Chapter 185
Chapter 185
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 185. Truth Game
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When I was little—no, even after growing up—people often ask this question.
The so-called balance game.
For kids, it's which do you like more, Mom or Dad.
For lovers, me or the celebrity.
For office workers, overtime tonight or come in early tomorrow—deathly choices that follow you to the grave no matter how old you get.
[To survive, will you abandon your colleague?]
I listen to the question echoing from above and look around.
Ruins, and more ruins.
If I had to pick, it feels similar to the scenery I saw inside the Cube.
Did I get dragged into another anomaly?
...
I rest my chin on my hand, lost in thought.
[To survive, will you abandon your colleague?]
The question echoes again.
...
In times like this, there's one surefire way to know.
"Here goes."
I plop down on the ground.
I rummage through my pockets.
No manual. No pistol.
...
That's even more reassuring.
It might sound ridiculous to others, but the manual sticks to me like glue under normal circumstances.
It's not that I never leave it behind.
Sure, I carry it with me a lot, but the real issue is that the manual literally "appears" around me.
It was there during the Red Lady incident, the cruise ship case—always by my side.
If I think back to times it wasn't, it's when I left it on my desk at home or on the dining table.
Even if I forgot it at home, it'd somehow end up in my pocket again.
And not just once or twice.
It scared me at first. Now I just let it be.
It follows me on its own.
So if that manual isn't with me now?
It means it's safe.
I sit there a bit longer, and then the voice booms from the sky again.
[To survive, will you abandon your colleague?]
Lost in thought as I listen.
If this were an anomaly, I'd already be dead.
Or the manual would be flipping out wildly, nagging me to get out, or at least I'd see something in my vision.
But neither is happening.
Which means this is a test.
So, is this the Management Bureau's safety training?
It's nothing like the one I saw.
The one from last year was definitely...
[If three Containment Team members enter and two die while two come out, should you pay the survivor their salary?]
Something like that, where you had to write an answer.
What did I write again?
[One of the survivors is a monster, so if you hand both over to the Management Team, you save on two salaries.]
Something like that.
My thoughts stop there.
I pat the dust off my pants, stand up, look at the sky, and open my mouth.
"No."
Could I really survive by abandoning colleagues I've suffered alongside for so long?
Even if I did, I'd live with crushing guilt, and odds are I'd fail to escape and die anyway.
Without Yoo Daon, no one to watch my front.
Without Jang Chaeyeon, no one to attack.
Without Song Arin, no one to back me up.
-Rumble!
As soon as I answer, thunder cracks from the sky,
...
And like in a game, names start scrolling up.
Behind the flashing names, the time was written in a dry font.
But I have no idea what it's supposed to mean.
The time floats in the sky,
Then poof! It vanishes with a pop.
"...What the hell."
Then, the voice echoes from above again.
[Match rate: 100%. Moving to the next question.]
What's a match rate?
[In your opinion, who is the indispensable person on the team?]
An indispensable person on the team?
...
I sink into thought.
I don't even get why they're asking this.
Honestly, aren't they all indispensable?
Without Yoo Daon, we're all dead.
Without Jang Chaeyeon, we're all dead.
Without Song Arin, we're all dead.
Even without me, wouldn't they all die?
I want to believe that.
So this isn't about a crisis situation.
It's more everyday.
Got it. It's about roles and team dynamics.
Someone might be the mood maker, another quietly supporting from behind.
Alright. Let's think.
First, Jang Chaeyeon's role.
She's blunt and doesn't talk much, but she blends into the team well.
Which means, surprisingly, she's quick on the uptake.
She's usually the first to notice my condition.
Next, Song Arin.
...
This one's tricky.
She grumbles a ton normally, but when it counts, she gets serious faster than anyone, assesses the situation, and gives advice.
And even while saying she hates it, she rolls up her sleeves and helps.
She could be a bit more honest, but no one's perfect.
Next, Park Ye-eun.
This girl's amazing.
Outstanding affinity, plus a playful streak.
She's the team's vitality incarnate.
The office atmosphere lightened up after she joined.
Next, Yoo Daon.
...
Yoo Daon is the total opposite of Song Arin in some ways.
She's always smiling and helpful, but her occasional bombshell comments shock everyone.
Still, before Park Ye-eun, Yoo Daon was the mood maker.
Just seeing her beaming smile lifted spirits.
She chats so enjoyably too.
Lately she's been fighting with Song Arin, but anyway, that's how it was for me.
Next...
Team Leader.
He always snaps, but he's the first to handle things, and he shows up when we really need him.
His corny old-man jokes are the problem, but aside from that and his lack of brains, he's the ideal boss.
When I first joined, he patiently taught me everything, even stuff I didn't get, without complaint.
Sure, that meant overtime too.
I cross my arms and think.
In cases like this, you have to consider the examiner's intent.
I recall the question.
[In your opinion, who is the indispensable person on the team?]
"My opinion" of the indispensable team member.
Purely subjective.
Strictly subjectively, the indispensable one...
Yeah. No need to agonize.
"Team Leader."
Of course, no one can replace the others.
But if Team Leader left and some weirdo took over, my work life would suck big time.
Having a good boss is a blessing too.
-Rumble!
Thunder cracks from the sky again.
Then names float up like in a game.
...
This time with arrows pointing to names.
Yoo Daon, Jang Chaeyeon, and Song Arin picked me, and I picked Team Leader.
I see. Everyone except me picked—
That's as far as my thought went before cold sweat poured down.
Wait... does that mean my choice is visible to everyone else?
So right now, they're all seeing me pick Team Leader while they picked me?
[Match rate: 75%. Minor discord possible.]
Soon, the voice booms from the sky again.
[Next question.]
I have to nail this one.
*
...
Jang Chaeyeon stared blankly at the thundering sky.
The writing she'd just seen, and what she'd seen before.
She'd doubted it at first, but now she knew.
It was their answers.
For the last question, she'd picked the man without hesitation.
And the other two probably did too.
But he apparently didn't think the same.
...
Her lips pouted slightly in disappointment, then slipped back as if nothing happened.
On the bright side, at least he hadn't picked Yoo Daon or Song Arin.
Not first place, but not last—gotta be grateful for that.
...
Jang Chaeyeon quietly turned her gaze, lost in thought.
Conversely, the first times she'd seen.
...30 seconds.
The time it took her to answer.
[Abandon your colleague?]
A tough question.
She had no choice but to agonize.
It's something every Containment Team member faces eventually.
Colleagues telling her to go on without them, and her gritting her teeth to leave them behind and run.
That's why Jang Chaeyeon knew.
Someday, she might have to abandon someone—or be abandoned.
Even so, she'd answered no.
Because she couldn't imagine actually leaving him behind.
Her gaze shifted elsewhere.
Song Arin, 2 minutes.
She'd probably wrestled with the same dilemma. Anyone in field work at the Management Bureau long enough would.
The man, 5 minutes.
Maybe it was unfamiliar to him.
Yoo Daon, 3 seconds.
...
If anyone had seen Yoo Daon almost as much as the man, it was Jang Chaeyeon.
Even so, she still didn't fully understand her.
Sometimes a martyr of self-sacrifice, other times stubbornly shutting others out—a contradictory mess.
And that girl had...
"...Uncomfortable."
Jang Chaeyeon muttered, staring at the sky.
-Rumble!
A new question was appearing.
*
A question unfolds before my eyes.
[Who is the most useless person on the team?]
...
What the hell is the point of a question like this?