Chapter 50: Refusal of Consent

Sreung!

In Jaehyuk’s hand, Ji-eun’s dagger was held aloft.

The blade, sharply honed by petrification, reflected the cold blue moonlight.

And as the icy edge pressed close to the nape—

Thump─thump.

A faint movement was felt.

It seemed the breath of life had not yet fully left.

Regrettably so.

“Can you do it? If it’s too much, you don’t have to force yourself.”

“No! Still, I learned something… I can’t just step back like this.”

Gulp!

Jaehyuk swallowed dryly.

He had grown up watching his parents run a butcher shop when he was young.

Apparently, he’d only learned how to hold a knife, not how to be bold.

Hup!

With a face as resolute as if confronting an enemy, he gripped the knife tightly…

“Hiiieek! D-didn’t it just look at me?!”

…But from how he was now trembling and frozen stiff—

Haa.

I looked at this coward, not sure what to do with him, feeling conflicted.

“Ay, why are you hesitating over something like this? Give it here!”

Unable to bear it any longer, the cleaning lady stepped forward.

Bwoouk— Sgeok!

With two strokes of the knife, the belly skin and fat were neatly sliced away.

“Hiiiik! T-the eyeballs!”

“Ooh— Ms. Song! That’s some skill! Is it because you’re a Song? Hahaha!”

Today’s food supply—bones separated from flesh, meat from fat.

‘Hungry Direbear.’

With all the nearby buildings destroyed, food was growing harder and harder to find.

That’s why I’d suggested trying self-sufficiency this time.

I wondered if it would work out, but thankfully, there was a hidden expert among us.

“Thank you, ma’am.”

“No, no. I’m just glad I can help in some way.”

─ Sgeok!

With a proud expression, the cleaning lady hacked off a hefty chunk of red meat.

“Here you go, young man!”

Now it was my turn.

I received the blood-dripping hunk of meat.

Now, to—

Chak!

Set it piece by piece on the grill I’d salvaged from a nearby restaurant’s ruins.

[Choose between Beacon Fire (烽火) and Signal Smoke (烽煙)!]

“Beacon Fire.”

I cooked it over a torch-lit flame.

─ Sizzle!

“Sola. If I start feeling weird, treat me right away. Got it?”

“Mister, that’s the tenth time you’ve said that. You know, right?”

Sola answered, sounding annoyed, though her hands were already outstretched, ready to heal at a moment’s notice.

Feeling reassured by her pale palms, I brought the grilled meat to my mouth.

[You have consumed ‘Grilled Direbear Meat.’]

“How is it?”

“Well, young man?”

[Abnormal status ‘Starvation’ is slightly relieved.]

[Sync rate slightly increases.]

Sreuk!

I crunched into the crispy outside, revealing the tender inside.

It wasn’t so soft it melted in the mouth, but neither was it tough—just the right amount of chew.

“…Oh.”

It tastes good. Is it okay for something like this to taste good? Well, it’s delicious.

Next, and then another.

I grilled quickly.

“Mister! This is amazing!”

“Eunho! It’s better than I expected!”

“Thank goodness. Seems like there’s no problem.”

I shared the machine-like flow of freshly grilled meat with the others, who awaited it like baby birds.

I didn’t forget to secure my own portion.

After we’d eaten our fill for quite a while—

“Mmm… Delicious…”

“It is, but… It’s kind of humiliating.”

“Huh? What is?”

“Hmm… I feel like I’ve lost my dignity as a modern person.”

“What? Yoon Sola, you ate the most, you know?”

Sola made a complaint only someone ‘full’ could utter.

Yeojin, looking dumbfounded, shot back at her right away.

[Collecting data for skill unlock.]

Another notification chimed, telling me a new skill was accumulating data.

Hmm.

Having seen this at the academy, I’d tried hard just in case.

If it unlocks this easily, I’m grateful.

After all, nothing’s more important than being able to make your own food.

Especially in this hellish world, with no deliveries, no supermarkets, and no restaurants.

Thinking so, I busied myself.

“This torch is more useful than I thought.”

Ji-eun gave a small, amazed laugh as she spoke.

Maybe she was impressed by the torch’s usefulness.

“Eunho, you’re really… how should I say… diligent.”

She shook her head, and then, suddenly, offered a compliment.

“All of a sudden? Well, I am pretty diligent.”

“It’s not just that… You make sure to wring out every last scrap. I feel like you’d survive even stranded on a deserted island.”

A compliment… I think?

“…I’ll take it as one.”

“It is a compliment.”

Yeojin and the Swearmouth each chimed in.

“For sure! Mister, if you were on a deserted island, you’d build a house and start farming, too!”

“Shit, not just farming. He’d probably start making people. I bet.”

“Eh? How could you possibly make a person?”

“He can turn into a skeleton! Why not?”

Looks like everyone’s full now.

Judging by how much they’re talking.

“If you’re all done, let’s start cleaning up.”

“What? Just me?”

“Sola, Yeojin, can you help? And you too, Lee Yeji.”

With Swearmouth grumbling but still cleaning up thoroughly, Yuli came running and hugged me.

Her cheeks, now full, glowed with satisfaction.

“Uncle! Is your curse lifted?”

“Yeah, it’s gone.”

“That’s a relief!”

Earlier, I’d said turning into a skeleton was due to a ‘system curse.’

It was an excuse to avoid explaining things like the academy or the seed that lets me change appearance to little Yuli, whom I’d just met.

“Shit, good thing it lifted right away. I thought you’d have to live as a skeleton forever. Gave me a scare.”

“No kidding.”

…Who knew even the adults would believe that.

Well, I shrugged, figuring it all worked out.

“By the way, what did you get earlier?”

Swearmouth asked, hinting.

The ‘Special Reward’ I’d received after the ‘Mock Battle’ mission, only for me.

[Check your mission rewards!]

After the announcement, a gift box had appeared.

Inside—

▣ Elixir of Protection

- Creates a mental barrier for the drinker, granting temporary immunity to all status ailments caused by fear and disease. Duration: 3 hours.

An elixir blocking all fear- and disease-related statuses.

▣ Bone Bomb

- A bomb made by packing explosives into bone. Upon use, deals 15 damage to enemies within 1 meter.

A bomb shaped like a shinbone.

▣ Skull Bowl

- A bowl made from baked bone powder. Even if you drink polluted water from it, you won’t get sick.

A pure white bowl.

“You got a lot, hyung!”

“Right. Didn’t you get anything?”

“Nope. Seems like you were the only one, hyung!”

So…

“Huh? Isn’t there something else back there…?”

“Oh, that’s the Direbear head from earlier. Wanna see?”

“Hiiiik! N-no thanks!”

There were some other amazing items, too…

Ah.

How should I put it?

Like rain in a drought? No…

More like, after so long without a drop, when all life is withered and starving, and then finally rain pours from the sky.

And then, realizing with your tongue that the rain is actually sugar water.

So—

‘Jackpot!’

Barely managing to keep a straight face, I heard Jaehyuk timidly ask.

“Hyung! Is there anything else you need done today?”

“Hm?”

“Like gathering firewood… something like that!”

His face was full of guilt.

He even looked a little ashamed, likely still troubled by how the earlier fight went.

He’d boldly volunteered, but couldn’t even cut the meat.

“Because I didn’t do anything earlier…”

It was admirable, but—

“No need.”

Not unless you’re planning to put on a talent show to impress me.

Because—

“The next mission is showtime.”

“Huh? Show what to whom?”

Who else?

Those bastards beyond the ‘Eye.’

*   *   *

Step. Step. Step. Step. Step.

A twin-tailed girl hurried across the corridor on her short legs.

[Hurry up. I’m busy.]

[Yes, Lady Harona.]

Trailing close behind, Seung clutched a towering stack of documents in her arms.

She could barely see ahead, but there was no time to slow down.

The paperwork due today was mountainous.

[Why do the higher-ups love reports so much?]

[Exactly. It’s hard to get any work done, and yet they keep calling us at every turn.]

A sigh escaped both their lips at once, but that was all.

There was no helping it.

Harona might get into trouble often, but she worked hard at her actual duties.

[The audit report is priority one. Give them all the data they asked for, and as soon as we’re done, head back and finish the results.]

Harona issued her orders while opening her system window.

A flurry of alerts immediately sounded.

─ Ding!

─ Ding!

─ Ding!

……

[What’s this? What’s going on?]

【You have 17 new notifications.】

【Would you like to check them?】

Usually, there’d be at most three or four a day.

But 17?

To avoid being distracted by random alerts during the meeting, she’d muted the sound only a few hours ago.

[Check them!]

She barked sharply, wondering if there was a problem.

But instead of trouble, the messages that appeared in succession were—

【A new sponsorship has arrived for ‘Lee Eunho’!】

【A new sponsorship has arrived for ‘Lee Eunho’!】

【A new sponsorship has arrived for ‘Lee Eunho’!】

……

16 sponsorships.

And—

【‘Lee Eunho’s ‘Eye’ has been chosen as a real-time rising channel!】

One exciting piece of news.

[!!]

So…

[What’s with all this sudden fuss?!]

Is this good news… right?

[Don’t tell me that crazy researcher ran some weird experiment?]

The surge of hot response made Harona uneasy.

Throwing out her worries in a pointed question, she got a prompt reply from Seung.

[I-I don’t think that’s it!]

[How do you know? You were there too.]

Tap!

Seung, looking grave, set her heavy files down on the floor.

She checked the message window thoroughly.

[The researcher… says he’s returned the temporary admin rights!]

A surprising update.

[Eh? After all that fuss to get them, why?]

[Well… he extended the mission time at will and even added extra monsters. By manual control!]

[WHAT?!]

Unbelievable.

All that bluster, and then this?

Overtime, manual monster control?

[So you’re saying… Lee Eunho gave that jerk a real thrashing?]

Harona laughed with a deep frown.

【Administrator ‘Harona.’ A new schedule has been registered.】

【Some temporary administrator privileges have been withdrawn.】

She confirmed the return of privileges, thanks to the subject’s mid-level evaluation.

Then Seung, with more to say, continued.

[And, the reason all the observers flocked in…]

[Yes?]

[A recommendation post went up on the company anonymous board.]

[What?! Pull it up!]

▧ [Recommendation] Discovered a Legendary Subject! ▧

This is the Deep Sea Salvage Team.

Most of the District 13 subjects are the same, but this one’s extraordinary.

If it’s fighting, fighting; if it’s strategy, strategy! He does it all himself.

He’s obviously led an incredible life…

I’m looking forward to when his official content is released.

⇒ I saw him in passing—he transformed into a skeleton and led monsters around. He’s on another level compared to those who just shoot guns.

⇒ When does the content open?

⇒ Me too, I’m curious. Just spectating isn’t enough.

[Hmm.]

Sip!

Harona grinned, smacking her lips.

With eyes curling, she looked every bit a mischievous schemer hatching a fun plan.

[Since when did he become so popular?]

[Looks like this mission really struck a chord. Lots of people are saying they want more than just spectating.]

[Lee Eunho, Lee Eunho, Lee Eunho. Hmm.]

Of course, that toy was the subject in her grasp—Lee Eunho.

[I’m looking forward to it.]

[To what, ma’am?]

[Later… when it’s officially released.]

Tok, tok.

Harona added,

[It’ll sell like hotcakes, don’t you think? The life of subject ‘Lee Eunho.’]

Imagining the money her toy would line her pockets with.

[Start the next mission.]

[Ah, let me just drop this off—]

[Enough, move it. The customers are waiting, you know!]

*   *   *

AM 08:50.

The ever-watchful Eye heralded my existence, as bright as the sun.

[By administrator’s authority, the ‘Eye’ is opening.]

Morning broke.

[Attention, survivors in ‘Yongsan District.’]

[At exactly 9:00 AM, the final mission of Project ‘Aptitude Test’ will begin.]

The last morning of the aptitude test.

“Wow! Jaehyuk, is it over if we pass this?”

“Noona! Hyung! Let’s go all out to the end!”

[The final mission is…]

The first two missions of the test had measured strength and intellect.

Now, the grand finale.

[A ‘Observation’ mission to evaluate participants’ content.]

They’d dig through our minds, drag out ‘content’ at their whim, and judge whether it suited their tastes.

Those voyeuristic perverts were going to watch us outright.

“Observation? So… we’re being watched?”

“Content… what, do they want us to film a video?”

A video.

If it were that simple, it would be nice.

But what they call ‘content’ is—

[The content to be evaluated is the participants’ memories.]

[All participants can freely choose which memories to reveal, and may act within those memories for the duration.]

A play built on our ‘memories.’

[The entire process will be streamed to observers through the ‘Eye.’ The participant who receives the most sponsorship will receive a special reward.]

[Time limit: 1 hour.]

[Share special memories and showcase your charm as much as you like!]

A ‘live broadcast’ where the viewers can support and react to the star in real time.

[Please agree to the mandatory terms and conditions!]

▣ [Mandatory] Consent to Provide Private Content to Third Parties

- Under the Private Content Protection Act and the Act on Use and Protection of Private Content, the distributor (‘company’) wishes to provide the content (participants’ memories) to third parties with the participants’ consent.

- You may select the content to reveal yourself. If you do not choose, it will be selected automatically by algorithm…

“Shit, what’s all this about? It’s so long I can’t even read it!”

“They’re saying to enter your own memories and reveal them. To those bastards beyond the ‘Eye.’”

Like a play based on a true story.

And they’ll judge if it’s to their taste.

“What?! Then, that sponsorship…”

“If your memory’s interesting, you’ll get a rain of donations. If not, not a cent.”

“Crazy!”

[Do you agree?]

Below the prompt was only a single option: [Yes].

Apparently, since it’s a mandatory clause, [No] wasn’t even provided.

But as for me—

“No.”

I decided to refuse.

Because—

[If you do not agree, you cannot participate in the mission.]

[Do you agree?]

“I won’t. I don’t agree.”

Now, I need to start negotiating, too.