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I look around.

“…”

Paper on my hand, dim lighting, and silhouettes standing in the darkness.

There were definitely over thirty of them.

“…Mascots.”

Aileen whispered as she tapped my shoulder.

“I can’t tell how strong the Human Resources Team is, but do you think we can fight those and win?”

“…It seems difficult.”

I replied with my brows slightly knitted at Aileen’s words.

Critical skills are strong but definitely have usage limitations, so they probably won’t help much in a numbers game.

I turned my gaze to Jang Chae Yeon, and she also looked at me and nodded.

“We can do this.”

“First, let’s stay quiet for now.”

Jang Chae Yeon usually wouldn’t say no to me, so her ‘we can’ needs to be taken somewhat cautiously.

I looked at the golden paper in my hand.

“…”

Song Ah Rin peeked over my right shoulder.

“Is it a riddle?”

“Well, you could say that.”

“Hmm…”

She furrowed her brows.

“Let me see.”

“Have you ever done something like this?”

“No. But wouldn’t it be better to think together than alone?”

As Song Ah Rin replied, she began reading with me.

“First of all, the easiest part is—”

“Well, we can just think simply.”

It looked challenging, but it was no different from a logical simplification task.

We just need to determine whether each person’s words are true or false and substitute accordingly.

“…”

Let’s assume for the moment that I’m correct.

“Song Ah Rin.”

“Huh?”

“Well, since you probably know what to do, can you share your thoughts a bit?”

“Got it.”

“Da On.”

“Yes!”

“Da On, please help with this.”

“Okay!”

“You can do this sort of thing, right?”

“How many thoughts do you think I had when I was trapped alone in the hospital!”

“…Suddenly, I feel like a total loser.”

As I listened to Song Ah Rin’s complaints, the two began to converse softly.

“Chae Yeon…”

“I’m not confident.”

“Chae Yeon has other things to do.”

“Yeah.”

Jang Chae Yeon always has a solid grasp of herself.

“…When we first met, Chae Yeon, you blocked the bullets, remember?”

“…Yeah.”

“Can you keep doing that?”

“…I can’t fight in exchange.”

“I understand.”

Jang Chae Yeon looked at me and nodded.

“Okay, I’ll do that.”

“Thank you.”

The Team Leader rolled up his sleeves and approached.

“I’ll help out too. I saw a puzzle like this in the back of my kids’ comic books.”

“Thank you.”

It’s a division of labor for intelligence.

In the end, it’s no different from a simple task.

I focused my gaze back on the man who used to be Lee Cheol Soo.

“…”

He kept smiling at us in silence without saying a word.

“Is it okay to think separately?”

“I never said you had to think alone.”

He shrugged his shoulders in response.

Then, there’s no need for it to be this difficult, right?

Is he suggesting I should look elsewhere?

My gaze shifts to Aileen and then back.

Perhaps it’s the reason Aileen didn’t appear in the problem.

Did she notice my gaze? Aileen also looks at me.

“I think I know what you’re thinking.”

“…”

I silently meet her eyes.

“It’s a valid thought, but I find it just as puzzling.”

She must have had the same thought as me.

Adding to what I was pondering, she opened her mouth.

“Let’s find another commonality. First off, I’m not from the Human Resources Team.”

“…Do they even understand the concept of a team?”

“If they don’t, then perhaps I’m being brainwashed without realizing it, or I might not be human at all.”

She stated calmly, looking at me.

“Is that right?”

I scanned above her head.

[Name: Aileen]

[Age: 23]

[Specialty: X]

[Talent: X]

[Background: She suffers from severe guilt after losing all her subordinates in an amusement park. However, she also knows that she’s always the one who survives in the end.]

[Weakness: She’s just an ordinary person. If killed, she dies.]

“…No.”

I shook my head, denying her words.

“At least you seem like a perfectly normal person so far.”

“Glad to hear that.”

Her face lit up with relief.

So, there’s no problem with Aileen.

Then why is she excluded?

It was so blatant.

Blatantly suspicious of her, or…

“Aileen.”

“Yeah?”

“Do you have any balloons?”

At my words, she held up a balloon.

“…”

I quietly analyzed her, lost in thought.

“Aileen.”

“…Yeah?”

“When you go on assignments or missions alone, have you often come back alive?”

“…Why do you ask?”

Her gaze shifted to me.

“Just curious.”

Aileen doesn’t have abilities.

She lacks even the danger sense that the Team Leader has.

“…Not many.”

“How many times?”

“Too many to count.”

She answered slowly.

I contemplate her existence.

What kind of place is the Response Team?

A place that deals with unknown beings like the Isolation Team or Management Team. However, it’s a place where driven individuals voluntarily walk in rather than capable ones.

And to my eyes, she is a complete ordinary person.

“…”

My gaze strongly fixated on the broken finger.

Even though I thought I handled things reasonably well, I still got hurt like this.

How is it that she has returned safely?

It felt like someone wanted her to live.

“Hey! I’m done!”

Song Ah Rin approached my side.

“I summarized it for now.”

Song Ah Rin cleared her throat and looked at me.

“If we assume everyone’s words are true once, then there’s a contradiction in your statement.”

“If what I’m saying is true, then Chae Yeon is the contradiction, right?”

“Huh? Uh. Right.”

“On the other hand, if what Chae Yeon is saying is true, it creates a contradiction in Song Ah Rin’s statement.”

“Ugh, yeah.”

“Da On is telling the truth.”

“…Yeah.”

“A-Rin is telling the truth.”

“…”

“Ultimately, by elimination, it’s the Team Leader’s who is saying true or false.”

“…Why did you make me do that?”

Song Ah Rin spoke with a sulky voice, furrowing her brows.

“If you’re going to brag about being smart, just do it alone.”

“No. I also eavesdropped on you and Yu Da On talking, and I needed to check if I was right.”

What worried me most was that I had to think about this alone within a limited time, but given that multiple people could brainstorm and think for quite a while, there shouldn’t be any major problem.

“…So what’s the conclusion you reached while making us three suffer?”

“More than thinking…”

“…”

Song Ah Rin’s gaze met with Lee Cheol Soo’s.

“That’s not a person, is it?”

“…It’s strange that you’re asking me that.”

“It looks similar enough to a person to me.”

“…No way.”

Song Ah Rin slightly frowned and shook her head.

“Outwardly it might seem human, but at least in terms of mental structure, it’s not human.”

I shifted my gaze back to the one who used to be Lee Cheol Soo.

It opened its mouth.

“Have you found the answer?”

“Yes, I’ve found the answer to the question you posed.”

At my words, it nodded and smiled.

“What was the answer?”

“Heo Chan.”

“Correct. Now you may leave this place!”

With a smile that looked twisted, it clapped its hands.

“Then it’s time to open the door for you.”

The red streetlight flickered on, and the mascot figures retreated.

“You may go.”

It pointed behind us.

The streetlight illuminated the path, and it smiled as it handed over tickets.

Six golden tickets.

“Pass through the streetlight, and you’ll find the exit.”

It gently bowed its head.

“Thank you for visiting Sora Land.”

“Chae Yeon.”

“Yeah.”

Jang Chae Yeon stood beside me.

“Da On.”

Yu Da On cheerfully nestled next to me.

It seemed that everyone besides the Team Leader had noticed, and they moved cautiously with concerned expressions.

After a few steps, the exit came into view for all of us.

<Thank you for visiting Sora Land.>

“An exit!”

The Team Leader, who had been smiling brightly, furrowed his brows.

“Chae Yeon!”

She immediately jumped into our midst.

Soon, numerous objects began to fly towards us.

This was what we were waiting for.

[Critical: 1->0]

The world turns black-and-white and slows down.

Calmly, I look around.

Time simply passing slowly was what I had been aiming for.

The flying objects were sharp blades precisely aimed at our balloons.

I watched as it was thrown.

It was a man in a suit.

With a freshly cut hairstyle, a face I had never seen, and sporting a gigantic cross-shaped necklace, that was his only characteristic.

A translucent window appeared above his head.

[Name: Kim Chan Ho]

[Age: 31]

[Specialty: Storage]

[Talent: Storage]

[Background: Having worked in the Management Agency’s accounting team, he realized his future and destiny. At least, that’s how he thinks.]

[Weakness: He is just an ordinary person. If killed, he dies.]

A human…?

The moment I thought that, the gun was already aimed at him, and a flash of red light sparked beneath his chest.

-Bang!

The bullet shot out, piercing his heart, and instantly my bullet penetrated him.

It was supposed to happen.

-Clang!

His cross necklace burned away, and he turned to look at me.

Our eyes met, his expression one of shock, and, as if teleporting, he vanished.

-Clang!

Jang Chae Yeon expertly dodged all the knives that had come flying towards her, and just as she did, I shouted.

“Towards the exit!”

We all ran towards the exit.

Soon, we found ourselves back in front of the deserted amusement park.

“…Huff… Huff…”

We all caught our breath and looked around.

“…It’s an escape.”

Aileen said, regaining her breath.

Soon, the Response Team arrived to escort us safely back.

“…You don’t look cheerful, Jae Heon.”

“I’m fine.”

“…If you have any concerns, please share. I can listen to you.”

“…Thank you.”

Yu Da On smiled softly as she sat beside me, and I continued to dwell on my thoughts.

The Management Agency personnel? And they attacked us?

I need to have a consultation about this.

*

As soon as we arrived, I spoke with a man wearing sunglasses, who also frowned as he responded to me.

“…Kim Chan Ho from the accounting team? He was at the Gangbuk Branch but voluntarily ‘resigned.’”

“…”

“I’ll look into it. Don’t worry. Just take a break. You’ve been putting in a lot of effort.”

“Still…”

“I understand what you’re saying. I’ll look into possible internal conflicts, and if so, I’ll take responsibility and assist.”

“I’m not sure I can trust you.”

“You don’t have to. I’ll handle it properly.”

“…”

Let’s wait and see for now. Even if the aftermath isn’t satisfying, they always provide consistent information.

Thanks to the man and the Branch Chief’s consideration, after two more days of rest, we returned to work.

Life flowed in the same routine as always.

Until Yu Da On asked something.

“But if we were to fight among ourselves, who would win?”

“…”

“…”

The air froze.