Chapter 12
Chapter 12
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Item Recovery (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Picking up the small bead left behind by the Chameleon brought our first outdoor mission to a close.
We dragged our weary bodies back to headquarters.
We handed the small bead over to the research team.
It could be an item, or something else entirely.
And exactly two days later.
After resting for a day following the outdoor work that stretched into the late hours of the night, we returned to the company.
Before our fatigue had even fully faded, another outdoor assignment landed on Exploration Team 15.
"Wow! Outdoor duty again?"
"...Yeah, it's weird. Monsters have been appearing more frequently lately..."
Han Sora's excited question—thrilled at the thought of extra pay from more outdoor work—even had the team leader tilting his head in confusion.
"This mission is to confirm and recover an item abandoned inside a specific zone."
Park Cheolwoo, the team leader, explained as he brought up the briefing materials on the screen.
The screen showed a photo of an old, eerie-looking building.
"The higher exploration teams have already eliminated the risk factors, but information on the zone is limited, and unexpected variables could arise..."
While listening to his explanation, I suddenly noticed something odd and raised my hand.
"Team leader, isn't item recovery or transport work usually handled by the 'Transport Team'?"
My question left not only Park Cheolwoo but also Han Sora and Seo Ji-hyun beside him looking puzzled.
Park hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Transport Team? Kim Minjun, are you sure you're not confusing us with another company? Dongto doesn't have a department called the 'Transport Team.'"
"...What?"
His words hit me like a punch to the head, leaving me dazed for a moment.
No Transport Team? Then what the hell was that application process I went through, and that horrific 'final interview'?
It couldn't be a mix-up with another company—I'd been scouted right into this one back then.
Maybe they called it something else instead of Transport Team?
At least, judging by the team leader's expression, he didn't seem to be lying to me.
Han Sora and Seo Ji-hyun looked genuinely clueless too.
"The target location is an abandoned hospital on the outskirts of Incheon."
Oblivious to my confusion, Seo Ji-hyun continued the briefing calmly.
"It was shut down after some incident in the past and left abandoned. Recently, there were reports of something unidentified spotted inside. As a result, Exploration Team 6 was dispatched, discovered a Monster, and eliminated it. Primary safety has been secured, but unstable elements may still remain. Our mission is to recover the item from the designated zone while staying vigilant."
"An abandoned hospital?"
"Yes."
One word caught my attention as I listened to her explanation.
Abandoned hospital.
'No way, it couldn't be...'
It reminded me of that abandoned hospital—the starting point of the game 'Monster Tale Record' where I'd first opened my eyes.
I looked at the photo from the briefing.
The shattered white tile floor, peeling wallpaper in spots, the emergency light at the end of the hallway.
It felt familiar, like something I'd seen before.
'...It's probably just similar.'
I convinced myself it was pure coincidence.
There were plenty of hospitals that looked alike in the world.
Abandoned hospitals were perfect spots for Monsters to show up anyway.
"...We'll travel to the target location by vehicle. Check your gear, and we'll depart in five minutes."
As soon as Seo Ji-hyun finished speaking, the team members began gathering their equipment.
I tried to shake off my unease and checked the basic gear issued to me.
But the ominous premonition of 'no way' wouldn't settle down easily.
Hiding my anxious expression, I followed the team out for our second outdoor mission.
Hoping desperately that my hunch was wrong.
The van sped through a landscape that felt both familiar and alien, finally arriving at the destination.
An old abandoned hospital on the outskirts of Incheon.
The gray sky and the building's gloomy exterior sent a chill through anyone who saw it.
At the hospital entrance, another Dongto vehicle and members of an exploration team were already waiting.
They were Team 6, a higher exploration team that handled far more dangerous missions than ours.
As we got out of the van, a man who appeared to be Team 6's leader approached Park Cheolwoo.
Fatigue mingled with a hint of bewilderment on his face.
"Whew, ah, you're Team 15, right? We just finished clearing the interior."
The Team 6 leader said.
His voice was low and steady, but his expression suggested something unresolved.
"There was exactly one Monster left inside. It wasn't much of a threat, so we took care of it easily. That's not the issue, though."
He paused, scanning us over.
"Two Monsters had already been dealt with."
"What? The Monsters were already taken care of?"
Park Cheolwoo asked in surprise.
"Yeah, and one of them looked pretty dangerous."
"Who the hell..."
"The head was completely smashed. Like it had been shot with a gun or something."
With that, the Team 6 leader described the Monster's appearance.
"You'll see it as soon as you go in, but it's a grotesquely tall Monster wearing a doctor's gown."
I swallowed hard at the Team 6 leader's words.
A Monster in a doctor's gown, grotesquely tall.
Memories from the past replayed in my head.
I bit my lip hard.
To keep my expression from changing.
"We still don't know who—or what—did it. Maybe the Monsters fought each other, or someone used an item to take it down... When we swept the interior, we didn't find any additional threats, but..."
He shot us a warning look.
"You never know what might happen, so be careful, Team 15. Check your surroundings thoroughly during item recovery, and call us on the radio immediately if anything seems dangerous. We'll handle external security."
"...Got it. Thank you."
While Park Cheolwoo replied, my full attention was fixed on the abandoned hospital before me.
Yeah, I could tell.
'It really is...'
The weathered, cracked exterior tiles in places, the shape and position of the main entrance, even the faint glimpse of the stairs inside the hospital.
No matter how I looked at it, this was the exact same hospital where I'd first woken up in this world and desperately escaped.
The starting point of the game 'Monster Tale Record.'
'How the hell did I end up back here?'
Fate sure had a stubborn grip.
I'd somehow escaped, stumbled into this company, and now returned to this place.
"Gives me the creeps."
"Ah, yeah, really..."
I pretended to be seeing the hospital for the first time in response to the team leader's comment.
"Alright, let's head in. Seo Ji-hyun, double-check the interior layout. Han Sora, keep watch on the surroundings. Minjun?"
Park Cheolwoo called me, but I took a breath to steady myself before responding belatedly.
"Ah, yes."
"No need to be too tense. There won't be any fighting."
"Got it."
"Our goal this time is securing the item. Even if a Monster shows up, we don't need to engage."
For some reason.
It wasn't making me all that nervous, actually.
Maybe because I'd already escaped this hospital once before.
As I stepped inside, the familiar yet eerie air pricked at my nose.
The smell of old disinfectant mixed with dust and a faint fishy odor somewhere.
Thud, thud.
Our footsteps echoed ominously through the empty space.
I brought up the rear, following the team members.
We cautiously made our way inside, following the lights left by Exploration Team 6. It wasn't long before we spotted the culprit in the center of the lobby.
"Oh my god..."
Han Sora let out an involuntary gasp.
On the floor lay the remains of the Monster in the doctor's gown.
The torso and limbs were relatively intact, but the head was obliterated beyond recognition.
Like a watermelon exploding, dark red fragments and unidentified fluids were splattered across the surrounding walls and floor.
"..."
Back then, I'd been too busy escaping to look closely, but so that's how it ended up.
Seo Ji-hyun crouched down, observing the remains without touching them, then spoke.
"The Monster's head was completely burst from a powerful external impact. Either a stronger Monster did it, or someone used an item to deliver a heavy blow."
"Who would do something like this...? No, was it another Monster?"
Park Cheolwoo muttered in a voice full of astonishment.
Discomfort and unease were plain on his face.
I stood beside them, forcing a natural look of shock.
"...Everyone, stay alert. Whatever did this might still be nearby. Never drop your guard on the surroundings."
The team leader seemed convinced it was the work of another Monster.
With Park Cheolwoo's declaration to stay vigilant, we started moving again.
He pulled out a palm-sized detection device from his pocket. It beeped and emitted a faint light, pointing in a specific direction.
"This way. Item reaction detected."
We followed the team leader down the creepy hallway, up the stairs, and stopped in front of a hospital room door.
[Room 302].
Beep, beep.
The detection device was reacting strongly toward the inside of the room.
"Found it."
Park Cheolwoo said, but his expression wasn't bright.
He stopped Han Sora from grabbing the doorknob, issuing a low warning.
"As you know, items aren't always safe."
His voice carried a gravity different from before.
"Items without manuals can be as dangerous as Monsters—maybe even more so. Everyone, stay cautious and proceed carefully."
At his warning, we exchanged tense glances.
We held our breath once more and slowly opened the door.