Chapter 15
Chapter 15
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: New Employee First Day — Rules (7)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Bang—!
Beyond the heavily shut door.
In an instant, all noise cut off.
The countless presences of the dolls swarming in just moments ago had vanished without a trace.
All that remained was a silence so profound it felt like it could swallow even your breath.
When I slowly turned around, the president's office of this company stretched out before my eyes.
A massive room.
The ceiling loomed twice as high as those on other floors, and dark wallpaper covered the walls.
In the center of the room sat a leather sofa, sunk heavily into the floor.
And at the far end.
A single nameplate rested on the desk.
[(株) Sekwang Tech Solutions President ■■■■■]
The characters after it were illegible.
Probably the bastard's... name.
I raised my gaze.
This was the first time I'd seen an anomaly manifested so directly.
Every piece of furniture in the room was merely a prop to accentuate its presence.
At the center of the scene.
An alien being sat calmly at the office desk, mimicking a human.
Human-Faced Monkey.
No, its form was now so close to human it was nearly indistinguishable.
Yet the reason I could definitively call it a monkey, not a human, despite the human face...
Was the feral glint seeping through its eyes that no amount of human mimicry could hide.
Clap clap—
"Excellent!!! Truly!!"
It smiled. As if nothing could bring it greater joy.
"To think someone actually made it here!!! It's the first time since I founded this company!!"
Its excitement bubbled over as it kept talking to itself.
"How about working with me? I love talent. Running a company, you always realize the value of good people. Of course, there have been others who've caught my eye before and shown their skills. They're all happily satisfied with my offer now, working diligently even as we speak."
"...You mean the Human-Faced Monkeys, don't you?"
At my words, it tilted its head.
An exaggerated clownish gesture. Every movement was slathered in theatrical farce.
"Human-Faced Monkey? Ah, yes. That's how it looks to human eyes. So, what do you say? Think about it. Eternal life, the position of lifelong manager worshipped by those below. A sturdy, destructive body beyond any human comparison. ...Which of these could a human possibly rival?"
A single contract slid across the desk.
[Full-Time Employment Contract]
"Normally, you'd need more tests, but as a special exception, I'll convert you straight to full-time under my authority."
Silence fell as its words ended.
Staring at the contract before me, a flurry of thoughts briefly crossed my mind.
Human-Faced Monkey.
Full-time position.
Eternal life and power.
...But my answer was already set.
"If I refuse."
It took my words surprisingly calmly.
I'd expected anger or some outburst from its demeanor.
"That's not a bad choice either. However..."
Its face twisted into a vile grin.
Countless teeth protruded like a beast's fangs.
"Did you bring your resignation letter when you came here? We do have procedures to follow, after all."
Utter confidence.
It smirked leisurely, as if it already had everything in its grasp.
"Of course—"
"I brought it."
Thanks to you spelling it out with all those sneering jabs, I did.
Second playthrough, you bastard.
I pulled out a single sheet of paper and tossed it before it.
Proving it's a monkey, huh?
Looks like its brain hasn't evolved past ape level yet.
"This... is unexpected."
Even after seeing my resignation, its face stayed grinning, aside from a brief stiffening.
I have no idea why it's trapped so many humans in this company.
And honestly, I don't care to know.
But I could feel it.
That this anomaly needed humans for whatever it was doing.
A line from Investigator Kim Se-ra, whom I'd met before, came to mind.
'Anomalies feed on human flesh, souls, and emotions.'
What it's harvesting here is probably the feelings of wealth spewing from its company employees.
Once they're drained dry, it disposes of their bodies and souls thriftily.
The company itself was one massive farm.
I relaxed my tone.
After all, it was just me and it in this space.
"You know about the trendy proxy resignation thing going around these days?"
I pulled another resignation letter from my pocket and showed it.
"Ah, that's the intern Kang Su-ji, right?"
Its face showed no change.
Still smiling, grinning.
Yeah, figured as much.
I'd seen over a thousand human dolls just on my way here.
Two missing wouldn't faze it much.
Let's see how long you keep smiling.
"Yeah? Then this one's no problem either."
I pulled out the next resignation letter.
And the next.
After hearing the first hint about resignation letters from it in the president's office, I'd deliberately opened the door and let the dolls kill me.
When I reached the first-floor lobby, I immediately bought an item from the anomaly shop.
[Anomaly Shop]
It was right there in the bestsellers.
Exactly what I needed most.
[Amnesia Capsule] (180 coins)
Erases the most recent 5 minutes of memory.
However, single-target effect only; does not erase memories of other beings.
[Iron Key] (250 coins)
Forces open one locked door.
However, consider why the door is locked. The "entity behind it" may be released as well.
[Small Inventory] (200 coins)
-Max carry weight: 10kg
However, items cannot be re-stored once removed.
[Current coins: 213]
Purchase [Small Inventory]?
'Obviously.'
Enough space for about 10kg worth of items.
I'd blown through nearly all my remaining 200-ish coins.
It had cost me a bit of time.
If escaping with just myself was all it took, this anomaly would've ended shortly after starting.
But I had a lot to duplicate.
My resignations weren't just one sheet.
Countless lined-up resignation letters.
On my visit to HR earlier, I'd checked every employee record one by one, handcrafting these with my own sweat.
Only then did its eyes change.
In that instant, a guttural roar erupted.
"You dare!!! Filthy livestock!!! Mocking me?!"
In a flash, the human facade peeled away, and its body swelled enormously.
Vibrations and noise burst from the door again.
Pressure like it might shatter any second.
But I didn't panic.
My hand was faster than it lunging at me anyway.
No need to pull them one by one.
I grabbed the bundle of resignation letters and hurled it into the air.
Flutterflutterflutter—
Papers freed from my hand scattered through the air, spreading across the president's office.
They drifted lightly onto the desk, floor, between chairs.
And as the final sheet slowly fell.
The ear-splitting noise cut off abruptly.
The door's imminent shattering ceased.
Its body, which had ballooned to fill the room as it charged me, deflated like a punctured balloon.
I looked down at it collapsed before me.
For the first time, the leisurely smile vanished from its face.
"Thaaat caaan't beee!!! You think I'd approve thoooose resiiiignatiooons!!!"
A company crumbles without workers, after all.
I shook my head at its words.
Stomped its face underfoot.
"If you're gonna study humans, do it right. Interns are fixed-term workers to begin with. Once the term ends without going full-time... no approval needed for resignation."
The company shook like it might collapse.
"Took forever writing every employee's name by hand. No copier in the office? Anyway, bye and..."
Light exploded outward.
"—never see you again, you monkey bastard."
Cleared.
Ding!
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[New Employee First Day Anomaly]
[Progress]: 100%
[Rulebook – New Employee First Day Anomaly]
Rule 1. Commute Time
1-1. New employees must arrive at their desks before 9 AM sharp.
1-2. At exactly 9:00, the seat automatically transfers to a 'Replacement.'
1-3. If someone else is sitting at your desk, never make eye contact.
1-4. If eyes meet, 'assimilation' by the entity occurs.
Rule 2. Phone Receiver
2-1. Pick up precisely on the third ring.
- Answering on first or second ring → Perceived as hasty and rude.
- Answering on fourth or later → Perceived as disrespectful of the caller's time.
2-2. First words must state your department and name.
2-3. Always affirm the other party's statements. ("Yes, that's correct." Negatives forbidden.)
2-4. Never stay silent during the call. Indicate listening with short responses every 5 seconds at minimum.
2-5. Call duration must not exceed 3 minutes.
2-6. Always end with a thank you.
Rule 3. Work and Quitting Time
3-1. You can only leave after completing all assigned tasks.
3-2. After 5:30 PM, colleagues or superiors dump additional work on you.
3-3. Leaving exactly on time is temporally impossible.
3-4. At 6:00 PM, the entire building blacks out, and entities vanish.
Rule 4. Emergency Stairs
4-1. Human-Faced Gorillas are stationed at each floor's emergency stairwell entrance.
4-2. Regular new employees (adult male standard) cannot physically subdue them.
4-3. If entering via the exit, do not attempt to brute-force the stairs.
4-4. Always distract them first using external means like fire or disruption before moving.
Rule 5. Elevator Use
5-1. Never press floor buttons for departments you don't belong to.
5-2. Arriving at an unassigned floor causes the entire space to be 'eroded.'
5-3. If you arrive at a non-designated floor, never step out.
5-4. If already on an unassigned floor, pray someone else presses a button and it reaches your floor.
Rule 6. Resignation Method
6-1. You must refuse the president's full-time conversion offer.
6-2. Interns and fixed-term workers can resign by submitting a letter without separate approval.
6-3. Resignation letters must be fully submitted before 6 PM blackout.
6-4. If your seat is already taken or 'assimilation' has occurred, resignation is eternally impossible.
[Rulebook Update Complete]
[Current Rule Count: 6]
[Discovered: 6]
[Level Adjustment: Evolving from 'Stage 2 - Dangerous' to 'Stage 3 - Vanishing']
[Next Stage Progression Conditions Met]
[Successfully Neutralized New Employee First Day Anomaly.]
[First Clear Bonus: 100 Anomaly Coins awarded.]
[Initial Clear Bonus: 100 Anomaly Coins awarded.]
[100% Progress Bonus: 200 Anomaly Coins awarded.]
*Anomaly Coins can be used at the Anomaly Shop.
*Coins sponsored via broadcast will be tallied and settled after the broadcast ends.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━