Surviving as an Office Worker at the Anomaly Management Bureau - Chapter 11

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

◈ Surviving as an Office Worker at the Anomaly Management Bureau ◈

Chapter 11: Zero-Damage Team

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If Yoo Da-on and I were game characters putting together a team comp, it could be summed up in two words.

No DPS.

A tank with excellent defense and healing but damage output close to zero, and a sub-DPS and debuffer who could only serve as a scout apart from one Critical.

Being told to catch a fleeing suspect, especially one with Telekinesis, with a pair like us felt close to impossible no matter how I looked at it.

Naturally, I relayed that thought to the Gangdong Branch's incident response team leader. He nodded as though he agreed after hearing me out.

"But you do have a record of preventing the destruction of an entire branch. I believe that is your true ability."

What a person who couldn't be reasoned with.

In the end, against my will, I found myself walking down a busy street with Yoo Da-on.

"What information do we have on the suspect?"

At my question, Yoo Da-on took out her smartphone and began reading.

"Just a moment... Her name is Jang Chae-yeon, she's twenty-five, and she originally belonged to the Gangdong Branch's Containment Team. She was in charge of forcibly subduing containment entities, then transferred to the Accounting Team one day on her own strong insistence. A few months later, she fled with the Cube."

"What's this Cube, anyway?"

"The Cube..."

Yoo Da-on murmured as she scrolled down with her finger.

"The Cube is one of the managed entities held by the Management Bureau's Gangdong Branch. It resembles an unsolved puzzle cube. However, each completed face causes a reality alteration, large or small. If every face is completed, a massive reality alteration occurs. In the most recent reality alteration, an entire city turned into an uninhabited island, and all its citizens starved to death."

"And we're supposed to catch someone who ran off with something that terrifying?"

What was the Containment Team doing? Sending people like Yoo Da-on and me after her.

"Mm, exactly. Did something happen? What are all the Containment Team members doing?"

Yoo Da-on muttered in a puzzled voice.

Could all the Containment Teams be gathered somewhere, working on some massive project?

The silly thought crossed my mind, but I quickly shook it off. If that were true, the world would have ended already. Maybe they were using me because I was the most suitable person for finding people.

Then all I had to do was find her and contact the Containment Team or the branch. They could handle the rest.

That was the conclusion I reached.

"Well, let's look around. Her appearance is fairly distinctive."

"Right. It shouldn't be easy to find an adult walking around with a puzzle cube in their hands..."

Yoo Da-on's voice gradually slowed. Then she grabbed my sleeve and pointed in one direction with her index finger.

"Over there! Isn't that Jang Chae-yeon?"

"Come on, don't joke around. Someone that distinctive wouldn't be so easy to..."

I looked where Yoo Da-on was pointing.

White hair, cold-looking eyes, and an expression to match. She wore a loose white shirt, yet her presence was impossible to hide. And as the finishing touch, she had a Cube in one hand.

Without realizing it, I examined the space above the woman's head.

[Name: Jang Chae-yeon]

[Age: 25]

[Trait: Telekinesis]

[Talent: -]

[Background: Because she possessed an ability, she had to devote herself to the Management Bureau for far too long. Now, she leaves in search of freedom. To a place where no one can find her.]

[Weakness: Her Telekinesis operates by designating coordinates.]

"It is Jang Chae-yeon."

"I told you!"

Yoo Da-on bounced in place as she looked at me.

"Let's catch her right..."

"Do you know what kind of damage could happen around here if we did? Let's follow her somewhere less crowded first..."

She wouldn't keep walking through a busy district. If she was fleeing, she had to leave here and go far away.

With that in mind, we began following Jang Chae-yeon from a considerable distance.

I should call the Gangdong Branch while I was at it.

I quickly took out my phone and called the incident response team leader who had given me his number earlier. After a few rings, he answered.

"You found her already?"

"Already or not, she's walking around openly. If you send some support over here, I think we can catch her right away."

"Ah... support."

The incident response team leader dragged out the end of his sentence.

I had a bad feeling about this.

"You are coming, right?"

"Yes, yes, we're going. But we're a little short-handed at the moment... I'm sorry, but could you buy us some time?"

"What? How much time?"

"...Two days?"

Was this man really in such a hurry that he called me?

"No, not two hours. Two days..."

"Please! Support will definitely arrive in two days! If you're feeling impatient, you're free to take her down and retrieve the Cube beforehand!"

He hung up after saying only what he wanted to say.

Did that make any sense?

I called again and again, but after hearing the automated message saying, "The person you are calling cannot take your call right now," about five times, I finally had no choice but to give up.

Fine. I'd tail her for exactly two days. If I followed her like I was nobody, she wouldn't notice. If she went too far away or somewhere difficult to follow, I'd tell them I had to give up and run away.

When I told Yoo Da-on what the incident response team leader had said, she made a horrified face too.

"Two days? How are we supposed to follow her for two days without getting caught? We don't even know where the suspect might run off to!"

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

"...Still... I'm kind of looking forward to it. It feels like we're experienced field agents, and I like that."

She said terrifying things so casually.

* * *

In conclusion, our tailing operation was a success.

How successful? Jang Chae-yeon didn't notice us even when we got on the same bus as her. She didn't notice when we took an intercity bus out of the capital region with her. She didn't even notice when we entered the same hotel to stay the night.

And the incident response team leader still wasn't answering his phone.

I lay alone on the bed, lost in thought. I had sent Yoo Da-on, who had been chattering beside me, back to her own room to sleep. It felt like I had some time to myself for the first time in a while.

Just a week ago, I had been sitting in an office handling documents. How had I suddenly ended up living such a fieldwork-like life?

Come to think of it, I hadn't properly looked at myself since the adult form.

I jumped up and looked in the mirror.

A tired-looking man, worn out from all the walking, stared back at me.

At some point, I had become able to bring information about myself to mind without looking at myself directly. Still, looking into a mirror required less concentration.

[Name: Kim Jae-heon]

[Age: 27]

[Trait: -]

[Talent: Insight]

[Background: His eyes are very different from those of others.]

[Weakness: Remove his eyes.]

[Critical: 1 -> 0]

I slowly examined my own information.

Insight was a Talent. Then why was the Trait section still blank?

I thought of Yoo Da-on. It had definitely said...

[Talent: Regeneration (Pending)]

What was a Talent? What was a Trait? And what did pending mean?

More importantly, how had these eyes suddenly begun seeing things like that?

Back then, it was definitely...

Knock, knock.

Someone knocked on the door.

"...Who is it?"

There was no answer.

Knock, knock.

"Who is it?"

Knock, knock.

"I asked who you are."

Knock, knock.

A sense of unease washed over me.

I slowly moved away from the door.

At times like this, amateurs opened the door out of curiosity and paid the price for it. I wasn't about to do something so foolish.

They knew I was here because I had answered them, and if I just did nothing...

Click.

The door slowly opened with a sound.

I definitely hadn't given anyone a key.

Then someone I had been looking at all day revealed herself.

"...Who are you?"

White hair, a cold expression, emotionless lips, and eyes fixed sharply on me.

It was Jang Chae-yeon.

"Who are you, and why have you been following me?"

"..."

This was bad.

"Don't want to talk? Should I make you?"

Jang Chae-yeon gently raised one hand.

"Wha..."

Something invisible seized me by the collar and slowly pulled me toward her.

I touched my collar, but there was no form to grasp. I struggled, but I couldn't break free.

In the end, I was dragged right in front of her.

Jang Chae-yeon stared at me.

Stay calm.

I discreetly scanned the space above her head.

[Name: Jang Chae-yeon]

[Age: 25]

[Trait: Telekinesis]

[Talent: -]

[Background: Because she possessed an ability, she had to devote herself to the Management Bureau for far too long. Now, she leaves in search of freedom. To a place where no one can find her. ...Or so it should have been, until someone rammed into her.]

[Weakness: Her Telekinesis operates by designating coordinates.]

"You were sent by the Management Bureau?"

"..."

Rammed into her?

Who did?

"If you don't answer, I'll break your fingers one by one."

Did she take my silence as defiance? Jang Chae-yeon raised her hand.

Damn it. What was I supposed to say?

Then, at that moment,

Yoo Da-on suddenly appeared and rammed Jang Chae-yeon with her shoulder.

Jang Chae-yeon tumbled onto the floor. I fell from the air as well and landed hard on the ground.

"Mr. Jae-heon! Run..."

Crack.

As Yoo Da-on urgently shouted at me, her neck twisted 180 degrees.

Unable to continue speaking, she collapsed onto the floor.

"..."

Jang Chae-yeon raised her hand with a cold expression.

What do I do? How do I get out of this situation?

Then the line I had seen earlier flashed through my mind.

[Weakness: Her Telekinesis operates by designating coordinates.]

Could it be?

I looked into her eyes.

Her blue irises, filled with hostility, were clearly focused on me.

I quickly rolled to the side, and the floor where I had been caved in.

"..."

I got it.

Jang Chae-yeon stared at me.

"What are you?"

"..."

Without answering, I desperately thought.

When would the next attack come? Could she use Telekinesis again immediately? If not, how many seconds did she need between uses?

For now, this was the worst possible place. It was narrow and long. If I fought here, my chances of winning were close to zero.

I quickly turned toward the room, and Jang Chae-yeon's gaze followed me.

Naturally, a person's eyes moved faster than their body. That meant Jang Chae-yeon had more than enough time to lock onto me, and this time, I couldn't escape her line of sight.

That is, I couldn't have if Yoo Da-on hadn't been there.

Yoo Da-on, who had revived in the meantime, spread her arms and stood in front of me.

Crack.

This time, Yoo Da-on's arm twisted grotesquely.

"...What?"

Jang Chae-yeon looked surprised once again.

Taking advantage of that opening, Yoo Da-on and I ran into the room.

As if we had planned it, Yoo Da-on held the door while I dragged the bed over and placed it in front of it.

This should be enough.

"What are we going to do?"

Yoo Da-on shouted as she looked at me.

Her arm had already begun returning to normal.