Chapter: 74
Chapter 74: Room 101, Cursed Room – ‘Common Sense Renovating Media’ (8)
—
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 23
Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105 (Room of Rest)
Sage’s Advice: 2]
Are we going to continue our challenge against Room 101?
Everyone fell silent.
Honestly, it was a bit awkward to bring anything up. This was a phenomenon we often experienced during discussions at the hotel. In order to have a discussion, some basic information is critical, yet we found ourselves in a situation where we were ignorant of how things might change, making it hard to even offer opinions.
“Looks like everyone has their thoughts all tangled up. I get it. I feel like dragging this topic out any longer is pointless. Let’s decide by vote.”
With that, Eunsol-noona casually ripped out a page from her notebook, tearing it into tiny pieces and distributing them to everyone.
Holding the little paper, I began to think.
It’s true—I was scared to step into Room 101, which had already gone weird.
Still, would it be any easier to enter another room without a boost to our specs? That other room could easily turn into a fifth attempt, with us barely scraping by.
Honestly, if I attempted to take on a room which we could have easily conquered with one more inheritance, it might just end up being a self-sabotage.
Putting logic aside, we had all gone through so much together already. I wasn’t keen on running away to another room!
Let’s see this to the end.
No matter how we plan to change things, we had already gathered almost all the information relevant to solving this room!
/Room 101/
*
The voting wrapped up quickly. 6:2 in favor of Room 101, with 6 people voting yes.
“Okay then, let’s call this matter settled. Now let’s tidy up the information we’ve gathered about Room 101 and plan how we’ll proceed on our final attempt. Kain?”
“Let me summarize what we figured out during the fourth attempt. If we open the door to the rooftop of the broadcasting station, it connects to the entrance of the hospital. From my observations inside, the strange spaces that appear when we ignore the ‘warnings’ from the TV Station seem to be parts of the hospital.
“Essentially, the broadcasting station is connected to the hospital.”
“When we enter through the hospital entrance from the rooftop, the nurses treat us as ‘guests’ instead of being hostiles.”
“The difference in their reaction likely comes from the fact that, from the hospital’s standpoint, we would appear as ‘wandering patients’ if we enter through any place other than the main entrance.”
“If we go to the end of the corridor on the 4th floor, we will find what is presumed to be Kim Sangmin, in a grotesque chunk of flesh form. Destroying it should do the trick.”
“By the way, keep in mind that the rooms on the 4th floor are extremely strong in mental attacks. Even with my filter, I can’t withstand it. The only means we have to endure it for now are the bracelet and the red capsule.”
Grandpa Mooksung chimed in after I finished my recap.
“That means our biggest hurdle is that we can only approach that thing on the 4th floor with the bracelet and red capsule.”
Ahri interjected then.
“No, there’s one more person who can access it.”
“…Who?”
“Elena unni! Didn’t you forget what happened at Hotel High School?
“Once Justice was activated, she remained untouched by the brainwashing of angels. The principle behind ‘the execution must not stop’ likely provides immunity to mental attacks.”
“Elena unni? What do you think?”
“Oh! That’s right. It certainly seemed that way at the Hotel High School. But will I even be able to activate Justice? Most people in Room 101 are just victims afflicted by the curse.”
“And the being on the 4th floor in the hospital has turned into a ‘chunk of flesh’ rather than remaining human.”
“Elena unni. Can we simplify it like that?”
“Listen carefully. Normally, the law refers to someone controlled by others and used as a tool for crimes as an ‘exploited indirect perpetrator’, right? These people don’t get legally punished, of course.
“But when police deal with the crime, they have to subdue such individuals to end the wrongdoing. The punishment in court is another matter entirely.”
“Do you understand? Even if they are victims of the curse, they can be subdued regardless of guilt.”
Suddenly, a law lecture dropped from her mouth. Everyone, including me, was bewildered by this unexpected detour we had taken.
However, Ahri remained unwavering in her gaze at Elena, who awkwardly nodded in response.
“Listen further. You mentioned that Kim Sangmin has turned into a hunk of flesh and we can’t really see him as a person anymore, right? Don’t you think that’s too simplistic?”
“What about the angel at Hotel High School? She had wings and used all sorts of superpowers, yet you can still identify her as a person, can’t you?”
“What’s the difference between an angel and a hunk of flesh? Is it because the former appears more ‘human’?”
“At the end of the day, they both were human and then went through supernatural experiences—one turned into an angel while the other became a chunk of flesh. Treating only the former as a person seems discriminatory, doesn’t it?”
What on earth was she talking about now? Why was there suddenly a talk about discrimination? I genuinely didn’t grasp the purpose of this lengthy dialogue.
Yet, Ahri continued to stare into Elena’s eyes, and eventually, Elena had no choice but to nod from the pressure.
“Yes. Yes. I think Ahri makes a good point.”
“Remember this. Even if they are victims of the curse, they can still be neutralized. Even if they look like chunks of flesh, originally, they are human. Understood?”
“I have no clue why you’re suddenly saying this, but… I understand.”
The philosophical(?) debate between Ahri and Elena wrapped up, leaving me puzzled.
It seemed Ahri wanted to instill a concept into Elena.
Wasn’t it something like this?
“TV Station staff and nurses can also be neutralized, right? Kim Sangmin, though turned into flesh, was once human, so he can be punished.”
I get the meaning, but would it really make any difference if Elena bought into this logic?
Unless blessings were to change based on Elena’s perception—
Knock!
Eunsol-noona hit the desk, calling everyone’s attention.
“Alright! The conversation veered off course. Let’s get back to our original plan.
If we manage to reach the rooftop, we still have to break that chunk of flesh, right? The biggest issue is the mental attacks that even Kain’s filter can’t withstand.
Ultimately, the situation appears straightforward.
Jinchul will take the red capsule as soon as he enters, and then head to the broadcasting station..”
“Just a word of caution, Jinchul—do you understand the implications of obtaining immunity from mental contamination after taking the red capsule? You won’t be cursed, meaning you can’t teleport. In simpler terms, you will have to personally bring your family over like Kain and Songee.”
For what feels like the very first time, Jinchul-hyung raised his head.
“I will take the pills and go with my mother.”
“Exactly. Just make sure to force your family to come along.”
Just as we were about to wrap things up, Ahri raised a cautionary finger.
“Hold on! Are we really going to have Jinchul-oppa take the capsule right at the start?”
“Do you have another plan?”
“Yes. I believe we should keep the red capsule if at all possible and tackle the situation with Songee’s bracelet instead. Songee can cast mental protection on oppa, and only when that’s not enough should he take the capsule.”
Ahri looked at Songee, who nodded in agreement.
“Indeed, based on my experience when I saw that flesh firsthand, I think the bracelet’s power should suffice.”
Eunsol-noona countered, “Consumables are definitely meant to be utilized when necessary, but do we really need to scrimp this badly? Plus, we’re on our fifth attempt now; the risk of holding back is excessively high. What if Jinchul has to bring his mother with him again because we hesitated to use the capsule?”
“I’m certain that he’s learned from past mistakes. And remember, we have Elena with us, right? The capsule is a precious single-use item; there’s no need to use it right from the start.”
Elena didn’t seem very confident either, but Ahri naturally considered her a member of our ‘combat unit’.
Songee backed up Ahri’s proposition.
“This time, I’ll make my way as fast as I can. Still, since I can’t match the speed of teleportation, how does it sound for Jinchul-oppa to set off about 10 minutes after me? That way, if anything happens, I can respond using the bracelet.”
If Songee arrived at the TV Station before Jinchul-hyung, she could manage any accident that occurred, circumventing it through illusions.
As I listened to the conversation, it became clear that both Ahri and Songee appeared intent on preserving the red capsule for later use.
I could see the sense in both perspectives.
Since we were already facing a dangerous situation, it made sense to consume the capsule as soon as possible, while saving that precious single-use item for a dire moment also had its logic.
“Since the one who’s required to take it is our boar friend, let him figure it out!”
“I’ll keep it tilted until later, just like Songee suggested.”
“That should be enough. Anyone with anything else they want to add?”
Feeling fatigued and with our plans set, we exchanged few more words before wrapping up and resting.
Tomorrow, we would finally seize our second inheritance.
*
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 24
Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor
Sage’s Advice: 3]
Looking at each other, we reinforced our plan one last time.
1. Gather at the Broadcasting Station.
2. Eliminate the staff, ascend to the rooftop, and enter the hospital.
3. Arrive at Kim Sangmin’s room while pretending to be visitors.
4. Rely on the powers of the red capsule or the bracelet to eliminate the chunk of flesh.
Ultimately, the most crucial role belongs to Jinchul-hyung.
It’s been confirmed that the ‘nurses’ will rush in once we begin to attack the hunk of flesh – one pistol is absolutely inadequate for a nurse brawl.
When everyone’s eyes turned toward Jinchul-hyung, he nodded firmly.
He wouldn’t mess this up again.
“Whew… I start getting the jitters just thinking about going in. What on earth will it be like? Kain, do you have anything on your mind?”
“I considered several scenarios, but the more I think about them, the less inclined I feel to go in.”
We crossed the threshold into the room.
*
Fifth Attempt
*
???
It hurts. It aches. When did this start? Every inch of my body is in agony.
Is my arm hurting? Or is it my leg?
…
Why can’t I even feel my arms or legs?
I don’t know. My entire being has become just a mass of pain.
I feel resentful.
To whom?
…
I have no idea. I used to loathe certain people with all my heart…
And now, I can’t even recall their faces.
I despise this world. I loathe it for leaving me to suffer in agony alone.
Twist! Distort!
I scream at the world, demanding it contort itself to match my twisted reality!
…
No matter how much the world contorts, my pain will not cease.
Ah.
Doctor. Where are you?
In my moment of deepest despair; when everyone turned against me and I lost all hope.
That was when my teacher came and offered me the ‘star.’
Please come back.
Please don’t abandon me.
.
.
.
.
.
.
[The fifth attempt of the contestants has begun!]
A sentence I couldn’t grasp floated before my eyes.
My sight had long since vanished, so how am I even perceiving this sentence?
…
Suddenly, a surge of incomprehensible information flooded into my mind, which seemed to drift somewhere in my body.
Ah! I see.
So, these entities have returned to inflict pain upon me once more.
Not a single one of you will survive!
Kill them all, until this entire star is filled with corpses!
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