Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Veteran Rhythm
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The fact that his boss was in the room right next door didn't matter.
Information Junkie picked up his notebook and pen.
He reminded himself of the original purpose that had brought him into the broadcast.
He had entered solely to record information, nothing more.
[Sky Emperor]: Kyaa~
[Cream Bun]: Insane.
He was fundamentally different from the mindless corpses cheering in dopamine-fueled ecstasy.
Information Junkie steadied his breathing and clicked his pen, extending the tip.
As the ink glistened on the paper, ready, his breath settled into calm.
Cold, sunken eyes.
He pierced the screen with the gaze of a hawk.
There was only one thing he wanted.
Clues to the rules.
As long as he found those, the scenes playing out on the screen meant nothing.
At that moment, the screen rotated, revealing a space where not even an inch ahead was visible.
Faint, flickering lights sporadically illuminated the emergency room interior.
Even from the brief glimpses of the scenery, Information Junkie could tell the inside was far from a "normal emergency room" layout.
Cabinets and mobile beds were scattered in chaos.
Irregular piles of obstacles blocked every passage like mountains.
An unpredictable maze.
Getting lost even for a moment inside, or hitting a dead end, would end in predictable disaster.
And into that space, the newbie charged ahead without a hint of hesitation.
"What?! Wait—"
Information Junkie froze mid-note, blurting out loud at the newbie's action.
No matter how confident he was in his running.
Unless enhanced, the human body had clear limits.
Just as mere training couldn't make raw strength surpass a bear's.
Against an aberration that could shred even that bear, it wasn't a matter of odds anymore.
Impossible.
No calculation even needed.
And this wasn't a normal space.
A disadvantageous environment where you couldn't see an inch ahead.
The psychological pressure of being pursued by something that could rip you apart at any moment.
Overcoming all that wasn't possible with ordinary mental fortitude.
Even a ten-year veteran gallery user like Information Junkie struggled to maintain perfect composure in such situations.
Especially if it was a newbie who'd only been in the gallery for barely a month?
Information Junkie shook his head.
Even he, once called an ace back then, had been told that doing nothing was the best help.
But contrary to Information Junkie's thoughts.
Newbie120053's expression didn't change in the slightest.
His breathing was steady, his steps devoid of excess.
Information Junkie narrowed his eyes.
Every single movement felt familiar.
No breaks in the rhythm.
The timing of speed adjustments, the angle of his toe contact, the moment he lowered his upper body—
It oddly overlapped with the movements of the senior who had once guided him.
That wasn't something you could mimic by chance.
It was a rhythm imprinted only in those who had crossed countless brushes with death.
"...Seasoned."
Information Junkie murmured unconsciously before clamping his mouth shut.
Feeling weight in a newbie.
Soon, the nurse aberration that had smashed the bed began pursuing from behind.
—Paaatieeent... zzzzzzziiinnnnggg...!
A mechanical screech echoing down the corridor.
Even as the aberration's shadow surged forward fiercely, the newbie didn't falter.
It's closing in.
The gap narrows.
The chat exploded, but the newbie moved as if he'd forgotten even the emotion of fear.
Without a single disrupted breath, he lowered his body and dove into the left passage.
The instant his toes skimmed the floor, his hand was already gripping the partition.
Hesitation-free pivot.
He channeled the flowing momentum from the twisting motion, shoving the partition aside.
Clank—!
The toppled partition slowly collapsed into the corridor.
Right after, the nurse aberration's massive body barreled straight into its falling path.
Crash!!
Debris flew, the metal frame screeching as it crumpled.
Plywood shards tore like paper, scattering everywhere.
Information Junkie swallowed hard.
He could have judged in that split second that it was possible to topple it.
But certainty of success.
The burden of failure.
That wasn't in the realm of mere calculation.
The newbie slipped around the corner seamlessly.
Trajectory shift, partition fall, continued sprint—all flawless.
His glasses slipped.
"Crazy... what the hell did I just see?"
Everything executed in a single, pre-calculated motion.
The aberration's body hesitated momentarily against the obstacle but soon shoved the partition aside and resumed the chase.
However, Information Junkie's gaze was now fully locked on Newbie120053.
Pushing the anomaly tale aside, he focused on analyzing his actions.
Anyone would instinctively want to check a threat when it looms.
A psychological urge for some assurance of safety.
But Newbie120053 was different.
Unwavering stride.
A certainty as if he'd already foreseen the outcome.
Already stepping forward, he hurled himself into the darkness.
Information Junkie stared at his retreating figure, intuitively sensing it wasn't mere bravado.
'Not yet... not yet.'
Too early to judge.
Could be coincidence.
Escaping one crisis didn't mean escaping all.
Between aberration and human, an uncrossable performance gap existed.
Soon, as Information Junkie predicted, danger struck again.
The opened distance closed in an instant, the aberration's shadow thickening darkly over the newbie's back.
Running as if oblivious to the danger.
"As expected, coincidence—"
But the newbie's action cut his words short once more.
His body slid precisely between the fallen bed and cabinet.
Information Junkie's jaw dropped.
Between obstacles that would snag anyone's shoulder or toe, he avoided collision entirely.
"This... is a one-month newbie?"
Boom!
The aberration swung its arm but missed.
Metal shattered, debris erupting like a storm.
The aberration that missed right before his eyes let out a roar.
Rage echoing through the entire corridor.
The nurse aberration's speed had increased from before.
The gap with the newbie closed in a flash.
"Not yet... not yet. Too early to judge."
Information Junkie shook his head.
"Coincidence—"
Then, at the fork, the newbie didn't turn—he went straight ahead.
A clear dead end.
Smooth concrete wall, no exit in sight—a hopeless passage.
The chat exploded.
[Anon141.12]: What the hell is this newbie doing?
[Anon151.12]: It's blocked there!
[Anon561.51]: Stoooop!
[Sky Emperor]: What what what?!
The wall loomed closer, his speed even faster.
Information Junkie shot to his feet.
He couldn't stay seated.
The newbie's actions looked like suicide.
The aberration even slowed, as if trying to prevent collision with the wall.
And—
Wall at point-blank.
The newbie vanished from sight in an instant.
His shoulder grazed the floor as he dove into a narrow gap hidden beneath the wall.
Dust billowed, revealing a low crevice barely passable for an adult male crawling.
From outside, the angle of the shadows made it hard to spot.
[Sky Emperor]: ...Crazy.
[Flounder]: ...You saw that?
[Cream Bun]: ...Wow.
His body glided through the hole smoothly.
Caught in momentum, his body tumbled once, his gaze turning backward.
Beyond the vent, the aberration's hand lunged to swallow him.
By a hair's breadth.
Fingertips nearly brushing his clothes.
Information Junkie held his breath.
He focused as if sucked into the screen.
His legs trembled uncontrollably.
Then, the newbie twisted, evading the hand.
The chase resumed.
Whew—
He finally exhaled.
The aberration was gone from sight.
Relief washed over the chat.
Only then did Information Junkie snap back, slapping his cheeks.
"What am I doing? Record. Record."
He raised the pen to the paper.
Wrote 'Emergency Room' and glanced at the screen, his gaze freezing as he recalled what he'd seen so far.
He'd shaken it off. As everyone sighed in relief.
Boom!!
—Paaatieeent... wheeere are yoooouuuu!!!
The door right beside shattered to pieces.
The aberration's form burst out amid the debris.
Arm extending.
Hand reaching for the newbie.
Closing distance.
Climax.
Amid the crumbling dust.
At this rate, capture was only a matter of time.
But the crisis was brief.
The newbie yanked the door handle, shoving himself inside.
The instant the door shut and locked.
The aberration's arm slammed down a beat late, rippling like a shockwave.
Bang!!!
The curtain fell on the short, breathless chase.
Information Junkie looked at his hand.
The ballpoint pen had snapped.
***
The space the newbie entered.
A stark hospital room unfolded.
A child lay on the bed, and the newbie approached her side.
Gallery users who knew from prior explorations before the emergency route closed rapidly typed warnings.
Lest the newbie mistake the girl for a living human.
For other users, they might not bother, but.
Having watched three anomaly explorations, they'd gauged the newbie's tendencies.
They issued warnings.
[Sky Emperor]: That's a doll.
[Not Human]: Fake. Empty inside. Just an illusion.
[Crazy Woman]: Not human, empty shell. Nothing inside the body.
But the newbie didn't stop.
Even though his eyes clearly flicked to the chat for a moment.
"I'm getting us out of here now. So no crying because you saw something scary."
He approached the pale girl on the bed, met her eyes carefully to avoid startling her, and lifted her gently.
"Boram. We're going to your dad."
Even though he needed to type in chat again.
Information Junkie couldn't bring himself to speak amid the newbie's solemn air.
Then, the child's hand looped around the newbie's neck.
...That was.
A motion impossible for the doll they'd believed was just an empty shell.
[Sky Emperor]: ...?
[Crazy Woman]: ..How? That's an empty doll.
The gallery users couldn't pursue the thought further.
Clunk— clunk—
Bang!!! Bang!!!
The door shook.
The crisis wasn't over.
Information Junkie forgot even to pull out his notebook and organize info.
He just stared blankly at the screen.
His throat was dry, but no time to grab the water nearby.
The newbie clutched the child tightly to his chest and gripped above the handle.
Clunk—
Thud!!!
Information Junkie could guess what the newbie was thinking.
He felt as if he were in there with him.
Psychological pressure.
Terror of facing the aberration in a dead-end room if he slipped.
He swallowed involuntarily.
Gulp—
The newbie's hand moved cautiously, then.
Click—!
The handle fully turned, the door creaking open.
Soon, with the screech of tearing metal, the aberration smashed through the door, tumbling into the room.
—Bang!!!
The struck bed frame crumpled with a scream, metal springs shattering into sharp shards that flew.
Torn sheets fluttered through the air, dispersing like powder.
The newbie didn't miss the gap.
With the child in his arms, he bolted out through the open door.
—Hold on tight!
Information Junkie's head nearly buried into the screen.
The notebook was long forgotten from his mind.
"Shit shit shit! Run!!!"
He was already just another dopamine-soaked corpse.
***
The newbie grabbed the doorknob and burst outside.
The dynamic had changed from before.
No more leisurely dodges mocking the aberration.
The newbie's breathing grew exponentially rougher with each passing second.
The child weighed 10-20kg by size.
No different from sprinting with a sack of rice.
While pursued by a mad aberration ready to shred him on capture.
The early gap closed rapidly.
Thud! Thud!
At this rate.
Information Junkie fought his trembling arm to type in chat.
A vision of the future formed in his head.
[Information Junkie]: I know what you're thinking. Newb.
Even as he typed, he doubted if it was right.
A small curse escaped at his own patheticness.
The distance with the nurse closed bit by bit.
The aberration's footsteps thudded right up to the newbie's back.
Boom!
Then, an object hurled by the nurse aberration grazed past, smashing the wall right in front of the newbie.
Plaster dust exploded, whiting out his vision.
One misstep, and the newbie would've died just then.
Thanks to that, Information Junkie's hesitation vanished.
The living must survive.
He completed and sent the message.
[Information Junkie]: Drop the kid.
And that chat became the spark.
The fact Information Junkie had realized etched into the gallery users' minds.
Harsh curses erupted from the gallery users.
The chat scrolled rapidly.
[Information Junkie]: Drop it!! Drop her!!
[Crazy Woman]: Think rationally!! Newb!
[Cream Bun]: Fuck. You know it! Survive!!! Drop her!!
[Flounder]: You'll die like this. Idiot. Drop her!
They were completely captivated by Newbie120053's play.
They didn't know when it started.
Just.
At some point.
They found themselves waiting for his broadcasts.
For his actions.
For his refusal to give up.
For the scenes reversing desperate situations.
They projected their pasts onto him, finding solace.
And that newbie had nearly vanished moments ago.
Second blow, altruism strikes.
Swoosh—
A grotesque sound slicing air.
This time, luckily, it merely grazed skin.
Information Junkie exhaled the breath he'd held.
Huff— huff—
Blood flowed down the newbie's back.
Face contorted in pain.
Information Junkie paused as he went to type.
Someone had beaten him to it.
A resident gallery corpse.
The infamous named troll.
Not Human, quiet since the hospital room, started chatting.
But it wasn't his usual trolling or mockery.
The condensed emotion in it made Information Junkie forget to type.
[Not Human]: You crazy bastard!!! Drop her!
[Not Human]: What do you gain saving that?!
[Not Human]: Let go now!!!! You'll die like this!!!!
Something whistled past Information Junkie's ear as he watched.
Simultaneously, a scream-like chat from 'Not Human' scrolled up.
[Not Human]: Let go!!! LET GO!!!!! LET GOOOOO—!!
The nurse's arm thrust sharply toward the newbie.
It looked like time had frozen.
From the prior two attacks, the range and trajectory were vivid in Information Junkie's mind.
First: out of range.
Second: point-blank.
And... this third attack.
Information Junkie's face paled.
—It reaches.
Newbie120053.
Moreover, now carrying the child.
No place to dodge, no place to hide.
A certain future appeared.
Newbie120053's death.
In that instant, frozen time exploded back into motion.
Boom—!
With a sharp air-tearing sound, a black shadow lunged straight at the newbie's chest.