Chapter 673 – Room 301, The Cursed Room – ‘Origin of the Species’ (17)
—
– Lee Eunsol
—
It’s now the third day since our second attempt began.
What’s my goal this time?
The fundamental goal is, of course, to resolve Room 301.
However, achieving that resolution requires a long and complex process.
I aimed to gather secrets about the Is race from Chairman Lee Seok-hwan—my father.
So, how’s that going?
Honestly, let’s admit it—I’ve hit a wall.
“…”
If only my father were missing, I’d just need to find him.
If he kept his mouth shut, I could force it open, and if enemies got in the way, I could just fight them off.
Unfortunately, the reality was the complete opposite.
My father sat right across from me, cooperating with all sorts of questions.
There was no absurd situation where his bodyguard would try to assassinate me or anything.
The only problem? I couldn’t access the most crucial information.
According to him, he received security measures from a retired agent from the Administration Bureau twelve years ago.
These measures have made it impossible for even him to recall any ‘important information.’
“Eunsol, if you keep staring so hard, you’ll wear out my face. Do you have something to say?”
The security measures of the Bureau might be impressive, but their limits are pretty clear-cut.
I could easily break them with the Pipe of Rest, and maybe Kain or Ahri could too.
The problem is, I’ve been warned that if I forcefully extract the information from my father, something terrible might happen.
Somehow, he didn’t even know what that terrible thing was.
All I had was confirmation from Elena that he genuinely believed it.
Even Kain, who was observing from outside, or Seunghyun, had warned me like poltergeists, leaving me with no choice.
Stuck in confusion about what to do.
A day passed quickly, and various tasks for me to inherit the Daeyang Group began.
Before coming to the hotel, it might have been a moment I dreamed about, making me happy.
Now it just felt like a pointless waste of time.
“…”
Let’s just quit!
Honestly, engaging in this nonsense seems like a waste of my mental strength.
Sleeping would be better.
My precious brain should be used for more important things!
—CLUNK!
As I violently rose from my chair, the piles of documents on the table scattered to the floor.
My father looked shocked and glanced at me but didn’t say much.
“…”
I loosened the reins of my thoughts.
Becoming fixated on the keyword ‘Room 301’ seemed to narrow my thinking.
Perhaps information that seems irrelevant to Room 301 could actually be related?
Think.
Think.
Think.
Thoughts came and went, with all sorts of ideas swirling around.
Some were about Room 301, but many more were random thoughts that seemed unrelated.
“You seem to have a lot on your mind.”
“Yeah.”
“Is it important?”
“Of course.”
“… More important than the Daeyang Group?”
“Way more.”
At that, my father paused to think, then unexpectedly walked over to the bookshelf and took out a small booklet.
“What is this? Teachings of Buddha that bring hope?”
“Unlike you, I’ve had my share of troubles in life. And these have helped me through them.”
“…”
It was a small collection of Buddhist quotes and teachings. I’d seen my father read it a few times, and I had read it a few times back in the day.
Seeing the book titled “Teachings of Buddha that Bring Hope” made me chuckle a bit.
Buddha is none other than the founder of Buddhism, the name used when he was human!
If it were in the past, I wouldn’t have thought much of it, but to me now, the term ‘Buddha’ carries an entirely different meaning.
A distant existence that truly exists somewhere in the universe!
But, no matter how I look at it, it’s entirely different from what Buddhism describes—
“Ah.”
“What’s wrong?”
Suddenly, a very strange thought hit me.
That is…
Our family has believed in Buddhism for a long time.
“Father, our family has believed in Buddhism for a long time, right?”
“Indeed.”
“Why did you start believing in Buddhism?”
“Didn’t I tell you before? In my twenties, I met the great monk Jiwoon on Seoraksan—”
“Father, isn’t that something you made up for the public?”
“….”
“Be honest. You don’t need to hide anything from me.”
“…”
“Did you hear? There are divine existences somewhere in the universe that surpass human comprehension.”
“…”
“They can turn oceans into deserts with a single gesture, and just looking at them would melt the eyes and brain of ordinary humans.”
“…”
“And even among those divine existences, there is one they worship and bow down to, known as the Buddha….”
A quiet fell over the office.
Before I knew it, my father was also ignoring useless documents like me.
Soon, he began a confession of his faith that I had never heard before.
“… Personally, this is the way I see Buddhism.”
“Go ahead.”
“Gautama Siddhartha—Buddha—was a real person in human history.”
“…”
“He, through some mysterious process, came to know of the ‘Buddha’—that distant existence—and perhaps derived some inspiration to establish Buddhism?”
“…”
“I don’t believe Gautama Siddhartha himself was a deity. But the ‘Buddha’ who inspired him exists. So, I chose to believe in Buddhism. Was that answer sufficient?”
Many thoughts crossed my mind.
When it comes to secrets about the world, the hotel, and Buddha, I probably know far more than my father does.
Could it be that the historical founder of Buddhism was the first hotel escapee?
If I think that way, all the supernatural powers claimed by Buddha can be easily explained. They were likely abilities stemming from an inheritance or blessing.
Of course, that’s just a guess.
Since Ahri hasn’t mentioned such stories before, it seems the Bureau might not know either.
“One more question.”
“Go ahead.”
“Who gave you the knowledge about the ‘Buddha’?”
“…”
It didn’t seem like it would have come from the Bureau.
Information about the hotel or Buddha is kept under strict confidentiality even within the Bureau.
My father doesn’t know about loopers or regressors.
That means the Bureau hasn’t revealed the truth of the world to him, so it’s hard to believe they’d share information about the even higher secret of Buddha.
“Not the Bureau, right?”
“No, no. They didn’t tell me anything properly.”
“Who are you talking about?”
“I don’t even remember. It may be due to the security measures I received 12 years ago—”
“Don’t you remember at least part of it? You mentioned why you started believing in Buddhism.”
“…”
“Just say anything that comes to mind. Anything is fine.”
My father pondered for a long time, head bowed.
He seemed to be wandering through a hazy memory, about to surface but lost again.
Soon, he opened his mouth and delivered a bizarre tale.
“Someone from my memory once said…”
“…”
“You guys are simply pitying your own fate.”
“Why?”
“Because you were born too early.”
“We were born too early.”
“At some point in time, I wasn’t born into a future paradise, but into the hell before it… Hence, we are pitiful beings.”
“Is that all?”
“The other party added at the end, saying they wanted to send their children to paradise.”
—
– Yu Songee
—
After our first meeting with the Pioneer, she began taking us to the ruins in Gangwon-do, just as promised.
“Songee!”
“Yes!”
“I checked on the way here. You’re still attending school, and you seem to have a close relationship with your parents.”
“…”
“Was this your first regression? At this point, family and everyday life must feel precious. One day you’ll long for this moment.”
“… Please don’t touch my family—”
“Touch? Oh dear, do you think the Bureau is some kind of villain? The families of agents are the first priority for protection. Don’t worry.”
This overly kind demeanor felt strangely burdensome.
Compared to the Pioneers I had met in real life, the ‘Silent Ones’ all seemed like complete personality wrecks.
We just met today, and she freely reveals secrets and guides us to a mystic location.
Naturally, it raised a ton of suspicion, but not following felt odd either.
If my aim was A, and the other person willingly gives A to me, then why should I suspect them?
If that’s the case, why did I make A my first target in the first place!?
Ultimately, I had to follow the Pioneer with my nerves on edge alongside Ahri.
— THUD!
Kim Ahri: Confirming! Confirming!
However, Ahri kept checking in with me repeatedly like this for reassurance.
She was worried that the Pioneer might be possessed by the Is race.
It was a valid suspicion, and I found myself contemplating it multiple times.
No.
Yu Songee: No.
During the first attempt, I confirmed one fact.
The soul of a person hidden within an animal and an Is race member in a human body both qualify as ‘chaotic entities.’
The blessings of affinity should connect instantly.
Kim Ahri: You’re sure, right?
Yu Songee: I told you so!
The Pioneer seemed friendly toward me, but it had nothing to do with affinity.
She was just as kind toward Ahri too.
Plus, if there was an affinity between us, there should be some hint of those emotions or thoughts. There was absolutely none.
Just like other agents from the Bureau, the Pioneer was merely a uniquely powered human.
Following the suspicion of the Pioneer didn’t disorient me nearly as much as the ruins themselves did.
—CREEK!
“Whoa!”
“Be careful.”
“Watch out! Excavation is in progress, so the ground is unstable. You should only step wherever Ahri has stepped; she’s an expert at finding safe spots.”
The air was filled with a damp humidity, and the floor felt unpleasantly squishy.
With bone fragments scattered around and the stench of rotting flesh mixed in, it felt like hell on earth.
It wasn’t just unpleasant, though.
There were plenty of mysterious fragments or murals as well.
“… There are a lot of murals.”
“They are very old paintings. Most are from the Stone Age.”
In the chairman’s memories, Eunsol had never mentioned such scenes.
Considering the timing, it was likely because research was still in its early stages back then.
They probably hadn’t dug as deep down to reach this level.
Lost in such thoughts, the Pioneer suddenly began discussing something bizarre.
“Have you thought about why the project is named ‘Origin of the Species’?”
“Could you enlighten us?”
“Certainly. Origin of Species—a very famous book. It’s the work of a great mind who revealed the mysteries of evolution for the first time in history.”
Origin of Species, evolutionary theory.
“Both of you know about evolution, right?”
“…”
“Just roughly.”
Honestly, I had no clue!
In moments like this, I feel a slight embarrassment from not being diligent in my school classes.
I may not know, but I bet Ahri does.
“Yes, I have some knowledge.”
“I’m relieved to hear that. Then, Ahri, have you ever thought about this?”
“…”
“Does the principle of evolution only apply to biological physical forms?”
“…”
“Perhaps, it applies to souls as well.”
“Could you elaborate?”
“The essence of evolution is natural selection. While bodily or soulful mutations occur randomly…”
At some point, the Pioneer naturally started including ‘soul’ into her explanation about evolution.
“—Only the souls with mutations favorable for survival succeed and continue to exist.”
“Favorable mutations for survival?”
“Precisely, that refers to us.”
“What does that mean—”
The Pioneer’s next explanation contained thoughts I had never considered before.
“The start and end of the world, loops. This is the law of the grand universe. We—regressors—are beings capable of enduring loops. In other words, we are naturally selected souls.”
“Ah?”
“Did you understand, Ahri? The end point of a human soul’s evolution is the regressor. We are that result. We evolved a bit faster than our counterparts.”
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