Chapter 221
Chapter 221
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 221
Chapter Title: Capturing Kim Shin-hwa
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It was originally a pristine white coat, but now it was soaked in blood and horrific bodily fluids, stained and mottled.
Her long, curly hair, which had elegantly cascaded down her back and shoulders, was now just as drenched in blood as the coat, a total mess.
Considering her profession as a doctor, one could argue there was some room for leniency in her appearance.
But beneath her large glasses, her eyes gleamed with eerie ecstasy, curiosity, and delight.
Someone without background knowledge who encountered her might think she was a mad scientist pulling the strings behind every incident in this hallway, or an evil doctor who had abandoned ethics and morality—but she wasn't the mastermind.
She was simply a mad scientist who found the facts purely enjoyable and delightful, and a doctor devoid of ethics and morality.
"Hmm, things got quiet, and sure enough, it's all over nowwww~"
It wasn't a soliloquy. She was holding a smartphone to her ear, talking to someone.
"No, nooo~ It couldn't be helped! Half the people with me suddenly vomited blood and died, the other half went insane all at once, and thennn~ Ah, got it. Got it. Huh? Hold on a sec~"
The destroyed hallway.
Corpses scattered everywhere.
Blood flowing like a river.
She briefly lowered her head and extended her hand toward the blood still trickling across the floor.
*Splat splat*
"Hmmmmm~ This place is a wreck too. So many patients dead and broken. Looks like my research got ruined toooo~ Ugh."
Lee Ha-seo shook off her hand casually and stood, carefully navigating the blood-and-corpse-filled hallway without stepping on any bodies—
"Huh? Oh?"
—and spotted something.
"Director, there's something fun dropped hereee~ Could you send some people over quick? Yeah. Yeah. That's righttt~. Understooddd~ I'll waittt~"
Ending the call, Lee Ha-seo shoved her smartphone carelessly into her coat pocket.
"It's all a mess and stuffff~"
Lee Ha-seo lifted her glasses slightly with slender fingers.
"Buttt~, we secured one handsome guy, so maybe we're in the black?"
Lee Ha-seo pondered what code name to give Kim Shin-hwa, shyly cupping her cheek.
Bright red blood trickled down her pale face.
* * *
IPE-1789-MINUTES-20230510-4
Participants: A, B, C, D
*Personal information redacted (per Security Protocol 2-8)*
A: Kim Shin-hwa. Age... how old is this guy?
B: Hmm, no ID on him.
A: Really? Looks late 20s to me? Mid? No, early?
B: Mid-20s, I'd say.
A: Hmm, mid-20s it is.
D: No objections.
C: Ehh~ Isn't he baby-faced early 30s maybeee~?
A: Overruled. That face 30s? No way.
C: Aww, older guys are betterrr~
A: Nope. Mid-20s to me. ■■■, note it as mid-20s for now. Provisional, we can adjust later.
D: Yes, provisionally recorded as mid-20s.
B: What about the designation number?
D: Lots of gaps from this incident, so orders are to fill from the front.
A: What, we sorting supermarket inventory now?
C: Hmm~ Then IPE-1789 is openneee~.
B: Seventeen hundreds? Aren't there earlier gaps?
C: Filled those with reserve patientsss~.
A: Ah, reserves. Got it. IPE-1789 confirmed. ■■■, log it.
D: Yes. Confirmed as IPE-1789. Logged.
A: Nickname? ■■■. ■■■ found him, got any ideas?
C: Uh~ Pretty Face?
A: ■■■. Smack ■■■.
D: Yes.
C: Aww. He's so cuteee~
B: Heard some calling him the Destruction Demon?
A: Destruction Demon?
B: Wherever he goes, destruction and death follow, apparently.
A: Ugh, embarrassing. Classification?
D: Autonomous activity, aggressive, possesses multiple Class 1-level abilities, difficult to control or subdue, severe mental contamination, triggered or active ability. Classified as Red Class 2.
A: Triggered or active? That thing? Isn't it a static ability? Can an unconscious state sustain active abilities this long?
D: Per classification, static abilities must persist without resource drain or maintenance. Circumstantially, the ability was likely activated before IPE-1789 lost consciousness.
C: I analyzed ittt~, and the barrier protecting IPE-1789 now is maintaining itself by consuming IPE-1789's mana~.
A: Maintaining a barrier at this level unconsciously? Shouldn't we classify as Black?
B: Hmm, at first ■■■ insisted it was an avatar type, so I asked ■■■, who confirmed it's not Black.
A: Really? If ■■■ says so, then fine. Active ability, so better than Red 2—make it Red 1. Confirmed Red 1, adjust containment level accordingly. ■■■, log it.
D: Yes. Confirmed Red 1 and logged. Containment level readjusting.
C: Ehh~ Wait a sec, not Red 2?
A: No. Red 1.
C: Then I can't see himmm~
A: Get my permission first.
C: Nooo~
(Continued on next page)
****
Kim Shin-hwa (Age unknown, estimated mid-20s)
Designation: IPE-1789
Nickname: Sleeping Wizard
Classification: Red Class 1
Notes: Type 7 Close Encounter (presumed).
Aggressive, possesses multiple Class 1-level abilities, difficult to control or subdue, severe mental contamination (presumed), triggered or active ability.
Humanoid entity floating approximately 1.5m above the ground.
Subject floats horizontally at a fixed height.
56 special objects (IPE-1789-2, mana stones) orbit at a 1.5m radius from the body's center.
IPE-1789 shows no movement, presumed asleep or comatose (see Appendix 2 for prior activity logs).
Active as a so-called "fixer" near Paju pre-admission. Confirmed Class 1 abilities.
Primary abilities: Class 1 elemental control, physical law distortion, surreal psychological control, shapeshifting (Type E), flight, material manipulation, etc. Confirmed as ability user dubbed "Wizard."
****
Notes
IPE-1789-2 (Mana stones) confirmed to produce surreal effects protecting IPE-1789.
Induces fatal anomalies in approaching entities (biological or not).
Lee Ha-seo lists confirmed anomalies to date.
1. 50% of approaching subjects (humans with normal intelligence, test subjects) lose will to approach IPE-1789.
***
Test Subject Interview.
Interviewer: Why did you stop approaching?
Test Subject: Didn't want to get any closer.
Interviewer: Why did you think that?
Test Subject: No idea. Just felt like I shouldn't.
Interviewer: Did you feel fear?
Test Subject: No. Just decided not to approach. That was my choice.
Interviewer: Do you still feel that way?
Test Subject: Yes.
Interviewer: What if we force you to approach?
Test Subject: I'll kill myself.
***
*Effect presumed Class 3 mental contamination hazard. Request test subjects with full mental barriers. (Requester: Lee Ha-seo)* → Mental barrier measures approved.
2. Loss of vision and hearing in approaching subjects (humans with normal intelligence, test subjects).
Not recoverable naturally. Requires Class 2+ medical treatment.
*Effect presumed ability manifesting as magic or curse. Request defenders with relevant counters or equivalent artifacts. (Requester: Lee Ha-seo)* → Artifact support approved.
3. Class 4 toxic gas dispersal.
*Gas sampled. Request antidote serum production.
→ Antidote production approved.
*Hazard downgraded to Class 3. (Modifier: Lee Ha-seo)* *Serum ineffective; request Class 3 sealed protection for skin/respiratory. (Requester: Lee Ha-seo)* → Protection gear approved.
4. Class 2 acidic gas dispersal. Extremely lethal to humans. Class 3 gear corrodes.
*Request Class 1 sealed protection for skin/respiratory. (Requester: Lee Ha-seo)* → Protection gear approved.
5. Class 2 surreal flames emitted at approaching subjects. Extremely lethal to humans.
*Request ability user or artifact with flame resistance. (Requester: Lee Ha-seo)* → Request denied.
*Re-request. (Requester: Lee Ha-seo)
→ Request denied.
→ Suggest non-human mechanical approach.
6. Surreal cooling on approaching subjects. Motor stops on approaching machine.
*Request ability user or artifact resistant to cooling/flames. (Requester: Lee Ha-seo)* → Request denied.
→ Suggest machine with cooling resistance.
7. Class 2 lightning emitted at approaching subjects. Electrical systems fully paralyzed.
*Request ability user or artifact resistant to cooling/flames/lightning. (Requester: Lee Ha-seo)* → Request denied.
→ Suggest halting approach tests.
IPE-1789's physical structure resembles human with normal vital signs, but some organs differ in structure/form. (Confirmed via ultrasound, X-ray, etc. Methods/details in Appendix 3, Detection Tests.)
****
Caution
Some ward patients report "hearing IPE-1789's voice in dreams."
Compiled sightings: Dream IPE-1789 appears with varying speech, appearance, masks.
***
Witness Interview.
Interviewer: What did the IPE-1789 in your dream look like?
Witness: A handsome man in a crow-shaped mask.
Interviewer: What made him handsome?
Witness: Hmm, voice? Attitude? No, his presence.
Interviewer: What did IPE-1789 demand?
Witness: Bring him the keystone.
Interviewer: What's that?
Witness: No idea. But he said it's in this hospital.
***
****
Special Warning & Measures 1
*Do not conduct experiments approaching IPE-1789 with other closed-ward patients or surreal entities.
*Lee Ha-seo prohibited from experiments/access to IPE-1789 without superior approval.
Special Warning & Measures 1-2
*IPE-1599 [Burrowing Stone], IPE-332 [Singing Stone], IPE-920 [Brain Stone] are NOT the keystone.
Special Warning & Measures 2
*Do not conduct unauthorized experiments on IPE-1789 without superior approval.
*Lee Ha-seo prohibited from experiments/access to IPE-1789.
*Measures permanent unless specially amended.
Special Warning & Measures 2-2
*IPE-1233 [Slippery Stone], IPE-466 [Steel Wedge], IPE-36 [Talking Wedge Bug] are NOT the keystone.
****
* * *
A round room.
"Uwaaaaaah!"
Gong Yi-su screamed awake. His gaze fixed on the rounded corner, but actually further left, more left—no, even further left.
Beyond what anyone here could observe.
- -
A recurring eerie sound.
"Shut up! Don't stink up this room with corpse smell and get out! Why ask me to find the keystone or whatever?"
- -
No reply, but Gong Yi-su spoke again.
"I told you I don't want to get tangled up anymore. Please stop! You too! You have no right to order me! I don't care what I decided later—I am me! Don't interfere with my time! Like that bastard said, I'll live quietly like a plant!"
- -
Repetitive sound instead of reply.
No one in this world could describe it. Except one.
Only Gong Yi-su could understand and describe this sound.
"No! I won't! Get out! Go back to your time!"
*Tick-tock—tick-tock—*
The sound of a clock's second hand.