times 7. Hmm... 112? So, roughly a hundred people."
"Eunho, do you measure your steps everywhere you go?"
"Calculating steps and time for distances has become a habit."
"You’re amazing, Eunho!"
"Not really. It’s pretty ordinary."
"Ordinary? You’ve got great spatial awareness!"
Jieun stared at me with her mouth agape.
It wasn’t that surprising.
It was just a habit I developed during track and field, estimating distance and stamina.
It became even more detailed when I started limping.
"By the way, there are still people outside. We should stay alert."
About 50 seconds remained.
The crowd was growing thicker by the second.
"Hey, Kang! Did you come for this mission thing?"
"Ah... Yeah, I had a bad feeling. What about you, Manager?"
"Uh, no. I’ve got a client meeting."
In slippers only worn at desks?
The man called Kang scanned the manager’s outfit from head to toe, causing the latter to clear his throat awkwardly.
As the timer dropped below 30 seconds, the safe zone became so packed there was barely space to step.
When it hit ten, people began pushing and shoving to get in.
10 seconds.
"Hey! Move inside a bit!"
8 seconds.
"Ouch! Don’t step on my foot!"
7 seconds.
"...Team Leader?"
With less than five seconds left...
The General Affairs Team Leader staggered toward the glass doors, glasses crooked on his nose.
But he couldn’t make it through.
He was blocked by the crowd already packed inside.
"Didn’t he talk about disciplinary action earlier?"
"What should we do? He might not make it!"
3 seconds.
2 seconds.
"Stop pushing, dammit!"
"Wait a second!"
00:00
[Time limit reached.]
The second mission ended.
"I... I made it in, right? Didn’t I?"
The Team Leader’s upper body was barely inside the glass doors.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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