How to Survive Restructuring

Chapter 108

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 108: The Domain of Talent (5)

[Administrator Harona.]

Harona's hair stood on end at the unremarkable summons.

Was it because she had unknowingly been tense?

Or had she been overwhelmed by the sharp and honed aura of the one above?

[Administrator Harona, I greet the Director.]

Snapping back to her senses, she stepped forward and offered her respects.

Under the envious, jealous, and admiring gazes of her colleagues seated in rows.

Then came a single heavy remark.

[It seems additional personnel are needed.]

It could have been a casual statement.

A simple pleasantry—something like "You're working hard," "Good job," or "It must be tough."

And yet, Harona—

Twitch!

She felt a chill run through her as she carefully chose her words.

Because the Director was not someone who spoke without intent.

[......That is correct.]

Harona's hand, clutching the hem of her skirt, trembled slightly.

As the saying goes, "Personnel is everything."

The allocation of additional manpower meant that her department was being strengthened.

And that, in turn, meant that her time had finally come.

The time to rise from her crouched position and reach for greater heights.

[Recruiting talent is also a leader’s ability.]

No one was unaware of who this "talent" referred to.

The one who had withstood the Director’s pressure and even tasted his authority.

He was to be recruited.

This, too, was a test for her.

Just as Harona, having understood her superior’s intent, was about to lower her head with sharp, intelligent eyes—

[One thing.]

A voice, carrying the reverberations of a cavern, settled over her head, lifting her chin before it could bow completely.

[Raise him, but do not be devoured. Keep that in mind.]

A warning not to let his head grow too big.

It was a caution that did not apply to other recruits, but when it came to this one—Lee Eunho—it was a rule that had to be engraved in one’s mind.

For he had an uncanny talent for pulling others into his pace.

That, however, was something Harona had already taken into account, and so she immediately responded.

[Yes, Director. I will keep that in mind.]

The Director rose from his seat.

At once, everyone who had been watching in silence also stood.

[Take care.]

As Harona bowed deeply, everyone’s heads lowered toward the floor.

At the same time—

Boom.

Footsteps that seemed to shake the very ground echoed.

[Training. I have high expectations.]

A low, yet overwhelmingly weighty voice lingered like a trace.

She couldn’t bring herself to look up at the face that carried a faint smile.

The weight of that expectation, both heavy and gleaming, made her flinch unconsciously.

Quickly regaining her composure, she wrung out a reply as if squeezing water from a dry towel.

[......Yes.]

She bent at the waist once more, her gaze following the retreating figure of the Director.

And only after she had paid him her utmost respect, her heart pounding wildly, did she finally slump back into her seat.

[Did, did you see that, Lady Harona?]

From afar, Choi Seung, who had been nervously observing, rushed over.

[Th-the Director was... satisfied, wasn’t he?]

[Don’t make such a fuss.]

His reaction was rather excessive, but Harona hadn’t meant it as a true reprimand.

For it was also the duty of a subordinate to wholeheartedly rejoice in their superior’s achievements.

However—

[Harona!]

Someone’s success inevitably meant someone else’s relative failure.

Due to that cruel reality, not all gazes upon her were warm like Seung’s.

[This is absurd. What kind of trick did you pull?]

[What, are you here to pick a fight? If so, get lost.]

Jookwang, looking like a dog staring longingly at a rooftop, had scurried over.

His scrawny neck twisted this way and that as if checking for any higher-ups who might cut him off like before.

And once he seemed reassured, he returned to his usual voice and snapped at her.

[After picking and picking without success, you finally settled on some worthless rock and polished it up?]

[Ha, a rock? Polished up? By me?]

Harona let out a laugh of disbelief.

Would he have said the same thing if he had seen Lee Eunho from the very beginning?

How could anyone claim to have polished someone they couldn’t even grasp?

But whether or not he knew her thoughts, Jookwang kept running his mouth.

[So you funneled all the rewards to him, huh?]

[......What?]

[I mean, think about it. A mid-tier candidate suddenly becomes a top representative. There’s no way he did that alone, right?]

“There really are...... all sorts of people here.”

“Yeah, seriously.”

“That unnie must’ve been a famous singer, right?”

“Yeah, probably. Maybe she used to do opera or popera?”

The group that had joined us after the victory match was also in awe.

Everyone kept gasping in admiration.

[Alright, that was an amazing performance from the IT sector!]

[The total sponsorship amount is...... 52,000 points! Ah— That was close!]

[ROK sector is still holding onto first place!]

Honestly, it was hard to believe that this ranked below the insult battles.

“What’s with that look?”

“......It’s just amazing.”

“What! What is it! I didn’t do anything wrong!”

Regardless, the atmosphere remained warm and hopeful as we waited.

“This is looking good. We might actually take first place, noona!”

“Yeah. Only one team left to go!”

At this point, we were all hoping to secure first place.

And then, finally, the turn of the last remaining sector arrived.

—Flash!

[And now, at last, the final act!]

[Ahhh— Are you all feeling sad? Sera is too—!]

[But every show must have an ending!]

[The CN sector's performance is about to begin—!]

With the host’s words, a group of people walked onto the stage.

Identical outfits. Identical hairstyles.

Identical swords at their waists.

And at the center of the stage, escorted by them, stood—

‘......A kid?’

They looked around eight or nine years old.

With short black hair, bangs falling low enough to cover their eyes.

I was just about to wonder what kind of talent such a young child could possibly showcase when—

“Isn’t that Wei?”

Someone muttered under their breath.

‘Wei?’

Then, Jieun clapped her hands together and exclaimed,

“Oh! Isn’t that the kid? The youngest Go (baduk) ranking No.1!”

“Huh?”

“You know, I saw a documentary about him not long ago...... His IQ was, like, 250 or something?”

“Oh! The Star of the Continent! I watched that too!”

Lee Yeji chimed in as well.

‘Star of the Continent?’

I’d never heard of him.

I wasn’t exactly the type to watch documentaries in my free time.

But.

‘Wei. That name sounds familiar.......’

Where had I heard it before?

Way?

No, if it’s the CN sector, then it must be China.

Then in Chinese notation...

‘Wei.’

And then, it hit me.

〔 WEI 〕

The empty canister that had been sitting next to Iro’s research lab.

So it was Wei.

“They said he was ten, but he looks even younger.”

“That kind of genius survived...... No, maybe he survived because he’s a genius.”

A child with overwhelming talent.

“He must’ve unlocked his ability too, right?”

“I’d assume so. There’s no way a kid like that would’ve survived otherwise.”

“What’s his ability? Fuck, do I have to compete with a little kid too......?”

The foul-mouthed guy furrowed his brows, lost in thought.

But.

“I think I can guess.”

It wasn’t hard to figure out.

Judging by the abilities unlocked so far.

That child’s ability was probably......

[The Go player 'Wei' has activated 'Great Match'!]

“What, what the hell is that?!”

“In the sky......!”

“A hand?!”

Swoooooooosh!

Like an incoming storm cloud, a shadow loomed over us.

A massive hand, plummeting like a crashing plane.

A colossal index and middle finger, clutching between them—

“A Go stone?!”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]