Chapter 19: Challenge, Failure (4)
by fnovelpia
As a success message appeared on the display, a cold silence enveloped the space.
Success?
What exactly is considered success?
Is there a spy among us?
“Really… is he a spy?”
“Ah, no…”
When Rahee looked at the employee, the man who was pointed out turned pale, his face turning from white to blue.
He glanced alternately between the display and the team leader, then shifted his gaze to me and Rahee, nervously watching us.
His pupils were trembling.
“Because of you… all of us…”
The leader of Team 12, who had just woken up, trembled with anger and approached the employee, Choi.
He had just regained consciousness, so his steps were awkward, but his energy was unusual.
His gaze was filled with fiery anger.
‘That person… is a spy?’
I was confused.
The person who had first confessed that he wet his pants out of fear of the monster, and the one now being accused of being a “spy,” seemed like two entirely different people.
How could such a coward do something so bold…?
I, too, was scared, so it was hard for me to believe he was a spy.
“Ugh…”
I pondered, tapping the hilt of my sword with my finger.
The male employee, who was still angry, alternated between looking at the approaching leader and at me, who was fiddling with my sword at my waist, before finally collapsing.
Thud, he fell to the ground.
He sat on the floor and started trembling, confessing everything.
“…Yes, it’s true! I… I am the spy! I’m sorry!”
At his sudden confession, Rahee and I held our breath.
The team leader paused for a moment, glaring at him fiercely.
“I… I provided data and item information about the monster in the frozen land to Baekho from another company over the past week, as per their request…”
“Why? Why the hell?”
The team leader shouted, and the employee flinched.
It seemed he couldn’t even look him in the eye; the employee lowered his gaze to the floor and cautiously began to speak.
“I was promised that if I completed my last mission, I would be moved to Baekho’s marketing team, a place where I’d never meet a monster, with a guaranteed salary… I… I just didn’t want to stay in the exploration team anymore…”
The male employee continued, choking on his words.
I understood now.
It made sense why such a coward would be tempted.
“And… my last mission was to get all the answers wrong for the ‘Questioning Stone Slab.’ I thought it would trigger some special reaction…”
He sighed, still looking at the floor.
“I was just following orders… But then the slab went haywire, the room changed, and the team leader and the senior fell unconscious… I had no idea! The people who hired me… they were trying to set me up! I don’t know how, but they purposely caused the slab to go out of control to kill me!”
His desperate voice echoed through the empty space.
It was the moment all the questions were answered.
Why, of all days, and why, of all things, did that monster go out of control today?
And why did the display ask if there was a spy among us?
Everything was connected to a scheme and betrayal from another company.
In my eyes, the male employee was merely a pawn who was used and discarded.
Of course, that didn’t mean what he did was excusable.
It was just that I could somewhat empathize with his feelings.
Rahee frowned in discomfort, and I, with a complicated heart, sat down and looked at the crying Choi.
The leader of Team 12, with his fist clenched, looked down at Choi.
There was a deep sense of disbelief in his eyes.
To think that the cause of all this was the betrayal of a trusted subordinate.
He seemed to have already known, but hearing it directly seemed to affect him in a different way.
The team leader, trembling with anger, moved toward Choi’s neck as if to strangle him, but instead, he harshly slapped his face.
Smack!
The sharp sound of the slap reverberated through the empty space.
The male employee collapsed to the ground, unable to even scream, and sobbed.
“I’m sorry…”
“Ti… Team leader…”
Rahee quietly gasped.
But surprisingly, the team leader didn’t press further.
Instead, he turned to face me.
Standing in front of me, his voice still filled with anger but somehow desperate, he spoke.
“I’m sorry… That bastard did something unforgivable, but… he was still part of my team. Please… forgive him…”
“…What…?”
“…I’m sorry for getting you involved in this… But if we join forces now, we can escape…”
Then the team leader stopped speaking and stared at the display.
[Success 7/10 Failure: 2/10]
“Uh… what? Why is the success… so high…”
The team leader looked at the count, clearly surprised.
I guess he hadn’t seen the count after fainting.
We were still trapped in the monster’s realm, so it was a dangerous situation, but it wasn’t as hopeless as it seemed.
We only had to answer three more questions.
And then—
‘…He’s asking me to forgive him?’
It was a bit absurd.
I didn’t particularly feel any ill will toward the male employee.
After all, forgiveness wasn’t something for me to deal with.
That was for the company or the team leader.
Could it be that he misunderstood because I was tapping my sword with my finger?
Honestly, I didn’t care if he was a spy.
Sorry, but I had no loyalty to the frozen land.
If the company’s information had gone to the competitors, I wouldn’t be particularly moved.
In fact, I thought the information about the monster should be spread more widely so people could prepare.
“Choi’s role in causing the monster to go berserk was despicable, but he, too, seemed like a victim who was used and discarded by another company.”
‘Forget about the spy… I just want to get out of here.’
I muttered to myself, turning my gaze away from Choi, who was sobbing on the floor, and the team leader, who was staring at the display in shock.
I gripped the hilt of my return sword again and silently glared at the display.
A silent pressure, urging for the next problem to come quickly.
I never thought I’d feel so reassured after getting a weapon.
At least, with the monster that looked harmless on the outside, I could stand confidently like this.
Whether it was because it read my attitude, or because the spy fiasco ended more calmly than expected, the scoreboard began to present problems that were completely different from before.
It seemed like it had given up on trying to divide or test us.
[…Can you promise that you will not destroy me using this incident as an excuse?]
[Red Button: Promise / Blue Button: Refuse]
“…?”
What’s this now?
Rahee, me, and even Choi, who had been sobbing and was now starting to regain her composure, all briefly looked at each other.
There was no real reason to refuse this.
Without hesitation, we pressed the ‘Promise’ button.
[Success 8/10 Failure: 2/10]
Immediately, the next problem appeared.
[Can you promise to guarantee power supply at least once a week for stable functioning?]
[Red Button: Promise / Blue Button: Refuse]
Once again, we pressed ‘Promise’.
Power supply?
That was something the company would take care of.
[Success 9/10 Failure: 2/10]
‘Now it’s completely securing its own welfare through the problems?’
I stared at the scoreboard, bewildered.
Where had that cruel and bizarre problem gone?
Now it was demanding better treatment for itself.
It seemed like it had judged that it couldn’t do anything to us by force.
The final request appeared on the scoreboard.
[Can you promise that employee Kim Minjun will not return to this room after this?]
[Red Button: Promise / Blue Button: Refuse]
‘…Huh?’
“…You really are hated, huh?”
Rahee lightly tapped my shoulder, as if to comfort me, with a slightly relaxed expression from the series of easy questions.
A small smile appeared on her lips.
I guess it’s possible to be disliked by a monster.
We pressed the ‘Promise’ button, and the success count quickly reached 10.
“No way…”
“…I survived…!”
The team leader’s mouth was wide open in disbelief, and even the male employee who had been sitting on the floor crying had a faint smile on his lips.
[Success 10/10 Failure: 2/10]
[All challenges completed! Opening escape route!]
[Reward granted!]
Finally.
Somehow, flower petals burst from the sky, and at the same time, a grand melody briefly played on the scoreboard.
Then, small gift boxes fell for me, Rahee, and the man who had collapsed.
The boxes were small enough to fit in our hands.
The moment the final success message appeared on the scoreboard, an exit appeared on the wall once again.
“Minjun!”
Before we could even leave through the open exit, Team Leader Park and our team members rushed in.
Rahee and the 12th team leader also sighed in relief.
I, too, let out a natural sigh as the tension melted away.
“…Thank you for your hard work, everyone.”
I spoke quietly, and everyone nodded.
The 12th team’s leader, still carrying the collapsed team member, was the first to leave.
The male employee followed him.
Team Leader Park glanced at the passing people and approached me.
“You’ve been through a lot, but let’s report later. For now, you should go rest.”
Team Leader Park spoke, looking alternately at me and Rahee, who seemed somewhat tired.
“Eh… where did the tablet go…”
Han So-ra looked curiously at the tablet that had turned into the scoreboard, while Seojihyun was quietly writing something in the room, with something resembling flower petals scattered.
“Let’s go to the employee lounge with the 12th team member.”
“…Yeah, that’s probably best. Let’s go, oppa.”
The bizarre quiz show had ended.
We dragged our tired bodies and minds toward the employee lounge.
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