Chapter 224: Room 202, Cursed Room - 'The Little Mermaid' (2)
User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 100
Current Location: Floor 2, Room 202 – Cursed Room ‘The Little Mermaid’
Sage’s Advice: 3
- Han Kain
When Grandpa mentioned “escape,” everyone’s gaze naturally turned to Seungyub. In about 10 more minutes, we’d reach the key location of the stage—the overwater road leading to Sea God’s Island in the waters off Busan. If anyone were to leave, now was the best time.
However, unlike usual, Seungyub spoke cautiously, “Actually, I got some advice from my Patron recently. He told me to do my best in Room 202.”
He’d previously mentioned that although he had prepared a strong enhancement for Room 203, his current contribution was lacking, so it was better to be more active in Room 202.
“Rather than escaping right away, shouldn’t I try to participate a bit more this time?”
Grandpa replied nonchalantly, “There’s no need to stress. We’re unlikely to clear it on the first attempt anyway. Typically, an unexpected twist will happen, most of us will die, and one or two of us will barely manage to escape. You can still contribute on the second or third attempt.”
That’s a terrifying thing to say so calmly.
“Ah, I see. So, everyone else will die soon anyway!”
“...”
“Then should I wait in Busan?”
Grandpa was momentarily at a loss for words, and just then, Ahri shifted her gaze to me.
“Before deciding, it’s probably a good idea to check the scenario. Kain?”
The initial scenario that appeared wasn’t very detailed.
It just said to “meet with the chairman of Cheongseong Group” and “head to the hidden location, Sea God’s Island.”
“The first scenario prompted us to meet the chairman, and it hasn’t changed yet. I think the next update will appear once we enter the overwater road or the island itself.”
“Looks like something significant will happen once we reach the island. Seungyub, it’s better if you stay in Busan.”
“Alright, but I’ll at least listen to the briefing before I go.”
While we traveled in the car, Noona explained the contents of the documents she’d been reviewing, and Seungyub took a seat again.
“The facts are simple. The deceased son of the chairman is Lee Suho. He visited the Sea God’s Island several times to resolve a dispute about the port. Each time he visited, the atmosphere on the island became more hostile, and threats toward Suho and his security increased. Then, 40 days ago, while crossing the bridge, Suho was killed by supernatural means. The Administration also confirmed this.”
Ahri raised a question, “Supernatural means? That’s pretty vague.”
“The Administration didn’t have any certainty about the specific means.”
“Doesn’t it seem odd? I mean, why would the merfolk kill the chairman’s son? It’s not like killing him will transfer ownership of the port to the merfolk, right? Even killing the chairman himself wouldn’t solve the issue. If anything, it only worsens their position since it breaches the non-aggression pact.”
“There’s a note from Cheongseong Group addressing that. They claim the incident had the desired effect. After the son’s death, fear of the merfolk increased within the group, and some executives openly suggested giving up on the port.”
People would naturally feel intimidated when facing an otherworldly species capable of killing with curses.
The Administration existed to deal with such situations, the Administration exists.
“But all they did was provoke the Administration into taking stronger action, right?”
“Perhaps. I’m just sharing what was in the documents.”
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freёwebnovel.com.
If we assume the merfolk killed the chairman’s son, what did they gain?
They threatened a private company, but all it achieved was the Administration’s intervention.
With the Administration’s backing, Cheongseong Group would never give up on the port.
It felt pointless to continue theorizing at this point. We still lacked too much information.
After Ahri briefly explained how to use the Administration-issued smartphone, we dropped Seungyub off in Busan and resumed our journey.
As we crossed the midpoint of the overwater road, the scenario finally updated.
Scenario: Cursed Room – ‘The Little Mermaid’
The Hotel Party heads toward Sea God’s Island.
As unease fills the air, the party exchanges ideas and discussions.
The limousine speeds along the road like the wind and enters the island.
Only after encountering ominous signs and traces of hostility do they realize the gravity of the situation.
Enter the island.
It seems necessary to meet with the “Saintess of the Deep Sea” to assess the situation on the island.
The next scenario update will appear after meeting with the Saintess of the Deep Sea.
The “Saintess of the Deep Sea” was already mentioned in the documents.
The island has three sisters, known as the “Daughters of the Sea God”, who are revered as sacred figures.
Among them, one held the title of “Saintess of the Deep Sea” and served as the island’s spiritual leader.
The phrase “ominous signs and hostile traces” caught my attention.
“Everyone, check your surroundings! It says there are signs or traces of hostility nearby!”
As the limousine slowed, we all peered out the windows.
It didn’t take long to spot the signs.
Carved into the overwater road’s surface and rails were numerous eerie messages.
Despite the letters being illegible, the unmistakable malice was palpable.
Fortunately, someone could read them.
“Brutal stuff. ‘A sea curse upon the thieves of the land,’ ‘Skin yourself alive and die,’ ‘Die before crossing this bridge.’”
“Oh, how did you learn to read that alien script?”
“From a merfolk.”
So, there were merfolk in the world I lived in.
They might not have lived on an island off Busan, but they existed.
“Once we enter the island, we should remain vigilant—”
Advice: 3 → 2
Immediately push Cha Jinchul’s left shoulder!
I moved before I even understood the command.
My instincts reacted before my thoughts. I shoved Jinchul-hyung’s left shoulder.
“Whoa! What the heck are you doing!”
The sudden push on Jinchul-hyung’s arm caused the steering wheel to jerk, and the limousine veered sharply right, crashing into the sidewall of the road.
At that moment—
“Ruda-H-Barri!”
An ominous, unknown chant echoed.
Dark, murky fog crept across the road.
It spread slowly, reaching right up to where the limousine had swerved.
That seemed to be the range of the curse.
“K-Kain! Did you get a Life Warning just now?”
“...Yes. And it was serious.”
“They tried to kill us before we even reached the island?”
“Good thing there were no other cars on the road.”
If we were ordinary Administration agents, we would have turned back to Busan and reported the incident.
The Administration might have lodged a formal protest or staged a show of force.
But we weren’t just Administration agents.
We were Hotel participants.
And the most reliable guidepost in this space, the “scenario,” gave us clear instructions.
Noona, thinking along the same lines, asked me, “What’s the scenario say?”
“It says, ‘Enter the island.’”
“...Then we should go in.”
“Maybe that fog was meant to scare us into turning back. It’s possible the goal is to frighten us into retreating. But we’re not going to fall for it.”
Hyung, still rattled, spoke up, “We’re going through that fog?”
“It’s probably temporary.”
Sure enough, the fog dissipated after five minutes.
Ahri, in the Protective Suit, moved ahead to check, and once it was confirmed safe, we resumed our drive toward the ominous island.
***As soon as we set foot on the island, we could sense the seething anger toward the “land-dwelling humans” emanating from all directions.
The merfolk, who had a grotesque appearance like a fusion of man and fish, already looked eerie, but their menacing approach made the atmosphere even more threatening.
However, we were here as diplomatic envoys sent by the Administration.
The merfolk only glared at us, not taking any direct action.
And that made it all the more suspicious.
What was that attack from earlier all about?
“...”
A merfolk clad in splendid attire appeared and guided us to our lodging.
Could they be a guide sent by the Saintess of the Deep Sea?
This newly arrived merfolk had an air of mystery and beauty about them.
As soon as we reached our room, Noona spoke up with a sharp tone, “This is strange. They tried to kill us before we even arrived, so I figured there’d be an army waiting for us as soon as we set foot here.”
Hyung seemed to share the same sentiment.
“I was ready to summon the Star if things went south, but now that we’re here, everything’s calm? All they’re doing is glaring at us. What, do they think laser beams are going to shoot out of their eyes or something?”
“It feels like how a hostile country would treat a visiting diplomat. You can sense the anger, but they don’t make any physical moves. What was that curse about earlier? Was it just a scare tactic? Did we overreact?”
That wasn’t it.
I immediately pointed it out, “If that were the case, the Life Warning wouldn’t have gone off. It was definitely a curse meant to kill us.”
Ahri raised a vague hypothesis, “Maybe that curse wasn’t part of the island’s official stance.”
“Not the official stance?”
“Just a guess. But when I saw that curse, I found it bizarre too. We’re envoys sent by the Administration. Would they really cast a deadly curse on us just like that? Does that even make sense? Doing something like that would force the Administration into war with them.”
“Let’s bring this up when we meet the Saintess of the Deep Sea. And perhaps...”
All eyes turned toward me.
I offered a cautious opinion, “There might be additional attempts on our lives. We should all be on high alert. I’ll conserve as much of Advice as possible.”
A heavy silence fell over the room.
*******- Park Seungyub
“Yaaawn!”
I’m bored.
My hyungs and noonas all left for the island on the overwater road, while I’m stuck alone in Busan with no idea what to do.
Should I head up to Seoul?
But I remembered something Ahri-noona said.
In this room, I was an official Administration agent, and my location was tracked in real-time.
If one agent wandered off to a faraway area, the Administration might think I was kidnapped and send a rescue party.
“...”
Wait a second.
Isn’t that a way to escape?
In Room 104, getting arrested was a viable escape method.
So, if I wander off to a random location, the Administration might “rescue” me, and that will count as an escape, right?
Genius!
This is why I’m the best escape expert in our party!
I’ll send them a message before I leave.
...
No signal.
Weird.
They left for the island less than an hour ago, but already the signal’s gone.
This feels urgent.
Time for the party’s greatest escape expert to make his move!