How to Survive Restructuring

Chapter 109

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 109: The Domain of Talent (6)

A thunderbolt out of a clear sky—no, it was a falling Go stone.

A massive Go stone, approximately two meters in diameter.

“G-get out of the way!”

“Kyaaaaah!”

In the distance, the screams of those who failed to escape echoed.

Perhaps because they had crowded together to watch the stage, they were trapped—unable to flee, crashing into one another in panic.

“M-my leg...! Aaaaahhh!”

“Kyaaaah! Somebody help! Please!”

A woman clutched her crushed leg, sobbing in agony.

At that sight, Sola instinctively started to rush forward.

Swoooosh!

Another Go stone loomed, blocking the sky.

“Another one?!”

“This is insane! What the hell is this?!”

Cries of panic and confusion erupted from all around.

Thud—!

“W-what is going on?!”

Jieun frantically looked around and asked.

No one knew exactly what was happening, but one thing was certain.

“They called it a match...”

[The 'Match' of Go Master 'Wei' has been activated!]

This had to be the ability of that little kid on the stage.

Even his massive index and middle fingers, when examined closely, were smooth and wrinkle-free—like those of a child.

‘An ability that brings a Go board into reality...’

And magnifies it over a hundred times in scale.

If that was the case, then this was an unprecedentedly powerful ability.

“This is crazy! What kind of talent show is this?!”

“My thoughts exactly!”

“Fuck it! What’s the host doing? Why isn’t he stopping this?!”

The foul-mouthed man cursed into the air.

Perhaps hearing that, the once-calm host finally opened her mouth.

[Hmmm—]

Was he finally going to intervene?

Thinking that, they looked up at the host floating in the air.

[What a unique performance—?]

[Is he trying to show us a blood-soaked battlefield—?]

“That crazy bastard, what the hell is she saying?!”

Instead of stopping it, the host merely tilted her high ponytail and marveled.

[So, CN District intends to wipe out all the other survivors!]

[Hmm— Well, that would certainly secure them first place—]

[Would this be what they call ‘killing two birds with one stone’?]

Chills.

A shiver ran down their spines.

First, at the ten-year-old child’s move.

And again, at the host’s utterly indifferent response.

[Ah, is this against the rules?]

[No, it’s not!]

[Because I said anything goes as long as it’s done on stage—!]

The host had said it.

As long as it was done on stage, anything was allowed.

But—

[The theme is completely up to you!]

[What a truly special performance—!]

...No one had realized.

That within that “freedom,” there was an option to “kill all the others.”

Bang—!

A gunshot rang out, sharp enough to tear through the ears.

Turning their heads immediately, they saw Jieun’s side profile.

She was holding a firearm—longer than a pistol, shorter than a rifle—with an intensely focused expression.

But no matter how skilled Jieun was, breaking those massive stones with bullets seemed impossible...

Just as that thought crossed their mind—

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang—!

Jieun fired a series of golden bullets at the center of the Go stone.

As if drawing a vertical line by connecting dots.

And into the gap she created, she launched a floating dagger, striking downward.

Crack! Crackle—!

The massive black stone split cleanly in half.

“Hraaaaahhh—!”

Jaehyuk, too, let out a ridiculous battle cry as he repeatedly smashed his mace into the stone.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Crackle—!

The dozens of iron studs embedded in his mace dug into the stone.

Soon, cracks formed, and the stone crumbled under its own weight.

Brute force, but undeniably effective.

However—

“This is insane! How long is this going to keep coming?!”@@@@

“Ugh, my joints...!”

“I-I’ll try to heal us!”

The stones were coming down faster than they could destroy them.

No matter how many they shattered, more fell without pause.

“What's ahead?! Move forward quickly!”

“I-it’s hopeless! We’re trapped!”

To make matters worse, the screams of those who had tried to escape echoed from all directions, proving that no one could leave until this ‘Match’ was over.

「04:20」

Four minutes remaining.

They could endure it, but...

‘We can’t just keep running.’

People would get exhausted.

And more importantly, they didn’t know the full extent of Wei’s abilities yet.

After draining them with these massive Go stones, who knew what he would do next?

If that was the case—

“We need to take down the source.”

“!!”

“H-hyung! By the source, you mean...?”

Jaehyuk’s face went pale as he glanced between them and the stage.

“The main body... But there are so many guards... It’s too dangerous!”

Jieun shouted, her face drained of color.

“I should just...”

She hesitated, furrowing her brows.

She wanted to say, ‘I’ll shoot him.’

But there was something holding her back.

Shooting a ten-year-old child.

‘Jieun won’t be able to do it.’

The sound of stones being placed was like the gavel of a judge, confirming my words.

"If you can’t get through, climb onto the stones! Hurry!"

I shouted with even greater certainty.

"What? Is this real?"

"What if they just pick up the stones and throw them at us?!"

Some were still skeptical.

"But they just ignored me and moved on. Once placed, the stones cannot be moved. Just like in real Go."

"!!"

"T-That’s true!"

"That actually... makes sense!"

Those who knew me understood quickly.

"Over here! Step into the gaps!"

"Hey, pull me up!"

Crawling, clinging, and pulling up through the gap, I hid and climbed onto the black stone.

As if boarding Noah’s Ark.

Then—

Boom—!

A single stone was placed on the empty ground.

Boom—!

Another stone was placed.

"It... it stopped!"

The lost fingers returned to their original positions.

[Ah! Unbelievable!]

[Participant Lee Eunho has found a way out!]

[Is this going to end so anticlimactically—?]

Despite the host’s dramatic reaction and the visibly shocked expressions of the surrounding guards, there was no movement.

But—

'I'm not surprised.'

Rather—

'It was calculated.'

The remaining time.

The future course of events.

The ultimate outcome of this grand match.

Thus—

[CN Zone, what should we do?]

They realized.

Any further moves were meaningless.

If the calm retreat of the young player signified a meticulously calculated loss—

If it was a declaration of, ‘This time, I’ll step back’—was that just delusion?

A tense silence lingered for a moment.

Boom—!

Two black stones were placed on the empty board.

At the same time, side by side.

Then, a system message rang out.

[Go player Wei, resigns by forfeit!]

[The match has ended.]

Forfeit.

A declaration of surrender without counting the score.

[A forfeit... huh?!]

At that moment, the host’s flustered voice burst out.

It wasn’t because of the sudden end of the match, nor the resignation.

[No, no, hold on a second!]

[This is the CN Zone stage! Not the ROK Zone!]

"What the hell is that crazy guy doing again?!"

[Oh my god! He's watching the CN Zone stage... and sponsoring the ROK Zone?!]

[Applause erupts for Lee Eunho’s strategic decision-making!]

“Crazy... no, cancel, cancel!”

“He's sponsoring us?! Insane!”

A last-minute exclamation, thrown out in resignation.

[ROK Zone... receives an additional 1,000 points! Bringing the total to 58,000 points!]

An unexpected reward.

I tried to keep my abilities hidden, using tricks to avoid attention.

Yet, I gained an unintended advantage.

"It's over, right?!"

"It's done...!"

As cheers erupted from above, beside, and beneath the black stones—

Rattle!

“Huh?”

A faint vibration rose from beneath my feet.

Rattle! Rattle! Click! Rattle!

“Huh? Wha—?!”

The stones that held the people began to shake violently, like a ship caught in a storm.

'Wait a minute! Don't tell me...!'

Now that the match was over—

The only place left for the remaining stones on the board to go was...

"Jump down!!"

"Wha-what?!"

"Right now!!"

Taaah—!

I threw myself toward the ground.

At the same time, I shouted at the top of my lungs, so that everyone could hear.

"Huh?! Huh?!"

"Jump!"

Then, people, clueless but following my words, began descending.

Holding onto one another, pulling, supporting each other as they returned to solid ground—

"!!"

Whoosh!

The stones on the board suddenly shot up.

Like cannonballs being fired.

Like hundreds of geysers erupting at once.

Like shattered glass being pieced back together in reverse.

Thud— Boom! Roll—

Some who failed to jump in time were sent tumbling, crashing into others, groaning under the weight of falling stones.

Flinch.

On stage, my eyes met the young child’s.

'What kind of kid...?'

A face so devoid of emotion, it was hard to believe it belonged to a child.

Yet, in that fleeting moment, a glimmer of something flashed in their gaze—marking the finale.

[Time’s up!]

[The talent show has ended—!]

The performance came to a close.

[Drumroll!]

[Everyone's curious, right—?]

[Then, let’s announce the final winning zone!]

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]