WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

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

Chapter 20

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I remembered when I first joined.

Back then, I didn’t know anything. I thought I was joining a place like the National Intelligence Service. How was I supposed to know it handled monsters and containment objects?

I remembered what I was told when I first received the Manual.

‘Everyone, the Manual is not all-powerful. But don’t forget. It contains the experience and data your seniors worked hard to accumulate.’

But why had they left a place like this alone?

Hoping to cling to even the slightest bit of hope, I asked Jang Chae-yeon, who was calmly looking around.

“Have you ever been here before?”

“It’s my first time since joining the Management Bureau. But I’ve heard rumors. Don’t worry.”

“Really? Then I guess it’s not that dangerous?”

“Yeah. It’s a safe place with a survival rate of around 40%.”

“What?”

“Hm?”

Since when was a 40% survival rate considered safe? Even flipping a coin gave you a 50% chance.

Didn’t that mean my life was now riding on odds worse than a coin toss?

“...Isn’t that high?”

I told Jang Chae-yeon exactly what I thought, but she only tilted her head as she answered.

She really seemed to think a 40% survival rate was high.

What kind of life did the Management Bureau’s Containment Team even live?

“We just need to do as we’re told.”

“There was already someone who didn’t do as they were told.”

When I pointed at Yoo Da-on, she made an awkward expression.

“I mean... Mr. Jae-heon usually reads the Manual for me, so I didn’t really know... But I saw everything just now! There won’t be any problems now!”

“Hmm...”

“...?”

When I stared at Yoo Da-on, she looked at me in confusion.

Come to think of it, if Yoo Da-on had gone up the stairs when her head was cut off earlier, wouldn’t she have been able to get out on her own?

It might have been an inhuman thought, but what could I do? Whoever could leave should leave first and call for help.

I explained my theory to Yoo Da-on, but she shook her head with a troubled expression.

“No matter what, when my head comes off, it’s like my vision goes dark for a moment. My body doesn’t listen to me very well either.”

“...That makes sense. Thank you.”

Right. When a person’s head and body were separated, their body naturally wouldn’t listen very well.

Thanking her for seriously answering such a question, I looked around again.

A gloomy red light illuminated the area. The metal chairs in the Basement were all so rusty that sitting on one would probably ruin my clothes.

And at the end stood the door mentioned in the Manual.

It was a brown wooden door, but the red lighting made it feel even stranger.

I looked at the Manual once more.

[Manual for Office Workers]

1. Finding this Manual means that you entered the wrong path and descended into the Basement.

2. Please act according to the Manual. Failure to follow the Manual may have a significant adverse effect on your body or mind, and the Management Bureau accepts no responsibility for this.

3. Open the door in front of you and enter, but do not answer no matter what speaks to you.

4. If something speaks to you and you answer it, close your eyes, crouch down where you are, and wait until it passes.

5. After passing through the room, consult the wall notice for the rest of the Manual.

6. Never go back up the stairs.

So we had to open the door and enter.

Before going in, I warned the other two once more.

“Listen carefully. Once we go through that door, no matter who talks to you, you have to ignore them. And if you accidentally answer?”

“Close our eyes and crouch down!”

“Good.”

“...Don’t worry so much.”

Jang Chae-yeon spoke again as though calming me down, and Yoo Da-on watched her before looking back at me.

“But when did you two get so close?”

“...Secret.”

“...”

Yoo Da-on looked a little dissatisfied, but soon shrugged as though nothing had happened.

“Can’t be helped.”

“Shall we go, then?”

Both of them nodded, and I opened the door at their signal.

“...”

If darkness itself were given form, wouldn’t it feel like this?

There was nothing visible beyond the door, enough to make me wonder whether I was stepping into darkness or darkness was swallowing me.

I glanced back at the two of them. Without the slightest hesitation, Jang Chae-yeon grabbed my shoulder with one hand and pointed ahead.

She meant for me to go forward.

Soon, Yoo Da-on grabbed my other shoulder.

In the end, I was the one leading both of them.

“...”

Right. The one at the front had to do it. What kind of man couldn’t even do this much?

I stepped through the door.

The feeling of hands on my shoulders disappeared.

I hurriedly turned around, but there was only darkness where the door had been. Nothing else was visible.

Don’t shout. Don’t answer if someone calls you.

Repeating those words to myself over and over, I began walking.

“...Is someone there?”

Soon, I began hearing a voice. A man’s voice I had never heard before.

“Don’t worry. We’re Management Bureau employees! You need to answer out loud so we can find you!”

“Hurry! This place is dangerous!”

“...”

I wasn’t going to fall for something so obvious.

Who did they think I was? I was a man who had survived getting caught up in two incidents within a single week. I wouldn’t fall for a pathetic trick like this.

Muttering that to myself over and over, I kept walking steadily.

“...Help me.”

Soon, I began hearing Jang Chae-yeon’s voice. Her weak voice.

I shut my ears and continued walking.

“...Please, help me.”

The Jang Chae-yeon I knew wasn’t the kind of person to say something like that.

When I ignored it again, another voice soon began to speak.

“Mr. Jae-heon! Stay right there! I’ll help you!”

That one made me flinch.

Yoo Da-on was the kind of woman who would say something like that.

I looked around for Yoo Da-on, but I couldn’t see her. There was nothing at all within my sight.

“...”

Should I shout?

Just as I was considering it, a strange sound reached my ears.

Step, step.

It sounded like someone walking.

And then, my eyes, which had been unable to find anything until then, spotted something.

People.

There were around eight or nine of them.

Their genders, ages, and clothes were all different.

There wasn’t a speck of grime on their faces, and all of them had their eyes closed as though asleep.

The strange part was that they stood in a circle, holding hands.

A translucent window appeared.

[Name: Crowd Psychology]

[Age: One day since manufacture]

[Trait: Assimilation]

[Talent: X]

[Background: What dwells in this cursed Basement has a perverse hobby. Those who have fallen victim to that hobby are seeking their next sacrifice, someone who will free them from this eternal suffering.]

[Weakness: Break their connection, and grant them all an equal end.]

Terrible taste. Sacrifice.

And something that dwelled here.

I wanted to do something about them, but I didn’t have a gun on me.

Forget a gun, all I had were the electronics I bought while shopping earlier.

I’d brought them because it felt wasteful to leave them behind, but did I really have to abandon them now?

As I slowly walked while thinking that, I felt someone’s gaze and instinctively turned toward it.

My eyes met the eyes of eight people staring at me.

My steps froze.

An older man who had been watching me opened his mouth.

“Mr. Jae-heon! Over here!”

Yoo Da-on’s voice flowed from his throat.

He grinned at me as our eyes met.

“...Help me.”

A woman in a school uniform beside him spoke in Jang Chae-yeon’s voice.

“Hurry. It’s so cold and scary here.”

“If you’re with us, you’ll be warm.”

“That’s right. I’m begging you like this.”

All of them had their eyes open as they watched me.

I forced my frozen feet to move.

I just had to make sure I didn’t make a sound. Then I could get out safely.

Desperately ignoring their laughter, I continued walking. Before long, I began to see a door.

The moment I hurried through it, someone grabbed my shoulder.

“Ah! You scared me!”

“Mr. Jae-heon!”

Yoo Da-on grabbed my shoulder with a relieved expression.

“...Where’s Ms. Chae-yeon?”

“...I don’t know.”

Yoo Da-on blinked as she answered.

“...Hasn’t she come out yet?”

“She’s still a Containment Team member. Maybe she just needs a little more time?”

“...”

Should I go in? As I considered it, Yoo Da-on stared at me.

“Are you going back?”

“If she doesn’t come out, I have to.”

“...”

Yoo Da-on let out a deep sigh and began stretching.

“Should we go together?”

“I’ve always gone with you.”

“You say that like it’s anything new,” Yoo Da-on said with a smile.

“Okay. Let’s go, then.”

Yoo Da-on nodded, and we opened the door and went inside again.

Unlike before, I could feel Yoo Da-on nearby.

“...”

I tapped the back of Yoo Da-on’s hand, and she answered by tapping mine.

I looked around.

Someone was crouching down with their arms wrapped around their knees.

It was Jang Chae-yeon.

And surrounding her were eight people.

“Ahahaha! Ahahaha!”

“Ehehe! Ehehe!”

“Hehe, hehehe!”

Everyone laughed happily as they circled around her. Jang Chae-yeon had her eyes closed as she crouched down, but her face was so pale that it looked like something might happen at any moment.

I looked at Yoo Da-on. As though she had read my mind, she nodded, then ran forward and kicked one person in the back.

The people collapsed one after another.

In the gap, I ran to Jang Chae-yeon and took her hand. She raised her head, saw me, and only then showed relief.

I quickly pulled her up. As Yoo Da-on and I switched places, I threw the bag of electronics in my hand.

A heavy thud rang out.

“Sound.”

“Sound.”

“Sound!”

All eight pairs of eyes turned toward the floor. Taking that chance, I grabbed Jang Chae-yeon’s hand and ran for the exit.

None of us made a sound as we rushed outside. Only after the door closed did we finally let out our breaths and collapse.

“Haaah...”

“Whew...”

“...”

It had been much easier than expected. So easy that something felt wrong.

But that wasn’t important right now.

After catching my breath, I looked at Jang Chae-yeon.

“...Did you make a sound?”

There was no way she had. She was a professional.

“...”

Jang Chae-yeon kept her mouth shut, hesitated several times, then slowly opened it.

“Because you asked me to save you.”

“...”

I had nothing to say.

“Sorry.”

Jang Chae-yeon dusted off her knees, stood up, and bowed her head slightly.

“I was too hasty.”

“...It’s okay.”

I waved my hand dismissively and accepted her apology.

“...And thank you.”

“........Yes.”

Jang Chae-yeon and Yoo Da-on were still speaking awkwardly to each other.

After watching them for a moment, I began searching for the next Manual.

The Manual for Room One had been relatively easy.

Found it.

[Manual for Office Workers]

1. First, congratulations on safely escaping this place.

2. As you proceed further, information contamination grows more severe, and many people are becoming victims. Therefore, the Management Bureau has decided to establish new countermeasures. Please be aware that the information written from this point forward has been partially censored.

3. Of all the Manuals you see from now on, only the odd-numbered ones are correct.

4. If you have carefully checked the above Manual, please nod your head.

5. Proceed forward. You will see two doors. Enter the door on the left.

6. After entering the left door, pick up the pistol on the right-hand side table. It will help you later.

7. If ------ is asleep, pass by quietly. If he is awake, speak with him. Never let him discover that you are human.

8. If he discovers that you are human, shoot him with the pistol. You may be able to buy some time.

9. Good luck.

Whoosh.

The chilly wind in the Basement sent an unnecessary shiver down my spine.

Footnotes:

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