### Chapter 164 – Room 201, The Cursed Room – ‘The Cube’ (13)
—
– Lee Eunsol
A little while later, a secure smartphone for contacting the Administration Bureau was handed to me.
With my grandpa coaching me, about five seconds into fiddling with the device, a call came through.
— Drrrng!
“Hello! Customer! It’s Saengsaeng Mart’s monthly discount—”
“Agent Lee Eunsol, regular report.”
— Beeep!
“I’m reporting a clash with the chaotic entity inside the mansion, which caused a 30-minute delay in my report. As instructed, during the search of the Hesbot Mansion, I discovered a room with a TV model different from the original mansion. I subsequently checked beyond the display but couldn’t confirm evidence regarding the corruption of the Arizona branch or the survival status of Beatrix. Speculation about Beatrix’s corruption lacks foundation.”
— Beeep!
“Regular report received. Please return.”
…
“Is that enough? I reported everything requested by the Bureau as without evidence.”
At that, the expressions of the people around me relaxed a bit.
Seeing the atmosphere lighten with relief made me chime in, “Did you hear my report? The command to return? I guess I must be off, so—”
Patrick smirked and gestured to a nearby subordinate.
“Thanks. We’ll meet again soon in a ‘new form.’”
As soon as the soldier next to him injected something, a prickling sensation ran through me, and my consciousness began to blur.
As expected, they had no plans to let me go.
Of course, that’s no problem.
I had no intention of leaving either!
Why would I leave such a challenging place so soon?
*
— Ding!
— Ding!
— Ding!
“Ah, it’s so noisy!”
I regained consciousness.
I found myself waking up inside an opaque box in a white space.
The conversation tab was flashing chaotically.
They said it would enhance communication while sending visuals, but they decided to use it as an alarm!
Lee Eunsol: Woke up.
…
Lee Eunsol: Grandpa?
Kim Mooksung: It’s a relief you woke up before you died. The outside situation is dire. I made some plans, so make sure to put on the protective suit before going out. You’re a smart kid, so I’m sure you’ll manage. Rest for now.
This wasn’t his usual terse style but had a strangely sentimental tone.
Even if he believed that he would revive later, do all people change like this before death?
After that, I didn’t hear any more responses from my grandpa.
Just as he said, there was a protective suit next to the box.
What exactly did grandpa say that made the enemies leave it next to me?
Did he mention something about blowing up if left alone with an active agent? Who knows?
While I pondered how to get out of the box, it suddenly opened by itself.
Outside, I saw a person crawling on the ground, foaming at the mouth.
“Grrrgh, gghhh!”
The man was truly giving it all he had to crawl, but he breathlessly succumbed before reaching me.
Seeing that scene gave me an inkling about what was going on.
I promptly removed the helmet from the protective suit next to me.
… It had been ages since Seungyub died, and the inside of the suit was horrifically unmentionable.
I’m supposed to be a precious daughter! Why do I have to wear this stuff?
However, after seeing the man dying next to me, my resolve surged.
I quickly dragged Seungyub’s corpse out and jumped into the protective suit.
Grandpa’s last words mentioned that things outside were dire.
I had an idea. I recalled the regular report I made to the Administration Bureau before fainting.
‘All suspicions inside the mansion are false.’
Now, let’s think from the perspective of the Bureau agents.
The contents I reported—Arizona branch, corruption, Beatrix—were all information that the Bureau had never even contemplated!
The Bureau didn’t know anything; they just sent agents thinking of the Hesbot Mansion as one of the common chaotic disasters on Earth.
In such a place, if an agent suddenly started using those kinds of words during a report—?
The Bureau is a group of ‘instant understanding.’ They’d quickly grasped the situation.
They would’ve realized the general nature of the Hesbot Mansion too.
So, what could the Bureau have gotten themselves into?
Feeling considerable curiosity, I stepped outside.
*
Is this what hell looks like?
As I wandered through the research that was becoming hell in real-time, or perhaps the HQ, I mused.
Patrick truly knew nothing about the Bureau’s true capabilities.
Whatever secrets they were hiding in their facility were beyond him, but his arrogant smile cost him dearly.
The Bureau’s response was extremely efficient.
As for the actual location of the HQ on this stage, I had no idea either.
I presumed they had hidden it well, and even the Bureau would struggle to locate the enemies’ HQ immediately.
That meant the only way to invade the HQ was to find one of the known entrances, namely, a TV display within the Hesbot mansion.
In this situation, it was impossible to deploy equipment like heavy firearms or helicopters, as those couldn’t even enter the mansion before the TV.
Also, if Patrick’s words weren’t entirely false, it would have been burdensome for the Bureau to physically destroy this place.
Deploying a special forces team?
It’s possible, but considering the legion of monsters within the mansion, significant casualties were inevitable.
They couldn’t just bring in loud equipment, destroying the facility would be burdensome, and if they deployed special forces, casualties would be unavoidable.
In this complex and tricky environment, the Bureau’s most efficient approach flashed before my eyes!
Countless drones equipped with biochemical weapons flew in, turning the HQ into hell.
The drones were darting around, planting silver boxes all over the research facility.
From these boxes spewed a murky gas, currently exterminating the living beings in the HQ.
Luckily, the hotel’s special protective suit, boasting both fireproof and water-resistant technology, blocked whatever malevolent biological weapons were at play.
*
“This facility is one hell of a size.”
It wasn’t easy figuring out where I was, and many areas were inaccessible to outsiders.
Most people died from the biochemical weapons, but the security systems were still operational.
What was my current situation?
Were my comrades alive? I doubt it.
If they had killed Beatrix, the cursed room would’ve been obliterated already.
Moreover, Seungyub, who headed towards Beatrix, had returned dead.
I had an inkling about where to proceed.
The bodies scattered throughout the research facility seemed to have all been heading in a specific direction before they died.
That must’ve been the path leading to a junction with the outside.
However, I’m not planning to escape just yet.
There are certainly numerous secrets hidden here, including Kain and Pero!
Any potential obstacles to my exploration were already taken care of by the Bureau’s specialized biochemical weapons.
At this point, it feels like the “perfect conditions for exploration.”
The only variable to watch for would be Beatrix, who might return to the HQ.
Inside the protective suit, I grasped something that Seungyub had held tightly until his last moments.
The ‘escape button.’
Let’s trust in this and search further.
*
The first place I found was the research building.
I could easily locate Room 2-9 where Pero was.
“The door is locked?”
After a brief consideration, I quickly found a solution.
Normally, it wouldn’t have worked, but since I’m in this protective suit!
The suit grants powers that would be impossible for an ordinary human to match.
— Thud! Thud!
After repeating headbutts about five times, the door finally came crashing down.
— Kyaek!
“Have you been okay?”
The grotesque figure welcomed me, one I now saw as somewhat cute.
“Were you already out? What in the world is this?”
Glancing around, I began to piece the situation together.
Pero must have been inside the transparent box in the center of the room.
That box likely formed a space that was perfectly sealed off from the outside.
Conversely, in a situation where deadly biological weapons fill the area, it serves as a survival isolation chamber.
Some researchers probably aimed to free Pero to climb into that box for themselves.
Thinking about it, when I woke up, my box had also opened up on its own.
That must have happened when a researcher tried to climb into my box!
Of course, Pero would have immediately killed all the researchers upon release.
They were probably aware of the risks but decided to take their chances.
What’s it to me?
— Beeeeep!
“Alright, let’s go. And I should really clean your beak. It’s a bit unsightly having someone’s fingers stuck in there.”
As I stepped out of the research building with Pero, a notification popped up.
[Grotesque Parrot Seal Released!]
“… You were under a seal too?”
*
After wandering around the HQ for a while longer, I eventually found a promising location.
“Okay, Pero. It’s your turn now.”
— Beeeeep!
“Stop squawking and transform already! Or do I have to do another headbutt to get the door open?”
— Kyu-ing?
“If you give me that cute act again, I might just spend a whole month only buying acorns instead of sunflower seeds. You understand human talk, so move it!”
After a moment of reluctance, Pero transformed and tore the door open.
But why has he been so lazy up until now?
He listens to Suongi like a hawk but disregards my requests for food? Did I spoil him with too many sunflower seeds?
Inside the office, Patrick’s corpse lay sprawled out.
There were signs he tried to barricade the door with tissues or scraps of paper until the very end.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to block the Bureau’s specialized biochemical weapon.
Looking back, I considered how fortunate I had been. If the sealed location had simply been a regularly locked room, I would have been dead.
It seemed I had been placed inside a special box meant to contain chaotic entities, effectively saving my life.
…
After a long time scanning through the documents scattered across the office and the diary that Patrick penned himself, I remarked.
“Wow, it’s incredible. Did such incidents happen in reality? What do you think, Pero?”
— Kyu-ing?
“Seized sunflower seeds for a month.”
— Kiiieeeeing???
At this point, I felt I had almost grasped the entire narrative in Room 201.
I had an inkling about how to resolve it as well. The cursed room was always like this.
Before knowing, nothing made sense, and it felt like I was floundering through fog…
But once you find the answers, it’s surprisingly straightforward.
I also discovered where Kain was located.
However, I probably couldn’t free him from the seal this time. With my current abilities, I couldn’t approach that place.
Time to go now.
I understood how to resolve Room 201.
*
I stepped outside the office and moved in the direction the corpses were heading.
…
It should be around here, right?
I feel I’m almost there, but strangely, there aren’t any corpses nearby to show the exact spot.
Those who got this far likely managed to escape one way or another!
— Kooong!
“Huh?!”
The entire facility began to shake!
Something, a comical blast of bursting walls and thunderous crashing sounds arose.
It was chilly! Super chilly!
I hastily flung open every door and corridor near me.
“Where is it? Where am I? Really!”
“Second from the left.”
“Thanks! I won’t forget that!”
“Anytime!”
Breathe a sigh of relief at the sudden help, I dashed open the second door from the left—
…
As I turned my head, a being more terrifying than the reaper stood before me!
“You all have truly ruined everything.”
The figure looked like a mere little girl, but instinctively, I found myself using honorifics.
“W-Well, it’s not my fault, you know?”
“You pest—”
I spun around and bolted! Please, save me!
— Bang!
Something kicked me with tremendous force, sending me flying almost 10 meters in an instant.
“Pero!”
From the heavens came the lion of the divine, blessed with the gifts of the Great Golden Balloon—God’s parrot, Pero!
Pero sent me hurtling toward the exit while charging at Beatrix!
There was no time to look back. No longer Naver!
I just ran and ran like crazy.
As I threw myself out of the door – an overwhelming sight filled my view.
It looked like an army prepared to demolish an entire city—helicopters and slick machines galore!
Is this the might the Bureau the prepared to capture Beatrix?
…
The second attempt had come to an end.
/You have escaped!/
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