REAPER SCANS
Legendary Returner’s Survival Guide
[Translator – TinTin ]
[Proofreader – Harley ]
Chapter 1
Episode 1
Beeeeeeeep.
The sound rang through the ears of ROK (Republic of Korea) Cheongju City Hall Gate Safety Management Team 1.
Everyone within Team 1 raised their heads at the noise, each wearing a variety of expressions.
Some sighed, some looked sick of it, and some seemed to have been expecting it.
Such reactions were unavoidable.
Amongst the ones that were sighing stood a man with shaggy hair. He spoke, a complaint in his voice.
“Again?”
“Yes, sir. Again. A continuous gate abnormality is detected at Beltway 2 of the Heungdeok District of Cheongju City.”
“At Beltway 2? Not the L Outlet?”
“It is occurring at the L Outlet near Beltway 2.”
The shaggy-haired man’s voice raised in a shout.
“You dumbass! Then say that it’s the L Outlet. Don’t confuse me by saying it’s Beltway 2. Are you stupid or something?”
“…My apologies, sir.”
The one being scolded was Jeong Bin, the newest member of Gate Safety Management Team 1.
Bin mused to him that it was May 5th, 2034—his birthday. It did not feel great to get scolded on what should have been a special day for him.
That day at the main road in front of L Outlet, an ‘abnormal gate phenomenon’ had been detected five times.
From 9 AM to 4 PM, the Gate Safety Management Team was deployed five times—all for naught.
There was nothing there, absolutely nothing out of the ordinary.
To be on the safe side, they did restrict the area, but another abnormality had been detected, making it the sixth time that day.
Bin’s birthday ended up being a day filled with strange events.
The shaggy-haired man’s name was Ji Changsu, the captain of Team 1. He asked for clarification.
“What rank is it?”
“It’s still estimated to be F rank.”
Changsu let out a sigh.
“Are the maintenance guys for the detection device incompetent or something? Like, what the fuck?”
Adjusting to a changed world was not easy.
“Hey, newbie.”
“Yes, Captain!”
“Turn on the warning system and go check it out.”
“…You want me to go alone, sir?”
“Didn’t you say that it’s estimated to be F rank?”
“I did.”
“Then go alone. It’s probably an instrument malfunction anyway. But even if it’s not, an F rank gate is only going to mutate into an E rank at worst. Also, if it turns out to be nothing, buy some coffee on your way back. I want an extra-dark espresso.”
Once Changsu gave Bin the order, coffee orders from the other team members flooded in. Another extra-dark espresso, iced americano with five pumps of sugar, a mocha, a frappuccino…
The dumbest of these orders was an iced americano with no ice, which felt nonsensical to Bin. It was like asking for a cup of coffee with no coffee.
It was definitely not easy to adjust to a changed world.
Seeing Bin sigh, Changsu rushed him along.
“What are you doing? Get going!”
“Yes, sir. I’ll head out!”
That was the new daily life on earth.
People who could see ‘status windows’ like game characters appeared, and—as if it were some manhwa—‘gates’ with creatures also started appearing.
Humanity called those creatures ‘monsters’, and they called the people that killed monsters ‘awakeners’.
Awakeners and monsters. Those were the keywords that society revolved around.
The Gate Safety Management Team was a government department within the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. They were like a police force of sorts.
You could consider them as police since they only selected members who passed the police exam.
In the end, Bin had managed to arrive at the L Outlet. Just like earlier, there was still nothing.
"The detector definitely picked something up…… What is going on?"
He let out a sigh of bewilderment and was about to report back to his team leader when suddenly—
Thud.
* * *
Reaper Scans
[Translator – TinTin ]
[Proofreader – Harley ]
Join our discord for updates on releases! https://dsc.gg/reapercomics
* * *
He heard something fall, followed by the blaring of a car horn.
Bin quickly turned his head.
A man was standing on the crosswalk.
‘What?! There was no one there a second ago!’
Bin’s confusion was short-lived.
As mentioned before, the Gate Safety Management Team was often seen as the police, even if their duties differed.
Technically, they were indeed police officers. So, as a police officer, he just had to fulfill his police responsibilities.
Bin quickly ran towards the crosswalk. He took out his ID, showed it to the drivers to ask for their understanding, and escorted the man who had suddenly appeared on the sidewalk.
Once he was off the road, he was finally able to get a good look at the man.
His long hair was tied back, which suited his slender face quite well. He had a nice physique—well-toned, but not bulky. He looked a little like a professional boxer and stood at about 5'9".
However… How should he put it?
His face was…… familiar.
It was like he had seen him somewhere before.
Bin felt a sense of déjà vu, but he tried not to let it show.
However, the man seemed to have noticed Bin’s glances.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Did you confuse me for someone else?"
Bin responded to the man’s question, saying, “…That’s not it. But why are you acting so bold? You just jaywalked."
"I did not jaywalk."
"Then how did you suddenly appear there?"
Bin couldn’t believe the answer the man gave him.
“Uhm… It’s because it's where I went missing…"
‘Where he went missing? Is this guy crazy?’
Bin then noticed that the man's clothes were also strange.
It wasn’t an outfit an ordinary person would wear. Despite it being May, he was wearing some kind of coat. Bin couldn't tell what material it was, but he could tell it was thick.
‘Could it be…?’
"Are you an Awakener, sir?" Bin asked.
"An Awakener? Is that like a drug addict? I don't do that kind of stuff."
"…Are you trying to be funny with me right now? Don't play word games with a police officer."
"I wasn't joking though…"
"Should we discuss this at the station? Or do you want a warning here—"
"Uhm, could I ask you something first?"
Despite being interrupted, Bin decided to just let it slide. His birthday was already ruined.
‘It’s always a mess. Let’s just go with the flow.’
"What do you wanna ask?"
"What's today's date?"
"May 5, 2034."
"…2034?"
"Yes, 2034."
"……"
The man stood in silence.
"Why do you ask?"
"Oh, it’s nothing. Just haven't heard that number in a while."
‘What a weirdo.’
The man was staring at the giant electronic billboard near the L Outlet with a peculiar expression on his face.
Bin let out an exasperated sigh and said, "Look, mister."
"Yes?"
"Don't jaywalk anymore. Keep your eyes on the road. You'll be the one who gets hurt if you get into an accident. Think about your family, won't you?"
The man smiled faintly, but Bin ignored it.
"Stop smiling and go. I won't let you off next time."
"Can I ask just one more question?"
"What is it?"
"That woman on the billboard, what's her name?"
‘What’s up with this guy?’
Bin sighed again and griped, "Have you been living under a rock? That's Jin Song-yi, one of The Seven. How do you not know that?"
The man chuckled.
"You said it’s May 2034, so it's been about ten years. I had no idea she'd become so beautiful."
"…What are you talking about?"
"Oh, it's nothing. But that woman on the billboard, Jin Song-yi, is my older sister."
Bin frowned in disbelief and asked, "…What?"
"She’s my older sister."
Bin paused for a moment to think.
Jin Song-yi was a hero of South Korea. She started out on the Gate Rescue Team before entering the Awakener industry. Eight years ago, she started the ‘Salvation Guild’ and grew it into not only the greatest guild in Korea, but in the world.
That meant that she was a world-famous celebrity. With that fame, there was a lot of information available about her.
One of those pieces of information was that she had a younger brother named Jin Shi-hu, who was a novelist.
However, he didn’t have any super popular works. So, not only should people not know that he was a novelist, but he shouldn’t be famous in the first place.
However, at least half the people in Korea knew who he was. That was how famous Song-Yi was.
"…So, you're saying you are ‘Jin Shi-hu'?"
The man nodded and replied, "Yes. That’s right. I’m Jin Shi-hu."
‘But that’s impossible.’
"Are you kidding me?"
The man who had introduced himself as “Jin Shi-hu” looked back at him. He sounded bewildered when he spoke.
"Is there a problem?"
"A problem? Of course there's a problem."
Bin quickly searched for something on his smartwatch and showed it to him.
The moment he saw it, Shi-hu's face froze and his gaze turned ice-cold.
Understandably so. Displayed on the smartwatch was a man's profile, the kind that popped up when you searched for a name on a search engine.
A man who looked very similar to Shi-hu was displayed on the watch, smiling brightly.
"Jin Shi-hu is a novelist and YouTuber. You're saying this is you?"
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