### Chapter 236 – Room 202, Cursed Room – ‘Mermaid Princess’ (14)
—
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)]
Date: Day 101
Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor
Sage’s Advice: 0
—
As soon as the word ‘Terminator’ escaped Songyi’s lips, Ahri’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Are you seriously talking about that movie with the governor?”
Songyi began to explain the incredible weapon called the ‘Terminator’ she encountered, which landed at the site of the Sea God Island during the final moments. According to Lee Sooho, it’s the last resort the Administration Bureau resorts to when things go to hell.
From the looks of it, there was no visible missile or physical entity. It was more like a glowing mass emitting a blinding light, almost like a tiny star.
Upon hearing this description, both Ahri and Grandpa looked shocked.
“They’ve already developed that?!”
“Wasn’t it supposed to be possible in at least 50 years?”
“I figured it would take at least 100 years!”
What kind of weapon was causing such reactions? Curiosity piqued, Ahri quickly clarified.
“It’s one of the ultimate weapons the Administration Bureau is researching. Theoretically, it’s said to exhibit overwhelming power not just against physical entities but also against non-material beings.”
Grandpa chimed in.
“The Administration Bureau often likens the world humans live in to an island, and the realm inhabited by supernatural beings to the sea. From that perspective, a state filled with demons and monsters symbolizes a land that has become excessively ‘humid.’ Consider it a weapon designed to evaporate that humidity with overwhelming heat. Does that make sense?”
“Sort of…?”
“Actually, I’m not so sure myself.”
It didn’t strike me as odd that neither of them understood the principles behind the Bureau’s latest weapon. Both Ahri and Grandpa are practically field agents. In modern warfare, even soldiers might not know the intricate details of the latest weapons they use, so they’re not much different.
But it seemed their shock wasn’t just from ignorance.
“The problem is I thought the Terminator was still in the research phase, not something you could actually use in battle,” Grandpa revealed.
Eunsol tilted her head, hinting she didn’t see the issue.
“Isn’t the world we’ve lived in different from the stage in Room 202? The civilization in there seems a bit more advanced.”
“Eunsol does have a point, but it still feels off,” Grandpa replied.
Ahri summarized their discomfort succinctly.
“It feels like suddenly finding an orbital elevator in 21st-century Korea, right? If civilization is advanced enough to build an orbital elevator, there should be signs of that progress in other areas as well. Room 202 doesn’t seem drastically different from the Earth civilization I know.”
“Is that so?”
With no further answers to unpack, everyone fell silent. I couldn’t help but wonder if this topic even related to solving Room 202.
Given Ahri’s and Grandpa’s reactions, it seemed the ‘Terminator’ was a sci-fi weapon that wouldn’t see completion in our world for another 50 to 100 years. Was the rapid development of such a weapon in Room 202 linked to the room’s scenario? I puzzled over it for a moment but couldn’t form any solid conclusions.
As the silence stretched, Elena posed a crucial question.
“What about me? The seal has already been lifted; should I start in the limousine the moment we begin?”
I could handle the break in the seal and solve Room 201 right away, but Elena now had to press on even after regaining her freedom. Everyone’s gaze turned to Ahri, who looked uncertain.
“In the previous party, we barely made it past the first floor. Seeing the main character was sealed shut made us hesitant to go further.”
After a brief deliberation, I laid out two possibilities.
“It could go either way. First, Elena joins us immediately, and another NPC takes the role of the ‘second daughter’. Second, she gets sealed again. But even the latter wouldn’t be too much trouble since we already know her location. We can go back to the hospital.”
There was little left to discuss. We’d realize the truth only by experiencing it ourselves. We spent the remainder of the late hours methodically planning our next steps. There was talk about switching rooms halfway, but it was dismissed.
When we progressed through the first floor, we were oblivious to the hotel system, roaming around aimlessly. However, at this point, we understood enough that swapping rooms midway wouldn’t serve much purpose. Either room would be riddled with danger.
In fact, we had gleaned substantial info from Room 202, while the other rooms had yielded nothing, meaning they were potentially riskier. Room switches would only be considered when we had learned nearly nothing from the first attempt, or when we hit the fifth attempt and the room began twisting.
The next morning, we all reassembled.
“Remember what we discussed yesterday? We need to move quickly; everyone must keep their roles in mind.”
As expected, Seungyub cautiously raised his hand to clarify his tasks. Fortunately, his role was straightforward, so there was no need for lengthy explanations.
Elena spoke up, sounding anxious.
“Can we go in without using Kain’s advice? I have many concerns…”
I responded.
“While I understand your worries, think of the curse that existed from the start when we entered Sea God Island. It was likely set up by Lee Sooho, and since there might be other curses, it’s best to conserve our resources.”
The second attempt in Room 202 officially began.
*
– Lee Eunsol
“Boss, have you read the materials sent by the Cheongseong Group?”
“I’ve read them, but what the hell are they trying to argue?”
“It seems like there’s a disparity between their public view and actual position.”
“Isn’t the reason we’re heading there to confront them directly?”
“Boss, please be cautious with the Cheongseong Group. They’re in a delicate situation with their chairman’s son dead.”
— Beep!
After that exchange, we collected ourselves, and the car ground to a halt. Looking around, I realized Elena was nowhere to be found. Han Kain called out to Elena through the conversation tab.
Han Kain: Elena?
After waiting a moment, there was still no response on the chat. It seemed Elena was still asleep in that hospital bed.
“Elena must be in the hospital. Anyway, considering this in our plans, there’s no issue. Do you all remember your roles?”
Fortunately, everyone nodded. Grandpa and I were the first to step out of the car.
“Let’s do this!”
“Yeah, let’s go!”
What’s the key takeaway for proceeding with Room 202?
We had multiple tasks ahead. We needed to investigate the Cheongseong Group, fetch Rilinganor, gather information from Serenade on Sea God Island, and locate Lee Sooho.
All of these endeavors needed to be completed by tonight at the latest!
Ultimately, the key was to ‘save time.’ Thus, we couldn’t assemble everyone for each task. Consistent with the operations of big corporations, Grandpa and I decided to survey the Cheongseong Group. As I headed to the elevator to the chairman’s office, I somehow felt my tension spike.
“Grandpa, are we really okay doing this?”
“It’s surprising to see you so lacking in confidence, Eunsol. Usually, you act like you know everything!”
“This role feels a bit intense.”
Pointing at my ‘hat,’ Grandpa nodded in understanding.
“With Elena here, we could’ve taken the easy route, but instead, we’re doing it the hard way. Don’t stress too much about it. Half of what agents do is bulling people around.”
“….”
“I’ve even punched a congressman before.”
“Are you saying that to boost my morale?”
“Why should a businessman like the chairman scare you? Have a bit of confidence!”
I let out a deep sigh but agreed with his last remark. I fully understood that confidence was crucial in these situations.
— Ding!
We arrived at the chairman’s office.
A familiar dialogue flowed between Grandpa and the chairman, Lee Munchoon, who brought up tales from the port and expressed his sorrow over his son’s death.
If Lee Sooho was killed by the merfolk, the matter regarding the treaty between the filegovernor and merfolk would tilt negotiations related to the port in their favor. Listening to this conversation with some truth already revealed made me want to laugh uncontrollably.
Catching my grin, the chairman reacted.
“The lady in the back has been quiet for a while. Do you have something to say?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I just found it kind of funny.”
“… I wasn’t aware there was anything humorous. I thought I was sharing a tragic story.”
Seriously, how can you laugh when discussing the murder of your son? His tone was sarcastic, yet somehow it made me want to smile even more.
Your son is perfectly alive, buddy!
“Is there even a reason to be sad?”
“….”
“Oh, sorry. Did you say your son died? Have you seen the body?”
“Is it strange that you’re asking me that? Isn’t the coroner’s report done by the Administration Bureau?”
Was that the setting?
It struck me as odd. Given that Lee Sooho is likely the high priest of the Evil God, he could easily fabricate a fake body, but I didn’t expect the Bureau of Administration to fall for it!
— Click!
As time ticked away, Grandpa locked the door to the chairman’s office. Understandably, the chairman looked alarmed.
“W-What are you doing?”
Does this guy even know that his son is in a romantic relationship with the second daughter of the Sea God? We could confirm that right now.
“Lee Munchoon.”
“What?”
“Fuck your mother’s little whore! Looking at your face, I can tell your parents already passed ages ago! Let’s see if your mouth can keep shut from now on. Got it? How many times have you made us suffer through your lies?”
“T-This is madness—”
“Don’t you dare look away! Do you want me to scoop your eyes out with a fork? Do you really think you can run this pathetic little business with the Bureau of Administration watching you?”
“P-Please calm down…. Just tell me what this is about—”
“What’s there to explain? The rumors about your son running off with the Sea God’s daughter are all over the place; are you going to pretend you didn’t know? I’d expect more from you than the tired excuse of ‘I didn’t know.’ That would seriously disappoint me.”
Upon hearing that, the chairman turned rigid, as if struck by lightning. With that, I felt our hats had made an impact, so I casually removed mine.
Moments later, the chairman confessed to his hidden affairs.
*
“This is not what I expected. I thought there’d be a grander reason.”
“Life can be simple sometimes.”
The excuse the chairman provided for hiding his son’s relationship with the Sea God’s daughter was truly trivial. He seemed to think the Administration Bureau would take issue with such a relationship. I found it hard to believe this was where we ended. I felt like I had to put on the hat again and bark out orders but was met with the same answer again. The chairman wouldn’t take the news of his son being alive lightly.
“Could the chairman have used mind control to trick us? During our last hat experiment, both Grandpa and Ahri handled it pretty well.”
“Eunsol, don’t you think it’s ridiculous to compare him to us? After all, that guy was already pissing himself by the end of it. If all that was an act, he should be awarded an Oscar.”
“Is that so?”
“I actually find something else strange.”
“What do you mean?”
“This world is dominated by the controlling faction, a bunch of naïve idealists, right?”
Grandpa appeared to be still skeptical of the controlling faction.
“They always preach about coexistence between different races and humans, right? They sound ridiculously idealistic. Yet, the union of the heir to a conglomerate and a leader of a different race shouldn’t be something they would find objectionable.”
I finally understood his point. From the controlling faction’s perspective, the coupling of the eldest son of a conglomerate and the daughter of a different race would be something they’d want to promote rather than object to.
“Is the chairman perhaps lacking understanding of the Administration Bureau?”
To be honest, I navigated my life without any clue regarding the Bureau’s philosophies.
“Of course, that’s possible. So, I didn’t press the point further.”
Before heading to the next location, I cautiously asked,
“To anyone watching, it looks like the Bureau agent is threatening the chairman until he passes out… is that r-i-g-h-t?”
“….”
“Gramps?”
“Don’t you dare misuse that hat when you get back to reality.”
“Huh? What? But you told me to have confidence!”
“I didn’t expect it to go this far! What kind of vulgar words flow so effortlessly from your mouth?”
*
– Park Seungyub
“Ugh, is this not the place?”
“…”
The glare from the doctor beside me started to feel unbearably intense.
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