Surviving Restructuring

Swoosh—!

Jae-Hyuk gripped Ji-Eun’s dagger in his hand. The blade had been honed to a razor edge against petrified stone. It glinted under the cold, blue light of the moon.

He raised it, pressing the icy steel close to the creature’s neck.

Thump.

There was a faint twitch as it wasn’t completely dead yet.

“Are you sure about this? You don’t have to push yourself if it’s too much,” Eun-Ho said.

“No, Hyungnim! I-I’ve trained for this. I can’t just back down now,” Jae-Hyuk replied with a determined look.

Gulp.

Jae-Hyuk swallowed hard. Though he mentioned growing up watching his parents run a butcher shop, it seemed he’d only learned how to hold a knife without the guts to use it.

Huff!

As he clenched the blade, his face tightened with grim resolve, just like a man standing before his sworn enemy.

Then he froze, after shaking like a leaf. “H-holy crap! D-did it just look at me?!”

Eun-Ho looked at him with a mixture of pity and exasperation. What was he supposed to do with this trembling coward?

The cleaning lady, Ms. Song, jumped in. “Oh, come on! Are you seriously hesitating over this?”

Swoosh—!

With two swift cuts, the beast’s belly split open with its skin and fat peeling back.

“Aaaah! I-I can see its eyeballs!” Jae-Hyuk screamed.

“Whoa, Ms. Song! That was impressive! You have magic hands or what? Haha!”

Bone and flesh separated with practiced ease.

Today’s menu was the Hungry Brown Bear. Most of the nearby buildings had been flattened, making it harder and harder to find food.

Hence why Jae-Hyuk had suggested they try self-sufficiency. He wasn’t sure it’d work, but it turned out they had a hidden expert in their midst.

“Thank you, ma’am,” Eun-Ho said.

“No need to thank me. I’m just glad I can help somehow,” she replied, grinning proudly while slicing off chunks of bloody meat.

Swoosh—!

She passed Eun-Ho a generous cut of meat, still dripping red.

“Here you go, young man!”

Now it was his turn. Eun-Ho took the slab and laid it down onto a metal grill plate one by one. As a side note, he’d salvaged the cookware from the ruins of a nearby restaurant.

[Choose between Beacon Fire and Beacon Smoke.]

“Beacon Fire.”

A fire flared to life, summoned like a torch.

Sizzle!

“Sol-Ah,” Eun-Ho said, eyeing the meat. “If I start acting weird, treat me immediately. Got it?”

“Mister, that’s literally the tenth time you’ve said that,” Sol-Ah groaned.

Still, she stood ready, palms out as if expecting trouble. There was something comforting about those pale, steady hands.

Then, Eun-Ho popped a piece of cooked meat into his mouth.

[You have consumed the grilled Hungry Brown Bear.]

“Well? How is it?”

“Yeah, how’s the taste, young man?”

[Your status effect, Hunger, has relieved slightly.]

[Synchronization rate has slightly increased.]

Crunch.

The crispy outer layer gave way to a juicy center. It wasn’t melt-in-one’s-mouth tender, but it wasn’t tough either. It was just the right balance of chew.

“Wow...”

It was so good, Eun-Ho couldn’t help but wonder if it was supposed to be this good. Then, he quickly grilled another piece, one after another.

“Mister, this is amazing!”

“Mr. Eun-Ho, this is way better than I expected!”

“That’s a relief. And it seems like nobody’s getting sick or anything.”

He handed out the meat like a human vending machine, everyone waiting eagerly like hungry chicks in a nest. Of course, he didn’t forget to save some for himself.

“Mmm... It’s so good!”

They kept eating for a long while, until Sol-Ah made the ultimate first-world problems complaint. “Delicious, yeah but kinda depressing.”

“Huh? Why?” Eun-Ho asked.

“I don’t know. It just feels like I’ve given up on my dignity as a modern human,” Sol-Ah replied.

“Oh, please,” Yeo-Jin scoffed. “You ate more than anyone, Yoon Sol-Ah.”

[The parameters required for skill activation are being collected.]

Yeo-Jin’s deadpan comeback hit just as a message popped up.

Eun-Ho was notified that another skill was quietly collecting data. He had been grilling like his life depended on it, thanks to what he saw back at the Training Institute. Still, he didn’t expect the data to start accumulating that fast.

However, there was nothing more valuable than being able to feed oneself with one’s own hands. Especially in a godforsaken world like this, with no delivery apps, no grocery stores, and definitely no restaurants.

As Eun-Ho moved efficiently, clearing up the grilling setup, someone said beside him, “This torch is actually pretty useful.”

Ji-Eun let out a half-laugh, equal parts amusement and admiration.

Eun-Ho thought she was impressed by the torch itself, but then she said, “You know, Eun-Ho... You’re really, how should I put it... Diligent.”

She shook her head slowly, as if he baffled her.

“That’s a bit out of nowhere,” Eun-Ho replied with a chuckle. “But I am known for being pretty responsible.”

“No, it’s not just that,” she said, her eyes narrowing with a kind of curious respect. “It’s like you wring out every situation down to the last drop. I get the feeling you’d survive even if you were stranded on a desert island.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Eun-Ho replied.

“It’s a compliment,” Ji-Eun confirmed.

Listening to their conversation, Yeo-Jin and the foul-mouthed guy chimed in.

“For real! If Mr. Eun-Ho got stranded, he’d probably build a house and start farming within a week!” Yeo-Jin grinned.

“Farming? Hell, he’d be out there making people, not just crops,” the foul-mouthed guy snorted.

“Wait, how would someone make a person?” Yeo-Jin asked, baffled.

“Man, he even turned into a freaking Skeleton and you’re questioning this? Nothing’s off the table anymore!”

Judging by the growing noise level, everyone had clearly eaten their fill.

“Alright, if you’re done stuffing your faces, let’s start cleaning up,” Eun-Ho said.

“What? Me? Alone?” the foul-mouthed guy complained.

“Sol-Ah, Yeo-Jin, give him a hand. You too, Ye-Ji,” Eun-Ho added with a smirk.

Despite the grumbling, the foul-mouthed guy started cleaning like a pro. Not far away, Yul came running up to Eun-Ho and wrapped her arms around him. Her cheeks puffed out from a full stomach.

“Mister! Is the curse gone?”

“Yeah, it’s lifted,” he said with a reassuring smile.

“Yay! That’s good!”

He had told her earlier that his Skeleton transformation was due to a system curse. A half-lie to avoid explaining the transformation seed to a kid he’d just met.

“Damn good thing it broke quick,” the foul-mouthed guy muttered. “I seriously thought you were gonna live as a Skeleton for the rest of your life.”

“Same here,” Ji-Eun added.

Eun-Ho shrugged. Who knew grown adults would buy into that excuse as well. At least, it all worked out in the end.

Just as he started to relax, the foul-mouthed guy leaned over with a sly glance. “So, what did you get back there?”

After the Mock Battle ended, Eun-Ho was the only one who’d received a bonus reward.

[Please check your trial reward.]

Once the system announcement faded, a glowing reward box appeared.

[Elixir of Fortification]

- A protective tonic that shields the drinker’s mind from fear and disease-based status effects for 3 hours.

[Bone Bom]

- A shinbone-shaped explosive packed with powder. Upon use, it deals 15 attack power to all enemies within a 1-meter radius.

[Skull Ladle]

- A white ladle crafted from baked bone dust. Safely purifies even contaminated water for drinking.

“Damn, that’s a haul, Hyungnim!” Jae-Hyuk said, wide-eyed.

“Yeah. You didn’t get any item?” Eun-Ho asked.

“Nope. Looks like it was just for you! Wait, what’s that in the back?”

“Oh, that?” Eun-Ho said casually. “That’s the head of the Brown Bear we killed earlier. Want to see it?”

“Eeeeeek! N-no thank you!”

Technically, there were more incredible items. It felt like rain after a drought so long that all life had withered and death felt inevitable. Besides, that rain was even sugar water. That was the only way to describe the rush he felt.

In short, it’s a jackpot.

Eun-Ho was just managing to keep his face composed when Jae-Hyuk hesitantly stepped forward. “Uh... Hyungnim, is there anything else you’d like me to do today?”

“Hmm?”

“You know... Things like collecting firewood, or preparing supplies or anything.”

His face looked sheepish, even slightly guilty. Clearly, the earlier battle was still eating at him. He had stepped up so confidently only to freeze the moment he held a knife.

“I just didn’t really do much back there,” Jae-Hyuk added, eyes downcast.

Eun-Ho sighed inwardly. The kid’s heart was in the right place, but he shook his head and said firmly, “There’s no need.”

Unless you’re willing to put on a talent show...

“Our next trial’s all about showing off our charm.”

“Sorry, what? Our charm? To who, exactly?”

Who else could it be for? The ones watching from the other side of the Eye.

***

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

A twin-tailed girl darted down the corridor, her short legs working double time.

“Hurry up! I’m busy.”

“Yes, Lady Harona.”

Behind her, Seung trudged along, arms full of precariously stacked files. His vision was nearly blocked, but he couldn’t afford to slow down. There was a mountain of reports to finish by the end of the day.

“Seriously, what’s with the higher-ups and their obsession with reports?”

“Exactly! We can’t get a minute of actual work done with all these summons.”

They sighed in perfect sync, but that was the extent of their complaining. Despite her tendency to stir up trouble, Harona was nothing but diligent when it came to her job.

Harona rattled off instructions while pulling up her system interface. “First priority is the audit report. Get all the requested data out ASAP, then wrap up the quarterly numbers.”

Almost immediately, a chorus of pings erupted.

Ding!

Ding!

Ding!

...

“What the hell? What’s going on now?”

[You have 17 new notifications.]

[Would you like to check them now?]

She barely got three or four in a normal day, and all of these came in just hours after she’d muted the alerts to avoid distractions.

“Check them all!” she barked, worry creeping into her voice.

Maybe something had gone wrong. However, instead of bad news, cheerful messages filled the screen one after another.

[New donation has been sent to Subject Lee Eun-Ho!]

[New donation has been sent to Subject Lee Eun-Ho!]

[New donation has been sent to Subject Lee Eun-Ho!]

...

There were sixteen donations made in a row, as well as good news.

[Subject Lee Eun-Ho’s Eye has been selected as a real-time trending channel.]

“What in the world?! Why is this blowing up all of a sudden?!”

This is good news, right?

Still, Harona’s eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“Don’t tell me that lunatic researcher pulled out another one of his experiments?” She anxiously threw the question into the air.

Seung immediately answered, “N-no! I don’t think that’s it!”

“How would you know? You were with me the whole time.”

Thunk!

Seung dropped the file tower onto the ground, uncharacteristically serious. Then, pulling up the system messages himself, he read aloud. “The researcher has decided to relinquish his temporary administrator privileges.”

“What?! After he fought so hard to get them? Why the sudden change?” Harona asked.

“Apparently, he extended the trial time without permission and added extra monsters manually.”

“He did what?!”

That’s unbelievable. He’d strutted in so confidently and then pulled this? Manual override, extra monsters, and overtime? Harona thought.

“So... Eun-Ho gave that bastard a taste of his own medicine?” Harona let out a bitter laugh, rubbing her temple.

[Administrator Harona, a new schedule has been registered.]

[Partial administrator privileges have been restored.]

Thanks to the average Subject Lee Eun-Ho, some of Harona’s authority had been reinstated.

However, Seung was not finished. “Also... The surge in viewers was because—”

“Yeah?”

“It seems like it came from an anonymous post on the internal message board.”

“A what?! Pull it up!”

[Recommended] Found a Legendary Candidate

Poster: DeepSea Excavation Crew

The Sector 13th’s candidates have always been pretty average until now, but this guy is a total beast. Tactics, combat, you name it, he does it all, solo. He must’ve had one hell of a life before this. Can’t wait for his full content drop!

→ I saw him turning into a Skeleton and commanding monsters. Nothing like the usual gunslingers.

→ When’s this content getting released?

→ Same. Dying to see more content. Observing through the Eye only is torture.

“Hmm...”

Clicking her tongue, Harona smirked like someone cooking up mischief. Her eyes curved, less like an administrator and more like a kid with a plan.

“Since when did he become such a hotshot?” Harona muttered.

“It must’ve been the last trial. People keep saying it’s a shame they can only observe through the Eye.”

“Lee Eun-Ho, Lee Eun-Ho, Lee Eun-Ho... Hmm.” Of course, that shiny new toy they were fawning over was none other than her subject, Lee Eun-Ho. “I’m looking forward to it.”

“To what?”

“You know, when we go public.”

Tap. Tap.

“Don’t you think it’ll sell like crazy? The life of Lee Eun-Ho,” Harona said with a calculating look.

She smiled, imagining the gold-paved road her little toy would lay out for her.

“Start the next trial.”

“Oh, I just need to drop these off—”

“Skip it or move fast. Our lovely customers are dying to know what happens next!”

***

It was 8:50 AM. Morning had arrived with the Eye announcing its presence like the goddamn sun.

[By the Administrator’s authority, the Eye is now open.]

[Attention all survivors in the Yongsan District.]

[The final trial of Project Aptitude Test will begin promptly at 9:00 AM.]

It was the last morning of the so-called aptitude test.

“Whoa! Jae-Hyuk, we’re finally done after this!”

“Noonim! Hyungnim! Let’s hang in there until the end!”

[The last trial is...]

Since starting the aptitude test, two trials had come and gone. The first tested physical ability and the second tested intelligence. For the grand finale, they were ready to test their charm.

[The final trial is an observation segment evaluating each Subject’s content.]

The observers were to dig through the Subjects’ memories, yank out whatever they found entertaining, and sit back to pass judgment. It was like voyeuristic freaks playing god with other people’s lives.

“Observation? So, like they’re just watching us?”

“Content? Are they asking us to film something?”

A video would’ve been nice, as it’d be easy. However, the content they were talking about was a play, staged from the Subjects’ own memories.

[The content to be evaluated will be the Subjects’ memories.]

[All Subjects may freely select which memories to share and will be active participants within that memory for the duration of the trial.]

[The entire session will be streamed live via the Eye, and a special reward will be granted to the Subject who receives the most donation.]

[You have one hour.]

[Share something meaningful. Show us what makes you shine.]

It was a live broadcast where the audience could sponsor the Subject in real-time by cheering them, making donations, or reacting. It was like some twisted talent show, with the stage being one’s past.

[Please agree to the required terms and conditions.]

[Required] Third-party Agreement for Personal Content Use

- Under the Personal Content Protection Act and the Personal Content Distribution and Usage Law, the Company (hereinafter “Distributor”) requests the Subject’s consent to provide personal memory-based content to third parties.

- You may select the memories you wish to share. If you do not, the algorithm will select for you...

“What the hell? This is way too long to read!” the foul-mouthed guy shouted in frustration.

“They want you to enter your own memory and broadcast it to the freaks watching behind the Eye,” Eun-Ho replied.

The Subjects were to create a dramatized version of their life based on their memories to be judged by the observers.

“Wait, so the donations are based on—”

“If your memory’s fun to watch, you’ll rake in the cash. If it’s boring, you’ll get nothing,” Eun-Ho replied.

“This is insane.”

[Do you agree to the terms?]

Beneath the system message was a single choice: Yes. It was marked as required, so the system didn’t even bother coding in an opt-out.

However, Eun-Ho said “No.”

[You cannot participate in the trial without agreeing to the terms.]

[Do you agree to the terms?]

“I said, no.”

He knew it was about time to start negotiating.