Escaping the Mystery Hotel - Chapter 572
Only Krnovel
EP.572 Episode 572 – The Management Bureau is an Elephant (2)
Episode 572 – The Management Bureau is an Elephant (2)
– Cha Jin-cheol
Kim Ji-ho approached the residence of Jang Seo-jin, the youngest child of Chairman Jang Cheol-min.
“It smells. Can you feel it?”
“Let’s go in.”
I didn’t feel it.
Kim Ji-ho often senses signs of chaos and corruption through his sense of smell, but he himself does not know the source of his ability, let alone when he acquired it.
Since there were many people like this among the agents, my ‘super strength’ was able to be passed over as if it were nothing serious.
— Squeak!
It’s a really large space for a room.
The rich kids on TV often use phrases like “my room’s swimming pool” and “my room’s living room” to make the common people grab the back of their necks. This is exactly the kind of place it is.
Around him were various knives that seemed to be used for carving, chunks of pure white stone, sticky dirt, and a number of dyes of unknown type.
Jang Seo-jin, the youngest son of Taesung Group Chairman Jang Min-cheol.
I heard he is famous as a genius sculptor, so it looks like he has a studio for sculptures.
In the center of the workshop was a young man of slim build.
I heard you’re over 30, but judging by your appearance, you look like you’re in your early 20s.
He spoke without even looking at us, the intruders.
“Would you please wait over there? I’m busy working on it right now.”
This time, I stepped forward.
“Jang Seo-jin, stop talking nonsense and come out.”
“I know you came here because of the work. Wouldn’t it be beneficial for the management office if there were one more finished product?”
A voice that is incredibly calm.
“It won’t be too late to finish it after the investigation at headquarters. I hope you listen when I have something nice to say.”
Chairman Jang Min-cheol and his wife outside were so tense that their eyes were bloodshot, but the person who was actually arrested looked calm.
Jang Seo-jin knows.
The fact that the Administration covets his abilities and would not kill him carelessly.
It’s not like he’s completely clueless.
“Is it because you work physically? It’s a little stuffy.”
“…”
The subtle, irritating tone of voice was annoying.
“I’m sorry, but inspiration is a blurry afterimage. When you get dragged in and questioned, inspiration also becomes blurred -”
— Bang!
Before Jang Seo-jin could finish speaking, the sculpture on the table exploded with the sound of a gunshot.
Shooting out of the blue?
We haven’t even exchanged a few words yet?
Kim Ji-ho, this guy is really nervous today.
“Oh my! The person behind you has a short temper.”
“Hey, we don’t have time either, so just go with it -”
— Crack!
The sound of stones crumbling.
The sound of frozen joints moving.
Vibrations and noises felt from all directions.
“… It would be difficult if you do this here.”
The moment Jang Seo-jin made a bewildered expression, a sculpture on one side of the studio began to exude a dynamic force like a living human being.
Creating ‘living sculptures’.
This is Jang Seo-jin’s ability!
“Oh my god!”
“… Senior Kim.”
How could someone who knows how to create living sculptures not care about his own safety?
Of course, I can have one bodyguard around me.
So, I was just trying to take her in a good way.
“Just Ao! Why don’t you just break it!”
Jang Seo-jin smirked and retorted to Kim Ji-ho’s irritated words.
“Isn’t this piece also the ‘property’ that the management bureau coveted?”
“Shut up, you punk.”
Kim Ji-ho, who ran out, was holding a thick weapon in his hand that was different from the pistol he usually liked.
If you expected a piece of security, it would be natural to prepare for a situation where you would be fighting that piece.
— Boom! Woof! Bang! Bam! Bam!
The moment the thick bullets fired like lightning struck one after another, there was a loud cracking sound and the guard piece was shattered in an instant.
“Wow…! That’s some incredible firepower. Does the management office have something like that?”
“Is this your first time seeing a grenade launcher? You must have thrown grenades in the military -”
“I never went to the military.”
“…”
“Because you’re an American citizen. Did you go to active duty, sir? Oh, I see! You must have had a hard time!”
Ah, why does this kid want to hit me like this?
Why did you say that from the beginning, you sounded like you were in the military!
When I frowned slightly, Jang Seo-jin smiled brightly.
“Didn’t your piece hurt several people?”
“I know.”
“No guilt?”
“Agent, if someone kills someone with a kitchen knife, is it the fault of the person selling the knife?”
“A kitchen knife doesn’t have an ego like yours does.”
“I am saying that I never ordered the murder.”
“…”
Should I hit you on the back of the head?
“It’s scary. I can bear the pain, but if I get hit by that stupidly big hand, I feel like my spirit will disappear.”
Before leaving, Kim Ji-ho put the restraint equipment he brought from headquarters on Jang Seo-jin.
A set of handcuffs, a straitjacket, and a mask covered in strange drawings and letters.
This is a special product from the Management Bureau that I’ve seen several times, and it is said to have quite a strong chaos suppression effect.
According to what I personally experienced, it wasn’t good enough for the hotel attendees.
It was just that my body felt heavy.
“Tea junior. Now that you’re all dressed up, let’s go!”
*
About 5 minutes after departure?
As I was concentrating on driving, Jang Seo-jin and Kim Ji-ho started talking behind me.
“Are you going to headquarters?”
“okay.”
“What happens if I go?”
“I must atone.”
“So, what you mean by atonement is, from now on, you want me to make a piece for you?”
“I know right.”
“Can I ask you another question?”
“…ask.”
Headquarters instructed that they bring him in quietly and without any conflict if possible.
I plan on using that guy’s abilities in the future, but I thought it would be difficult if I had too much antipathy.
For that matter, Kim Ji-ho fired quite a few shots, but let’s understand it as an attempt to scare us.
If you look at Jang Seo-jin’s attitude, it doesn’t seem like she’s scared, and it’s questionable whether Kim Ji-ho made that kind of calculation when he moved.
“There are a lot of remote-controlled drones in the management office, right? I’ve seen them on TV many times.”
“Not a lot.”
“If there’s something my piece can do, why don’t I just let the drone do it?”
“…”
This is something that ordinary people might question.
Why would an organization overflowing with remote-controlled drones need a ‘living piece’?
Furthermore, why do we insist on putting people into dangerous work?
“First, the drone’s performance is not as good as you think.”
The 201st Management Office used drones to punish rebels.
The 202nd management office was able to punish even the poorly revived Hae-shin with the ‘Terminator’.
The real administration was technically inferior to the above administration.
For example, the combat time of mass-produced combat drones is said to be less than one hour.
The biggest reason is said to be a problem with battery technology, but let’s stop here.
The explanation that followed was one I couldn’t understand because I don’t have any engineering background.
“Any other reasons?”
“… drones have no spirituality.”
“yes?”
Drones have no soul.
Drones have no life.
There is no ‘something’ on the other side of chaos in drones.
To some this may sound like a pipe dream, but to the administration this is a very practical point.
“Let’s stop here. You’ll learn as you work at headquarters.”
Also, this is one of the pieces of information that is controlled for the general public.
“Oh, I think I know one thing without you explaining it further.”
“Okay, so be quiet -”
“So, doesn’t that mean that we have to sacrifice a ‘real person’ and not a robot?”
“…I told you to be quiet.”
I felt a hint of bewilderment at Kim Ji-ho’s words.
Because the opponent hit the ‘essence of the problem’ exactly.
I guess I have to take care of the ‘senior’ who is suffering because of this arrogant customer.
Above all, considering our real purpose, this conversation flow is undesirable.
“Okay, okay! Let’s both be quiet so as not to disturb the driver.”
“It’s touching. As expected, we, humans, are the most precious beings in the world?”
“Jang Seo-jin, you may not know this, but I’m a terrible driver. So just shut up.”
One fact that might surprise some people.
The administration has been working for many years to reduce casualties.
Part of the effort is to minimize the number of people exposed to the hideous chaos entity containment process and to deploy advanced robots and drones wherever possible.
In the process, the administration realized:
Some things must be solved by people.
Some things must end when a person dies.
*
– Kim Ari
After receiving a text message about my promotion in the morning, I was guided by the Korean branch manager and arrived in the middle of the Australian desert out of the blue.
Inside the tower-like structure was an elevator.
“…”
Is that right?
If you press a weird button, you’ll suddenly be pushed into lava?
No, isn’t that too delusional?
If the administration wanted to purge me, they wouldn’t have gone through such a complicated process –
“ah.”
My thoughts have been going back to the situation where the ‘Management Bureau is purging me’.
In the past, I would never have even thought about this.
“…”
Being suspicious is because you are not honest with yourself.
Because the administration thinks they have a reason to purge me.
A few choices made after returning to reality.
At the moment of choice, was I an agent of the Administration or part of a hotel party?
I don’t know.
This doubt and confusion became the seed that gave rise to a feeling of unease in my heart.
The fear that the administration might kill me.
— Ding!
Suddenly the elevator door opened.
Inside, a man with his hood pulled over his head was seen.
“Hey, what are you doing instead of coming in?”
“…”
“I’ve been waiting for you, Agent Ari.”
I knew it the moment I saw it.
This person is a member of ‘The Silent Ones’.
So, is he a past hotel participant?
“Are you coming in soon?”
“sorry.”
“Speak comfortably. We are equals from the moment you receive the text.”
“okay.”
The corners of the man’s mouth slightly rose, as if he was satisfied with the answer.
It wasn’t very pleasant, as it felt like I was being praised by my grandfather.
As I looked inside the elevator, my eyebrows rose without me realizing it.
“How do you feel about it?”
“… This is the first time I’ve seen this interior design.”
“What’s unusual?”
“The shape of the numbers is a bit strange, and the structure of the instrument panel is also unique.”
“Why do you think so?”
“I’m not really good at answering questions. I’ve done this a lot in hotels.”
“Haha! I understand that feeling. The hotel guys are a bit unfriendly, you know.”
“…”
I guessed that it could be, but this guy is also a former participant.
“Well, the answer is simple. This structure is not of this world.”
“…”
I was speechless for a moment.
This structure wasn’t created in this loop?
Made in a past loop?
This means that the structure can withstand the world resetting due to the loop!
“Just as there are people who can endure the end, there are also facilities that can endure the end. Don’t you know that?”
“… I know that several other worlds are used for storage purposes.”
“It’s similar. It’s not another world, though.”
“…”
— Ding!
An unknown number was pressed.
“It takes about an hour to get to your destination, so eat with peace of mind.”
“One hour?”
What the hell kind of elevator moves for an hour?
“How far is the destination?”
“It’s not because it’s far, it’s because it’s slow.”
“what?”
“The elevator is already moving.”
“…”
It was really slow.
If you hit it at speed, it’s slower than a person walking.
“Why is it so slow?”
“There are reports that you have some kind of clairvoyant power.”
“…”
Clairvoyance?
It seems to be referring to the spatial perception ability that is developed through learning isomorphic polyhedra.
I’m talking about the ability that was used to send the labyrinth to the exact location on the 207th lunar base, but it’s completely different from clairvoyance.
But, from the outside, it may look like clairvoyance.
“however?”
“Now, feel the outside. If you want, I can make the outer wall transparent, but that’s too dangerous.”
“… I asked why the elevator was moving slowly.”
“I answered that question too.”
A moment of silence.
I tried to concentrate my mind and feel the space outside the elevator as the other person said.
Then I felt a strange wall.
“what’s this?”
“What do you feel?”
“What a huge wall -”
“Feel it carefully. It’s not a wall. It’s not a straight line, it’s a curve?”
“Curved?”
“It seems like you didn’t feel the bend because it was so big, so focus more.”
“…”
When I heard that and focused, I could really feel the curve.
A sphere, a round sphere.
The sphere was so large that at first I didn’t feel that it was curved, it felt like a straight wall.
and –
“…”
My breath stopped.
“Really. Because it’s safe.”
“…”
“This structure was built a very long time ago.”
“…”
“We… are a product of a time when we were much greater than we are now. We can never reproduce it.”