Chapter 2: Chapter 2

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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.]

I grabbed Jieun, who had started nervously biting her nails again.

“Jieun! The first safe zone, where we are now, is the center of the 25th floor, right?”

“Yes, with the café to the east near the elevators and the smoking room to the west.”

“Did you see anyone else come up here after the broadcast?”

“No, not a single person.”

Not a single person had come to this safe zone.

“Then I think the safe zones must appear on each floor.”

“Then… should we just stay here and wait?”

“I doubt it. The first mission was probably simple because it was an introduction.”

Most likely, it was a tutorial to explain how the missions would work.

“If there’s no safe zone nearby…”

“We might not make it in time.”

That was true, but—

“The safe zone might already be full of people who arrived first.”

“Then… does that mean those who arrive late fail?”

If you arrived late and found the safe zone full—

Would you just say, “Oh, it’s full? Guess I’ll give up!” and walk away?

“…People might fight over it.”

I needed to think coldly.

Always assume the worst-case scenario.

“For now, let’s look for something that could work as a weapon.”

“A weapon…? Are you going to fight?”

“Not sure if we’ll find anything useful.”

An ordinary office building wasn’t exactly brimming with potential weapons.

Chairs were heavy, and things like box cutters or scissors were too short.

Wielding a laptop stand or a keyboard in a fight wasn't practical.

“The best we could find might be a mop.”

“You mean the kind used for cleaning?”

“Yes, but it’s probably too big and heavy to be practical. Especially if we need to take the stairs.”

“…”

“Every floor has a cleaning supply room, so let’s take our time to think.”

While I was lost in thought, Jieun looked at me with wavering eyes.

01:15 PM.

Fifteen minutes until the second mission.

There wasn’t much time.

“If you’re uncomfortable, you can go back to the office. I’m not trying to pressure you.”

“It’s not that… It’s just the sudden talk about fighting and weapons caught me off guard.”

"If that's all, save the confusion for later. Let's focus on completing the mission first."

"...Eunho, something feels different about you."

Leaving Jieun, who wore a conflicted expression, behind, I limped around, scanning the area.

"Anyway, just in case, grab something useful. Something easy to carry."

"D-Do I have to carry one too?"

Jieun pointed to herself with a flustered expression, as if she never imagined she’d have to fight anyone.

"You've got to protect yourself."

1:25 PM.

"Five minutes left. Let’s wait here."

"Are you taking the stairs?"

"If there’s no safe zone on the rooftop, we’ll have to come back down immediately."

"Let’s use the elevator, Eunho."

"You know what it’s like during rush hour. Hundreds of people will be swarming the three elevators."

"But, Eunho, you don’t like stairs…"

I grinned at her concerned words.

[Translator - Night]

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I hadn’t liked them.

My walking was painfully slow, and every step made my whole body ache.

But if enduring a little pain could revive my lifeless leg...

"I’ll manage."

[The mission is starting. Please evacuate to the safe zone before the time limit expires.]

"Eunho, look at this!"

A new screen appeared in my vision alongside the status window.

A white rectangle, about the size of a 27-inch monitor, with roughly 65% transparency.

"It looks like a building map!"

"At least that’s some relief. I thought we’d have to search every floor."

The screen displayed familiar spaces in an unfamiliar layout.

MS Tower, a 25-story building.

A helpful pin icon blinked on the 25th floor, showing my location, and the safe zones within the building were marked in green.

"Floors 19, 11, and 3. What should we do?"

"Head for the closest one. Run!"

09:50

I checked the flashing clock beside the schematic and opened the fire door leading to the stairs.

— Clunk.

"Huff, huff..."

"Eunho! Are you okay?"

My entire body was drenched in sweat.

I felt like I was dying, but I had made it to the 20th floor.

Just half a flight more to reach the safe zone on the 19th floor.

Let’s go.

I told myself it was just like interval training from my athlete days.

As if I were alternating between sprinting and jogging in a 1,000-meter drill.

"Should we rest for a moment? You look too exhausted, Eunho."

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?"n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

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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