“Ta-da— now we can finally have a proper conversation—”
“Weren’t you under orders to stay in your quarters?”
You were making a huge fuss trying to examine my body while I slept, and in the end you were banned from entering the closed ward, weren’t you?
“Heh, our hospital’s security is really shabby—breaking in isn’t that hard—”
I Haseo giggled.
‘Is she laughing on purpose like that?’
Honestly, it’s a bit frightening. And sohow she’s almost within arm’s reach. As I hesitated whether to step back, she swooshed forward and said:
“Could you please remove that mask you’re wearing just once—?”
Ugh, why bring up the mask first thing?
What I’m wearing now is the [Infi Mask], magically reconstructed from living flesh. In fact, an ordinary person shouldn’t even notice I have a mask on.
Unconsciously I touched my face and answered:
“It looks the sa underneath.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Weren’t you sent here because you had sothing you were asked to help with?”
That question was really hoping for her to answer “No.”
The escape plan Gong Isu prepared at future Kim Sinhwa’s request.
Maybe it isn’t I Haseo at all. It could be soone else—Tudor, Curtain Call, even Yang Seohu would be better than her.
“Aah— right— The mysterious clock-headed person told to co help you escape—”
Damn it!
Future Kim Sinhwa! What on earth were you thinking setting this trap!?
“Fine. If you ca to help escape, I’m very grateful. So— the escape. You’re going to help with that, right?”
“Yes. But— there’s a condition.”
A condition, huh.
Right, two favors were to be granted.
“What is it?”
“If we escape now and never et again, I’ll be sad— so please et separately within a week—”
“et you for what?”
A thrilling date event with a mad scientist-doctor psychopath?
“Fun physical exams and safe, body-beneficial dical experint assistance.”
Oh, how fun, how safe, how beneficial that sounds.
“I refuse.”
“Eeh—? Really?”
“Of course.”
Damn it, Gong Isu, co back. Just use your power to get out of here!
“Even if it’s a physical exam, I won’t do anything dangerous—”
But I Haseo didn’t give up easily and clung to .
“......”
Two favors, right?
One of them is a grotesque physical exam and bizarre experint assistance?
Really entrust my body to this woman?
Why? No way!
“Shinhwa, did you know sothing?”
“What is it?”
“Your organ count and shape are a bit different from ours. Their positions are different too.”
“......”
What is she even saying now?
“I only investigated remotely while you were asleep— so I’m not completely sure. I want to confirm more. Really, can’t I—?”
Only now did I realize what future requested.
“What exactly do you want to examine?”
“X-ray imaging, MRI imaging, blood tests, tissue biopsies, cardiopulmonary function tests, colonoscopy, gastroscopy, and—”
“Stop, stop. I’ll allow the first two, but I refuse everything after that.”
“Blood test and colonoscopy?”
“X-ray and MRI were the first two.”
“Then let at least do the blood test.”
“Give it up. Honestly, I can escape without your help.”
It might get troubleso, but subduing I Haseo alone isn’t that hard.
She pouted for a mont, looked restless, then gave up and said:
“MRI is really okay, right?”
“Yes. Now tell your experint details.”
“Crystal—”
“I refuse.”
“Huh?”
“I already shot one at you, didn’t I?”
“Oh? How did you know—?”
That nightmare ray has an 11% success rate.
If I hadn’t had the [Madness of the Abyss] trait, I’d have beco an even more horrific maniac than I am now.
With rationality in single digits, the desire to trust my head to such a ray is—
‘No, no. Wait.’
Then sothing occurred to .
“Doctor, how many crystals are you using now?”
“Hmm—”
I Haseo frowned.
“—Seven.”
Seven, huh. Still stage two. That ans it’s sowhat controllable.
“All right. I’ll participate in one experint of cosmic radiation exposure using crystalline spiral energy.”
“Wow! Really!? But—”
“How do you know the experint details?”
“Eeh— Ah! I got it. You can read others’ thoughts!”
“Hmm—”
No, that’s not it—
“Fine! I get it. Different organ arrangent, telepathy enough to read others’ thoughts, eerily beautiful appearance, nearly unlimited mana activation! Shinhwa, I now know your true identity.”
No— I an—
“Shinhwa, you’re an alien from another planet! Am I right?”
Hey?
“I thought so. I had so idea from the start— mind if I ask which planet you’re from?”
Why, in the middle of this crisis, am I having this level of conversation with I Haseo?
I sighed and answered:
“Androda.”
“Aah— Ah— Androda— I see— I’m so ecstatic. No wonder I was drawn to you from the start.”
Though the reasoning is absurd, there are things in I Haseo’s words and actions worth noting.
‘At least she realized I don’t belong to this world.’
“All right, then what’s the escape plan?”
“Among the IPEs I manage, there’s one that generates a wide smoke screen and jamming signals— if we trigger it, the whole C sector will fill with smoke.”
“So we slip out through a secret passage during that?”
“Exactly— And I brought this.”
I Haseo handed a large backpack.
Inside were the items that had scattered from my torn bag.
“Hmm, thank you.”
“And this too.”
She also brought a Paju Central Hospital nurse’s uniform and a gas mask.
“I’ll get everything ready right now—”
I Haseo dashed out of the room. In the anti, I donned the mask and uniform.
‘Not bad.’
Though it’s a nurse’s outfit, Paju Central Hospital’s nurses are among Paju’s top combatants.
Functionally designed and offering high-efficiency ballistic and magic resistance.
After a mont, a loud noise began in the distance.
Thump thump thump thump— tat tat tat tat—
“This is how it always goes here.”
This is a containnt facility forcibly corralling beasts beyond control. No matter when you visit, an escape and rampage event always occurs.
And now an imnse volu of smoke started filling the corridor.
‘Good. Let’s go.’
According to plan, the alarm should be sounding now. But it didn’t.
Stepping into the corridor and extending my senses— ah, the detectors, caras, and speakers managing security are all completely broken.
‘That’s beyond I Haseo’s power. Gong Isu must have prepared that in advance.’
The files from Paju Central Hospital described “[Surreal chanical engineering ability impossible to reproduce or replicate].”
‘It doesn’t seem magical, and apart from ti travel it’s a separate power. What system is this?’
Ridiculous thought.
I gauged the power of the person risking their life to help and considered how to respond if we fought.
But there’s no choice. Though she hasn’t appeared in any ga, Gong Isu’s power is too strong, and the scope of influence it can exert is absurdly wide.
‘Almost Judicator-class? No, more like a high-level intellect. How did she get such a cheat ability?’
Before that thought finished, I reached the outer corridor of C sector. A bit further and I’d reach the exit from this closed ward.
“Noo— That’s not it—”
But I Haseo’s voice called from the wrong direction.
“This way— co this way—”
“But the exit is—”
“Ohh— That way was blocked by that terrifying person from the Foreign Managent Agency recently, rember? That terrifying person—”
“Yang Seohu?”
“Yes, she tore it down so now it’s sealed.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Co this way—”
I followed I Haseo down the labyrinthine corridor. Only then did I fully grasp why “future Kim Sinhwa” had assigned her to .
“Doctor. Wait a mont.”
“Yes—?”
“Could you open that door for ?”
“Well, I could, but— this is—”
The C-5 refuge room.
One of the refuge rooms placed throughout the closed ward for ergencies.
“Just open it first.”
Beep-leek—
With a cheerful sound the door opened.
Right, without I Haseo I would have missed this.
“You only need to guide this far.”
“Really—?”
“Yes. Later, if you’re bored, see if you can find the secret door hidden sowhere here.”
“A secret door!?”
I Haseo’s eyes sparkled as she tried to follow in, but I reached out and cast:
[Protect Barrier]
[Lock]
“Ooh— let in too—!”
Thump thump thump— thump thump thump— thump thump thump— thump thump thump—
“Shinhwa? Shinhwa? Shinhwa? Shinhwa? Shinhwa?”
It really is scary... Parting here is the answer.
“I’ll keep my promise, so see you next ti.”
Thump thump thump— thump thump thump— thump thump thump— thump thump thump—
[Acoustic Distortion]
Phew, it’s quiet now.
The C-5 refuge room, true to its purpose, contains cover and equipnt for ergencies.
Nothing essential, but I grabbed a few firearms and cold weapons and surveyed the room.
This place also hosts one of the many secret doors in the [Cthulhu World].
‘I suspect it’s just a map error rather than a deliberate secret.’
In this room... yes, near that potted ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) plant.
If you wander and jump around there, you suddenly fall down.
[Secret Door Detection]
Pababab—
Mana beams shot out from underfoot, rooting into the walls and floor in all directions.
“There it is.”
But unlike in the ga, what I found was a hidden button next to the plant.
Click—
When I pressed it, the floor opened to reveal a vertical shaft plunging down.
“No ladder or stairs. A low-level character would have discovered it but couldn’t use it.”
Without hesitation I leapt into the hole and cast:
[Feather Fall]
Clack—
A sound overhead. The secret door closed automatically. Not a big problem.
Thud.
A safe landing.
I didn’t end up in an absurd place—just a location only accessible after bypassing several security devices.
‘Right. My puppet phobia made forget sothing important.’
Had future Kim Sinhwa not told , I’d have completely forgotten during my escape.
The place I arrived at is a long corridor with ten doors.
One door is the entrance and the other nine lead to special rooms.
IPE-1 through IPE-9.
The single-digit patients stored at Paju Central Hospital.
Here, security devices and caras are intact—but what can that do?
[Neuroshock Field]
Pazzzzt!!
The security equipnt was neutralized instantly.
But alarms rang at the sa ti.
Wiiiiiiiiing— wiiiiiiiiing—
“All right, all right. I’ll grab just one and get out quickly.”
I added a few spells and wards to block the path for security personnel, then looked down the corridor.
Ten rooms housing either trendous treasures or horrific monsters.
‘I don’t need the others. So might lash out if disturbed.’
Without hesitation I opened the door to IPE-2.
Creeeeak—
A room of imnse size.
And lined up within it were pure white rocks.
“Heh heh heh— there you are.”
A smile involuntarily appeared.
They look like ordinary rocks, but they have a special power.
And thanks to that power, “the one who waits in silence” tornted so much.
“That bastard, I promised I’d get my revenge, didn’t I?”
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