Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4)

Min Do-hyeon’s expression twisted slightly.

She kept her hands close to her pockets, in a stance that allowed her to spring into action at any moment.

Silence.

The short-haired woman beside him instinctively took a step back and lowered her center of gravity.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

“Jeong Haeil, Control Team of the Anomalous Disaster Management Department.”

“…Excuse me?”

Min Do-hyeon asked with a bewildered expression.

I narrowed my eyes and lowered my voice.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

Of course, it was all a bluff.

Behind me, Lee Seong-hoon inhaled nervously as he tightly gripped the edge of my clothing.

The sound of my shoes crushing the sticky pool of blood echoed clearly.

I slowly took a step forward.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

But they didn’t know that.

Silence fell once more.

Min Do-hyeon opened his mouth and then closed it again.

“I would appreciate it if you could provide your affiliation and identity.”

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

In a battle of information, the winner is always the one who can tell a lie as though it were the truth.

As for me, I was reading every tiny tremor in their fingers, feet, and lips.

The woman continued watching every movement of my hands and feet.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

“…Well, you see…”

Min Do-hyeon smiled while scratching his head.

It was time for excuses.

The corner of his lips twitched awkwardly.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

I kept my mouth shut and waited for his reaction.

“That’s enough.” All translations belong to Indra Translations. You can find us online at indratranslations.com

“…The truth is…”

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

Min Do-hyeon looked at her in surprise.

Absolute control, without the slightest hesitation.

The woman quickly covered his mouth.

“Hyun-yu, it’s okay. afford They’re also…”

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

A firm attitude.

“Be quiet. riddle I’ll decide this time.”

She didn’t need to raise her voice to exert pressure.

I turned my gaze toward her.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

She was around one hundred eighty centimeters tall.

The sweat running beneath her short hair glimmered faintly.

Even beneath her athletic clothing, it was impossible to hide her muscular and solid physique.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

An athlete?

A body like that was a weapon in itself, even without carrying one.

‘Military? arena Police? abstract No. acquire Her movements are different. avalanche They have something wilder about them.’

It was a functional body, shaped through the extreme repetition of specific movements.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

A highly trained core.

My gaze dropped toward her lower body.

Exceptionally developed thighs.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

‘Basketball? antique Volleyball, perhaps?’

The placement of the calluses on the joints of her middle and ring fingers was unusual.

She extended a hand toward me as she spoke.

“I am Bae Hyun-yu. adjust If you truly belong to the Anomalous Disaster Management Department, show me your official identification.”

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

If anything, she seemed to be testing me.

She showed no emotion whatsoever.

I looked back up at her face.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

“I lost it while escorting a civilian during an escape.”

I took a short breath and nodded.

When dealing with people, my voice can sound calm and steady.

A lie wrapped in the appearance of truth.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

But a crooked smile appeared on Bae Hyun-yu’s lips.

“A lie. arctic You don’t carry identification cards. avalanche You identify yourselves through armbands.”

“……”

I felt Lee Seong-hoon flinch behind me.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

All translations belong to Indra Translations. You can find us online at indratranslations.com.

Silence fell once again.

She got me.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

Does the Anomalous Disaster Management Department use armbands instead of identification cards?

Inside my head, the context of all those words flashed by like an electric shock.

‘…She’s someone who possesses information.’

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

‘I’m at a disadvantage.’

When I encountered those two agents in the infinite corridors, I had been too busy trying to survive to notice something like that.

I slowly lowered my gaze.

That was something even I didn’t know.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

I raised my head and looked at Min Do-hyeon and Bae Hyun-yu again.

Lee Seong-hoon swallowed behind me.

“Then… who exactly are you?”

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

Bae Hyun-yu turned her head and frowned slightly to stop him, but it was already too late.

The moment I finished asking, Min Do-hyeon spoke again.

“…We’re from the Erosion Alliance.”

Bae Hyun-yu shook her head.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

I narrowed my eyes.

‘The Erosion Alliance.’

But this time she didn’t cover his mouth.

She seemed to have prepared herself to reveal it sooner or later. Visit indratranslations.com for more free chapters and updates.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

An organization separate from both the Anomalous Disaster Management Department and Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts and the Church of the Coming Feast.

A group that had never been registered by the government.

An organization formed by unofficial civilians with no specialized training.

I remembered something Manager Moon Ara had told me.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

People who lacked the power necessary to confront anomalous phenomena.

In short, an organization of people who adapted to erosion in order to survive.

“Why did you hide it?”

Survivors who, in places like this prison, where structures and rules became distorted, had banded together to stay alive.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

“Ah, well… you seemed a little dangerous, and then suddenly you said you were from the Control Team, so…”

As he left the sentence unfinished and scratched his head, Bae Hyun-yu muttered briefly.

At my question, Min Do-hyeon answered as if he were in a difficult position.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

“…That’s true.”

At those words, I had no choice but to nod.

“It’s even more foolish to immediately introduce yourself as a member of the Erosion Alliance to someone who has just entered an erosion zone. apple You lied too. adapt You said you were from the Anomalous Disaster Management Department.”

And I organized my thoughts again.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

And the corpses inside the library.

Lee Seong-hoon.

The Erosion Alliance.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

Bae Hyun-yu immediately continued.

In this situation, the thing I could trust was—

“Then what exactly are you? galaxy You’re not one of us, you know about the Anomalous Disaster Management Department, but you don’t belong to them either, so…”

‘Of course, absolutely nothing.’

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

Bae Hyun-yu narrowed her eyes.

At the same time, inside the library, in that damp air mixed with the smell of blood and paper, the gazes of all four people pointed at one another like sharpened blades.

“Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts?”

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

“If you don’t know anything, stay out of it.”

Lee Seong-hoon, who remained pressed against my back, couldn’t endure the strange silence and spoke in a trembling voice.

“T-this… but… if we’re all people, doesn’t that mean we don’t need to fight each other?”

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

He had spoken without thinking, but even so, her response was so sharp that it seemed excessively cruel.

At Bae Hyun-yu’s cold reply, Lee Seong-hoon flinched and shrank back.

“No, no, Hyun-yu. timber You don’t have to go that far…”

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

“Buddy. apron It’s okay. arrow We’re the ones who are too tense. voyage Try to understand. apple In a situation like this, anyone would be on edge.”

Min Do-hyeon smiled awkwardly to calm her down, then crouched until he was at Lee Seong-hoon’s eye level.

“Right now it’s hard to trust anyone, isn’t it? arctic Everyone lies, hides things, and deceives others… don’t they?”

“……”

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

A friendly tone.

Sometimes, unnecessary kindness is a form of attack designed to make an opponent careless.

‘That guy is good at making people lower their guard.’

But I could sense the hidden intent behind those words.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

The Erosion Alliance.

‘I’m at far too much of a disadvantage.’

I let out a short sigh.

All translations belong to Indra Translations. You can find us online at indratranslations.com.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

They knew the identification methods used by the Anomalous Disaster Management Department.

The group that Manager Moon Ara had mocked and ridiculed without end.

And yet.

‘They know far more than I expected.’

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

‘Is it possible for an unofficial organization to know even the internal workings of an official institution?’

They possessed enough information to deduce the existence of Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts.

No.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

‘Then my bluff is still valid.’

I didn’t know how far their knowledge actually extended.

For now, it was still only a hypothesis.

I breathed slowly.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

Of course, I had nothing in my hand.

Frowning slightly, I slipped a hand into my pocket without saying anything.

It was only a gesture.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

“…I am currently retired, but it is true that I once belonged to the Anomalous Disaster Management Department.”

A brief silence followed.

And I spoke calmly.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

Amid that silence, I could see both of their pupils waver slightly.

Min Do-hyeon’s expression changed slightly at my words.

“I come from the Control Team. timber At the moment I have no way to prove my identity, but if we could obtain some means of communication, it would even be possible for the current head of the Control Team, Yeom Hwi, to come here himself.”

Even so, it was still impossible to tell what it meant.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

“If you belonged to the Anomalous Disaster Management Department, why did you leave?”

Bae Hyun-yu tilted her head.

“Because of mental health issues.” Read original high-quality translation at indratranslations.com.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

I said it without blinking.

It was a lie.

“While traveling through erosion zones like this one, there were colleagues who disappeared, and I watched my partner get torn apart right in front of my eyes.”

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

Min Do-hyeon slowly opened his mouth.

“Then why did you come back here? alert You said you retired, so why are you in a restricted zone?”

But in a place like this, a lie had to be capable of covering the truth.

“It’s a personal matter. ability I can’t go into details…”

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

“I entered temporarily. absorb As support for the Control Team.”

“……”

“I received a request from Chief Yeom Hwi. admire He asked whether I could help unofficially.”

“……”

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

I added nothing more.

But it was a sufficiently convincing story.

Silence stimulates the other person’s imagination and adds flesh to lies.

Another lie.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

“…Don’t they usually operate in pairs?”

For a while, nobody spoke.

Then Bae Hyun-yu asked,

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

She was probably right about the pair system.

I answered quietly.

“I already told you. airport This is unofficial support.”

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

At my question, Min Do-hyeon smiled awkwardly and shrugged.

“And what about you?”

After all, Yeom Hwi and Seo Ryu, whom I met in the Infinite Labyrinth, had also been working as a pair.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

The tension they were giving off wasn’t simply hostility.

That was when I realized it.

“We’re conducting a search.”

Silence spread once again.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

They were frightened too.

‘I don’t like lying, but…’

Just like me.

They also knew that this library, this prison, and this entire space were an unfamiliar and yet strangely familiar nightmare.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

All translations belong to Indra Translations. You can find us online at indratranslations.com.

Manager Moon Ara.

Audit Team Director Go Gyeol.

Supervisor Hong Na-gyeom.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

Creeeak— This novel translation is officially hosted on indratranslations.com.

The humans adapted to Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts whom I had met.

Rather than revealing that I belonged to the company, it was better to deceive them.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

It sounded as though the very seams of space were falling out of alignment.

It was far too strange to be merely the creaking of a bookshelf.

A strange scraping sound came from behind the desk Bae Hyun-yu was watching.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

The boy stared at something between the gaps in the bookshelves and suddenly took a step back.

Lee Seong-hoon said.

“…Something’s wrong.”

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

I stood up immediately.

“Hyung, over there… there’s a path that wasn’t there before…”

I turned and looked in that direction.

The place where the bookshelf had been.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

Now it was empty.

The space that, as far as I remembered, had been completely blocked off.

The wall was disappearing.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

The bookshelves were coming apart as though they were melting.

The shape.

The structure.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

Everything was warping.

“That was fast.”

The pathways.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

Without even looking at me, she firmly adjusted the strap of her backpack.

It seemed she had expected it to some extent.

Bae Hyun-yu muttered.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

I nodded.

“We can’t stay in this library much longer. aspect Let’s move before it collapses.”

“Agreed.”

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

Only then did Min Do-hyeon relax his shoulders and agree.

The four of us stood up at the same time.

“Huff, yeah. voyage Let’s keep talking while we move.”

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

The bookshelves behind us no longer looked like walls but like cliffs collapsing inward.

Nobody gave an order.

We simply started walking.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

Without saying anything, I passed by him and took the lead.

I glanced once at Lee Seong-hoon.

‘For now…’

He was still looking around with a startled expression, but at least he was following us properly.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

As if the library itself had already decided where to send us.

The library exit.

The gate we had entered through had changed locations and was now there.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

A flickering light shone at the far end.

A gate made of interconnected iron bars.

The upper half was partially raised, and beneath it stretched a dark passageway.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

We passed through the gate one by one.

The characteristic screech of ventilation ducts.

A strange, whitish illumination.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

“…A courtyard?”

In a normal prison, it would have been the space used during the inmates’ allotted recreation hours.

Min Do-hyeon was the first to speak.

We had arrived at a courtyard.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

It was an entirely new scene.

The basic structure was still that of a realistic courtyard.

However, countless impossible things were superimposed over it.

But this place was different.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

The sky was half blackened, as though someone had spilled ink across a canvas.

All translations belong to Indra Translations. You can find us online at indratranslations.com.

Some kind of distortion warped the outer boundaries of the yard.

Parts of the tall metal fences had collapsed.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

Mountains of corpses were piled around it.

Others stretched unnaturally upward, as though twisted by the hand of an anomalous entity.

The air was saturated with a metallic smell.

At the center of the courtyard stood a massive structure made of steel beams.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

“Disgusting.”

At the center of that structure hung a body with a broken neck, swaying slowly like a halted pendulum.

Bae Hyun-yu held her breath.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

“W-why?”

“The situation isn’t good.”

Lee Seong-hoon asked.

I slowly narrowed my eyes.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

Something was moving.

I looked directly at the steel structure and the piles of corpses surrounding it.

It wasn’t running.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

It wasn’t crawling.

Without any doubt.

From somewhere.

It was watching us.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

Everything was open.

I slowly turned my head.

Exactly.

The remains of what had once been a courtyard.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

Concrete walls rising everywhere.

Some protruded upward.

Dividing lines that seemed to mark off sectors.

Metal fences.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

Others had sunk into the ground, forming enormous cracks.

As I stepped across the ground beneath my feet, I slowly scanned the surroundings.

‘…How strange.’

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

The layout was different.

This wasn’t the prison courtyard I had seen when I entered through the main gate.

The distance between the buildings in the distance.

The structure was different.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

Even the direction of the lighting.

“This isn’t the courtyard I know.” Indra Translations protects the hard work of translators and authors.

The positions of the window frames.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

“It could also be entirely different coordinates.”

“It must have warped. abstract Just like the library.”

Min Do-hyeon murmured.

When I spoke, Bae Hyun-yu gave a brief nod.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

But because I heard something.

Not because I left the sentence unfinished.

I was about to reply when I stopped.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

Instinctively, I turned and looked toward its source.

A strange sound.

Clank.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

The necklace vibrated softly as it detected a red aura beyond it.

The door was slowly opening, swinging without any pattern.

In one corner of the courtyard stood a small building covered by an iron door.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

Thump.

A shadow.

A presence.

Translation of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 44: Gangsol Prison (4) by Indra Translations.

The moment Bae Hyun-yu finished speaking, those things emerged from the cloud of dust.

“Well… they’re here. acid Run!”

Thump.

Thump.

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