Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Thank You for Your Visit
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I look around.
"..."
Paper placed on my hand, dim lighting, and silhouettes standing in the darkness.
There must have been at least thirty of them.
"...Doll masks."
Ailin whispers, tapping my shoulder.
"We don't know how strong the HR Team's forces are, but do you think we can win against those?"
"...It'd be tough."
I reply, slightly furrowing my brow at Ailin's words.
Critical is powerful, but it has a strict usage limit, so it wouldn't help much in a numbers fight like this.
I turn my gaze to Jang Chaeyeon, and she meets my eyes, nodding.
"I can do it."
"Just stay put for now."
Jang Chaeyeon rarely says no to me, so her "I can" needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
I look at the golden paper in my hand.
"..."
Song Arin peeks her head over my right shoulder.
"A riddle?"
"You could say that."
"Hmm..."
She furrows her brow.
"Let me see."
"Have you done stuff like this before?"
"Nope. But two heads are better than one, right?"
With that, Song Arin starts reading it alongside me.
"For starters, the easiest part is—"
"Yeah, just think simply."
It looks tricky at first glance, but it's no different from basic logical deduction.
Just judge if each person's statement is true or false and plug it in.
"..."
First, let's assume my statement is correct.
"Song Arin."
"Yeah?"
"If that's the case, you already know what to do, so could you split it up and think about it?"
"Got it."
"Daon."
"Yes!"
"Help with this too."
"Will do!"
"You know how to do this stuff?"
"You have no idea how much thinking I did stuck alone in that hospital!"
"...Suddenly I feel like total trash."
Listening to Song Arin's grumble, the two of them start murmuring together.
"Chaeyeon..."
"Not confident."
"You've got something else to handle."
"Okay."
Jang Chaeyeon, always so objective about herself.
"...Back when we first met, you blocked those bullets for us, right?"
"...Yeah."
"Can you keep that up the whole time?"
"...But then I can't fight."
"I know."
Jang Chaeyeon looks at me and nods.
"Got it. I'll do that."
"Thank you."
The Team Leader rolls up his sleeves and steps forward.
"I'll help too. Saw a problem like this in the back of one of the kids' comics."
"Please do."
Division of labor on intelligence.
It's just simple work in the end.
As everyone thinks hard, I turn my gaze to the man who was Yi Cheolsu.
"..."
He's just smiling silently, watching us.
"Is it okay if we think about it together separately?"
"I never said you had to think alone."
He shrugs as he replies.
Then why make it this hard?
Maybe it's directing attention elsewhere?
My gaze shifts to Ailin and back.
Maybe because Ailin wasn't in the puzzle.
Noticing my look, Ailin meets my eyes.
"I think I know what you're thinking."
"..."
I meet her eyes in silence at her words.
"It's a valid point, but I'm just as puzzled."
She's thinking the same thing I am.
She adds that she doesn't know why she's not included there and opens her mouth.
"Let's look for other commonalities. For one, I'm not with the HR Team."
"...Do they even know what a team is?"
"If not, then maybe I've been brainwashed without knowing or I'm not human."
She says it calmly, looking at me.
"Right?"
I check above her head.
[Name: Ailin]
[Age: 21]
[Talent: X]
[Specialty: X]
[Background: After losing all her subordinates she brought to the amusement park, she's tormented by severe guilt and self-flagellation. But she knows it too— she's always the one who survives in the end.]
[Weakness: She's just an ordinary person. Kill her, and she dies.]
"...No."
I shake my head, denying her words.
"At least for now, you seem like a perfectly normal person."
"That's a relief."
She replies with a face full of relief.
So, Ailin can't see the puzzle.
Then why is she excluded?
It was so obvious.
Blatantly making us suspect her, or...
"Ailin."
"Yeah."
"You have the balloon, right?"
At my words, she holds up the balloon.
"..."
I watch her quietly, lost in thought.
"Ailin."
"...Yeah."
"When you've gone on dispatches or missions, have you come back alive alone a lot?"
"...Why all of a sudden?"
Her gaze turns to me.
"Just curious. It's weird."
Ailin has no abilities.
Not even the Team Leader's danger sense.
"...A lot."
"How many times?"
"Too many to count."
She answers slowly.
I think about her existence.
What is the Response Team?
A place that deals with unknowns, like Containment or Management. But more than the powered, it's where pissed-off people walk in on their own.
And by my eyes, she's a complete civilian.
"..."
My gaze fixes on her broken finger, still rigid.
She thinks she handled it well, but she's still injured like this.
How did she make it back alive every time?
It almost feels like someone doesn't want her to die.
"Hey! We got it!"
Song Arin comes up beside me.
"Here's the summary."
Song Arin clears her throat and looks at me.
"If we assume each person's statement is true once, there's a contradiction in yours."
"If mine is true, then Chaeyeon's is the contradiction?"
"Huh? Yeah. Right."
"Conversely, if Chaeyeon's is true, then your statement contradicts."
"Uh, yeah."
"Daon speaks the truth."
"...Yeah."
"Arin speaks the truth."
"..."
"So elimination leaves the Team Leader as the one who speaks truth and lies."
"...Why'd you have me do it then?"
Song Arin pouts, furrowing her brow.
"If you're so smart, just do it yourself."
"No. I overheard you and Daon chattering, and I needed to verify if I was right anyway."
My biggest worry was having to solve this alone in limited time, but since we could pool heads for quite a while, no big issue.
"...So, what did you get from wearing us three out?"
"More like..."
"..."
Song Arin's gaze follows mine to Yi Cheolsu.
"That's not human, right?"
"...It's weird you're asking me."
"It looks human-ish to me."
"...No."
Song Arin furrows her brow slightly and shakes her head.
"The shell might look human, but the mind structure isn't."
I turn my gaze to what was Yi Cheolsu.
It opens its mouth.
"Found the answer?"
"We got the answer to the problem you gave."
It nods and smiles at my words.
"What was it?"
"Heo Chan."
"Correct. Now you can leave!"
Its mouth splits open grotesquely like a grin as it claps.
"Then I should open the door."
The red streetlamp lights up, and the doll masks retreat.
"You can go."
It points behind.
The streetlamp illuminates the path like daylight, and it smiles, handing over tickets.
Six golden tickets.
"Pass the streetlamp, and it's the exit."
It bows slightly.
"We sincerely thank you for visiting Sora Land."
"Chaeyeon."
"Yeah."
Jang Chaeyeon stands beside me.
"Daon."
Yoo Daon sticks to my side with an innocent smile.
Everyone except the Team Leader seems to have caught on, moving with guarded expressions.
After a few steps, the exit comes into view for all of us.
[Thank you for visiting Sora Land.]
"The exit!"
The Team Leader smiles brightly, then furrows his brow.
"Chaeyeon!"
She leaps to the center of us immediately.
Soon, countless somethings start flying at us.
I've been waiting for this.
[Critical: 1->0]
The world turns black and white, slowing down.
I calmly survey the surroundings.
Time slowing—that's what I was aiming for.
What flies precisely at our balloons are blades sharp as daggers.
I look at what's throwing them.
A man in a suit.
Short-cropped hair, unfamiliar face, and a massive cross necklace as his only distinctive feature.
A translucent window floats above his head.
[Name: Kim Chanho]
[Age: 31]
[Talent: Storage]
[Specialty: Storage]
[Background: Working in the Management Bureau's Accounting Team, he realized his future and fate. Or so he believes.]
[Weakness: Just an ordinary person. Kill him, and he dies.]
Human...?
The moment I think that, my gun is already aimed at him, and red light flashes from his chest.
-Bang!
The bullet fires, sucked into his chest, and instantly my bullet pierces him.
It should have.
-Clang!
His cross necklace burns away, and he turns his gaze toward me.
Our eyes meet, he makes a shocked face, then vanishes like teleporting.
-Clang!
Jang Chaeyeon deftly deflects all the daggers flying at her, and in sync, I shout.
"To the exit!"
We all rush to the exit.
Soon, we're back in the empty amusement park.
"...Huff... Hah..."
We all catch our breath, looking around.
"...We escaped."
Ailin says, panting.
Soon, escorted by the Response Team that came to pick us up, we make it back safely.
"...You look bad, Jaeheon."
"I'm fine."
"...If something's bothering you, tell me. I can listen."
"...Thank you."
Yoo Daon smiles faintly and sits beside me, while I sink deeper into thought.
Someone from the Management Bureau? Attacking us?
I need to talk to someone.
*
Right after arriving, I spoke to the sunglassed uncle, but he furrowed his brow as he replied.
"...Kim Chanho from Accounting? He was at the Gangbuk branch, quit on his own."
"..."
"We'll look into it. Don't worry. Rest up. You always work hard."
"But..."
"I get it. We'll check for internal strife, and if so, I'll take responsibility and help."
"I'm not sure I trust that."
"No need to. I'll handle it well."
"..."
For now, wait and see. Aftercare might suck, but info's always solid.
Thanks to the man and branch chief's consideration, after two more days' rest, we returned to work.
Things flow in the usual routine.
Until Yoo Daon brings it up.
"By the way, who do you think would win if we fought each other?"
"..."
"..."
The air freezes.