Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 21. Sub Dealer
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After sharing the manual's contents with the other two, both of them fell silent.
...
"For now, don't nod your head."
Yoo Daon, who had been about to nod at my words, quickly pressed both hands firmly against her cheeks.
"If we go by what it says, odd numbers would be right, yeah?"
...
"If we look at it now, that seems correct."
...
"What if,"
Jang Chaeyeon looked at us with a serious expression.
"What if this is a lie?"
"A lie meaning... what if it being odd numbers is the lie?"
Jang Chaeyeon nodded.
It wasn't wrong.
"That won't be the case."
"You think?"
"More precisely, doubting even that would just wear us out."
Doubting and agonizing over every little thing leads nowhere.
...
"Got it."
Jang Chaeyeon nodded slowly.
"Then, we should proceed assuming odd numbers are correct?"
"Right."
Yoo Daon, who had been studying the manual intently, looked at me.
"The explanation..."
"Jaeheon should do it."
"You do it."
Both of them spoke in unison.
...
"Fine."
Who else could do it if not me?
Yoo Daon?
She could probably say it, but she'd likely add unnecessary details.
Jang Chaeyeon?
She might suddenly say 'Sorry' mid-sentence and blast us with telekinesis.
In other words, by process of elimination, I was the only one who could explain it.
One day, far in the future, when the HR Team grew, would a noble hero on a white horse come to speak for me instead?
Probably not.
"First, let's make a plan before going in."
I drew a line through the even sections while looking at the manual.
"If we only look at the odd parts, it says this."
[Head toward the left door ahead.]
[If something is sleeping, pass by quietly. If it's awake, talk to it, but don't let on that you're human.]
"Two parts like that."
"Isn't that too little?"
"Hmm... It should be fine."
For example, it could be solvable with minimal info, or maybe they kept it vague because extra details wouldn't help much anyway. It already felt like information was being controlled to some extent.
But if my bad premonition was right, it wouldn't be easy at all.
...
"Let's go."
"Do we need to think about what to say?"
"We don't even know who the other side is."
What if I brought a five-page script and couldn't communicate, forced to convey my humanity through body language?
Let's just get a feel for it and go.
"We might need to prepare for combat just in case."
"You mean fight?"
"If I mess up and things go south... we'd have to prepare for battle, right?"
"Leave that part to me."
Jang Chaeyeon raised her hand.
"I'll block it somehow."
"Please do."
"I'll fight alongside you if I can, too."
Yoo Daon raised her hand as well.
As expected, those two were better at combat than me.
"I'll... roll my eyes or something, I guess."
What could I even do without Critical?
Maybe go grab some popcorn.
After ending the brief strategy meeting like that, I looked around once more to see if there was anything useful nearby.
Same room structure as before. The same creepy red lighting, rusty chairs, and all.
If this were a game, it would feel just like the lobby.
The same lobby you always return to after clearing a stage.
...
In the end, staying put offered no solutions.
And who knows? It might be fast asleep, letting us pass easily. Yeah, you can't tell until you open the lid.
I looked at the left door.
Another plain wooden door, unremarkable.
...
"Here goes."
At my words, the two nodded.
"Don't worry too much. Worst case, we fight."
"Yeah! We'll make it work somehow!"
Seeing them show some confidence thanks to their abilities made me feel a bit more at ease.
Yeah, worst case, we fight.
I flung the door open and went in.
It was an operating room.
The kind straight out of a horror movie, perfect for a cliché scene.
Dried bloodstains were smeared darkly everywhere, and fresh splatters that looked recent dotted the area haphazardly.
In the center stood people in green surgical scrubs.
Turning my gaze right, a bloodstained pistol caught my eye.
If the manual was right, this gun was a trap.
But... if Critical could be recovery or something, the pistol would be a tempting choice.
The deliberation was brief, though.
Even if I picked it up without Critical, it wouldn't mean much to me.
And those people? Worst case, we could fight and take them down. They looked like Jang Chaeyeon could send them all flying with a flick of her wrist.
"Are you a patient?"
Amid the rising hope, a voice from above made me slowly lift my gaze to the ceiling.
Its limbs were unnaturally long for a human, and where fingers should be, scalpel blades protruded.
Even so, dressed in surgical scrubs like the others, was it human?
Clinging to the ceiling like a spider and crawling around didn't exactly scream human, though.
...
"Pardon me. My eyesight isn't the best."
It spoke in an unnecessarily gentlemanly voice, flicking its tongue before opening its eyes.
Where eyes should be, two empty sockets gaped.
Soon, a translucent window appeared above its head.
[Name: Longing for Humanity]
[Age: Roughly manufactured 30 years ago.]
[Traits: -]
[Talent: Surgery]
[Background: For a long time, he lived as a plaything and lost his humanity. As a result, he now craves it.]
[Weakness: If the worst happens, scratch with all your might. With luck, you might find a way out.]
Scratch?
What did that mean? Literally claw at it with hands, or dig at it with words?
For now, I memorized the weakness, cleared my throat a few times, and responded.
"Patient? What do you mean? I'm just here looking around."
"Heh heh."
It chuckled in that same gentlemanly voice.
"Well, patients often don't realize if they're sick or not. Shall we check?"
It landed lightly on the floor, passed by me, Yoo Daon, and Jang Chaeyeon, and reached for the pistol.
...
"You didn't touch the gun?"
Surprise filled its voice.
"Normally, humans in this situation would grab the gun."
So it was a trap.
Should I pretend not to know about guns here, or admit I do?
I pondered how to play my character.
Something I could pull off confidently, that sounded human without issue.
...
"I'm human, yet not human."
"What do you mean?"
"Right now, I'm carrying out orders from our Queen Mother."
"Queen Mother?"
...
"We are a hive, following a single will. All this is the Queen Mother's decree, and we are mere insects existing only to fulfill her wishes."
I continued in a solemn tone.
Yoo Daon stared at me with a look of utter disbelief.
Of course—she knew this containment object well.
More than knew it; she'd been parasitized by it herself.
...
"You're wearing human skin, then?"
Awe crept into its voice.
"Naturally. Regrettably, humans thrive most here."
"That's true enough. Wise."
It nodded repeatedly.
"Then there's no need for guns. I understand."
It nodded in clear satisfaction.
"My apologies. I suspected you for a moment. How did you end up here?"
Reason for coming here.
Lost our way? Saying we were offspring of the queen body and got lost might sound lame.
What to say?
After a moment's thought, I recalled the Crowd Psychology description from the previous room.
"Don't you have a mother too?"
"A mother?"
"Pardon. In your terms, perhaps 'master' is better."
It froze.
...
"You wish to meet her?"
A metallic edge began seeping into its voice.
Did I touch a nerve?
But the die was cast.
"Yes. Our Queen Mother desires... ...a good relationship with her."
...
"Does your Queen Mother know what kind of being she is?"
The metallic rasp in its voice grew worse.
Yoo Daon naturally positioned herself in front of me, while Jang Chaeyeon stood by my side and raised her right hand.
A sign they were ready to fight if needed.
"She doesn't. That's why we seek to know."
"Your Queen Mother is quite curious."
"I am her lowly servant and harbor no doubt of her will."
"Intriguing."
It turned its face toward me.
"But just now, our master mentioned that the queen body contained in the Gangseo Branch died."
...
"Please explain. Who are you? Surely not human?"
How the hell did it know?
I took a few steps back.
I thought about the 'something' behind this.
This monster, and the bands on the humans from before.
I'd only encountered two containment objects so far, but if there was a common thread, it was using people as sacrifices.
Capturing humans for experiments, like this thing staring at me now or the human red light green light from earlier.
They were born from human sacrifices and demanded only human sacrifices.
As if someone had a strong will to toy solely with humans.
And it knew about the Management Bureau too.
More than knew—it even knew about an incident from just a week ago.
Meaning, either an incredibly high understanding of humans...
"Or the same human."
I muttered it, and in that instant, a translucent window appeared before my eyes.
[Your understanding of ??? has increased.]
[Unlocking information on the Basement.]
[Name: Basement]
[Age: -]
[Traits: Repetitive]
[Talent: -]
[Background: Why do lunatics who want to make art out of humans exist everywhere? Those who blame the material for their lack of aesthetic sense can never succeed, yet he set up a workshop to prove his stubbornness.]
[Weakness: This space vanishes with the master's demise.]
[Critical: 0->1]
...
I stared at the window quietly.
Everything's fine, but why does the description feel so personally opinionated?
However, before dwelling on that, there was something to do first.
I gestured to Jang Chaeyeon, who caught my intent and reached toward the pistol.
Soon, it flew into my hand like it was sucked in.
"Combat ready."
With Critical back, it was time for the sub dealer to return.