WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving as an Office Worker at the Anomaly Management Bureau ◈
Chapter 61: The Trap of Experience
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I looked around. What on earth had happened?
First, I needed to assess the situation. Had I somehow died and come back to life?
I quickly searched through my clothes.
The intact statuette was still in my hand.
...I hadn’t died.
It wasn’t just the statuette. The handgun, radio, Butane Gas, and everything else I had brought with me were completely dry and still working properly.
Then had I entered and left the theater?
But I had no memory of it, and no migraine either.
To clear away the fog clouding my mind, I looked out the window at the still-breaking dawn, then checked the date on my smartphone.
“...”
A day had passed.
In other words, a day had passed for some reason after I was swept away by seawater, and I was lying in my room with only that strange experience to show for it.
Was this really related to the theater?
I compared the situation to the Red Lady incident.
Then would it be enough if my eyes stopped working, or if there was no one outside?
It was time to find out. There was no time to change clothes.
Just as I rushed to the door and was about to check the others’ rooms,
-Bang!
My door flew open, and an urgent voice called out to me.
“Kim Jae-heon!”
It was Jang Chae-yeon.
Was this the first time she had called me by name?
Wearing only a dress shirt, she looked at me, drenched in sweat.
Her shoulders rose and fell harshly before gradually calming once she saw me.
“...Are you okay?”
“...Ms. Jang?”
I quickly looked her over.
[Name: Jang Chae-yeon]
[Age: 25]
[Trait: Telekinesis]
[Talent: -]
[Background: Her life, once destined for a lonely death, changed completely after she joined the Human Resources Team. Sometimes, to protect a colleague or someone precious to her, she throws herself into danger without hesitation.]
[Weakness: Blind her and seal her hands.]
My eyes were functioning perfectly. There was nothing strange about Jang Chae-yeon either.
I quickly looked over her body from every angle.
Her sweat-soaked dress shirt clung to her body, revealing its curves and exposing things I shouldn’t have been looking at in a strangely sensual way, but I forced myself to ignore it and checked for injuries or anything unusual.
“...”
As if she had no idea about my internal struggle, she looked at me with a puzzled expression.
No injuries.
After checking everything, I sat on the edge of the bed with a sigh of relief.
She slowly approached me as well and let out a relieved sigh.
“...Thank goodness. You’re okay.”
“You’re okay too, Ms. Jang.”
“...What happened?”
“We need to cross-check our memories first. How far do you remember?”
“...Water came pouring out, and then I lost my memory...”
“The illusion that you’d turned into a fish?”
“...”
Jang Chae-yeon nodded at my words.
“Nothing strange about your body?”
“I’ll check.”
She slightly raised her index finger.
Whoosh.
A breeze blew past, gently brushing my hair back.
“My ability is fine too. Nothing seems particularly strange.”
“Understood.”
I looked out the window at the breaking dawn again.
“You haven’t checked on the other two yet, right?”
“I came to see you first.”
Jang Chae-yeon tilted her head as though asking why I was questioning such an obvious fact.
“...Let’s go check on the others.”
She nodded, and we hurried out into the hallway.
“Where did you wake up, Ms. Jang?”
“On the hallway floor.”
“Not in bed?”
“Yeah.”
Did everyone wake up somewhere different?
Then I couldn’t overlook the possibility that Song A-rin and Yoo Da-on might not be in their rooms either.
As we walked down the hall, I took out the small radio I had kept in my pocket and switched to Song A-rin’s channel.
“Ms. Song.”
There was no response.
I switched to Yoo Da-on’s channel and spoke again.
“Ms. Yoo.”
Again, there was no answer.
“Let’s start with the closest room.”
“Okay.”
Song A-rin’s room was closer.
Jang Chae-yeon easily tore open the locked door, and we went inside.
“...”
No one was there. Even the bed was neatly made, proving that no one had used it.
Had we somehow missed each other?
“...Let’s check the next room.”
“Okay.”
Jang Chae-yeon nodded and followed behind me.
Yoo Da-on’s room was locked too. We opened it the same way as before and went inside.
“She’s not here either.”
“...”
Yoo Da-on was not there either.
The only difference was a faint fishy smell in the room.
A sense of unease came over me.
“Let’s find the two of them first.”
“Do you know where they are?”
I fell silent at her question.
I had no actual way to find the others.
“...Then let’s check the theater first. After that, we can look for them.”
“...Don’t worry.”
She patted my shoulder at my words.
“Neither of them is someone who would be taken down that easily.”
“That’s true.”
Still, I couldn’t help worrying.
Jang Chae-yeon and I walked down the hallway.
Only then did I start seeing people.
“...What on earth happened...”
“Hehe... hehe...”
People clutching their heads and muttering, and people laughing and mumbling to themselves.
As I passed them, I checked their names.
First, the person muttering.
[Name: Jeong Chan-je]
Then, the person laughing as though they had lost their mind.
[Name: O XX]
Those who were somewhat in their right minds had names. Those who were not didn’t.
Some were fine, while others were not?
As I turned my gaze toward them and considered it, Jang Chae-yeon tugged on my sleeve.
“The theater is open.”
“...”
I stared at the theater.
Just as she said, its entrance stood open like a black maw.
Had the performance really taken place here?
“Let’s go.”
The only way to find out was to go inside.
I took out my handgun and entered without hesitation.
The moment I entered the theater, a musty smell and a faint fishy odor stung my nose.
I frowned and looked around.
This place wasn’t wet either.
-Splash.
I heard footsteps, and a disgusting fishy smell began filling my nose.
I quickly looked up.
It was a man whose head had split in half.
Tentacles throbbed on his right cheek like a blooming flower, while barnacles clung to his legs and joints, rattling whenever he moved.
His clothes were soaked through with something and gave off a fishy stench. Every time he took a step, the sound of stepping through shallow water echoed.
Soon, information appeared before my eyes.
[Name: X X X]
[Age: 31]
[Trait: X]
[Talent: Sea]
[Background: Weak as he was, a single experience was enough for the deep sea to steal him away.]
[Weakness: Killing him by physical means is not recommended. You must free him from the sea.]
Free him from the sea?
I had thought the background would be related to the Troupe.
-Crack!
Not long after I finished reading the information, Jang Chae-yeon stretched out her hand and clenched her fist.
At the same time, an overwhelming weight swept past me, seized the thing’s legs, and twisted them.
With a horrifying sound of bones twisting, it collapsed.
“Ugh...”
Yet without even making a sound of pain, it simply fell and crawled toward us using its arms.
-Splash... splash...
As though losing its legs didn’t inconvenience it in the slightest.
Wasn’t it practically a zombie?
“...Kill it?”
Jang Chae-yeon kept her hand extended and turned only her head toward me.
“...Wait.”
I stared at the thing crawling toward us on its arms.
“Uh... uhh...”
It only made meaningless sounds as it slowly came toward us.
“Let’s not.”
“Okay.”
Nothing good had ever come from acting after being told something wasn’t recommended.
I went around it and looked over my surroundings.
Something was strange.
“There aren’t any staff members.”
“Staff?”
If this was a performance, shouldn’t staff have appeared to stop me when I did something? Like during the Red Lady incident.
But nothing stopped us, and there weren’t even any actors in sight.
Then how could I explain the water that poured out along with the announcement that the performance was beginning?
My head hurt.
“...”
After thinking for a while, I opened the manual.
Was there any useful section?
[Manual for Office Workers]
[YH - Advice for Assessing Situations]
1. As long as you work for the Management Bureau, you will inevitably become entangled in countless incidents.
2. If this is your first time becoming involved in such an incident, the first thing you must have is composure. Think calmly.
3. Conversely, if you have been involved in many such incidents, the thing you must be most wary of is your experience.
3-1. Experience is an important factor that can save you, but it can also narrow your perspective. Do not forget that containment objects will always betray your common sense and memories.
“...”
I shut the manual with a snap, and Jang Chae-yeon looked at me curiously.
“Did you find anything helpful?”
“I don’t know if it was helpful, but it will be useful as a reference.”
Seawater, and one experience of the deep sea.
“...”
What was the effect of the seawater?
I recalled the background.
[Background: Weak as he was, a single experience was enough for the deep sea to steal him away.]
I remember that when I fell into the seawater, I turned into a fish and let out a scream of pain.
Jang Chae-yeon had experienced the same thing.
Then had we all experienced the same phenomenon?
But why were some people fine, while others had become half-monsters like that person over there?
“I found you!”
As I continued my train of thought, I turned around at a familiar voice.
Song A-rin and Yoo Da-on were coming down from the theater entrance at a quick pace.
“Where the hell were you? I was looking for you and-”
“...”
I looked at Song A-rin’s head.
[Name: Song A-rin]
[Age: 21]
[Trait: Hypnosis]
[Talent: -]
[Background: Sensitive about everything, she is learning how to endure. Though she still can’t help letting words slip out.]
[Weakness: Give her a hard knuckle rap.]
She was fine.
Then I looked at Yoo Da-on.
For some reason, her unusual silence bothered me.
Soon, a transparent window appeared over her head.
[Name: Yoo X-on]
[Age: 23]
[Trait: Immortality]
[Talent: Regeneration (Pending)]
[Background: Having even the hole in her life acknowledged, she tries to fill it, but it still seems difficult.]
[Weakness: If you had to pick two people you should never make enemies of, they would be a regressor and an immortal.]
“Ms. Jang.”
“Yeah.”
“Grab Ms. Yoo.”
“Okay.”
The moment she heard me, Jang Chae-yeon slammed her hand down, and Yoo Da-on was crushed into the ground by overwhelming gravity.
“...”
“What? What is this? Hey! What the hell is this?”
Only Song A-rin’s flustered voice echoed through the dark theater.
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