Chapter 112
Hardline Measures (1)
“Ughhh…”
In a dimly lit room, Kael stretched in front of multiple monitors.
“I’m going to die, seriously.”
She had an apple in her mouth and was filling out an Excel sheet with hollow eyes.
Crunch─!
“Ah!”
Rachel had snuck up, snatched the apple, took a bite, and lightly tapped Kael on the top of her head.
“Stop whining.”
“Whining? Did you just call it whining, senpai?”
Kael’s eyes widened, and she jumped to her feet.
“No, seriously! We get called out three or four times a day at random! There’s so much to organize! And why are the players so uncooperative?”
Then she grabbed the hem of Rachel’s shirt and slid down like water.
“Being a team leader is this hard? Senpai… why did you get promoted? You said you’d stay team leader forever.”
“When did I ever say that?”
Thwack──
Rachel shrugged her off and turned away coldly.
“Save meee!! The Foundation is imprisoning people!!”
With a flick of Rachel’s hand, the door rippled slightly and slid shut.
“Phew… I get it, it’s tough.”
Leaving the screams behind, Rachel sank into the chair in her manager’s office and sighed.
The desk covered in papers proved just how tired she was.
Of course, her promotion hadn’t increased her workload per se.
Even as a team leader, she had been handling most of the work because the previous manager had been sloppy.
Still, there was only one reason she sighed.
“The community reactions are seriously unusual.”
An emergency situation.
They had somehow prevented casualties, but the fact remained: someone could have died.
Since then, distrust of the Foundation had spread throughout the player community, and even ordinary compliance wasn’t happening.
People resisted, demanded justification, and asked who would take responsibility if someone died.
This situation had caused delays in work, which in turn led to overloading the departments.
“Ha… what are they even thinking?”
Shouldn’t higher-ups manage this a bit?
If the ‘branch’ level had issued guidance, management wouldn’t be taking all the brunt.
While Rachel was massaging her head in frustration, a notification rang.
Ding─!
[All department heads and above are to convene.]
Sent via company messenger.
And the meeting was in 30 minutes.
“Sudden? And calling all departments?”
Normally, meetings involved two or three related departments.
Even regular meetings were mostly just department heads.
Rachel moved toward the meeting room with a sense of unease.
The room was already bustling.
Even before the meeting started, managers and department heads were exchanging worried words.
No prior notice, an urgent call, and with the recent chaos, it was no wonder.
“Anyway, it’s been a long time since we’ve all been together like this.”
The Foundation’s branches each had six departments, each with two sub-departments.
The Defense Department included the Rift Containment Division and Rachel’s Management Division.
The Foreign Affairs Department frequently collaborated with other branches and external communities.
The Legal Department mainly cooperated in capturing criminals.
And then the Technical Development, Education, and Resource Departments, with little interaction.
With all the sub-managers present, the meeting room was crowded with nearly twenty people.
“Finally here, Manager Rachel.”
“Manager Hong?”
Hong Chan-ho from the Rift Containment Division tapped her shoulder and grinned.
Why is he being so friendly all of a sudden?
Rachel eyed him suspiciously.
“You always acted like you’d eat me alive—what’s this?”
“Huh? Did I? Haha!”
His exaggerated gestures made it obvious he was whispering behind a playful front.
“So you were so proud but couldn’t even manage one rift… tsk tsk.”
Ah, so that’s why.
Until Rachel arrived, all blame must have fallen on Hong alone.
The emergency call overseen by the Rift Containment Division had clearly been critical.
It hadn’t started this way, though.
Because almost no casualties occurred, Hong had received praise.
His reputation had soared alongside the feats of the Saint Union.
But it began to crumble recently.
Players became uncooperative, and Hong’s reputation plummeted again.
Even if he aimed for the Defense Director seat, whether he could keep his current position was uncertain.
“Not my problem,” Rachel thought.
She had no interest in Foundation politics.
She had more important work.
Yet, as the acting authority, she couldn’t leave chaos unchecked.
Carrying the family name meant she couldn’t afford any blemishes.
In short, any more trouble in this Korean branch would be bad.
Bang─!
The door opened, and a man waddled in.
A rotund, bun-like man took the branch chief’s seat.
The chair creaked ominously under his weight as he spoke into the microphone.
“Ah, hello. Managers and directors. I’m Ham Hyung-tae, newly assigned branch chief of the Korean branch.”
“…Excuse me?”
One manager asked, and the rest shared the same confused silence.
A new branch chief? They had received no official notice, not even a hint.
Only now did it dawn on everyone: this meeting doubled as the branch chief’s inauguration.
“The reason for calling this meeting before the ceremony…”
He placed some documents on the table.
“Recently, the Korean branch’s management has been cited as unusually negligent at headquarters.”
His bun-like face’s eyes sharpened, and the room fell silent.
“According to the data, recent profits have been poor. Resource Director, how were the last quarter’s results for each department?”
“Ah… yes. Due to volatile public opinion, Foreign Affairs and Education dropped, but the Defense Department took the biggest hit.”
The chief’s gaze fell on Hong.
“Where is the Defense Director?”
“Called by the government… an emergency hearing at the National Assembly regarding the recent crisis…”
“Hah. I was told it was resolved well, but apparently not?”
The chief clicked his tongue.
He didn’t speak it aloud, but it was effectively: ‘How did you manage things for the branch to end up like this!’
And he used that as a prelude to his main point.
“So what am I saying! Principle first! Don’t listen? Then whip! Simple, right?”
He continued speaking unilaterally.
“Letting disorderly groups roam leads to failure in rift management. Heard of the broken windows effect? When New York subways cleaned graffiti….”
His speech went on for a long time.
The conclusion was clear: strengthen the Foundation’s control policies.
Murmur─
The room reacted with disbelief.
“This is unrealistic, Chief.”
The Legal Director raised his hand.
Aside from Management, the Legal Department dealt most with players’ follow-ups.
“Strictly speaking, communities are partners, not subordinates who act on orders. Tightening regulations won’t suddenly make them cooperative. It may provoke more resistance…”
“So what do we do then?”
“…Excuse me?”
The chief scoffed.
“Legal Director just opposes without a solution, huh?”
Silence fell.
Although the Legal Director’s words sought realistic solutions, the chief already seemed set on his answer.
“You think resistance means letting them run wild? Is that the order the Foundation has maintained?”
“Well…”
“And why I was sent here is simple. Restore that order. You just follow.”
He shuffled a few documents.
“Here’s the rough plan. Legal reviews rift approval criteria. Resource controls sub-department budgets. And… Management.”
“…Excuse me?”
When he singled out Management, Rachel blinked in confusion.
“Work with Legal to classify uncooperative ones as out-players. Understood?”
“…We’ll discuss and handle it appropriately.”
The sense of crisis was steering things in a weird direction.
Some wanted hardline measures, and Rachel hoped for branch-level decisions, but this was unrealistic.
It was like burning the whole house to kill a bedbug.
Classifying uncooperative communities as out-players—what community would then follow the Foundation?
And how to manage the backlash?
A bomb dropped on the first day in office.
The order might seem competent, but the direction was completely wrong.
The consequences would be… horrific.
“The meeting’s over.”
Department heads and managers began leaving.
Rachel pushed her chair back to leave.
“Management Manager.”
The branch chief called her.
“You stay behind.”
“…Yes, sir.”
After everyone else had left, the chief awkwardly began speaking.
“Hope I didn’t overburden you. You’re doing well, really. Haha.”
“Ah… yes…”
Unlike during the meeting, his tone was friendly.
“I got assigned suddenly too, so I have a lot on my mind, but it’s reassuring you’re here.”
What?
“What about your father?”
“…My father?”
Rachel frowned at the abrupt question.
“I owe him a lot. Managing and acting authority must be tough for you too, right?”
Ah, now it clicked. He was trying to be friendly to get her favor.
“Now that I’m your superior, I’m like a godfather, right? Haha! So… tell your father well. Nothing fancy, just that the new branch chief is competent.”
Rachel’s father had long retired, and the practical management was handled by his half-sisters.
By next year, that line would be replaced entirely. The chief’s request was meaningless.
Well… no need to explain.
Better to let him misinterpret.
“…Yes, sir…”
“If you need help, just say. I could even have you report directly to me…”
“I’ll decline.”
“Haha, dedication! Good! Then help a lot in Management! Hahaha!”
He patted her shoulder.
Rachel could only sigh.
Help? What help? The guy’s direction is hopeless.
This is going to be a hassle…
Meanwhile, Pandemonium Workshop.
“…Excuse me? Did I hear that right?”
Se-hyun looked shocked.
“You heard correctly.”
“No, this makes no sense.”
They had barely recovered from being underwater, and now this.
“You said I was classified as an out-player? Really?”
“Yes. And you too.”
No… what the hell is going on?
