Surviving Among the Letters

Upon entering the laboratory, I was met with numerous mechanical devices.

And attached to these devices were countless wires.

In front of them, there was a single chair.

“Please sit here.”

The researcher gestured toward the chair.

I cautiously approached and sat down, and the researcher began attaching electrodes to me.

“It’ll sting a little. Please bear with it.”

A sting…? Is this electric torture?

I closed my eyes tightly, tense, but surprisingly, it didn’t hurt, nor did I feel anything like that.

If I had to compare it… maybe a low-frequency massage?

“We’ll extract data for 10 minutes. You need to sit still during that time.”

“Yes.”

I said yes, but sitting still for 10 minutes was incredibly difficult.

In situations like this, don’t you usually pull out your phone from your pocket?

But I don’t have it now?

In the meantime, I noticed a tablet.

I asked the researcher if I could use it.

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“Can I use that?”

I pointed to the tablet.

“Uh… Let me check.”

The researcher then walked over to the phone on the wall.

He picked up the phone and dialed a number.

“Yes, Director. It’s the subject number 13.”

He glanced at me once and lowered his voice.

“Yes, I see. Is it okay? …Alright. Understood.”

It seemed like he got permission, as he came back and handed me the tablet.

“Don’t break it.”

“Okay.”

I wonder if there’s a YouXbe in this story.

Oh.

There is.

YouXbe?

Right, this should be different from reality.

Meanwhile, I saw that the account was already logged in, and a thought occurred to me.

This… is probably the tablet used by the researchers?

So, maybe there are documents related to the experiments on here?

I started rummaging through the tablet.

My files… Downloads… Research log… Is this it?

I glanced at the researcher again.

The researcher was focused on the monitor, continuously extracting data.

…He won’t notice, right?

I opened the file and started reading carefully from the top.

◆◇◆◇◆

Okay.

I’ve read it all.

To sum it up, this experiment is one to forcibly develop psychic powers.

And the difference from what was told to us is that this experiment has never been successful.

Which means the mortality rate of the subjects is 100%.

If a subject doesn’t develop psychic powers, they continue the experiment until it works.

It’s a hellish choice between death or the development of psychic abilities.

The only thing that was clear from all this was the reason for the high-quality facilities and environment.

They say there’s nothing more terrifying than a favor with no reason.

Being treated so well as a test subject made me feel uneasy.

But I found the reason in this file.

If this experiment succeeds and the subject develops psychic powers, who is it for?

Naturally, it’s for the children of rich and powerful families.

They can’t have the same experimental environment as the subjects.

So, they compensate by providing a high-quality environment for the subjects.

Apart from that, there were countless English words and numbers.

Since I don’t have any knowledge in this area, even if I read it, I wouldn’t be able to understand it…

Ding ding ding! Ding ding ding!

Suddenly, the phone on the wall rang.

Startled by the sound, I quickly pressed the home button on the tablet.

The researcher, who had been focused on the monitor, rushed to the phone and picked it up.

“Yes. This is the 3rd Data Analysis Room. Ah, yes, Director!”

The researcher listened for a while, then hung up and looked at me.

“…You should answer the phone.”

I wondered why it was me, but I got up from the chair and walked toward the wall.

I took the receiver from the researcher, and a familiar voice came through.

“…Who is this?”

“Didn’t our smart Subject 13 already figure it out?”

“Director Messier…”

“Yes, it’s Director Messier. There’s something I’d like to tell our little lady.”

At those words, I gulped and responded.

“…What is it?”

“If you’re curious about the experiment details, just come to my office. There’s no need to sneak around and look at the tablet.”

How did he figure it out?

There wasn’t anything visible from the CCTV, right?

I turned my head and started scanning the area around me.

“You don’t need to search. The CCTV is small enough to be hard to spot.”

Damn it.

“Then, come to my office after dinner. I’m curious where your Korean skills came from.”

Beep–beep–beep.

The phone call ended with those words.

A mini CCTV, huh?

It seems like everything I’ve been doing up until now has been discovered.

The fact that I followed the researchers or read the Korean file diligently.

Now I have a definite reason to break the translator.

Before meeting the Director, I absolutely need to break the translation function.

At least, the Director still seems somewhat favorable towards me, so to properly deal with the Director, this task is necessary.

◆◇◆◇◆

“Blanco! Did you wait long?”

Remy opened the door and approached me while I was waiting in the hallway.

“How was the experiment?”

“It hurt a lot… You said it wouldn’t, but that was a total lie.”

“I swear it really didn’t hurt…”

“I don’t care! I’m mad at you.”

Is it a personal thing when it comes to pain?

I really didn’t feel much pain, though.

It seems the problem was that I told Remy before entering the lab that it wouldn’t hurt.

Angry Remy looked like she was going to head back to the dorm alone.

This actually works out for me.

I won’t have to sneak around and worry about her watching my every move.

So, the first thing I’ll do is…

Find a toothpick.

Maybe I should go to the dining hall first.

◆◇◆◇◆

“There’s none…?”

“Yeah. There used to be, but there was a huge incident with them, so they got rid of all of them…”

What kind of incident was so big that they took them all away?

“Two people used to fight all the time. One day, one of them stole a bunch of toothpicks and stuck them all over the other person’s bed.”

“…Can you even do that?”

“Of course, it failed. Anyway, it caused such a commotion, so after that, they got rid of all the toothpicks.”

“Ah…”

Such a trivial reason.

To think it all ended just because of that.

Damn it.

I trudged back to my room.

Then I sat on the bed and fell into deep thought, trying to find a substitute.

No matter how much I thought about it, nothing came to mind.

They say households with kids hide all sharp objects in places where kids can’t see them.

It felt like I was in exactly that situation.

“Sigh…”

I sighed and lay sideways on the bed, watching the second hand on the clock.

Without thinking, I just watched the second hand moving.

…

The second hand?

I immediately sat up from the bed and headed towards the clock on the wall.

The second hand.

It’s thin, sharp, long, and made of metal? Plastic? Anyway, it’s solid.

It met all the criteria.

I charged forward and reached for the clock.

I couldn’t reach it.

I jumped again and tried reaching for it.

But even after jumping, the distance between my hand and the clock didn’t shrink.

“Aghhh! Why now of all times!”

Until now, I hadn’t found anything too inconvenient about being in a child’s body or having my gender changed.

I didn’t have the luxury to seriously consider the gender change because of my current environment, and being in a child’s body… oddly enough, was fine.

The researchers had taken care to ensure nothing was too uncomfortable.

But right now…

I was faced with a height problem.

The clock was placed high up, near the ceiling, because it wasn’t something the researchers had to accommodate for.

Naturally, with the body of a 12-year-old, I couldn’t reach that height.

But I couldn’t just give up.

If one person can’t do it, I’ll try with two…!

◆◇◆◇◆

“Get out!”

I was harshly turned away.

It seemed like Remy was still upset from earlier.

They say two heads are better than one, but if things stay like this, Remy would definitely rip up the blank paper.

There’s no choice… I’ll have to do it alone.

There were no chairs in the room.

So, I searched around and found a box I could use as a step.

I struggled to carry the box back to my room.

Now, all I need to do is stand on the box and reach the clock…

But… I’m really nervous.

The box is empty, so I’m not sure if it can even support my weight.

Oh. It holds up.

Now, if I just reach for the clock…

“Ugh… almost… almost…”

My hand was just barely out of reach, so I decided to use my last resort.

If I jump from the box, I should be able to reach it.

But the box will break after jumping, so it’s a one-time shot.

One…

Two…

Three…

“Why are you trying to take down the clock?”

A man’s hand took the clock down.

I slowly turned my head, and the sight I saw was a man with striking blue, permed hair.

Wearing a white coat, the name tag hanging in the center reminded me that he was the Director of this research facility.

A chill ran down my spine.

“Why, 13? It looked dangerous, so I came to take it down for you.”

Frozen in place, the Director handed me the clock.

He crouched down to match my eye level.

“Or… were you trying to do something you shouldn’t have been caught doing?”

The Director smiled slyly.

Sweat began to form on my forehead, and my heart started racing.

Yes.

For the first time, I felt a threat to my life.