How to Survive Restructuring

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Chapter 59: The Uninvited Guest (4)

[Target 'Lee Eunho.' A special reward has been granted.]

[Please check your mission reward!]

The special reward, The Omniscient Observer's Eye — a lens — had been equipped the moment I received it.

Of course, I had to wear it.

You never know when someone might come barging in.

And someone actually did.

"Ah...!"

"Thank you, student! Really, thank you!"

Especially when Sola was healing people.

As people sat in a row and quietly waited, I was able to take a good look at everyone’s faces.

I even confirmed that everyone's stamina was back to 100%.

That was just a few hours ago.

So.

'That means no one should've had any reason for their stamina to drop.'

Out of the five suspects, only two women had reduced stamina.

It was barely noticeable, but still.

But without solid evidence, I couldn't just come out and say it.

For all I knew, they might have gotten hurt or tripped somewhere.

That’s why I asked Sola for help.

Sola, who could recognize and heal others’ abnormal conditions.

'I only thought of her healing ability.'

I never imagined her skill to identify conditions would come in handy like this.

"Take everyone upstairs. It’s dangerous here."

"Got it."

As I thought about how versatile her ability could be, I was evacuating the others when the chef, who had been watching, shouted at me.

"Y-You! What do you think you're doing to a lady!?"

"A lady?"

...What nonsense is that?

That chef clearly knows his ingredients but seems to lack the ability to read people.

Judging by how he still hadn’t grasped the situation.

"You're accusing the wrong person..."

"Don't move!"

"Ahhh! O-Okay!"

In the meantime, Jieun, quick on the uptake, pressed a sword to the chef's neck.

The guy flinched, his anger dissipating as he glanced nervously at the blade.

"I-I don’t know anything! Can’t we just talk this out, please?"

The way he looked, frozen with fear and unable to even tremble properly, reminded me of how Jaehyuk used to be.

If that’s an act, he shouldn’t be a chef — he should be an actor.

Anyway, I’d deal with him later.

"For now... Terrorist Ms. Yurina?"

Starting with the main villain.

"What are you talking about? I don’t know! I don’t know anything about bombs or whatever!"

Yurina shouted, her face half-squashed against the wall.

It was impressive how she could scream so confidently even after being exposed as someone in a poisoned state.

"She might be lying and working with that girl! How can you trust her!?"

A panicked voice.

An expression of unjust frustration, as if she’d truly been framed.

But.

"I never said I trusted her."

An expression like that can easily be faked.

Especially by someone who’s lived their life hiding their true identity in the ordinary world.

Snap!

I twisted her thin wrist — a wrist so small it fit entirely in one hand, as if snapping a twig.

I’d intended to break it from the start, just in case there was any danger.

'Huh?'

But it didn’t go as planned.

"Ahh!"

A fragile scream that belied a wrist as solid as iron.

I had expected a twig, but it was more like a sturdy old tree.

"Seems you’ve raised your defense stats quite a bit."

"Let go, you perverted freak! It hurts!"

It was clear that Yurina was behind the gas attack.

That left two questions.

First, is Yurina the same person as X?

Second, was she working alone?

"You’re crushing my earring! At least take it off! My ear’s going to tear!"

Yurina shook her head violently, trying to wriggle free.

She was probably preparing to headbutt me if given the chance.

So I held both her wrists with my left hand and pressed the back of her neck against the wall with my right arm.

"Just answer the question. Are you X?"

"Ugh! What even is that? Stop shoving me! It hurts!"

Her face was smashed against the cold wall as she let out a shrill yell.

If anyone saw this, they’d think I was the villain.

But.

"Do you really not know?"

"Why would I know something like that?!"

"You should know. You ended up as second place on the donation list, after all."

It’d be stranger if she didn’t.

X was—

"When the mission ended, the result window popped up. Right in front of you."

"!!"

"And with the fireworks they launched into the sky, you’re not going to tell me you missed that too, right?"

Yurina shut her mouth.

Her brow furrowed as she bit her lower lip, a look of realization and regret crossing her face.

There was nothing more to hear.

Well, then.

'Yurina thinks it's X.'

The only question left is whether this was a solo crime.

"I-I don’t know anything! I just said what that woman told me to say!"

This guy looks far too weak to be an accomplice to a murderer, but you never know.

There could be others lurking nearby.

If so—

‘If she attacks alone, it’s a solo act. But if she looks like she’s waiting for someone, there’s an accomplice.’

If there were hidden allies, they wouldn’t have a choice but to reveal themselves when death was at their doorstep.

Well, then, maybe I’ll play along for a moment.

I have something to do while waiting anyway.

‘Let’s see, there should be a gun somewhere...’

If X still had the gun she used in the past, she must’ve hidden it somewhere.

Items unaffected by the system aren’t recognized as “items” and can’t be stored in the inventory.

But Yurina is only wearing a thin t-shirt and hot pants.

It doesn’t look like she’s hiding anything on her body.

‘Where is it? There’s no way she left it behind.’

As I silently searched for the gun’s whereabouts—

"Ahhh—"

Yurina slowly closed and opened her eyes, letting out a languid sigh.

Then she parted her full lips.

"You caught me."n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

She whispered those words, her voice calm and composed—so much so that it was hard to believe she was the same woman who had been screaming just moments ago.

The eerie change sent chills down my spine without me realizing it.

Srrrk!

Yurina shook her head, tossing her hair back over her shoulder.

Click!

The faint sound of a pen being clicked rang out.

‘……?!’

Her earring split in half.

Right above my right arm, which had been restraining her.

The large hoop earrings she had worn since the first time we met—

I’d thought it strange for someone to wear earrings that big.

So they were weapons too.

“Petrification.”

…It’s not important, but—

"Hehe, it’s poison. It’ll spread through your body in a minute."

A sneak attack with a poisoned needle.

And undoubtedly a teasing antidote that she had no intention of giving me.

It was a predictable story.

It was the second death flag, clear as day.

But—

Crunch!

I felt my bones, muscles, and skin hardening solidly.

It was as if they fused together, rejecting any impurities from entering.

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And then—

Thunk!

The poisoned needle stuck halfway into my forearm before snapping and falling away.

The attack she had likely been saving as her trump card—

"What—what is this?! Why isn’t it working all of a sudden…?!"

"If you really thought you could win with a little needle like this, I’m disappointed."

"……!"

Yurina gritted her teeth and threw her head back sharply.

Was she trying to create an opening with a surprise attack?

I turned my head to the side to dodge her strike, only for her to spin her body and close the distance again.

‘Fast!’

Her speed was insane.

Flexible yet powerful martial arts.

She was clearly no ordinary person.

This…

‘If it comes down to pure hand-to-hand combat, this could be dangerous.’

Despite her slender body, her strength was significant.

It seems I had neglected my basic stats while focusing on skill growth.

Fighting an expert in their area of expertise in this situation is insanity.

So—

‘I need to change the flow.’

* * *

‘It’s working!’

Yurina muttered to herself.

This man, Eunho.

I thought he was just a brainy type, but apparently, he’s trained his body too.

The poisoned needle didn’t work, which threw me off, but it’s possible.

Maybe he poured everything into defense.

But let’s see.

‘Let’s see if you can still smile with a bullet in your forehead.’

Ta-at!

Taking advantage of the moment he let his guard down, I slipped out of his grasp.

It worked.

Now all I have to do is put some distance between us, summon the gun, and shoot him.

The fact that the poisoned needle didn’t work means his defense isn’t ordinary—but that’s fine.

‘If one shot doesn’t kill him, two will. If that’s not enough, I’ll just keep shooting.’

I’ll shoot him until he’s dead.

Until the blood drains from his body, leaving him twitching like a worm.

Until he hands over the “Lens.”

‘Someone like him probably has plenty of other useful items besides the Lens.’

He’s smarter than all the fools I’ve met so far—there’s no comparison.

It’s a shame that my hidden identity has been exposed, but—

‘I’ll clean this up and get out of here.’

Just like I always have.

"All those people up there—they’re dying because of you."

"What?"

"You should've just died quietly when I tried to deal with you."

"……."

Lee Eunho said nothing.

A look as if he were concentrating on something.

Do smart guys sense their end too?

How amusing.

Anyway, playtime is over.

"Summon!"

* * *

"You should've just died quietly when I tried to deal with you."

"……."

Yurina, looking triumphant as if she'd already won, twitched her right hand.

She was trying to create distance, somehow.

The gaze that had been fixed on her forehead earlier.

The eyes that swept across not just me but others like targets on a dartboard.

Movements so subtle she didn’t even notice, but I could see them.

Because I had been waiting for this very moment.

'Now!'

After watching X’s video, I had thought and thought again.

How to face a gun with just my bare hands.

Wearing a bulletproof vest, covering my limbs with metal to block bullets, wearing a helmet to avoid a headshot…

But no matter how much I thought about it, there was always a gap.

I couldn’t exactly cover my whole body with steel.

And even if I could, X wasn’t stupid.

If X saw that, X wouldn’t even bother pulling out a gun.

'In the end, innocent bystanders would just die.'

So I reached my conclusion.

'Deal with them before they shoot.'

If it’s hidden in their body, cut off their arm.

If it’s stored in their inventory, snatch it the moment it’s summoned.

The best defense is to stop them from attacking at all.

So when Yurina uttered the word “Summon,”

the moment her plump lips began to form that round shape.

"So…"

"Accelerate!"

"Fuaaaaaaahhh…!"

Between Yurina’s slender, trembling fingers, something hazy began to take form.

Like floating water droplets, it warped the light before reflecting it.

Gradually, it revealed a clear brownish hue.

The empty air condensed, gained color, and finally, a solid weight.

Clack—!

I snatched it.

A long, slender gun about the length of my forearm.

'Hm?'

It was longer than a handgun but far shorter than a rifle.

Completely different from what I had imagined.

I briefly examined the gun, which lacked a magazine or a cylinder to hold bullets and was instead covered with ornate decorations.

"Store."

I carefully tucked it away.

'I thought it would be a modern gun.'

Well, I should’ve known the moment it appeared from her inventory.

Anyway, for now…

"Summon."

Grabbing a sword that fit perfectly into my hand,

"Raaaaaaaahhhhhh—!"

Tick!

Returning to the flow of time.

"…Huh? Wh-What?"

Yurina, dumbfounded, opened and closed her now-empty hands.

"You said the people up there are dying because of me, right?"

"……?!"

"They're dying because of you."

—Swoosh!

As I launched myself forward,

"Wait, my gun… Did you…?"

"Goodbye."

"Wait—!"

—Thud!

I thrust it in, without waiting for her to finish.

I had no intention of listening to the villain’s last words and getting stabbed in the back.

The sword pierced through X's abdomen.

The tip emerged clean through her emaciated body like a skewer.

Gurgle!

Yurina coughed up blood.

Her emptying eyes seemed to gaze far into the distance as the light gradually faded from them.

Thud!

As her body went limp and fell, a message appeared.

[Target ‘Yurina’ has been eliminated!]

I glanced at the unknown items clattering to the ground and…

Thud!

Collapsed to my knees.

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