Escaping the Mystery Hotel

Shortly after, a secure smartphone to contact the Administration was handed to me.

Following Grandpa’s guidance, I began operating the device, and within about five seconds, a call came in.

- Ring!

“Hello, valued customer! This is Saengsaeng Mart with our monthly discount—“

“Agent Lee Eunsol, reporting.”

- Beep!

“There was a conflict with the Being of Chaos inside the Hestbert Mansion, which delayed the report by 30 minutes. We explored the Hestbert Mansion and found a room with a TV model different from the first one as instructed. Upon investigating beyond the screen, no evidence related to the corruption of the Arizona Branch or Beatrix’s survival was found. The speculation regarding Beatrix’s corruption is unfounded.”

- Beep!

“Regular report received. Return to base.”

“That should be enough, right? I reported that all the suspicious elements the Administration wanted me to confirm were baseless.”

The faces around me finally showed some relief.

Seeing the atmosphere of relief from narrowly escaping a crisis, I added a remark, “You heard my report, right? And the order to return? I should get going. So—“

Patrick smirked and gestured to his subordinate.

“Thank you. We’ll meet again soon, in a ‘new form’.”

As the soldier next to him immediately injected something into me, I felt a sharp sting, and my consciousness began to fade.

As expected, they have no intention of letting me go.

But of course, that’s not a problem.

I have no intention of leaving anyway!

Why would I leave the place I struggled to enter so quickly?

***- Ding! Ding! Ding!

“Ugh, so noisy!”

I regained consciousness.

I woke up inside a translucent box in a white space.

The Chat Window was flashing non-stop.

Lee Eunsol: Awake.

“…”

Lee Eunsol: Grandpa?

Kim Mooksung: I’m glad you woke up before I died. It’s a hell of a situation outside. I made some moves, so make sure you wear the Protective Suit before going out. You’re a smart kid, so you’ll figure it out. I’ll rest now.

It wasn’t like him—the sentence was long and it had a slightly emotional tone.

Is this how everyone changes when facing death, even if they believe they’ll resurrect afterward?

After that, Grandpa’s responses ceased.

As he mentioned earlier, there was the Protective Suit next to the box.

What on earth did Grandpa say to make the enemies leave the Protective Suit next to me and then leave?

Did he tell them it would explode if they kept it apart from a living agent for too long?

I was considering how to get out of the box when it opened by itself.

As soon as I stepped out, I saw someone crawling on the ground, foaming at the mouth.

“Ugh, urgh!”

The man was dragging himself across the floor with all his might, but he died before he could even get close to me.

Seeing that scene, I had a sneaking suspicion about what was going on.

I immediately removed the helmet from the Protective Suit next to the box.

…The inside was utterly horrific, as Seungyub had been dead for quite some time.

I’m supposed to be from a well-off family, you know! Do I really have to wear this?

But seeing the man who had just died coughing up blood, determination surged within me.

I quickly removed Seungyub’s corpse and climbed into the Protective Suit.

Grandpa’s last words were, “It’s a hell of a situation outside.”

I could guess what was going on. I recalled the contents of the regular report I made to the Administration before losing consciousness.

“Upon investigating beyond the screen, no evidence related to the corruption of the Arizona Branch or Beatrix’s survival was found.”

Now, let’s think from the Administration’s perspective.

The terms like the Arizona Branch, corruption, and Beatrix I mentioned would have been completely unexpected to the Administration.

The Administration probably didn’t know anything, and they thought Hestbert Mansion was just one of the many Chaotic Disasters happening on Earth.

If an agent suddenly reports such terms from that place, what would the Administration think?

The Administration was an organization that “gets the picture” quickly.

They must have realized the situation right away.

They would have grasped the general nature of Hestbert Mansion.

So, what will the Administration do?

With considerable curiosity, I stepped outside.

***Does hell exist?

I pondered this as I wandered through the rapidly transforming hell once known as the research lab of headquarters.

Patrick clearly knew nothing about the full extent of the Administration’s power.

They might not have known what secrets were hidden in their facility, but his arrogant laughter came with a steep price.

The Administration’s response was highly efficient.

I had no idea where their headquarters were located.

But they must have hidden it well, meaning the Administration was unlikely to locate it immediately.

If that was the case, there was no way to infiltrate the headquarters except through the entrance that had already been revealed—the TV screen somewhere in Hestbert Mansion.

In this situation, heavy weaponry, helicopters, and tanks couldn’t even get through the mansion, so they couldn’t be deployed.

And if Patrick wasn’t entirely bluffing, destroying this place might have been burdensome for the Administration too.

A large-scale deployment of special forces?

That was possible, but given the number of monsters in the mansion, significant casualties would be unavoidable.

Breaking into the facility with loud equipment would be difficult, destroying it might be burdensome, and special forces would likely suffer heavy casualties.

In this complex and difficult situation, the Administration’s most efficient solution was right in front of me.

Countless drones equipped with biochemical weapons had entered en masse, turning the headquarters into a living hell.

Drones flew around, installing silver boxes all over the research lab.

From these boxes, a hazy white gas was released, exterminating all life forms within the headquarters.

Fortunately, the Hotel’s special Protective Suit, boasting of being blade, fire, and waterproof, effortlessly withstood the biochemical weapons, be it a deadly virus or toxic gas.

***“This facility is disgustingly large.”

It was challenging to get my bearings, and there were many places I couldn’t access as an outsider.

Most of the people were dead from the biochemical weapons, but the security system was still operational.

How am I faring in this situation?

Are my comrades still alive? It doesn’t seem likely.

If they had killed Beatrix, wouldn’t the Cursed Room have already disappeared?

Moreover, Seungyub, who went with the other group to confront Beatrix, came back dead.

I had an idea of where to go next.

The bodies scattered across the research lab all pointed in one direction as if they were heading somewhere before dying.

They were probably trying to reach a passage that connected to the outside.

But I don’t plan to escape just yet.

It’s clear that this place holds countless secrets, including the location of Kain, Perro, and many more!

The Administration’s biochemical weapon had already wiped out those who would hinder my exploration.

In this case…

“This is the perfect condition for exploring.”

The only risk factor was Beatrix returning to headquarters.

Inside the Protective Suit, I clenched the item Seungyub had tightly held until his dying breath.

The “Escape Button”.

I’ll trust this and continue exploring.

***The first place I found was the research wing.

It wasn’t hard to locate lab 2-9, where Perro was supposedly kept.

“The door’s locked?”

I thought about it briefly but quickly found a solution.

Normally, I wouldn’t be able to break in, but now I was wearing the Protective Suit!

The suit’s internal system provided me with superhuman strength that would be impossible for an ordinary human.

- Bang! Bang!

After about five body slams, the door finally gave way.

- Screech!

“Were you doing okay?”

The grotesque bird I was beginning to find oddly cute greeted me.

He was already out? What on earth?

I looked around and roughly understood the situation.

Perro was probably kept in the transparent box in the middle of the room.

That box must have been perfectly sealed off from the outside world.

Looking at it differently, it could serve as a survival chamber in a situation where biochemical weapons filled the surroundings.

I suspect one of the researchers tried to survive by releasing Perro and getting into the box.

Come to think of it, when I woke up, the box I was in opened by itself, just like this.

Back then, a researcher likely tried to get into the box I was in by opening it themselves.

Of course, Perro killed all the researchers as soon as he got out.

The researchers must have known the risk but took the gamble anyway.

Well, that’s none of my concern.

- Piyoo!

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s get out of here. And you need to clean your beak. Having a human finger stuck in it isn’t exactly a good look.”

As I walked out of the research wing with Perro, a notification appeared.

The Grotesque Parrot Unsealed!

“…Were you under a seal too?”

***After wandering around the headquarters for quite a while, I eventually found a suitable place.

“Alright, Perro. It’s your turn.”

- Piyooo!

“Don’t you “Piyooo” me mister; just transform and open the door. Do I need to body slam it again?”

- Kyuu?

“If you try to act cute one more time, I might only feed you acorns instead of sunflower seeds for a month. I know you understand me, so get moving.”

After a lot of reluctance, Perro, who had been lazing around, finally transformed and tore down the door.

You haven’t done anything yet, so why are you so lazy?

You follow Songee’s words to a T but ignore mine, even though I’m the one feeding you?

Have I been giving you too many sunflower seeds lately?

Inside the office, I found Patrick’s corpse.

It looked like he had tried to survive until the very end, as there were traces of him stuffing tissue or paper scraps into the door cracks.

Unfortunately, this was nowhere near enough to block the Administration’s biochemical weapons from seeping in.

In retrospect, I was pretty lucky. If I had been locked in an ordinary room with just the door closed, I’d be dead by now.

It seemed they locked me in a special box designed to contain Being of Chaos to prevent my escape, which ironically saved my life.

“…”

I spent quite a while going through the documents scattered around the office, including Patrick’s journal.

“This is incredible. Did all this really happen in the real world? What do you think, Perro?”

- Kyuu?

“One month without sunflower seeds.”

- Piyooo???

I think I’ve roughly figured out the scenario of Room 201.

I also have an inkling of how to solve it. The Cursed Rooms are always like this.

At first, everything is a confusing mess, as if we were wandering through a thick fog…

But once you know the solution, it’s surprisingly straightforward.

I also figured out where Kain is.

However, I don’t think I can break his seal this time.

With my current abilities, I can’t reach him.

It’s time to leave.

I’ve discovered the solution to Room 201.

***I exited the office and followed the directions indicated by the bodies.

“…”

It should be around here.

I was almost there, but there weren’t any bodies nearby, so I couldn’t pinpoint the exact location.

Maybe the people who made it this far managed to escape.

- Boom!

“Eh?”

The facility began to shake!

There were loud noises of rooms exploding and collapsing.

I have a bad feeling! A really bad feeling!

I urgently opened all the doors and passages around me.

“Where is it? Where the heck is it?”

[The second door on the left.]

“Thank you! I won’t forget this.”

[You’re welcome.]

I heaved a sigh of relief at the sudden help and opened the second door on the left—

“…”

Turning back, I saw a presence more terrifying than the Grim Reaper!

[You’ve ruined everything.]

The figure looked like a young girl, but I couldn’t help but speak politely.

“That… It wasn’t me, honestly?”

[You worthless insect—]

I turned and ran frantically!

Please save me!

- Thud!

Something kicked me with tremendous force, sending me flying nearly 10 meters.

“Perro!”

From the heavens descended an angel, the great parrot blessed by the golden balloon of the gods, Perro!

Perro kicked me towards the exit and charged at Beatrix!

There’s no time to look back. Not anymore!

I just ran like mad, again and again.

As I threw myself through the door—an incredible sight unfolded before my eyes.

An army of helicopters and robots marched towards the headquarters.

It was as if they were about to level an entire city!

Is this the force the Administration has prepared to take down Beatrix?

“…”

With that, the second attempt was over.

You have escaped!