Surviving Restructuring

Today’s meeting gained one more agenda item: which of the two rewards to choose.

[Please select your trial reward!]

[Everyone’s Rebellious Aura]

[One’s Piercing Gaze]

If there was one key difference from the earlier discussions, it was that opinions within the team were completely split. More precisely, it was the team’s opinion versus that of the team leader.

“Young Man! Are you really saying no to this?” asked the cleaning lady.

“I’ve told you already, my opinion hasn’t changed,” Eun-Ho said firmly.

“Fuck, just give up already!” Swear-Master cursed.

“No, I refuse.”

“Then, in ten minutes, we’ll make a final decision by vote,” Eun-Ho said before stepping out to take care of something.

In the meantime, the team’s debate had only grown more heated.

“... If that happens, then it means—”

“I disagree. That just puts too much p—”

“That’s true, but still...”

***

If Eun-Ho had to choose between Rebellious Aura and Piercing Gaze, he would obviously go with the former. Far too many risks were involved in going around collecting signatures. With all forty-two of them poking around everywhere, information was bound to leak. There would definitely be people who pretended to sympathize just to gather intel and pass it back to management.

With that ability, they would know whether someone is telling the truth.

Besides, it wasn’t just helpful for him; everyone could use it without restriction. The skill helped them with the current trial the most.

Mind reading is tempting, but we still have rewards waiting at one thousand and ten thousand signatures. For the sake of what comes after next, this is the right call.

- Sub-trials:

1. Obtain 100 signatures(Complete)

2. Obtain 1,000 signatures(Incomplete)

3. Obtain 10,000 signatures(Incomplete)

...

With his unchanged stance, Eun-Ho returned to the group. “Ten minutes are up.”

“Huh? Already?”

Judging by how animated they were, a lot seemed to have been said while he was gone.

“Seems like you’ve reached a decision,” Eun-Ho said calmly.

“Yeah.”

“Eun-Ho, we’re sorry, but—”

I guess it’s Rebellious Aura, then.

Eun-Ho waited without much tension.

“We chose Piercing Gaze. It was a unanimous vote!” Ji-Eun declared as if it were an announcement.

“What?”

“And the person to receive the skill is you, Eun-Ho. Sorry!”

“Sorry, Hyungnim!” Jae-Hyuk said.

“Just think of it as a punishment for being too fucking competent,” said Swear-Master.

The team lowered their heads, scratched the backs of their necks awkwardly, and apologized in their own ways.

“Hold on. Wait a second.”

So everyone had decided to choose a mind-reading skill that only I can use, instead of an ability that would let everyone identify potential traitors?

Eun-Ho couldn’t understand. “I hate to say this about myself, but you all know I’m the strongest one here, right?”

“Pfft. Look at this bastard being honest,” said Swear-Master.

“Hey! How dare you call our precious team leader a bastard!” shouted the security guard.

“I’ll explain.” Ji-Eun shot the Swear-Master a glare, then explained on behalf of the group, “Just like you said, Eun-Ho, when it comes to gathering signatures and forming a union, Rebellious Aura is better.”

“And?” Eun-Ho asked.

“But what comes after is different.”

Does she mean after the labor union is established? Meaning when we would clash head-on with the company?

“When we’re really fighting the people at the top, something like Rebellious Aura won’t help us at all.”

“That’s true.”

“That’s when mind reading will really shine.”

She was right. If he could read minds, he’d know everything—their true intentions, the cards they were hiding, and what they planned to do to their employees.

“It’ll be an enormous help as we grow more and more. So please take that ability and use it for everyone. Eun-Ho, we know you can do it,” said Ji-Eun.

Every single team member agreed with her.

“Honestly, there’s no one who’d use it better than you, Mister. Right?”

“Yeah. You’d squeeze more out of that skill than the person who designed it.”

“And if we gave it to someone else, they’d get killed before they even had the chance to use it.”

Faced with that unwavering, almost painfully pure trust, Eun-Ho couldn’t bring himself to accept or refuse right away. “Then why are you all apologizing? You’re giving me a skill.”

It was a pointless question.

“Because it feels like we’re putting too much weight on your shoulders,” Ji-Eun answered with apologetic eyes, smiling sheepishly. “I’ll help you carry that weight, though. Right by your side.”

“I’m counting on you,” Eun-Ho said to Ji-Eun. “I’ll use it well.”

[Selection confirmed.]

[You have acquired the Piercing Gaze!]

[Please review the skill description!]

It was a skill given to him by everyone, with one heart. He had to make good use of it.

***

It was 10:00 AM and a new morning dawned. In front of a log cabin surrounded by dense trees, Eun-Ho and some others turned back after waving goodbye to those seeing them off.

“I’m ready.”

“Alright, then. Shall we go?” Eun-Ho asked.

“Let’s go, Hyungnim!”

“Let’s do this!”

It was their first field operation, launched to track down Employee A.

“Still, I’m less nervous now that we’ve been there once before!”

“Right? Same here.”

“It’s my first time, though... I’ll be okay, right?”

“Unnie, it’s fine! Just hold Yul’s hand and follow along!” said Yul.

All five of them were heading to the Operations Bureau. For combat, they had Ji-Eun and Jae-Hyuk. For emergencies, they had Sol-Ah. And for the most crucial role, stealth, they brought Yul.

“Yeo-Jin will be okay on her own, right?” Sol-Ah asked.

“She’ll be fine. I told her to contact us immediately if anything happens,” Eun-Ho said, reassuring her.

Sol-Ah still appeared a little uneasy, but Ji-Eun and the others didn’t seem particularly tense. After several infiltrations and battles, they had likely built up a measure of confidence.

Ji-Eun and Jae-Hyuk, in particular, seemed keenly aware of how much stronger they’d become after the recent defensive battle.

“If I tell you to duck, duck immediately. I’ll try to manipulate the trajectory, but just in case,” Ji-Eun said.

“Understood! And once Noonim fires, I’ll move up front!”

That was how it was until the old-looking Operations Bureau building came into view in the distance.

[Authorized Personnel Only]

Beeeeep! Beeeeep!

As they flew past the familiar sign, two sudden warning sounds drilled straight into their skulls.

“Huh?”

[Warning!]

[An abnormal approach has been detected.]

A bright red system window appeared right after.

[Only pre-registered personnel may enter.]

[Please present a visitor’s pass.]

Clank—

As if that weren’t enough, ash-gray iron bars began rising from the ground. Whether they walked or flew, it was clearly determined to block their path.

“T-that sign was there last time too, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah! We just walked right in then, so why is this happening now?”

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

[Restrictions on internal facility access have been lifted.]

Just like back then, the Employee of the Year title was still active. Yet this time, it was demanding a separate visitor’s pass.

“Security’s been tightened,” Eun-Ho muttered.

There was no other explanation. The Operations Bureau’s security had clearly been reinforced, and the reason was obvious.

It’s because we broke in.

They’d uncovered the filthy dealings in the underground levels, recorded them, and made them public. From the insiders’ perspective, cracking down on corruption and strictly barring outsiders made perfect sense.

“H-Hyungnim! Look over there!”

“Grrrk! Grrrk...”

“Grrrrrrr...”

“Grrrrrrrr!”

As if upgraded security weren’t enough, there were guards too.

[Defeat the Hellish Three-Headed Hound!]

A dog with three house-sized heads drooled thick saliva as it growled. Only a shabby, haunted-house-looking building was visible far in the distance. In the empty wasteland, with nothing else around, a single three-headed dog wandered about, making it hard to judge the situation at a glance.

“Seems like we’ll have to go down,” Eun-Ho said.

“I’ll land us,” Ji-Eun replied.

She touched down smoothly, and the moment their feet settled onto the barren ground, even craning his neck to look up made it ache.

“Yikes.”

The Hellhound’s sheer scale was overwhelming. A handler came into view as well, stroking somewhere along the dog’s massive foreleg.

“Eun-Ho, that guy looks like the handler,” Ji-Eun said.

“Yes. So Plan B it is,” Eun-Ho answered calmly, turning to Jae-Hyuk. “Jae-Hyuk. Summon it.”

“Yes, sir.”

A faint glow shimmered, and an object taller than Jae-Hyuk and wider than his outstretched arms appeared. More precisely, it was a collection of objects.

Jae-Hyuk and Eun-Ho dropped their stealth and revealed themselves.

Soon, the guard noticed the two of them, along with the cart piled high with unfamiliar boxes.

“Hey! Who’s over there!” he asked curtly.

“Let’s go,” Eun-Ho said.

“Yes,” Jae-Hyuk replied.

Rrrrrr—

With his cap pulled low, Jae-Hyuk dragged the heavy cart toward the guard and greeted him politely, “Good day to you.”

“Delivery?”

The question was blunt, with no warmth to it. The guard cast them a brief, deeply unpleasant look. Then, he jerked his chin toward the prefab building behind him. “Leave it there.”

“Ah, I’m sorry, but we were told to deliver it all the way inside that building over there,” Jae-Hyuk said smoothly.

“Hmm...”

“We’ll be right out once we’re done!”

Only then did the guard pull out a stack of documents from his coat. Getting straight to the point, he asked “Let me check. Who’s the recipient?”

“The recipient is...” Jae-Hyuk said, glancing toward Eun-Ho as if unsure. His eyes were full of question marks, looking for someone to answer for him.

Instead of replying, Eun-Ho murmured quietly, “Activate.”

[Piercing Gaze has been activated!]

[Duration: 3 minutes.]

[Cooldown: 12 hours.]

Fwoosh—!

Then, a sharp heat flared from Eun-Ho’s retinas, and he instinctively closed and reopened his eyes. In that instant, a beam of light visible only to him shot straight toward the guard.

The moment it pierced through the man, who was staring back in confusion, a thought echoed clearly. “I heard the corpse disposal unit chief ordered some expensive synthesis materials this time. Is that it?”

Yeah. That’s it, Eun-Ho thought.

“What, are you going to keep me busy? If you can’t answer, just leave it—”

“It’s an order from the corpse disposal unit chief,” Eun-Ho said calmly.

“What kind of item is it?”

“They’re synthesis materials.”

Mind reading made situations far easier than he’d expected. The three-headed hound behind them had been drooling nonstop, which made him uneasy. Avoiding an unnecessary fight would be appreciated.

“Well, I’m not sure. It’s not on the list.”

Huh?

“Plus, I haven’t heard anything either.”

This bastard.

“Check again. I’m certain,” Eun-Ho pressed.

“That’s strange. Very strange.”

A chill ran down Eun-Ho’s spine when he saw that greed had crept into the guard’s eyes.

“Illegal entry is a problem,” said the guard.

Damn it.

Even though Eun-Ho had clearly heard about the expensive synthesis materials from his thoughts.

Ha. So he’s planning to pocket them. Man. If you’re going to run a scam, at least pick your target carefully.

Before Eun-Ho could even let out a dry laugh at the absurdity, a message from Ji-Eun came through.

Kim Ji-Eun: One hour before the broadcast. We don’t have time.

It was 11:00 AM, meaning exactly one hour remained until the broadcast.

He flicked a glance at the three-headed hound, drooling and slurping with a desire slightly different from its master’s.

Lee Eun-Ho: What about the Eye?

Kim Ji-Eun: None. I checked.

There’s no time, and no one’s watching.

Either one alone would’ve been a headache, but together, it actually simplified things.

“Jae-Hyuk,” Eun-Ho said.

“Yes, Hyungnim.”

Plan A was to infiltrate under stealth. Plan B was to use mind reading and pose as delivery personnel if stopped. If neither worked, there was only one option left.

“We’re going with Plan C,” he said casually, almost under his breath.

Jae-Hyuk tilted his head. “Uh, there was a Plan C?”

“I just made it up.”

“What?”

Plan C is to wipe everything out and push through.

“Let’s go.”