Surviving Restructuring

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

[Ten, nine, eight...]

The system announcement echoed again. This time, it was calling Eun-Ho and Ye-Ji into the arena, just like it had done with the old security guard and the blond guy.

[An anonymous observer is curious to see your choice!]

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Lee Eun-Ho crossed the red boundary line without hesitation. Moments later, Ye-Ji followed with leaden feet, as if each step cost her a piece of her soul.

[Participants have entered.]

[The match begins.]

Fwoosh!

The handgun, which had vanished after the last match, reappeared on the table between them. At the sight of it, Ye-Ji panicked, stumbling backward.

“Where are you going?” Eun-Ho asked.

“I-I want to stand next to Sol-Ah!”

“That’ll just get her caught in the crossfire. Stand here.”

“Okay.”

Eun-Ho positioned herself dead center in the red circle. It was best not to risk stray bullets flying toward the others.

[You have 30 seconds.]

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

[Match two begins.]

[00:30]

Not even a full second passed before Eun-Ho picked up the gun.

“P-please! Just graze me or something, okay? I’m really—”

“Acceleration.”

Clack!

Swish!

Then, he grabbed a thick lock of her long, wavy hair, holding it straight out horizontally until it hovered parallel with the ground.

With his left hand, he kept the strands taut between his fingers. Then he fired.

Bang!

The bullet sliced clean through her hair and slammed into the pavement below.

Thunk!

It left a small crater.

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

The system message never said where they had to hit. They just said that the target had to be his opponent.

Tick.

The twenty seconds gifted by his Acceleration skill ran out, and Ye-Ji’s slowed perception returned.

Taking a deep breath, she continued her useless pleading. “Y-you better not mess this up! I hate pain, got it?!”

Ye-Ji squeezed her eyes shut as if bracing for a shot.

[The match is over.]

She was so afraid that she didn’t even hear the system message.

“Excuse me? Ye-Ji?”

“Eek...!”

“Exactly how long are you planning on keeping your eyes shut?”

“Until you fire the gun!”

“I already did.”

“What?!”

Her eyes snapped open, wide as saucers. Her eyes probably burned a little from the sudden light.

When Eun-Ho found himself thinking about the dumbest things, the gun in his hand vanished, indicating his turn was over. Therefore, he tapped Ye-Ji gently on the shoulder and headed back to his spot.

The red circle under his feet faded to green once again.

“Wait, what just happened?!”

“Did he actually fire?”

Everyone watching wore the same furrowed brow as Ye-Ji. That was until someone pointed at the ground.

“Oh! There’s a hole in the pavement...”

“Did he shoot her hair?!”

Then the realization hit that this trial was so simple. Sometimes, they just had to read the question properly.

Even Ye-Ji, still dazed, returned to her spot.

[Third participants have been selected.]

[Please enter the arena.]

“You saw that, right?!”

“Yeah! Let’s do it like that!”

At that point, the whole concept of proving oneself was already unraveling.

***

“Choi Seung! Where’s the backup data for Sector 12?!”

“On it! I’ll grab it now!”

Thump. Thump. Thump.

A massive conference table stretched across the room, big enough to seat dozens. Zipping around it were a sharply dressed man in a suit and a petite girl with twin braids stomping noisily across the floor.

The sharp clack of her heels didn’t match her appearance at all, but there was a reason for that.

“The director is almost here!”

“What? Already?!”

They were about to present in front of the higher-ups. A certain lunatic scientist at the damn Center threw a fit because he needed more data. Thanks to that, they couldn’t afford to mess up this performance at all cost.

Harona was in full panic mode. She raced from nameplate to nameplate, placing the meticulously prepared files in front of each seat. Then, right when she noticed something was missing, she barked an order at Seung.

“Aaaah! Hurry up and run!”

“Yes, Lady Harona!”

“I’m heading out!” At the same time, even in the chaos, a thought popped into her head. “Wait a sec! Who’s subbing in to supervise Eun-Ho’s group’s trial?”

She wanted to know about the trial she was supposed to be supervising directly.

Then, Seung answered without hesitation, “Ah, that... It’s running automatically.”

“What?! Why?!” Harona scowled. “There’s no one available to take it right now?”

“No, Lady Harona. Everyone’s tied up with end-of-cycle reporting. No one has the time...”

“Ugh. Of all times!”

Of course this would happen when everything else was already blowing up including presentations, reports, and directors! It was one thing after another!

She caught herself almost crumpling her file and shook her head.

Seung glanced over, frowning at her reaction. “But most of the other zones are running on auto too, aren’t they? Is there something specific you’re worried about...?”

“That sector just makes me nervous.”

She didn’t elaborate further other than saying “that sector,” but Seung understood.

She meant the individual in that sector, the wildcard who kept bending the rules in ways the system could barely keep up with. Eun-Ho was the one who somehow broke scenarios designed to be foolproof.

“What should we do, Lady Harona? We can’t assign a replacement right now. There’s no one left to cover it.”

“Fine. Let’s just finish this as fast as we can. Then I’ll head over right after.”

“Understood.”

That was the end of it. Harona pushed aside her nerves and doubled down on what was in front of her. She had priorities and things to deal with first. Still, she could only hope that the day would end without another disaster.

“Eun-Ho better not be screwing anything up right now,” Harona muttered.

***

Thud!

A man collapsed to the ground, legs giving out beneath him. It wasn’t surprising because a towering black man, built like a linebacker, had just fired a gun that shaved past his scalp.

“Huff...Huff...”

“Was that the last one?”

“Did everyone get through it?”

With the foreigner and the last guy done, every participant had finished their proof, not that the system seemed to realize how badly its plan had backfired.

[Caution!]

[For accurate character evaluation, please act with honesty.]

[Verification to question one has been completed.]

[The trial has been completed.]

[You have been rewarded with a point.]

Trial success was all that mattered.

“We did it! It’s over!”

“Phew... Nobody died.”

The tension in the air loosened just a bit, especially the suspicion they’d been directing at Eun-Ho.

People let out a breath they didn’t even realize they were holding.

“Crap... We doubted him earlier, huh?”

“Shouldn’t we thank him or something?”

“Thank you... Really. We wouldn’t have made it through otherwise.”

“I think we jumped to conclusions. You’re clearly not the kind of person who likes hurting others...”

“Sorry for doubting you!”

Some of the people who had arrived with Yoo Ri-Na stepped forward to apologize. Eun-Ho wasn’t entirely sure what they were sorry for, but he accepted the apology.

“You’re Eun-Ho, right? The guy who ranked number one in the last trial?”

“We’re from the Yongsan Station survivor group. Nice to meet you.”

“East Ichon District here. We’re with them.”

A few even introduced themselves, one by one, acting as representatives of their groups. While Eun-Ho was still trying to process this unexpectedly warm welcome, a shrill, piercing voice shot through the crowd like a siren.

“Cha Jin-Sol!”

A woman in her twenties rushed over, dressed in a short leather skirt and tank top, with lettering tattoos running down her shoulders and collarbone. She ran straight toward the blond guy who’d fought the security guard earlier.

“Ugh, what?!”

“You’re not dead, are you?! Are you okay?”

“Obviously not! Stop screaming, you’re embarrassing me!”

“You got the bullet out, right?”

“Yeah.”

So they are close, huh? Not lovers, probably. But definitely something. Whatever their relationship is, that’s not the important part.

“God, now that I’m talking, it hurts more,” Cha Jin-Sol muttered.

“Hang on. I’ll patch you up.” She crouched in front of him and opened her palm. “Summon.”

With a whisper, a small, flat tin appeared in her hand.

Shhhk!

She scooped out a dab of thick white salve and gently applied it to the bullet wound. Then, the wound began to close.

“Wait...”

It looked just like Sol-Ah’s healing skill.

“A Healer maybe?”

Ji-Eun, who had also been watching, murmured under her breath.

“No, I think it’s an item,” Eun-Ho replied.

“Oh, you’re right. I didn’t know items like that even existed.”

Neither did Eun-Ho, as he had never seen a healing agent in coagulated form, not even in the intermediate-tier shops. As he was puzzled over the unfamiliar item, the answer dropped right from the girl’s mouth.

“Use more, will you?! Why are you being stingy with it now?”

“There’s no guarantee you won’t get hurt again.”

“Ugh, I told you I’m fine!”

“Oh, shut up. You’re totally gonna come crying again later, demanding I make more!”

Make more, huh? Eun-Ho thought.

That was probably her ability.

“Only 70%? That’s it?” Jin-Sol asked.

“Yeah, it’ll heal the rest on its own.”

“Tch. Useless.”

“You wanna die?”

She had the ability to create healing agents. It was not quite at Sol-Ah’s level, but still definitely useful. Perhaps, she could craft other concoctions too.

Then there was him, the guy from earlier. He’d definitely used a skill to launch a needle with pinpoint accuracy from a good distance away, like it was right under his nose.

Eun-Ho was just finishing his mental tally of the notable ones when a new announcement echoed across the area.

Ding!

[Attention all survivors in the Yongsan District!]

[The second trial, Cooperation, is about to begin!]

From Competition to Cooperation was an interesting transition.

“Shit! We’re starting already?!”

“If it’s cooperation, does that mean we’re supposed to work together?”

“Song! Over here! Come on!”

Eun-Ho was still wondering how they expected them to prove their teamwork.

Whoosh—!

Then, a violent gust of wind ripped through the square.

“Eek! What the hell kind of wind is this?!”

“Is this a typhoon?!”

Skirts flapped like flags, while overhead wires shook like they’d snap. This wasn’t some random breeze, as the blast was strong enough to knock Yul clean off her feet.

Eun-Ho covered his face from the dirt and debris and forced his eyes open. That was when he saw a massive, blindingly white shape dropped from the sky, cutting through the dusty haze.

Booom—!

Then, it landed with a shuddering impact, nestled inside a glassy dome. Actually, calling it glass wasn’t quite right, as it was some kind of translucent material, more advanced than anything he had seen.

However, more important than the container was what moved inside it.

Sssss—

As if sensing the vibrations, it raised its head and out flicked a monstrous tongue.

“A s-snake?!”

“Aaaah!”

“I thought this was a character evaluation! What’s with the snake?!”

Panic erupted as a massive shadow loomed overhead. Not only was it long, its girth alone could rival a building. Even compared to Namsan in the distance, it was enormous.

“Holy shit! It’s a dragon up in the sky!”

Honestly, calling it a dragon wouldn’t be that far off.

“Don’t worry. There’s a barrier!”

“Exactly! We’re safe behin—huh?!”

They could see its jaws open wide, but what seemed like a transparent ceiling separated them.

“Luckily, that thing came down in a nest. We would’ve been crushed otherwise.”

“Nest? It looks more like a funnel, doesn’t it?”

“Huh?”

That was when Ji-Eun, always sharp-eyed, noticed something else. The bottom of the snake’s nest wasn’t flat.

“Oh wow! You’re right, Noonim! It’s like the funnel’s being supported by some kind of transparent cylinder!”

Just like the invisible pillars that had surrounded the last arena, another glassy column sat firmly in the center. It was a funnel embedded in the earth, with one obvious exit.

“The ceiling’s sealed, right? If that breaks...”

“Maybe that’s the point. To put us in danger,” Eun-Ho muttered somewhat bitterly.

“Huh?”

“They wouldn’t have lowered it from the sky just so we could look at it,” Eun-Ho added.

A quiet realization swept through the crowd. Then, chaos erupted as people started to understand what Eun-Ho meant.

[The trial has started.]

[Defeat the White Serpent and survive!]

Pale as the snake itself, people began screaming.

[If the first challenger fails, the next challenger will have an opportunity to fight.]

Opportunity? That sounds way too optimistic for a trial where we risk our lives. But actually, it might be an opportunity, Eun-Ho thought.

[White Serpent’s Venom Sac]

- A toxin sac extracted from the belly of a deadly snake.

- It contains concentrated poison. Once absorbed, it spreads through the body in under a minute, shutting down metabolism and hardening internal organs.

- Use Limit: 10 times

That was what Yoo Ri-Na had injected Eun-Ho with back then. Therefore, this serpent wasn’t just a monster, but a walking loot drop. He also had to admit that the ghostly-white form almost seemed divine, both terrifying and tempting.

“Oh hell no! They want us to go in there?! Not a chance!”

“I’m not doing it either! I hate snakes! Even little ones give me the creeps!”

“Waaaah—!”

Clearly, no one else felt the same. The moment the system casually dropped the whole defeat the monster line, half the crowd seemed ready to faint. Some clutched their arms like the snake was already crawling up them.

Eun-Ho scanned the crowd again. Only three or four seemed like they had the composure or power to handle something like this.

So those were my real competitors.

[Please enter the arena!]

I might as well take care of it myself.

He still didn’t know what cooperation had to do with any of this, but it wasn’t like they wanted them to cooperate with that snake.

All right. Let’s go snake hunting.