How a Regressor Conquers the Tower of Urban Legends
Chapter 29
It was heavy.
Was it really okay for someone like me, whose only experience with guns came from mandatory military training in South Korea, to be holding something like this?
Even while thinking that, I didn't let go of the pistol.
Having one was still far better than having nothing.
When the time came, I would know when to use it.
The question was what exactly that time would look like.
"..."
Whether it had noticed the mood or not, the mascot simply stared at me without saying anything.
"Could you hold this for me?"
"!"
For now, I handed the stake over to the mascot and returned my attention to the paper.
I watched the bizarre sight of the mascot stuffing the stake somewhere inside its own head, then forced myself to look back at the guide.
[Jeina Tree Hospital Guide]
[Jeina Tree Hospital is currently under the supervision of the Management Bureau.]
[Jeina Tree Hospital consists of three buildings.]
[From left to right, they are the Research Building, Treatment Building, and Isolation Building.]
[Find the door that is open.]
[Which door is open is determined entirely at random.]
[If none of the doors are open, use the enclosed item.]
"..."
I checked the three doors.
Let's see.
Research Building, closed.
Treatment Building, closed.
Isolation Building, open.
So I was getting the Isolation Building.
Good.
Then the Isolation Building was...
I lowered my eyes to the paper again.
[Previous escape rates are as follows.]
[Research Building: 60%]
[Treatment Building: 50%]
[Isolation Building: 30%]
"..."
How unlucky can one person be?
I immediately opened the notebook.
Who among the earlier users had been assigned the Isolation Building?
[11. I got the Research Building. I'll write down what I learn about this route.]
[19. Research Building for me too. Anyone following this route can probably use our notes.]
[24. I have been assigned the Treatment Building. I will document this route, so please follow along.]
[24. I say this every time, but my luck is never the absolute worst and never the absolute best either. Life truly is strange.]
[27. Ah............ I got the Isolation Building... Is this really the end for me?]
[27. Tell my mom I love her... I'll record as much as I can.]
...
[77. Isolation Building for me too. I'll combine what the people before me wrote and see whether I can figure anything else out.]
[77. We can do this! Trust the people who came before us, and I'll trust all of you too.]
Good.
For now, I'd follow their records as I went.
"Let's go."
The mascot slowly nodded.
I engaged the pistol's safety and tucked it into my back pocket, holding the guide in one hand and the notebook in the other as we faced the door together.
It was made from heavily rusted iron.
Beyond it stretched a dull gray corridor.
"Phew..."
"...!"
"I know. I'm always grateful."
Feeling the mascot pat my shoulder, I nodded and stepped inside.
It was dark.
More precisely, it felt as though the place was deliberately lit with only the bare minimum amount of light.
Almost as if the building itself disliked being brightly illuminated.
[Jeina Tree Hospital — Isolation Building]
[1. We offer our sincere condolences to those who have selected the Isolation Building.]
[2. Upon entering the Isolation Building, you will find that its corridors are darker than those of an ordinary building.]
[3. Please endure the inconvenience. There is a reason for the darkness. If you absolutely require light, use no more than a lighter. Do not use any other light source.]
[4. Continue straight ahead and you will eventually reach the reception desk.]
"Let's leave the lights alone."
"!"
The mascot and I walked deeper into the dark corridor.
This seemed like a good time to check the notebook again.
[27. I'm following the instructions for now.]
[27. There's one person at reception. I did what the paper said and got through.]
[77. Nobody's here for me.]
So everyone really was following the instructions.
Soon, with a faint creaking sound, a small sign appeared before us.
[Reception]
"..."
I checked the next section.
[Jeina Tree Hospital — Isolation Building, Reception]
[1. Check the number of people at the reception desk.]
[2. If there is nobody present, write your own name on the admission form and enter. Use an alias whenever possible.]
[3. If there is one person present, receive the admission form and write down your name. Use an alias whenever possible, but do not let them discover that it is false.]
[4. If there are two people present, receive the admission form and write your real name. You will be fully responsible for any disadvantages that follow.]
[5. If there are three or more people present, use the enclosed item.]
[6. Do not react to the receptionist's face. If you happen to hear auditory hallucinations, which occurs with low probability, use the enclosed item.]
"..."
I raised my head slightly and looked ahead.
One person.
Good.
"All right, then..."
I already had an immediate use for something I'd bought.
I put on the headset hanging around my neck.
Soft padding covered my ears.
"..."
Surprisingly, I could still hear perfectly well.
No.
I could hear really well.
What kind of headset was this?
"Could you make a sound?"
"??"
"No, I don't mean talk. Just make some noise."
"..."
The mascot stared at me as though I were being ridiculous, then stomped its feet.
Tap! Tap!
The sounds came through clearly.
I hadn't known the headset had this function too, but there was no reason to complain.
I'd actually been worried that wearing it would stop me from hearing my surroundings.
If that wasn't an issue, then perfect.
The mascot and I slowly approached reception.
The receptionist raised their head.
They had no face.
I almost flinched.
But the mascot pinched my side hard enough to hurt, and I somehow managed not to react.
"..."
The faceless receptionist stared directly at me.
Then they slowly pushed a sheet of paper and a pen across the desk.
I looked down.
[You must write your real name in order to enter the Isolation Building.]
[This is for the safety and well-being of all visitors. This information will never be misused.]
[Please write your real name.]
"..."
The receptionist continued facing me.
The guide had said to use an alias.
"...Ahem."
I slowly picked up the pen and wrote one.
[Name: Gwak Paldu]
Then I handed it over.
The receptionist stared at me for a moment.
Eventually, they looked down, pressed one finger against the paper as a signature, and handed it back.
"...Do I take this inside?"
"..."
The receptionist slowly nodded.
I cleared my throat, accepted the paper, and turned away.
I'd impulsively written the name of a client company's president.
Hopefully nothing terrible would happen to him.
There couldn't possibly be only one Gwak Paldu in the entire world.
Good.
I tucked the admission form inside my clothes and continued deeper into the building.
Still moving through the dark corridor, I waited until the receptionist had completely disappeared from sight.
Then I pulled the guide out again.
[Jeina Tree Hospital — Isolation Building, Examination Room]
[1. Continue walking after receiving your admission form. You will eventually reach the Examination Room.]
[2. Survival probability drops dramatically in every room other than the Examination Room. We strongly recommend entering the Examination Room.]
[3. If the Examination Room door is closed, consult the appendix.]
Good.
I raised my head.
There were three rooms ahead.
Examination Room.
Changing Room.
Ultrasound Room.
So I needed the Examination Room.
The Ultrasound Room was completely dark.
An unidentified yellow light seeped from the Changing Room.
Better not even look in those directions.
I wondered whether anyone before me had entered one of the other rooms and written about it.
[27. It's probably best not to even look inside the other rooms. I took a quick peek and made eye contact with something.]
[27. Actually, maybe those weren't eyes. Either way... just don't go.]
[27. If this paper exists, then I think there's a reason we should trust it.]
[27. Ah, I'm really not good at taking the lead like this... I wish I were No. 227 instead...]
I could understand the pressure.
I felt overwhelmed even with all these records in front of me.
How much worse must it have been for the people ahead of me?
They'd probably felt as though they were pushing through darkness that I couldn't even imagine.
It would be nice if I could somehow help those people too, even though they were ahead of me.
Thinking that, I walked toward the Examination Room.
"..."
A notice had been written in crooked letters across the door.
[The Examination Room has been closed due to the previous disturbance.]
"..."
That wasn't mentioned before.
I carefully looked back at the paper.
"..."
[Jeina Tree Hospital — Isolation Building, Appendix]
[If the Examination Room door is closed]
[It is believed that the Examination Room was closed due to an incident involving civilians unrelated to the investigation.]
[In this case, follow the instructions below.]
[1. If the Examination Room is closed, you have no choice but to seek an escape route through either the Changing Room or the Ultrasound Room.]
[2. Each will have a severe effect on either your body or your mind. Carefully consider whether you are more capable of enduring physical pain or mental pain before entering.]
[3. If you are confident that you cannot withstand either type of pain, use the enclosed item.]
What the hell did these lunatics do to get the Examination Room shut down?
If civilians unrelated to the investigation were involved...
"...Hmm."
No.
I still didn't know enough.
I looked toward the other two rooms.
Both radiated an unmistakably ominous atmosphere.
"..."
Physical pain or mental pain?
Then there wasn't anything for me to consider.
After reading the instructions, I stopped in front of the Ultrasound Room.
[Jeina Tree Hospital — Isolation Building, Appendix: Ultrasound Room]
[1. Cover your ears before entering the Ultrasound Room.]
[2. Regardless of your will, the moment you enter, you will begin experiencing the delusion that something is wrong with your body.]
[3. No matter which part of the body it is, you will become convinced that something exists there that should not exist, and you will feel an immediate urge to remove that body part.]
[4. Endure it. You have two arms, two legs, two eyes, a nose, and a mouth. That is normal. Never forget that what you believe to be abnormal is, in fact, perfectly normal.]
[5. During this process, make maximum use of painful stimuli such as biting your tongue hard or pinching your arm.]
[6. If the feeling of wrongness becomes impossible to endure despite all this, ask the helper beside you to perform the amputation. We sincerely hope the affected body part is not vital.]
"..."
I understood the idea.
Good.
Under normal circumstances, this would be an incredibly dangerous place.
I probably would've asked the mascot to hold me down as tightly as possible.
But...
"All right."
I nodded, adjusted the headset, and stepped into the Ultrasound Room.
I heard nothing.
And there was no strange impulse either.
"Let's go."
I spoke while looking down at the rest of the paper.
[7. On rare occasions, unidentified tickets have been discovered inside the Ultrasound Room.]
[8. If you discover such a ticket, do not touch it. It is believed to be strongly connected to the serial disappearance cases currently under investigation by the Management Bureau.]
"..."
And just like that, I suddenly had a very good reason to search every inch of the room.
