Chapter 127
Chapter 127
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 127
Chapter Title: What Happened at the Abandoned Hospital (2)
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"Umm. So that's the concept, huh? Nice. Things are finally getting fun."
After the intro video wrapped up and Sara fully entered the abandoned hospital, she flashed a bright smile and picked up the camcorder. Using a camcorder inside VR gear felt strangely meta, but whatever.
For a pro broadcaster like her, this level of dissonance was something she could brush off with a laugh.
That said, this map—even back in the tutorial area, it had been like this—was ridiculously realistic. Sara plopped down in place and carefully scanned her surroundings.
"...This is the graphics, right?"
The usual VR map 3D graphics and polygon blurring effects were nowhere to be seen. The hyper-realistic abandoned hospital, where everything looked just like the real thing no matter where she looked, started to give Sara chills.
"Hello~?"
Just in case, she called out into the empty air, and the echo bounced back crystal clear into her ears. How the hell did they implement something like this? No wonder they made her wear the headset.
Sara quietly stared into the darkness ahead. Shards of shattered glass everywhere, an eerie sensation crawling up her throat.
'Huh? Thought it was no big deal, but this is kinda—'
Scary...?
Gulp. Sara swallowed hard.
Honestly, she hadn't been thinking much of it, but now that the game had actually started, the pressure she felt was on a whole different level from the tutorial.
It was starting to feel like she'd really been dropped into an abandoned hospital. Was this map so advanced it could induce hallucinations? She took a deep breath, and strangely, it smelled like ancient dust.
"Bullshit, you think I'd get spooked by something like this?"
Without realizing it, Sara slipped into her usual broadcast tone as she started stepping deeper into the darkness bit by bit. Legend oppa was Legend oppa, alright—as soon as he got serious about making a horror map, goosebumps erupted all over her body.
She'd never thought of herself as weak to horror games, so how long had it been since she'd felt real fear like this?
Sara swallowed hard again.
"Hey guys, let's clear the first floor step by step. This looks like the reception desk—probably nothing here, right?"
Sara approached the counter. It was collapsed in one spot from some impact, with old charts scattered across the floor.
The edges of the papers strewn randomly on the counter were yellowed and soaked with moisture. Whiiiish— Even though this was indoors, a sudden gust from somewhere made the papers flutter and lift into the air.
"UWAAAAAAAHHHHH?!?!?!?!?!"
At the same time, something actually sprinkled across Sara's face. She screamed and stumbled back.
Amid the viewers popping champagne in delight, Sara panted, huff huff.
She'd definitely sock Legend later if they met. Myth unnie would probably forgive one hit.
"At least the camcorder caught it properly, so maybe that's worth 1 point."
He hadn't explained exactly, but a direct physical interaction like this should count as 1 point, right?
"Not scared for real, you say? Ehehe, it's me, Sara, kids—the miracle girl who even beat her illness. You think this would scare me?"
Sara kept hyping up her energy, chatting with the viewers as she groped along the wall and moved down the corridor. There were scratches on the wall here and there.
Pressing on, Sara stopped in front of a door.
A room labeled 'Ward.' Were wards usually on the first floor of a hospital? Pushing aside that minor nitpick, Sara swallowed and stepped inside.
"Phew, a jumpscare right as I enter would be way too old-school. It won't be that predictable, right?"
A low, sticky sound came from the hinges. Thankfully, as Sara hoped—or predicted—no jumpscare popped out immediately. Relieved, she cautiously stepped into the room.
Inside was just a single bed, a toppled IV stand, and a fluorescent light hanging from the ceiling. Sara's eyes narrowed at the sight.
One hundred percent something's in this room. The fact that she had to deliberately trigger the gimmick even knowing it was there—that was Legend oppa's devious side.
"A fluorescent light on in an abandoned hospital? Way too suspicious."
"Oh, is this writing carved by Legend oppa? Hold on, what does it say?"
Sara brought the camcorder up to the wall. She'd gotten pretty familiar with Korean culture, but deciphering this sloppy left-handed scrawl—carved into the wall with shadows playing tricks—took time.
"Two? Dee? Ah, together it's 'back'... Woo, speaking's fine but reading's still tough."
Sara squinted. The handwriting was messy, carved with a chisel so even harder to read, and the spacing was all over the place. It wasn't unreasonable that she was slow, but the viewers' reactions were dramatic.
"Hold on guys, lemme decode this first then I'll read the chat."
She could see the chat scrolling up in the corner of her vision, but Sara ignored them for now and focused on deciphering.
"Two, dee, back. Ah, 'back.' The ㅣ was too detached, couldn't read it right away. 'Back,' no. 'Beware the back...? Jo, shimhae?'"
As the viewers were going nuts from frustration, suddenly a sound came from behind her.
Sara whipped around reflexively. The door she'd just come through was fully shut. Wow. Hadn't seen that coming.
She turned back and grabbed the handle, but it didn't budge.
Beware the back meant beware the locking door?
At that moment, her vision went pitch black again. In the lightless, darkness-filled view, a damp sound echoed.
Squelch, squelch. Like something wet crawling out. Sara instinctively turned toward it, but her vision still caught nothing.
"Wh-what?!"
And as Sara's tension peaked, her whole body hypersensitive—
"KYAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
In the pitch-black vision, amid max tension, something slimy wrapped around her foot—goosebumps exploded across her body as Sara literally leaped into the air.
A ferocious jump that would've gotten her scouted by an NBA player on the spot.
"UWAAAAK!!!!!! KYAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Sara hurriedly yanked off the VR gear and checked her ankle.
And there we were, holding a wet towel wrapped around her ankle. Sara glared down at us, eyes welling with tears.
"...Uh, um. Didn't think you'd freak out that bad."
We bowed to Sara with genuine apologies.
But our slightly trembling shoulders and irrepressible smirks betrayed our true feelings.
Sara trembled with betrayal and yelled at us.
"Weeeeee!!!!"
"You said you wouldn't get scared by stuff like this before starting."
"You try it! You!"
"No reason to. Anyway, you're out, Sara."
We gathered up the gear and VR headset she'd dropped. Then, with smiles plastered on our faces, we whispered to her.
"Weaker than expected."
"Try it yourself for real! Legend oppa's map is no joke, and then a wet towel on your leg outta nowhere—who wouldn't jump?!"
"Told you, no reason to."
"Uwaaaaaah! Unfair!"
"Unfair how? You're the broadcaster, I'm just a viewer."
Those two were a riot in every way.