Chapter 211
Chapter 211
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 211
Chapter Title: Closed Ward
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The number of fixers gathered in the hospital lobby alone was already in the dozens. And that didn't even count the cultists who had come to unleash some surreal terrorist attack.
But at the shout of that thug with the megaphone, Yang Seoho, not a single one of them stepped forward. They all hesitated and shuffled backward.
As if they were terrified of catching Yang Seoho's eye.
"Ha—"
"Ah, no. Colly, please don't say a word!"
"Ugh, Colly, don't do it!"
Curtain Call looked like she was about to say something, but fortunately, her companions clung to her and held her back. Curtain Call... she sure has good teammates.
And besides, there was someone else who would step up even if Curtain Call didn't.
A man in a necktie pointed at Yang Seoho and approached him.
"Hey! If you're really from the Administration, you need to follow proper procedures, not throw a tantrum like this!"
As I'd seen earlier, Paju Central Hospital had its own fierce pride.
We protect our own. And no one interferes with our medical care.
The interior of Paju Central Hospital was practically an extraterritorial zone. And Yang Seoho had just trampled all over it with his filthy boots.
Yang Seoho flashed a splendid smile at the man who had stepped up and was now grilling him.
Then he slowly pulled the megaphone away from his mouth...
Yeah, days when common sense prevails do exist! Yang Seoho lowered the megaphone and would now calmly explain his mistake.
Crack!
As if.
Yang Seoho demonstrated that the megaphone could double as a weapon. Then it returned to his lips.
"Next!"
Yang Seoho made a briefly annoyed face before kicking the man on the floor toward the cluster of nurses.
"Like that guy just now! If you think you're Kim Sinhua, or if you can point out who Kim Sinhua is, step forward!"
This guy wasn't messing around.
I'd known he was hot-tempered from the start, but why was he so pissed off today? Did I call him here for nothing?
Whether I did or not, just as I'd predicted, the hospital's entire combat force began pouring into the lobby.
The monks from Sangbul Temple, who had been chanting spells with such confidence, now looked pallid and were gloomily contemplating their lives and futures. Yeah, what are you gonna do? Proceed with the ritual as your god commands?
"Hmm..."
My original plan had been a bit different, but with things turning out like this, I could take an easier route.
I focused on stealth as much as possible and slowly moved to a corner of the lobby. There, lurking in the shadows, was a bizarre monster spawned from the tentacles of the [Predator in the Mountains].
[Corpse Maggot].
Different in form from the [Blood Leech] or [Organ Snail] I'd seen before, but ultimately the same lineage. The only difference was that it had been created by [The Quiet Waiter], an avatar of the [Predator in the Mountains].
It seeps in slowly, feeding on mana and corpses to grow.
They'd probably fed it mana provided by those fake monks worshiping [Sangdubul] to accelerate its growth, then planned a simultaneous multi-pronged assault.
The placement even seemed to account for ley lines and feng shui. Just like the [Blood Demon King]'s method back in Paju Samneung.
'Whatever. If you've drawn your sword, you might as well swing it.'
I pulled out a mana crystal and fed it to the [Corpse Maggot] quietly building its strength in the corner of the building.
"Here, eat up and grow big and strong."
Crunch—crack—crunch—
A few more times. I fed mana crystals to the ones with particularly strong auras among the maggots.
"Now, then, please come this way so we can properly verify."
The hospital staff seemed to be trying a conciliatory approach.
Earlier, in the front courtyard, those who underwent level 4 or higher mutations from the Seventh Kind Close Encounter were definitely chanting the name Kim Sinhua. How about checking with those people?
Oh, if only you'd done this from the start. I apologize for the intrusion, but I hope it's not an issue.
Ah, yes. No issue at all, so please come this way...
Whispers of that sort were being exchanged.
'No, we can't have that.'
The cultists, watching their reactions. They had no intention of abandoning the plan.
This hospital wasn't an easy target to begin with.
Guys who decided to cause open chaos in a place like this wouldn't stop at some minor trouble.
With or without Yang Seoho, dead or alive, these bastards would trigger the incident as planned.
They were just biding their time right now.
'If the chaos is inevitable anyway, I'll decide when it starts.'
The starting point was right now.
If things went well, I could deal with the [Predator in the Mountains] and its avatars all at once.
Eeeeeeng—
I carefully drew up my mana and overloaded the mana crystals the [Corpse Maggots] had eaten.
"Bugrrrl—bugrrrrl—"
Crunchhh—cracckkk—
"Gr, grrrk—grrrrl—"
The maggots swelled up all at once.
No, "swelled" isn't the right word.
Boom! Crash!
Giantification. They were giantifying.
"W-What's that!?"
"What the hell? Why are there monsters like this in Paju Central Hospital!?"
In an instant, the [Corpse Maggots] grew larger than humans, horses—no, trucks—and began rampaging as they lost control of their boiling mana.
"Chirrrk! Chirrrk!"
"Kirrk! Kirrrrk!"
As if infected by the giants' excitement, the smaller ones burst out all at once.
"Bugs! Monsters! Monsters!"
"Uwaaaah! Bugs everywhere!"
Screams erupted simultaneously from all directions. In any other situation, I wouldn't use a strategy that might harm civilians, but today was an exception.
This place was full of people far too tough to count as civilians.
"It's Kim Sinhua! Kim Sinhua's doing!"
"Grab him! Kill those bugs first!"
The Administration's officials surged forward.
"Protect! Protect the patients!"
"Our hospital, we defend it!"
Nurses charging in with sharply honed greatswords and clubs.
"Damn it! No choice but to start now!"
"Sangdubul! Grant us infinite power and immortality!"
The cultists revealing their true colors in desperation.
"Let us out!"
"Escape!!"
Those trying to flee outside the hospital.
"Hahaha! What a shitshow!"
"If we catch 'em, do we get a bounty?"
"What? Bounty?"
"Sweet! I'm in!"
And the fixers getting hyped at the sight of blood and monsters.
KABOOM!
Suddenly, part of the wall collapsed.
Oh, and one more thing.
"Everyone stop!"
"Where is Kim Sinhua!"
"Revenge! Blood revenge!"
Cultists, each one grotesquely bloated and deformed.
Remnants of the Gourmet Expedition Squad.
KABOOOM! Crash! Block it! Grab 'em! Kill! Spare me! Where!? BOOM! Smack! Thud! Uwaaah! Is that Kim Sinhua? What the hell is going on!? Bang bang bang! Who the fuck's shooting guns? Chirrrrk! Kim Sinhua! Who the hell is Kim Sinhua? Save me! I'm getting out! Chirrrk! Uwaaah! Save that guy! Sangdubul will devour your souls! Grrrk! Tie 'em up! Tie 'em! Subdue! No, just kill 'em! What are you doing! Kim Sinhua! Where's that bastard Kim Sinhua! Cover your heads! Ugh! Colly, don't! Not that way! Get out now! Bang bang bang bang! Boom! Kim Sinhua! Thwack! Crack! Kyaagyaa! No, don't go that way! Protect the tanks! KABOOM! Stop it! Uwaaah!
Total chaos now, impossible to tell what was what.
"Emergency! Emergency!"
"Ugh! What the hell is this situation?!"
More Paju Central Hospital staff poured in from a passageway on one side of the lobby.
They stared at the pandemonium in the lobby with dazed expressions for a moment. They came because shit was hitting the fan, but what the hell were they supposed to do? Something like that.
I decided to give them a target. While maintaining stealth, I shouted at them.
[Voice of Authority]
『Guide the patients to the west wing immediately!』
A message laced with mana, carrying authoritative weight. And it aligned perfectly with their protocols.
"Y-Yeah! Move the patients to the west wing!"
"Everyone, this way!"
"This way! This way! To the west wing!"
Good, that's it.
In the meantime, I lobbed a few mana crystal bombs or cast buffs to help the helpless escape, slipping out with them.
"Whew, everyone's so aggressive. What a pain."
I'd picked up some glasses and a doctor's coat along the way for a light disguise, and now I strolled down the west wing corridor.
Explosions and screams still echoed from far away.
I'd saved everyone who needed help, so it should be fine. This was a hospital, after all.
I had the hospital layout memorized.
Some parts were fuzzy due to my ichthyophobia, but that was just around the north lobby. Everywhere else came back crystal clear.
"Ah, here it is."
Authorized personnel only.
A sturdy metal door with that sign.
To the eye, it was just a tough door, but it was made of the same material as the one blocking Cheongho's bunker.
Pure silver door.
Powerful security spells were active. Out of curiosity, I extended my mana to probe the spell's structure.
'Definitely twelve times more refined than the slapdash defenses Cheongho threw together.'
I could dispel it if I wanted, but no need right now.
Beep—
Using Yi Ha-seo's ID card produced a cheerful chime, and the door slid open. A message popped up simultaneously.
[System: The 'Enhanced Vigilance' trait activates.]
Yang Seoho hadn't followed me here.
The message triggered because the closed ward itself was as dangerous as Yang Seoho.
"Hm, let's see..."
I peered down the closed ward corridor. Chill, dry air flowed through it.
There were more presences inside than expected.
Besides the patients confined here, there were plenty of guards who stayed put no matter what chaos erupted elsewhere.
"Well, fine."
I pulled out something else I'd swiped from my pocket along with the ID card.
A long, curly strand of hair.
Mana extended from my fingertips absorbed the information embedded in the hair.
"Hm, matches Yi Ha-seo."
Even if it didn't, no big deal.
[Form Absorption]
Whoooosh—
Mana flowed from my entire body, adjusting my appearance based on the absorbed data.
In seconds, my hair lengthened, my curves and limb thickness shifted. Soon, I had perfectly transformed into Yi Ha-seo.
I adjusted my glasses with one hand and checked my form.
"Good. No—'Like this— is it the speech pattern—?'"
My body hadn't actually changed shape. Just an illusion overlaid to project Yi Ha-seo's image.
I pulled a yellow binder from my backpack, hugged it to my chest, and walked down the corridor.
The binder was titled [Paju Central Hospital Closed Ward Admission/Discharge Records].
I'd checked it already, but I reviewed the contents again.
****
Y-2-307.
Patient: Gong Isu.
Discharge Record: None.
****
Nicknamed the Round Room.
The only one in the hospital—no, in all of Paju. A space with every corner removed.
Designed to "protect" and "isolate" someone who couldn't live in places with corners. It had appeared a few times in the game too.
'Back then, it was always empty for me, the player.'
But now, instead of me—the one I thought was the only one in this world—someone else was using it.
And they'd been there since six years before I was dragged into this world.
I needed to check what was up with this Gong Isu, even if they didn't have the [Feast's Offering] trait.
Because...
The Round Room was made to isolate a 'time traveler'.