WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ Surviving as an Office Worker at the Anomaly Management Bureau ◈
Chapter 50: One Hurdle After Another
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I looked at the bleak hospital.
The words Building A were painted in black on the white wall, though half the paint had peeled away.
“Everyone, open your manuals.”
“Already did.”
Holding her manual, Song A-rin sighed as she looked at the door.
The half-broken automatic door had been forced open and left that way.
“Of all things, I never thought I’d end up going all the way to the ‘Hospital’ to save someone. I really didn’t think I’d ever do this.”
“Have either of you been here before?”
At my question, both Jang Chae-yeon and Song A-rin shook their heads.
“The Containment Team doesn’t come here.”
“I don’t come here either. If I had to put it simply... this is the kind of place the Response Team handles.”
“Response Team?”
There was a Response Team too?
“Simply put, they confront organizations like the ‘Hospital’ and the ‘Theater.’”
Song A-rin continued as she checked the chamber of her handgun.
“Usually, the people who go there are the ones with a grudge against those organizations. So things are always tense.”
“Oh. Then we might get to meet the Response Team?”
“Wake up. The Management Bureau pulled its team out of Gangseo University Hospital a long time ago. The manual was finished.”
That explained why it had so many notes afterward.
I opened the manual in front of the broken automatic door.
[Manual for Office Workers]
[Gangseo University Hospital Manual]
[Never use force directly.]
[2-2. A broken automatic door will be before you. Force is a last resort. Even if you, the reader, possess the strength of a branch chief, do not forget that an individual can be utterly powerless before a group and an information disparity.]
[2-3. If you enter through the door, receptionists whose Assimilation has already progressed sufficiently will greet you. Say that you came to visit someone, but never say the name of the person you are looking for. You must say the name of someone who could never be here. Then take the stairs to the third floor. If you experience auditory hallucinations or visions urging you to go to the second floor, please harm yourself. Keep in mind that if you enter, the Management Bureau will not be able to recover your body.]
A name that would not be here.
One person immediately came to mind.
“You’re both ready, right?”
They both nodded, and I led the way inside.
Incandescent lights flickered over the half-destroyed reception desk. Someone wearing a receptionist’s uniform stood behind it.
“...”
His face was upside down.
His lips were where his eyes should have been, and his eyes were where his lips should have been.
“What brings you here?”
Yet the voice that came from him was a kind woman’s voice.
“Ah, I’m here to visit someone.”
“Oh, you’re here to visit someone. If it isn’t too much trouble, could you tell me which patient?”
“Kim Wan-woo.”
I recited the regressor’s name. I had only seen him twice, but his name had remained deeply etched into my mind.
There was no particular reason. I just had a feeling it had to be this way.
“Patient Kim Wan-woo. Let’s see... Oh dear. It seems he isn’t here. We haven’t been managing our list very well lately...”
The receptionist smiled apologetically and pointed down the right corridor.
“He’s probably on the third floor! Ask one of the nurses there, and they’ll tell you! I’m sorry!”
“It’s all right.”
I headed down the right corridor.
Soon, an elevator and a staircase came into view.
The stairs.
Holding the Butane Gas inside my clothes, I carefully stepped onto the stairs.
My temples immediately began throbbing.
“Ms. Song A-rin.”
“What?”
“Can you put both yourself and Ms. Chae-yeon into a hypnotic state for a moment, so you’ll only follow behind me?”
“Now there are people calmly asking me to put them under hypnosis...”
“You can do it, right?”
“To wake us up, flick our foreheads.”
After grumbling for a moment, Song A-rin reached out and took my hand, then took Jang Chae-yeon’s hand with her other one.
Soon, emotion vanished from both their faces.
I quickly waved my hand in front of Song A-rin and Jang Chae-yeon’s eyes. After confirming that neither reacted, I went up the stairs.
The throbbing grew worse, but compared to the pain I had suffered through the Turntable, it was nothing.
I passed a sign reading <Second Floor, Radiology Room> and headed toward the third floor.
<Third Floor, Patient Waiting Room>
As soon as we came out onto the landing, I flicked Song A-rin and Jang Chae-yeon on the forehead with my index finger.
As if they had agreed beforehand, they both woke up. I opened the manual again.
[2-4. Upon arriving at the patient waiting room on the third floor, the first thing you must do is check how many nurses are nearby.]
I quickly looked around.
There were three nurses in total.
[If there is one nurse, the situation is safe. If there are two, exercise caution. If there are three, you are in danger. If there are four, leave immediately.]
Three. My luck really was terrible.
[2-5. The more nurses there are, the tighter the security and the more likely the doctors will be difficult later. Go to a nurse and say, “I heard from the first floor that the patient list has been mixed up.” The nurses will then go down to the first floor. However, the more nurses there are, the sooner they will return from the first floor. You must get through the third floor before then.]
[2-6. Once the nurses have gone downstairs, run across the corridor. You may occasionally hear cries for help from the patient rooms, but you cannot interfere. The corridor stretches farther than it appears. Beware the darkness, and if a shadow grabs you, tear it away with all your strength.]
[2-7. Afterward, if you reach the connecting corridor, you will be safe.]
After reading the manual, I looked at the two of them.
“Please.”
“You can trust us.”
Jang Chae-yeon nodded in response. As soon as I heard her, I headed for the nurses.
“Excuse me.”
A nurse turned their head toward me.
There was nothing where their face should have been.
With stiff movements, the nurse turned toward the three of us. I spoke exactly as the manual instructed.
“I heard from the first floor that the patient list has been mixed up.”
The three nurses looked at one another, then hurried toward the stairs.
I looked down the corridor.
It looked shorter than I had expected. It appeared to be about three hundred meters long, but apparently it was much longer than it looked.
“Let’s run.”
After confirming that all the nurses had disappeared onto the landing, we began sprinting down the corridor.
Countless patient rooms rushed past us, and loud banging came from behind their doors.
“Please save me!”
“Aaaah! My arm!”
“It hurts...! It hurts!”
“...Jae-heon.”
My legs stopped for a moment at those last words, but Jang Chae-yeon immediately pushed my back and spoke calmly.
“Don’t believe it.”
“...I know!”
I put strength back into my legs and began running again.
It was long.
It felt like we had already run two hundred meters, but we had not even made it a third of the way through.
“They’re coming!”
Song A-rin urgently shouted as she looked behind us. I turned around too.
The nurses were running toward us like mad.
They were faster than track athletes. At this rate, they would definitely catch us.
Jang Chae-yeon hurriedly waved her hand behind us. Cabinets and beds piled up, blocking the path.
-Thud!
Of course, it only bought us a few seconds.
“Damn it!”
Song A-rin occasionally used Hypnosis to stop them, while Jang Chae-yeon toppled objects to block the way.
Soon, the ceiling lights flickered and shadows began to ripple.
I could tear the shadows apart. I could, at least.
[Coordinate Ripping: 3 uses remaining]
“Ms. Chae-yeon!”
At my words, she immediately turned her gaze in the direction I was looking. At the same time, the world began to look like graph paper.
I selected every visible space between the shadows with my eyes. There were about seventeen current threats.
“Get them!”
“...!”
At my words, Jang Chae-yeon stretched out her hand and clenched her fist. The shadows burst apart, and the lights brightened again.
The connecting corridor was now right in front of us. I pushed the two of them inside, then jumped in after them and rolled across the floor.
“Argh!”
“Aaah!”
“...!”
After the brief commotion, I quickly turned to look behind us. The nurses stood only a few steps away, staring at us.
“...”
After a brief standoff, they turned around and went back the way they had come.
I let out a sigh of relief and caught my breath.
Song A-rin was breathing a little heavily, while Jang Chae-yeon’s face had gone pale and she was barely able to breathe from exhaustion.
“You’re all right, aren’t you?”
“...”
Jang Chae-yeon could not properly answer, only nodding. I rubbed her back as I opened the manual.
[2-8. Upon reaching the connecting corridor, do not forget that from this point on, you will confront rational beings. First, the doctor who appears will differ according to the number of nurses you saw on the third floor.]
After Jang Chae-yeon’s breathing settled somewhat, I comforted her and began walking again.
[You do not have much time, so we recommend reading the manual while walking.]
[If there was one nurse, find Section 2-9 <Surgeon>. If there were two, find Section 2-10 <Neurologist>. If there were three, find Section 2-11 <Orthopedic Surgeon>.]
[2-11. The Orthopedic Surgeon has an extremely violent disposition, and his responses are unpredictable.]
[Physical restraint is not recommended.]
[The Orthopedic Surgeon has an appearance that makes physical combat clearly impossible. Keep in mind that if a physical fight occurs, it will not be easily resolved.]
[However, his mind contains nothing but thoughts of research and experiments. Be aware in advance that rational conversation with him is relatively more difficult than with the other doctors.]
[The most important thing when meeting him is not to provide information about the person you are looking for.]
[Deceive him, then find what you want.]
Soon, a clearly written sign appeared before us.
<Welcome to the inpatient ward on the third floor of Building A.>
The corridor was empty.
Everything was clean and orderly, no different from an ordinary hospital. If someone took a photo and posted it online, people would believe it was just a hospital.
There was only one difference.
“...”
“You’re visitors! What brings you here?”
Someone appeared before the three of us, smiling cheerfully as he greeted us.
I could not see his face.
No, he had a human shape, but from head to toe, he was made entirely of shadow.
Only gums occupied the place where his teeth should have been.
“A fracture? Or an amputation? Or perhaps...”
He smiled as he looked at us.
“You’re looking for someone?”
It did not seem like this would be easy.
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