Chapter: 64
Chapter 64 – Room 101, Cursed Room – ‘A Strange Family’ Re (2)
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 22
Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor
Sages’ Advice: 3]
“So, that means four people failed to escape, huh?”
“Eunsol noona, Miss Elena, Ahri, and Grandpa Mooksung all couldn’t escape, huh?”
“I feel so embarrassed.”
“Sorry, everyone.”
“Hmm. Let’s not dwell on apologies. Let’s get back to planning, shall we?”
“It’s a pretty serious situation. Our initial plan was to gauge each person’s escape difficulty in the first try. After that, one person would have to escape for the team’s safety, while the other seven would work on solving the room’s curse.”
“However, with four people failing, we’re left with very few options for handling this curse.”
“On the bright side, I can guarantee I won’t make the same mistake in the next attempt. I won’t repeat the same blunder twice.”
“First, let’s break down the reasons for the failures.”
1. Eunsol: The house is too big; there are too many people, making it difficult to escape while avoiding everyone.
2. Elena: The house is too small, starting right in a shared space with her family.
3. Mooksung: He was flustered by the resurrection of deceased family members.
4. Ahri: The starting place was the 1st Hotel, making physical escape impossible.
“Is that about right?”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Sorting through these points, I couldn’t help but note how bizarre the reasons were. I never imagined that a big house would hinder an escape. And starting at a hotel? That was just absurd!
I understood the others’ situations, but Ahri’s reasoning struck me as curious. I mean, she’s strong; couldn’t she just take down her family?
“Ahri?”
“Yeah?”
“I get that you can’t physically leave the hotel, but according to you, that means only your mom showed up, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“Well, your situation is pretty similar to Jinchul-hyung’s, so why not just overpower your mom next time? I heard Jinchul-hyung knocked out his mother right at the start to stop her from approaching!”
“Hey, Kain! What you’re saying is really strange. ‘I knocked out my mom’? Are you trying to paint me as some sort of villain? I didn’t punch my mom; I punched a fake pretending to be my mom!”
“…”
“?”
“Sorry, my mom is a bit strong. I seriously don’t think I can handle it. No matter what I do, I can’t win against my mom, and I can’t stop her from getting close either.”
What kind of situation is this?
I still don’t know the extent of Ahri’s abilities, but to claim she has no chance of winning…
What on earth kind of person is her mother? Is she even human?
“Okay! Leaving Ahri aside, let’s figure out the others. First, old man? Are you good to go for the next round?”
“I assure you, I won’t make the same mistake twice.”
“Then, since yours was a simple misstep, let’s consider you can proceed next time. Ahri, on the other hand? You’re out, right?”
“I’m sorry. It’s absolutely impossible.”
“Nothing we can do about that. Now, it’s down to me and Elena.”
“Hah, this is quite the unusual situation. For Noona, the house is too big; for Miss Elena, it’s too small.”
Eunsol noona and Elena turned silent, deep in thought, as did the rest of us.
Having three people unable to do anything made things really tight. One person had to escape, but if three couldn’t progress, that meant four would have to take care of the curse!
After about five minutes, Eunsol noona finally spoke up.
“I’m really sorry! No matter how much I think, I can’t find a solution. I can’t punch my family into submission like Jinchul, and the house is just too big and crowded to sneak out.”
“I think I might have a better chance than Eunsol-noona,” Elena piped up. “I just need 5 seconds. If I can buy those 5 seconds, I can escape since the house is small.”
“But how do you think you could buy 5 seconds right next to the ‘Strange Family’? That’s the real issue here.”
“Oh! Wait, what if…”
“Songee? What’s up?”
“Elena-unni, can you get outside if your sight and hearing are completely blocked?”
“I remember the entire house by heart. It’s very small, after all.”
Somehow, I sensed Elena had been grumbling about her house being small for quite some time.
“In that case, just like I did with Jinchul-hyung before, how about I block all your senses right before we enter? It’ll be way more effective than just closing your eyes and ears, allowing you to protect your mind even right next to the ‘Strange Family.’ It should last about 10 minutes, so you could escape within that window!”
“But if I go out like that, wouldn’t it be dangerous for you, Songee? I thought the bracelet could only be used for one person at a time? If you use it on me, then you won’t be able to protect yourself until the cooldown is over, right?”
“Unlike you, I start in my own room. I can just lock the door for like 30 minutes or an hour and chill until the bracelet recharges, then I can just leave.”
“Songee, do you think you could use that method on Eunsol-noona as well?”
“You can only use the bracelet on one person at a time.”
“Then just use it on Elena. Sorry, but I can’t escape with my senses blocked; it’s really too big.”
After receiving a notebook and pen from noona, I started jotting down our current plan.
1. Escape Team: Park Seungyub
2. Advance Team: Han Kain, Yu Songee, Cha Jinchul, Kim Mooksung, Elena
3. Give-up Team: Lee Eunsol, Kim Ahri.
“Is this about right?”
Two people definitely unable to progress and one responsible for the escape left us with five remaining members. Five seemed like a manageable number, and honestly, it didn’t seem like we’d be able to increase it.
As everyone glanced at the notes I wrote down, the whispers began.
“Calling it the ‘Give-up Team’ is sort of harsh. What kind of team title is that? Just leave my name out, please.”
“Kain wrote our names like we’re the useless members of a group project.”
“Uh, I’m just organizing this for myself…”
“Well, it still looks well organized. Just to double-check, Seungyub-gun?” Grandpa Mooksung asked.
“Yeah!”
“Is it certain that you can escape? You’re the one who needs to flee first so we can secure our survival. Your role is the most crucial. If you fail, we could all be in peril.”
“I’m pretty sure I can escape 100%. I got out in less than 10 minutes last time. My parents don’t check my room too often, so I can just leap out the window onto a car and run. That’s all!”
“What a reliable kid! That’s so reassuring. I’ll absolutely trust you.”
Maybe because he wasn’t used to all this praise and expectation, Seungyub’s face turned crimson.
Grandpa Mooksung was spot on.
It may seem like the people dealing with the curse are the most important, but every one of their attempts hinges on the survival guarantee provided by the escaper. Truly, the escaper is the most essential role of all.
“By the way, I noticed something quite strange.”
“What is it, Seungyub? Spill it.”
“….”
“Why are you suddenly all quiet?”
“Please don’t misunderstand. I wasn’t trying to play any games. I just happened to log online because it had been ages since I last did!”
“Just be straightforward, buddy. If you played League for a bit, that’s fine. As long as you get out unharmed, I doubt anyone will complain.”
“No, Jinchul-hyung! I really didn’t play any games. I was just browsing the internet, and everything seemed completely bizarre!”
“You mean the internet is strange?”
“People are eating weird bugs on eat shows! In baseball games, they’re using the bats to hit people! And in dramas? People are suddenly wielding knives and fighting. I barely watched for a minute, but it felt weird, so I quickly turned it off!”
“Can I share something I noticed too?” asked Songee.
“Did you see something strange as well?”
“As you all know, after my ‘Affinity’ got enhanced, I’m now able to use it much more actively. I can convey messages and feel the emotions of others for deeper communication. So, I decided to try using that on my family and the animals at home. It was a total failure; my ability didn’t work, and they didn’t respond at all. What do you think this means?”
“Hmm. I have one hypothesis.”
“What are your thoughts, sir?”
“Songee’s ability might be one that only communicates with beings of chaos. If the ‘Strange Family’ members aren’t chaos beings but instead ordinary humans, it’s wholly normal that her ability isn’t functioning.”
“So you’re saying the Strange Family is just cursed victims too?”
“Isn’t that what our clues suggested? The curse’s origin isn’t the family itself.”
Listening to that conversation left me a bit flustered.
While I escaped without gaining any real insights, Seungyub and Songee managed to discover crucial facts. Should I have also done something constructive?
Next time, I’ll be more proactive in gathering information.
Let’s summarize the facts we’ve uncovered so far.
Seungyub and Songee’s findings:
1. The internet is strange.
2. The family might be normal humans.
By putting those two together, a hypothesis formed in all of our minds.
“Could the curse’s origin be… the Internet?”
“Did the family simply get cursed through internet usage? Did the animals get infected from them?”
“There’s no certainty yet. However, it might be wise for the Advance Team to investigate internet-related issues first.”
After about 30 minutes of discussion, we set the general situation and objectives.
Finally, I tore out the note and put it on the table for everyone to see.
1. Escape Team: Park Seungyub
2. Advance Team: Han Kain, Yu Songee, Cha Jinchul, Kim Mooksung, Elena
3. Rest Team: Lee Eunsol, Kim Ahri.
Advance Team Objective: Explore the source of the curse, focusing on the odd media.
I think we’re ready to dive back in now.
“…Kain, can you please cross my name out?”
“Typical of someone who would report to the teacher about the group project slackers~”
Third Attempt
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 22
Current Location: Floor 1, Room 101 (Cursed Room – A Strange Family)
Sages’ Advice: 3]
Immediately upon regaining consciousness, I surrounded myself with a filter. Then, I turned on the computer in my room.
Oh right, I should make sure my family doesn’t come barging in.
“MOM!”
“Kain?”
The moment I heard her voice, my head went blank, despite covering myself with the system window.
“I need to apply for courses, so please don’t interrupt me!”
It felt like February inside the room anyway, so I figured it was reasonable to use that excuse.
Did it work? I could hear her footsteps retreating away from the room.
After about a minute of browsing the computer, I finally understood what Seungyub meant.
Props to him for trying to sugarcoat it, but seriously, the entire internet atmosphere felt absolutely insane. There were shows where people were trying to eat each other; the news and dramas were downright horrific.
Even psychopaths would probably cringe and feel disgusted watching those!
Within less than a minute of watching, my head began to throb fiercely, and strange sounds started echoing in my ears.
A contorted sense of what’s normal started to seep into my mind.
What’s the big deal about people eating other people?
…
Quickly, I shut off the monitor and took a step back.
After about 5 minutes of resting, my thoughts began to stabilize.
Let’s take this step by step.
Seungyub said the internet felt off, and witnessing it first-hand helped me come up with a more specific phrase for it.
The media is strange. There’s nothing inherently weird when using major platforms like Naver or Google, but when diving into TV shows—eating shows, sports, news, dramas—they’re all completely bonkers!
The worrying thoughts began to swirl in my head. Could the media itself be the issue? Is it the root of the curse?
Then, what exactly is the Hotel asking us to do?
This didn’t feel like the right path. Let’s think back to room 103, which Songee had managed to resolve. The curse originated from the Athanasias, which she eradicated to resolve the issue.
In other words, the root of the curse must be tied to something that can be physically destroyed. This must be what’s tainting the media, affecting people, and ultimately poisoning the world.
One hypothesis started to take shape in my mind.
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