[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 5: The Beginning of Restructuring (5)
“Mr. Jaehyuk, have you received the reward for this mission?”
“Not yet...”
Looking down at Jaehyuk sprawled on the floor with his head hanging low, I spoke.
“Oh! Then it’s fine! Don’t worry, Jaehyuk!”
“What? What are you talking about?”
Jieun exclaimed brightly, her expression beaming.
Having seen my leg healed as part of a reward, she must have thought Jaehyuk’s injuries could be completely cured as well.
But.
“No, that won’t do.”
“Huh? But Eunho, you...”
“These kinds of wounds can be handled with first aid. It’s a waste to use the reward on this.”
Jieun tilted her head in confusion, then checked Jaehyuk’s injuries.
Only then did she nod in agreement, casting a sharp look at the big crybaby.
“If you insist, try asking the mission reward to enhance your recovery ability.”
“Can that...”
“It should work. We don’t have much time, so hurry up.”
Improving his overall recovery ability was more efficient than treating a single visible injury.
Based on my past experiences, I was confident that wounds like his would naturally heal if recovery ability was enhanced.
“Mission... reward... can you increase my recovery ability?”
Despite the awkward phrasing, the system understood him.
Soon, the stabbed wound disappeared as if erased by an invisible hand.
If it weren’t for the torn shirt and the blood that had seeped through, you’d never guess where he had been injured.
“Amazing, hyung! How did you think of this?”
The problem, however, was that I was now stuck being called “hyung” because I had supposedly saved his life.
‘How is this guy only 25?’
Sure, his height over 180 cm was one thing, but his rugged, sunburned skin and intimidating build from all his training outdoors made him look at least in his mid-30s.
“Are you really younger...?”
Jieun squinted at him in disbelief.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
I probably had the same expression on my face.
“Didn’t you say you’re a year older than me, noona?”
As Jaehyuk brought up “noona,” Jieun recoiled in horror.
“If it weren’t for you two, I wouldn’t have passed the mission. You saved my life!”
“No, no, we wouldn’t have made it without you either, Jaehyuk.”
Jaehyuk grabbed my shoulder when he heard me call him “Jaehyuk” and shook his head vigorously.
“Please just call me Jaehyuk, hyung.”
“What?”
Jaehyuk—or rather Jaehyukie—stared up at me with bright, puppy-like eyes.
Feeling overwhelmed, I avoided his gaze and changed the subject.
“Let’s wait here until the next mission starts.”
“Sounds good! We’re on the 15th floor, so whether it’s above or below, it won’t be a bad starting point.”
“It’ll probably be below. And only one safe zone.”
“Only one?”
The second mission had three safe zones; the last one had two.
That meant all survivors in the building would gather in one space.
‘Who knows if someone like Assistant Manager Gwak will try to attack us again.’
We needed to be ready.
“You two should rest for now.”
As I got up, Jieun gave me a puzzled look.
“What about you, Eunho?”
“Oh, I’m planning to do some training.”
“Training?”
I wanted to test my fully healed leg and experiment with the parameters that triggered notifications audible only to me.
‘Collecting data necessary for skill activation.’
The notification had already appeared twice.
Once when I felt elated after regaining 50% use of my leg.
And again when I stepped back to dodge the flowerpot thrown by Assistant Manager Gwak.
If the data was gathered only under certain conditions—
‘I’ll have to replicate them somehow.’
—Tap, tap!
I sprinted across the meeting room.
Ten steps.
Then I backtracked, walking backward to my starting point.
Another ten steps.
‘Not this.’
I tried running faster.
Then backtracking.
‘Still not it.’
I did two full trips forward and back, a bit faster this time.
Again, nothing.
Was I not fast enough?
I pushed myself to go even faster.
—Tap-tap-tap-tap!
Still no result.
Maybe just a bit more—
“Eunho! Are you... okay?”
“H-hyung...? What are you doing right now...?”
Jieun’s voice was filled with concern, and Jaehyuk’s gaze was full of pity, but I couldn’t afford to pay attention to them.
‘There has to be a pattern.’
After what felt like hundreds of laps back and forth across the small meeting room, a new notification rang in my head.
[Due to subject Eunho Lee’s strong determination, data collection speed has increased.]
[Collecting data necessary for skill activation... 98%, 99%.]
“Hah...”
“Are you okay, Eunho? You’re sweating so much...”
99%.
I had an inexplicable but sure feeling that once it hit 100%, I would unlock a skill.
Jaehyuk, as if struck by a revelation, opened his mouth wide before grabbing the two ladders with both hands.
"Got it! Let’s do this, bro!"
—Tap-tap!
[01:17]
A little over a minute left.
Timing was everything.
"We go with 30 seconds left."
With a determined look, I climbed the ladder.
Jaehyuk was at the top, and I was right below him.
"Understood."
Jaehyuk was in charge of toppling the screen.
The plan was simple: as soon as it fell, he'd jump down first, followed by Jieun and me.
30 seconds to go.
I took a deep breath.
"Here we go!"
— Flutter!
The screen fell.
"What the...?!"
"Why is it so dark?"
The screen collapsed, casting a shadow over the crowd.
As it fell, it flattened the tightly packed people below like dominos, knocking them over.
— Thud!
Almost simultaneously, Jaehyuk jumped down onto the fallen screen.
Jieun followed, and I was the last to jump.
My body wobbled from the impact of the fall, but as I steadied myself, I saw...
"Secretary Kim!"
Jieun was being dragged out of the safe zone by someone.
"Jieun!"
It was Director Park.
Director Park, whom Jieun worked for, was pulling her arm with an almost vicious grip.
Realizing she was about to be dragged away, Jieun shouted:
"...I'm sorry, Director!"
Flutter!
She slipped out of her jacket and flung it away.
Caught off guard by the momentum, Director Park stumbled backward.
Thanks to the dense crowd, he didn’t fall completely, but...
"You little...!"
"Ahh!"
This time, he grabbed her by the hair.
His hand tightly gripped her long hair, flowing down to her waist.
"D-Director, please...!"
00:05
Sigh.
This wasn’t what I had planned, but...
With a small sigh, I pulled out a pair of scissors from my jacket pocket.
And then...
— Snip.
I cut it off.
The stranger’s grip on her hair.
"You bastard!"
"Eu-Eunho...!"
Director Park let out a strangled yell, and Jieun’s bewildered voice echoed almost simultaneously.
[Time’s up. Mission complete.]
"Wh-what’s with her hair...?"
Jaehyuk stared with his mouth agape, pointing at Jieun’s now uneven, stair-stepped haircut.
"..."
"Uh, well, hair grows back, so..."
As we descended out of the safe zone, I glanced at Jieun nervously, wondering if she was upset.
But Jieun, wearing an unreadable expression, quietly called my name.
"...Eunho."
"Yes? What is it?"
She walked up to me, head lowered, and stopped so close that her nose was nearly touching mine.
Then, suddenly, she turned around.
"Please."
"Excuse me? What?"
Confused by her staircase-like hairstyle so close to my face, I asked.
Turning her head slightly, she answered:
"Cut it shorter. So this doesn’t happen again."
"What?"
Had she overextended her mental fortitude?
To my surprise, she even smiled gently.
"It’s fine. I think I’ll look good with short hair anyway."
[MS Tower, 16 survivors.]
"Sis, bro! We made it! We survived!"
Jaehyuk, who had been watching us cautiously, burst between Jieun and me, his face full of relief and joy.
As I was about to tell him that he’d worked hard too—
[Orientation is now complete.]
[Orientation rewards are being distributed.]
[Synchronization rate has slightly increased.]
"What?"
"Orientation?"
"But that was supposed to be the final mission..."
Of course. There’s no way it would end here.
[The administrator’s authority has activated the ‘Project.’]
[Project Name: Selection.]
The restructuring had only just begun.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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