Chapter 58

Manager Kwon Mu-seop was truly a good person.

But if asked whether he was a superior worthy of respect, mm.

First of all, Manager Kwon Mu-seop, whom I had observed for one day, was more human than I had thought.

“Mumu…… Cha Si-eon…… take care of Mumu…….”

First, I thought it was a joke, but his sleep-talking was truly severe.

Step, step, THUD—!

In the morning, he also had low blood pressure and could not come to his senses.

Clatter— tap, tap—!

On top of that, his eating habits were blatantly unbalanced.

No, if he was going to do this, why not simply tell them to leave the carrots out of his own meal?

For someone not exactly young, what is this…….

Well, fine.

There was no need to fault a person for such minor living habits.

After all, there were authors whose main bodies were nothing much but who wrote incredible works.

Manager Kwon Mu-seop also held a heavy position, so as long as he did his work well, that was fine.

The problem was that even this was a little ambiguous.

“Group 1 broke through H-3 Area around 6 this morning. They are currently reorganizing in the passage.”

“Group 2 completed the 「Church That Draws Revelations」 mission at 13:03 the previous day and began the 「Abandoned Factory Where You Get Caught If You Move」 mission at 5:00 today.”

“Group 3 completed the 「Amusement Park That Seeks Angels」 mission at 17:35 the previous day. They are currently standing by in the entry area for 「Water Park Connected to All Water」, and after cooling until 20:00, they will enter the mission.”

“Group 4’s stay time in 「Funeral Hall Visited by the Dead」 is growing longer. Due to the engagement and collapse burial accident that occurred in the morgue, they have not yet escaped. There are 7 minor injuries and 2 serious injuries, and follow-up mission support is needed.”

“Group 5 is continuing in-depth exploration.”

“Group 6 is standing by. We will prepare so they can enter 「Meditation Center Where Bodies Change」.”

The situation reports from the command staff senior officials ended.

“…….”

But Kwon Mu-seop, seated at the head of the table, said neither yes nor no.

“Manager.”

Yoon U-jeong waited, then called Kwon Mu-seop.

Kwon Mu-seop was still propping his chin and scribbling something in his notebook.

“Manager Kwon?”

“Ah, yes. I am listening. I was thinking for a moment.”

At Kwon Mu-seop’s excuse, I looked far away.

I saw it.

That Kwon Mu-seop had been drawing a sparrow in his notebook…….

Leaving me flustered alone behind him, Kwon Mu-seop played innocent and asked,

“Have the mercenary entities appeared?”

“Yes. Group 4 encountered 「Echo」 in the morgue and engaged it for 1 minute and 6 seconds.”

“What happened to 「Echo」?”

“When it was driven onto the defensive, it destroyed the morgue entrance and fled.”

“I see. Please report immediately if 「Big Cat」, 「Gardener」, or 「Alpha」 appears as well. I look forward to working with you today too.”

“Yes, sir!”

The senior officials answered loudly and stood.

Their disciplined appearance was fairly solemn.

But my head was filled only with the sparrow doodle Kwon Mu-seop had drawn.

---

Bam bababam bam—!

-Today, we’ll learn about “mercenary entities”!

-Most entities act only in the Special Zone where they occurred.

-But among Type 1 Special Zones, very rarely, there are entities that move to other Special Zones. Those are mercenary entities!

Instead of Mumu, four photos filled the screen.

-So far, there are 4 confirmed types of mercenary entities.

-「Big Cat」 of 「Island Where Blood Falls」.

-「Gardener」 of 「School Where Flowers Bloom」.

-「Alpha」 and 「Beta」 of 「National Theater That Roots Out the Fake」.

-「Echo」 of 「Funeral Hall Visited by the Dead」.

The appearances of the mercenary entities were all ominous.

Even 「Alpha」 and 「Beta」, which at least had human exteriors, were the same.

Perhaps because I had experienced that brutality directly, to my eyes, they simply looked like monsters.

-As the name suggests, mercenary entities are specialized in combat, and they do not stop activity even when their base Special Zone enters the reorganization phase.

-Because of these traits, they are also the greatest threat to our agents.

-So before entering a Type 1 Special Zone, make sure to prepare for combat with mercenary entities!

The educational video ended with Mumu’s firm warning.

At that moment, Kwon Mu-seop’s voice came from outside my earphones.

“You’re diligent, still studying.”

When I looked beside me, Kwon Mu-seop was looking at my tablet screen.

He was still dressed in combat gear, but he looked very comfortable leaning back against the sofa.

Manager Kwon Mu-seop had been in this state the whole time since the meeting earlier ended.

Yesterday, he had looked busy with work, but today he was strangely free.

“Is that material helpful?”

“Yes. It’s good because I can search by keyword.”

“That’s a relief. They went to the trouble of making it, but we couldn’t even use it.”

“What do you mean, couldn’t use it?”

“General Affairs newly made it because they thought personnel would be increased. But the higher-ups cut all the personnel, so in the end, we couldn’t use any of it…….”

Kwon Mu-seop sadly confessed the failure of days past.

To put it nicely, he looked easygoing, and to put it badly, he looked unserious.

I wondered if it was all right for a manager to be like this.

Since he was already being unserious, I should quietly ask too.

“I have something I’m curious about.”

“Mm, what is it?”

“This is a slightly different topic, but it seems I received more compensation than Bureau regulations allowed. When I came out of the 「Railway Station」.”

Good. This much was natural.

“Ah, that? We just gave you extra. You were so impressive back then.”

But Manager Kwon Mu-seop was natural too.

Very naturally, he tried to move past it like an old fox slipping over a wall.

Haha, this man?

“What I received was more than 3 times the maximum payment.”

“That means you were that impressive.”

“That should all have been tax money too.”

“Mm, no. There is a scholarship foundation created by senior officials. It came from there, so you don’t need to worry. It isn’t tax money.”

……Kwon Mu-seop said this and laughed heartily.

To think he could lie while smiling so kindly…….

This person had absolutely no intention of saying he had emptied his own personal funds.

Right, perhaps it would be embarrassing to say, “Actually, I gave that to you.”

Maybe he was the type who could lightly pay 100 million won if someone was impressive.

Then why not pay it alone? Why did you pay it together with Team Leader Cha?

At this roundabout speech mixed with lies, my head grew even more complicated.

At that moment, Manager Kwon Mu-seop’s phone rang.

“Yes, Deputy Manager.”

-Manager, Group 1 has sighted 「Alpha」.

“……!”

At the sound coming from over the phone, I flinched in surprise.

-There was no engagement, and 「Alpha」 failed in a surprise attack and fled. They also discovered traces suspected to belong to 「Gardener」.

Two mercenary entities had appeared.

And both were targeting Group 1.

“Is that so? Yes, understood.”

But Manager Kwon Mu-seop merely listened and hung up.

There was no sign he intended to move his back from the sofa.

“Shouldn’t you get up?”

“Mm? It’s all right. The kids will respond well.”

“Still…….”

“Do-un.”

At Kwon Mu-seop’s call, I thought, Ah.

I wondered whether I had dared to talk back to the commander.

I thought for sure he would say something to me.

“To be honest, I can’t get up.”

“……?”

“It’s been so long since I wore field gear that it’s hard to move.”

“…….”

“So let’s just rest. Deputy Manager will handle things well.”

At what Kwon Mu-seop said with a smile, I lost my words.

Manager Kwon Mu-seop was truly a good person.

But if asked whether he was a reliable superior, I felt it would be hard to nod readily.

---

Another day passed.

By the third day, the field had grown more intense.

In Group 2, injured personnel appeared during the mission, and in Group 3, some agents fell into water and nearly drowned.

Group 1 also had to fight an engagement while responding to a coordinated attack by 「Alpha」 and 「Gardener」.

The command staff and Control Team were also continuously on emergency alert as they watched the situation.

But Manager Kwon Mu-seop was still relaxed.

As if he was alone in another world.

He kept doodling and spent most of the day sitting on the sofa as if lying down.

He had even said his field gear was too heavy to get up, yet added more supplies and hung them all over his body.

So now, he looked almost like a Christmas tree.

“There’s nothing bad about preparing well.”

Kwon Mu-seop excused himself even though I had not said anything.

It seemed he was embarrassed because Yoon U-jeong had just come and laughed at him.

“Yes, preparation isn’t bad…….”

Moreover, all of this was an effort to save me.

So from my perspective, it was something to be grateful for.

But why? Why was I growing more anxious instead as time passed?

Being grateful and finding someone reliable were separate matters, and before I knew it, I began to pray.

Please, let nothing happen.

Please, anything but being dragged into a Special Zone with Manager Kwon Mu-seop.

It was a useless prayer.

As always, God was not on my side.

---

It was when I had fallen asleep after night came.

“……un, Do-un. Try waking up.”

A hand shaking my shoulder.

“Uh, yes……?”

Because Manager Kwon Mu-seop woke me, I rubbed my eyes and sat up.

Then I flinched and shrank back.

It was too cold. And the surroundings were white and bright.

Startled, I looked around.

Is this…… inside a mountain?

Under a gray-white sky, gaunt, bare trees stood packed together.

All the grasses had withered and bent yellow.

It was now May, but the sight did not match the sense of season at all.

As I froze briefly, Kwon Mu-seop grabbed my arm and asked,

“Do-un, can you hear my voice?”

“Pardon? Yes. Where on earth is this…….”

“What can you see right now?”

What can I see? Manager Kwon Mu-seop, I can see you.

-Manager, can you hear me?

At that moment, Yoon U-jeong’s voice rang from Kwon Mu-seop’s chest.

It was coming from the radio inserted near his shoulder.

“Yes, I can hear you.”

-You have entered 「Ant Hill That Steals the Five Senses」.

“Ah, is that so? No wonder it’s cold.”

-Nothing is cut off anywhere, right?

“Yes, we are safe.”

-That is a relief, but we were already in an emergency, and you still managed to cause an accident…….

Yoon U-jeong laughed as if dumbfounded.

But I could not laugh.

---

Survival Rules for Missing Persons within 「Ant Hill That Steals the Five Senses」

「Ant Hill That Steals the Five Senses」 is a Special Zone inhabited by 「Execution Ants」 hostile to humans.

To escape this place, you must avoid dangers such as 「Execution Ants」 and 「Ant Lines」 and endure for 29 hours.

The methods for avoiding danger are as follows. Please refer to the contents below and return alive safely.

■ Individual Precautions within 「Ant Hill That Steals the Five Senses」

A person pulled into this Special Zone will lose one of the five senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste).

This sensory loss continues while staying in the Special Zone and recovers again when returning to reality.

Do not panic at the sudden disability. Please respond calmly.

---

I checked my own senses first.

I could see, and I could hear.

The sensation in my skin that felt the cold was normal too.

What remained now was…….

I put my hand to my nose and tried smelling.

The scent of soap or skin toner I had used before sleeping should have remained, but I could not smell anything at all.

I was instead relieved by this fact.

The senses dangerous to have taken away in this place.

In order, they were sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste.

In particular, having sight taken away was fatal, so I thought this was something.

“My sense of smell is paralyzed.”

-If it’s smell, you made out well. Manager?

Yoon U-jeong sighed and asked Kwon Mu-seop too.

“Ah, me……?”

Kwon Mu-seop laughed awkwardly and confessed.

“I can’t see in front of me.”

“…….”

At this point, I felt I should believe it.

In the existence of a god obsessed with tormenting me.

Though I had prayed so desperately, I had ultimately been dragged into a Special Zone with Kwon Mu-seop.

And right now, he could not see.