WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Alyo
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving Among the Anomalies ◈
Chapter 72: A Wall-Mounted TV for You
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One day, while I was helping people with tickets as usual, ticket issuance suddenly stopped.
[Abnormal quantities of tickets have been detected being issued from this machine.]
[We have therefore decided to impose restrictions.]
[This machine may issue only ten tickets per month.]
[The ticket limit resets at midnight on the first day of every month.]
[The existing tickets are also abnormally numerous. All have been voided and may not be used.]
It was a notice displayed on the ticket vending machine's screen.
I'd felt it in the Mirror Dimension too, but these really were self-aware Anomalies.
“What a shame. I wanted to help more people.”
I opened the filing cabinet in the corner of the office.
“Though I did print too many.”
There were 2,500 tickets in each drawer.
With eight drawers, that meant I'd printed 20,000 tickets.
‘Those are just the ones I kept. If I include the ones I handed out, it must be even more.’
I had an excuse too.
‘I thought it would like it if I printed a lot.’
I thought the Anomaly would like having its tickets used, but I must have gone too far.
“No tickets until the first of next month, and all existing tickets are useless.”
I tried using one just in case, but no reward appeared.
“So it really is true that the goddess of opportunity only has hair at the front of her head.”
I took out the ticket I'd carefully kept in my pocket.
[Reward: Driving skills on par with Michael Schumacher at his peak]
[Mission: Catch a Giant Grouper with a fishing rod]
[Time Limit: 24 hours]
A Giant Grouper was the sort of fish even anglers might catch only once in their lives.
I'd planned to make thorough preparations before attempting it, since I had to catch one within a time limit.
“This was the easiest one, so I was getting ready for it.”
If I printed another ticket next month, would the same mission appear again?
I could lower the reward and print another, but perhaps because I had a complex about my driving skills, I wanted to reach the pinnacle of human ability instead of settling for ordinary driving.
“Giving up greed is difficult.”
I'd have to endure the urge to drive somehow.
Still, realizing that I could no longer help people without limit using tickets drained my motivation to work.
‘I’ll leave early today.’
After returning home, I ordered chicken.
While waiting for it, I enjoyed the unknown carbonated drink produced by my Enhanced WK Tumbler. Then I remembered the employee at the office and called him.
-The customer is not answering. You will be connected to voicemail.
Had Lim Jin-guk left to find a better job?
Or had he left because he couldn't overcome his fear of Anomalies?
As I prayed for his rehabilitation and new life, the chicken arrived. Just as I was about to look for the remote control.
[♬♬♪♩♬]
The TV switched on by itself, and fast, cheerful music began to play.
[Hello!]
A familiar, dearly missed voice introduced the broadcast.
[I am Announcer, the Announcer of A Wall-Mounted TV for You!]
The voice was the same, but the outfit was different.
Instead of the Announcer's usual plain clothes, the Announcer now wore a sleek New Yorker-style outfit.
[The station's makeover ended two weeks ago, but we were delayed while everyone bought outfits that suited them. We ask for your understanding!]
With hands in pockets, the Announcer walked across the set and began the news.
[Now then, to make up for the wait, we will quickly deliver a variety of news! A broadcast unlike before! We hope you enjoy it!]
Well, well.
“Ordering chicken was the right choice.”
＊＊＊
[Our first story! Someone has left a package in front of the home of Mr. Lee, 26, who lives in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province! The package contains a message of thanks. It may not be worth money, but it is full of sincerity, so please accept it!]
At the same time as the report, I heard something land outside my door.
‘It’s interfering with reality in real time.’
Had it always been like this?
Or was this because of the enhancement?
I quickly opened the front door and brought in the box. Inside was a handwritten letter filled with conventional words of gratitude, along with a trophy.
「Mr. Lee, Founding Contributor to A Wall-Mounted TV for You」
I placed the crystal trophy on the shelf beneath the Wall-Mounted TV and focused on the news again.
[Our second story! At 5 a.m. four days from now, a Danger Grade Anomaly is scheduled to appear in Taebaek, Gangwon Province. This Anomaly escaped while the Foundation was in ruins. Its name is 「This Isn't Blood Sausage Soup!」. It attacks restaurants that sell blood sausage soup with glass-noodle sausage, turning both the owners and customers into blood sausages.]
I immediately texted Dong-uk.
A call came right after, but I'd already sent all the necessary information. Wanting to focus on the news, I turned off my smartphone.
[Our third story! Family Zoo is recruiting rare animals for the first time in a long while! It is news not heard in nearly a hundred years, and many wildlife enthusiasts are excited. Let us meet the Reporter who went out to cover it. Reporter, Reporter?]
The screen changed, revealing the microphone-headed Reporter.
[Yes, I am Reporter, Reporter, reporting from the scene!]
There wasn't much difference in the outfit, but the microphone that served as the Reporter's head had changed.
Perhaps because it had changed from a black studio microphone to a silver concert microphone, the Reporter's voice was louder, clearer, and more grand than before.
[I am currently at Family Zoo. Family Zoo is famous for raising the largest number of rare animals in all dimensions. It is also famous because 50% of visitors who come to see it cannot leave and are raised here instead.]
The background was unlike any zoo I knew.
There were cages as usual, but instead of animals, enormous beads floated within them.
[That is why it is normally not a place where interviews can be conducted, but now that we are a Wall-Mounted TV, we can conduct interviews!]
One bead contained a modern city.
Another held a dense jungle.
One was a land covered in flowing lava, while another contained a dark abyssal sea.
[Then let us speak with the Head Keeper about the recruitment of rare animals!]
And one bead contained the universe.
[Head Keeper?]
[Nice, meet. Me, Head.]
A weary-looking man in his twenties, dressed in a beige keeper's uniform, began the interview with a frown.
[Recruitment, rare animals, anything, welcome.]
[Yes, what falls under the category of rare animals?]
[Rare, machines, planets, stars, transcendents, humans, concepts, but self, life, movement, essential.]
[So anything is fine as long as it has self-awareness, life, and can move.]
[No self, rocks, don't move, plants, rocks and trees, Head, trouble, ha ha!]
[Ha ha! What a funny joke!]
[This, zoo, not botanical garden.]
The frown was so extreme that the Head Keeper's features had spun around several times, making it impossible to recognize his face.
Still, I had a feeling that if I stared at it for too long, my entire life would start spinning too, so I looked away.
[Applications, welcome, prizes, prepared, everyone, expect.]
[That concludes our interview! As the Head Keeper said, Family Zoo is recruiting rare animals, and selected applicants will receive rare gifts. Please participate!]
A caption appeared at the bottom of the screen.
[Recruitment Dimension: Zoo-42]
[Application Method: Visit in person or send by parcel delivery]
[Address: ■snake■-■■giraffe■lion■-■elephant■■■■■camel■■■■■zebra]
Unfortunately, I didn't even know which dimension it was in, and I couldn't make out the address, so participating was impossible.
“Even if I could, I don't have an animal to send.”
The only thing I had was the albino Seven-Headed Snake.
“Sorry, I can't send you away.”
Thinking of it, I took out the Seven-Headed Snake, placed it on my lap, and stroked it.
Perhaps because it recognized me as its owner, the Seven-Headed Snake quietly enjoyed my touch.
[Ha ha, Family Zoo is famous for prizes that exceed expectations. I wonder who will receive a prize this time. Now for our fourth story! A major incident is scheduled to occur at an abandoned school in Hanam, Gyeonggi Province. Let us meet someone there directly! Intern, Intern!]
The screen changed.
A woman with a notebook for a head stood before a dreary abandoned school.
[This is fucking unfair. I was supposed to go to the zoo, you know? But that microphone fossil told me to go to the abandoned school, then went to the zoo himself!]
[Uh, Intern, Intern?]
[The station got bigger, but the Reporter kept telling me to stay an intern because I lack experience. Then he goes and steals all the decent stories? I was the one who found out about the Family Zoo event too!]
[Ah, there has been a brief broadcasting accident...]
[Huh? Oh, Snoring Demon King? That guy is still an Announcer, right? It's really nice that I can't hear his snoring now that we have private rooms. He doesn't even have a nose, so what was that snoring? At first, I thought a rocket was launching! Roooooar! Vroooooom! Kabooooom! Like that!]
[...]
The screen changed back to the studio.
[One moment.]
The Announcer sent someone a message.
A short while later, the screen changed again. The Intern was now presenting the broadcast neatly.
[Hello! I am Intern, Intern, dispatched to the abandoned school!]
[( ˃̣̣̥᷄⌓˂̣̣̥᷅ )]
The Intern's voice remained calm, but a sad emoticon appeared on her notebook face.
[This weekend, a group of people will be conducting a test of courage at this abandoned school. They are scheduled to die because of a dangerous being.]
Beyond the screen, I could see the school's name.
‘Deokcheon High School.’
The Intern entered the building.
Bloodstains were splattered throughout the hallway, as though an incident had already occurred there.
[The group, which includes broadcasters, was originally scheduled to complete the test successfully. Due to someone's intervention, though, they ultimately lost their lives.]
[(੭ ˃̣̣̥᷄⌓˂̣̣̥᷅ )੭⁾⁾]
There were no bodies.
Instead, strange sounds came from the darkness at the end of the hallway.
[The main culprit behind the incident is currently eating. Is it human? Or is it a beast? We leave the answer to you.]
[(꒦ິㅁ꒦ິ)]
[Thank you for that report. More importantly, Intern, Intern? Let us have a talk with the Snoring Demon King later.]
[( ᴗ_ᴗ̩̩ )]
The screen changed back to the studio.
[That is all for today's news. There were originally a few more stories, but something more important has come up, so we will end here.]
The Announcer signed off.
[I have been Announcer, the Announcer of A Wall-Mounted TV for You.]
The screen shut off.
“Hmm.”
I wanted to watch more.
After praying for the repose of the Intern's soul, I searched for Deokcheon High School.
‘A school that has been closed for over a year.’
The owner of the site had died.
Because the children were suing one another over the inheritance, the school had not been demolished and was left abandoned.
‘So a murder will occur here, at the hands of something presumed to be an Anomaly.’
The clue was an Anomaly presumed to eat humans.
And multiple victims, including broadcasters.
‘Should I look into the broadcasting industry?’
The best solution was to stop the victims from going there.
Then I could contact the Foundation and have them capture and contain the Anomaly.
[An Anomaly is expected to claim victims at Deokcheon High School this weekend. Please secure the area.]
[Kim Dong-uk: Seung-hoon, please talk to us.]
He contacted me immediately, and I told him the information I'd discovered.
Dong-uk didn't ask where the information came from. He only asked for specific details about when and what would happen.
“Hmm.”
It would be nice if that were the end of it.
Four days later, Dong-uk called me.
“Did you handle 「This Isn't Blood Sausage Soup!」 properly?”
-Yes, we captured it thanks to you. It would have been a disaster if it had reached Seoul. It's easy to neutralize once you know how, so we were prepared and there was no damage.
“What is the method?”
-Pour about a liter of tasteless radish-kimchi broth on it.
The weekend was almost here.
The Foundation would handle it if I left it to them, but for some reason, the feeling of unease wouldn't go away.
“I should go and take a look.”
That Saturday evening.
『Mr. Lee Seung-hoon, we have arrived at Deokcheon High School.』
“Thanks, Sarang-i.”
Carrying the Enhanced Polaroid Camera, Sarang-i, and Dried Friendship, I got out at Deokcheon High School.
“Hopefully, nothing happens.”
Footnotes:
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