How to Survive Restructuring

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 105: The Domain of Talent (2)

Smack!

I grabbed the foul mouthed one’s shoulder and asked,

"Are you collecting skill data?"

"Huh…? Oh."

The startled foul mouthed one nodded.

【'Prince of the Investigation Bureau' chuckles, saying the birth of the most vulgar ability is imminent.】

【'Night Owl of the Audit Bureau' claps, saying they are witnessing the creation of a revolutionary unique ability!】

【'External Affairs Department's Rookie' shouts that they’ll bring their colleagues, so just wait a little longer!】

【500 welfare points donated!】

'It’s absurd, but…'

If this can strengthen my power…

Then the story changes.

"Summon."

"W-What?! Why are you pulling out a rope?!"

The vine I had cut from the training center when I fell from Namsan Tower.

The same vine I had used to tie up the twin demons.

With that—

"Aaah! You’re gonna kill me!"

"…You won’t die from this."

Without even using a blade, I tied up Myung Seungtae, who was already wailing.

"I-Is this poisoned?! Let me go! Let go of me!"

"Want me to make you end up like them?"

"……!"

His eight subordinates were already sprawled on the ground, bloodied messes.

"Ugh…"

"A monster… he's a damn monster…"

And yet, the reason I only restrained Myung Seungtae without beating him was simple.

"Foul mouthed one."

"Agh! Why are you calling me that?!"

"Keep going."

"W-What do you mean, keep going?"

"Swearing."@@novelbin@@

Because I needed it.

"As fast, as much, and as varied as possible. If something works, repeat it."

"Huh?"

The foul mouthed one looked like he had misheard me.

For someone who cursed all the time without prompting, his mouth sure was hesitant when given a stage.

"Go all out. Ah, just in case, make sure he can’t shut your mouth."

As I made sure I got his agreement, murmurs spread around us.

"What are you doing?"

"You can't just tie someone up like that! Let him go!"

Myung Seungtae’s followers had gathered before I knew it.

Surrounding me and my party, trying to intimidate us in their own way.

【'Prince of the Investigation Bureau' asks who all these nobodies are.】

【'The Raven of the Administration Bureau' clenches their fist, saying any real man should be able to wipe these guys out in one go.】

【'Night Owl of the Audit Bureau' urges me to try 60 vs. 1 since I already did 6 vs. 1.】

And in the midst of it all—

"Kim Jiwoong?!"

"Noona."

A familiar face appeared among the crowd.

'That guy…'

The man I had brushed past the first time I met Myung Seungtae.

Tall, stylish, with round glasses.

A man who looked just like Jieun.

To exaggerate a little—

'Jieun with glasses.'

Jieun, shocked, rushed forward and grabbed the man’s wrist.

"Why are you with this guy? Have you been hanging out with him all this time?"

Jieun’s younger brother.

Same age as Jaehyuk, and supposedly a top student since his school days.

I knew he had survived safely thanks to Jieun’s detection skill, so I figured I’d meet him eventually.

Just didn’t expect it to be like this.

"Noona, what’s going on? What did Seungtae hyung do to deserve this?"

"Kim Jiwoong, are you crazy? Why are you taking his side?"

"Noona, what’s wrong with you? This is a crime!"

So Jieun’s little brother was one of Myung Seungtae’s followers too.

"A c-crime?"

Judging by Jieun’s dumbfounded expression, she was at a loss for words.

'So much for being smart.'

Turns out he was just book-smart.

But his words spread like wildfire.

"T-This is scary…"

"What’s going on?"

"Tying someone up like that…"

They were afraid.

Afraid that my party and I were violent thugs who would crush them too.

"You bastards talking about us? That piece of shit Seungtae hit us first!"

The foul mouthed one spewed curses like a summer downpour.

"Every time you open your mouth…"

"How crude…"

But that wouldn’t solve the situation.

"Enough."

"What do you mean, enough?!"

It was frustrating, but from their perspective, this reaction was natural.

Right now, it was unclear who was friend or foe.

And when someone overwhelmingly powerful appears, it’s normal to be wary.

Just because we’re from the same country doesn’t mean they won’t stab us in the back.

"Hyung! More people are gathering! Should we take them out quickly?"

"No."

Jaehyuk, looking nervous, made the suggestion, but I shook my head.

"Seungtae isn’t the issue right now."

"Huh? Then what is…?"

"The atmosphere."

If this tension kept up, it wouldn’t end well.

Not just for us and them, but for all survivors.

'Gotta set up the talent show stage soon too.'

In that case—

"Jiwoong, right?"

"…Yes?"

"Can we talk for a moment?"

* * *

"So what you're saying is…"

Jiwoong furrowed his brows and asked,

"Are you asking if I’m being forced to hang out together?"

"Yeah. If that's the case, I want to help, but if not, I'm trying not to worry about it."

Maybe it was just me, but his eyes looked strangely unfocused.

"Since you're Jieun's younger brother, I do want to look out for you, but I'm not the type to get so passionate about other people's business that I'd go out of my way to train you."

"……."

Jiwoong started to speak but stopped.

A brief silence followed.

After a moment, Jiwoong closed his eyes, then opened them again and said,

"Seungtae hyung is the one who saved my life. If I want to fully repay that debt, I have to help him even more."

A rather solemn declaration, especially for someone whose eyes looked so dull, as if he hadn’t slept in days.

Hmm.

So he owes that guy his life.

But even so...

"What exactly are you helping him with?"

"Lending."

"Lend what?"

"Stats."

Huh?

"The total stats I've lent so far are: Stamina 20, Strength 10, Agility 8, Endurance 15……."

"W-Wait a second. You lent him that? Your stats?"

Jiwoong nodded.

Feeling dumbfounded, I asked,

"……Why?"

"Seungtae hyung is the one who saved my life. If I want to fully repay that debt, I have to help him even more."

"……."

So.

If I understood correctly...

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

"That's your ability?"

"Yes."

"You have a skill that lets you transfer stats, and yet you've been acting as that guy's lackey this whole time?"

"Well, rather than calling it 'acting as a lackey'……."

When I asked in disbelief, Jiwoong had a blank expression for a moment before opening his mouth again.

"Seungtae hyung is the one who saved my life. If I want to fully repay that—"

"Stop. I get it already."

I waved my hand to cut him off.

Alright.

Now I understand how this guy has survived until now.

And I also understand what his ability is.

Looks like I need to change my plan.

"Instead of just beating you up, I should be giving you a proper lesson."

"Huh? But Seungtae hyung isn’t that bad of a person……."

A way to kill two birds with one stone.

"You’re getting one too—a lesson."

"……What?"

* * *

"……so please, let Seungtae hyung go already. He’s not a bad person!"

"I heard you, now quit it."

I half-listened to his repeated plea, letting it go in one ear and out the other, as I returned to my group.

Just as I was about to sigh at the increased number of people gathered—

— Ding!

A cheerful notification sound.

— Ding! Ding! Ding! …….

……No, a barrage of notifications.

【A new observer has entered.】

【A new observer has entered.】

【A new observer has entered.】

……

【‘Sales Bureau Top Performer’ greets everyone, saying they heard there's never a dull moment when this guy is around.】

【‘Sales Department Old-Timer’ follows their junior in, waving.】

【‘Investigation Department Kitty’ smiles and says it’s been a while!】

【‘Investigation Department Druid’ looks around, asking when the soap opera is going to start.】

"Why is there suddenly such a crowd?"

"Huh?"

"Ah, I was just talking to myself."

【‘External Affairs Department's Rookie’ rubs their nose, proudly saying they did some great advertising!】

【‘Prince of the Investigation Bureau’ chuckles, saying the birth of the most disgraceful ability is imminent.】

【‘Night Owl of the Audit Bureau’ claps, saying they get to witness the birth of a revolutionary new ability!】

【‘External Affairs Department's Rookie’ shouts that they’ll go bring their coworkers, so wait just a moment!】

Hah.

So these were the coworkers they were talking about earlier.

Anyway, while I was still adjusting to the sudden influx of observers, I arrived at a section that was completely divided into three groups.

"Hyung! You’re here!"

"Uncle! There are about 2,000 people gathered here. What do we do now?"

"What about Myung Seungtae?"

"Ah, noona is keeping an eye on him!"

First, my group members who had been standing guard around the tightly bound Myung Seungtae, waiting for me to arrive.

"Let him go right now! What are you, gangsters? What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Yeah! Oppa just wanted to talk, that’s all!"

Second, the group of women protesting and demanding Myung Seungtae’s release.

And lastly—

"Hah, this atmosphere is absolute trash."

"They wouldn’t actually kill someone just for losing a talent show, right? But this is already a disaster."

"I thought we’d win easily with some idols in the mix, but damn. This is already over."

"Can you guys stop being so negative?!"

—The bystanders sighing and clicking their tongues in frustration.

'Wow, what a mess…….'

It was hard to believe things could go this wrong right from the start.

It was a complete disaster.

If this were a university group project, even the professor who assigned it wouldn’t be able to fix this mess.

But.

That doesn’t mean we can all just give up and collapse.

"Young man!"

"Uncle!"

Tap!

As soon as they spotted me, my group members ran up and started talking.

"This is bad, kid! The atmosphere is awful. There’s no way we can pull off the talent show like this!"

"We’re totally screwed. What do we do? If we’re fighting amongst ourselves like this, there’s no way we can work as a team……."

The janitor auntie flailed in distress, and Yeojin let out a deep, heavy sigh.

People huddled together in small, trusted circles, eyeing everyone else warily.

With the tension running high, forget about the talent show—no one would even be willing to speak openly about their abilities.

At this rate, not only would the talent show be impossible, but so would any future missions.

Instead of banding together to fight other zones, they were turning their weapons on each other.

The worst possible teamwork.

But.

"We have to do it."

I spoke calmly.

"We’ll prepare for the performance, build teamwork, and make it work."

"Huh?"

"What?"

Both of them blinked in confusion.

Jaehyuk, who had been quietly listening, clenched his fist.

"Y-Yeah, hyung! If it doesn’t work, we’ll just make it work!"

Well, it’s not like I was expecting any kind of dramatic "If we can’t do it, we’ll die trying!" determination.

【‘Investigation Department Kitty’ smiles and says it’s been a while!】

【‘Investigation Department Druid’ looks around, asking when the soap opera is going to start.】

Judging by the reactions of the observers...

"I just thought of a way to kill not two, but three birds with one stone."

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]