Editor’s Survival Guide — Chapter 11
Chapter 11. Episode 3. The Hospital That Hunts Humans (2)
—Those serious criminals are presently in the same space as you, Seo Do-un.
“What did you say……?”
—There is no time, so I will explain briefly. It is a measure taken under the Special Zone Special Act.
It certainly was brief.
But could that be called an explanation?
When I failed to respond, that bastard topknot belatedly elaborated.
—Those suspected of serious crimes within Special Zones are tried by the Bureau. If the allegations are proven, they are formally designated as convicts and assigned to Special Zone exploration missions.
The topknot’s dry words left me dazed for an entirely different reason.
What had I just heard?
So if someone committed a crime inside a Special Zone, they were tried not by a court, but by some place called the Bureau?
And if found guilty, they received not a fine or prison sentence, but a sentence of Special Zone exploration?
It was so far removed from common sense that I couldn’t understand it.
Were they not even given something like the right to appoint a lawyer?
No, their treatment afterward was a greater problem than the right to a defense.
Entering a Special Zone could kill them.
No matter how serious their crimes, they threw people into places like that?
As I stood bewildered, something suddenly occurred to me.
The railway-station rulebook had also included “death in service of the nation.”
Ah, that was right.
These people had told ordinary citizens, “If you’re going to die anyway, at least die usefully.”
There would be no limit, then, to what they would do to criminals.
Seen that way, absurdly enough, it made sense.
Besides, something else mattered more to me now.
“So the place those serious-crime convicts are exploring is where I am right now?”
—Precisely.
The topknot confirmed it calmly.
Did God exist?
Of course not. Absolutely not.
Being dragged back into this pandemonium was nightmarish enough already, and now every other human swarming around this place was a violent criminal.
“Haa…….”
Overwhelmed by the shock, I breathed out.
The topknot granted me about five seconds of consideration, then resumed reciting the precautions.
It irritated me beyond belief, but I had no choice but to snatch up every word in a hurry.
—That is all. Is there anything up to this point that you need clarified?
The topknot finished speaking and asked me.
I was about to say no, then changed my mind and asked,
“What is your name?”
—I am Cha Si-eon, Team Leader of Response Team 3 at the Special Management Bureau.
I had asked so I could curse his name repeatedly in hell if this went wrong.
I expected nothing, but received a surprisingly clear answer.
That somehow felt even more ominous.
It seemed as though he no longer regarded me as an outsider.
—If you have no further questions, I will terminate the call. I emphasize once more: do not die under any circumstances. Good luck.
Beep. Beep. Beep—
The topknot, Cha Si-eon, ended the call.
I fought to keep my mind from disconnecting along with it.
Listening to all the precautions had taken about six minutes.
That left eight minutes until the 「Moving Gun」 resumed activity.
I moved frantically and searched for a mask first.
After covering my face with it, I found a pair of indoor slippers in a suitable size and put those on too.
—Your present location, Seo Do-un, is the ninth-floor inpatient ward of the Main Building.
—The 「Moving Gun」 is currently dormant on the fourth floor of the Main Building. The convicts are also staying on the second floor of the Main Building.
—The Main Building has thirteen floors above ground, but the upper floors carry a risk of isolation. Therefore, use one of the connecting passageways located on basement level one or the second floor of the Main Building to move to either the Children’s Hospital or the Cancer Hospital.
Following those instructions, I descended through the emergency stairwell.
But after going down three or four floors, the atmosphere inside the stairwell changed abruptly.
Below me, the staircase had been smashed to pieces.
The walls were riddled with bullet marks, and cement fragments lay heaped across the floor.
—The 「Moving Gun」 rampaged for twenty-two minutes and forty-seven seconds immediately before becoming dormant.
—As a result, three convicts died, and facilities throughout the fourth through sixth floors of the Main Building were destroyed.
This must be one of the destroyed floors.
Keeping my back against the wall, I crossed the broken staircase.
But below the second floor, the stairs had been severed completely.
Ah, why here of all places?
Should I go back? No, there was no time. Nor was there any guarantee another staircase would be intact.
After a moment of conflict, I carefully opened the stairwell door.
The sight of an undamaged hospital beyond it left me somewhat dazed.
There was something strange about a place that should have been crowded standing completely empty.
It felt as though I alone remained in a world that had already ended.
It was alien and lonely, but being alone was probably better right now.
Considering the histories of the people prowling this place.
Fortunately, none of the convicts were visible, and the escalator leading downstairs was quite close.
Good. I only needed to make it that far.
I took a step while shielding myself as much as possible.
But, hm, what was this?
Something like a thin cord caught around my ankle.
The instant I realized it, the crown of my head went cold.
Clink—crash—shatter—!
Then the spectacular sound of glass breaking echoed around me.
Horrified, I turned toward it.
Several glass bottles lay shattered beneath an outpatient reception desk.
And a nearly invisible white thread was draped across the top of my foot.
What was this? No, it didn’t matter what it was!
I turned to get myself out of there first.
“It’s a person!”
But—ugh, damn it all……!
At the clearly audible voice, I stopped.
Three or four people were staring at me from the far end of the corridor.
Ah. Did God exist?
If so, I would rather God simply die.
“Hey, you over there!”
They strode toward me.
I relaxed my body, which had been ready to flee, and faced them.
There were four of them in total.
They all wore identical pale-yellow work clothes, as though these had been issued somewhere, along with identical face coverings.
Their faces were hidden, but their builds and other features made it clear they were all men.
One was a massive hulk of muscle, one had an average build, one was tall, and one was short and overweight.
“Where did you suddenly crawl out from? Take off the mask and show us your face.”
The huge man, who seemed to be the leader, crooked a finger as he spoke.
His manner was openly threatening.
Read only on MUGEX
I could understand why.
Their work clothes were stained with blood in several places.
They looked as though they had literally been rolling through a mire.
Then I appeared, wandering around in pajamas amid all this. Naturally, I could only look deeply suspicious.
I grasped the situation and drew a breath.
Then, making my voice as vicious as possible, I ground out,
“What the fuck are you talking about? They told me to cover my face first if I didn’t want to die. If you want to expose one, show yours.”
The men twitched at the force of my retort.
So I raised my chin even more defiantly and said,
“Some crazy bastards shoved me in here while babbling about numbers or whatever, so don’t give me any shit. I’ve already been dragged through hell, and I’ve got nothing left to lose.”
Think about it.
What would happen if I said, “I’m an innocent civilian, so a rescue team is coming”?
Our thoroughly embittered convicts might respond like this.
*Even if a rescue team comes, that has nothing to do with me.*
*Those bastards are the ones who threw me in here.*
*Why don’t I kill this one too, just to fuck them over?*
There was a significant chance I would be beaten by the whole group.
They might even take me hostage.
So I decided it would be better to pretend I was in the same position as them.
Then they might accept me into the group—or at least keep me around for a while in order to use me.
With that calculation in mind, I hurled out bluster and threats.
But the atmosphere was not good at all.
Suspicious gazes poured over me and dug in.
Right. All their lives were hanging by a thread, so naturally they wouldn’t lower their guard easily.
I understood that, but we had no time right now.
How long remained until the 「Moving Gun」 woke up?
Four minutes now? Three?
Why were these people gathered here in the first place?
I had naturally assumed they would scatter and prepare.
Could it be that they didn’t know the 「Moving Gun」’s behavioral pattern?
As I fretted alone, I heard a gentle voice.
“Perhaps they sent another person because we couldn’t make any progress like this.”
I looked around and saw someone in a wheelchair emerging from the far end of the corridor.
It was a woman, likewise dressed in work clothes and a face covering.
Perhaps she was injured, because her left leg was in a splint.
That brought the people surrounding me to four men and one woman.
In other words, I had now met all five people Cha Si-eon mentioned. Damn it…….
The men’s wariness slackened slightly when the woman appeared.
“Reinforcements? With so many of us dead, they send just one person?”
“They must have been in a hurry. He doesn’t even have work clothes or a face covering.”
“Even so, does this make sense? If they were going to send someone, they should’ve done it earlier…….”
“Those lunatics are fucking useless at their jobs. When I get out, my lawyer hyung and I will completely destroy that long-haired bastard and every superior above him.”
As expected, they were vicious.
They looked ready to chew someone alive the moment they found the slightest excuse.
Cold sweat ran down my body at the thought that all that murderous hostility could turn toward me.
Besides, Cha Si-eon had said…….
—There are three serious criminals from the 「Railway Station」. All three were deployed to the 「Hospital That Hunts Humans」, and all three remain alive.
This was truly enough to drive me insane.
Yes, I had been curious about those people.
That did not mean I wanted to meet them in person like this!
Which three were they?
No, more importantly, why were these people still taking their time?
Was I the only one who felt the fire at my feet?
“Excuse me, did you receive an order sheet?”
As I fretted, the woman rolled her wheelchair toward me.
I flinched, but fortunately, she didn’t seem to notice.
With a composed motion, the woman took a sheet of paper from her work clothes.
“Didn’t you receive something like this?”
What she held out was a document several pages long.
My insides burned with even greater urgency.
This was no time to read something like that.
But I had no choice but to unfold the document.
—
■ Special Adjudication Petition Case — Exploration Order
Convicts S, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, and J are hereby ordered to explore the Special Management Zone.
The above order shall remain in effect until one Type A mission and two Type B missions have been completed.
■ Type A Mission
Repair and reinforcement of Special Management Bureau facilities.
※ See [Appendix 1] for facility locations and repair procedures.
■ Type B Missions (Select Two of the Items Below)
1. Receive a subcutaneous injection of the 「Black Ampoule」 administered by the 「Nurse with Split Arms」 in the Injection Preparation Room on basement level one of the Main Building, then remain alive until the point of return.
2. Determine the weight of tears required for the 「Player Piano」 in the lobby on the first floor of the Main Building to perform *Air on the G String*.
3. Extract an unrotted organ from the 「999 Sotdae」 displayed in the operating suite on the second floor of the Main Building. However, if the extracted organ tissue fuses with a convict’s body, the mission shall be considered a failure.
4. Confirm the 「Distorted Angel」 among the patterns displayed by the 「Incomprehensible-Domain Imaging Equipment」 in the Cardiovascular Angiography Room on the third floor of the Main Building, then remain alive until the point of return.
5. Determine the conditions for interacting with the 「Coughing Young Man」 in a patient room on the seventh floor of the Main Building.
6. Excavate a silver ring approximately two meters beneath the surface of the 「Bottomless Sandplay Box」 in the Psychological Testing Room on the first floor of the Children’s Hospital.
7. Newly discover two additional hazardous entities or interactive targets.
Special Advice!
—There’s a gun monster in here. It’s dangerous if you meet it, so be careful!
—Convicts are distinguished by the color of their armbands. The darker the armband, the more dangerous the individual.
—It’s safer to blend in with the group than to act alone!
—
Those bastards at the Bureau…….
They really hadn’t told the convicts anything about the 「Moving Gun」.
Even the “Special Advice!” on the order sheet had not been printed; someone had written it in pen.
The instant I understood the situation, I shouted,
“Run, right now……!”
Thump—!
But before I could get the words out, the floor shook.
The first thing I felt was the vibration.
Next came the holes that appeared in a straight line through both ceiling and floor.
Then came the scream of the man whose foot had vanished.
“Aaaaaagh!”
The man with one foot severed writhed and rolled across the floor.
The others collapsed into panic on their own, without the faintest idea what was happening.
Amid that blood-drenched pandemonium, I alone understood by instinct.
The 「Moving Gun」 had resumed its hunt.