### Chapter 224 – Room 202, Cursed Room – ‘Mermaid Princess’ (2)
—
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 100
Current Location: 2nd Floor, Room 202 – Cursed Room ‘Mermaid Princess’
Sage’s Advice: 3]
– Han Kain
As grandpa mentioned the escape, everyone’s eyes naturally turned to Seungyub. In about 10 more minutes, we’d arrive at the main site—the open seas of Busan heading towards Sea God Island. So if one person has to bail out, the timing is now.
Unlike usual, Seungyub cautiously opened his mouth.
“Actually, not long ago, a sponsor advised me to do my best here in Room 202.”
He’d prepared a strong enhancement for Room 203 but had been told his contribution was lacking, hence the need to make his mark in Room 202.
“How about instead of just escaping immediately, I participate a bit more?”
Grandpa casually replied, “It’s not likely to solve anything on the first try, so there’s really no need to worry. Besides, we’re probably going to face some unpredictable disasters, and most of us will meet our end while maybe one or two will barely escape. Building up contributions by the second or third attempt should be just fine.”
That’s a terrifyingly casual way to say it!
“That’s true. Sounds like we’re all about to bite the dust soon!”
“…”
“Then, should I just wait in Busan?”
In the moment grandpa was left speechless, Ari suddenly turned her gaze towards me.
“I think it’d be good to check the scenario before making a decision. Kain?”
At first, the scenario that popped up didn’t offer much guidance—just a prompt to speak with the chairman of Cheongseong Group and head to the secret-hidden place called ‘Sea God Island.’
“The first scenario had us meeting with the chairman and hasn’t changed yet. I think the next scenario will trigger when we enter the open sea road or the island itself,” I explained.
“Once we step onto the island, it looks like things will kick off. I think it’s better for Seungyub to stay in Busan.”
“First, let’s all get the explanations together. I’ve organized everything now.”
To save time, Seungyub hopped back in the car as my sister read the documents sent from Cheongseong Group and the Bureau.
“The facts are straightforward. The late chairman’s son is Lee Sooho, and he had been visiting the island multiple times to settle disputes over the port. With every visit, the island’s atmosphere grew more negative, and threats against Sooho and his bodyguards increased. Then, 40 days ago, he died crossing the bridge by supernatural means. This part has been confirmed by the Bureau as well.”
Ari asked, “Supernatural means? There are too many of those!”
“The Bureau isn’t sure about the exact means used.”
“Doesn’t that seem a bit odd? I mean, what would that even mean to the merfolk to kill the chairman’s son? His death wouldn’t transfer ownership of the port to them. If they wanted to settle this, they’d need to go after the chairman himself. Killing the son could turn this into a violation of their non-aggression treaty, causing them more trouble.”
“The Cheongseong Group has also commented on this. It turns out the group’s fear of the merfolk has increased thanks to this incident. Some board members even openly suggested abandoning the port.”
Starting a conflict with a race that can throw curses and kill at a whim would definitely intimidate the average person. And that’s precisely where the Bureau comes in to help.
“Yet here we are, facing the consequences of those actions. The Bureau has started to take an active role, haven’t they?”
“Well… I was just laying out what’s in the documents.”
If we assume, under Cheongseong Group’s statement, that the merfolk killed the chairman’s son, what does that even mean for them? A threat to a private company? What would be the point of threatening them when it would just bring the Bureau into play? And with the Bureau backing them, Cheongseong Group would never relinquish the port!
It seems there’s no point dragging this out anymore. We’re running low on information. After Ari briefly explained how to use the Bureau’s secure smartphone to Seungyub, we left him in Busan and set off again.
—
As we crossed the middle of the road, the scenario finally showed signs of changing.
/Scenario: Cursed Room – ‘Mermaid Princess’
The hotel group heads towards Sea God Island. While feeling the ominous atmosphere, everyone voices their opinions as the limousine speeds like the wind onto the island. Once the group began spotting ominous signs and traces of hostility, they quickly realized the situation was serious. Entering the island, it seems we’ll have to meet the Sea Priestess first to grasp the conditions there.
Check the details after the meeting with the Sea Priestess.
The Sea Priestess is someone I recognized from the documents we’d received earlier. The island is said to host three sisters known as the ‘Daughters of the Sea God,’ regarded as sacred beings. One of these sisters holds the title of Sea Priestess and serves as the island’s de facto leader.
I noticed a concerning phrase: ‘ominous signs, traces of hostility.’
“Look around! What signs or traces might there be?”
As the limousine slowed down, everyone leaned out of the window to check the area. It didn’t take long to find writing all over the marine road, which felt like it was oozing menace, but since it wasn’t in a human language, I couldn’t decipher it—yet the anger was palpable.
Some could decipher it.
“Man, this is brutal. ‘To the land thieving humans, may the sea’s curse be upon you; strip your own skin and die, before you cross the bridge, you shall perish.’”
“Whoa! How did you learn to read this alien rubbish?”
“From the merfolk.”
Guess there are merfolk in my old world after all… Not that they chose to take residence in the open seas of Busan, though.
“Even after arriving on the island, we must be cautious—”
[Advice: 3 → 2]
[Immediately push Cha Jinchul’s left shoulder hard!]
Reacting faster than I could think, I instinctively shoved Jinchul’s left shoulder while he was driving the limousine.
“Uagh! What are you doing?”
His arm jerked off the steering wheel, causing the limousine to swerve sharply to the right and crash into the outer wall of the road. During the moment of this massive accident, both Jinchul and I were surprised, screaming simultaneously.
“Lu-da-hu-ba-li!”
An eerie sound echoed. Dark, thick fog crept slowly across the road, rising to the spot where the limousine had just swerved. Is this the limit of this spell’s reach?
“Ka-Kain, did we just get a danger alert?”
“… Yeah. This is some heavy stuff.”
“We’re not even at the island yet, and they’re already trying to kill us?”
“Well, at least there don’t seem to be any other cars on this road.”
What do we do?
If we were ordinary Bureau agents, we would have probably turned the car around and headed back to Busan. The Bureau would have likely issued strong complaints or staged a show of force by now. However, before being Bureau agents, we’re participants of this hotel. Here, the reliable signpost, ‘Scenario Understanding,’ offered a different guidance.
My sister, having the same thought, asked me,
“What does the scenario say?”
“It notes the recognition of ominous signs and then says ‘Let’s enter Sea God Island.’”
“… Then it seems we should go in, right?”
“I wonder if this phenomenon is meant to instill fear and push us to run away. Going in does seem like the right choice.”
Jinchul looked flustered.
“Are we really going to push through that fog?”
“Doesn’t seem like it’ll last long.”
Fortunately, the fog vanished like it was swept away by the wind before five minutes passed. Once Ari suited up in protective gear and confirmed it was safe, we once more set forth towards the ominous island.
—
As we stepped onto the island, anger from the ‘land-dwelling human folk’ filled the air. The merfolk, a grotesque mix of human and fish, appeared somewhat intimidating, especially as they approached with an air of threat.
Yet we were technically a kind of diplomat sent by the Bureau. The merfolk glared but didn’t act overly hostile. It felt even stranger that they would throw curses but then not directly attack us.
…
An elegantly-dressed merfolk appeared to guide us to our temporary lodging. Could this be the Sea Priestess’s envoy? This newly appeared merfolk seemed mystifying yet beautiful.
Once we reached the room, my sister’s mouth began firing away.
“This is weird. I thought we’d walk in and be greeted by an army since they tried to kill us before we even entered.”
Seungyub seemed to share her thoughts.
“If push came to shove, I planned to summon a star right away, but now that we’re here, they’re just glaring? It’s not like their eyes shoot lasers or anything.”
“It’s as if they’re treating us like hostile diplomats. There’s a sense of frustration, but they aren’t making any direct moves against us. That curse earlier—what was that about? Just a cunning threat meant to provoke our overreaction?”
It wasn’t that simple. I quickly pointed out.
“Had it been merely that, the ‘danger alert’ wouldn’t have reacted. That was definitely a curse meant to kill us.”
Ari proposed a vague theory.
“Maybe that curse doesn’t align with the island’s official stance.”
“Not aligning with the official stance?”
“Just a hunch. I noticed that curse felt quite odd. We’re the emissaries sent by the Bureau. Would it make sense to throw a curse at us to kill us? Doing that would undoubtedly trigger a war with the Bureau.”
“Let’s get to the bottom of this with the Sea Priestess. And maybe…”
Everyone’s eyes were on me. I cautiously suggested.
“We might need to watch out for further assassination attempts. Let’s all keep our guards up. I’ll conserve my advice for now.”
A heavy silence fell among us.
—
– Park Seungyub
“Haaah!”
I’m so bored. My bros and sis have all taken the limousine and sped off towards the island via the seaside road. I’m left here in Busan alone, not having the slightest clue what to do next.
Should I make my way toward Seoul and put some distance between myself and the chaos?
I pondered that thought but then remembered what Ari said. Here, I’m also identified as a Bureau agent, and they’re tracking my location in real-time. If I took off to another area without a word, the Bureau would probably think I was kidnapped and rush to rescue me.
…
Thinking about it, isn’t this itself a method of escape? After all, in Room 104, causing a ruckus to get caught by the police was one ‘method of escape,’ wasn’t it?
By the same principle, moving to some outrageous place without notice, so the Bureau would come to ‘rescue’ me could also count as an escape method!
Wow! Brilliant! Clearly, I’m the top escape expert in our party! Ari might have just told me to stay here in Busan, but she definitely didn’t foresee this genius plan! However, I should at least reach out to my team.
…
The call wouldn’t connect. It feels like they’ve only just left for the island less than an hour ago. How could something happen this fast? Or did the signal cut out?
I felt a rush of urgency. As the undisputed escape expert of Hotel Party, I should act based on my judgment right away!
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