[Congratulations!]

[ROK district finishes in first place in the final round!]

“What? How are they in the first place? They didn’t even leave the starting line!”

“I saw that too! What’s going on? Is this a bug?”

Their confusion was understandable. To anyone watching, it had probably looked like the race had ended the moment the baton touched Eun-Ho’s hand.

The Giant lowered and raised his head again, clearly at a loss. “W-what is this?! Did you turn invisible or something? Even if you did, how are you the winner?!”

He simply could not understand what had just happened.

Guess I really caught him off guard.

“Why don’t you pop out again like a sneaky little rat?”

“Don’t you know the Korean Zodiac?”

“The Korean Zodiac? What’s that?” the Giant asked, bewildered.

Eun-Ho had only done exactly what the other man had said.

[The Newbie from the Bureau of Corporate Relations asks what just happened.]

[The Brain from the Bureau of Investigation explains that your hand crossed the line first, so he wins.]

[The Ferry Man from the Bureau of Management laughs, asking who the hell runs a race like that.]

Even the observers were just as baffled.

“Eun-Ho! What happened? Are you okay?”

“Hyungnim, we heard a pretty nasty sound when you hit the ground! Are you alright?”

“Holy shit, Eun-Ho! That was insane!”

“You were planning that surprise win, weren’t you? Admit it!”

As Eun-Ho stood up and brushed the dust from his clothes, his teammates came running over. Half of them looked worried, while the other half glowed with pride.

Just as he was about to thank them for their concern, the center of the red arena warped, twisting in on itself.

Swish—!

“What the hell is going on?”

“There’s something showing up again!”

A murmur rippled through the crowd as everyone gathered closer. Moments later, a door of pure gold appeared, just large enough for one person to pass through.

“What is that? The match is supposed to be over.”

“Maybe they wanted to do it personally.”

“Do what personally?”

“The rankings.”

Creak!

Ji-Eun’s eyes widened. She turned toward the sound of the door opening and the entire crowd’s attention followed.

[Oh my?]

They heard a familiar voice. It was the blonde lady, her golden ponytail gleaming under the lights.

[Everyone’s here already? You were waiting for me, right?]

A tall woman emerged, her slim-fitting outfit emphasizing her figure. A massive headset framed her small face. She was the hostess.

Clack. Clack. Clack.

Sarah’s high heels echoed across the stage as she strode forward and spread her arms wide.

[Hello, everyone!]

[It’s me again! Your favorite mascot of the Public Affairs Bureau, Sarah!]

“What’s she doing here again?” someone muttered.

“The Initiation Ceremony is already over though!”

[How’s the new employee training going? The higher-ups are very interested, you know!]

“Is she joking right now?”

“I’m dying over here...”

[But—]

Clack.

All of the sudden, her cheerful expression vanished.

[Don’t you all think you’re being too nice?]

[Where’s the fighting? The competition? The backstabbing? I’m not seeing any of that thrilling, cutthroat energy today!]

“What the hell is she talking about?”

[There’s only one day left in the training program! If things keep going like this, how are you going to win over the audience?]

[I’m saying this for your own good, of course.]

Huh?

This time, it was everyone else whose faces hardened. They had all thought the same thing at some point. So far, they had focused on teamwork, winning together to earn shared points.

So in the end, we’ll have to fight each other, Eun-Ho thought.

Sarah’s voice rang out, bright and clear.

[Out of all of you, only the top hundred will become permanent full-time employees! The rest will be hired as temporary workers!]

There were two thousand survivors in Korea, and only a hundred of them could earn full-time positions. The rest, no matter how hard they’d fought, would end up as temps.

[Teamwork is great and all, but shouldn’t you worry about your own future first?]

So that’s how they see it.

They struggled desperately, clinging together just to survive and somehow win somehow. Yet to the higher-ups, it just looked like they couldn’t even take care of themselves.

Eun-Ho ground his teeth and muttered under his breath, “... You’ve got to be kidding me.”

The hostess didn’t seem to hear or she just didn’t care. She kept talking, her voice sickly sweet.

[That’s why I, the wonderful Sarah, came here today to tell you what happens after the training ends!]

“What happens after the training?”

“I have no idea. Probably something awful again.”

The crowd’s anxious murmurs were quickly drowned out by Sarah’s unnaturally cheerful tone. She winked playfully, as if she were about to start a magic trick.

[Well then, there’s no need to drag this out. Let’s begin!]

Snap!

She flicked her fingers. Whether people panicked or screamed didn’t matter to her at all. An instant later, an automated announcement echoed across the arena.

[The promotion simulation has been initiated.]

“What?!”

“Promotion? What the hell is a promotion simulation?”

A promotion simulation?

Eun-Ho glanced around.

What are they trying to pull this time?

A chill crept through the crowd like fog, threading between the thousands gathered there. It came from the sky, where the voice resonated, and from the trembling ground beneath their feet.

Ji-Eun rubbed her arms, shivering as the temperature seemed to plummet. Then, a semi-transparent window popped up in front of everyone’s eyes.

Fwoosh!

[Loading...]

“L-loading?”

“What is this supposed to be?”

After a short pause, new lines of text began to appear, scrolling upward like a system log.

[Case 1]

[Employee (Trainee) → Employee (Temporary)]

[Calculating Welfare Point balance at time of promotion event.]

[Promotion Bonus (Estimated): + 3,000 Points]

[Promotion Cost (Estimated): - 5,000 Points]

“Shit! Are you telling me promotion costs money now? What kind of bullshit system is this?” Swear-Master shouted and the final balance followed.

[Final Balance (Estimated): - 2,000 Points]

Minus two thousand points?

“What? That can’t be right. Mine’s in the negative!”

“Huh? Same here...”

“Yup, mine too.”

The simulation’s numbers didn’t stop there, but a second case appeared.

[Case 2]

[Employee (Trainee) → Employee (Permanent Full-Time)]

[Calculating Welfare Point balance at time of promotion event.]

[Promotion Bonus (Estimated): + 10,000 Points]

[Promotion Cost (Estimated): - 5,000 Points]

[Final Balance (Estimated): + 5,000 Points]

It was the same promotion, but a permanent full-time path instead of temporary. Besides, this time, the final balance was positive.

“Is this some kind of tax report or what?”

“No, worse! It’s more like an audit.”

“Wait a second...” Someone frowned, staring hard at the numbers on their screen. “If our balance isn’t high enough to cover the promotion cost, what happens then?”

Sarah snapped her fingers again and beamed.

[Excellent question!]

[If you don’t have enough points to cover the cost, you’ll be deleted on the spot!]

“... Deleted?”

The single word slipped out in half question and half disbelief. Then silence fell. No one dared to speak after hearing such an absurd, terrifying rule, except for one person.

[Now, everyone looks so shocked!]

Sarah’s cheerful voice burst through the speakers, cutting into the heavy stillness hanging over the crowd like fog.

“Shocked? Are you serious right now?”

“You think this is a damn joke to you people?!”

Anger erupted across the arena expressing rage, confusion and panic.

However, Sarah only smiled, utterly unmoved.

[Oh dear, are you worried your favorite contestant would get deleted?]

[Then all the more reason to stay tuned, right? You know the drill!]

Her words weren’t meant for them. Neither did any of her smiles. It was for the audience beyond the screen. As long as they were entertained, nothing else mattered to her.

[Ah, I almost forgot. This next part’s straight from the Bureau of Management!]

Sarah cleared her throat dramatically and raised a finger.

[If you don’t want your favorite contestant to get deleted, then don’t forget to like, subscribe, and send donations!]

[After all, donations make the contestants dance!]

That’s just nonsense.

“Fucking dance? Are you out of your damn mind?!”

“Hey, stop! What are we going to do?!”

[Oh! You’re all wondering about today’s rankings, aren’t you? I was just about to show them!]

[Alright then. Let’s move on to today’s results ceremony!]

***

Fwoosh—!

Two translucent windows appeared in front of everyone. The first showed rankings by district, with forty-six of them listed in neat order.

[District Ranking Results (Daily)]

1. ROK

2. USA

3. RUS

4. FRA

5. ARG

...

The second window displayed names, tens of thousands of them, almost filling the screen to the edges.

[Individual Ranking Results (Cumulative)]

1. [ROK] Lee Eun-Ho - 333 Points

2. [ROK] Choi Jae-Hyuk - 292 Points

3. [ROK] Kim Man-Seok - 292 Points

4. [ROK] Park Gong-Chan - 289 Points

5. [ROK] Song Hyun-Sook - 289 Points

...

[Great job, everyone!]

[Please check your trial rewards!]

Eun-Ho’s team had taken all the top spots in the personal rankings. That was undeniably good, yet it was strange.

When he muttered it to himself, Ye-Ji, still buzzing with adrenaline, immediately jumped in.

“Right? Totally strange! This system is completely insane—”

“No, not that.”

Yes, the system was insane, but that wasn’t what he meant.

“We’ve never actually received any Welfare Points as rewards. Not even once since we got here.”

They were involved in five trials since arriving at the training camp including talent show, tug-of-war, cavalry battle, soccer, and relay. Every single time, the rewards were Training Points and never Welfare Points.

“Oh... Now that you mention it, yeah that’s true.”

“So what, we can’t even earn the points we need to pay that promotion fee?”

“Then what, are we supposed to just sit here and wait to die?”

In the middle of the growing commotion, Ji-Eun quietly raised her hand. “Maybe that’s what the donations are for... To make up the difference.”

Eun-Ho nodded slowly. “That actually makes sense.”

Still, he stepped forward, determined to confirm it for himself.

“Where can we earn Welfare Points?” he asked the hostess directly.

[As expected from our number one! I knew you’d ask that.]

[There are definitely places to earn Welfare Points. Besides, there’s something better if you’re lucky!]

[But of course, some of them require a little pain.]

She grinned, clearly pleased he had taken the bait.

[So, shall we pick your next accommodations?]

Fwoosh!

Suddenly, a series of vivid images appeared before them, shimmering in midair. The hostess gestured proudly toward the colorful illustrations, each one as flashy as her own hair.

[Four districts were wiped out yesterday, right? I’ve left the Silvery Blade intact and removed the other four paintings from other places! Nice of me, wasn’t it?]

[Go ahead and pick, clever Representative!]

Whether she was being sarcastic or not didn’t matter. What mattered was something else entirely.

“She said some of them require pain. That’s too vague, don’t you think, Hyungnim?” Jae-Hyuk asked.

Eun-Ho’s eyes narrowed. “She probably means it literally.”

“Huh?”

“There’s only one lodging here that’s ever caused pain.”

Jae-Hyuk’s face went pale. He hesitated before asking quietly, “You mean Silvery Blade...?”

He could tell from their faces that they wanted him to say no, to deny what they already suspected. However, Eun-Ho couldn’t lie.

He gave a small nod and, immediately, the others began voicing their fears one after another.

“B-but choosing that place is that way too dangerous!”

“Yeah, she’s right! You saw what happened this morning, and what that guy looked like when he came back from Silvery Blade!”

At the idol’s trembling words, people shuddered. They were remembering that horrific scene from earlier, the one no one wanted to recall.

However, Eun-Ho only said quietly, “Aren’t you guys short of two thousand points?”

A few of them flinched, finally realizing the reality of their situation.

“Tonight’s the last night,” Eun-Ho reminded them.

The training was almost over. After tomorrow, everyone would be promoted either as permanent full-timers or temporary workers.

And anyone promoted with too few points would be deleted, Eun-Ho thought.

There was no room left for complacency, not even for today’s first-place winner. He still had more than a hundred thousand Welfare Points saved up, but now that he knew Welfare Points were directly tied to survival, he couldn’t just spend them freely.

Besides, Welfare Points were valuable currency that was usable anywhere, including in shops. In other words, he had to earn as much as possible before the final reckoning came.

“I-I only have about thirteen hundred points,” one person stammered, “but still, I’m not sure about going into Silvery Blade...”

“Ugh... Going into Silver Blade? That’s insane.”

“I can’t... I’m too scared...”

They clutched their heads, trapped between fear and desperation. The memory of that man, who was mangled beyond recognition, was still raw and vivid.

“What should we do?”

“Ji-Eun, would you be okay with this?” Eun-Ho asked.

She hesitated, then said, “Honestly, I’d rather pick a safer place too but... Eun-Ho, you’re right. It’s just as terrifying to think about running out of Welfare Points and getting deleted.”

“I agree with Hyungnim,” said Jae-Hyuk, resolute.

Even with Ji-Eun and Jae-Hyuk backing him, the majority clearly disagreed.

[Subject Lee Eun-Ho, are you not going to choose? Should we pass your turn?]

Flap!

Sarah’s mocking voice rang out as she pointed lazily toward eleven floating pieces of art suspended in midair.

[Crimson Serenity]

[Golden Cough]

[Tangerine Prank]

[Verdant Commotion]

[Watery Yoke]

[Moonlit Nap]

[Silvery Blade]

[Ashen Concealment]

...

Each painting shimmered with dazzling color, but Eun-Ho’s mind was spinning faster than his eyes could follow.

“What are you going to pick, Oppa?” Bo-Ra asked.

“I’m not sure yet,” he said absently, scanning the paintings again.

Flap.

Then, something about them felt familiar.

Huh?

[Crimson Serenity]

[Golden Cough]

[Tangerine Prank]

[Verdant Commotion]

The paint seemed to be made of crushed red gemstones, gold, juicy tangerines, and ground-up herbs. In fact, these paintings were created by pouring all of that onto the canvas, whole and unrestrained.

Wait...

He looked closer at the eleven shimmering paint jars lined up before him. Among all the dazzling chaos of color, he finally found a hidden hint.

“Ah.”

“What is it, Hyungnim?” Jae-Hyuk asked, eyes wide.

“Did you find something, Eun-Ho?” Ji-Eun added.

Eun-Ho nodded slowly.

“I think I did,” he said. “The way to earn points without having to choose Silvery Blade.”

He found a way to let the moths fling themselves into the fire while everyone else stayed safe.

[Selection confirmed.]

[Transferring to lodging!]