Surviving Restructuring

Quarter was a trial designed to shrink the Safe Zone to one-fourth its original size and trim the headcount for good.

[Trial registration has been completed.]

[Awaiting start...]

Ignoring Harona’s bristling displeasure, Eun-Ho finished the registration. Right on cue, her voice pierced like an ice pick.

“Isn’t this way too boring?!” Harona frowned, thoroughly unimpressed. “If you’re going to do it, make it extreme. Push them to the edge! This is way too easy!”

Extreme situations? Bloodshed, kill-or-be-killed, nerve-scraping violence... I know those are the kind of trials you like, Eun-Ho thought.

[The Morning Star from the Sales Department greets everyone, saying they heard fights never stop here.]

[The Druid from the Bureau of Investigation looks around asking when the drama will start!]

Based on experience so far, that was the easiest and surest way to draw donations from the observers. This guidebook’s obsession with trials that reduced personnel probably had the same logic behind it.

“No,” Eun-Ho said.

“What?!”

“Actually, I prefer it this way.”

Eun-Ho thought the more cliché, the better. Nothing drew in an audience like something that seemed predictable suddenly veering off in a completely unexpected direction.

“Don’t you get tired of spicy food if you eat it every day?” Eun-Ho asked.

“What?!”

“Sometimes, you need something sweet, or salty, or even sour,” he added, as if it were obvious, “not to mention, who’s doing the cooking matters too.”

After all, the same dish could taste completely different depending on the chef.

“Huh? Why are you so full of yourself all of a sudden?” Harona asked incredulously.

Therefore, Eun-Ho patiently explained what he considered the winning strategy for the Quarter trial, “If you can’t expand sideways, you just go up.”

“What?!”

“In other words,” he continued, “cover it from above, the way we did with that screen.”

Back at the MS Tower, they had draped a tarp-like screen over the packed Safe Zone, and jumped down onto it from above. That marked the first time they had ever defied the system’s intentions, saving those who should’ve been deleted.

“The screen?” It took her a moment before saying, “Ah.”

“Smart move. Who pulled that off?”

Such was her reaction when he had first caught her reluctant attention.

“But the situation is better now,” Eun-Ho said. “This time, we can design it from the beginning.”

“Ah, right! Back then, a lot of people got there first!” Jae-Hyuk said, nodding vigorously as he remembered.

They had arrived late that time, which meant they’d had almost no choices.

“Hold on. Where did that lunchbox come from?”

This time, things were different.

“I stopped by the cafeteria this morning and bought some,” Eun-Ho said.

“You what? Why?!”

“I figured something like this might happen.”

He hadn’t expected this level of chaos, but he had assumed the temporary contract workers wouldn’t be in good shape. The Earth he saw through the training camp screens had already been a mess.

Therefore, he packed lunchboxes from the dormitory cafeteria, choosing options that were both nutritious and easy to eat.

- From: Lee Eun-Ho

- Message: Get down.

- Message: Just like lasagna.

The chef’s eyes bulged. Then, his mouth moved silently, opening and closing soundlessly.

“What is he doing?! Turn the volume up!” shouted Harona.

Fwoosh—

Harona’s cry somehow acted like a command word, restoring the noise around them.

“—down! I said get down!”

“What the hell is he saying?!”

The gaunt chef strained his throat until the veins stood out as he screamed, “We don’t even have to fight!”

However, his voice never reached the others. Their eyes were fixed solely on the glowing green circle and their weapons.

“If you’re going to spout nonsense, get out of the way! Let the healthy ones live!”

[The Hawk Eye from the Bureau of Investigation is impressed he can still shout.]

[The Real Man from the Sales Department snickers that it must be his death throes.]

[3:15]

They had just over three minutes left. There was no time to persuade each person one by one.

“If they won’t cooperate...” Eun-Ho murmured.

Then he had Plan B ready. He was about to prepare for it when the chef abruptly stepped back from the chaotic crowd.

The man took a huge breath, opening his lunchbox with the grim resolve of a man facing execution. “Hrrmph!”

Clang!

He even dropped his kitchen knife and grabbed a slab of lasagna with his bare hands.

“What is he doing?!” Ji-Eun asked.

“I think he’s trying to eat, Noonim!” Jae-Hyuk said in disbelief.

“Does he really want to eat right now?!” Harona asked in disbelief.

“I have no idea. He only has three minutes! There’s no time,” Seung replied.

As everyone stared at him in horror, people began sniffing the air.

“You bastards! There’s space over the—huh?”

“Gaaaah! Wait, what?!”

“What is that smell?”

Thus, the chef’s desperate mukbang began. He tore through the stacked sheets of lasagna with the same rough confidence as an aunt shredding kimchi for winter storage.

“Noonim! I-is that how you’re supposed to eat that?” Jae-Hyuk asked.

“N-no, not really,” she replied.

“As long as it tastes good, who cares how you eat it,” Eun-Ho said calmly.

“R-right!”

The chef peeled off a palm-sized sheet, placed slices of tomato, eggplant, mushrooms, onions, and whatever he could grab on top of it. Then, he devoured it so fast that it seemed like a magic trick.

Slurp!

Tomato sauce coated his fingers, and he sucked them clean one by one. The crowd that had been too busy fighting to listen finally turned as one. Rather, their eyes snapped toward the lasagna dangling from the chef’s hand like a slice of pizza.

“God, that smell!”

“Where did you get that?!”

“C-can I have just one bite?”

The star of this impromptu eating show said nothing. He simply picked up another sheet of lasagna and took a bite. “Mmm...”

And another.

“Mmmmmm...”

He only expressed bliss.

“Whoa...”

“That looks so good!”

“Please, just one bite? I haven’t eaten in three days. I’m begging you.”

Drooling onlookers began inching closer to him. Eun-Ho was about to send out another message before things got dangerous.

Then, the chef suddenly shouted, “If you want some, get on the ground!”

He sounded like an armed robber demanding a ransom.

“Whoever lies will get a sheet! One per person! Let’s fill our stomach first then think!’

For a moment, everyone’s eyes rolled back in disbelief.

“What the hell?!”

He was better than what Harona had expected.

***

“Third row from the top sir! There’s an open spot below. Please move down one!” the chef shouted.

“Ugh, it’s heavy enough already.”

“If the bottom collapses, we all collapse. I’ll give you an extra tomato slice!”

Under the chef’s instructions, people stacked themselves neatly like layers in a human tower.

“They have two minutes left!” Eun-Ho shouted.

“It’s already pretty high, Hyungnim!” Jae-Hyuk replied.

“I think we might actually pull this off!”

The operation was so much more organized than expected, and they were even gaining momentum.

[The Real Man from the Sales Department asks if they’re building a human tower now.]

[The Hawk Eye from the Bureau of Investigation chuckles, saying they have never seen people lie down in a Safe Zone before.]

[A donation of 500 Welfare Points has been made!]

Even the observers seemed pleased.

Of course, a few stubborn troublemakers still appeared.

“Hah! Who even wants to eat that garbage?”

“Yeah! How do you know it’s not poisoned?”

“Oh, that’s fine. If you’re worried about that just don’t eat any,” the chief said slyly, handling them effortlessly with the sensory assault of a mukbang. “Mmm... These lasagna sheets are wonderfully chewy. Don’t you smell that aroma? The tomatoes are so crisp, and the mushrooms... Ah, that fragrance... If you just had one bite, you’d understand. But if you insist on refusing, I’ll finish it for you.”

“W-wait!”

“Maybe we should try just one bite.”

It didn’t end there. Even the observers watching from afar were starting to salivate.

[The Hawk Eye from the Bureau of Investigation wonders what on earth it tastes like to make everyone lose their minds.]

[The Real Man from the Sales Department asks if they can bulk-order the lunchboxes.]

[A number of observers are curious about how the lasagna tastes!]

[A donation of 1,000 Welfare Points has been made!]

[The Real Man from the Sales Department declares that they are buying some as soon as the broadcast ends.]

[A donation of 500 Welfare Points has been made!]

Harona couldn’t believe what she was seeing. “T-t-that man!”

“He’s a natural-born entertainer,” Seung replied.

“Eun-Ho! The audience is loving this!” Ji-Eun called out.

“Did you plan this too, Hyungnim?” Jae-Hyuk asked.

“I just wanted to draw people’s attention. I didn’t expect it would unfold like this,” Eun-Ho said honestly.

[A number of observers are delighted by the creative content!]

[A donation of 1,000 Welfare Points has been made!]

Eun-Ho hadn’t expected the bait to work this well.

[A number of observers suggest switching to a dedicated mukbang channel.]

[They hope your unique vision continues.]

[A donation of 1,000 Welfare Points has been made!]

Some were even saying this new channel was better than the one Harona had originally run.

“W-what?! Switch this channel to mukbang?” Harona muttered to herself, stunned. “They were screaming about how fun my channel was just a moment ago!”

Her twin pigtails stuck out sharply, and she bit down on her lower lip, her pride clearly wounded.

“Don’t get too cocky! You barely got any donations! How are you going to hit ten thousand points like this?!” Harona shouted.

So far, they had gathered four thousand. They still had to acquire six thousand more. Nevertheless, with a one-hour time limit, they had enough leeway to make it up after the trial.

“I told you! We needed blood, fights, something brutal! That’s how you get big donations!” Harona demanded.

“You mean trial where people fight, kill, and steal? Like a hunt?” Eun-Ho asked.

He nodded as if he agreed, prompting her to say, “Exactly! I had a whole plan—”

“But,” he said, cutting in. “It wouldn’t have changed much.”

“What?!”

“The observers we have left right now aren’t the type who matter.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“I mean they’re not big donors.”

Harona froze. “H-how did you—”

“What do you mean, Hyungnim?” Jae-Hyuk asked, confused.

It was obvious. Harona had been projecting multiple screens for several minutes now, yet excluding the mukbang channel, fewer than five donation notifications had come in.

Harona kept quiet. Seung glanced nervously at his superior from behind.

Since she said nothing, Eun-Ho answered for him, “There are only two kinds of people who would still be watching after the restructuring process is over.”

“Two kinds?” Jae-Hyuk echoed.

“First are those whose favorite subjects didn’t lead to permanent employment, leaving them stuck as temporary contract workers. Second are those who enjoy watching people struggle at the bottom, so they see no reason to donate.”

Jae-Hyuk frowned, still not understanding.

Instead, Ji-Eun stepped forward and asked, “I get the second one, but why the first? If they’re rooting for someone, wouldn’t they donate even more?”

“They want to, but they can’t.”

“Huh?”

“If they could afford to support them properly, their favorite would’ve been promoted to a full-time permanent employee in the first place.”

“Oh, I see!”

“W-wait!” Harona frantically waved her tiny hands, launching into excuses no one had asked for. “My numbers dipped a little! Just a tiny bit after the training ended! But that’s normal. It happens to everyone, okay?!”

“Of course. I’m sure every administrator’s in the same boat,” Eun-Ho said.

“Huh? You don’t look like you believe me! I’m serious!”

“I believe you.”

Harona narrowed her eyes, looking genuinely annoyed. “Ugh, anyway!”

Eun-Ho thought she was about to snap at him, but instead she stared at him with a strange mix of irritation and expectation. “So what’s your plan? How will we reach ten thousand Points with observers whose wallets are thin?”

Judging by her reactions so far, it seems like results matter more to her than pride. That’s a good attitude, Eun-Ho thought.

With that in mind, he answered with a smile, “We’ll have to bring in new customers.”

The kind who spend big.

“New customers? From where?”

Besides, he wasn’t done explaining his plan. “We’ll connect to the company network.”

Ding!

[You have connected to the company network.]

[Welcome! Please check the bulletin board!]

“Anonymous bulletin board.”

A translucent window opened, and he poured his entire heartfelt sincerity into it. Which, of course, was basically an advertisement.

[Advertisement] Channel Recommendation

Hello, I’m the Employee of the Year of the Sales Department.

I’m in charge of a channel at the Management Bureau at this time.

I would appreciate everyone’s attention.

#SalesVsManagement #GoneInTwoDays

#SalesmanTurnedAdministrator?

#HRN-GENERAL

“You’re insane. You really try everything, don’t you, Lee Eun-Ho?” Harona asked.

“I tested something similar when I was in Sales and it worked,” he said.

Harona let out a helpless little laugh, the kind one made when one had already given up.

Ding!

Then, a notification rang directly in his ear.

[The Employee of the Year title has been activated.]

[Your post has been pinned to the main banner.]

[Recognition skyrockets.]

[Your post spreads rapidly by word of mouth.]

Nice.

Ever since that interview and photo shoot he did, he had been wondering how to make use of the fame he’d accidentally built. He hadn’t expected to use it this soon, but the results were immediate.

└How does a Sales guy even get to run a Management channel? What’s going on?

└He’s a new recruit but already won Employee of the Year during OJT.

└Is this real?

└If I follow the link, can I see the insane trainee who got the award?

└Oh, I’m checking this out right now.

└It finally opened!

└Bro!!!

People who clearly recognized him started chiming in, flooding into the mukbang channel like a rising tide.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

[A new observer has joined!]

[A new observer has joined!]

[A new observer has joined!]

“What the hell?! This is insane! What are you?!”

“Oh my god! We’ve got a celebrity!” Ji-Eun exclaimed.

Then, the system windows sprouted above everyone’s heads like fireworks.

Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!

[Congratulations!]

[Your channel has been selected as the Trending Channel.]

[Your channel has been selected as the Channel Loved by Sales Employees.]

[Your channel has been selected as the Channel With Sudden Viewer Surge.]

[Your channel has been ranked number one in the Mukbang/Cookbang Category.]

Uh... This is almost too effective.