69 - Eraser
Illustrations: None.
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The parallel world versions of Lee Yeonwoo stared at each other with piercing gazes, uncertain when they\'d return to their own realities.
Without wasting time, Yeonwoo began reciting the list of anomalies. He also explained why he had to fight the Eraser.
"The doomsday cultists attacked as soon as this list was revealed. Keep that in mind."
The four Yeonwoos committed the anomaly list to memory, then slowly backed away. Their eyes darted between each other.
Versions of themselves, uncomfortable in the same place. A subtle tension settled over the ruins.
"...""..."
As the awkward silence lingered, the Goldberg Club Yeonwoo casually waved his hand. The watch on his wrist rattled.
"You rolled to summon a parallel world version of me, right? Let\'s not do this. There\'s an unspoken rule - we shouldn\'t call people to dangerous places."
"That\'s right."
They all nodded in agreement. At the same time, they narrowed their eyes and glared at this world\'s Yeonwoo.
They must have been shocked when suddenly summoned before the Eraser, especially when the dice roll was canceled. Sure, they got the solution to the climate anomalies in return, but such unexpected danger...
It\'s truly unpleasant to think that Yeonwoo had been taken advantage of. He hastily waved his hands and tried to explain.
"It was an accident. I didn\'t even roll for a parallel world."
"Then what did you roll for?"
"I called for my future self, but suddenly a critical success came up..."
They tilted their heads quizzically.
"There\'s no one from the future here though."
"I think they must have refused from their end."
"Ah. Refusal."
All the Yeonwoos fell into thought for a moment. Such one-sided summoning was truly dangerous. They needed to come up with countermeasures.
As they each pondered defensive methods, whether using Golden Omnipotence or borrowing demonic powers, Yeonwoo casually spoke up.
"More importantly, let\'s share our dice techniques. Since we\'re all here anyway."
"Good idea. I noticed earlier you were rolling different judgments-"
The voice disappeared. More precisely, the person vanished. Just as suddenly as they had appeared, they returned without warning.
Left alone, Yeonwoo stared blankly at where they had been. He was about to start a productive conversation.
They were gone, leaving only ruins behind.
The mountainside, haphazardly swept through by the Eraser.
The artificially split clouds dispersed naturally, and the mountain cleaved in two crumbled, filling the valley with mounds of earth.
And the Intelligence Department.
Traces of deletion passing vertically through the center of the underground headquarters. The surviving agents moved busily, each focused on their tasks. Creating escape routes out of the pit, contacting other departments, gathering and relaying information...
Suddenly, Yeonwoo felt drained. The tension dissipated, his limbs going slack. Only then did it truly sink in.
"It\'s over."
The climate anomalies were resolved. They had also thwarted the attack of the most dangerous doomsday cultists.
A new world was about to begin.
Earth, free from climate anomalies. Companies returning to normal. Groups abandoning survival preparations to focus on power struggles.
And anomalies that would continue to appear without fail.
Seeing an Intelligence Department agent approaching to greet him, Yeonwoo smiled.
---
---
Time passes.
The battle with the doomsday cultists concluded. They lost a few anomalous objects, but the climate anomalies disappeared completely.
The company canceled its preservation plan. Resources invested elsewhere began returning to Earth one by one, and company operations started normalizing.
Other groups were the same. They came back to Earth, to society.
And Yeonwoo.
Yeonwoo sat on the floor of his studio apartment, looking at one person.
A man who suddenly visited the apartment, dressed in a black suit. He looked around the studio, then slowly sat down across from Yeonwoo.
"Mr. Yeonwoo. I\'m Mark Jung from headquarters."
"Why from headquarters...?"
Yeonwoo subtly pulled his bag closer to his knee. One hand slipped into the bag.
The mere mention of headquarters filled him with a vague sense of dread. It brought to mind the clock repairmen\'s work, and the inhuman way they carried out the preservation plan without hesitation.
The image of those who would stop at nothing to protect humanity, quite literally.
Mark Jung smiled.
"I\'m here to commend your achievements, Mr. Lee."
"Ah."
Yeonwoo relaxed, letting his arms fall limp. Then he looked at Mark Jung expectantly.
"You found and revealed the solution to the climate anomalies, and even eliminated that wanted person to recover the Eraser. These are accomplishments the company can\'t ignore. Headquarters has decided to reward you."
"What kind of reward?"
Asked in a much gentler tone, Mark Jung opened his briefcase and took out a blank sheet of paper.
A single blank sheet placed on the table between them.
Yeonwoo looked at the blank paper, then slowly raised his head. What was he supposed to do with a blank sheet?
Mark Jung said:
"Write down anything you want. There are no restrictions. The company will fulfill everything within its power."
"Oh."
Yeonwoo let out a gasp and his hands trembled. He couldn\'t even bring himself to touch the paper. He swallowed hard, staring at the sheet.
It may be a simple piece of paper, but it was no ordinary paper. An unlimited wish from the company. This was practically an anomaly in itself.
\'What should I write?\'
With no limits, it was actually harder to come up with requests. Yeonwoo\'s mind raced.
Mark Jung spoke casually from beside him.
"Anything at all is possible. You could retire with no strings attached and receive a few buildings. You could request a security team."
"I\'m not retiring."
"Excellent."
Yeonwoo hesitated, then grasped a pen. He moved the sweat-dampened pen, slowly writing out words.
- Improved investigator treatment: Provision of firearms and anomalous equipment, plus other support to enhance work efficiency.
He had never considered quitting. He would continue working as a company employee, as an investigator. So improving investigator conditions was essential.
Mark Jung nodded.
"Firearms will take time as we need to coordinate with the government, but we\'ll make the effort. Please write down your other requests."
Next, he wrote down reasons why he needed to keep working as a company employee.
- Priority information provision: Preferential access to crisis information like preservation plans or climate anomalies.
Through this incident, Yeonwoo had clearly realized:
Information is power. If he hadn\'t known about the climate anomalies, he would have wandered a ruined world, oblivious to everything. To access such information, he needed to stay with the company.
It seemed like a bit much to ask. Yeonwoo paused his pen and looked up.
"Is this possible?"
"We would have informed you of this even without you requesting it."
Mark Jung explained slowly.
"After this incident, headquarters highly values your abilities. There are many doomsday scenarios, and while none are currently in progress, they may one day become reality."
He then took an ID card from his breast pocket and placed it next to the blank paper. Yeonwoo saw it was his own ID.
Special Investigator Yeonwoo
"You\'re now an investigator affiliated with headquarters. Normally, you\'ll carry out investigator duties at the Korean branch, but when we provide you with a doomsday scenario, investigate it freely."
"..."
Yeonwoo looked at the ID card with a dejected expression.
The thought of quitting suddenly surged. There was a different feeling between investigating to save his own life and being ordered to investigate from above.
Oblivious to these thoughts, Mark Jung continued explaining about special investigators.
"You have the authority to ignore orders from the Korean branch, and the authority to call in the Extermination Team. You can also request information from the Intelligence Department-"
"Yes, please inform me of that later in writing."
His excitement settled, Yeonwoo freely moved his pen. The pen glided across the blank sheet.
Requests to fulfill his personal desires.
\'Get a house and move, receive ample compensation... What else is there to ask for?\'
More than half the paper remained blank.
Yeonwoo slowly pushed the paper away. Mark Jung picked up the sheet and read through the requests. They were more modest than expected.
He asked casually:
"You don\'t want the Eraser? If you wish, we could give it to you, Mr. Lee."
"I don\'t need the Eraser."
Yeonwoo truly had no lingering attachment.
He believed in the dice. Hadn\'t his future self shown the limits of what could be achieved with the dice? Probability manipulation.
He just needed to use the dice well.
In the end, even annihilation or deletion could be done with the dice.
Mark Jung stood up. He bowed his head to Yeonwoo.
"Then I\'ll be going now. I\'ll relay your requests exactly as written, Mr. Lee."
"Take care on your way back."
In the space Mark Jung had vacated.
Yeonwoo couldn\'t shake a sense of regret.
"Ah... I feel like I could have asked for more."
Perhaps because his life wasn\'t in danger. His mind just wouldn\'t work properly.
---
---
As soon as he left Yeonwoo\'s home, Mark Jung called his superior to report Yeonwoo\'s requests.
"These are all of Yeonwoo\'s demands, Director."
"Very, hmm, modest."
"Yes. But..."
Mark Jung hesitated before asking a question.
"What would you have done if he had quit? Isn\'t he a necessary human resource for the company?"
"Haha."
Laughter flowed from the other end of the phone.
"It wouldn\'t matter if he quit. He\'s a survivalist."
The voice continued, tinged with amusement, saying that even if they just leaked a bit of information about a crisis, he would take action.
"And in some situations, an individual\'s survival becomes everyone\'s survival."
Whether in the company or not, Yeonwoo would benefit the company.
---
[And that ends volume 1! There are 5 volumes btw, I\'ll be updating the novel\'s image on the website to volume 2 this weekend but I\'ll also post the images for all 5 volumes on discord as well.
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