Surviving Restructuring

Eun-Ho stood face-to-face with Chul-Joong, the biggest one of the three men. He was the first target. The thug still gripped the spear, aiming it at Yoon Sol-Ah’s neck.

Soon, his wrist twisted grotesquely because of Eun-Ho.

Whoosh—!

A sword came crashing down from above and with a sickening ease, the man’s right arm was severed cleanly.

Tick!

“Pleeeease! S-somebody, help us! Huh? W-what’s going on?!”

“Why are we even here?”

Then, he realized that his severed arm hit the ground with a dull thud.

Splurt!

Blood gushed violently from his now-empty shoulder socket.

“Aaargh!”

The big guy collapsed, screaming. He stared at his own arm, which rolled by his feet, in disbelief.

“C-Chul-Joong! Are you okay?”

“Y-you bastard! Do you even know what you’ve just done?!”

The other two scrambled back in shock, stumbling over themselves, legs trembling with fear.

“Fuuuuuuck! It hurts! It hurts so bad!”

The big guy thrashed on the ground, face twisted in panic, howling like a wounded animal. It wasn’t pretty.

“Oh, does it hurt?” Eun-Ho asked.

“Of course it fucking hurts, you psycho!”

“But stabbing innocent kids in their necks didn’t seem to bother you.”

Chul-Joong froze and remained silent.

“What’s wrong? I thought you said this was a hunt.”

Chul-Joong’s pupils quivered at Eun-Ho’s comment.

For the first time, it truly hit him that he was no longer the predator, but the prey.

Well, it’s too late, Eun-Ho thought.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

“D-don’t come any closer! I said stay back!”

“You said the weak deserve it, didn’t you?”

These guys loved to stomp on anyone weaker than them. They welcomed this brutal purge of the restructuring process, laughing while taking lives. Eun-Ho thought they were heartless and violent bastards.

[The Crow from the Bureau of Management nods, saying he’s not wrong.]

[Most of the observers say they want to see the first target crushed utterly.]

You’re just like those bastards up there, pulling the strings.

Thump.

Then, Eun-Ho moved forward, fury simmering beneath his calm exterior. The big guy backed away the exact same amount, practically crawling.

His right shoulder was still pouring blood, but apparently not enough to kill him. He was still able to scream.

“What the hell are you guys standing there for?! Kill that bastard already!”

However, no one listened to him.

“If you want to live, get on your knees and beg those kids for forgiveness.”

If Yoon Sol-Ah had mercy on that thug, she might be willing to heal him. Unbeknownst to that idiot, the girl he tried to slaughter was now his only lifeline.

However, the man clearly had no interest in grabbing that lifeline.

“Fuuuuuck! Kill him already! Don’t just stand there!!”

Besides, it seemed like he was all alone now.

“W-wait! We didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Yeah! It was all his idea! He made us do it! We’re victims too!”

Unlike the angry brute barking orders, the other two were desperate to separate themselves from him. They were panicking and scrambling to save their own skins.

Pathetic.

“Victims?! Are you shitting me?! You followed me around like lap dogs just for the scraps!”

Their so-called loyalty was forged with fists—shallow, brittle, and quick to crumble the moment a stronger one came along.

”Scraps? You didn’t even give us anything!”

“Yeah! You kept all the good stuff for yourself, you greedy bastard!”

“Fuck! We followed you around like loyal dogs while you played boss, only for you to treat us like disposable grunts. Ptooey!”

A wad of spit landed inches from the big guy’s face, right next to the severed arm that once belonged to his “friend.”

Chul-Joong’s expression twisted with disbelief, rage and betrayal. He couldn’t process it. Then, fueled by blind fury, the one-armed brute launched himself at them, swinging his bloodied stump like a club.

“You sons of bitches!”

“W-wait, man! Don’t! Don’t come near me!”

One of the lackeys blurted out a desperate chant with his eyes wide in terror, “S-summon!”

A steel longsword materialized in his hand, plunging straight into his charging friend’s chest.

”Gugh...!”

The lackey recoiled in horror. “I-I didn’t mean to—!”

“You fucking... traitor...”

Thud!

The big guy raised his blood-soaked hand and clamped it around the traitor’s neck. His mouth opened and closed like a fish, too stunned to speak.

“Y-you shouldn’t have charged like that...”

“F... fuck...”

Thud!

The brute hit the ground.

From the gaping hole in his abdomen and the still-bleeding shoulder socket, blood poured out in thick waves. His life drained just as quickly, gone in seconds.

Shortly after, system messages followed.

[You have defeated the Subject Park Chul-Joong!]

[You have earned 750 Welfare Points.]

Eun-Ho received a reward, which was half the bounty of a man worth 1,500 points.

The man who had just murdered his friend remained silent, drenched in the guy’s blood. He jerked his head around at the sound of the alert. Then, his eyes widened as he spotted Eun-Ho, nervous that the latter would blame everything on him.

“Y-you got your share, right? We’re square now, okay?!”

“What?”

“There’s nothing left to gain from us! We’re barely worth any points anyway!”

“E-exactly! You already hit your quota even without us!”

They didn’t even glance at their fallen friend. There wasn’t even an effort to retrieve the sword still buried in Chul-Joong’s chest. All they cared about was running away from Eun-Ho.

They stumbled back, retreating in a panic, too terrified to even turn their backs. However, the forest path loomed behind them.

“Wait! You’re planning to run that way?”

“Y-yeah! Just let us live, and we’ll never show our faces again!”

However, something was spreading across the center of the forest path—something black and unnatural.

[Ferry Man from the Bureau of Management watches the panicking targets and shakes their head.]

“That’s probably not the best idea,” Eun-Ho muttered.

“What, so we should just let you kill us instead?! Fuck that! Let’s never meet again!”

The strange energy wasn;t smoke or mist, but something heavier and denser. It crawled across the forest floor, thick and ominous.

Then, the moment the cowards’ feet touched it, they vanished.

What? They disappeared? Eun-Ho thought.

The two were truly gone, as if the darkness had swallowed them whole. The black energy also disappeared as if it never existed to begin with.

Instead, a massive beast emerged in their place.

“Grrrr!”

[Defeat the Hungry Brown Bear!]

A bear the size of a truck emerged—eerily identical to the one Eun-Ho had just killed. It sniffed the blood hanging in the air like a shark scenting prey. Then, it lunged forward, its eyes locked on the fresh kill.

Without hesitation, it swung its paw, and two heads exploded in a single instant.

“Aaaargh!”

Crack! Splat!

[You have defeated the Subject Kim Il-Dong!]

[You have earned 775 Welfare Points.]

[You have defeated the Subject Park Jun-Pyo!]

[You have earned 400 Welfare Points.]

Then came the grotesque scene that made it painfully clear why the bear had been labeled as “hungry.”

Crunch—! Crack!

“Aaaargh!”

“Oh my god!”

Eun-Ho quickly stepped in front of Sol-Ah and Yeo-Jin, blocking their view. It was probably too late, but at least he tried.

The kids trembled, stunned by the horror they had just witnessed. Ji-Eun and Jae-Hyuk had their eyes tightly shut, unable to watch any longer.

“Everyone. Focus.” Eun-Ho cut through the shock, firm and steady.

Only less than an hour had passed since the project began.

The map, once dense with signals, was rapidly emptying. It wasn’t just the changing safe zones, but people were dying, with someone out there reaping their Welfare Points.

The survivors’ bounty has gone up a lot.

“This is only the beginning,” Eun-Ho said.

The hunt had started. A brutal, no-holds-barred, kill-or-be-killed kind of hunt.

In this moment, with danger pressing in from every side, there was only one thing to do.

“You two, go take down that bear.”

He placed a firm hand on Ji-Eun and Jae-Hyuk’s shoulders. Eun-Ho had already earned his full quota, while they hadn’t.

The monster just devoured two people, pushing its bounty well past a thousand points. Even if the two of them split the kill, it’d still be a huge boost.

“O-okay!”

“A-all right, Hyungnim!”

Both nodded, pale as ghosts, shaky yet obedient.

“And Sol-Ah, Yeo-Jin! You two, grab their weapons.”

“... Huh?”

“Grab what?”

“That.”

Eun-Ho pointed to the longsword still embedded in the brute’s corpse, and the old spear the cowards had dropped when they fled from the bear.

Feeling nervous, Yeo-Jin tugged at the hem of Sol-Ah’s jacket.

“But why?”

“Because there’ll be more like them. So you need to—”

“You mean, so they won’t think we’re easy targets.” Sol-Ah said, slowly opening her eyes with a resolute look.

She had been biting her lower lip so hard it almost bled. Then, she reached out and gently held her friend’s trembling hand.

“Exactly. You need to show them you’re no prey,” Eun-Ho replied.

Yeo-Jin glanced between Eun-Ho and Sol-Ah, then swallowed hard.

“So they don’t even think about messing with us.”

Their eyes turned to the fallen body and the blade that was still jutting out of it. It was a harsh reality for girls who once dreamed of saving lives as medical professionals.

Then, Ji-Eun, the soft-hearted one, took a step forward. “Sol-Ah, let me do it for you—”

“It’s okay.” Sol-Ah cut her off.

She stepped forward on her own, knelt beside the corpse, and yanked the blade out in one clean motion.

Schhhk!

Even as she bit her lip harder, blood welling at the edge, her hands were steady.

“Min Yeo-Jin. Come here,” Sol-Ah called out.

“I-I don’t know if I can—”

“Don’t argue. I’m not losing you too.”

Despite only being nineteen, she had learned one of life’s cruelest lessons: to protect the people she loved, she’d have to be prepared to hurt someone else.

***

It was 9:50 AM and there were eight hours left until clock-out. Finally, Eun-Ho and his group arrived at Namsan Tower.

“There’s the red circle!”

“Holy crap! He’s over 7,000 points?!”

“Shit! If we can kill him, we’re done!”

The place was crawling with hunters, each gripping a weapon, eyes gleaming with greed.

“The vibe is nasty here, Noonim!” Jae-Hyuk muttered, scanning their surroundings.

“Right? Feels like everyone’s staring at us.” Ji-Eun replied quietly.

“Sir!”

“Mister!”

Then, Eun-Ho saw familiar faces through the tension.

“Yul! You didn’t cry, did you?”

“Nope!” she chirped, beaming.

The little girl dashed over in quick, eager steps, her chubby cheeks and squinted eyes forming crescent moons. She was almost too precious to be real.

Rustle—! Rustle.

As much as Eun-Ho wanted to scoop her up and play, this wasn’t the time.

“I’ll give you a hug later, okay?”

“Huh? Why not now?”

Hurriedly, he lifted Yul into the arms of her father.

Nine? Maybe ten? Eun-Ho counted in his mind.

He could feel the sharp, stabbing stares from all directions. Then, he saw people slowly surrounding their group, clutching weapons, exchanging subtle nods and signals.

“Sir, thank goodness you’re safe—”

“Save the reunion for later. Can you cover Yul’s eyes, please?”

“Huh? What do you mean—”

Han-Wool tilted his head in confusion, but did as he was told, gently covering his daughter’s eyes.

Soon, dozens of blades suddenly pointed their way.

Clink—!

The apparent leader of the pack let out a loud “Ha!” as if signaling a charge, then sprinted straight toward Eun-Ho, Ji-Eun, and Jae-Hyuk.

“Seven thousand points! That’s ours!”

“Acceleration.”

Eun-Ho was already a step ahead. His summoned sword flashed, slicing through the air at waist level.

Swish!

He spun in a tight circle, tracing a line through the crowd.

Schrrrrk!

At that moment, their pants—belts, buckles, and all—lost their grip and came sliding down with a whoosh.

“What the hell?! W-what’s going on!”

“Shit! How is he so fast?!”

Forget attacking—everyone scrambled to clutch at their falling pants in a panic. A few tripped over their own legs and went tumbling down.

“Eeeek! Pull your damn underwear up!”

“You lunatics! What the hell are you doing?!”

As for some of them, even their underwear didn’t make it.

That one was on Eun-Ho. He had cut deeper than intended despite saying he’d control it.

Confusion and outrage exploded around them.

“Shit! How the hell did he do that?!”

“I don’t know! I didn’t even see him move!”

Swoosh—!

Then, while they were distracted, Eun-Ho stepped forward and pressed the tip of his sword against the leader’s throat.

“Who were you after?”

“I-I... Uh...” the man stammered, frozen.

Eun-Ho was certain that they must be crushed as overwhelmingly as possible. That way, they’d realize they weren’t the hunters, but the hunted.

“No one here can beat me. Not even close.”

“Ugh...”

Eun-Ho was holding back, refusing to follow the system’s intent fully. Hence why he decided to stop at this point. However, if he went too easy on them, he knew they would just keep coming, rallying others to join the assault.

“Be careful. You understood?”

“O-okay, just please forgive—”

“Next time, I’ll cut straight through what’s inside the pants.”

[The Crow from the Bureau of Management slaps their knees, insisting now is the time to slice!]

[The Prince from the Bureau of Investigation winces and says that they never want to see that.]

Whether it was from the cold steel pressed under his chin, or the cold breeze on his exposed lower half, the man trembled violently in front of Eun-Ho.

“Get lost.”

Eun-Ho barely finished withdrawing the blade before the guy bolted, practically falling over himself to escape.

That should keep the riffraff away for a while.

With their pants around their ankles and egos in the dirt, the others scattered fast.

“Whoa... Sir, you’ve really leveled up!” Han-Wool gasped, impressed.

“Mister! You’re a wizard, right? I told you wizards were real!” Yul cheered.

Of course, his people were the only ones getting more hyped.

Then, a moment later, the system broadcast echoed overhead.

[The next safe zone will be generated at 3:00 PM sharp.]

[Hunt efficiently until clock-out and survive!]

It was 10:00 AM and there were five hours of free time remaining.

“Um... Eun-Ho?” Just as he was debating how best to use the time, Ji-Eun approached hesitantly. “What if we head somewhere with fewer people? We’ve reunited with Yul’s family so—”

Worry was written all over her face.

“Safe zones tend to appear where people gather,” Eun-Ho replied. “And we still haven’t figured out what’s going on with the wall around Namsan.”

“I know, but I’m just worried someone might try to attack you again.”

It made sense. After what had just happened, she didn’t want a repeat.

“Why do you think those people tried to hurt someone?” Eun-Ho asked.

“Huh?”

The question caught Ji-Eun completely off guard. She fumbled for an answer.

“Because hunting humans seems easier than monsters?”

She could’ve said because they’re evil, but...

“Right? Monsters don’t give many points, and they’re hard to kill.”

“Plus, there aren’t many of them. So that makes sense, right?”

The truth was, talk of good and evil didn’t solve anything. One couldn’t turn bad people into good ones just by wishing for it.

“So, we need to give them an alternative,” Eun-Ho said.

“Give an alternative?”

They needed a way to stay alive without killing. It wasn’t fully fleshed out yet, as it still needed refining.

“Ji-Eun, can I count on your help?”

Eun-Ho knew he had to stop this before this place turned into something far worse than hell. He had thought of a way.