Surviving Restructuring

Every company had an “ideal candidate” in mind, and to figure out who fit that ideal, they conducted character evaluations, which was a standard part of the hiring process.

Usually, it was just a personality test, but some big companies even tacked on a separate behavioral interview.

Well, they need to weed out the ones who’ll cause problems later.

Their goal was to find someone honest and reliable, meaning someone who would prioritize the group over themselves. However, during a restructuring process, that probably wasn’t the ideal candidate.

[1. I could betray a teammate if it meant gaining something for myself.]

[Select Yes or No.]

[If you do not answer within the time limit, you will be deleted.]

[Ten, nine, eight...]

“Huh?!”

“N-Noonim! What should I pick?!”

It was a question straight out of a normal corporate hiring exam, with a classic scenario talking about personal gain versus team harmony. The correct answer, in the real world, was obviously a no, because companies hated people who rocked the boat for their own gain. However, this wasn’t the real world.

“Yes. Always pick Yes,” Eun-Ho said calmly.

In this company, the ideal candidate wasn’t a team player. They wanted someone who could stomp over anyone to get ahead.

“Pick the selfish options. Always,” Eun-Ho said.

“The selfish ones?” Ji-Eun asked.

“Yeah. Reply as selfishly as possible.”

“Got it!”

[2. I believe lying is necessary sometimes.]

“Yes.”

[3. Results matter more than the process.]

“Yes.”

[4. The happiness of the many outweighs my own.]

“No.”

Eun-Ho answered each question without hesitation. His scroll bar moved faster than anyone else’s, and soon, the final question appeared.

[20. No matter what happens, I always finish what I start.]

Others, though, weren’t so decisive. From around the crowd, nervous muttering echoed—the sound of people overthinking how to look good to whoever was watching from above.

“What do you think they wanna hear? God, I can’t tell anymore...”

“I dunno... Maybe they’re still looking for decent people?”

“You think so?”

Eventually, even the stragglers finished. When little Yul finally lowered her finger with Han-Wool’s help, a system message popped up.

[All Subjects have completed the survey.]

[The results will be revealed promptly.]

The preliminary trial was over.

Fwoosh—!

[Based on your answers, you have been classified as Suitable, Neutral, or Unsuitable.]

[Check your results now.]

“Oh no! I’m listed as Unsuitable! What do I do now?!”

“Me too! Wait, they’re not deleting us, are they?”

The results gave relief to some, while they gave full-blown panic to others. Eun-Ho didn’t even feel the need to check his own results as he expected a Suitable rating for answering smartly.

However, before he could check, Ji-Eun’s dagger slipped from her hand and hit the ground.

Clang!

“Eun-Ho! What should I do? Am I getting deleted?!”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry.”

He wasn’t just trying to comfort her, but he meant it. This was just a preliminary trial, after all. The system was likely using it to calibrate future character evaluations.

“Shoot! I’m screwed, Hyungnim!”

“You too?”

“Yeah! I must’ve answered something wrong!”

Eun-Ho reassured Jae-Hyuk, too, who had also received the Unsuitable rating. Nearby, others looked around in confusion, realizing they weren’t being deleted.

“Hey, Mr. Song! So what’s Suitable and Unsuitable even mean?”

“I have no idea! I saw Unsuitable and nearly crapped myself...”

Eun-Ho decided to toss out a calculated guess. “Maybe it just means how closely you match the company’s ideal employee.”

“Ideal employee?”

“You know... Someone who’s obsessed with results, who puts their personal gain first above anything else—”

“Um... Okay, I’m listening. Keep going!”

Most of the group blinked at him in mild confusion. Did he explain it too technically?

Therefore, he simplified his explanations. “Basically, the more selfish you are, the more likely you are to get a Suitable rating.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Yep. The higher your score, the more of a piece of trash you probably are.”

It was brutal, but in a broken world like this one, selfishness was a winning strategy. Not that it made it any easier for the selfless ones to hear.

[There are a total of 201 survivors in Yongsan District.]

[There are 27 Suitable, 82 Neutral, and 91 Unsuitable.]

Hold on a second. Something’s off...

“Something’s not right.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Eun-Ho narrowed his eyebrows at the floating numbers in the air.

“27 plus 82 plus 91... That adds up to 200.”

“Oh...! You’re right!”

“But the system said there were 201 survivors in total.”

[And there is one Ultra Suitable.]

“Ultra Suitable? What the heck is that?”

“Young man! You’d better be careful. That sounds like a seriously dangerous bastard!”

“Yeah, sounds like someone to keep an eye on...”

“Wait here! I’ll go find out who it is. Once I do, let’s steer clear!” said the cleaning lady.

Everyone tensed and scanned the crowd.

Then, a radiant gold system window hovered above Eun-Ho’s head.

[Unrivaled self-interest! Unflinching decision-making! Obsessive focus on goals! Subject Lee Eun-Ho’s character is ultra suitable for the company!]

[Congratulations!]

[You have been deemed Ultra Suitable as a result of the preliminary evaluation!]

[You will receive bonus points in the next Entrance Exam.]

Oh... It’s me?

***

“Hey, isn’t that the guy who got first place during the observation trial?”

“Ah! No wonder he looked familiar. And now he gets bonus points too?”

“Damn! This guy is hogging all the rewards!”

All eyes were now on Eun-Ho, the sole Ultra Suitable candidate. The system’s announcement vanished as quickly as it appeared, but the silence that followed was thick with whispers.

[The preliminary trial has been concluded.]

[The behavioral validation protocol will now begin, using each Subject’s answers as the foundation.]

[Prove yourselves through your actions.]

“Wait, what?! We have to prove ourselves?”

“How are we supposed to do that?”

The proposal document hadn’t covered this part. It had only mentioned one thing: because all answers could be manipulated, subjects would be subjected to a behavioral verification process to determine the reliability of their responses.

Eun-Ho assumed it would be something like a lie detector.

[Please proceed to the safe zone.]

However, they were asked to go to the safe zone instead.

“What now? Are we supposed to go in one at a time?”

“Do we just stand wherever?”

“Seems like it. It doesn’t seem like the spots are assigned.”

This time, the safe zones that popped up were not large circles like before. They were tiny, just big enough for one person to stand with both feet together.

“This feels like musical chairs or something...”

Ji-Eun looked around nervously from within her designated spot, scanning the people across from her. “Why is the middle empty?”

“That’s a good question. It seems like something’s going to happen there.”

“It kind of feels like a stage.”

She wasn’t wrong. A hundred small green circles formed a massive ring around a vacant center like an arena. It was just like the kind that street performers use, surrounded by curious onlookers.

Tap!

Once everyone had taken their place, a quiet system announcement echoed across the area.

[First trial, Competition, begins now.]

A red circle appeared in the center, along with a small table at its core.

[The first participants have been selected.]

[Please enter the arena.]

“Mr. Kim?!”

Two circles turned red and began to blink.

“Crap! The color changed!”

“Ugh! Why me of all people!”

One was the elderly security guard, and the other was a young man no one recognized. He had close-cropped bleached-blond hair with arms covered in tattoos.

[Failure to enter within the time limit will result in automatic forfeiture.]

[Ten, nine, eight...]

“Go! Hurry up and go!”

“Y-yeah! Just go!”

Tap!

Both were gently shoved into the red circle, seemingly completely confused.

[Participants have entered.]

[The match begins.]

Then, a black object appeared on the center table.

“Is that a gun?!”

It wasn’t the strange, engraved pistol that Eun-Ho had obtained yesterday, but a modern, military-grade handgun. Then, at that moment, the nature of the match became terrifyingly clear.

[You have 30 seconds.]

[Shoot your opponent to win. If you are shot, you lose.]

[If no one is shot within the time limit, both participants will be deleted.]

There was no escape.

[Match one begins now.]

“What the hell?!”

“Are we really supposed to shoot?!”

Both men stared at the weapon in horror.

[00:21]

Only twenty-one seconds remained.

“H-Hey, young man! Do we really have to go through with this?”

“What choice do we have?! If no one shoots, we both get deleted!”

“There has to be another way! If we think hard enough...”

They argued, hoping for a loophole, but time didn’t care.

[00:11]

The blond guy clenched his fist. “Screw it! If I shoot first, it’s over!”

“Wait, listen! Let’s talk about this—”

“Shut the hell up!”

Between the blond guy’s fingers, a small needle was hurled like a boomerang.

“Gah!”

The old man doubled over, clutching his stomach. Even from a distance, the needle struck dead center. It wasn’t fatal, but accurate.

Is that his skill? Eun-Ho wondered.

[00:05]

Click!

The handgun was now pointed at the injured security guard. The blond guy’s hands trembled, finger on the trigger.

“Summon!” the old man shouted, summoning a round shield he’d probably pulled from a Mystery Box.

Regardless, the blond fired.

Thwack!

Instead of going off with a bang, the bullet bounced off the shield with a thwack.

[The match is over.]

The blond man stared down at his own leg, where the ricocheted bullet had embedded itself.

“Son of a...!”

He got cocky. If he’d been more careful, he wouldn’t be bleeding right now.

“Aaaaah! Jin-Sol!”

“Are you okay?!”

This match had no easy answers. Only one could win, and someone had to fire the shot.

If it were me... Eun-Ho thought and frowned.

He started running through alternatives, thinking of ways to game the system. However, before anyone could catch their breath, the next match was about to start.

[Match one has been completed.]

[Match two participants have been selected.]

“No...”

The circle beneath Eun-Ho glowed red.

“Kyaaah!”

“Lee Ye-Ji?!”

“Sol-Ah! Where’s Sol-Ah?!”

His opponent, Ye-Ji, was already in a panic, white as a sheet, frantically searching for the Healer.

“U-um... Could you please aim for a spot that won’t hurt too much...?”

She sounded like she was asking for a gentle injection. Given what she’d just seen, Eun-Ho didn’t blame her for trembling.

[Please proceed to the arena.]

“Don’t worry too much and head in,” Eun-Ho said.

“What?!”

Don’t worry. This’ll be over before you even feel a thing.