Chapter 37
Chapter 37
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Transport Team (4)
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The air in the temporary situation room monitoring the underground hotel was heavy and stagnant.
They called it monitoring the hotel's situation, but the CCTV only captured the entrance to the underground hotel.
They had tried installing CCTV inside the underground hotel as well, but it didn't function properly, likely due to the influence of the monster phenomenon.
"What about the people at the entrance?"
"No changes. They're huddled together, just waiting for the stairs to reappear."
"And Kim Hyun-soo?"
"...Still no word."
Even though the appointed time had passed by a full ten minutes, there was no contact or return signal from Deputy Kim Hyun-soo.
One of the team members, who had been anxiously peering at the monitor beside me, finally couldn't hold back and spoke up.
"Team Leader, according to the plan, they should have grabbed the counter and returned with the one-time escape device thirty minutes ago. Did something go wrong?"
Unease laced the team member's voice.
I grimaced slightly.
That bastard Kim Hyun-soo must have screwed up again.
He'd always been a bit sloppy and cowardly, so it was probably the same this time.
"He must have messed with one of the guest monsters. Probably provoked it unnecessarily and got into a bad spot."
I clicked my tongue and muttered.
We might be trading with the monsters down there, but not all of them could be reasoned with.
The only one that properly recognized humans coming and going and acted intelligently was that one high-intelligence Mannequin monster in the dress.
The rest were little more than instinct-driven beasts, so if someone like Kim Hyun-soo poked the wrong one, who knew what could happen.
I'd drilled it into them to always be careful.
"Tch, so it ends up like this after all."
Even if Kim Hyun-soo was a lost cause, we had to recover the counter.
It would contain the full payment for our last delivery.
We couldn't let that slip away.
And if Kim Hyun-soo had truly botched things, we'd need to handle that cleanly too.
We'd have to "deliver" the remaining exploration team and the transport team on CCTV.
"The deal already got stricter after that one failed delivery last time..."
Even now, that incident raised more questions than I could count.
20,000 points.
When we'd first investigated that monster, it had taken a full day to barely meet the requirement, yet they'd surpassed it in less than twelve hours.
The monster torn apart top to bottom like it'd been mauled by a beast, the one with its head twisted 180 degrees and crushed skull—they were all like that.
I stood up from my seat.
"Gather the necessary items. I'm going down there myself to assess the situation and retrieve the counter."
"W-We have to go ourselves?"
"Shouldn't we wait a bit longer for the deputy...?"
Despite the team members' concerns, my decision was firm.
"Don't worry. I'm going with you."
"If the team leader's coming along..."
At those words, the Team 5 members let out sighs of relief.
Dongto basically invested items and capital almost exclusively in Teams 1 through 5.
As Team 5's leader, I received a hefty share of that investment myself.
One of those was a potion that massively boosted physical abilities.
Right now, I had the strength and stamina of thirty ordinary adult males.
At least I wouldn't go down to the Mannequins underground.
Unless they all went berserk and rushed me at once.
I flashed a sinister smile as I hurriedly prepared to head underground.
I already knew the stairs leading to the underground hotel had vanished.
But the disappearance of a single staircase wouldn't halt Exploration Team 5.
"Proceed. Prepare the passage opener."
At my command, one team member swiftly retrieved and activated the item after inputting coordinates.
It was something usually gathering dust in the warehouse corner since we rarely needed it, but we kept one or two on hand for unpredictable situations like this.
The top teams from 1 to 5 practically got items handed out like candy anyway.
As the team member activated it, a mechanical hum rang out, distorting the space ahead until a pitch-black hole—a portal straight to the underground—formed.
Beyond it was undoubtedly near the underground hotel's entrance.
"Good. We're entering. Stay sharp on perimeter watch, and prioritize securing the counter's location."
Without hesitation, we stepped one by one into the swirling darkness.
After a brief disorienting sensation, the familiar damp, chilly air of the underground hotel brushed our skin.
"Hoo..."
Even after all these times, I sighed at the alien feeling and scanned our surroundings.
"Hm?"
But the scene before us was somewhat suspicious.
The last time we'd checked via CCTV, the entrance area had been crowded with terrified transport team applicants.
Yet now, there wasn't a soul in sight.
An eerie silence hung in the air, to the point of bewilderment.
"...Did they all evaporate?"
"Cut the nonsense and watch the surroundings."
One of the team members muttered in a low voice.
The first possibility that came to mind was, of course, a monster attack.
But that didn't fit—the area was unnaturally pristine.
If monsters had struck, there should at least be bloodstains, signs of resistance, or dropped belongings from the applicants. Yet it was spotless, as if no one had ever been here.
"...Did they finally snap out of it and scatter to search the hotel interior?"
We couldn't rule that out either.
They were a ragtag bunch, but when fighting for their lives, people sometimes acted unpredictably.
Either way, it could interfere with finding traces of Deputy Kim Hyun-soo or the counter.
"Check your weapon-form items. Pair up in twos and begin interior search. Target is the counter. Any other trash in the way... deal with it immediately."
I drew the machete-like item from my waist and issued orders to the team.
The plan had gone slightly off track, but it wasn't over yet.
With that, we cautiously advanced deeper into the ominous underground hotel.
We split into pairs, and my partner and I headed first to the right-side guest room section.
We spotted something odd right as we entered the hallway—something starkly different from usual.
Two monsters in cleaner uniforms, which should always have been scrubbing away, lay shattered and sprawled on the floor.
"Team Leader, look at those."
"I see them."
Tension laced the team member's voice.
Up close, the monsters' conditions were grotesque.
One had its abdomen mangled beyond recognition, to the point I couldn't even guess what weapon had done it.
It looked like a powerful explosion had detonated right in its gut.
What item could leave traces like that?
The other was missing its head entirely.
"Th-There, at the end..."
The team member pointed down the hallway, and sure enough, I'd overlooked it—the head had flown all the way to the corridor's end.
What the hell happened? It couldn't be just infighting between monsters; the destruction was far too one-sided.
It was as if someone—or something—had toyed with them using overwhelming force.
Kim Hyun-soo sure as hell hadn't done this.
Lost in confused thoughts, I suddenly heard the crisp click-clack of high heels echoing from behind at regular intervals.
My heart sank.
It was that monster.
The one in the fancy dress, always strutting in high-heeled shoes—the de facto owner of this underground hotel, that Mannequin monster.
"...!"
The team member gulped nervously, but I felt relieved instead.
At least that dress monster properly recognized humans who came and went here.
It already knew who I was and what Exploration Team 5 represented.
It might even have clues about Kim Hyun-soo and the counter.
From the end of the hallway, she gestured elegantly toward us. Clearly telling us to follow.
"...Let's go."
"Yes..."
We began following her cautiously.
Her footsteps led without hesitation toward the hotel's center—the restaurant.
When we arrived at the restaurant entrance, I was a bit surprised.
"Huh? Team Leader?"
"Team Leader!"
"..."
The team members who'd scattered to search the hotel had apparently all been guided by her too—they were already assembled at the restaurant door.
They all wore baffled expressions, glancing at each other.
The dress monster gestured toward the hefty restaurant doors, and they slid open smoothly to both sides.
She then strode inside first, her heels clicking into the dark restaurant.
"It's too dark in there...?"
"Team Leader... should we go in?"
Everyone looked to me for the decision.
I nodded calmly.
It meant it was fine to enter.
No other monster, but this dress one was on our side.
We slowly stepped inside the restaurant.
Then.
Click.
The lights flickered on with a sound.
The moment the interior came into view, I couldn't help but swallow hard.
"Ugh...!"
The restaurant was packed with guest monsters crammed at every table.
Fine, that part was normal.
They always filled the seats.
But dozens—maybe more—of the monsters had all halted their movements, staring piercingly at us standing at the door with their eerie eyes.
They weren't eating as usual.
Empty plates sat before them as they gazed our way.
Like predators waiting for their meal.
Thud!
Clank!
Then, the door we'd entered through slammed shut on its own—and locked.
"No way... these crazy monsters...!"
The situation was turning dire.