Chapter 73: Room 101, Cursed Room – ‘Common Sense Renovating Media’ (7)
—
Fourth Attempt
—
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 23
Current Location: Floor 1, Room 101 (Cursed Room – Common Sense Renovating Media)
Sage’s Advice: 3]
—
Ding – Dong!
The cheerful sound of a bell echoed as we opened the door leading to the rooftop, and on the other side, we arrived at the entrance of a completely different place.
The area was clearly neglected for a long time; it was dirty and the air felt stuffy.
It wasn’t hard to figure out where this was.
Most people would have probably been to this place dozens, if not hundreds, of times in their lifetime. It was a hospital.
The only issue with this particular hospital was the appearance of the nurses.
Twisted nurses, reminiscent of the horror stories I had heard, were standing at the front, pretending to act like normal nurses.
Kuweekraahk!
What on earth was that sound? Perhaps it was something like “Hello”? They definitely didn’t seem hostile; they were even bowing slightly as if welcoming us.
Watching the distorted nurses, I instinctively moved my hand toward the gun at my waist.
That’s when Songee grabbed my arm.
“Oppa. I don’t think we need to provoke them unnecessarily.”
She was right. Patience is key here. I figured out the general situation.
At that moment, we had entered the “entrance of the hospital.” So, it looked like we were being treated as “guests.”
Let’s observe without agitating them.
Under the watchful eyes of the twisted nurses, we began wandering through the hospital slowly.
Could a hospital like this even exist?
Moving deeper inside, I could see patient rooms beginning to appear. The landscape inside those rooms was familiar. It was reminiscent of the bizarre places I had encountered when I opened the windows of cars in the basement of the TV station.
Indeed, those were the patient rooms. Each one was outfitted with steel beds, and the patients, having lost their minds, were restrained on them.
They were constantly groaning in agony, and occasionally, a nurse would enter a room.
I didn’t even want to imagine what was happening in there.
As we wandered around, one of the nurses approached us. We were startled at first, but the nurse stopped a short distance away and emitted another strange noise.
Let’s think calmly.
They had been treating us as guests until now; they weren’t going to turn aggressive all of a sudden.
We could just consider this place like a regular hospital. What would a nurse say to guests wandering around?
Probably something like, “Is there someone you’re looking for?”
Having half a mind about it, I called out loudly.
“Kim Sangmin! We’re looking for Student Kim Sangmin.”
Please understand me!
The twisted nurse nodded slightly, turned around, and walked away as if it understood my request.
Naturally, Songee with her bracelet and I with my filter took the lead while Elenahang back. With this formation, we started to follow the nurse.
After that, things became easier. With a nurse guiding us, the other nurses kept their distance, and we followed our guide for about 15 minutes, keeping a respectable space.
As we walked, I realized that the strange places I had encountered when ignoring the warnings at the TV station were all fragments of this hospital.
After a while walking down the fourth floor corridor, the nurse stopped.
With a gesture, it indicated a large patient room.
Is that the place?
It was our target that we had been desperately searching for since yesterday.
Right before entering, I earnestly wished for some advice.
What should I do that would be the best?
[Give the gun to Songee.]
I had a feeling I understood what that meant. Silently, I handed the gun to Songee.
We all steeled ourselves for what was to come.
“Are we all ready? Songee, I’ve loaded the gun.”
“Checked. I can use the bracelet anytime.”
“If it’s a person… if it’s a person, that would be nice. Then I can use a blessing too.”
We entered Kim Sangmin’s patient room.
—
What in the world is this place?
I had witnessed countless brutal and horrific scenes, but this place was different from any I had seen before.
It was like a completely different world. It transcended cruelty; this was fundamentally a different space from Earth.
It looked like something straight out of an alien planet’s cave.
All around were giant, translucent rocks that resembled bizarre crystals.
No visible light sources were present, yet the whole place was bright, as if glowing microorganisms were suspended in the air.
And –
The power of the curse intensified overwhelmingly.
Even without a physical entity in sight, I was hit with a splitting headache.
Bizarre common sense began seeping into my mind, invading my thoughts ruthlessly.
I forced my head away. The only one holding together seemed to be Songee, who put on her bracelet as soon as we entered.
Elena was already crumpled on the floor.
—
…
Songee looked quite delectable. Now that I thought about it, her name alone sounded delicious, right?
Songee mushroom—I absolutely adore them.
They’re quite pricey and hard to come by too. If I did get one, how would I cook it?
For high-quality ingredients, it would be foolish to slather them with too many seasonings. If one were to be lucky enough to procure good Songee mushrooms, brushing off the dirt and lightly toasting them in the oven with some salt sounds divine.
I recall an incident where a celebrity was ridiculed for adding those expensive mushrooms to ramen. Honestly, it made me incredibly envious.
Imagine tossing a sky-high ingredient into instant noodles and savoring the ultimate mouthful! Isn’t that the ultimate fantasy?
In Japan, they say they usually steam them in a teapot called Dobin Mushi, and it’s regarded as a delicacy. It’s definitely one of the dishes I’ve wanted to try ever since I saw it on TV.
Songee must taste heavenly too, right? The name itself suggests it!
But wait, Songee might actually be too big for a teapot. Should I buy a bigger teapot? Or should I make Songee smaller—
Bang!
… My consciousness started to slip away.
This place was too much for even my filters to handle.
I had kind of expected this, but it became crystal clear—the advice to give the gun to Songee simply meant:
You have no way to solve anything here, no matter what.
—
—Yoo Songee—
Bang! Bang!
…
There was no option left.
While I didn’t mind shooting the cursed people in the hotel, the thought of shooting my teammates genuinely bothered me. Why was it always me having to take on this role?
But what could I possibly do?
Kain-oppa suddenly approached, ruffling my hair.
At first, I was startled by the sudden action, but—
Maybe if I just take her head off, she could fit into a teapot?
I immediately shot after that thought crossed my mind.
Elenahun grabbed my legs, saying something bizarre.
“If we were to slow-cook this with beef—”
I shot her down too before that logic even formed!
Why on earth were they both thinking about devouring me?
Seeing them solidified just how potent the power of the curse really was. Even Kain-oppa with a filter couldn’t hold onto his sanity in this bizarre realm, nor could Elena-unni.
To be honest, I didn’t feel any different myself. If not for their comments, I wouldn’t have guessed that the curse had thickened.
That bracelet must surpass nearly every mind-control ability existing in this hotel. But if everyone except me was falling apart, what could we possibly do about this room?
I had no clue. I trusted that if I discussed things outside, the others would likely have clever solutions.
For now, I was determined to push through alone if I had to.
It didn’t take long. Three minutes, perhaps? Reaching the cave’s end, I spotted something resembling a massive lump of flesh.
What on earth was that? The source behind all this madness? It just looked like a giant, wriggling heart!
Next time, could I just focus on protecting Jinchul-oppa’s mind while he smashed that thing to bits?
Since I had the gun… why not give it a shot?
Bang! Bang! Bang!
After firing three rounds rapidly, I finally started receiving some feedback.
“Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! You’re hurting me too!”
A stinging voice pierced into my head.
Suddenly, I heard the sound of someone rushing towards me. Turning around, I noticed the nurses charging toward me.
Ah-ha, so this guy was the mastermind. It looked like my task was to destroy this thing no matter what.
I think I’ve done enough, right?
Going further was too terrifying, but I had to say something before leaving.
“You’re a lot less of a nuisance than everything you’ve done to this world, you know?”
Then, with one last bullet reserved for myself, I unloaded the rest into the fleshy mass.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Ahhhh! Sir! Where are you? Another annoying one has come to torment me! Sir!”
“Sir”? I know a “sir” too, but who the heck is your ‘sir’?
The nurses were closing in fast.
This should be enough.
Bang!
My consciousness slowly started fading away.
—
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 23
Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor
Sage’s Advice: 2]
—
—Han Kain
Thud! I plopped down on the floor too hard compared to usual and woke up in the corridor.
As I rubbed my temples and looked around, I saw everyone waking up with tired expressions.
It must’ve been around dinner time. We entered in the morning, so we practically spent the whole day in there.
As everyone regained consciousness, they began turning their eyes to one person.
The biggest guy among us looked utterly defeated, with his head hanging low.
—
When people work in groups, such occurrences are inevitable. If someone makes a minor mistake, everyone will tease, poke fun, or scold them.
But when a serious error arises, it becomes extremely difficult to address it openly.
In these scenarios, everyone tends to be too busy fixing the mess, and if the person responsible is not thick-skinned, they’re often too consumed by guilt to face anyone.
This tendency grows especially more pronounced when you must continue working alongside them.
If they’re suffering internally, will a few harsh words help at all?
Instead, it’s far more productive to comfort them and strategize the next steps.
Right now, that’s exactly the situation we found ourselves in.
—
“Hey! Hey! If someone saw us, they’d think we were all dead! What are we doing, hurry up and eat something?”
“…”
“Oppa, you’ve been sulking over a bit of filial piety. I’m the one who has been chillin’ since the start with mom, totally enjoying my time!”
Ahri, you should at least show a bit of remorse.
“Hey! I literally got buried alive after my fake father died; I had to squabble with family at the funeral! I’m not joking, I literally had to be mummified! So why are you sulking over something like that?”
“Buried alive? Noonim? What kind of family situation are you in?”
“Oppa! You’ve still got the red pill, right? That’s all you need! I ended up watching till the end; all you have to do is pop the pill and blow that lump of flesh apart!”
By the way, Kain-oppa, what on earth were you thinking at the end?
Songee suddenly tossed the spotlight onto me. Since leaving Room 101, she’d asked me three times what the story of the teapot was.
Rather than explaining the Japanese-style steamed Songee mushroom in a teapot, I figured it’d be easier to feign ignorance.
“Honestly, I don’t remember. I lost all memory the moment we opened the hospital door.”
“Hmmm…”
Her expression was entirely disbelieving. I decided to keep my distance from Songee today.
And thus, our chaotic dinner concluded.
—
“Now, it’s time for our final strategic meeting. Of course, I can’t guarantee this will be our last meeting, but I believe it will be the case. We know what our goal is, where it is, and have a rough idea of its powers. If we take longer to solve this, we’d just be demonstrating our incompetence.”
“Eunsol-noona, this is already our fifth time…”
“Yes, and that’s our biggest problem. If we had only spent four attempts, we would have cleared it 100%. But here we are at five. Ahri, does anything about how it changes sound familiar to you?”
“I’m sorry. I was very young during the first trip to the hotel— my memories are basically non-existent.”
Ahri, the one born in the hotel. That meant she was essentially a kid on her first visit, making her lack of clear memories understandable.
So, since this is our fifth attempt, we have a major agenda to discuss.
1. Should we continue attempting Room 101?
Depending on perspective, it might be more reasonable to bypass Room 101 since it would likely be tougher and instead go for Room 102 or Room 104, then return once we’ve grown stronger.
Of course, you might ask if moving to a different room would make things easier.
Our core abilities haven’t improved at all. With our current state, would we really handle another room well? What if we fumble and end up doing five attempts for all the other rooms?
Perhaps it would be more sensible to complete Room 101 since we’ve learned quite a bit about it?
Who knows? It’s challenging to make reasonable decisions when we’re still unclear about how exactly things will change.
Everyone, feel free to share your thoughts.
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