Chapter 87

Ta-dadada-daa—!

Hello, trainee agents!

Today, we will learn about the danger grades of Special Management Zones!

The Special Zones you will manage from now on are classified into 5 grades in total: ‘Caution’, ‘Alert’, ‘Danger’, ‘Quarantine’, and ‘Pending’.

Then shall we look at the features of each classification one by one?

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■ Caution (C) Grade

1. Both an exploration rate of 63% or higher and a return-alive rate of 45% or higher must be met.

2. At least 1 stable escape route, or at least 2 unstable or somewhat risky escape routes, must be secured.

3. The danger factors within the Special Zone must be at a level that a non-disabled civilian aged 14 or older can sufficiently avoid if they exercise caution.

4. 「Giants’ Board Game Café」, 「Rainbow Cake Shop」, etc.

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Caution grade refers to zones being successfully controlled.

As long as you respond according to the manual, major accidents will not occur.

If a citizen is pulled into a Caution-grade Special Zone, the duty team can deploy immediately without separate permission.

So if you discover a citizen in a Caution-grade Special Zone, make sure to rescue them actively!

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■ Alert (B) Grade

1. Exploration rate of 45% or higher, or return-alive rate of 27% or higher.

2. At least 2 unstable or somewhat risky escape routes must be secured.

3. There are fatal danger factors within the Special Zone, but if conditions are met, response and avoidance must be possible.

4. 「Sports Complex Where Corpses Run」, 「Spring of Reincarnation」, etc.

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Alert-grade Special Zones are zones where exploration has progressed considerably and escape routes have been secured, but the danger level of the space is still high.

Permission is required to enter such zones.

So if you discover a citizen in an Alert-grade Special Zone, make sure to report it quickly.

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■ Danger (A) Grade

1. Exploration rate of 27% or higher, or return-alive rate of 18% or higher.

2. At least 1 unstable and risky escape route must be secured.

3. There are fatal danger factors within the Special Zone, but a possibility of survival must also exist.

4. 「Railway Station Where the Siren Sounds」, 「Kids Café That Kills Red」, etc.

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Danger grade refers to zones where sacrifice is inevitable.

Screening is required to enter these places.

Also, entry will not be approved unless it is an extremely important matter.

So even if you discover citizens, you must judge coldly.

Even if you go in, the number of corpses will only increase from one to two.

Next is the most dangerous Quarantine grade!

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■ Quarantine (S) Grade

1. No escape route secured.

2. Survival method unknown.

3. 「National Museum of Korea Where a False God Looks Down」, most Type 3 Special Zones.

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Quarantine-grade Special Zones are zones with a return-alive rate of 0%.

The only time our agents approach Quarantine-grade Special Zones is when resetting the Special Zone.

Quarantine-grade Special Zones can cause mental damage through monitoring alone.

So always take care not to approach them arbitrarily.

Lastly, Pending grade refers to zones where exploration is still in progress or zones with special characteristics.

Special Zones in the early stages of exploration, and 「Circulating Library」, fall under this category.

Now, we have looked at the danger levels of Special Zones.

For Caution grade, be active. For Alert grade, be swift. For Danger grade, be cautious.

And for Quarantine grade, do not approach!

Make sure to remember these four things!

Ta-dadada-daa—!

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Agent Mumu chattered diligently again today, then disappeared into the darkness.

After seeing Mumu off, I opened the materials I had received yesterday.

It was the overview document for this operation.

The place I was entering next week was 「Hotel That Selects the Real」.

Its danger grade was ‘Alert’, making it a relatively safe Special Zone.

So there was no particular reason to be nervous, but…….

Throb—

For some reason, my stomach had been asserting its presence continuously for the past few days.

I know. I know you are there, so please stop…….

I pressed my solar plexus to soothe this pain, like an unwelcome guest.

It was when I was taking deep breaths in that state.

Knock, knock—

“Hyung, nothing is wrong, right?”

Kwak Jae-gyeom abruptly came to my room and asked after me.

After barely calming the abdominal pain, I caught my breath and answered.

“Yeah, why?”

“Team Leader says your heart rate is noisy.”

Throb—!

“Urgh……!”

“Huh? Hyung!”

It had almost settled……!

At Cha Si-eon’s finishing blow, my stomach twisted again.

At the feeling of the inside of my solar plexus being clawed apart, I broke into a cold sweat and collapsed onto the desk.

It was all Cha Si-eon’s fault.

---

“Stress-induced stomach cramps?”

“Yes…….”

When I confessed my chronic condition, Kim U-in tilted his head instead.

“There is no record of treatment, though?”

“It was bad when I was in high school, and I did not go to the hospital separately.”

“And now it suddenly came back? After 10 years?”

Nod, nod—

At my confirmation, Kim U-in’s head tilted again.

“Do-un, for the past 3 months, you were abruptly dragged into Special Zones and your life was going back and forth, but you had no symptoms like this.”

“I did not.”

“So I thought your nerves must be incredibly thick, but now, at this point, you are getting stressed?”

“It does feel a little pathetic even to me…….”

“No, this is not pathetic. It is important.”

When I looked awkward, Kim U-in even took the lollipop out of his mouth and spoke seriously.

“Do-un, you were never the kind of person to make a fuss, and you were someone who handled yourself well, but suddenly the brakes have caught. This is something we need to look at seriously.”

I could only be grateful that he put it that way.

“What happened when you were a student that it went as far as stomach cramps?”

“It was academic stress, that is all.”

“I also saw the background investigation from when you were appointed, Do-un. You know that, right?”

At my light answer, Kim U-in also spoke lightly in passing.

It meant that he already knew most of my circumstances, so I should not pointlessly gloss over it.

“Haha, yes…….”

“So how did you resolve it before?”

“I just endured it until it settled down.”

“Can that be endured just because you endure it?”

“To be honest, I did end up in some trouble because of that…….”

I smiled awkwardly, like a child caught hiding a mistake.

Then I hurriedly added,

“But right now, it is not as severe as it was back then. It is just a stabbing pain that comes back around the time I almost forget it…….”

So I had been planning to let it pass moderately, but some bastard monitored my heart rate…….

“When did it start hurting this time?”

“Not many days ago. I think it first happened during the last joint meeting.”

“Then what do you mean, not many days? It has already been a week. No, if a problem like this came up, you should have said something early, early. Why are you enduring it? Are you trying to imitate Team Leader Cha?”

“I thought it was temporary…….”

At the words “imitate Team Leader Cha,” I felt self-loathing and made an excuse.

“Was there anything especially weighing on your mind recently?”

“Mm…….”

I slowly looked back over the past days.

But nothing in particular came to mind.

It was a difficult and humiliating thing.

I seemed to be stressed about something, yet I could not even guess the reason.

I am an editor…….

I am someone who can interpret characters, whether they belong to others or to myself.

At this rate, my editor’s self is going to cry.

“Mmm……!”

Under pressure, I searched for the reason.

But there was no way I would suddenly find something I had not found over the past few days.

Kim U-in, who had been waiting, urged me subtly.

“Are you unable to speak because there is nothing, or because there are too many things?”

“I think it is both.”

“What do you mean, both?”

“There are many things weighing on me, but none of them are new.”

I admitted it with some feeling of defeat.

At that, Kim U-in put the lollipop he was holding back into his mouth and asked back,

“For example?”

“The biggest one is the problem of being dragged into Special Zones without warning, I suppose.”

“Well, that is a problem directly connected to your life.”

“But thanks to the Bureau’s support, I have survived well until now, and I have adapted quite a bit, so I think being stressed about it now would be late.”

“I do not think there is such a thing as being late when it comes to safety issues, but to be honest, I think so too. What else?”

“The expectations around me are a bit burdensome.”

“So do you feel pressured?”

“No. Just because people expect something of me does not mean I must necessarily meet those expectations.”

“That is a good attitude. And what else?”

“S.O.C.H. activities. Those pop up whenever I almost forget about them…….”

“Otter idolization is in progress, so this must really be burdensome.”

“Yes…… certainly…….”

“But S.O.C.H. cannot be helped. It is already an irreversible flow.”

“I think so too, so I decided to separate myself from the otter. It would also feel strange to pour cold water on people having fun in such a harsh place, so I am trying to think of it as a club that likes otters instead.”

“A wise judgment.”

Kim U-in and I nodded at each other in mutual agreement.

The conclusion was neat, but it was far from the purpose of this conversation.

Realizing this, Kim U-in came to his senses and asked again.

“Do-un, by any chance, how is your relationship with your case officer?”

Cha Si-eon?

Until not long ago, he had been an uncomfortable person.

But after I learned he was Kongjwi, I became rather comfortable with him.

“It is not bad.”

“Then your roommate?”

Kwak Jae-gyeom?

Jae-gyeom was, well, comfortable and good.

Though the kid absolutely would not sort the recycling.

Though he sometimes came all the way into the living room with his shoes on.

Though after showering, he left moisture and steam in the bathroom.

And though he was Cha Si-eon’s loyal minion, he was a decent guy.

“I am getting along well with my roommate too.”

“Then why on earth are you hurting?”

“Exactly…….”

At Kim U-in’s question, I only smiled.

It had already been 3 months since I entered the Bureau.

I had spent an entire spring here, and now I was welcoming summer.

During that time, I had gone through all kinds of things and had been injured in various ways too.

But I was getting by reasonably well.

Despite the sudden disaster, I was slowly finding clues to a solution.

“I think the situation is much better than before.”

It definitely should be, so I do not know why this is suddenly happening.

“So I wonder if maybe my tension has finally loosened now…….”

I mocked my own shabby conclusion.

Kim U-in looked at me for a moment, then slowly opened his mouth.

“I know you are someone who conducts yourself well, Do-un. I also know you are thoughtful.”

What kind of cushion is he laying down before saying this?

“It is strange to say this to someone who is doing well, but honestly, there was also a sense that you were too fine until now.”

“…….”

“It is obviously good if you endure well. But if that is not what is happening, then you need to respond accordingly. Whether it is illness or injury, treating it early is best.”

“I think you are right.”

There was no room to refute it, so I nodded humbly.

To me, Kim U-in said one last thing.

“Your body is sending you a signal now, so take this chance and ask yourself.”

“Ask what?”

“Whether you are truly all right, and if you are not all right, what the reason is.”