Chapter 164
Chapter 164
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 164. Greed and Predation
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Let's go."
After Jang Chaeyeon took down the monster, the action we needed to take was straightforward.
We ran past the fallen monster and out into the hallway.
The Team Leader kept glancing nervously at the monster, Jang Chaeyeon stood guard behind us watching its next move, and Song Arin and Yoo Daon ran toward the door.
-Clunk!
"It's locked!"
"Well, yeah!"
Standing next to Jang Chaeyeon and staring at the monster, a translucent window popped up.
[Name: Semi-Intelligence]
[Age: 10 years old]
[Trait: Predation]
[Talent: Predation]
[Background: After the Gangbuk Branch Chief visited the hospital once, all the doctors fell into confusion. It was because he possessed everything they desired. So, they tried every method imaginable to imitate the branch chief. What stands before you now is the evidence of that attempt.]
[Weakness: It has no stomach, so just make it vomit up what it ate. Feed it plenty.]
It rose up in its grotesque form.
[Ughhh...]
Jang Chaeyeon pulled her arm back and thrust her fist forward like a piston, sending an invisible force slamming it into the wall.
Or at least, that's what should have happened.
It opened its mouth wide,
and nothing happened.
"...!"
Jang Chaeyeon's eyes widened in shock.
"That hit it just now, right, Chaeyeon?"
"...I hit it."
Jang Chaeyeon muttered as she stared at her own hand.
Its trait and talent were Predation, and her telekinesis vanished the moment it opened its mouth.
I quickly drew my gun and fired at it.
-Bang! Bang!
Bullets embedded in its body,
I couldn't tell if it was pain, but it twisted its body.
Physical impacts worked? But abilities like telekinesis didn't?
Thinking alone wouldn't help.
We needed more manpower.
"Chaeyeon, provide as much support as you can. The moment the door opens, take out the nurse and clear an escape route."
"..."
Jang Chaeyeon bit her lip slightly, then nodded.
"Daon, Arin. Over here."
The two hurried over to me.
I recalled the nurse's pattern.
The nurse comes to clean after meals.
Whether that's after confirming this monster that came in post-meal or after a set time, I couldn't say.
But even if the monster didn't return on time, there's a high chance she'd come check.
Dragging this out would lead to some kind of result eventually.
"We hold out here. If we can take it down, even better."
"Leave it to me!"
"I'll give it a shot."
"Yeah."
The three nodded.
"The four of us will hold it off. Team Leader—"
"I'll keep an eye out for any other threats besides this. I'll jump in if needed."
The Team Leader muttered while fiddling with his hair.
"Got it."
The four of us faced off against the monster.
Yoo Daon furrowed her brow slightly.
"Weird smell."
"Smell?"
"...Hard to explain. Like a really acrid stench, I guess."
Yoo Daon muttered as she stared at it.
"I don't smell anything."
Song Arin sniffed, then spread her right hand.
"Let's see how far this works."
"Please do."
Song Arin swung her fingers,
and it opened its mouth.
Nothing happened.
"..."
Song Arin fell silent, and Yoo Daon, watching the scene, tilted her head and muttered.
"Arin, your powers always work great on us, but not so much on enemies?"
"I told you to shut up."
"Isn't today the first time you've said that?"
"You two, why are you fighting all of a sudden?"
Now I had to stop Song Arin and Yoo Daon from fighting too, on top of Jang Chaeyeon and Song Arin?
Yoo Daon slipped on her gloves with a confident expression and muttered.
"If it's just straight-up beating it down, I can do that too."
"I know how to fight too, you know?"
Song Arin pulled a shotgun from her back and muttered something.
Soon, her eyes sharpened, and her grip on the gun completely changed.
Before, it felt like a civilian holding a gun. Now, it was like a veteran soldier.
"Arin?"
"Suggestion. I suggested myself as a veteran Containment Team member from the Management Bureau."
Song Arin muttered as she aimed.
"Hey, black hair. If you get too close while fighting, I might friendly fire, so stay back a bit."
"Veteran agents friendly fire too?"
The two exchanged words, then Yoo Daon charged in with her fists clenched.
It swung its leg while shouting something, and Yoo Daon acrobatically twisted her body to dodge before punching its torso.
-Crunch!
A grotesque sound echoed from her fist, but she pulled back unfazed.
"Hmm, punching isn't easy! Feels like hitting a rock!"
"Move."
Song Arin muttered sharply as she raised her gun,
-Bang!
and skillfully embedded a bullet in its torso.
Its body started to stagger.
-Ping!
Then, Jang Chaeyeon snapped her fingers, sending marbles shooting out like bullets and shaking its body hard.
Those seem stronger than bullets?
It flailed its legs wildly, but Yoo Daon didn't flinch, dodging while occasionally slamming her fists into its body.
-Crunch!
Another twisting sound rang out, but Yoo Daon kicked high without batting an eye, striking its jaw.
-Thud!
Then, its swinging leg hit her arm.
"...Huh?"
Yoo Daon retreated with a confused look.
Her arm had 'disappeared.'
Only her clothes dangled there,
and soon, red blood seeped from her sleeve.
"What the..."
It mumbled from its mouth, then spat something out.
Yoo Daon's arm was suddenly reattached to her shoulder.
With a crunching sound, her arm returned to normal, and Yoo Daon furrowed her brow before leaping back far.
"What was that just now?"
"Did it hurt?"
"Oh, no."
Yoo Daon shook her head.
"Felt like my arm got erased with an eraser."
"If you can't land a solid hit, get out of the way! You're interfering with my shot!"
Song Arin snapped irritably as she reloaded.
With a clunk, the shotgun shell ejected, and Jang Chaeyeon waved her hand, gathering steel marbles in front of her.
I thought.
Not about the monster.
About my current situation and this hospital.
Why hadn't the branch chief or Containment Team shown up? What was going on here?
And what was this place?
Why had they lost their intelligence?
Considering the hospital's nature, it might not be that hard.
What if they'd performed intelligence-removal surgery on everyone?
"Daon."
"Yeah?"
Yoo Daon, who had fallen back, turned her shoulder toward me.
"You haven't had any intelligence removal done at the hospital, right?"
.........Huh?
Yoo Daon's expression hardened.
"Well, looking at how it talks, it does seem a bit low on brains."
"That's not what I meant."
I cut off Song Arin's interjection sharply and looked at Yoo Daon.
"There are people here."
"Y-Yeah."
"No matter how I think about it, it seems like they underwent intelligence removal surgery or something equivalent."
What connection did eating something have with intelligence removal surgery?
The thing in front of me seemed far from intelligent.
Like it only ate the shell or something.
Then who ate the intelligence?
It was a cruel question, but it might have happened to Yoo Daon too.
"...I remember, but it wasn't like that."
Yoo Daon muttered with her eyes closed.
"It was different. Like... they inserted something into my ear..."
Her expression grew darker.
"I don't remember much from back then... my head felt really foggy..."
"That's enough."
Any more would just depress Yoo Daon.
What was certain was that they'd performed intelligence-removal surgery on the patients.
Yoo Daon could regenerate upon death, but others usually couldn't.
But why?
What did meeting the Gangbuk Branch Chief have in common with creating these predation things?
I recalled meeting the Gangbuk Branch Chief.
My Insight said he wasn't a good person.
But he hadn't done anything specific to me.
"..."
Or maybe he had.
I recalled his talent and trait.
Greed.
Greed. And Predation.
What had he seen at the hospital to pull Predation from Greed?
What was Greed?
Typically, greed brings to mind many things.
Greed for wealth, for food, and so on.
And it all boils down to one thing.
Devouring something.
What if that man had devoured something of ours without us knowing?
It wasn't a mental attack. Eating something physically had nothing to do with the mind.
What if he had greedily eyed and devoured something of mine without me knowing?
Cold sweat trickled down, and a translucent window appeared before my eyes.
[Your understanding of the Gangbuk Branch Chief has increased.]
[Critical 0->1]
Something clicked.
Should I use Critical here?
I raised my gun.
But I still hadn't encountered the branch chief or any Containment Team members.
In the worst case, we might need to escape the hospital with our power or join whoever was fighting.
Think.
Spitting something out. Swallowing something. No digestive organs.
"..."
What about when Song Arin and I hid earlier?
Only her clothes were left neatly.
Blood was splattered on the floor.
Same with Yoo Daon's arm just now.
Her statement that it felt erased like with an eraser. And the clothes left neatly on the floor.
Predation. The incomplete power of the Gangbuk Branch Chief.
"Chaeyeon."
"Yeah."
Jang Chaeyeon came to my side.
"On my signal..."
"Yeah."
"Let's feed it a ton of steel marbles."
A puzzled look crossed Jang Chaeyeon's face.
"They say animals swallow stones to aid digestion, right?"
Even without a stomach.
I stared at its gaping maw.
Eating without digesting was pure greed.
And that's when it would spit it back up.