Absolute Dweller-Chapter 110

[Do you know about intranets?]

"Intranets? Are you referring to the ones used in companies or the military?"

"Yes, that's correct."

Think of it as a simplified version of the internet—essentially a small, private network that operates exclusively within an organization.

"Someone independently set up an intranet server."

"Alone?"

"Yes. It seems they utilized the new communication network we recently developed to build it."

"Are you saying they built that all by themselves?"

"It's not yet clear if it's a single individual or a group."

Even with the rebuilt communication network, such a task wouldn't be easy.

Curious, I asked Kim Dabin.

"How can I access it?"

"If your computer is connected by LAN cable, you should be able to access it right away. I'll send you the address via text."

Following the address sent by Kim Dabin, I found myself on a community board.

Somehow, new posts had already been appearing for the past few hours.

"[What's this? (1)]"

"[Aaaargh! (3)]"

"[Hello. (11)]"

Among the many posts, there was one that appeared to have been written by Kim Dabin herself.

"[To the Server Administrator: I’d like to meet you. (49)]"

Hello, this is Director Kim Dabin from the Administrative Management Division. I am leaving this post because... (abridged)... I promise the best treatment. I sincerely wish to meet you. I look forward to your contact. Thank you for reading this long message to the end.

- Wow, those terms are insane.

ᄂ Well, they’re capable, so this much is expected.

└ But is creating one community board really worth all this praise?

ᄂ? It’s not just one board. They built this while the internet was completely down.

- Is that really Kim Dabin?

ᄂ Seems likely. ᄋᄋ

ᄂ Why would anyone put this much effort into a fake post?

ᄂ LOL who’d bother with such a tedious scam?

- Can someone TL;DR this?

ᄂ Read it yourself.

ᄂ Ugh, annoying.

The interface looked exactly like the internet before the monsters appeared.

I immediately used the Ring of Communication to contact Kim Dabin.

"This is amazing. But how is this possible? I recall you mentioning it would take a considerable amount of time."

I waited silently for a response.

But no telepathic reply came from Kim Dabin.

It was unusual for her not to respond instantly, day or night.

“Absolute Dweller’s Eye.”

I activated the skill immediately.

The scene that appeared resembled a small-to-medium office, with clustered desks. But chaos reigned there.

"Director Kim! Director! Please wake up!"

Kim Dabin was collapsed on her desk, surrounded by pale-faced colleagues.

And there was something else.

"...Blood?"

Blood was slowly spreading across Kim Dabin’s desk.

"East Gate—open."

Without hesitation, I teleported to her location.

"Summon retainer, Kim Dajeong."

Summoning Kim Dajeong, a healer, I quickly gave instructions.

"Everyone, please calm down and return to your workstations."

My voice cut through the chaotic atmosphere, bringing order. Familiar with me, they complied without resistance, allowing Kim Dajeong to step in.

After briefly examining Kim Dabin, Kim Dajeong activated her healing skill.

"Woooom."

I turned to her.

"What happened?"

"It's acute fatigue. In simple terms, overwork."

"Overwork? Does simple overwork cause someone to bleed?"

"She had a severe nosebleed," Kim Dajeong replied seriously. "But acute fatigue isn't something to take lightly. People can die from overwork. I’d say she’s in a dangerously critical state. She must rest immediately."

Her words prompted murmurs of agreement from those nearby.

"Yes, the Director needs a break."

"She’s been working late every night and coming in earliest in the morning..."

"She’s definitely been pushing herself too hard."

Those closest to Kim Dabin spoke unanimously, underscoring the severity of the situation.

Among them, I noticed a familiar face.

"Yoo Hye-rin, what do you think?"

Yoo Hye-rin hesitated before speaking cautiously.

"She hasn’t been going home lately..."

Just looking at the mountain of paperwork piled on Kim Dabin's desk, it was clear her workload was overwhelming.

‘...Have I been offloading too much onto her?’

Ever since she awakened her telepathic abilities, I had entrusted nearly all operations to her.

She was incredibly competent, and her meticulous attention to even the smallest details always left me impressed.

The flawless results I had admired came at the cost of her grinding herself down.

"Woooom."

Despite receiving extended healing, Kim Dabin showed no signs of waking up.

‘How hard has she been pushing herself?’

Kim Dabin wasn’t physically weak. As a retainer, her level had reached 45, giving her a physique far beyond that of an average person.

While every individual’s enhancements varied, it was undeniable that she possessed immense stamina.

‘For her to push her body to this point...’

Could her mental strength have been overdeveloped due to the lack of combat? That seemed to be the only explanation.

"Alright. For now, we need to take her home. Kim Dajeong, please follow me."

"Understood."

I used Invisible Hand to carefully lift her and activated the Absolute Dweller’s Door, transporting us to her apartment—Unit 1701.

As we approached the entrance, footsteps sounded from inside, and someone emerged.

"Who’s... Oh!"

Upon recognizing me, Kim Min-ho immediately bowed.

"Re-Representative Jae-hyun! What brings you here?"

"Where’s Kim Dabin’s room?"

The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.

"It’s... over there."

Carrying her, I headed straight to her room.

At that moment.

"D-Dabin!"

An older woman, seeing Kim Dabin floating unconscious in the air, let out a horrified gasp. It was her mother.

"What... what happened? What’s wrong with my Dabin?"

"There’s no need to worry," I reassured her.

I carefully laid Kim Dabin on her bed and silently activated the skill.

"Assign quest. Target: Kim Dabin."

[Citizen Kim Dabin has completed the quest.]

[100,000,000 won of quest costs have been deducted.]

As the complete recovery reward took effect, the dark circles under her eyes vanished.

Turning to the stunned Kim Min-ho, I asked, "What time does Dabin usually come home?"

"My sister? Uh..." Kim Min-ho paused to think before admitting honestly, "I’m... not really sure."

His response made their mother, who looked increasingly flustered, ask me directly.

"Come home? Dabin told me she lives somewhere else...?"

"Oh, right! She did say she lives elsewhere," Min-ho added, as if recalling it just now.

Finding this odd, I used the Ring of Communication to contact Yoo Hye-rin.

[Yoo Hye-rin, I need to ask you something. Please answer comfortably.]

"Understood, Representative Jae-hyun."

Thanks to the Absolute Dweller’s Eye, I could see her clearly despite the distance and communicate effortlessly.

[Is Dabin living near the office?]

"What? No, I don’t think so."

[Her family believes she’s living outside the home.]

"Ah..."

A realization seemed to dawn on her as she hesitated.

[Do you have any idea where she might be staying?]

"Yes... Maybe she’s been living in the office? The other night, I stopped by early in the morning for work and found her there."

[...Is there a space in the office where someone could sleep?]

"No, not really. If she’s sleeping, it would just be slumped over her desk..."

I scanned the office through the Absolute Dweller’s Eye, confirming there was no sign of even a makeshift bed.

‘Wow.’

It was clear drastic measures were needed.

When Kim Dabin opened her eyes, she immediately felt something strange.

‘Why am I under my own blanket?’

She was so used to napping at her desk that waking up in an actual bed felt unfamiliar.

Memories of her collapse began surfacing.

‘I should’ve asked Representative Jae-hyun to find the server creator...!’

But that wasn’t all—her work backlog loomed large in her mind. Road repairs, monitoring monsters in Ulsan, generator maintenance, dungeon status reports, sewage facility restoration, and negotiations with groups along the Nakdong River—all these tasks and more had piled up.

As the administration expanded across all of Busan under Jae-hyun’s control, her workload had grown exponentially. Not only were there facilities to activate for public convenience, but also teams needed to explain the system to groups still struggling to grasp their current circumstances.

Since every administrative decision required her final approval, the sheer number of projects she had to oversee left her deeply entrenched in work.

She’d even begun drafting reports for long-term efficiency, though this added to her immediate workload. The thought that it might pay off later wasn’t much comfort now.

Her head spun with stress as soon as she woke, but she dismissed it.

At some point, she’d realized she could function without much sleep. It didn’t exhaust her as it once did. Most days, she simply worked through her exhaustion.

‘I can make up for the lost hours today by cutting sleep short.’

Looking at the clock, she saw it was 7:30.

‘I was out for about four hours...’

Her sense of urgency returned.

‘They even brought me back here.’

It felt like wasted time.

‘First, I need to return to the office.’

It was the only place where she could work efficiently. She couldn’t afford to stay away.

‘Tsk. I should get a cot for the office. At least then, if this happens again, I won’t wake up at home.’

She changed into casual clothes and opened her door, sending a telepathic message to Jae-hyun.

[Representative Jae-hyun, did you check the address I sent?]

But at that moment.

"Yes, I checked it."

Usually, Jae-hyun’s voice resonated directly in her mind through telepathy.

But this time, she heard it loud and clear in her ears.

‘Huh?’

Sensing something off, she turned her gaze to the living room.

There, a table laden with an extravagant spread of food caught her eye—a rare sight, given her preference for light meals.

Around the table sat three people.

The first two were familiar: her mother and younger brother, Kim Min-ho. Their worried eyes locked onto her.

And then there was a figure with his back turned.

"Impressive work. I know what you were trying to report to me. But we have a more pressing matter at hand."

The voice was unmistakably familiar.

The man slowly turned his head.

"Representative Jae-hyun? How are you here...?"

Jae-hyun smiled.

"Dabin, starting today, you’re on a one-week vacation."