Chapter 43: Dead Moments
The mannequin did not react in any way other than imitating me.
After observing the mannequin from different angles and moving around to figure out exactly what it was…
It kept a small distance and repeated my movements with a one-step delay.
Isn’t this one of those things that kills people outright?
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
It was obvious that something in the labyrinth had destroyed their minds.
Why did these two people commit suicide in such strange ways?
After all, neither a necktie nor hand sanitizer would be the first thing that comes to someone’s mind as their last meal.
By the way.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
[Enter Password]
If nothing else, I hoped to find some kind of farewell message on their phones.
I examined the two corpses again, which were lying apart from each other.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
I even wiped their faces clean and opened their eyes.
There was nothing particularly noteworthy inside the Moment O’Clock office. All translations belong to Indra Translations. You can find us online at indratranslations.com august At least for now.
“Hmm.”
But it seems that didn’t work.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
Fortunately, the door did not lock behind me.
I returned to the hallway.
Even the supply storage room from which the mannequin had emerged was completely normal.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
If there had been some dangerous entity, the door would have locked to prevent me from leaving.
I walked down the hallway to the office across from it.
That meant that, at least for the moment, nothing was going to happen inside Moment O’Clock.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
[Shingye Daily]
Naturally, the mannequin continued following me one step behind.
The company name was written in a thick, heavy typeface.
I thought it was interesting how different the atmosphere was compared to Moment O’Clock as I opened the door.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
This was new.
Except for a single workstation.
“Ah.”
The enormous office was completely empty.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
It was such a desolate sight that it felt unsettling.
In the middle of that office, dark due to the blackout, only the laptop screen emitted light.
Low partitions, a laptop, a desk, and a chair.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
I slowly approached to examine the laptop.
[▓▓ Daily] [●]
The mimicking mannequin on my left also sat in a nonexistent chair and stared into empty space.
The characters before “Daily” appeared corrupted.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
[Draft]
[Published]
Judging by the overall design, it seemed that the labyrinth was imitating the internal webpage used by employees of a newspaper company.
And the profile in the upper-right corner was completely blacked out.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
First, I clicked “Published.”
[Publication Failed]
There was nothing there.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
All translations belong to Indra Translations. You can find us online at indratranslations.com.
I began reviewing them one by one from the top.
[Is World War III Imminent? timber Anxiety Among Citizens Continues to Rise…
｜20▓▓.▓▓.▓▓. 19:57 Saved]
When I clicked “Draft,” a long list of articles appeared.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
When is this news from?
｜20▓▓.▓▓.▓▓. 17:10 Saved]
[Worker Falls Alongside Auxiliary Structure at Construction Site in ▓▓-dong; Two Pedestrians Crushed to Death
The world may be worried about a world war, but I’m much more concerned about my own life.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
Besides, workplace accidents like this have happened constantly for years…
Then I moved on to the next article.
I couldn’t tell because the date was corrupted.
I froze for a moment as something came to mind.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
As far as I know, a nuclear power plant has never exploded in Korea.
Hmm?
[Cooling System Failure and Hydrogen Explosion at Gangwon’s Saegang Nuclear Power Plant… Evacuation Order Issued for All Citizens
｜20▓▓.▓▓.▓▓. 09:56 Saved]
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
[Smoking Inside a Kitchen… Boom! matrix LPG Gas Explosion; Owner Dies, Two Customers Seriously Injured
｜20▓▓.▓▓.▓▓. 15:21 Saved]
I kept reading.
Still, this article seemed normal.
Do things like this still happen?
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
[Military Reports Detection of North Korean Missile Launch; Government Activates Air-Raid Alert and Calls Emergency Meeting
｜20▓▓.▓▓.▓▓. 07:09 Saved]
Since the Post-Labyrinth Era, direct military actions have decreased and relations have stabilized, but similar situations had occurred before.
This wasn’t that strange either.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
This also seemed perfectly possible. Visit indratranslations.com for more free chapters and updates.
[Presidential Office Reports Russian Attack on Japanese Nuclear Facility
｜20▓▓.▓▓.▓▓. 12:39 Saved]
[Three Family Members Found Dead in Detached House in ▓▓-gu… Murder During Robbery Followed by Arson Suspected
｜20▓▓.▓▓.▓▓. 08:49 Saved]
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
…
Since when had Russia attacked a Japanese nuclear facility?
That was strange.
[All Students and Staff of ▓▓ Middle School Die in Mass Incident; Police Launch Large-Scale Investigation
｜20▓▓.▓▓.▓▓. 16:22 Saved]
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
But there had never been an incident where every student and teacher in a middle school died.
“Haa.”
If it were Seonghwa Middle School transformed into a labyrinth, I could still understand it.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
Never actually happened.
Are they events that will really happen?
Could it be that…?
From the looks of it, the events described in these articles…
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
Events that may occur someday in the future?
[Vehicle Driven by Drunk Driver Crashes into Utility Pole… Two Students Electrocuted to Death; “Penalties for Drunk Driving Must Be Strengthened”
｜20▓▓.▓▓.▓▓. 20:45 Saved
｜Publication Failed 1 Hour Ago]
[Unknown Toxic Gas Invades Subway Train During Rush Hour… “Mass Suffocation Tragedy”
｜20▓▓.▓▓.▓▓. 15:01 Saved
｜Publication Failed 2 Hours Ago]
After quickly reviewing the headlines saved as drafts, I opened the “Publication Failed” section as well.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
It seemed connected to the fact that there were two corpses.
And also to the phrase “publication failed.”
There were only two articles.
It appeared that both had died in a way related, at least to some extent, to the content of the articles whose publication had failed.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
The man did not die from gas, but he suffocated after swallowing a necktie.
And the woman died after drinking hand sanitizer that smelled similar to alcohol.
All translations belong to Indra Translations. You can find us online at indratranslations.com.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
Then, was what I had to do turn one of the draft articles into a “published” article?
[Published]
[Publication Failed]
[Draft]
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
But it was clear that it wouldn’t be something as simple as editing a few lines of text with the keyboard.
And if publication failed, would I end up committing suicide in some horrible way related to the headline of that article?
I didn’t know how I was supposed to “publish” an article.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
If that was the case, there were two criteria for choosing which article to publish.
Which incident seemed easiest to resolve?
Considering that all the headlines involved disasters and tragedies, perhaps the solution was to change the events so that they ended well.
First.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
If I failed, which one seemed likely to offer the least painful method of suicide?
Second. Read original high-quality translation at indratranslations.com.
World, nation, all citizens, mass incident, government, presidential office…
All articles with such an enormous scope were immediately eliminated.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
[Family of Three Found Dead in Detached House in ▓▓-gu… “Murder During Robbery Followed by Arson Suspected”]
Following those criteria, the article I chose was.
This One.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
[Worker Falls Alongside Auxiliary Structure at Construction Site in ▓▓-dong; Two Pedestrians Crushed to Death]
I also considered these two articles:
And even if it ended up being smoke inhalation, I would probably lose consciousness quickly.
If it was a murder during a robbery, the most likely outcome would be bleeding to death or dying almost instantly.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
[Smoking Inside a Kitchen… Boom! album LPG Gas Explosion; Owner Dies, Two Customers Seriously Injured]
But I ruled them out because of the limitation that I could only use what existed on this floor.
And how was I supposed to cause a gas explosion?
How was I supposed to crush myself under something heavy all by myself?
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
If publication failed, the quickest and easiest option would probably be to find a knife and stab myself in a vital spot.
[Family of Three Found Dead in Detached House in ▓▓-gu… “Murder During Robbery Followed by Arson Suspected”
｜20▓▓.▓▓.▓▓. 08:49 Saved]
Or set fire to the supply storage room I had seen earlier.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
▴ Police inspect the scene after discovering three members of a family dead with signs of violence following a fire at a detached house in ▓▓-gu, Seoul.
Three members of the same family were found dead during the early morning hours in a detached house in ▓▓-gu, Seoul.
When I clicked on the article, a preview page containing the full text appeared.
[(Photo)
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
After receiving a report from a neighbor at 3:13 a.m., firefighters arrived at the scene and extinguished the fire seventeen minutes later, but all three family members had already died.
According to the ▓▓ Police Station and the ▓▓ Fire Department, a fire broke out at around 3:10 a.m. in a residence located in ▓▓-dong, ▓▓-gu.
During post-fire operations, signs of violence were discovered on the bodies, and the police and fire department are currently conducting a joint investigation.
The family’s teenage children, Youth A and Youth B, were found in the living room with stab wounds to their necks.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
Investigators located two separate points of origin for the fire, one in the master bedroom and the other in the living room.
The father, identified as C, a man in his forties, was found in the master bedroom with his limbs bound and multiple stab wounds across his body.
All translations belong to Indra Translations. You can find us online at indratranslations.com.
Near both locations, opened alcohol bottles and a large quantity of flammable materials were discovered.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
The investigation suggests that the perpetrator threatened and murdered father C, subsequently killed Youths A and B as witnesses, and then started the fire to eliminate evidence. This novel translation is officially hosted on indratranslations.com.
Police and firefighters consider it highly likely that a third party was responsible for both the murders and the fire.
Authorities are also considering the possibility that this was a premeditated crime motivated by personal grudges.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
Reporter ▓▓▓ of ▓▓ Daily
▴ Police tape installed in front of the burned residence in ▓▓-gu, Seoul.
(Photo)
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
I looked at the two buttons at the bottom of the page.
[Edit] [Publish]
▓▓▓▓@▓▓▓.▓▓.▓▓]
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
[+#▓▓▓”?S縉-▓훘▓?y0▓4▓▓??뵍O▓▓▓▓競vꠓ▓?1^▓?폖吟▓▓▓察?븺B?ꠙ퀓▓▓짨N曄2쵦ꠙ莊▓▓삘▓R▓▓ꠘcP>▓▓▓힉?%▓쁄?J?페`▓,꺭▓▓??X읥5Þt昉O橫▓긨q뢜햭▓▓▓▓▓]
Hmm.
After thinking briefly, I pressed “Publish.”
The objective was to make the article appear under “Published”…
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
***
The entire article filled with corrupted characters and incomprehensible symbols, covering the monitor screen—
Cold, strangely damp air filled my lungs.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
At this moment, I was outside the Jaerae Building.
The sensation of that unfamiliar air sliding down my throat made me cough as if I had choked.
“Ah…!”
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
…Though rather than having gone outside, it felt more like I had gone even deeper inside.
And judging by the appearance of this place, with a tiny window located almost at ceiling height, it seemed to be some sort of semi-basement.
To begin with, the mannequin that had been following me was still beside me.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
According to the article, the fire started around 3:10 a.m.
Back at the company, it had just been dinner time.
Here, however, it was the middle of the night.
Through the small window, I could see a sky as dark as this room.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
『What are you doing?』
The murders of the family must have happened even earlier.
“Ah, damn it. august What the hell?”
If I was here to somehow intervene in that incident and make the article become “Published,” then I must have arrived at a point before the murders took place.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
Suddenly I heard a voice behind me accompanied by the sound of something shifting.
I flinched.
And if this could be called a voice.
If this could be called a human.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
『What now? anchor Did you forget again? meadow Well. acid After the stunt you pulled yesterday…』
It wore a thin T-shirt and sweatpants.
I remained seated, staring at it.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
ꠚ▓▓▓?v▓?,▓16V▓▓Q좖쓐?▓茗▓▓▓▓撫;?韻▓▓ꠕ▓逆D팑▓▓▓▓▓贄??끎▓▓8▓▓▓냥[E?ꠖ%▓?▓쨇▓R▓▓I?▓▓?KT4濱?H5?や▓▓
It lay completely sprawled out without even a blanket. Indra Translations protects the hard work of translators and authors.
Its long hair was spread across the bare floor.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
Countless broken, fragmented, worn-out sentences intertwined with one another like a tangled ball of thread, forming a human shape.
All translations belong to Indra Translations. You can find us online at indratranslations.com.
『Then go back to sleep. admire I’m tired.』
A mass of black letters.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
Instinctively, I checked my hands and feet.
『Haa… I told you to sleep. afford Stop worrying so much… Bah, whatever. academy You’ll remember everything again tomorrow anyway. action Like always.』
Letters flowed out from where its mouth should have been.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
Were they really?
They were perfectly fine.
No.
My body lacked energy, and there were bruises on my arms and legs, but that wasn’t the issue.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
The important thing was something else.
My surgical scars were gone.
This…
That was the real problem.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
…Ah.
Even my voice was different.
“Ah…”
Isn’t my body.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
Right now…
‘The family’s teenage children, Youth A and Youth B, were found in the living room with stab wounds to their necks.’
I was Youth A.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
I looked at Youth B, who was composed of those impossible-to-read black lines.
『Wow. galaxy This time it’s really bad. ▓▓▓, idiot. acid I’m ▓▓▓.』
“What were our names?”
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
I couldn’t even pronounce her name.
I couldn’t hear her real voice.
I couldn’t see her face.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
I didn’t know whether she was older or younger than him.
Judging from the way they spoke to each other, they seemed like siblings with only a small age gap.
“How old are we?”
Youth A’s sister.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
The sentences flowing from Youth B, who had turned her back toward me, scattered with complete indifference.
She seemed completely serious, so I decided not to push the topic of age any further.
Although, judging by her reaction, it seemed that A was the older sibling.
『Hey. academy We don’t count those things. sphere Stop bothering me and go to sleep. apron Before I knock you unconscious myself.』
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
On the other hand, fortunately, B did not seem to find it especially strange that her brother was acting as though he had lost his memory.
There were the bruises covering his body.
Come to think of it, it wasn’t impossible to believe.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
And there was also the fact that two teenagers who appeared to be middle school students were sleeping in what looked like a basement without even a blanket.
Most likely the father who appeared murdered in the article.
Their guardian.
Translation of How to Die in a Company That Turned Into a Labyrinth - Chapter 43: Dead Moments by Indra Translations.
Exactly the same way a labyrinth could.
He seemed to abuse his children.
That was the kind of abnormality one human being could inflict upon another human being.
And someone who lived like that might suffer memory lapses from time to time.
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