---

When I returned after finishing the conversation with Yu Da On, the Director was staring at us.

“…”

“…”

Neither of them said a word.

They were just looking at each other.

“Won’t you come?”

“…”

“I see.”

The Director nodded.

“I suppose tears will flow at Gangseo University Hospital.”

His calm words raised a question in my mind.

How can he be so composed?

No, that’s not what’s important right now.

A translucent window appeared before my eyes.

[Using Observation.]

[Critical: 2->1]

[Cannot be used.]

[Critical: 1->2]

It doesn’t work.

I thought I would understand if I had the combined skill obtained while with Jang Chae Yeon.

“Bow your head!”

At the Team Leader’s command, the Branch Chief lowered his waist,

-Quack!

A bizarre sound echoed in the air.

“Heo Chan, you’re really a big shot!”

“A big shot…”

The Branch Chief gave a thumbs up and jumped back into his seat.

The Team Leader’s hair fell to the ground again.

“Team Leader!”

“Jae Heon! Hurry over here!”

Seeing me and Yu Da On running, the Team Leader’s face brightened.

“The Branch Chief is too careless, not paying any attention to my hair!”

“Well, it’s not like it’s the Branch Chief’s hair, is it?”

“If all my hair falls out, you’re dead, you little brat!”

The Team Leader shouted angrily, looking sad as he fondled his own hair.

Seeing me, Song Ah Rin slowly stepped back toward my side.

“So, what did you decide?”

“We’re going to use Da On.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Song Ah Rin looked at me with a bewildered expression, and I turned my gaze toward Yu Da On.

“Yes, Jae Heon?”

“Please sniff the Director’s scent.”

“Ah, okay.”

Yu Da On nodded, and Song Ah Rin stared at me with a disgusted expression.

“Wow, that statement sounded super creepy.”

“Please be quiet.”

I was contemplating whether to smack Song Ah Rin on the head for her incessant chatter when Yu Da On closed her eyes and started sniffing.

“Hmm.”

“What is it?”

“Um… mixed with the smell of blood…”

Yu Da On frowned, while Song Ah Rin truly looked incredulous.

“No, what are you really trying to do by smelling it?”

“Just watch closely. Da On will show something incredible.”

“…”

Song Ah Rin’s expression twisted up, while Yu Da On began to smile widely, still sniffing with her eyes closed.

“During that time, let’s provide support, okay, Ah Rin?”

“…What, are you saying I should just pace around with the white-haired one while black hair sits still?”

I looked at Song Ah Rin, who muttered gruffly.

“What do you mean? While Da On is detecting the scent, we should support her, shouldn’t we? We need to buy some time.”

“…You can’t do it without me, right?”

“Exactly?”

There are indeed some people who could be absent.

“…I’ll start looking quickly.”

Yu Da On closed her eyes again, looking serious while starting to sniff, and Song Ah Rin, with a smile on her face, slapped my arm playfully to lead me.

“What are you doing? Let’s hurry.”

“Okay, understood.”

We dashed toward where Jang Chae Yeon was.

As soon as Jang Chae Yeon saw me, her face lit up.

“What’s the situation?”

“Nothing is working.”

Jang Chae Yeon murmured as she looked at me.

“It feels like hitting a sandbag.”

“…”

Ah, that reminds me.

-Bang!

I looked at the Director flying back after a punch.

A translucent window appeared, and except for the name and age, nothing else was still visible.

Normally, it would be like that.

“Chae Yeon.”

“Yeah?”

Jang Chae Yeon looked at me, nodding as our eyes met, and pulled a metal ball from her pouch.

“Got it.”

At that moment, Yu Da On opened her eyes and shouted.

“Jae Heon!”

“How’s it going, Da On?”

“It’s immense… um…!”

Yu Da On hesitated, then squeezed her eyes shut and shouted.

“I smell saliva!”

“Understood!”

I instinctively sensed it.

This might be the right moment.

“What’s going on?”

Song Ah Rin mumbled while looking at the two of us.

“Is this how it’s done?”

“Yes.”

As Jang Chae Yeon flicked the metal ball from her pouch,

“Here we are again, you two are in on some secret I don’t know.”

Ignoring Song Ah Rin’s grumpy remark, I gazed at the translucent window that appeared.

[Using Observation.]

[Critical: 2->1]

A strange sensation emerged, and the translucent window materialized.

“…What, what is this?”

An astonished voice came from beside me, from Song Ah Rin.

What did she see to react like that?

Just as I thought that,

The translucent window in front of me began to melt away.

[Name: Gangbuk Hospital Director]

[Age: 74 years]

[Special Skill: Devouring]

[Talent: -]

[Background: Unlike Gangseo University Hospital, which focuses on the sense of smell, and Gangdong University Hospital, which focuses on sight, Gangbuk chose to concentrate on taste. Thus, he believes that he possesses a far more evolved sense of taste and mouth compared to others.]

[Weakness: -]

Jang Chae Yeon’s hand dropped from my shoulder, and at the same time, the Branch Chief and Director looked at me.

“Well done!”

“…Sight…?”

With a thumbs-up from the Branch Chief and an astonished murmur from the Director as he stared at me.

After ignoring the Director’s body again, the Branch Chief pulled away to my side.

“You saw that, right? What are you going to do?”

“…”

“Kim Jae Heon.”

Evolved sense of taste and mouth.

I recalled Yu Da On’s sense of smell.

“Branch Chief.”

“Yes?”

“What would be the fundamentally most unpleasant thing here?”

“Excuse me?”

The Branch Chief looked at me as if questioning what I was saying.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about—”

[Chronos’s Shield: 10 seconds]

-Bang!

The Director opened his mouth, and Yu Da On, who had somehow slipped beside me, raised her hand to defend.

“Then, what is the oldest and weirdest thing that could drive someone mad?”

“…”

The Branch Chief blinked.

“…The manual?”

“Ah.”

“It must be old. Even when I was a newbie, it didn’t have that name, but it existed all the same.”

“What was it called?”

“A secret.”

The Branch Chief nodded, looking at the manual in my hand.

“Then Branch Chief.”

“Yes.”

“Let’s eat the manual.”

-Cha-rack!

The manual unfolded.

[Manual for Office Staff]

[HLP – Guidelines for Employee Actions in Emergency Situations]

1. Working at the Management Agency, it’s inevitable to encounter various dangerous situations.

2. In these cases, confer thoroughly with your superiors nearby and choose the best possible course of action.

3. In particular, it’s not right to give the manual that is always next to you as bait…

“…Is that really all there is?”

The Branch Chief looked at me with a face full of concern.

“Yes.”

Nodding my head confidently at the Branch Chief’s inquiry.

“…Ugh.”

Letting out a groan,

“Okay.”

Nodding in agreement.

-Cha-rack… Thud!

I grasped the manual that unfurled again.

“…”

The Branch Chief looked at the manual with a horrified gaze before turning to me.

“Kim Jae Heon.”

“Yes.”

“But is it okay to handle a manual like that?”

“Is there a reason not to?”

The Branch Chief squinted his eyes, then relented.

“I don’t really know… No, please exclude me from this conversation. So, you’ll be the one throwing it, right?”

“That’s correct.”

“Alright. Let’s go with that then.”

The Branch Chief sighed in relief and clenched his fist.

“How do we feed it?”

“Should I just hold it and feed it?”

Yu Da On raised her hand.

“If you don’t come back, it’ll be a big issue.”

“Get down!”

At the Team Leader’s instruction, we all dropped to the ground,

-Quack!

A horrific sound emerged again from above.

“The most certain way is to take it directly and shove it in.”

“What about just swallowing it whole?”

“…”

-Quack!

The moment the Director opened his mouth, I threw the manual,

-Thud…

The manual flopped lifelessly on the floor.

“That won’t do.”

“It seems eating it is a matter of choice.”

The Branch Chief sighed.

“Branch Chief, do you want to do it?”

“Oh, I can’t. And Da On can’t either.”

The Branch Chief looked at me.

“You have to do it, Kim Jae Heon.”

“…”

“Because you must be holding it for the manual to fulfill its role best.”

“…”

I understood the meaning behind her words.

The manual sometimes showed me more information than I initially expected.

Actually, I had also noticed that my manual was special.

Seeing my expression, the Branch Chief nodded.

“I’ll deliver it right up to your mouth, so you can insert it yourself.”

“Understood.”

I turned my gaze toward the people from the Human Resources Team.

All four nodded.

“Then I’ll escort Kim Jae Heon, so the rest make way.”

“Please do.”

All muscles in my body tensed.

“Then…”

The Branch Chief dusted off his hands and pushed me from behind.

“Let’s go!”

Shouting like a kid having fun on a sled.

Even while thinking that, I started to run truthfully.

My target is the Director in front of me.

With the manual tucked under my side, I sprinted at full speed.

“Roll to the right!”

On the command from the Team Leader, I immediately propelled off the floor and rolled sideways,

-Quack!

A breaking sound was heard as a dreadful noise resonated through the air.

-Bang!

Turning my gaze back forward, I saw the Branch Chief again charging towards the Director with fists clenched.

The Director pulled back, mouth opening again,

-Quack!

And at that moment, the ground beneath me crumbled.

“Whoa!”

My body started to sink into the floor, but an unknown force caught me and gently laid me back down.

Jang Chae Yeon was looking at me with her hand raised.

Simultaneously, my legs began to move of their own volition.

Legs moving much faster than before.

Normally, I couldn’t run like this.

Looking back, I saw Song Ah Rin with her eyes closed, fingers waving as if conducting.

Is she controlling my legs right now?

The Director opened his mouth again,

[Chronos’s Shield: 8 seconds]

-Boom!

With a massive sound, Yu Da On deflected the attack.

“Roll!”

Following the Team Leader’s command, I rolled on the ground and sometimes jumped high.

For unavoidable attacks, I twisted my body with the help of Song Ah Rin and Jang Chae Yeon, dodging by a hair’s breadth, then escaped with a joint maneuver with Yu Da On.

Before long, the Director came into my view.

I pulled the manual from my pocket.

All I had to do was stuff it into his mouth.

“Open up!”

And suddenly, the Branch Chief beside me pulled the Director’s chin with both hands.

With a sound of creaking, the mouth opened,

And,

-Whoosh!

The space compressed.

Did he attack again in between?

“How the…!”

The Branch Chief’s eyes widened as he reached out, but it was too slow.

However, I had my own way prepared as well.

[Critical: 1->0]

The world turned black and white and slowed down.

I drew out the pistol I had kept with the manual, and red light flashed in the air.

Turning to look at the Director, I saw no red light on his body.

As expected, critical hits aren’t effective on him.

Then I don’t have to think too much.

I pointed the gun at the air’s red light and shot,

-Swhoosh!

With an explosion like a bursting balloon, the distorted space snapped back into place.

The Director’s eyes widened,

“Huff!”

At the same moment, I shoved the manual into the Director’s mouth.