WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

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

Chapter 12: The Cube

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What is Telekinesis?

In games and films featuring various ability users, telekinetics are never treated especially well.

Their powers are too ordinary to make them protagonists, yet not unique enough to make them bosses.

But I think differently.

Telekinesis is the essence of a useful ability. You do not have to walk over to get water whenever you want a drink, and if there is someone you dislike, you can twist their neck 180 degrees. Whether used lethally or nonlethally, it is an excellent ability.

Bang!

That was clear enough just from looking at the door shaking as if it might break apart. If that was not Telekinesis, who would be stupid enough to try breaking down a door with brute force?

After entertaining that thought for a moment, I looked at Yoo Da-on.

Yoo Da-on wore a grim expression as she wrapped herself in a blanket.

Soon, Yoo Da-on stood before me, round and bulky as though she had been rolled up in a straw mat.

"Will this work?"

"Honestly, I don't know. But we have to try something."

The first priority was changing the location of this fight, or rather, this one-sided beating.

A narrow, straight passage. A cramped room. Anything narrow made defeating Jang Chae-yeon close to impossible.

There might even be unrelated guests staying here.

Even if I was an office worker, I worked for the Management Bureau. Getting innocent civilians involved was not something I wanted to do. Besides, who knew what would happen if we were discovered?

It was the clause we had read and heard most often when we joined, the one placed in the second chapter of the manual.

[Manual for Office Workers]

1. The most important thing is ensuring that the Management Bureau's work is not exposed. You may use a gun. You may stab someone with a knife. But it must not be identifiable as an act of the Management Bureau.

2. You are humanity's last line of defense. Letting ordinary people learn that fact is a serious matter. If you reveal it yourselves, you will be subject to punishment.

3. So long as you uphold Rules 1 and 2, you have a duty to protect all humanity. This does not mean you must sacrifice yourselves. Help humanity as much as you are able.

4. However, when necessary, small sacrifices may be required for the greater good. Do not waver. What you do will ultimately become a step forward for humanity.

Sometimes it said things that did not need to be said, but the conclusion was that we should avoid harming people if possible.

"I'm ready."

Yoo Da-on looked grim as she stood before the door, which shook as though it could be smashed apart at any moment.

Good. Just in case, I should explain it once more.

"All right. Like I said before..."

"Watch her eyes and dodge, right? Wherever her eyes are focused is where she'll use her ability. And if I dodge once, there will be time before the next attack."

"That's right. And..."

"Don't die. Telekinesis activates faster than I regenerate, so if I mess up, I could be out of commission for a long time. Avoid vital areas somehow. That's why I'm dressed up like an idiot, right? But couldn't I just wrap my head and chest in pillows?"

"Do you have tape?"

"No."

All I had was a handgun, clothes for tomorrow, and toiletries. Yoo Da-on had rushed over empty-handed.

"This seems way too slow."

"That's why I'll cover you. Just hold on until I get into position. I'll use every trick I have, too."

"What about that thing you used to take down the monster in one hit?"

"I'll use it."

"Then won't we be fine?"

I hoped so too. But what was this ominous feeling?

Boom!

Perhaps the door could no longer withstand the impacts. It split in half with a deafening crash.

Dust billowed up, and I shouted at Yoo Da-on.

"Go!"

Yoo Da-on ran slowly toward Jang Chae-yeon. Perhaps because she was wrapped head to toe in a blanket, she was slow.

"That won't work twice."

Jang Chae-yeon's low voice came from beyond the dust. Yoo Da-on twisted slightly.

The blanket tore, and Yoo Da-on's shoulder wrenched to the side.

The moment I saw that, I ran out after Yoo Da-on.

I started counting.

How long until she could use her ability again?

One second.

Yoo Da-on's arm twitched little by little.

Two seconds.

Jang Chae-yeon turned her eyes toward me.

Three seconds.

Yoo Da-on jumped into her line of sight again.

Four seconds.

Blood sprayed from Yoo Da-on's side, and she slammed sideways into the wall.

About three seconds.

During that time, I pulled out my gun, ran backward, and pulled the trigger several times.

Bang! Bang!

As if it were the most natural thing, the bullets I fired at Jang Chae-yeon swerved aside and only punched holes into the wall.

"Do I look like such an amateur that I wouldn't even prepare for bullets?"

Jang Chae-yeon stared at me.

Honestly, I had been hoping a little. So much for that.

Jang Chae-yeon looked at me again. While I bought some time, Yoo Da-on had recovered enough to reach out and cover Jang Chae-yeon's face with her hand.

Yoo Da-on's hand twisted again at an angle it should never have bent.

"Urgh...!"

Yoo Da-on groaned in pain.

But during that brief moment, I finished preparing as well.

I gripped the gun.

[Critical: 1 -> 0]

Everything in the world slowed and began turning black and white.

Yoo Da-on wore a pained expression, while Jang Chae-yeon slowly began turning her eyes toward me.

Her fingers moved in my direction.

When I fixed my gaze on Jang Chae-yeon, the space between her eyebrows began glowing red.

As if possessed, I aimed my gun there and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

"Eek?!"

The bullet fired, and the slowed world ended.

Color returned to the world.

As expected, the bullet did not hit Jang Chae-yeon's hand.

There was only a sharp ping, like something had been struck and deflected, and Jang Chae-yeon was crouched down, clutching her forehead.

Was this my chance?

Maybe this was my chance to incapacitate Jang Chae-yeon.

I put my finger on the trigger again and fired several shots.

Bang! Bang!

Please, just let one hit. Then somehow...

The bullets stopped.

Literally, the bullets stopped in front of Jang Chae-yeon.

Jang Chae-yeon did not move from where she crouched.

Even bullets did not work?

For now, we should run. And then...

"I brought it!"

Yoo Da-on ran toward me after throwing off the blanket. Her blood-soaked, tattered pink hoodie and smiling face made for a horribly mismatched sight.

Then she handed me something.

An unsolved puzzle cube.

My gaze automatically turned to it.

[Name: Cube]

[Age: Manufactured in the 1900s]

[Trait: Reality Alteration]

[Talent: X]

[Background: This Cube was made in the 00s, though nobody knows how. Was it really made in that era to begin with? Or is it merely that you think it was made in the 1900s? This Cube can overturn, solidify, and sometimes turn the common sense you believe in into something that never existed. Extreme caution is required when handling it.]

[Weakness: This Cube cannot be destroyed. When solving it, believe in what you desire without the slightest doubt. Even if you begin to question your own existence, do not doubt. You are yourself exactly as you are.]

"Where did you get this?!"

"It fell when your shot hit her just now!"

When I shot her?

"...Give it back."

Without giving me time to think, Jang Chae-yeon staggered to her feet.

"Give it back!"

Jang Chae-yeon's eyes turned toward us.

I reflexively jumped backward and pushed Yoo Da-on away.

A vibration passed between us, and the wall and floor split apart with a deafening noise.

"You crazy woman...!"

Rumble...!

The floor began collapsing with a tremendous roar.

"Ah, damn it!"

I hugged the Cube to my chest, curled into a ball, and shut my eyes.

Soon, I felt weightless. My body crashed into things over and over, and agonizing pain washed over me.

The impact of being struck by something heavy, then the pain of being pierced by something.

Even so, I kept my eyes shut and endured. Soon, my back struck something solid, and the weightlessness stopped.

"...Urgh..."

I painfully opened my eyes and checked my chest.

The Cube was still in my embrace.

And I seemed to be alive.

Though my whole body hurt.

Ignoring the pain, I forced myself upright.

"Ugh..."

There was not a single part of me that did not hurt.

I looked around.

"...Damn it."

Part of the hotel had collapsed.

Concrete rubble that appeared to be the hotel's remains surrounded me.

More precisely, only the place where Yoo Da-on and I had been had fallen.

Fortunately, it did not seem like anyone else had been caught up in it.

It looked like we had fallen about three stories. That was why I had survived.

What about Yoo Da-on?

"Ms. Da-on..."

I started by calling out loudly, then began walking and whispering in case Jang Chae-yeon heard.

"...Ms. Da-on... are you alive...?"

Of course she had to be alive.

I called Yoo Da-on's name over and over as I searched, but there was no answer.

Instead, someone else found me.

Tap.

At the soft sound of something landing, I reflexively turned my head toward it.

Jang Chae-yeon hovered above the rubble, staring down at me.

"...Give it back."

She looked at the Cube in my hands and repeated herself.

"...."

Should I give it back and run?

But even if I returned it, was there any guarantee Jang Chae-yeon would not kill me?

I met Jang Chae-yeon's eyes.

"...Give it back."

Like a broken doll, Jang Chae-yeon murmured that she wanted it back.

I looked back and forth between the Cube and Jang Chae-yeon.

"...Why do you want this?"

At my question, Jang Chae-yeon stared at me vacantly. She did not attack like before. It felt as though she had become someone else.

"I need it."

She slowly opened her mouth.

"It... completes me."

I examined the Cube again.

Not a single face of the Cube was solved.

Once again, I looked above Jang Chae-yeon'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: But is that really true?]

A migraine swept over me.

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