How to Survive Restructuring-Chapter 108

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 108: The Domain of Talent (5)

[Administrator Harona.]

Harona's hair stood on end at the unremarkable summons.

Was it because she had unknowingly been tense?

Or had she been overwhelmed by the sharp and honed aura of the one above?

[Administrator Harona, I greet the Director.]

Snapping back to her senses, she stepped forward and offered her respects.

Under the envious, jealous, and admiring gazes of her colleagues seated in rows.

Then came a single heavy remark.

[It seems additional personnel are needed.]

It could have been a casual statement.

A simple pleasantry—something like "You're working hard," "Good job," or "It must be tough."

And yet, Harona—

Twitch!

She felt a chill run through her as she carefully chose her words.

Because the Director was not someone who spoke without intent.

[……That is correct.]

Harona's hand, clutching the hem of her skirt, trembled slightly.

As the saying goes, "Personnel is everything."

The allocation of additional manpower meant that her department was being strengthened.

And that, in turn, meant that her time had finally come.

The time to rise from her crouched position and reach for greater heights.

[Recruiting talent is also a leader’s ability.]

No one was unaware of who this "talent" referred to.

The one who had withstood the Director’s pressure and even tasted his authority.

He was to be recruited.

This, too, was a test for her.

Just as Harona, having understood her superior’s intent, was about to lower her head with sharp, intelligent eyes—

[One thing.]

A voice, carrying the reverberations of a cavern, settled over her head, lifting her chin before it could bow completely.

[Raise him, but do not be devoured. Keep that in mind.]

A warning not to let his head grow too big.

It was a caution that did not apply to other recruits, but when it came to this one—Lee Eunho—it was a rule that had to be engraved in one’s mind.

For he had an uncanny talent for pulling others into his pace.

That, however, was something Harona had already taken into account, and so she immediately responded.

[Yes, Director. I will keep that in mind.]

The Director rose from his seat.

At once, everyone who had been watching in silence also stood.

[Take care.]

As Harona bowed deeply, everyone’s heads lowered toward the floor.

At the same time—

Boom.

Footsteps that seemed to shake the very ground echoed.

[Training. I have high expectations.]

A low, yet overwhelmingly weighty voice lingered like a trace.

She couldn’t bring herself to look up at the face that carried a faint smile.

The weight of that expectation, both heavy and gleaming, made her flinch unconsciously.

Quickly regaining her composure, she wrung out a reply as if squeezing water from a dry towel.

[……Yes.]

She bent at the waist once more, her gaze following the retreating figure of the Director.

And only after she had paid him her utmost respect, her heart pounding wildly, did she finally slump back into her seat.

[Did, did you see that, Lady Harona?]

From afar, Choi Seung, who had been nervously observing, rushed over.

[Th-the Director was… satisfied, wasn’t he?]

[Don’t make such a fuss.]

His reaction was rather excessive, but Harona hadn’t meant it as a true reprimand.

For it was also the duty of a subordinate to wholeheartedly rejoice in their superior’s achievements.

However—

[Harona!]

Someone’s success inevitably meant someone else’s relative failure.

Due to that cruel reality, not all gazes upon her were warm like Seung’s.

[This is absurd. What kind of trick did you pull?]

[What, are you here to pick a fight? If so, get lost.]

Jookwang, looking like a dog staring longingly at a rooftop, had scurried over.

His scrawny neck twisted this way and that as if checking for any higher-ups who might cut him off like before.

And once he seemed reassured, he returned to his usual voice and snapped at her.

[After picking and picking without success, you finally settled on some worthless rock and polished it up?]

[Ha, a rock? Polished up? By me?]

Harona let out a laugh of disbelief.

Would he have said the same thing if he had seen Lee Eunho from the very beginning?

How could anyone claim to have polished someone they couldn’t even grasp?

But whether or not he knew her thoughts, Jookwang kept running his mouth.

[So you funneled all the rewards to him, huh?]

[……What?]

[I mean, think about it. A mid-tier candidate suddenly becomes a top representative. There’s no way he did that alone, right?]

It was a reasonable suspicion.

After all, never before had a candidate’s actual performance deviated so drastically from their preliminary evaluations.

However—

[Ha…….]

Harona let out a slow sigh.

Because it was absurd to hear such words coming from Jookwang of all people.

[That’s your story, isn’t it? You found a bright one, funneled skills into them, handed over secret manuals, and fed them elixirs—did you think no one knew?]

Flinch!

Jookwang’s narrow shoulders trembled.

[W-what are you talking about?]

Though he feigned ignorance, Harona wasn’t foolish enough to be deceived.

[Oh, it’s a well-known tale. ‘Administrator Jookwang caught another one,’ they say.]

[C-caught one? I merely practiced selection and focus! Efficiently!]

[Hah? Then how about we test that theory? Want to repeat that exact statement in front of the Audit Bureau lobby?]

[……!]

Jookwang fell silent as if he had swallowed his tongue.

「We uphold the law and govern with justice.」

The Audit Bureau lobby.

Perhaps he recalled the chilling inscription on that old plaque hanging in that eerie plaza.

[W-whatever! Anyway… we’ll talk later!]

Dragging his scrawny body, he hurriedly fled.

[Unbelievable.]

Clicking her tongue at his retreating figure, Harona heard Seung carefully ask.

[Should I sneak up and smack him from behind, Lady Harona?]

[Forget it.]

Though it seemed like a tempting idea, Harona simply waved a hand dismissively.

Seeing her uncharacteristically calm demeanor, with not a hint of her usual sharpness, Seung blinked in confusion.

[But why?]

Letting out a deep sigh, Harona replied.

[Because he has no choice.]

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

New n𝙤vel chapters are published on freeweɓnøvel.com.

[Huh?]

[He’s in charge of the highest-tier candidate. That guy’s his responsibility.]

[Ah! You mean the one who’s been the subject of all those rumors?]

Seung had also heard about it.

That there was a top-tier candidate, not just an upper-tier, in the CN sector.

Given the nature of the Investigation Bureau, which digs deeper the more outstanding the talent is, being top-tier meant that even full-time employees were left speechless at the candidate’s skills.

So much so that rumors spread among gossipers, suggesting that the candidate might have shaken the very axis of time.

[Is it true that the candidate had already ‘unlocked’ their trait even before the restructuring began?]

[It’s more than that. I heard they were born with it.]

[Th-That’s impossible……!]

Traits are something that develop over a lifetime, accumulating through experiences, knowledge, and values before eventually unlocking.

But to be born with one—no wonder rumors were rampant.

The problem was.

[Finally…… they’re going to meet Lee Eunho!]

[If those two meet…….]

Perhaps the saying that "there can’t be two suns under the same sky" would apply here.

[What do you think will happen?]

* * *

As for the store upgrade…

'Let’s hold off for now.'

I could spend all 100,000 points and do it right away.

But since I had no way of predicting how things would unfold after the initiation ceremony, I wasn’t keen on spending them recklessly.

Until now, welfare points had only been used to buy items from the store, but that might change in the future.

And the reason I suspected that was because…

'The fact that even observers use welfare points is concerning.'

From what I could tell so far, the observers were most likely employees.

The fact that they also used welfare points was significant.

Welfare points.

There would come a time when I’d desperately need them.

I was sure of it.

Lost in my thoughts, I snapped back to reality when I heard exclamations from all around me.

“Wow…….”

Jieun’s mouth hung open.

“!!”

It was no surprise.

[The vocal artist 'Elena' has begun the 'Song of Blessing'!]

[Beautiful melodies increase stamina recovery speed by 5%.]

[Movement speed increases by 5%.]

La-la-la— La-la-la-la— La-la-la-la-la—

The music from the stage was mesmerizing, even for me.

La-la-la— La-la-la-la— La-la-la-la-la—

Others must have been completely entranced.

If even someone like me, with almost no ear for music, was this affected.

‘It doesn’t even have lyrics, so why…….’

If an angel descended from the heavens, it would probably have a voice like this.

“There really are…… all sorts of people here.”

“Yeah, seriously.”

“That unnie must’ve been a famous singer, right?”

“Yeah, probably. Maybe she used to do opera or popera?”

The group that had joined us after the victory match was also in awe.

Everyone kept gasping in admiration.

[Alright, that was an amazing performance from the IT sector!]

[The total sponsorship amount is…… 52,000 points! Ah— That was close!]

[ROK sector is still holding onto first place!]

Honestly, it was hard to believe that this ranked below the insult battles.

“What’s with that look?”

“……It’s just amazing.”

“What! What is it! I didn’t do anything wrong!”

Regardless, the atmosphere remained warm and hopeful as we waited.

“This is looking good. We might actually take first place, noona!”

“Yeah. Only one team left to go!”

At this point, we were all hoping to secure first place.

And then, finally, the turn of the last remaining sector arrived.

—Flash!

[And now, at last, the final act!]

[Ahhh— Are you all feeling sad? Sera is too—!]

[But every show must have an ending!]

[The CN sector's performance is about to begin—!]

With the host’s words, a group of people walked onto the stage.

Identical outfits. Identical hairstyles.

Identical swords at their waists.

And at the center of the stage, escorted by them, stood—

‘……A kid?’

They looked around eight or nine years old.

With short black hair, bangs falling low enough to cover their eyes.

I was just about to wonder what kind of talent such a young child could possibly showcase when—

“Isn’t that Wei?”

Someone muttered under their breath.

‘Wei?’

Then, Jieun clapped her hands together and exclaimed,

“Oh! Isn’t that the kid? The youngest Go (baduk) ranking No.1!”

“Huh?”

“You know, I saw a documentary about him not long ago…… His IQ was, like, 250 or something?”

“Oh! The Star of the Continent! I watched that too!”

Lee Yeji chimed in as well.

‘Star of the Continent?’

I’d never heard of him.

I wasn’t exactly the type to watch documentaries in my free time.

But.

‘Wei. That name sounds familiar…….’

Where had I heard it before?

Way?

No, if it’s the CN sector, then it must be China.

Then in Chinese notation…

‘Wei.’

And then, it hit me.

〔 WEI 〕

The empty canister that had been sitting next to Iro’s research lab.

So it was Wei.

“They said he was ten, but he looks even younger.”

“That kind of genius survived…… No, maybe he survived because he’s a genius.”

A child with overwhelming talent.

“He must’ve unlocked his ability too, right?”

“I’d assume so. There’s no way a kid like that would’ve survived otherwise.”

“What’s his ability? Fuck, do I have to compete with a little kid too……?”

The foul-mouthed guy furrowed his brows, lost in thought.

But.

“I think I can guess.”

It wasn’t hard to figure out.

Judging by the abilities unlocked so far.

That child’s ability was probably……

[The Go player 'Wei' has activated 'Great Match'!]

“What, what the hell is that?!”

“In the sky……!”

“A hand?!”

Swoooooooosh!

Like an incoming storm cloud, a shadow loomed over us.

A massive hand, plummeting like a crashing plane.

A colossal index and middle finger, clutching between them—

“A Go stone?!”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]