1. The Risk Level Updates While He's Still Complaining
Ne Job was still complaining when the update arrived.
"…I just want one assignment where nothing screams—"
DING
His monitor flickered.
The previous case file minimized itself.
A new one slid into place.
Bold red letters.
> TASK 002 — PROBATION CONTINUATION
Assigned Intern: NE JOB
Risk Level: MODERATE
Ne Job squinted.
"…That used to say minimal."
Yue leaned over his shoulder.
"Yes."
The text updated.
> RISK LEVEL: MODERATE → ELEVATED
Ne Job stared.
"It's changing."
Qi-Yun appeared behind them, already reading.
"That means someone is watching live."
Ne Job slowly leaned back in his chair.
"…I would like to file a complaint."
The screen chimed again.
> COMPLAINT FEATURE DISABLED DURING PROBATION
Yue patted his shoulder.
"Growth experience."
---
2. The Assignment (Which Is Bad Immediately)
The case details unfolded.
> SUBJECT: MULTIPLE
LOCATION: LOWER CELESTIAL DISTRICT — TRANSITION ZONE 3
ISSUE: TEMPORAL DESYNCHRONIZATION
SYMPTOMS: DUPLICATION, DELAY, SELF-ARGUMENTS
DIRECTIVE: STABILIZE WITHOUT FORCE
Ne Job blinked.
"…Why are there multiple subjects."
Qi-Yun answered calmly.
"Because it's not a person."
Yue's eyes narrowed.
"…It's an event."
The screen helpfully added:
> ENTITY NAME (PROVISIONAL):
THE MISSED DEADLINE
The room went quiet.
Ne Job whispered.
"…That's not a thing."
Qi-Yun met his gaze.
"It is now."
---
3. Transition Zone 3 (Where Time Goes to Argue With Itself)
Transition Zone 3 looked wrong.
Not broken.
Contradictory.
Corridors overlapped themselves. Clocks ticked backward while others ticked forward. Paperwork floated midair, endlessly approaching desks it never reached.
Ne Job stepped in—and immediately bumped into himself.
"Ow!"
"HEY—watch where—"
They both froze.
Ne Job stared at… Ne Job.
Same face. Same hair. Same terrified intern energy.
"…This is my nightmare," they said in unison.
Yue pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Temporal echo."
Qi-Yun nodded.
"A deadline that was missed, revised, extended, and ignored simultaneously."
The other Ne Job squinted.
"…Are you my future self?"
Ne Job shook his head rapidly.
"Nope. No. Absolutely not. I refuse."
Both of them felt a faint pressure around their chests.
> PROBATION WARNING: IDENTITY OVERLAP
They recoiled from each other.
"Okay," Ne Job said quickly. "Personal space."
The echo nodded.
"Agreed."
Then tripped over a floating calendar and vanished into mist.
"…I hate this place," Ne Job muttered.
---
4. The Missed Deadline Manifests (And It's Petty)
A low ticking sound echoed.
Not from a clock.
From everywhere.
The air thickened.
A shape emerged—vague, humanoid, stitched together from calendar pages, overdue notices, and unread reminders.
Sticky notes clung to it like scales.
Each read:
> DO THIS LATER
> URGENT (YESTERDAY)
> FOLLOW UP
Its face was a blurred mess of crossed-out dates.
It spoke in overlapping voices.
"We were supposed to be done."
"No, we had an extension."
"No, the extension expired."
"No, no one noticed."
Ne Job swallowed.
"…Is it mad at us?"
Qi-Yun answered flatly.
"It is mad at everyone."
A status label appeared:
> THE MISSED DEADLINE
CLASS: TEMPORAL NUISANCE
THREAT LEVEL: ESCALATING
MOOD: PASSIVE-AGGRESSIVE
The creature turned.
Its many eyes focused on Ne Job.
"You," it said.
"You noticed."
Ne Job's probation field tightened.
"…That feels targeted."
---
5. The Rules Immediately Make This Worse
Ne Job raised the Audit Pen instinctively.
It buzzed in warning.
> FORCEFUL CORRECTIONS DISALLOWED
He grimaced.
"Okay. No cutting. No fighting. No emotional spikes."
The Deadline lurched forward.
"You could have prevented this," it said calmly.
Ne Job backed up.
"Listen, buddy, I procrastinate professionally, but—"
> EMOTIONAL ENGAGEMENT: RISING
Yue hissed.
"Ne Job—"
"I KNOW," he snapped, then froze.
The pressure intensified.
> WARNING
He took a breath.
Lowered the pen.
"…Sorry."
The Deadline tilted its head.
"You are apologizing," it observed.
"Yes," Ne Job said carefully. "Because this shouldn't exist."
The entity paused.
"…Correct."
The ticking softened.
---
6. Ne Job Tries Something New (It's Terrifyingly Subtle)
Ne Job closed his eyes.
Thought.
"This isn't a monster," he said slowly. "It's a process that never concluded."
Qi-Yun watched closely.
Yue held her breath.
Ne Job opened his eyes.
"You're not supposed to be destroyed," he said to the Deadline.
"You're supposed to be… resolved."
The Deadline trembled.
"How?"
Ne Job swallowed.
"By acknowledging you happened."
The probation field wavered.
> AUTHORITY USAGE: AMBIGUOUS
Ne Job lifted the pen—not like a weapon.
Like a signature.
He wrote a single word in the air.
CLOSED
The Deadline screamed—
—not in pain.
In relief.
Calendars fell away. Sticky notes dissolved. The ticking slowed.
The creature shrank, compressing into a single, stamped document.
> FINAL NOTICE: ACKNOWLEDGED
It settled gently onto a desk.
Silence.
---
7. The Zone Stabilizes (And Everyone Is Very Still)
Clocks aligned.
Corridors untangled.
The floating paperwork finally landed.
Ne Job sagged.
"I… think that worked."
A chime echoed.
> CORRECTION COMPLETE
METHOD: NON-VIOLENT
COMPLIANCE: ACCEPTABLE
DRIFT: REDUCED
Yue exhaled shakily.
"You just closed a temporal paradox."
Ne Job laughed weakly.
"…I hate deadlines."
Qi-Yun stepped forward.
"Well done."
Ne Job blinked.
"…Was that real praise?"
"Yes."
"…I don't like how that feels."
---
8. The Cost (There Is Always a Cost)
The probation field tightened suddenly.
Ne Job gasped.
"…What—?"
A line appeared in his vision.
> NOTE: SUBJECT DEMONSTRATED NARRATIVE INFLUENCE
Yue stiffened.
"That's not good."
Qi-Yun's eyes darkened.
"It means Continuity noticed how you solved it."
Ne Job swallowed.
"…I didn't break the rules."
"No," Qi-Yun said quietly. "You reinterpreted them."
The pressure eased—but did not vanish.
---
9. Somewhere Else, Continuity Recalculates
In the space between outcomes:
> SUBJECT BEHAVIOR: ADAPTIVE
> METHOD: UNORTHODOX
> THREAT ASSESSMENT: UPDATING
The ellipsis lingered longer than before.
> …POTENTIAL
---
10. Afterward (No One Feels Safe)
Back at the Bureau, Ne Job collapsed into his chair.
"…I resolved a deadline."
Yue nodded.
"That should not be possible."
"…On probation."
"Yes."
Ne Job stared at his hands.
"…They're going to give me harder assignments."
Qi-Yun did not deny it.
"They already are."
Ne Job groaned.
"I miss Leviathans."
Qi-Yun paused at the door.
"Be careful what you wish for."
The lights flickered.
Somewhere, a new case file prepared itself.
---
END OF CHAPTER 206