Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Doppelganger Overlap Anomaly (1)
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Sitting in front of the computer, I gazed at the Recorder's Pen and swiftly copied down the letters.
[Kang Su-ji]: Alpha, how many did you do today?
[Me]: Let's see. About 700?
[Kang Su-ji]: 700...? Are you a person or a photocopier?
That day, after escaping the "New Employee First Day Anomaly."
I realized she had her limits when it came to taking down letters.
Her single small notepad was woefully insufficient to hold everything.
In the end, I changed to typing up what I remembered on the computer and emailing it to her.
We naturally exchanged contacts in the process.
The sound of typing echoed through the room for a while, then completely stopped with the final keystroke.
[Kang Su-ji]: Still, thanks to you, the bereaved families will receive those letters.
[Me]: Eh. I just transcribed the records.
[Kang Su-ji]: ...Saying it like that makes you sound totally charmless. It's because of you, Alpha, that they get delivered. Our organization focuses on handling anomalies, so this kind of thing is usually low priority... Hmm. Oh, how many letters are left?
Her words trailed off unnaturally in the middle of the chat.
Pretending not to notice, I continued my response calmly.
That's just how office life is.
[Me]: Just finishing this one, and we're done.
Over the past few days of chatting, we'd grown a bit closer, and a hint of familiarity seeped into her tone.
Finally wrapping up the last letter, I let out a deep breath.
After hitting send and confirming the "success" message, I typed briefly into the chat window.
[Me]: Just sent it.
[Kang Su-ji]: Got it. It arrived safely.
[Me]: Mm. Well, thanks for all your hard work.
[Kang Su-ji]: Yeah. You too, Alpha.
Confirming the final chat on the screen, I collapsed into the chair like I'd been dropped.
I scratched at my belly.
'Is an unemployed guy supposed to be this busy...'
Shaking my head, I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and took a swig.
My phone vibrated, drawing my eyes down.
A notification text.
[Armed Forces Regular Training Notice][Armed forces regular training will be conducted. Please do not be startled by noise or vehicle movement during training, and take care for your safety.]
[Armed Forces Regular Training Notice][We ask for your understanding and cooperation from all citizens. For smooth training and safety, please actively cooperate.]
As I read the text, a call tone rang from my phone.
[Mom]
Holding the water bottle in one hand, I immediately brought the phone to my ear.
"Mom, what's up?"
—You aren't getting a job?
For a moment, I pulled the receiver slightly away from my ear.
Can't be helped.
"Calm down. There's circumstances I can't talk about here."
Maybe because of the seriousness in my voice, Mom's tone softened a bit.
Worry seeped through from the other end of the line.
—Is something going on?
I told her honestly, but briefly, about what happened that day.
I got the final acceptance and went to work... but the boss was a monkey, so I quit and left.
A moment of silence.
Then an outburst.
—You... you!!! I told you to cut back on games!!!
"...Ah, ah! Hello? I can barely hear you. Reception must be bad here. I'll head home next week, so we can talk then."
Click—
I set the phone down and sighed.
'Why won't she believe me.'
***
Out of habit, I logged into the Horror Gallery.
There was one notification.
[Broadcast Settlement Payment Notice]
I knew what this was now.
When you enter an anomaly, the broadcast turns on, and the coins shot by viewers who watch it get settled.
[Broadcast Sponsor Coins: 614]
[30% Fee]
[Settlement Coins: 430]
"Wait, the fee is 30%?"
I was floored for a second.
No wonder the moderator stamped "Operators aren't skimming" in the terms of service.
Even the moderator couldn't argue against suspicions at this level.
600 down to 400.
Nearly a third sliced off.
Shaking my head at the murderous fee, that's when one post in the popular section caught my eye.
[Title: A Promise is a Promise.]
—Poster: Hopeless Life
A man doesn't go back on his word.
2000 coins. That.
The coins I scrimped and saved, skipping what I should eat.
....Here, newbie.
Newbie120053.
Come leave a comment.
[Not Human]: Obviously it wasn't bullshit? You're really giving them away?
ㄴ[Hopeless Life]: A man doesn't say it twice.
[HmmSomethingLikeThat]: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
[Serious Junkie]: Rough talk aside, this guy's actually niceㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
[Hell Hurts]: No way you saved up 2k? Wow... bro.
ㄴ[Hopeless Life]: Try running for the foundation for a few years like me. You end up saving even if you don't want to.
The gallery was already buzzing.
I hesitated for a moment, then placed my hands on the keyboard.
I'd vowed revenge someday on "Hopeless Life" for gambling on me before...
But.
2000 coins was too big a sum to uphold my principles.
[Newbie120053]: Saw the title and came. Hopeless Life, you're really giving them?
ㄴ[Hopeless Life]: Take it before I change my mind.
Ding.
['Hopeless Life' has sent 2000 Horror Coins to 'Newbie120053'. Accept?]
No reason to hesitate.
"Accept."
[Newbie120053]: I'll put the coins to good use. Thanks, Hopeless Life. As a newbie, I needed them badly—huge help.
Today's grudge settled.
Hadn't even had lunch yet, but I felt stuffed.
After experiencing a second anomaly, I'd come to greatly appreciate the utility of Horror Coins.
If I hadn't had coins?
I'd have had to carry all that paper and run up to the 15th floor.
A psychological battle with the human-faced monkey?
I'd have been gasping and done for.
With my belly full, other thoughts started surfacing.
To escape being a pathetic shut-in son lounging at home, I needed to make money.
How long had it been since the last "New Employee First Day Anomaly."
I couldn't bring myself to fill out a job application myself.
For some reason, it felt like stepping outside would drag me into another anomaly.
Conclusion: I'd hole up at home for a while.
That meant finding work I could do without leaving the house.
Conveniently, something good came to mind.
"...Investing."
The money in my account right now was about 100 million won.
Severance pay, recent compensation, and all the salary I'd saved up combined.
I hadn't been officially hired as a freelancer by Kang Su-ji this time, so sadly no special stipend.
Instead, I'd handed the Rulebook over to the Anomaly Management Bureau and was set to get compensated for it.
Payment was pending, though.
They said it'd be deposited after confirming the neutralized anomaly reactivated and verifying the Rulebook worked properly.
That would take some time.
So, I decided to tinker with what I had for now.
For a few days, I devoured stock-related posts and videos online indiscriminately.
Kosdaq? KOSPI?
'So... if the country does well, I make money too—patriotic stocks, right?'
I dove into that for days.
No plans to even step outside, so no risk of anomalies.
Naturally, I stopped logging into the Horror Gallery after getting those coins last time.
Exactly three days after buying stocks and getting sick of studying, I finally crawled back into the gallery like a zombie after a long hiatus.
Unaware since I hadn't logged in, the gallery was in an uproar.
[Title: Newbie120053. This guy's always on stocks.]
—Poster: AmericaIsBest
Forget Kosdaq, look at America.
Feel America's greatness too.
"...How'd they know I was studying stocks?"
Scrolling down, another post caught my eye.
[Title: People with broadcasts on right now, including Newbie and a few others with me]
—Poster: Real Ru
Broadcast's been on constantly for three days, no anomalies around.
No anomaly reactions either.
Isn't this a system glitch? For realㅋㅋ
'...Broadcast is on?'
My eyes went to the broadcast tab.
Sure enough, a live stream pinned with my entry number was active.
Soon, a rapidly rising popular post appeared.
[Title: ? Just got back from exploration, what's going on?]
—Poster: Veteran84
Literally.
[Serious Junkie]: Several with broadcast codes up now. No anomaly reactions, surroundings look totally normal.
ㄴ[Veteran84]: ...Ah.
ㄴ[Serious Junkie]: Know what it is?
ㄴ[Veteran84]: Yeah, almost no one's experienced it, right? Videos cost Horror Coins to rent based on value. Can't be helped.
Rental?
I hadn't even known that existed.
Thought it was free, but the monetization is evil.
ㄴ[Veteran84]: Normal for most not to know. It's level 3.
ㄴ[Veteran84]: Far as I know, survivors of level 3 besides me can be counted on one hand, and it doesn't happen often. Even those who know are too busy for gallery time. Moderator's swamped with anomaly investigations too.
ㄴ[Veteran84]: Anyway, anyone seeing this with a broadcast code: run NOW. Space isn't restricted. If you flee to an area without codes while there's time, you might—
Ding! Ding!
That's when my phone vibrated with text alerts.
Messages arriving almost simultaneously from two places.
[Investigator Kim Sera]: Alpha! If you're in Gyeonggi Province right now, get out FAST!
[Suppression Team Kang Su-ji]: Alpha Agent!
[Emergency Disaster Alert][Major danger in Gyeonggi Province. Residents and visitors in Gyeonggi must evacuate immediately.]
[Emergency Disaster Alert][This is NOT a drill. Evacuate to: Gwangju, Seongnam, Hanam, Icheon, Yeoju in Gyeonggi. If in these areas, move to safe zones IMMEDIATELY.]
[Emergency Disaster Alert][Gwangju City-wide: Risk of building collapse and comms failure. Avoid open areas outside buildings; head to government shelters NOW.]
[Emergency Disaster Alert][Seongnam area roads controlled. Avoid vehicles. Shelter locations via Ministry of Interior homepage and disaster broadcasts.]
[Emergency Disaster Alert][Damage spreading. Phenomenon confirmed as atmospheric anomaly. Do NOT open windows. Avoid direct light exposure.]
Dozens of alerts poured in continuously.
I couldn't tear my eyes from the phone screen.
I stood and headed to the balcony.
Pushing open the window and looking up—
Something I shouldn't have seen entered my vision.
Above, in the sky.
There... was a second sun.
When had it started?
I hadn't noticed at all.
Only after the text alerts did "something's wrong" even register.
The black sun emitted haughty rays of light, slowly encroaching on everything.
I'd looked out the window several times before.
Each time, my brain had ruled "nothing unusual," and I'd accepted it.
Clouds warped first under the black sun's light.
They spread like ink, turning black, and soon black rain poured.
Building exteriors melted like wax, flowing to the ground.
Windows dripped like liquid, parked cars turned to sticky metal blobs sliding down.
The whole city was melting.
Everything in sight.
My vision shimmered.
The world shed its shell as one reality slowly collapsed and vanished.
Then, the phone rang.
Trembling hands picked it up, and a familiar voice pierced my ear.
Suppression Team, Kang Su-ji.
—Alpha! ...An overlap phenomenon has occurred!
"Overlap phenomenon...?"
—The anomaly was...
Click—
The call cut off abruptly.
The whole world went dark.
Only one light.
The black sun hanging in the sky.
But it wasn't light.
Czzzzt—
The signal caught again.
Kang Su-ji's voice barely continued amid static.
A desperate, urgent outburst.
—...eaten by another anomaly.
Craaaack—
Something shattering and splitting.
Instinctively, I looked up at the black sun.
One change.
...A crack on the black sun's surface.
Soon, the massive egg split, and pitch-black wings slowly emerged from within.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[ 'Doppelganger' is mimicking 'Devil'.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
***
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Returning to last save point.]
[Most recent save point is AUTO SAVE 2.]
[Doppelganger Overlap Anomaly]
[Death Type]: Evaporation.
[Tip]: Do not look directly at the black sun. Observe only from the edge of your vision.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
I opened my eyes.
My phone alarm was ringing.
[Armed Forces Regular Training Notice][Armed forces regular training will be conducted. Please do not be startled by noise or vehicle movement during training, and take care for your safety.]
[Armed Forces Regular Training Notice][We ask for your understanding and cooperation from all citizens. For smooth training and safety, please actively cooperate.]
It was so peaceful, I couldn't even tell if this was the anomaly's start.
And now.
Auto Save rewinding to this point.
Meant the anomaly was starting right now.