Chapter 162
Chapter 162
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 162. Eyes in the Hallway
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Humans really are creatures of adaptation.
After doing this bizarre stuff so many times, it doesn't even surprise me anymore.
"Should I pack up the sleeping bags?"
"You're not surprised at all."
"If you do this kind of thing long enough, Team Leader, you'll end up like this too."
"I've been at the Management Bureau longer than you."
Team Leader shakes his head as he packs up the sleeping bag.
I look around.
Beep... Beeeep...
Mechanical beeps echo through the air.
I scan the walls and floor for traces of a fierce battle, but nothing stands out.
The hospital corridor reeks of disinfectant.
No anomalous entities in sight.
"Let's move. Everyone, put on your vests."
As if we'd all anticipated this, we start gearing up.
Not knowing what might happen this time, we'd even brought bulletproof vests.
Well, technically not bulletproof—more like impact-absorbing vests, the pinnacle of Management Bureau tech, or so the research team said.
The key point is that they do a good job of protecting.
Team Leader and Song Arin raise their guns.
Yoo Daon slips on her gloves.
And Jang Chaeyeon grabs her steel marbles.
Steel marbles?
"Chaeyeon, what's that?"
"Emergency weapon."
Jang Chaeyeon answers flatly as she slips the marbles into her pouch.
She shoots them or something?
"Don't worry."
Catching my gaze, Jang Chaeyeon nods at me.
"I've practiced."
"I'm not worried."
Honestly, when it comes to this stuff, she's the most reliable person in our group.
Seeing everyone geared up, I recall the plan we'd discussed with the branch chief earlier.
'Our ultimate goal is escape.'
'Escape, huh.'
'Honestly, with me and the Containment Team going... things shouldn't get too out of hand.'
'And Ahn Sanghyeon too.'
'That guy's... best not to mention.'
The branch chief sighed.
'Anyway. With the manual, prioritize escaping Gangbuk Hospital.'
'Got it.'
-Shhh!
The manual unfolds.
[Office Manual]
[Gangbuk Special Hospital]
1. First, locate your position.
"Ah."
"What is it?"
Song Arin approaches as I mutter.
"What floor is this? Which part of the building?"
"How would I know?"
Song Arin sighs and looks around.
"Seriously, no clue where we are. No signs, no floor indicators."
I glance at the window.
Dim moonlight filters through from outside.
"Would it help to look down from under the window?"
It might be risky, of course.
"I'll check."
Yoo Daon nods and slowly walks to the window, peering down through the glass.
"...Hmm..."
She gives me a puzzled look.
"Not sure."
"Huh?"
"It's like... everything's twisted."
What does that mean?
Seeing my confused expression, Yoo Daon walks over and tugs gently at my sleeve.
"If anything happens, you two cover us."
"We got it."
Song Arin and Jang Chaeyeon scan the surroundings and confirm with me, then Yoo Daon and I peer out the window together.
"Right?"
"I get what you mean."
Just as she said.
We couldn't see straight down.
It was like something was deliberately warping our view.
Not fogged up. Twisted was the right word.
So, we can't pinpoint our floor, which means the manual can't fully function.
"Looks like even that manual you're so glued to isn't all-powerful."
Song Arin sighs, watching me.
"It's just a book."
-Shhh...!
-Thud!
I close the forcibly opened manual and nod.
I can guess without looking. It's probably offended and ranting again.
In cases like this.
"We'll have to rely on Team Leader."
"Me again?"
Team Leader shivers as he looks at me.
"Yeah. Trusting you again, Team Leader."
"Oh man."
Team Leader sighs and turns on his prepared flashlight.
Click. The beam cuts through the darkness.
"Fine. If anything feels off, I'll let you know."
"Good. Then formation: Arin and I in the middle with Team Leader. Daon up front, Chaeyeon in the rear. Let's go."
"Initial objective?"
Song Arin slings her shotgun onto the back of her vest and looks at me.
"Confirm position first, then use the manual to head for the exit."
"Got it."
Song Arin nods.
"Let's move."
At my word, Yoo Daon steps forward, and we follow.
We start down the dark corridor.
Our footsteps echo in the silent hallway.
Honestly.
I was uneasy.
Thinking of the branch chief I know—or Ahn Sanghyeon—this shouldn't be so quiet.
It should be total chaos, so why is everything intact?
I scan around as we walk the corridor.
We pass a door with its nameplate erased.
Otherwise, an empty hallway.
Team Leader slowly looks around.
"No weird feelings, Jaeheon."
"Keep going."
We walk.
"Still nothing, Jaeheon."
"Understood."
We continue down the corridor.
-Beep... Beeeep...
"By the way, why'd they stick the intern on our team?"
In the silence, Song Arin walking beside me turns to me.
"Why ask me?"
-Beep... Beeeep...
We pass another door with its nameplate erased.
"Didn't Team Leader say he left it to you?"
I glance at Team Leader, who shrugs.
"Right? You were the one who brought the kid straight from the orphanage. So you take responsibility."
"You're just passing the buck in case she causes trouble."
"And why's it always a girl?"
"What's wrong with girls? Not my fault."
Do I only bring in girls or something?
Song Arin glares at me.
"Hey. Be honest."
"Yeah."
"You didn't bring her because she's pretty, right?"
"Huh?"
What now?
"Kids. We're in the middle of an anomaly here."
Team Leader mutters.
"She looks sly like a fox, so I figured maybe that's your type."
Is Song Arin spouting nonsense again?
"Kids. No bad vibes yet."
Team Leader mutters again.
"No. Not because of her face. She said so herself—"
"So what's your type then?"
"Uh..."
As Song Arin's words block my response,
"Hey, I'm curious too."
Even Team Leader, who'd been reining us in, turns to me.
"You're human, so you have preferences."
Jang Chaeyeon has sidled up, ears perked, and Yoo Daon keeps glancing back at me.
"Is it that interesting? What about everyone else's types?"
"My wife."
Team Leader says proudly.
"I like... someone with a tired look."
Song Arin mutters, looking away.
Eyes a bit off.
"Um... someone whose smile looks awkward."
Yoo Daon murmurs, fingers interlaced.
Not about looks?
Jang Chaeyeon looks at me.
"Someone like you."
Way too subjective.
"So, you?"
Team Leader looks at me.
"I..."
We pass another door with its nameplate erased.
Again?
Team Leader and I exchange glances.
"...Jaeheon. Still no weird feelings. But..."
"I know."
I look at the door beside us.
"Looks like we're going in circles."
"Seems so."
I look at the others.
"Shall we go in?"
"...Tell me later."
Song Arin grumbles as she draws her gun, and Jang Chaeyeon raises a hand.
Yoo Daon grips the doorknob and looks at me.
"Got it."
"Opening?"
"Wait!"
Before Yoo Daon pulls the door, Team Leader urgently raises his hand.
"Bad feeling."
"Hear that?"
The tension sharpens.
"Opening."
Yoo Daon opens the door and steps in.
"Huh?"
Yoo Daon looks around puzzled.
"Nothing here?"
"Just because nothing's visible doesn't mean it's safe."
Team Leader said it feels off.
That means something's definitely there.
I peek past Yoo Daon.
Just as she said.
It was like a standard operating room.
-Beep... Beeeep...
Just some unidentified machine in front.
A single monitor sits there.
The pitch-black screen reflects me and Yoo Daon's faces.
Then, a translucent window appears over it.
[Name: Moksi]
[Age: Manufactured 7 years ago]
[Specialty: Watching]
[Talent: Watching]
[Background: The problem with Gangbuk Hospital was clear. Too few staff compared to patients. To solve this, the director created unavoidable passages and placed eyes there.]
[Weakness: Break the screen.]
-Bang!
The moment I see the weakness, I draw my pistol from my coat and shoot the monitor screen.
The screen shatters instantly, and Song Arin behind flinches at the sound, muttering.
"G-Gah!"
So the noise was from here.
"Let's get out quick."
We don't know how we ended up in this corridor, but an eye placed here in a hallway with no exit.
Our position's likely compromised.
Fortunately, there's a door on the opposite wall that looks like an exit.
"Team Leader."
"No feelings."
"Opening."
Yoo Daon opens the door without hesitation at Team Leader's words.
It swings open with a creak.
A corridor with a [6th Floor] sign appears.
From the ceiling, like a dark night sky,
"...That's..."
Jellyfish float around.
A sight I'd seen at Gangseo University Hospital too.
Jellyfish in every hospital. And the hospitals themselves.
What common thread draws these jellyfish?
-Shhh!
The manual, still until now, unfolds.
[Office Manual]
[Gangbuk Special Hospital - 6th Floor]
1. The 6th floor of Gangbuk Special Hospital is where the patients are.
2. Patients are generally docile, but sometimes there may be one in their right mind. Rare, but if possible, please help them escape.
3. You'll know right away if a patient's in their right mind.
I look around.
People in patient gowns stare at us.
Men, women, elderly, children.
Some hooked to IVs, others gaunt in their gowns.
The common point: all staring at us.
Their gazes bore into us.
Something's off.
I keep reading the manual.
4. Once on the 6th floor, everyone will stare at you.
5. Divert their gazes. Use every method available.
"Arin."
"Yeah."
"Make them forget we're here."
"You always dump the hardest stuff on me, huh?"
Grumbling, Song Arin closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.
My temples throb.
"...Huh. I can't see Jaeheon—Mmgh!"
"Quiet."
Jang Chaeyeon covers Yoo Daon's muttering mouth, and Team Leader closes his eyes too.
After a brief silence,
"...Hah... Hah..."
Song Arin opens her eyes, pale-faced.
Looking around, they wander the hospital as if they'd never seen us.
"Made us look like patients in gowns."
Song Arin mutters pallidly, leaning on my shoulder.
"Not that hard."
"It is. You brute wouldn't get it."
Jang Chaeyeon mutters curtly, and Song Arin glares back with axe eyes, hand still on my shoulder.
I tune out their bickering and scan around.
Still no sign of the branch chief or Containment Team.
The unease grows.
"Aaagh!! Aaaah!"
Then,
Screams erupt.
"...Over there...!"
Before I speak,
Team Leader hurriedly covers my mouth.
"Q-Quiet, Jaeheon...!"
Team Leader mutters.
His voice drips with such terror that alarms blare in my head too.
Exit, or hiding spot.
I frantically look around.
The door we came through!
I direct my gaze there, and Jang Chaeyeon reaches out—the door opens quietly.
We all slip back inside,
-Creak...
The door closes softly.
Team Leader trembles like a leaf.
"Something's coming... Something's com..."
"Aaagh!"
"Uwaaagh!"
Screams from people.
An eerie voice echoes.
"Kyaaagh!"
Something slices cleanly, then silence falls.
"Huff... Huff..."
Team Leader looks at me.
"G-Gone, I guess."
I slowly open the door.
...
Blood spatters everywhere.
On walls, floor.
And countless people huddle, trembling in terror.
Something was in this corridor.