Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Happiness Comprehensive Hospital — Horror (4)
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Watching the video wasn't a complete waste of time.
If asked whether it was worth 200 coins, I'd have to shake my head firmly no.
About a minute or so.
That was the time it took from when 'Not Human' entered the hospital until she passed out.
It was a brief moment, but she had glanced around, capturing the scenery, and thanks to that, I could share in those memories too.
The middle-aged man I'd seen leaving the lobby didn't appear in her worldline.
'Rule differences based on worldlines.'
Of course, I couldn't say for sure that this was completely accurate.
He might have shown up after she passed out, and I just missed it.
Still—
After confirming through multiple loops, it seemed highly likely that the man was a unique variable that only appeared in my worldline.
I turned my body familiarly now and headed out of the lobby.
The scenery rippled like waves, instantly shifting back to the appearance of an ordinary hospital.
This time—
"Here..?"
A middle-aged man's low voice echoed.
But I deliberately ignored it.
The timing of the man's appearance was too coincidental.
As if trying to forcibly seize the attention of anyone who had just entered.
I didn't turn around or approach.
Just like the other 'patients' around me, I slowly moved forward, as if searching only for my destination.
Soon—
A sound like ears being torn apart exploded like fireworks, shaking the lobby.
By the time that noise had passed, silence settled over the hospital again.
Even though someone had just died.
No one was startled or screamed.
As if nothing had happened, they were all absorbed in their own tasks.
Keeping my head facing forward, I only shifted my gaze sideways to check the spot where he had stood.
On the floor stained red.
The evidence that the man had been there...
Aside from a dropped item and a bit of bloodstain, it was scattered beyond recognition.
Soon even those traces were absorbed into the floor and vanished.
I forcibly tore my gaze away.
Staring any longer felt like my feet would be glued to that scene.
An unsolvable question writhed in my head like a living worm.
'What if... he was human?'
That tiny thought grew larger, finally crawling up to infest my mind.
I—
Swallowed that emotion forcibly.
I'd tried approaching the man in double-digit loops.
I'd pretended to be expressionless and spoken to him.
I'd even anticipated where he'd appear and approached first.
But the result was always the same.
His sweat-drenched face twisted only in despair.
And I never once succeeded in persuading him or making him understand the situation.
'..Don't think about it.'
I headed to the reception desk.
My heart was still pounding at the back of my throat, but I maintained an expressionless face.
To survive in this place right now.
I just had to walk as if I were a patient, as if nothing was wrong.
***
For the first time, I left the lobby and stepped into the depths of the hospital.
Rows of chairs lined up.
And in the center, a single, solitary ticket dispenser.
The hospital was clean and modern-looking, but the dispenser was different.
The buttons were worn from use, and every time a ticket was pulled, a low electronic beep echoed long through the hall.
I reached out and quickly yanked the paper.
[Number: 9431]
For a moment, seeing the number on the ticket left me speechless.
"...Nine thousand four hundred?"
An incredulous voice leaked out on its own.
I looked up and scanned the lobby.
Patients filled every waiting chair, each holding a ticket.
Their faces were blurred beyond recognition.
As if they were mere illusions mimicking humans.
At that moment, an announcement came from the ceiling.
[Customer 61, please proceed to counter 2.]
The announcement sounded.
Exactly 30 seconds later, another number was called.
[Customer 62, please proceed to counter 1.]
Dozens of reception counters lined up in view.
A calculation flashed through my mind.
One per 30 seconds. Two per minute. Barely 120 per hour.
At this rate... would my turn come before the hospital closed?
After several more calls, I was about to move, unable to wait any longer.
I needed to think of another way.
So, hurry—
"..Ah.."
Suddenly, my vision swayed dizzily.
My breath caught, and my head went blank.
The pounding heartbeat gradually slowed.
My impatient mind settled, and the tension in my fingertips eased.
My turn would come eventually anyway.
So why had I been so obsessed with hurrying just moments ago?
I couldn't even understand myself why I'd been so desperate.
'Is there any rush?'
[Customer 112, please proceed to counter 8.]
[Customer 362, please proceed to counter 3.]
'It'll come eventually.'
[Customer 862, please proceed to counter 7.]
[Customer 1062, please proceed to counter 5.]
'Until then, waiting quietly is.'
[Customer 1152, please proceed to counter 13.]
[Customer 1262, please proceed to counter 10.]
Waiting for one's number as a patient was only natural.
Outside, it was impossible to tell day from night, so I had no idea how much time had passed.
[Thank you. We appreciate all visitors to Happiness Sharing Comprehensive Hospital today. That concludes today's consultations.]
With the final announcement, all the lights in the hospital went out.
My body stood up on its own.
And moved toward the hospital entrance.
The 'dolls' who hadn't registered as patients, like me, headed outside together.
Hiss—
The automatic doors opened, and one by one.
The dolls who had waited for their turns exited expressionlessly.
Soon it was my turn.
At that moment, darkness fell.
And the massive arm I'd been trying to avoid crashed down in front of me.
A length impossible to gauge.
Its skin was blackened and festering, twisted joints bulging like worms.
It felt like my body was sinking into muck.
This time, there was no luck like before.
Along with the sensation of something sucking my entire body in—
My consciousness fully sank.
***
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Moving to the last save point.]
[The most recent save point is AUTO SAVE 3.]
[Happiness Sharing Comprehensive Hospital Horror]
[Death Type]: Absorption.
[Tip]: Avoid peak hours at the hospital.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Light pierced my eyelids like needles.
The moment I inhaled, my lungs swelled sharply, as if bursting out of water.
"Huh—!"
A feeling of something blocked unclogging.
A ragged breath burst from my mouth, and instinctively, I scanned my surroundings.
Overly bright fluorescent lights flooded my vision, gradually revealing the familiar hospital lobby.
I brought my hand to my neck.
The sensation of being strangled lingered stickily on my nape.
The moment I'd been seized by an incomprehensible hand and dragged into darkness—
The cold chill seeping in.
The sensation of my soul melting away.
As I steadied my breathing for a moment.
The bottom of the screen flashed.
: Something happen?
[Serious Junkie]: ...No?Clue. Seemed startled right after entering.
[Hell Hurts]: But isn't this Happiness Sharing Comprehensive Hospital?
[Crazy Woman]: 15721 go go newbie. Sis will show you something good. Permanent collection spot.
└[Not Human]: ..??? You crazy bitch? 14122 go go this is the real highlight.
└[Crazy Woman]: ???
└[Not Human]: ???
A scene of them desperately hurling each other's dark history at one another.
The endless stream of chat drips diluted the sensation I'd just felt.
Soon, a differently colored line caught my eye.
It was a private message.
[Not Human]: 14122 14122 14122
And with a time lag, another chat arrived.
[Crazy Woman]: 15721 15721 15721.
Thanks to that, an even stronger memory resurfaced, pushing the recent terror aside.
A laugh slipped out involuntarily.
Ironically, because of that one line.
For a while, I blankly stared at the chats scrolling below the monitor.
The familiar rhythm of them fighting, cursing, and trading jokes.
The heart-pounding rhythm gradually settled.
Tension drained from my stiffened shoulders, and cooling sweat chilled my skin.
The sensation of sweat cooling and skin growing cool spread.
"......Hoo."
With that short exhale, the tension fully vanished.
The fact that I'd experienced death and returned still weighed on my mind, but ultimately, I hadn't really died.
"Alright. Let's go."
***
This time, I didn't hesitate for even a moment.
I approached the dispenser at the fastest speed possible without seeming suspicious.
But.
Even arriving as quickly as possible...
[Number: 9171]
"...Damn it."
It had dropped by hundreds. Clearly much closer than before.
Yet still an unreachable number.
The last called number had been only 1262.
Even excluding the time spent lingering in the lobby, the straightforward method was hopeless.
I just checked the ticket and didn't take it.
I had no desire to experience going back outside on my own feet again.
My gaze fell on the ticket held by a doll sitting obediently in its seat.
[Number: 136]
..136.
Wait, 136?!
The chat window flashed as it caught my gaze.
Ah. Sight sharing doesn't work.
I reflected on even briefly having a bad thought—
[Not Human]: Snag it quick. Newb.
That doll will understand. Good is good.
[Crazy Woman]: Barter go go go. By Anomalous Tale Gallery standards, barter means item-for-item exchange zoom.