WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving as an Office Worker at the Anomaly Management Bureau ◈
Chapter 75: Canary in the Coal Mine
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Food, clothing, and shelter.
When people think of the three things necessary to live, those are usually the words that come to mind.
Why those three?
Simply put, because they are directly tied to survival.
So you do not starve to death. So you do not freeze to death.
In other words, they are the three things people choose because they do not want to die.
But what about someone who has lost their survival instinct?
“You aren't hurt anywhere, are you?”
“...No.”
“That’s a relief!”
Song A-rin slowly replied with an exhausted expression at Yoo Da-on’s worried look. Yoo Da-on, in turn, answered with her usual bright smile.
For someone whose fear of death was not merely faint, but nonexistent, something like this might have meant nothing.
Where would someone incapable of feeling the fear a living being ought to possess find fear, or comfort?
Perhaps she found solace in life not within herself, but in other people.
‘I really am... nothing without Mr. Jae-heon.’
Then what could we, or rather, what could I do for her?
I shook my head to clear away those words and looked ahead.
-Clack! Clack!
The Factory was still clacking its teeth together with a confused expression.
I looked at the translucent window floating before me.
What had its weakness said again?
“Find and destroy its heart...”
“Pardon?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Ah! ...Mr. Jae-heon, you aren’t hurt, are you?”
Though she was smiling, Yoo Da-on reached out and lightly tapped my arm as though handling a delicate ornament that could break at any moment.
“Were you worried about me?”
“Very much! I didn’t expect you to suddenly come over the wall...”
-Crunch!
The Factory sank its teeth into her right shoulder again.
I drew my gun, and Song A-rin hurriedly turned toward it as well.
“...”
Yoo Da-on stared expressionlessly at the Factory biting her shoulder.
Soon, it released her while frowning deeply, as if it had a headache. Song A-rin shouted irritably.
“The ability works! Hey! Try dodging when it bites you!”
“...”
“Ms. Yoo, come over here.”
“Yes!”
Rather than reply to Song A-rin, Yoo Da-on ran to my side. Song A-rin clicked her tongue and came to stand beside me.
“Where are White Hair and Blondie?”
After a moment’s thought, Song A-rin referred to Aileen as Blondie.
She really had no intention of calling anyone by name.
“You’re right. Why haven’t they come over?”
I looked beyond the wall.
There was no sound at all.
“Ms. Jang! Aileen!”
Aileen soon sailed through the air and landed smoothly on the floor. Jang Chae-yeon came down clumsily through the air behind her.
Aileen got up as if nothing had happened, while Jang Chae-yeon rose after patting her knees.
As I turned my head, the Factory leaped toward us with its jaws open wide. Yoo Da-on crossed both arms and caught its teeth.
-Crunch!
Blood burst from her arms, but Yoo Da-on calmly turned toward me as though it did not matter.
“Should I buy us some time?”
“There’s no need.”
“I’m here.”
Jang Chae-yeon stood beside me as though it were obvious.
[Coordinate Ripping: 3 uses]
I had not found its heart, but we could at least tear its legs apart first.
The world turned into graph paper, and its body came into view.
The masses inside its throat.
I probably should not touch those.
The easiest target was...
My gaze moved to its leg. The graph paper began folding around its joint as though it had been crumpled.
Following my gaze, Jang Chae-yeon reached out and clenched her fist without hesitation.
The Factory’s leg snapped like a branch.
“Aaagh!”
It fell over with a feeble cry.
“Good. This way...”
“Ugh...!”
Before I could finish speaking, it made a retching sound.
-Gurgle!
It opened its mouth and began vomiting black masses.
“Aaah!”
Song A-rin shrieked in disgust and stepped back.
Something was wrong.
“Ms. Yoo! Over here!”
“Yes!”
Yoo Da-on came to stand beside me.
The masses the Factory had spat out writhed together and began taking the shapes of countless people.
The difference was that when the Factory had originally spat out a mass, it had produced one member of our group. These were merely faceless, shapeless lumps.
After vomiting masses until its swollen chest had completely deflated...
“Grrrk...”
It began breathing roughly.
The masses that had poured from the Factory’s body turned toward us.
There were more than I had expected.
Aileen tapped my shoulder.
“It’s a battle of attrition. We don’t need to fight.”
“I think that’s a good idea.”
“Huh? Huh?”
I grabbed the wrist of Yoo Da-on, who was facing the things in front of us, and began running.
Song A-rin and Aileen were already several steps ahead. Yoo Da-on, who had been dragged along with a confused sound, soon came to her senses and began running beside me.
At the very back, Jang Chae-yeon desperately waved her hands, fending off the monsters.
As I ran, I calmly let out a breath. The other four looked at me.
“Listen carefully. First, that thing isn’t alone.”
“There’s more than one of those?”
Song A-rin spoke in a horrified voice as she ran.
“Aren’t you a last-hit junkie who always swoops in to land the flashy finishing blow? I thought it was over when you snapped its leg so spectacularly!”
“I understand very well what you think of me now, Ms. Song!”
After sending the others ahead, I turned around, shook the Butane Gas several times, and opened the cap.
Flames hot enough to burn my face engulfed the masses.
After shooting down the masses with the gun in my other hand, I began running again.
At times, Aileen shot them with her gun. Most of the time, Jang Chae-yeon drove the masses away. Unlike usual, we had about three people who actually knew how to fight, so shaking them off was not particularly difficult.
“...Huff... Huff...”
After we had more or less lost them, Jang Chae-yeon stood in a corner breathing heavily.
Meanwhile, Yoo Da-on looked at me with concern as though she had not even gone for a morning jog.
“But... where is the Team Leader?”
“...You’re right.”
We needed to find the Team Leader first. Even if he was good at sensing danger, we could not simply assume he was all right.
The threat was not over yet.
The Factory we had first seen would still be here, and our goal had never been to destroy the object in the first place. We needed to escape and obtain tickets.
“...Should I try Hypnosis?”
Song A-rin, who had been silent until then, wiped the sweat from her forehead and spoke.
“What do you mean, use Hypnosis?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. I’ll fire Hypnosis indiscriminately. If I get a hit, I can roughly tell where the person is. The downside is...”
Song A-rin looked at everyone except me.
“...Since it’s indiscriminate, nearby people will be caught too.”
“...”
After a brief silence, I looked at the three of them.
“I don’t mind.”
Aileen shrugged.
“Me neither!”
Yoo Da-on raised her hand enthusiastically.
“...”
Only Jang Chae-yeon remained silent, wearing an unhappy expression.
“Ms. Jang...?”
“...Fine.”
Only after I carefully watched her reaction did she answer in a sulky voice.
“...Then I’ll start.”
After a brief discussion, Song A-rin stood in front of us and closed her eyes.
The Hypnosis she used on the others was simple.
Follow behind me.
Soon, a faint ache formed in my temples. The three of them followed behind me with unfocused eyes.
I felt exactly like the Pied Piper of Hamelin.
“Ms. Song, tell me if you get a hit.”
“Don’t make me talk. I’m concentrating.”
Touchy.
Song A-rin began walking ahead with a deep frown.
Walking around with three people wearing vacant expressions was not easy either.
Sometimes, I stopped at the sound of footsteps. Sometimes, I stopped at the sounds of the Factory. Sometimes, I stopped to check whether the three were still following me.
Repeating that stop-and-start process, we began searching for the Team Leader.
“...I think I found him.”
After walking for some time, just as my legs were beginning to hurt, Song A-rin suddenly opened her eyes wide and relaxed her frown.
“Where?”
“...Beyond this wall.”
Song A-rin pointed beyond the wall.
“...Let’s go over.”
Song A-rin nodded and woke Jang Chae-yeon by tapping her shoulder.
“Ms. Jang.”
“...”
Jang Chae-yeon stared blankly at my face, blinked a few times, then finally focused on me.
“Over the wall?”
“Yes.”
She nodded and sent me over it again.
After climbing over the wall and coming down the other side...
“...Oh, you startled me.”
The Team Leader was crouched there.
“...Team Leader, it’s me.”
“I know. I thought you were another fake.”
“...A fake came?”
“Of course one did!”
As the others came tumbling over the wall, I met the Team Leader’s eyes.
“How are you all right?”
“Instinct!”
“Pardon?”
The Team Leader smiled confidently.
“Instinct! Pure instinct!”
“Huh.”
It was not even surprising anymore.
Now that we had found the Team Leader as well...
“Shall we look for the exit?”
“Looks like you have an idea.”
Aileen tilted her head curiously at me. When my gaze moved to the Team Leader, Aileen made a quiet sound of realization and looked at him too.
“So there was a method like that.”
“As expected of a veteran. You understood what I was thinking right away.”
“...What is it?”
The Team Leader muttered uneasily after hearing our conversation.
“Team Leader.”
“What?”
I spoke to the Team Leader gently.
“Do you know about canaries in coal mines?”
“...No?”
The Team Leader desperately shook his head.
“Then you can be a canary for a little while.”
“You know this is insubordination, right? If I report you to the higher-ups, you’ll, huh? Get your pay docked?”
With the Team Leader, who was muttering anxiously, positioned at the front, I looked at the others.
“All right, everyone. Let’s get ready to leave.”
It was time to get tickets and get out of here.
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