I stared blankly for a moment at the camcorder in Baek Saheon’s hands.
Now,
kill someone and snatch a camcorder....
“Aaagh!”
“...!”
I whipped my head around.
Inside the door Baek Saheon had locked, the camcorder’s owner was pounding on it again like mad and howling. And as if reacting to that, a human-shaped figure wavered at the far end of the abandoned hospital’s 5th-floor corridor and started coming closer....
A black silhouette of a neatly dressed Daydream office worker. And I could hear a flustered voice....
“What’s going on over there?”
There’s no shadow.
Patient.
A chill crawled up my spine.
I hurried to the ward door where the camcorder’s owner was trapped and tried to undo the lock. I heard Baek Saheon grab my shoulder and shout in alarm.
“What are you doing!”
Damn it.
I shook off Baek Saheon’s hand and finished undoing the lock.
“Argh!”
As the door opened, the camcorder’s original owner, even worse for wear, spilled out. I practically scooped them up, supporting them, and ran back for the emergency exit.
Hurry...!
“Are you all right? You look hurt.”
The patient’s voice was getting closer.
“Run.”
Gritting his teeth, Baek Saheon ran at my side.
Thud.
Before the shape at the far end of the corridor could get any closer, I hurriedly shut the emergency door.
Then, avoiding the discarded used syringes strewn across the floor, I set the person I was supporting down.
...Ha.
The tension finally loosened for an instant.
“......”
I looked back at Baek Saheon.
He was looking at me with a face mixed with bewilderment, irritation, and stiffness.
“What are you doing.”
“Citizen.”
“Why waste time on someone who’s going to die anyway...!”
Gritting his teeth, Baek Saheon darted glances at the camcorder’s owner and spoke, impatient.
“Does that person look like they’ll help us right now? We just added dead weight! You said it was urgent, you said you had something to do, so why are you helping a stranger! It’s a waste of time...!”
“Citizen.”
I caught hold of Baek Saheon. He clutched both camcorders.
“That person just almost died.”
“So what.”
He seemed to watch my eyes, then clenched his teeth.
“They’ll die anyway if we leave them, so I just secured a camcorder a little earlier, that’s all. You said you needed it. It’s not like I’m the one killing them.”
“......”
A flicker of resentment and some strange unease rippled across Baek Saheon’s face, then he snorted.
“What, do you think there are any decent people working at this company? Oh, is it because you’re an agent and you have to save anyone visible to your eyes? That’s not it, is it? If the situation doesn’t allow it, you don’t save them either.”
It felt like this was the first time he’d spilled words like this since Jisan Village.
He was reacting as if I’d insulted him. When it was me who got blindsided by that bastard’s deranged personality.
This time, he did seem to be trying to help me anyway, which was surprising.
Even so, I didn’t know why he was acting like I’d betrayed him. It was peculiarly excessive, like a trauma response....
...Mm.
Is it because I’m an agent.
I chose my words, recalling what happened in Jisan Village.
My flesh crawled; a sigh slipped out.
“Citizen.”
I spoke as calmly as I could.
“I’m not trying to rescue them because I’m an agent. ...It’s just simple logic.”
Then I looked at the person I’d rescued, who was still huddled in the corner, trembling and groping at their peeled skin.
“If we can live together, there’s no need to kill on purpose.”
“......”
Instead of waiting for Baek Saheon’s answer, I lowered myself to the person I’d dragged along.
And asked quietly,
“Would it be better for you to stay somewhere safe?”
“Hic, hiup....”
A frantic nod.
And a fearful sidelong look at Baek Saheon. He was watching that variable—which might threaten his survival—with a cold face....
But I reacted to neither, and simply declared, slowly,
“Yes. Then we’ll move you to a safe place.”
Supporting the rescued person, I took the emergency stairs and went up just one more floor.
I did not call for Baek Saheon during that.
He seemed to stand there, oddly blank, for a moment, but instead of running off with the camcorders, I heard him following me.
I entered the 6th floor.
Definitely less murderous than the 5th.
The closed ward corridor was dim, but the strong smell of disinfectant lay thick enough to cover the faint fishy tang.
It still had that gloomy, uncanny vibe you’d see in a haunted-house attraction, but at least it looked a bit more normal.
[1F]
Past the 5th floor, what’s effectively the convalescent hospital’s 1st floor keeps projecting on loop.
Most of the noteworthy incidents in the camcorder recording happened around the 4th and 5th floors.
[Hmm. The corridor is messy, though.]
That’s... because the patients marched in a group.
Exploration Record #3
On the 1st floor, dozens of people dressed like special forces who “came out for rescue” appeared in the corridor.
All 7 civilians who followed the procession died.
Checking by camcorder revealed they were a group of inpatients holding stationery-type instruments like a recorder and castanets.
Unconfirmed testimony noted these entities said things as if celebrating or commemorating something.
In this ghost story, the 1st floor can produce survivors if you just endure the early-phase patient procession clapping down the corridor.
Of course, this was the 6th floor with the 1st floor projected onto it, and I entered recognizing it as a true safe zone.
“I’m going to use this for a moment.”
Watching the corridor and ward interiors through the camcorder, I carefully moved while avoiding “patients” and swept the rooms quickly.
Ha....
I was jittery because I was supporting someone, but somehow that made it less scary.
And fortunately, I found it before running into a patient bursting out of somewhere.
“Go in here.”
I entered a ward in the middle.
[Room 111]
Weirdly, inside that ward a single hospital bed stood by itself, and along one wall a row of desks and faded nameplates were lined up.
“Hik,”
“It’s all right.”
When I tried to lift them onto the bed, they flinched in fright, but I moved quickly.
“...Is this place safe?”
“Yes.”
I gestured with my chin at the desks.
“This was originally the front entrance.”
“...!”
An error caused by mismatched floors.
Exploration Record #21
Confirmed three patients plunging out through a large panoramic window on the 7th floor that didn’t match the building’s standards.
Identified as an anomaly caused by the absence of the terrace-style space that had originally existed in the convalescent hospital’s 2nd-floor cafeteria. The camcorder recording’s reenactment proceeds normally.
A front-entrance-like place generated on the 6th floor, which doesn’t originally have one.
An extra location that wasn’t in the camcorder recording.
“There wouldn’t have been a hospital bed at the entrance, so the entities in the camcorder won’t perceive it.”
At that moment,
“Do you know a way out by any chance? Hello, someone’s in here, right?”
A voice came from outside.
“...!”
The three of us climbed up onto the bed and pressed in close. Baek Saheon hesitated, then clenched his teeth and lowered himself onto the bed.
Footsteps drew near....
And as the door opened and a Daydream researcher with a bewildered expression appeared—
...Camcorder!
I hastily switched my camcorder off and folded Baek Saheon’s as well. But....
“Someone’s in here, right?”
...I had just glimpsed it on the camcorder screen.
The actual scene that happened in this convalescent hospital.
“I’m sure I heard a voice....”
The patient who looked like a researcher had their abdomen opened under the hospital gown, as seen in the camcorder.
With organs fixed as if decorated, stitched in place with brightly colored thread, hooked up to an IV.
Ha.
Those organs would already be in a state of having been “exchanged” with a captured person’s....
“Let’s find a way out together. Hello?”
The patient drew closer. We all held our breath. And....
“Let’s find a safe place together!”
The patient passed right by us.
Feeling the brush of the worn hospital gown against my nose, I froze without breathing....
.......
.......
Thud.
The patient left.
The rescued person, who’d been clamping their own mouth shut, swallowed a cough and sprawled.
Phew.
“You saw that, right? Stay here.”
I left the rescued person there.
It was a spot the three of us could hide in as well, so although they were trembling, they looked somewhat reassured.
I soothed the rescued person, who seemed to hope I’d stay here too, then waited until the corridor quieted again and returned to the emergency stairs.
On the way back, Baek Saheon stayed quiet.
The whole process took exactly 12 minutes.
“Citizen. Look.”
“.......”
I turned to Baek Saheon.
“Nothing has changed, and the camcorder is still in my hands.”
He lifted his head.
“And you personally confirmed a safe place.”
“.......”
“The situation hasn’t worsened at all. Correct?”
“...What if they survive and give bad testimony about me.”
“It’s natural for someone who was attacked to bear resentment toward the one who attacked them. If you don’t like that, then don’t attack in the first place.”
With a face like he had a lot to say, Baek Saheon looked at me. But I just smiled.
“Even so, this time it’ll be fine.”
“...Huh?”
—A person holding a camcorder can become a target of attack.
“I already explained it well to the person we rescued. That holding a camcorder can be dangerous, so we collected it for now.”
“......!”
In an extreme situation, they’ll want to trust whoever helped them unconditionally; after it’s over, it shouldn’t cause trouble.
“And if you hadn’t snatched it out of the blue in the first place, none of this would’ve happened.”
“Excuse me. For all you know, if I hadn’t claimed it first, you might not have handed it over.”
“Maybe. But you don’t know that until you try.”
“.......”
An expression that said he couldn’t accept it and, at the same time, hinted at some odd, indescribable feeling crossed Baek Saheon’s face.
“At any rate, congratulations.”
“What for.”
“Whether you meant to or not, because you were here, that person will live.”
“......!”
“And on a separate note....”
I smiled, as an agent would.
“Thank you for making the effort to give me a camcorder.”
“.......”
“In truth, you didn’t have to.”
Baek Saheon didn’t answer.
“I’ll put it to good use.”
With that, I picked up the camcorder.
[You patched up the point of conflict wisely and got a gain out of it, too. Excellent, friend!]
This is praise I’d like to savor a little....
“Then I’m going back into the 5th floor.”
“.......”
And honestly, at this point I thought Baek Saheon would bolt.
Since each of us had a camcorder and we both knew a safe zone, I figured he’d vanish quick, following his survival instinct....
But he doesn’t.
He just got noticeably quiet.
For some reason, Baek Saheon silently followed beside me, holding his camcorder....
*...Let him. *
Thanks to that, it was less scary. Only....
Wow, seriously.
He... dunks people without hesitation.
I was rattled.
I’d seen him do a few snatch-and-run troll moves lately, but watching him pull something that directly extreme on someone without a second thought—yeah, he’s a true Daydream employee.
No wonder they call him the Viper Section Chief.
I suppressed the urge to squeeze my eyes shut.
But what was even more unexpected was that, after hearing me out, his attitude had shifted in a strange way.
Why is he so quiet.
I looked back at Baek Saheon.
The flinching bastard opened his mouth like he was watching my mood, then shut it again.
The 5th-floor hospital atmosphere really was bone-chillingly terrifying, but watching that made it feel like a sketch comedy and a little less scary....
Congratulations....
“......!”
I snapped my head up.
...From down the corridor, a bubbly children’s-song-like tune was drifting in.
—(bzzzt) Congratulations (bzzzt) congratulations dear (bzz-bzzzt) convalescent-hospital inpatients reborn today congratulations
Wait.
This is... what happens at the end.
So the incidents from the camcorder recording have already been almost fully reenacted? What the hell did these Daydream maniacs do to make that happen—no way, hold on....
—(bzzzt) Congratulations (bzzzt) congratulations dear (bzz-bzzzt) convalescent-hospital inpatients reborn today congratulations
The elevator doors opened.
Light poured out, and a person stepped forth. They were carrying something huge. With a trembling hand, I raised the camcorder....
It was a celebration cake.
HAPPY
D-DAY
A sodden, squelching cake with the same phrase written on it as on the 5th-floor emergency door.
—(bzzzt) Congratulations (bzzzt) congratulations dear (bzz-bzzzt) convalescent-hospital inpatients reborn today congratulations
Of the patient group that had been marching on the 1st floor, only a single one remained.
Hugging something like an enormous birthday cake with their whole body, they were smiling as they came toward us.
I could see thick bloody footprints sticking to the floor with every step of their blood-soaked body.
Blood and medication dripped from the party cone stuck atop their matted hair.
—(bzzzt) Congratulations (bzzzt) congratulations dear (bzz-bzzzt) convalescent-hospital inpatients reborn today congratulations
My legs started moving.
“...!”
I moved my body toward that celebration cake.
Damn.
No.
It’s the camcorder recording’s ending.
Exploration Record #4
On the 5th floor, the elevator doors open and the one carrying the celebration cake steps out.
They march down the corridor accompanied by the celebration music.
All survivors follow them forward and go out through the emergency door, after which [redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted]
※Access by the assigned researcher and on-site exploration staff is prohibited. Obtain Security Team authorization before accessing this exploration record.
Do I pull out my contamination?
Wait, wait... then who knows how it’ll go wrong....
Terror stiffened my head. My body moved on its own, and the uncanny celebratory song ringing in my ears grew louder. The one holding the smiling birthday cake drew closer.
Feet heading for the emergency door.
Sht.*
I was so scared my hands were shaking and my brain felt like it had stopped. I almost bit my tongue at how briefly I missed the state of 130666.
Another response, something else....
Desperately rolling my eyes, I swept the surroundings through the camcorder... and found it.
Ah.
There was an object lying in the corridor.
The item the person we’d rescued had been holding along with the camcorder in both hands.
Security Call Button.
It must have bounced and settled mid-corridor when Baek Saheon kicked it earlier.
No matter how much they’d pressed it, there had been no response; in the end, it hadn’t helped with rescue.
But the moment I walked close and looked at it, I realized.
They were pressing it wrong...!
This call button was the wall-mounted type.
The sort stuck here and there on the Annex ground floors for security and safety.
—If anything happens, call immediately.
The camcorder’s original owner was probably only familiar with how to operate the handheld Security Call Button.
But panicking from the ghost story, while trying to force a strange type of call button, they failed to notice one thing.
The safety pin.
They hadn’t noticed the part you remove in order to call....
Hold on.
With chaos everywhere, people must have been pressing call buttons all over, but if the ending was already approaching, that also meant the commotion elsewhere was finishing and being suppressed.
In that case....
What are the odds the Security Team will respond to a survivor’s call button?
Beads of cold sweat, I side-eyed the eerie patient with the celebration cake.
They’ll probably subdue that and move straight on elsewhere.
Because it’s a madhouse.
Then I can resume exploring toward the 5th-floor destination....
“......”
—(bzzzt) Congratulations (bzzzt) congratulations dear (bzz-bzzzt) convalescent-hospital inpatients reborn today congratulations
Mid-stride, I barely corrected my movement.
And the instant I got close to the call button,
I pressed its safety pin with my foot, then in the next step, kicked and pulled it out.
Success....
But my next step only brushed the button.
Damn it!
I ground my teeth and tried to hook it again with my foot, but there was no way to make a more delicate move. My legs kept walking forward....
In that case.
As I stretched my leg back, I kicked the call button.
Toward the person behind me.
“......!”
I looked at Baek Saheon.
The instant our eyes met, he lifted his foot and....
pressed the call button.
.......
.......
[Processing your request.]
[Call location confirmed: Annex 5th floor. Hazard code confirmed: Annex under occupation.]
[As this is an internal call during suppression, no additional fee will be charged, and the call proceeds automatically.]
Hurry!
[Security Team assigned.]
At that moment,
Thud.
The call button tore open, and a black silhouette leaked out from within.
“......!”
The silhouette swelled as if bursting forth and took shape....
—(bzzzt) Congratulations (bzzzt) congratulations dear (bzz-bzzzt) convalescent-hospital inpatients reborn today congratulations
A figure in a full black uniform.
An unfamiliar Security Team cast a shadow over the hospital corridor.
However, there was one single clue that was familiar to my eyes....
That uniform.
It was the same type 130666 had worn.
Ha.
I drew a harsh breath as I looked at the Security Team’s special-division employee who had answered the call.