WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ Surviving as an Office Worker at the Anomaly Management Bureau ◈
Chapter 51: Choice
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No matter how I thought about it, I felt like I had seen far too many things that were not human since the Adult Form incident.
Now, even if there was only smoke where someone’s face should have been, I had gotten to the point where I would just think, Oh, that startled me, instead of fainting from shock.
I looked at the person before me.
[Name: Orthopedic Surgeon]
[Age: 42]
[Trait: Complete Bodily Reassembly]
[Talent: Surgery]
[Background: Working at the “Hospital,” he failed to fix someone he loved due to a certain incident. He vowed to devote everything to fixing her and committed countless evil acts with his own hands. In the end, without fixing the person he loved, he only succeeded in turning his own existence into something even more terrible.]
[Weakness: Touch upon his shame and disgrace. If you are lucky, you may reach the last of the humanity he has hidden deep within.]
Humanity.
That would be difficult. They said rational conversation was nearly impossible with him.
Should I try staying silent for once?
“Which patient have you come to find? The most recent patient I saw was someone whose ribs and shinbones I switched. Their reaction wasn’t bad.”
“...”
“Ah, since you are not speaking, I suppose that is not the patient! Then... let us see... Hmm... A few weeks ago, someone came in and had sickles attached to both arms. Is it that person?”
“...I do not think so.”
“Oh dear! Then... there’s someone from the Management Bureau.”
The part that seemed to be his eyes looked at me.
Yoo Da-on’s face briefly came to mind.
Stay calm.
“...Management Bureau? What is that?”
I looked at him with an expression that showed I knew nothing.
“It exists. They are troublesome people who bother us.”
Speaking as though he were genuinely exhausted, he began flipping through charts with patients’ names on them.
“So, if it is not that patient, who have you come to find?”
What should I say?
“...I told them, but they said I should come up first because there was an issue with the list downstairs.”
“The staff at this damned Gangseo University Hospital can’t fix it, no matter how many times I tell them. I even turned the receptionist’s face inside out as punishment. Next time, I should turn it inside out once more.”
He sighed and snapped the chart shut.
“To be honest, this is bothersome. Find your patient yourself.”
Then, as he passed me, he began firing words at the nurse like a machine gun.
“Yes, that one. No, not the one from the Management Bureau! The one who just came back today. Even when she is hurt, her body does not so much as twitch, and even if you kill her, she comes back to life, so she is very convenient to operate on. I can only operate on her once. We decided to send her to the center.”
Without realizing it, I turned to look at the doctor.
Without noticing my gaze, the doctor continued down the corridor.
I opened the manual.
[2-12. Even if the doctor walks past without telling you about the patient, do not be too discouraged. You still have a chance.]
[Do not follow him. There will likely be a nurse left behind.]
When I looked around, a nurse was standing there, presenting us with a face that had nothing on it.
The nurse’s information naturally appeared above her head.
[Name: Kim Si-yeon]
[Age: 28]
[Trait: Nursing]
[Talent: X]
[Background: She was merely walking down the street when she drifted into the Hospital. Did she deserve this? While she screamed thousands of times for someone to kill her, it seemed no one cared about that fact.]
[Weakness: Those belonging to the “Hospital” generally have a high tolerance for pain. Conversely, they have more memories of pain than anyone else.]
“...”
A bitter taste filled my mouth.
I continued reading the manual from the corner of my eye.
[Look at the nurse and say the following. “I heard from Gangbuk Hospital that the nurse call is broken.”]
[Upon hearing those words, the nurse will briefly leave her post. This depends on the doctor’s personality. In the Orthopedic Surgeon’s case, he is not very patient and may call for the nurse sooner than usual. However, that brief moment is your chance to find someone.]
[During that time, you may search any hospital room. However, do not open the black door. Beyond that door are patients for whom it has long been too late.]
[When time runs out, the nurse will come looking for you and send you outside. After that, you will no longer be able to find the patient you want.]
“...I heard from Gangbuk Hospital that the nurse call seems to be broken.”
The moment I said that, the nurse struck an exaggerated pose and began walking briskly toward the connecting corridor.
“Let’s look.”
At my words, all three of them nodded.
“Should we split up and search?”
Song A-rin looked at me, already holding a shotgun.
“It may be a little dangerous, but we do not have time, so let’s split up. If you find them...”
“I’ll shout.”
“Wouldn’t shouting be dangerous?”
“The manual did not say not to shout.”
Jang Chae-yeon spoke confidently and began walking down the left corridor.
“...Then I’ll shout too.”
“Yes. But, Ms. Song A-rin.”
“Hmm?”
Song A-rin tilted her head and looked at me.
“Why has the Management Bureau not wiped out the Hospital?”
Would it not be right to wipe out a place like this before anything else?
“...The Hospital is a phenomenon.”
“A phenomenon?”
“Even if the Management Bureau uses every physical means to destroy this place, the Hospital will not disappear. A new hospital will be consumed, and it will only lead to a larger incident.”
“...That...”
“We did not want to know either.”
Song A-rin looked at me with a bitter expression.
“Unfortunately, this is all we can do for now. Put up signs, write down Escape Instructions, and hope more people can get out.”
“...”
“...Let’s go. The day will surely come when we can destroy this hospital.”
Whenever it involved people, Song A-rin often wore a pained expression.
“You go ahead.”
“Alright.”
Song A-rin headed for the right corridor at a brisk pace.
Then...
I looked at the central corridor.
There were no bloodstains in the clean hallway, nor could I hear any groans.
There was no time.
I opened a nearby door.
“...Ugh...”
A man with a crushed face was groaning.
[Name: Park Su-han]
[Age: 62]
[Trait: X]
[Talent: X]
[Background: Having been in the hospital for a long time, he is dying.]
[Weakness: Wait.]
“...”
I slowly closed the door.
This was a crazy place. I did not know what purpose it served, and I could not fathom the suffering of the people trapped here.
I opened the next door.
Again, someone half dead.
I slowly closed the door.
I came up empty at the third and fourth rooms as well.
“...Damn it.”
Time was passing, but I could not find the person I was looking for.
No one shouted from the hallway either.
After opening doors all the way to the sixth room, I opened the seventh.
“...”
A gaunt man came into view. His lower body was covered by a blanket, and he was holding a pistol to his forehead.
“...Danger...”
He lowered the pistol and looked at me, then his gaze landed on my manual.
“...Management Bureau?”
“You know about it?”
“...It does not seem you came from the team to rescue us. I was worried that someone else had been captured and brought here.”
He sighed.
“You are brave. It is not easy to come in here of your own accord.”
“I will take you with me.”
“That seems difficult.”
With a bitter smile, he pulled back the blanket covering his lower body.
There was nothing there.
“...Even so, if I take you...”
“It is too late.”
He spoke firmly and set the pistol down on the bed.
“I was subjected to surgery performed by the Orthopedic Surgeon, and my organs were removed. Coming back from this is close to impossible.”
“Even so...”
“It is alright. I am satisfied. I got my daughter out.”
He smiled and nodded.
“You seem to have someone you are looking for as well. Someone you desperately want to find.”
“...”
“Otherwise, even though the manual warns you to be careful of the Orthopedic Surgeon, you would not have come all this way.”
He looked outside the room.
“I heard the hospital was in an uproar because an unkillable test subject recently came back. That is who you are looking for, correct?”
“That is right.”
“I heard they were being sent to the Intensive Care Unit, not here. But the manual likely tells you not to go to the Intensive Care Unit...”
“...What if I still have to go?”
“Then you go.”
His eyes stared straight through me.
“Do not forget. You are the manual’s user. You should not let the manual determine your actions.”
“...”
“It is alright. Everything will work out.”
“Then I should...”
“Taking me to the Intensive Care Unit would be no different from choosing a life worse than suicide.”
He slowly shook his head.
“Go.”
“I will come back for you. The Gangseo Branch said they would come.”
“That is something to look forward to.”
He smiled and nodded.
“Aren’t you short on time? You should search all the rooms first.”
“...”
He was right. No one had shouted, and Yoo Da-on was nowhere to be seen.
I stood up, and he looked at me.
“Your name?”
“Kim Jae-heon.”
“Kim Jae-heon. Alright. Let me ask one favor of Kim Jae-heon of the Management Bureau.”
“Please tell me.”
“Please take care of my daughter, Ye-eun. Even if she is sent to the Management Bureau’s orphanage, I’ll still wonder how she’s doing.”
“...”
He smiled faintly.
“Do not feel sorry.”
“...I...”
“I would feel a little awkward about that.”
“...”
He fidgeted with the gun as he looked at me.
“I am sorry, but could you leave? It will not be a pleasant sight.”
“...I will take good care of Ye-eun.”
“Why would I ask something like that of a stranger? Just go and check on her once.”
After stepping outside and closing the door, I leaned against it to block the sound as much as possible. It was the most I could do for him.
-Bang!
After a single gunshot, there was no sound.
I had to go.
The next door.
No one.
The door after that.
No one there either.
“...Damn it.”
Did I really have to go to the Intensive Care Unit?
Clicking footsteps began echoing through the corridor, and Jang Chae-yeon and Song A-rin came toward me as well.
“...She is not here.”
“Not here either. This is driving me insane.”
“The same goes for me.”
The nurse appeared, then pointed behind her as though telling us to leave.
I opened the manual.
[2-13. If the nurse gestures, leave. Many paths will appear as you leave, but you must only go where it says “Exit.” If you take another path, you will immediately arrive at the Intensive Care Unit, and the Management Bureau will make every effort to recover your bodies.]
[After leaving through the exit, wait for rescue by the Management Bureau.]
“...”
I walked toward where the nurse was pointing.
“Hey, are we really leaving like this?”
“...”
Song A-rin and Jang Chae-yeon looked at me.
I silently kept walking.
“Hey! If we go this way, we will just leave! This is the exit!”
“...Is this really right?”
Both of them looked at me with faces full of concern.
I opened the manual again.
[2-13. If the nurse gestures, leave. Many paths will appear as you leave, but you must only go where it says “Exit.” If you take another path, you will immediately arrive at the Intensive Care Unit, and the Management Bureau will make every effort to recover your bodies.]
[After leaving through the exit, wait for rescue by the Management Bureau.]
“Tell me the way to the Intensive Care Unit.”
I spoke while looking at the manual.
[2-13. If the nurse gestures, leave. Many paths will appear as you leave, but you must only go where it says “Exit.” If you take another path, you will immediately arrive at the Intensive Care Unit, and the Management Bureau will make every effort to recover your bodies.]
[After leaving through the exit, wait for rescue by the Management Bureau.]
The manual did not change.
Before me was a path marked “Exit.”
Straight ahead was the exit, and to the right was a path with no sign at all.
After turning toward the right, I opened the manual again.
I was the manual’s user.
“Kim Jae-heon of the Management Bureau Human Resources Team requests authorization to view the Intensive Care Unit manual.”
The book opened as though blown by the wind, and words were inscribed in the manual.
[Authorization has been denied.]
“I request it once more. Kim Jae-heon of the Management Bureau Human Resources Team requests authorization to view the Intensive Care Unit manual.”
I stepped into the right corridor.
Soon, different words began to appear in the manual.
[Temporary authorization obtained through ? ? ?. Opening.]
[2-20. Intensive Management Room Records. This information is extremely limited and has a high probability of being incorrect.]
“That is not something you need to worry about.”
I turned to look at the two of them.
“...Can you entrust your lives to me?”
“No.”
Song A-rin shook her head.
“Why would I entrust my life to you?”
Then she stepped onto the path to the right.
“I am not entrusting my life to you. I trust your ability.”
Jang Chae-yeon also walked down the path to the right and smiled softly.
“If you’re going to die, I’ll save you. So save me when I am in danger.”
“Alright.”
I began walking in front, and the two followed behind me.
The path to the Intensive Care Unit was pitch-black.
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