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“I’m going to throw you into the Management Team when we get back.”

That was Song Ah Rin’s reaction to my words.

“No matter how unlucky you are, you’re the one who has been bringing accidents since you were born, right?”

“Isn’t that a bit harsh?”

I felt wronged too. If I was the one who had been causing trouble from the start, I could understand, but hadn’t I been dragged into incidents ever since the Dream of the Butterfly?

“And what if I really do get captured?”

“…uh…”

At that moment, Song Ah Rin’s mouth closed as if she had swallowed honey.

What’s going on?

Normally, the Song Ah Rin I know would say something like, “Then you’ll just rot there for the rest of your life!”

“I’ll just come rescue you then!”

“…It won’t be easy, but I’ll help too.”

Surprisingly, Yu Da On was the first to speak up, and Jang Chae Yeon nodded as if deep in thought.

“…Uh…”

Seeing those two, Song Ah Rin bit her lip and said in a seemingly fading voice.

“I’ll go to rescue you too…”

“Ah, yes. Well, I’ll be expecting that.”

“…Tch…”

Is that really the issue right now? Another incident has occurred.

Ignoring Song Ah Rin, who seemed to have clenched her eyes shut in frustration as if she had said something wrong, I scanned the manual.

“When discovering a corpse hanging from a tree, head east.”

I mulled over the sentence.

Technically speaking, that wouldn’t be a corpse. If it were a corpse, then I wouldn’t see anything at all.

So does that mean it’s a phenomenon rather than a corpse?

Is it a wrong phenomenon that a corpse has appeared?

Then who goes to the west, south, and north?

Suddenly, a gaunt man’s face popped into my mind.

It had been a while since I last saw him, but he must be here too, since Kim Sung Du from the Isolation Team had mentioned that the Management Team was also assigned to the forest.

“…”

I opened the manual.

Apart from what I had just read, there was nothing else written.

Should I consider updating it for now?

“I’ll start the record for the Gangseo Branch forest now.”

[Gangseo Branch, Forest, Human Resources Team Kim Jae Heon Revised Edition]

As I spoke, the manual began updating.

The first thing to note was that what’s there isn’t a corpse. So, there’s no need to go rescue it.

“Shall we pack our things first?”

“I’ve already organized all the food and other supplies!”

Before I knew it, Yu Da On had slung a bag over her shoulder and stood beside me.

“It seems all we need to do is tidy up the tent?”

“Did you organize everything already?”

“That’s because when you think, you don’t hear what others call you, right?”

Did I have such a trait?

“I’ll take care of organizing the tent.”

Looking at the others who were packing their bags, I also grabbed the now organized tent bag.

“So we should head east, right?”

“That’s correct.”

Nodding my head, Yu Da On began to walk ahead.

“Then I’ll guide the way!”

“You know the way?”

“No? But isn’t it east?”

“Yeah, but… um, do you know how to get to the east?”

Even so, can we really find the east easily without any equipment?

“Ah, that reminds me. The Team Leader put a compass in.”

Yu Da On cheerfully shook the compass she pulled from her pocket.

“…I sometimes wonder what our Team Leader is thinking.”

“I can relate to that.”

Song Ah Rin murmured as if amazed, and I couldn’t help but relate as well.

When we saw her at the amusement park, she seemed like a novice, but now she was thoroughly prepared.

“Shall we go? It feels like we’re going on a picnic!”

“…Well, yeah, I guess that’s true.”

“Right? It’s fun.”

“Isn’t anyone realizing that we are currently participating in the annual containment management of the Gangseo Branch?”

After experiencing so much, even walking like this felt like a picnic now.

We started moving through the humid air.

*

After about two hours of walking,

Amazingly, nothing happened.

I had expected something to leap out at us, sudden hallucinations, the ground to collapse, or Yu Da On’s head to explode, but really, nothing happened at all.

“…Is this really a picnic?”

“Seems like it…?”

“Right, it’s strange.”

The absence of anything occurring made me feel uneasy. It would have been better if something showed up to cause a ruckus—then we could have thought, “Well, that’s typical!” and reacted accordingly.

Opening the manual.

[Manual for Office Staff]

[Gangseo Branch, About the Forest]

11. When it seems like the sun is about to set, prepare to camp, no matter what time it is.

12. Here, the time axis distorts as it approaches the wedge. Moving at night is dangerous, so avoid it.

13. Occasionally, you may hear a massive breathing sound, but this is a characteristic of the forest. Ignore it.

14. You must reach the wedge within four days of discovering the corpse.

Four days.

Since we started walking today, we haven’t even reached a full day yet.

I looked up at the sky.

It felt like I hadn’t walked much, but the sun was already beginning to set.

“How far have we gone?”

“Two hours.”

Jang Chae Yeon said as she checked her wristwatch.

“But the sun is setting now, right?”

“Yeah. It seems the time axis has distorted.”

“That’s a feature of large containment objects.”

Jang Chae Yeon and Song Ah Rin spoke casually, preparing for camping with great skill.

“The night will be long. This is annoying, really.”

I helped the two set up the tent.

“I still can’t see anything yet!”

“Understood.”

After Yu Da On, who had been watching, finished erecting the tent, she finally began preparing food.

“How much food do we have left?”

“Just a moment…”

At Yu Da On’s words, I checked the food supplies.

“…This should be enough to last us about two days, right?”

“With four of us for two days, we packed quite a bit.”

“It’s not that hunger comes on rapidly just because the time axis is distorted, so we should be fine.”

If that’s the case, then there shouldn’t be a problem.

*

After the meal, outside, a snowstorm began to rage again.

“It was clearly summer weather in the forest just a moment ago…”

Unzipping the tent, Yu Da On peered outside, wrinkling her brow.

“It’s already winter weather again.”

“…Something feels off.”

Even if the time axis is distorting, shouldn’t the weather be strange too?

-Whooosh!

In the slicing wind, something sounded eerily like a cry.

I had a bad feeling about this.

The snowstorm raged for exactly two hours.

“…It seems to have stopped now.”

Yu Da On said while looking outside.

Together with her, I observed outside to piece together information.

Snowstorm, then four days, and finally, setting sun.

“…Everyone, pack your gear. Let’s move.”

“Huh?”

“But it’s nighttime?”

“…Fine.”

While the two were wide-eyed at my words, Jang Chae Yeon immediately began gathering her things.

Soon, the two started to take the hint and packed their bags too.

“You said we had four days left.”

We have four days to get there.

However, we have no way of knowing what this ‘wedge’ looks like, how far away it is, or what obstacles lie in our way.

For all we know, it could be 100km behind us and the size of a grain of sand, taking a day to find, or there could be a giant river blocking the path forcing us to detour.

Of course, that probably won’t happen. If it were that malicious, the Isolation Team would have taken a bit more time to find the wedge.

I assume the distance is manageable enough within four days and that the Management Agency has made some arrangements.

But if the containment object intends to actively block our path, that will be a whole different story.

For now, the situation isn’t flowing properly in any event.

We have no knowledge of what variables have emerged, and if that’s the case, we must take on some level of risk and move.

I didn’t want to imagine the consequences of not doing what needed to be done.

And it seemed Jang Chae Yeon, who was part of the Isolation Team, understood my intention to some extent.

“It’s a race against time, even if it’s dangerous.”

At our words, Yu Da On and Song Ah Rin seemed convinced and started tidying up the house, and soon we stepped out into the dark night path.

*

Just like before, it felt like outside was filled with humid air as if it had just snowed.

“Da On, is the compass working well?”

“Yes, so far…? I’m not sure if it’s broken or not.”

Song Ah Rin spoke to comfort Yu Da On, who squinted at the compass.

“The Management Agency’s compass is made of a special material, so it won’t break. I heard it’s one of the research team’s masterpieces.”

If they could do that, then they should research how to remotely control the wedge.

Holding a single electric lamp and flashlight, we ventured into the darkness.

-Crackle,

Occasionally, sounds that were neither close nor far could be heard as if something was moving.

Every time I heard a sound, I turned to look, but nothing caught my eye.

I opened the manual.

[Manual for Office Staff]

[Gangseo Branch, About the Forest]

15. If you have to walk through the forest at night due to unavoidable reasons, you will encounter hostile entities. It is permissible to engage in combat with beings subject to the ‘forest’.

16. The ‘forest’ is aware of the Management Agency’s existence. When engaging in combat with subjugated beings, making noise is acceptable, but ensure to completely eliminate them so that any survivors cannot return.

Subjugated beings.

-Crackle!

“Oh.”

Yu Da On stopped.

“Da On, what’s wrong?”

“…The smell.”

Yu Da On murmured, squinting her eyes.

“Smell?”

“I smell mud.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Jang Chae Yeon raised her hand, and Song Ah Rin pulled out her handgun.

Just as I also reached for my gun, something lunged at Yu Da On.

What is that? What does it look like?

In the dark, only a vague silhouette could be seen.

Before I could even get a good look at it, Yu Da On tilted her head back and slammed her forehead against it.

-Slam!

With the sound of bones cracking, Yu Da On rolled her eyes back, nearly collapsing, but she managed to regain her balance just in time.

“Hostile up front! It’s fast!”

Wiping the blood streaming from her forehead, Yu Da On shouted just as something dashed towards us again.

“…!”

But just as Jang Chae Yeon reached for it, it froze mid-air.

-Crunch!

As soon as she made a fist, it let out a horrific sound and twisted before crashing to the floor.

“Prepare for the next battle!”

The three took their positions at my words, and I hurriedly scanned the surroundings, but there was nothing in sight.

“…”

“…Did it go?”

Yu Da On sniffed again and nodded her head.

“I can’t smell the mud anymore.”

“…”

I looked down at the fallen form.

It had a torso, two arms, two legs, and a neck…

“…A person?”

It was a person.

Not something that resembled a person, but undeniably human.

Getting a closer look at a being whose clothes were dirty and ragged.

Judging by its frame, it looked like a man, but it was coated in mud and incredibly emaciated.

The only peculiar mark was a bizarre line running from the top of the head down the spine.

And it wore clothes of such an old style that they had to be decades old.

“…Hey, this…”

As Song Ah Rin came over to examine the corpse next to me, she muttered.

“What?”

“…This has the Management Agency logo.”

Shakily, she pointed at the man’s chest.

A pattern resembling human eyes.

A man, drenched in mud, wearing a soiled badge of the Management Agency, lay before us, completely disfigured.