[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Chapter 86: Training or Discipline (6)
The cleanup, or rather, the "cleaning," was finished in no time.
Thanks to the cleaning lady's spear, which absorbed countless eggs left behind by the giant cockroach.
Shwaaaang!
"Cleaning?"
"Wow! Is the skill's name really 'Cleaning'?"
As expected, the cleaning lady's skill was just what I had guessed.
I had my suspicions, but I never imagined the skill's actual name would be Cleaning.
"Hah, I thought coming to this strange world meant I wouldn't have to work anymore... Oh, my poor fate!"
Despite her grumbling, the cleaning lady's spear moved faster than anyone elseâs.
She meticulously cleaned every corner of the small island.
"You donât need to go that farâ¦"
"You young folks just rest. My mindâs too cluttered to sit still anyway."
"â¦In that case, let me help."
While my group and I were dealing with the remaining large creatures, the cleaning lady swept up every last bug, even the ones lying half-dead in the corners.
She cleared away all the black, hard shells, and the island regained its original green.
Thatâs when the announcement came.
[The special zone, 'Giant Insect Colony,' has been eliminated!]
[The ecosystem is being restored.]
Fwooooosh!
A gentle breeze blew through.
The temperature seemed to rise slightly, and a subtle convection current became noticeable.
It felt as if the air around me had lightened just a bit.
Pop!
An invisible bubble burst.
Just like when we first entered this place.
"�!"
"Wait... I canât breathe properly!"
"Me neither! Is something wrong?"
Gasp!
I took a slow, deliberate breath.
Jaehyuk's claim that breathing was difficult was half right and half wrong.
'The air volume is about the same.'
But the quality was different.
A space isolated from Seoul.
Massive insects.
And the drastically reduced air quality.
This was definitelyâ¦
"I think the oxygen concentration has dropped."
"What?"
"To be precise⦠it was probably too high earlier, due to the effects of the special terrain."
It was like the Mesozoic Era when dinosaurs roamed and gigantic insects ruled the earth.
"Oh⦠So itâs back to normal now?"
"Whatever the case, itâs a relief this is over. Just imagining living alongside those bugs... Ugh, it gives me chills!"
Jieun and Yeji exchanged remarks, brushing their arms as if to shake off the thought.
They seemed relieved it was all over.
But.
'What if it wasnât just this island but the entire city of Seoul?'
What if the climate of the entire planet changed instead?
Depending on the systemâs will, this place could cease to be the Earth we know.
Compared to that, an earthquake that engulfed all of Yongsan District would be a minor disaster.
'Could we be prepared for something like that?'
As I was lost in thoughts that bordered on worry,
"Hey! Eunho!"
"â¦Oh, yes."
Jieun's call snapped me out of my reverie.
"Shall we head back to Hongdae?"
"Hmm⦠No. Itâs too late, and going back now would be even more dangerous."
"Youâre right. Itâs already pitch dark."
Before I knew it, it was well past 10 PM.
It was too risky to rely on the faint city lights and phone flashlights to find our way back.
The wind might pick up again, like last time.
That left only one option.
"Letâs spend the night here."
"Here?"
"Yes. The insects are gone, so it should be fine."
"Sounds good, hyung!"
"Phew, if itâs with you young folks, Iâm okay. Though I nearly died yesterdayâ¦"
Jaehyuk responded cheerfully as if he was used to this, and the guard nodded in agreement.
"We need to build a fire and set up a place to sleep."
As soon as I finished speaking, Jaehyuk dashed off, returning with an armful of willow branches and foliage.
He piled the firewood high and held the head of a summoned torch to it.
"Signal fire."
And lit it.
Crackle! Pop!
The chilly river breeze met the campfire, turning warm.
Gathered around the fire, everyone began to open up about their worries one by one.
"So, what happens to us now? The entrance exam is over."
"Donât we get hired? We passed the exam, after all."
"Hiredâ¦"
I muttered the word.
Their faces showed fear of the unknown.
"Thereâs no need to be afraid. Youâve all done well so far."
"Whatever happens⦠I think the older man will adapt just fine."
As I spoke to reassure them, Yejin nodded in agreement.
Adapt, huh.
Now that I think about it, there was something about that in the message earlier.
[Subject 'Lee Eunho.' Some of the cockroach's remarkable adaptability has been absorbed!]
[Would you like to view the effects?]
So I stepped a few paces away from the group to check the part of the message I hadnât yet read.
I didnât have high expectations, butâ¦
[Enhanced adaptability allows you to withstand physical pressure better!]
[Cold resistance slightly increases!]
[Heat resistance slightly increases!]
â!!â
Permanent increases in cold and heat resistance were an incredible benefit.
As for withstanding physical pressure⦠I wasnât sure yet, but I decided to test it later.
âI got lucky.â
Who knows what extreme environments I might face in the future?
Feeling satisfied with this unexpected reward, I turned to head back whenâ
"Young man!"
The cleaning lady had approached silently and handed me a piece of fruit sheâd somehow found.
"Here, have a bite of thisâ Oof, oh no!"
Stumble!
Her foot caught on a rock, and she wobbled.
Thud!
I quickly caught her, preventing her from falling, but she didnât look up.
"Huh?"
"Are you okay?"
She muttered something strange, stared blankly at the rock, and then widened her eyes in surprise.
âWait a minute! Isnât this malbul?â
âPardon? Isnât it just a rock?â
âItâs not a rock; itâs a mushroom! A mushroom!â
A mushroom?
No matter how I looked at it, it was just a gray lump of stone.
âThis, this is used as medicine at pharmacies⦠When youâre bleeding, eating or applying this stops it.â
âIs that so?â
âThis precious thing⦠let me see.â
As I tilted my head in confusion at its unfamiliar appearance, the lady outright sat down on the ground and began inspecting the vegetation around her.
âOh my! Thereâs Ginseng here too?â
âGinseng?â
âHerbs, I mean! Herbs!â
And then, as if she intended to dig it up entirely by the roots, she started clawing at the ground.
âYoung man! Come here and help me dig this up!â
âThis is⦠an herb?â
âYes, yes. I learned a little from watching the herbalist at the local clinic.â
Half-doubting her, I grabbed the plant she pointed at and pulled it up.
â Ding!
[You have obtained Young Ginseng Root!]
â!!â
An item description appeared.
⣠Young Ginseng Root
-The root of a Ginseng that grew within a high-energy barrier.
Boiling it into a tea seems like it would strengthen muscles.
Digging up herbs from the dirt?
This was completely unexpected.
Perhaps it was the influence of the colony.
âWhatever it is.â
âToo bad itâs so dark. If it were daytime, we could find even moreâ¦â
Without hesitation, I handed the lamenting lady a torch.
âHere.â
âHuh?â
No need to feel regret.
âYouâre still feeling energetic, right?â
âOh, uhâ¦â
Thereâs no reason to hold back.
Weâll strip this place clean.
âLetâs scour this whole island, shall we?â
* * *
Thereâs a rumor that circulates quietly among the Investigation Bureau staff.
A so-called âpushoverâ existsâa person who takes on thankless tasks no one else wants to do.
[Itâs true! If you ask Manager Bok, heâll tell you to pass it to him!]
[Really? Why would a manager handle such menial work?]
Those in the know knew the truth.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
The rumor had even spread to naive new hires, to the point it was discussed openly in the corridors.
[Fine, if you donât want to go, forget it. Weâll go without you.]
[Wait! Let me think about itâ¦]
And just then, a throat-clearing cough came from behind them.
Ahem!
[M-M-Managerâ¦!]
The person who appeared was Cho Bok, a perpetually stuck-at-manager-level employee reputed to be the ânicest guyâ in the Investigation Bureauâa title that was anything but a compliment in the workplace.
[Whatâs this about?]
Oh no.
Of all times, Manager Bok had to overhear them.
Now that heâd learned new hires were gossiping about him, they were doomed to face the consequences.
[Itâs, itâs not what you think⦠itâs nothing like thatâ¦!]
The two exchanged quick glances.
Plead.
A silent agreement was made, and they both bowed deeply in unison.
[Weâre s-sorry! It was a terrible mistake!]
[I asked what itâs about. Whatâs this thing you said youâd pass to me?]
[It-itâs about the preliminary investigation report⦠We need to go on a field survey, but it overlaps with the training schedule for new employeesâ¦]
What would happen now?
Would they be punished?
Even if Manager Bok was a pushover, he wouldnât just let this slide, right?
[Preliminary investigation? You need to go in person? Which district?]
[You donât have to worry about it! We were just joking around!]
Sweat dripped from their foreheads, landing with a quiet plop on the floor.
But.
[Donât worry and go ahead. Iâll take care of it.]
Manager Bok wasâ¦
Even more generous than they had imagined.
[Are you serious?!]
The ultimate pushover in all his glory.
[Itâs important for new employees to be properly trained. Thatâs how we develop talent to lead our company, isnât it?]
[â¦â¦!]
[Thank you! Thank you so much, Manager!]
With that, Cho Bok turned away.
He left with their admiration shining in their eyesâand with a new pile of thankless tasks.
Clack!
When he returned to his office with a faint smileâ¦
[You have a visitor.]
An unexpected guest was waiting for him.
A tall, disheveled man in a dirty lab coat.
[He says heâs from the Future Research Center.]
A stranger heâd never met before.
There was no reason for the center to contact him, and certainly no personal ties to explain it.
After all, Cho Bok wasnât even particularly close to colleagues within his own bureau.
[Nice decor. Very consistent theme.]
The white-haired man casually ignored Cho Bok and scanned the office.
[Should I decorate my lab like this?]
His tall, thin frame reminded Cho Bok, for a brief moment, of a lamp awkwardly placed in the center of a room.
No, that wasnât it.
Cho Bok shook his head, dispelling the stray thought.
[Please make an appointment next time. I was just about to step out.]
With polite firmness, he declined.
[Cho Bok, the Investigation Bureauâs famous pushover. Your reputation precedes you.]
The man, showing no regard for decorum, immediately picked a fight.
[I hear youâre very dedicated to field investigations. You could delegate those tasks, but you insist on doing them yourself.]
[What exactly are you implying?]
Even as the most infamous pushover, Cho Bok couldnât help but feel annoyed at this point.
Just as he was about to snap backâ
[I heard you have unique tastes.]
[What are you talking about?]
[You seem to like things that look the same. Your decor, for instance.]
Flinch!
Cho Bok shut his mouth.
The researcher continued speaking with a calm expression, as if nothing had happened.
[The twin brothers from District 17.]
Cold sweat started dripping from Cho Bokâs forehead.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
He tried to feign composure, but his trembling hands betrayed him.
And then.
[In District 8, you stole a stunning beauty and her mother, didnât you?]
Cho Bok, momentarily at a loss for words, suddenly exploded in anger.
[W-what are you talking about? I donât know anything about that!]
[Ah, I thought so.]
The researcher replied nonchalantly, as if expecting this reaction, and then said:
[I had to go through some trouble to get this.]
Snap!
He flicked his fingers.
A large screen filled Cho Bokâs vision.
And on it...
[Why is this...!]
The screen showed bound, naked beauties with strikingly similar appearances, and Cho Bok incessantly harassing them.
It was undeniable evidence of the secret depravity hidden within the Investigation Bureauâs âmodel employee.â
Thud!
Cho Bok collapsed to the ground.
[You smuggled them out before the restructuring, didnât you? Making sure the company wouldnât notice.]
[How did you...?!]
The manâs words were true.
There was a reason someone of Cho Bokâs rankâa section chief, no lessâhad been taking on preliminary survey assignments usually reserved for new hires.
It was because that was his one and only, and most thrilling, hobby in the world.
[Why didnât I think of this sooner? If I had, things wouldnât have escalated to this point.]
His hobby was kidnapping and exploiting individuals on the verge of being eliminated.
[...They were going to disappear anyway! They were nobodies, aside from their looks!]
[You canât be certain of that.]
[But still, I let them live, didnât I? Being alive like this is better than being âerasedââ¦!]
Cho Bok stammered out his pathetic excuses, but the researcher simply waved his hand dismissively.
[Enough. I couldnât care less if you slice them up or roast their bones. Theyâre not even suitable for experiments.]
Because the researcher wasnât after justice or moral redemption.
[Should I send this video to the Director of the Investigation Bureau? Or maybe upload it to the company board to destroy you completely?]
[N-no! Please, donât do that! What do you want? Name your price!]
The reason the researcher had gone through the trouble of hacking and tracking down Cho Bok was simple.
[The follow-up investigation for District 13 is starting soon, isnât it?]
[...?]
[Appoint me as the medical examiner for the physical evaluations.]
The âfollow-up investigationâ aimed to analyze how much subjects had developed compared to the results of the âpreliminary investigationâ conducted by the bureau.
As part of that, a project was being launched to conduct physical evaluations, and the researcher wanted to secure a spot in it.
[What nonsense is this all of a sudden? Youâre not even part of the bureau; you canât be designated as an examinerâ]
[You talk too much.]
Step.
The researcher widened his eyes and moved closer.
[Should I rip out your tongue? Chop it into little pieces and feed it to the subjects locked up in your house? Theyâd probably enjoy chewing on it.]
Step.
[Or maybe I should slice it thinly and grill it on a pan. Do you want that?]
[Eeeek! Fine! Iâll do it!]
Cho Bok screamed, trembling in terror.
[Hah, you shouldâve agreed from the start.]
What a lunatic.
Cho Bok swallowed back the nausea rising in his throat and asked:
[Why are you going this far? Whatâs so important about being an examiner?]
[Ah.]
The researcher, now looking satisfied, dismissed the screen and kindly explained.
[Thereâs a research subject Iâm interested in, but the Management Bureau wonât release them. So, Iâm going to retrieve them myself.]
[You mean⦠Youâre going through all this trouble just to extract one subject? Thatâs insane! Who the hell is it?!]
But the researcherâs answer was far from explanatory.
[...A bug-ridden lunatic.]
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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