#17.Mad Scientist's Laboratory
#17.Mad Scientist's Laboratory
Still, there's one thing I gotta do before hitting 2-star.
Gotta spend those points.
Something important just got unlocked.
<Character Card pt.1>
<House pt.1> - <Room+1 pt.1> - <Yard+1 pt.1> - <Fence+1 pt.1(Locked)>
<Fashion Shop pt.1(Locked)> - <Sports Shop pt.1(Locked)> - <Lingerie Shop pt.1(Locked)> - <Dress Shop pt.1(Locked)> - <Accessory Shop pt.1(Locked)>
<Furniture Mall pt.1(Locked)> - <Home Goods Mall pt.1(Locked)> - <Hobby Goods Mall pt.1(Locked)> - <Cosmetics Mall pt.1(Locked)>
<Customizing Face pt.1(Locked)> - <Customizing Upper Body pt.1(Locked)> - <Customizing Lower Body pt.1(Locked)>
Outta all these, what I'm picking is...
You probably thought it'd be the House tech tree's Fence, right?
Sorry to disappoint, but nope.
<Fashion Shop pt.1>
Unlocked the Fashion Shop.
Drrruk-
With a heavy rumble over the pitch-black void, a small building popped up.
The building's size matches the basic Room dimensions.
The only difference? The door's got <#Fashion Shop> written on it.
The Fashion Shop spawned right up against the Yard. At a glance, it could pass for a warehouse tacked onto the house.
Once the Fence goes up later, it'll divide the zones properly, but for now, no need, so pass.
First one to spot it was #Lee Ina. Meanwhile, #Ha Suyeon seemed kinda down, huddled in the corner of her Room.
Stroking her like that made #Ha Suyeon flinch, look up startled, then shy away in fear.
%@#$
Only after #Lee Ina's words did she stop, then just stood there like she'd given up.
Even though it'd been days since she was naked, she still seemed embarrassed, covering her tits and pussy with her hands as she lined up by the window with her daughter.
Curious about the new building, #Lee Ina padded out barefoot to the Yard first, shuffling over with sabak sabak sounds.
She read the Fashion Shop sign and hopped over excitedly, yanking at the door.
Well, trying to, anyway.
But the firmly shut door wouldn't budge no matter how hard she tugged.
I clicked the exclamation mark up in the top right.
Spend 6 points, and that's when the tower for earning currency unlocks.
<Proceed with unlocking the Tower?>
Yes.
Squeeze-
Duh, obviously.
Soon enough, right in front of the Yard, zuuuuwook-! A long dirt path started stretching out.
Ku-gu-gung-!
The massive ground-shaking rumble made #Lee Ina and #Ha Suyeon huddle in shock.
Staring at the endlessly towering structure at the end of the dirt path, they craned their necks to gaze up at the sky.
The Tower connected massive stone walls and ramparts, too huge to even fit on screen.
And the most important part? Players couldn't see inside the Tower. No clue what's in there or what goes on.
All you know is the characters go in and come back with mined currency.
This is what that "important unlock" meant.
Commonly called the Currency Tower, or...
"Epilogue Tower...."
Two names for it. Tutorial's over.
No idea about its structure or mechanics. But from what other players guess, reaching the top means the ending.
That's what I figured too.
Otherwise, why the hell would such a sky-high Tower suddenly spawn?
Problem is... it's built in a way that makes you fucking not wanna go anywhere near it.
Looming stone spire. Can't see shit inside. No windows, just the front door on the first floor.
Pitch-black darkness within—why would any character wanna head in?
Naked, no less? Not knowing what's waiting?
If some creepy crawly pops out, they'll faint before they even get grabbed.
Tried dragging them over, but #Lee Ina and #Ha Suyeon resisted like hell. I nodded.
That's the normal reaction.
To see the ending, you need at least two heroines with nerves of steel.
In the end, even with the Fashion Shop unlocked, they couldn't use it.
Wanna get cash? Gotta enter the Tower. But the Tower's designed to be fucking unappealing.
Eh, time'll sort it out.
"2-star......"
I slyly flipped open the Guidebook.
Gotta input it letter-perfect, so it takes some focus.
One syllable off, and the Hashtag name changes.
Sure, the effect's similar since the content's close, but to get the full Guidebook payoff, stick to it like a recipe.
Cook freestyle eyeballing it first, then follow the recipe and whine "tastes like shit"—you can't smash the pot and cry innocent.
<#Hashtag Story Registration>
<#Story>
Watching her daughter play house makes your heart race.
This makes you realize you need to intervene personally.
You helped with your daughter's married life as a #Pastime.
Your daughter's Boyfriend is satisfied, so your heart rate returns to normal.
I wrote it exactly per the recipe, not a single letter wrong, and the resulting Hashtag was:
<#Ha Suyeon★★>
<#Worry> - <#Pastime>
Name of this route: Pastime.
That's the dictionary definition.
And who sets the bar for that "distraction"? Me, the player.
As 3-star and 4-star pile on, the scope of that Pastime'll widen.
Bump into her often for Pastime reasons, and the Psychological Intimacy from 1-star's (Resolution) builds up too.
Each Hashtag bridges to the next stage, but flip it—the later Hashtags pull the previous ones like magnets.
§
<Ha Suyeon>
A month. Looks long ahead, but glance back and it's gone in a flash.
"Already January?" from yesterday turns into "January's over already?" in a blink.
One thing's clear: a month is way too short to really know someone.
Even if she's pregnant and he's stepping up, that doesn't prove her daughter's Boyfriend isn't some weirdo.
If anything, it stirs up bad vibes like, "They just met—how'd this happen already?"
So right now, Suyeon sat across from Inmok, who'd come to meet her.
"This café's coffee and cake are legit delicious. Ina's favorite spot."
She pursed her lips, eyeing her daughter's smiling, explaining Boyfriend.
They'd done the formal meeting, and he'd come for permission before, but she still felt uneasy.
Worried her beloved daughter might suffer through marriage because of some oddball—.
"Yeah, it's good."
So she decided to get chummy with her daughter's Boyfriend.
That way, she'd get a read on his true colors.
But—here's the issue.
How the hell do you bond with a kid almost 20 years younger?
She sipped the coffee he'd bought—aiming for some points with a wistful smile—and sorted her thoughts.
She'd married at 18. Had two girls. All her social stuff—PTA meetings, whatever—was with other women.
Suyeon had no clue how to get close to a young guy.
Anytime she met guys her age, hubby was there, or it was family only.
"Wanna try an Escape Room together, if you're cool with it?"
"Escape... Room?"
The name sounded sketchy.
"We've been hitting them up every date lately, me and Ina."
Every date...? Escape Rooms?
But why "escape"?
Suyeon kept her face neutral, listening quietly to Inmok.
But the more he explained, the weirder it got.
"You can even do nurse outfits as the theme. It's about escaping a ward."
Nurse outfits?
"No pressure to wear one, obviously. We just do it for immersion."
Not wearing? Immersion? Into what?
What the hell's Ina been up to?
And he's spilling this casually in front of his future mother-in-law?
<Mad Scientist's Laboratory>
"Huh? Wha...?"
Came to and she was locked in a room.
Like, literally had to escape the room.
Grrooooar
Whiiiish—!
Eerie cries and chilling BGM sent shivers down her spine.
"Gotta start with this door, I think."
Double door, padlocked, walls scattered with creepy medical models and hints.
"Password's 6 letters, alphabet."
Unlike her, her daughter's Boyfriend moved with purpose.
"Oh, found it. Over here—shine the light and letters pop out one by one? Wanna try?"
......"Sure."
She'd decided to bond, so she nodded, playing along as best she could.
Everyone knew she wouldn't even glance at a haunted house at an amusement park, let alone horror flicks—but Inmok didn't.
Still, hating to show fear, she gripped the lantern tight.
Waving the purple light around revealed hidden letters for real.
ZOMBIE
"Zom...bie?"
Letters screaming what awaited beyond this door, and the room's theme, plain as day.
Clunk-
"Yo-ho~! Got it."
She eyed him weirdly as he let out that odd cheer. Definitely a weirdo.
"Whoops, Ina does it every puzzle, so I picked it up as a habit."
Hm, maybe not so bad after all.
Her precious daughter wouldn't have weird habits.
Double door, so past the bars was a proper one.
Combined the cards into a digital code—cracked it easy.
Click-
Lock popped as she opened the door,
Clunk-!
Walls split and dropped on both sides.
"Kyaaah-!"
The pent-up dread from the creepy BGM exploded.
"Whoa, you okay?"
Like always with her reliable hubby, she clung to him as he asked.
"......!"
She shoved off quick, pretending nothing happened.
"But we solved it—high five?"
Inmok didn't bat an eye, palm out. Mortified by her jump, she faked calm and slapped it.
Her heart still pounded, though.
Inside: dim lighting barely outlining paths and doors.
Really didn't wanna go. Winter cold, but cold sweat beaded her back.
"Scared?"
Her daughter's Boyfriend's face looked chill as he asked.
"Not really. Less scary than facing a daughter pregnant right at 20."
Honestly terrified, his calm face pissed her off enough to snap hard.
"That... yeah, sorry."
His apologetic tone even mimicked Ina's somehow.
"I'll take point."
"......"
She gulped, tension thick.
Step-
Shaaaa-!
Fog rolled across the floor the second they entered the hall.
Knew it was machine mist, but dim room + twilight glow made it unnaturally spooky.
"Doors are all fakes. Only the far one's real."
More doors.
Puzzle this time. Watching Inmok ace it made her feel lame.
Click-
Puzzle done, latch opened.
Clunk-! Clunk-!
Clunk-!
Clank-!
"Eeek-!"
Doors rattled from the way they'd come. Nah—zombies inside thrashing against them.
Heart racing fit to burst tears.
Clank? Why clank...!
Tight vision from the dread missed the zombie dolls on rails creeping from the hall's end.
Felt like real rotting-arm zombies shambling closer.
"Q-quick, hurry!"
Terrified, Suyeon smacked Inmok's back, glued to him.
"Hup! Wh-what the hell is that?"
Inmok spotted it, yanked the door open, and dragged her inside too.
Slam—thuds pounded as it shut.
Zombie howls clawed through the door.
Tears pricking, Suyeon glared at Inmok, steadying shaky hands.
"......You said you wanted to try what we do with Ina......"
Lame excuse got a soft sigh.
Her fault for agreeing.
Calming down, she looked around.
Fit the Mad Scientist's Laboratory title: anatomical charts, models.
And—
Gasp.
Knew it was rubber, but a bubbling tank with a human corpse dummy? Grotesque as hell.
Difficulty ★★★
Horror ★★★★★
Suyeon regretted only checking difficulty.
It was average, so she chipped away at puzzles one by one.
High-fives per solve, freezing solid at every jumpscare—but they escaped.
"Fun, right?"
Inmok's words? She was too drained to reply.
"Feels like we're getting closer now, yeah?"
Narrowed eyes at him, then exhaled and nodded.
"Well, not yet."
Grabbed food after, then split. No way she'd spend the night with her daughter's Boyfriend, no matter how chummy.
Back home, showered, in bed—heart still thumping.
Zombies vivid even eyes closed.
"Heard you went on a date with daughter's Boyfriend? Whaddya think—decent?"
"......Dunno."
"If he wants my approval, he's gotta work for it. Makes sense—stealing my girl takes effort."
She chuckled at hubby's words.
But replaying the day eyes shut, stuff popped up.
Daughter's Boyfriend acted chill but flinched at every scare—fronting toughness.
To impress her, score points.
Bet he was scared shitless too, putting on that act.
Kinda admirable.
His tough-guy efforts vs. all those jumps made him oddly endearing.
Maybe they did bond a bit—Suyeon thought.
Tok, degurur
<1,2>
Unaware the dice for 2-star completion were rolling in the background.