Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Happiness General Hospital — Horror Tale (11)
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The footsteps of the anomalous entity followed close behind.
But my breathing remained calm.
After dozens of repetitions, the layout of this emergency room was etched into my bones.
Where to crouch, where to use cover, where to slip through gaps beyond the reach of the entity's arms—
It was all mapped out in my mind like a blueprint.
I twisted my body to the left, shoving over the partition right next to the hallway to block the path.
Soon after, the sound of the entity that had been hot on my heels tripping over the partition echoed from behind.
It smashed through it in an instant, but those few seconds of delay were enough.
The distance closed again.
‘Next, right side, under the bed.’
At a steady pace.
In steady rhythm.
Just as expected, the entity's arm swung through the air and slammed down.
I bent at the waist as if pressing it to the floor and crawled under the row of cabinets and beds.
The arm grazed overhead, crushing obstacles.
Boom!
It demolished every barrier in its path in a flash.
But it didn't matter.
By then, I had already slipped out the opposite exit.
'Here, I run full speed.'
Soon, the nurse entity smashed through the obstacles and gave chase.
A dead end ahead.
I didn't slow down, barreling toward the wall as if to crash into it.
The entity's body was certainly huge and strong.
In a straight-up one-on-one fight, I couldn't guarantee survival—lose a hundred times out of a hundred.
But that was—
Only if it turned into a head-on clash.
In a game of tag, its massive frame was a disadvantage, not an advantage.
Under the wall.
Beside the operating table, a narrow passage barely wide enough.
I slid straight into it.
The entity that had been right on my tail missed me again.
Its body couldn't fit through the narrow passage.
A long arm stretched out from behind to grab me.
I planted my knee on the floor and rolled once, dodging the grasp.
I spotted the emergency light's glow leaking through a distant gap.
"Good... just like this."
I caught my breath and stood.
Before the entity could turn and pursue again, I was already sprinting toward the next route.
The emergency room's layout inside wasn't normal.
What should be a standard ER was littered with pointless, questionable structures everywhere.
Passages too low to walk through upright.
A collapsed corridor to the left.
An bizarrely wide ventilation duct.
Under the broken cart to the right.
A thin gap too narrow to pass unless crawling.
Between the third pillar.
And only I could twist and squeeze through those gaps.
Rounding the corner of the corridor, the fluorescent lights were out, stretching darkness ahead.
A space that felt ominously off.
But I didn't hesitate.
A route already memorized like a map.
Not long after entering.
At the third corridor I encountered, faint light leaked at the edge of my vision.
Then.
Boom!
The door right behind me burst open, and the nurse's scream erupted simultaneously.
"Paaatient—wheere aaare yooou hidingggg!!!"
The entire narrow corridor trembled with the voice.
A variable.
For a moment, my steady breathing faltered.
But ahead, the hospital room door was already in sight.
Worn metal sign, [Hospital Room].
The moment I grabbed the handle, my veins burned hot.
A presence charging from behind.
I shoved the door open with all my strength.
Clank—
And the instant I entered, I slammed it shut.
Boom!
Soon after, a 'thud!' against the wall exploded from outside the door.
The creaking hinges wailed as the entire door vibrated.
At least this iron door would hold for a bit.
Gasping for breath as if it would stop, I turned my head.
A hospital room without windows, on the bed in the center.
There—
A girl with a bloodless face lay with eyes closed.
[Kim Boram]
The name tag came into sharp focus.
The commotion must have woken the child; she stared at me.
She looked so much like a normal kid that I couldn't help but smile.
"We're getting out of here now. So no crying even if you see something scary."
The child stared blankly at me.
Meeting her eyes, I approached carefully so as not to startle her and lifted her gently.
"Boram. We're going to your dad."
[파천황] : That's a doll.
[Not Human] : It's fake. No contents. Just an illusion.
[Crazy Woman] : Not human, empty shell. Nothing inside the body.
I know.
That it's a doll, a fake.
But.
The middle-aged man trapped in this hospital, repeating the same time...
The man who firmly believes his daughter is hospitalized here...
Who... rewards that?
Then, at the nape of my neck...
I felt small hands clasp together.
[파천황] : ...?
[Crazy Woman] : ..How? It's an empty doll.
Somehow, it felt like confirmation that my actions weren't wrong.
I couldn't dwell on it further.
The door was shaking.
Rattle— rattle—
Boom!!! Boom!!!
With sounds like metal tearing, the thick iron plate bent inward with each hit.
Vibrations like the wall crumbling transmitted through the floor, and cold dust assaulted my eyes and nose.
At this rate, two more hits at most.
After that, the door would shatter.
Each impact shook the ceiling as if it would collapse, and the old fluorescent light rattled madly.
The air heaved heavily, and falling dust pressed down like lead even on my breath.
I clutched the child tight to my chest and gripped the handle above.
Rattle—
Thud!!!
The wall shook once more.
Now, one last hit.
I held my breath, staring at the door that could no longer function as one.
My heart went eerily still.
Only the rhythm of the entity forcing its way in rang in my ears.
Soon, one more—
'It's coming.'
Clank—!
The moment the handle turned, metal screamed as it ripped.
The door gave way inward helplessly, and the entity's massive body poured through the gap.
A huge form tumbling forward as if collapsing.
Its long, torn mouth twisted as if swallowing a scream, and its bony, spine-protruding torso flailed limply in the air before crashing down.
—Boom!!!
The entity's body slammed straight into the iron bed.
The frame crumpled with a shriek, and metal springs shot out like sharp shards.
Torn sheets flew through the air, scattering like white powder.
I didn't miss the opening.
Holding the child tight, I bolted out of the hospital room through the open door.
"Hang on tight!"
Small arms wrapped around my neck.
Even the pain of her nails digging into my nape was something I couldn't afford to notice now.
I ran down the corridor with the child on my back.
At least ten seconds.
I'd bought that much time.
But the situation wasn't leisurely.
Paths used once were wrecked by it, unusable now.
The breath disrupted by the earlier ambush turned to ragged gasps leaking from my mouth.
Stamina dropping.
The distance with the nurse entity narrowed bit by bit.
The entity's footsteps boomed thud! thud! from behind.
What started as light steps now felt heavy.
The entity's footsteps grew even closer this time.
Thud! Thud!
Vibrations echoing so hard the entire corridor shook.
Red paths I could run flashed in my mind.
Spaces narrow enough to escape alone.
But carrying the child, even a moment's hesitation meant death.
My legs felt weighted with lead, arms sagging downward.
Breath scorched my throat like fire, vision shaking.
I stuck to green paths as much as possible.
Soon, far ahead, the [EXIT] appeared.
'Just... a little more...!'
Boom!
Then, an object hurled by the nurse entity grazed past, smashing the wall beside me.
Plaster dust exploded, whiting out my vision.
Bloodied debris sliced my cheek sharply, drawing a thin red line.
The distance narrowed further.
Second strike.
Shrieeek—
A grotesque sound splitting the air.
The entity's arm whipped like a sharp sickle, digging toward my shoulder from behind.
"Urk...!"
My clothes tore with a ringing snap.
Luckily, it only grazed the skin, but my back peeled open with a burning pain.
[Not Human] : You crazy bastard!!! Drop it!
[Not Human] : What do you gain from saving that thing!
[Not Human] : Drop it now!!!! You'll die like this!!!!
Thanks to that, pain spread, widening my narrowed vision to reveal the chat window.
Chat messages flooded my view like pop-ups.
Rage, despair, pleas.
Emotions seeped from every letter.
—Drop it. Survive. Let go.
My steps faltered briefly, but I gritted my teeth.
If I'd given up because it was hard.
'I never would have come this far back.'
The remaining distance was short.
Then—
Something whistled past my ear.
At the same instant, a near-scream from 'Not Human' scrolled up.
[Not Human] : Let go!!! Let goooooo!!!! Let gooooo—!!
The nurse's arm thrust sharply.
With the air tearing sound, a black shadow lunged at my chest center.
Splat—!
A sensation like my heart pierced.
Normally, blood would have sprayed like a fountain by now.
But—
Boom!!!
What burst from my chest was an impact sound.
The nurse's hand halted, blocked by something solid.
Panting, I glanced down.
A single sheet of paper clung to my lips.
The item I'd held in my mouth since leaving the hospital room.
[Nullification Shield] (20 coins)
Blocks one physical attack.
(※ Effect duration: Only 1 minute)