WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 117: [What Is the Identity of the ×× Found in Uiwi Guild Cafeteria Food?!]

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A corpse?

Maybe because of the distance and angle, I couldn't see the face buried in the serving container. From behind, dressed in a suit, he just looked like an ordinary office worker.

No matter how long I watched, there wasn't even the slightest movement.

It really did seem to be a corpse.

The moment I stepped toward the serving counter, where there was something that appeared to have once been a person.

"What if it's some kind of monster...! And isn't it weird that camera's filming that corpse, or whatever it is?"

Yun Geon-min grabbed hold of me.

He had a point.

Considering Labyrinthification had happened at three thirty, it was strange for that person to be in the cafeteria at all.

"Still, we need to check. The three of you stay here for a moment."

"I'll come too..."

Hyeon Je-won raised a hand.

"Those cameras and all that food are very likely artifacts...!"

Probably. Artifacts with a very high chance of killing people.

"Ah, does anyone have an idea why there are broadcast cameras like that in the cafeteria? I don't think they just appeared out of nowhere when Labyrinthification happened."

The cafeteria and the cameras.

Given the traits this Labyrinth had shown so far, there seemed to be at least some connection between them.

And if I knew what that connection was, I could prepare at least a little. At the very least, mentally.

"Oh my, was that today?"

A cleaning staff member clapped softly.

"Right, right. There was an announcement not long ago. Something about filming promotional material? They said they'd adjust the work hours a little. Well, I don't work in this area anyway, so I didn't pay much attention... I'd completely forgotten."

"...Ah. Ah, right. That's true."

A Human Resources Team employee chimed in as though he'd only just remembered.

I studied Yun Geon-min's face for a moment, recalling how I'd searched every corner of the Management Support Division office, then let the thought go.

As expected. He didn't seem to know much.

I had an idea why, but it wasn't a conclusion that put me in danger, so there was no need to dwell on it.

Still, if it was filming...

Judging by the way it was recording that corpse, the Labyrinth had clearly incorporated something related to that shoot into its rules.

Filming assumed the presence of someone watching, a viewer.

It was an ominous thought.

"They're definitely artifacts! Connected to the Labyrinth world...!"

Hyeon Je-won's face, on the other hand, had brightened even more, as though they had reached a similar conclusion.

"Let's go check right away...!"

"Uh, y-yeah? Shall we...?"

Kim Hee-sook seemed worried about Hyeon Je-won, seeing how excited they were.

"Wouldn't it be much better if Yun Geon-min came with us too? Yeah?"

Three pairs of eyes turned toward him. Yun Geon-min, who had been standing there with his arms folded and a sulky look on his face, shook his head as if he couldn't take it anymore.

"Ugh, seriously. Fine, whatever. Let's all go together!"

The four of us walked down the long aisle between the dining tables.

"..."

The closer we got to the serving area, the stranger the scene became.

A man had his head buried so deeply in a large plate of spaghetti that his neck bent at an unnatural angle.

A single camera on a tripod was filming him as though he were under a spotlight.

"W-wait, what's wrong with that hand...?"

Standing close behind us, Yun Geon-min somehow spotted the problem with the corpse first and recoiled in horror.

Instead of the face hidden in the food, I looked at the corpse's hand sticking out from beneath a suit sleeve.

It was shriveled dry like a corpse that had been desiccating for ages, colored somewhere between reddish brown and black.

Clatter, thud...

When I grabbed the bizarre corpse by its jacket and pulled, its head emerged, covered in tomato sauce.

"Aah!"

"Ma'am...! You scared me! And Seon Yu-han, you could at least warn us before doing something like that...!"

Kim Hee-sook screamed first, and Yun Geon-min jumped at the sound.

"My god, what is that...?"

I quietly examined the unidentified man's corpse as I held it upright by the back of its collar.

Its head, dripping red sauce, was in the same condition as its hands.

The outline of a darkened skull, its mouth stretched wide enough for every tooth to show.

It was lighter than expected, as though nothing but bones remained from head to toe.

I'd seen plenty of corpses, but seeing one so clean, like a doll thoroughly dried in a machine, felt strange in a different way.

Of course, the front of its suit was filthy and stained, as though it had showered in food, and it smelled too. Its hands and face were caked with something as well.

Still, the fact that its body was perfectly intact, without a single part missing, somehow...

It might have been unsettling.

"This... looks as though it was rapidly mummified..."

Hyeon Je-won muttered while inspecting the corpse I held without touching it.

"Of course, I don't mean it was literally a mummy, only that it resembles one..."

"Yes, yes. I understand."

I cut Hyeon Je-won off at a suitable point while touching the part of the neck that wasn't covered in sauce.

"It still feels like there's skin."

"Ugh, why would you touch that..."

Yun Geon-min grimaced in disgust.

"Goodness, what could have happened to him... Poor thing."

Kim Hee-sook shook her head and looked away.

Near the container of tomato spaghetti sat a tray with food only partially served on it.

"Could this have happened from eating the food...?"

"It does seem likely."

Appetizing food of every kind was lined up before us, still steaming.

Looking at it made me hungry.

I wanted to eat.

It looked delicious.

Could I try some?

Bzzzt...

My pocket suddenly vibrated.

"Hm?"

"What, you got one too?"

It wasn't just me.

Everyone took out their phones.

I set the mummy-like corpse down on the floor and immediately pulled out mine.

[+82 70-329-1159

　1 text message]

A preview notification appeared on the lock screen.

This had happened in the parking lot before.

"This is a text from the Labyrinth."

"Gasp, then doesn't that mean we shouldn't check it...?"

"Who knows."

Last time, it had sent bizarre messages to raise my heart rate.

What had it sent this time?

"There's a link...!"

"What?"

For a moment, I blankly stared at Hyeon Je-won.

"Here!"

"I didn't mean show me your screen. You won't even touch the camera, but you opened this right away without knowing what it is?"

It wasn't as though Hyeon Je-won had no interest in the Labyrinth, and it wasn't as if they had multiple lives like I did.

"Of course you can't carelessly touch artifacts like those. You don't make unauthorized contact with artifacts that might have rules governing ownership! But if it's an abnormal phenomenon infiltrating my personal property like this, then at least it means I can use it without receiving separate permission..."

"Ah, understood. I'll check mine too. You two should check your texts as well."

I stopped Hyeon Je-won at an appropriate moment, unlocked my phone, and checked the text.

[https://labtu.be/sub-xqz8zje2hdgf-5iK]

Just as Hyeon Je-won had said, it contained nothing but a link.

"LabTu... LabTube? What's this?"

"They all seem to be the same address."

"Ugh, what if we get a virus or something if we tap it?"

"...We'll find out if we do."

"What?"

Tap.

As soon as I touched the link, a web browser opened, displaying a strange site.

[⏫ 𝗟𝗮𝗯𝗧𝘂𝗯𝗲]

Below a logo that poorly imitated a video-sharing platform was a single video.

[#EmployeeCafeteria#UiwiGuild#Secretary#Mukbang｜• Live]

[⚉ Delicious｜⚇ Not Delicious]

[Currently 1,132■ watching　Streaming began: 83 minutes ago]

Eighty-three minutes ago...

That meant it had begun shortly after Labyrinthification.

A huge bowl filled the screen.

Its center was deeply depressed, packed with crushed tomato spaghetti.

"This is..."

"Isn't this that camera?"

The spot where the mummy-like corpse's head had been buried until moments earlier was visible in the video.

It was filmed from exactly the angle of the camera beside it.

「This is...」

「Isn't this that camera?」

A beat later, my voice and Yun Geon-min's came from the video.

"Crazy..."

「Crazy...」

It had been broadcasting live through that camera.

To somewhere unknown to us.

【-1:24:13】

I hurriedly dragged the playback bar to the far left.

[#EmployeeCafeteria#UiwiGuild#Secretary#Mukbang｜◦ Live]

[⚉ Delicious｜⚇ Not Delicious]

[Currently 1,141■ watching　Streaming began: 84 minutes ago]

When I played the live video from the beginning, a man with fierce eyes stared into the screen.

His gaze was so intense that it felt as though our eyes met across time and space.

...It was definitely him.

A dark navy jacket, a black shirt.

They matched the clothes on the mummy-like corpse I'd set down.

"Manager Kim!"

Hyeon Je-won, who had been looking at my phone screen with me, cried out and took out their own phone.

Their pale hand trembled violently.

"Manager Kim is here, then... Representative Yu Mi-rae must surely be..."

Hyeon Je-won muttered under their breath and moved the playback bar back and forth, examining the video.

They stared without blinking.

It was similar to when I had frantically read through the Artifact Management Ledger after filling in every blank.

"Who is Manager Kim?"

I paused the video on my phone and asked.

"Hyeon Je-won?"

There was no response.

"Hyeon Je-won."

"..."

"Hyeon. Je-won."

"..."

"Je-won."

"Why...! Oh. ...Ah."

They seemed to dislike being touched, so I covered the screen with my hand. Only then did they jerk their head up.

They had been so focused that they glared at me for a moment, then the tension slowly drained from their eyes as though they had come back to their senses.

"I, I'm sorry..."

No, more than the tension draining, they had nearly wilted.

"I wasn't ignoring you on purpose, never...! It's just, I sometimes get too absorbed. It's called hyperfocus, but I'm not trying to make excuses. I'm sorry..."

I needed to stop arrogantly drawing my own conclusions about the shadows cast over other people's lives.

But there were things I learned even when I didn't want to.

A fist clenched so tightly it turned pale. A shaking voice. A bowed head.

People gave clues like this. They couldn't help but leave threads to follow. Like a Labyrinth.

"It's all right. I understand that a little myself. I'm not offended, I just had something to ask. You can answer, then keep watching."

"No...! I'll watch with you..."

Still trembling as though uneasy, Hyeon Je-won put their phone away.

"You seem to know this person. Who is he?"

"He's Manager Kim! Representative Mi-rae's secretary, so..."

Their breathing sped up again.

"Manager Kim always goes everywhere with Representative Mi-rae!"

"Ah... So Representative Yu Mi-rae was probably here on basement level one when Labyrinthification happened?"

"Yes!"

But Yu Mi-rae wasn't here.

"She's here. Definitely."

That was what Yu Mi-rae's sibling had said.

"Uh, but she's not here...?"

Yun Geon-min voiced the same question I had.

"Didn't Seon Yu-han say this place seemed like an instanced dungeon? Maybe the representative is in a different Labyrinth?"

"Exactly! That's what I was trying to confirm! But I got too anxious just now, so I couldn't check properly... I'm sorry... Please play it again..."

That settled things for the moment.

Tap.

I started the video again.

Manager Kim, apparently in his early thirties, stared into the screen before turning and moving.

He headed toward the serving counter.

The image followed him without shaking.

I shifted my eyes toward the camera.

Then to the straight legs of its tripod.

...That camera could move on its own.

Footnotes:

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