Chapter 209
Chapter 209
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 209
Chapter Title: Nurses
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Amid the bustling crowd, there were scattered individuals in bizarre attire.
The [Predator of the Mountains] had used tentacles spawned from its own authority to possess humans with specters and the like.
"Bzzzzzz..."
"Grrrrrr..."
They looked like they were about to hurl up whatever was inside their stomachs at any moment.
But where was the Gourmet Expedition Team, and why resort to something like this?
Sure, it was a way to instantly create cultists to enact its will, but if that were so effective, why would other abyssal entities go to such lengths to cultivate their followers?
'A total waste of power. Why bother? Got energy to spare?'
Jang Hyun-deok had pulled the same stunt, but that worked because of his [Living Altar] trait, which turned 100 units of power invested into 1,200.
For ordinary humans without spirit medium traits, it triggered backlash and resistance, preventing any real power from manifesting. Pump 100 into a normal person, and you'd get maybe 10 to 30 in efficiency.
Of course, something like the grimoire from the Huanglin Church last time that compensated for influence, or a large-scale ritual, might change that...
'Did some insane artifact or spirit medium pop up that I don't know about? Nah, no such event should exist.'
No way it was dumping all its energy into this out of sheer obsession with me—right? That'd be pure madness.
Whatever.
"Waste your power however you like. I'm just passing through."
Hidden in the back alleys out of sight, I swapped masks. The one Seo Cheon-seul had left me.
I donned the mask of the Thousand Gold Commander's, shaped like an enraged goblin's face, and pulled a wooden chopstick from my backpack, peeling off its wrapper.
It was still one piece, not yet split into two. I brought it to my lips and whispered to it like a secret.
"Pull it left and right, and you'll become two, but right now you're one. Two halves side by side look just like a human walking on two legs. I'll breathe life into you, so walk like a human, exhaling that breath."
Hoo—
I blew lightly on the chopstick and tossed it into the air. It spun playfully a few times mid-flight before transforming into a human figure and landing on the ground.
'Wait, what did I just do?'
Out of all the options, why'd I pick [Create a decoy that looks just like me]?
Memories of Kim Shin-hwa's chatter from last night surfaced.
"Can't just say 'no way' and skip it—it's not that simple."
It was just an illusion, after all—could only walk and repeat set phrases, nothing more.
I addressed the chopstick illusion I'd made.
"Hey, chopstick buddy. Got time to handle the thing I was gonna do?"
"I am Kim Shin-hwa."
"Good job."
"I am Kim Shin-hwa. I am Kim Shin-hwa. I am Kim Shin-hwa."
The chopstick Kim Shin-hwa trudged toward the hospital, repeating the line.
I immediately removed the mask and swapped to the prepared one. Wish there was a hotkey for quick changes. Taking it off and on is such a hassle.
I raised a hand to touch my face.
Different texture from usual. Soft, pliable skin. As my fingertips moved slowly, I felt the shape of nose and lips.
"Hmm. A bit awkward."
Not my bare face—this was a mask too.
Crafted from living flesh and magically produced skin to form a face. A [human skin mask], I suppose?
The added incantations let it naturally mimic my expressions and movements.
'Illusion magic could do something similar.'
But who knew what attacks I'd face today—better not waste spells.
Disguised in this fake appearance, I blended into the crowd and headed for the hospital.
Up ahead, the fake Kim Shin-hwa led the way.
Striding through all these people in that grotesque mask...
"Seeing it from a third-party view, I look like a total lunatic."
At least this hospital had plenty of folks as oddly dressed as me. Fixers hauling massive weapons. Weird gear and outlandish magic foci caught the eye.
And humans even more standout than the fixers.
"K-Kim Shiiin-haaa..."
The humans controlled by the [Predator of the Mountains] approached the fake Kim Shin-hwa one by one, shambling like mindless zombies.
"I am Kim Shin-hwa. I am Kim Shin-hwa. I am Kim Shin-hwa."
They closed in on the repeating fake. The moment they grabbed it, they unleashed their pent-up vomit.
"Grraaaagh, bleeeeurgh!!"
Hundreds of tentacles erupted from gaping mouths, accompanied by wet slurping sounds—wrapping and crushing the fake Kim Shin-hwa in one go.
Crack!
The illusion reverted to its original wooden chopstick form, smashed in place.
"Aaahhh! Monster! It's a monster!"
"Kyaaahhh!"
"What the hell's happening in front of the hospital!?"
High fixer ratio aside, the crowd—mostly civilians—plunged into chaos instantly.
"Bzzzzzz!"
"Kim Shin-haaa!"
"Kim Shin-ha!!"
Even the [Predator of the Mountains]' minions lost their target, screeching my name and lunging at random people, spewing tentacles in a frenzy.
"Aaagh!"
"Get away, you freak!"
"Don't come near!"
Some fixers had weapons, but they were busy dodging. No fixer was dumb enough to jump into a no-pay brawl.
Plus, this was Paju Central Hospital.
Just like I'd judged—no need to step up here.
"Coming through! Make way!"
"Out of the way! We're coming!"
"Emergency! Emergency!"
Shouts from the hospital building. Burly nurses in practical navy uniforms charged out.
"Hyaah!"
One nurse didn't just run—she leaped into the air with gusto, swinging her baton one-handed.
Whack!
"Patient? What's your status right now?"
"Grrraaah!"
"Non-verbal! Pupils dilated, foreign objects in mouth. Estimated level 4+ physical mutation. Type 7 close encounter due to surreal interference! Suppressing for emergency treatment!"
With that, indiscriminate beatdown began. Tentacles writhed to ensnare, but more nurses piled on.
"Take him down!"
"Yaaah!"
Swinging batons, greatswords, tactical axes. Atmosphere thick enough for guns to appear any second—but firearms mercifully stayed holstered.
In the end, the [Predator of the Mountains]' minions were subdued in seconds—bound in high-tensile bands and carted into the hospital.
Probably get 'treated' like that.
Bizarre as it was, people reacted with familiarity.
"Haven't seen the nurses fight in ages."
"I saw it last time too. Remember? The spontaneous human combustion patient..."
Some nurses yelled at the crowd.
"Anyone experiencing fever, headaches, dizziness, sensory anomalies, excessive tension, extreme anxiety, auditory hallucinations, visual hallucinations from this incident?"
"If so, come this way!"
A few approached the nurses, but I slipped past into the hospital.
These were Paju Central Hospital's combat nurses.
What was the [Predator of the Mountains] thinking, picking a fight here?
This was Paju.
And Paju Central was the region's biggest, most aggressive hospital. No choice—their main clientele were fixers straddling reality and unreality.
Folks who could pulverize heads with a hand wave, rip out spines, spark massive fires with mutterings. Cyborgs with tactical implants, and more.
To curb their rampages and defend against surreal assaults, this hospital's staffing was worlds apart from normal ones.
'Even non-fixers—regular patients don't come here.'
Not just the combat power.
Paju's freak accidents and disasters.
Hence, endless injuries and illnesses untreatable by standard hospitals.
How do you treat a ghost-possessed patient?
Or one with a human face growing on their leg, tentacles sprouting from body, spewing fire from mouth, abducted and modified by aliens, triggering magical disasters from surreal grimoires, or lost souls in eternal sleep?
Ordinary treatments don't work.
For example... ugh, what's that?
'Guess that's why I kept blacking out.'
An enormous tank dominated the hospital lobby.
Vast lobby with ceiling punched through to the fifth floor. A massive cylindrical tank stretching to that ceiling.
At least 20 meters tall, over 10 meters wide—more aquarium than tank.
Blue-glowing water teemed with grotesque fish swimming about.
This absurd setup was why I'd never come here before.
I still had no memory of it existing.
'Memory loss effects lingering.'
What else did I forget?
I stared at the irritating giant fish tank for a moment.
Used to be ichthyophobia, but now I could look.
A building-centerpiece mega-tank with leisurely swimming fish—enough to unsettle even without phobia.
Or maybe traces of fish fear remained? Unpleasant sensation.
"Why put something like that here?"
Not just the size—the swimmers were bizarre lifeforms unseen in normal waters.
Not full-on surreal monsters, but...
"What even are those?"
Fish memories spotty too. Not fully gone, but losses there. How to recover them?
"Wen-yo fish (文鰩魚). Also called flying fish (飛魚). Surreal entities recently appearing in the West and South Seas."
Someone answered my mutter. I touched my fake face and turned.
"Oh, really? Wen-yo?"
"Yes. From the Classic of Mountains and Seas. Something like—carp body, bird wings, blue patterns, white head."
The fish matched her description.
Not madness-inducing shapes, but fins like wings.
Plenty of other varieties too.
"Used to be thought of as flying fish records, but post-Great Collapse, they started catching real wen-yo in the West and South Seas."
I knew her.
No need to act familiar yet. I played dumb.
"But why keep these in a hospital? Decor?"
"No. Medical and research. Sweet, fatty meat—and get this! Cures mania!"
One reason I'd detoured to the north wing instead of psych ward directly? Handled.