Wiiiiiiiiing- Wiiiiiiiiing-
Confusingly continuing alarm sounds.
Footsteps scattering in disarray.
“Over there!” “Quick!” “How did they get this far!?” “Aaaaah!”
Commands and screams echo from the maze-like corridors.
[System: Penalty trait ‘Banquet’s Sacrifice’ effect has been activated.]
[System: ‘Heightened Vigilance’ trait is now active.]
Pop-ups urging me to move faster.
“Shut up, I know even if you don’t bitch at me.”
Fzzzt—
I summoned mana and wiped every message away.
I know.
This isn’t a time to stand still. Yet my feet won’t lift. In the end I sank down before the door of the circular room, clutching my head.
“Damn, this is such a shitty—”
Wiiiiiiiiing- Wiiiiiiiiiiiiing-
The ever-blaring alarm drives my already frayed nerves further into overdrive. Auuuuugh! Auuuuugh— My fingertips tremble, whether from anger or annoyance.
“Hoo—damn. Calm down. Calm down.”
I know the source of this discomfort, anger, irritation, loathing, and nausea. It’s Gong Isu stuck in one of the mud pits I’ve tried to avoid, insisting that this is the only answer.
His terror and madness consuming him as he thrashes.
That dreadful, headless visage.
That stern scolding he delivered.
“Damn it, if you’d given up that easily you wouldn’t have come all this way through hell.”
Whether Gong Isu is actually connected to me or not, every aspect of him is a possibility I might one day reach. And the questions he asked me were ones I’ve asked myself before.
“Hoo—”
A short breath.
Honestly, I can’t entirely fault Gong Isu’s words and actions.
He must have seen more despair, more darkness than I have.
And he can’t leave that room.
Just as I suffer endless madness, Gong Isu must have fought ceaselessly against the otherworldly beasts hunting him.
“Ah, whatever. Thinking about it too deeply just gives me a headache.”
Stop thinking.
Someday I might give up everything too, but not yet. I can still walk, resist, and struggle.
‘Right. No need to force myself into pessimism.’
Heo Sanghyun reclaimed his will from Heo’s slave, and Lee Seonbin—destined to die—lived. I’ve saved many more besides.
Wait.
That’s not all. Jang Hyundeok was already brainwashed by [Yellow-Clad King] before meeting me, wasn’t he?
I didn’t endanger him—he endangered me first, and I ended up saving him.
And I’ve protected him through all the incidents after.
“Ha, right. Damn. Almost got sucked in by that mood.”
What? That ruin spreads like a plague? Tell him to shut up.
“Like I told Curtain Call before...”
Is that my fault?
Those Abyssal beings are the real monsters here.
I know this conclusion is almost sophistry, but I forced myself to reach it.
Thud thud thud!
“Hey, senior!”
“...”
Thud thud thud!
“Hey! Senior! Answer me!”
“Get lost! Don’t you ever come back!”
“No way, man!”
“...”
“Fine, I’ll back off for today. But I’ll come back and bother you again.”
“What nonsense is this? Don’t remember me, don’t talk to me, just go away! I told you I don’t want anything to do with you!”
Gong Isu rages.
But I smile as I reply.
“No. We’re already connected. Observations or not, watch me. I’ll show you how relentless and terrible I can be.”
At the same time, I channeled mana into the door between us.
Hmm, the door itself has defensive warding—it’s not easy.
But after persistent attempts, I completed my intended enchantment, intricately woven between the warding, so no one will notice under ordinary circumstances.
“Can you sense what I just did to this door?”
“...”
Whether he’s speechless or furious, there’s no answer.
What I did is marking. Now I can return here anytime with the [Gate Creation] spell.
“Ignore it, it’s pointless. Living like a plant with no incidents? Ha. Even if you reject it, we’ll be tangled—be prepared.”
“I have nothing I can offer you...”
“Don’t lie. No matter what your mind whispered, I won’t give up until I learn everything you know.”
Ah, Gong Isu has no head, does he? But I don’t bother correcting my slip as I turn away.
This isn’t over. His awkward stance and taunting words.
‘Maybe he sees pop-ups too.’
I don’t know what threats he muttered, but he’s still hiding something.
Kwaaang!
Tudadadadada!
Explosions and gunfire.
This time it sounded quite close. What escaped? [Hungry Old Man]?
Whoever it is, if I’m to see Gong Isu again, I should clear this area first.
“See you again, senior.”
I hear Gong Isu mumbling beyond the round door, but I ignore him and keep walking.
Maze-like corridors.
And ‘patients’ of the closed ward rushing at me from all sides.
“Smash... crush....”
IPE-348, [Forest Person]. A towering humanoid surreal entity sprouting leaves.
Kkiririririri—
That’s IPE-58, [Cleaning Dog]. A machine lifeform shaped like Achilles.
“If you come closer, I’ll obliterate you.”
“I’m scared... I don’t want...”
The [Forest Person], sensing my mana, flees terrified down another corridor, but the [Cleaning Dog] lacks intelligence.
Kkiririririri—
“Ugh, annoying.”
[Brain Shock Field]
Fzzzt!!
Unable to handle the overcurrent, the [Cleaning Dog] immediately shuts down.
I don’t know every detail of the patients at Paju Central Hospital, but I remember the famous ones.
I encountered a few more in the halls, but no big problem—most can be dealt with in one blow, or else fled at sight.
“Hmm, but without knowing the situation outside, it’s frustrating.”
In the end it’s one of two things.
If friends of [Predator of the Mountains] have broken in, I’ll have to deal with them.
‘Their target is probably me...’
But if their goal is truly to cut off Gong Isu’s information, they might attack him directly.
I still need to extract information from Gong Isu.
I don’t want him to die at the decisive moment: “Ugh, Kim Sinhwa, there’s something I still have to tell you... ugh!”
“Please, let this be a simple incident.”
If it’s unrelated to [Predator of the Mountains]’ friends... no need to worry further. Clear the commotion around the round room and that’s it. The rest is up to Paju Central’s security and suppression forces.
For now, the top priority is gathering information.
Only by understanding the overall situation can I clarify my next move.
“I hope I run into someone I can actually talk to.”
As I walk on, strange sounds drift toward me.
“Kikikiki—let’s eat—eat—let’s eat—”
“Kikekekeke—kill—kill—let’s kill—”
Voices from down the corridor.
Unfortunately, not sounds a conversational being would make. I cast invisibility and approached slowly.
Large heads, spindly limbs, slimy skin—the IPE-2943 [Amphibian Humans].
Separate from the codename Paju Central gave them, they worship [The Silent Watcher], avatar of [Predator of the Mountains].
‘But judging by their state, they’re escaped ward inmates, not external intruders.’
They wear restraints. They must have broken out of the closed ward.
They charge forward in a frenzy. Their target is—
“Prey! It’s prey!”
“Kill! Eat it! Tear its head off and chew it alive!”
The Amphibian Humans have zeroed in on five human figures wearing Paju Central Hospital badges. They’ve formed a perfect formation, guns aimed at the Amphibians.
“Fire!”
Dudadadadada!!
“Keiiiiiik!”
As expected, the Amphibians are dispatched in an instant.
“Damn, this is making me lose my mind.”
“Hold on. This area looks mostly cleared.”
“You might as well take a Nirvana pill.”
They’re security officers from the closed ward. Perfect—I can gather information from them.
‘But they won’t have anything nice to say about me.’
[Form Assimilation]
Meanwhile, Lee Haseo is one of their protected.
“Excuse me—can you help?”
“Ah!”
“Don’t come closer!”
All barrels point at me.
“Wait, hold on! Damn, sir!”
Fortunately, the one who seems the leader called off his comrades.
“You’re still here? I already escorted you earlier!”
Huh? These aren’t the officers I saw before—so why “earlier”?
‘Is Lee Haseo moving around nearby?’
That would be awkward.
Wiping away the thought, I concoct a plausible explanation quickly.
“Ah—I tried to leave, but IPE-2286 blocked the way—”
IPE-2286, [Living Wall]. If that’s blocking the path, I can’t go through.
“Ugh, I see. The only exit around here was that way. What should we do...”
The leader hesitates. Damn, what is he pondering?
To stop him from wasting time, I suggest a suitable solution.
“In that case, could you escort me to the C-3 shelter?”
Throughout the ward are emergency shelters for crisis situations.
“Oh, the C-3 shelter is close from here. We’ll accompany you there.”
“Wow—thank you—”
Now I walk under the security officers’ escort.
“But—is this okay? Too many have escaped—”
A patient escape event. Honestly, it happens often.
In a more realistic facility it wouldn’t, but this maliciously designed game has Paju Central’s restraints laughably feeble.
Any trouble the player causes triggers ‘patients’ to break free and create chaos.
“Don’t worry. The suppression team that went outside has returned and will restore order soon.”
Another officer adds:
“The suppression team is currently clearing threats in Sector A. They’ll reach Sector C shortly.”
A hopeful tone, but of course there’s Sector B between A and C. It’ll be a while.
“So the outside commotion is all handled? I heard the Immigration Service even came.”
“That’s correct. Most of the otherworldly beings that appeared outside have been dealt with; only cleanup remains. However—”
“However?”
“Are you familiar ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) with Yang Seohu from the Immigration Service?”
“Ah, yes—”
“It seems the ability he used at the last moment affected the ward’s barrier as well.”
Ah—I understand.
I thought he wouldn’t go full power where so many innocents might get hurt, but he must have been truly annoyed.
The ability he showed in Sejong City.
He used it to ‘clean up’ the incident—rather, to obliterate everything, and as a result the ward inmates poured out.
“The barrier partially shut down as a result. Administration believes something infiltrated during the downtime.”
“I see—infiltration? Then what about the suppression team?”
“Yes. They’re in Sector A to handle whatever came in from outside.”
Damn. Something definitely got in.
Although the barrier paused briefly, no half-ass hero or the Immigration Service slipped through.
It must be an Abyssal being—someone related to [Predator of the Mountains].
