Escaping the Mystery Hotel - Chapter 682
Only Krnovel
EP.682 Episode 682 – Room 301, The Cursed Room – ‘The Origin of Species’ (26)
Episode 682 – Room 301, The Cursed Room – ‘The Origin of the Species’ (26)
– Yoo Song-i
— Ding dong daeng~!
The first period language class started with a loud bell ringing.
I stare ahead with a soulless expression, thinking back to last night.
“…”
After her parents were taken over by the Iss race, her home was transformed into a terrifying land of invasion.
The surprising thing is that I wasn’t the only one who felt uncomfortable with my parents!
Not only Happy and other dogs, but even parrots and cats were very wary of their parents.
Why, some say that when a dog stares into space alone, it’s like seeing a ghost.
Stories of cats being able to see the dead have been around since ancient Egypt.
If we think about it scientifically, animals may have sensed changes that humans could not sense, thanks to their uniquely keen senses.
What was more surprising than the wariness shown by the pets in the house was what happened to me afterward.
Because memories that had been buried in oblivion began to come back to life like illusions!
“Hmm…”
I saw my past self in the welcome.
Long ago, Songi felt puzzled when she saw Happy looking scared, so she held Happy in her arms and asked her father to check on her condition.
Of course, Happy, who had become close to her father, started having fits of rage and made a mess of the house.
In the past, the father, no, the Iss race treated Happy very clumsily.
It was as if he had taken over his father’s body and read the veterinarian’s ‘memories’, but he had not yet become accustomed to the natural behaviors that a veterinarian should perform.
At the time, I wondered, ‘Why is Dad treating Happy so awkwardly?’
That is, in the past, Songi felt uncomfortable seeing the wariness of her pets and her father’s awkwardness in dealing with them.
At this exact moment, my memory suddenly disappeared.
therefore –
—Whew!
Again the teacher threw chalk at me.
“ah.”
“What the heck! Yoo Song-i, aren’t you paying attention in class?”
“sorry.”
“And what just happened? Did you dodge?”
“… Instinctively, stop.”
The teacher looks dumbfounded and other students giggle nearby.
Wouldn’t you have been quite embarrassed in the past?
It’s just annoying now.
If it weren’t for Plan B, which was to recreate my past life, I wouldn’t have even gone to school.
*
At lunchtime, I met Ari on the rooftop.
“what do you think about it?”
Ari shrugged and answered.
“Is Plan B going smoothly?”
“Not that!”
“That’s right. I started seeing past memories as some kind of illusion. In reality, Ga-in had a similar experience. I thought it was possible thanks to insight, but I guess not.”
“Didn’t Gain oppa say that back then? That it was different from the usual insight.”
“That’s right. It seems like something similar is happening to you too. And…”
“and?”
“If what you say is true, then we all seem to have forgotten our memories of the wish. Did the hotel make us forget?”
“… maybe.”
“Why did you make me forget?”
“Uh – so -”
“Oh, okay. I’ll take care of these worries, so you should just focus on your wish.”
This is the attitude that Grandpa and Ari have consistently shown since Plan B began.
Consideration to ensure that I don’t have to worry about anything other than my wishes.
To encourage participants to stop acting like they are participants and immerse themselves in the role of ‘high school girl Yoo Song-i’.
Ari, who had been nodding her head, opened her mouth again.
“Okay, is there anything you want to say?”
“… The more I recall past memories, the more I think about it.”
“What is it?”
“Maybe I noticed it before I came to the hotel?”
This is what I’ve been thinking about all night.
Before coming to the hotel, perhaps my past self had vaguely noticed something strange happening to my parents?
Ari tilted her head and said.
“You said yesterday that normal humans wouldn’t be able to see through the camouflage of the Iss race?”
“That’s what normal people are like.”
“what?”
I was a little embarrassed to say the following words myself.
“That, that’s right! Maybe I’m not ordinary.”
“…”
“You, you weren’t an agent of the administration like me -”
“That makes sense.”
Surprisingly, Ari reacted positively.
“As hotel participants, we are far from ordinary. Perhaps, even before becoming participants, we all had at least a modicum of extraordinaryness.”
“…”
“Some evidence comes to mind.”
“reason?”
“First, look at that.”
Ari reached out and pointed to the laser turret on the other side of the roof.
“A laser turret installed on the roof of an ordinary high school. It’s a security system to keep out predatory pigeons or anisotropic translucent wasps.”
“… This is the first time I’ve heard of something called anisotropy.”
“This is the world you lived in. A world where chaos disasters and civilian-level responses to them were active. In other words, the past you were someone who had at least a minimal amount of common sense about chaos disasters.”
“I guess so?”
“You probably wouldn’t have known the specific concept of the race of Iss. However, you might have an idea that your parents were possessed by an unknown evil spirit.”
301, or a story that takes into account the characteristics of the world I lived in in the past.
‘Yoo Song-i’ was a person who had at least a minimal amount of common sense about chaos disasters before coming to the hotel.
So, if you felt uneasy with your parents, you may have suspected that it was the work of an evil spirit.
Ari continued speaking.
“The story about animals was interesting. It was also a compelling story.”
“persuasive power?”
“No matter how great the Yith race is, think about it. To them, dogs and cats are just tiny creatures from an alien planet.”
“yes.”
“They may have studied the behavior of humans, who are the targets of their invasion, but have they acquired the behavior patterns of dogs, cats, or parrots?”
“… I don’t think so.”
The opponent is an alien race that transcends humans, but that doesn’t mean they are some kind of omnipotent god.
“The target of the body-snatching is a veterinarian, and there are many pets at home? Your daughter is used to catching the reactions of animals? This is not a normal situation. Even if he is a thorough aggressor, there may be a loophole in his actions. If you were familiar with animals since childhood, you might be able to catch that loophole.”
“…”
“Like you now, you may not have noticed it immediately when you first saw it, with the power of blessing and inheritance. However, after observing it for several days or weeks, your suspicions may have grown.”
Ariga, who had been explaining everything up to this point, summarized the situation briefly.
“In short, before coming to the hotel, Songi realized that her parents’ bodies had been taken over by an unknown entity. Is that right?”
“huh.”
“So, what happens next? Have you thought of the next development?”
“…”
I just stare at the sky and remain silent.
Ari looked at me for a moment as if to say, ‘What’s wrong with him?’, but soon realized what I was trying to say.
“oh.”
“…”
“No way? No way? That’s not what I thought, is it?”
“…”
“Did you really recall memories from the past?”
“No. The only part I remembered was the part I mentioned earlier. The part where Happy barked at Dad and Dad reacted awkwardly.”
Therefore, the ‘next development’ is not a conclusion reached by recalling past memories.
It’s just a natural flow that I thought about logically.
Ari couldn’t hold it in any longer and said.
“Are you planning on reporting to the management?”
“Is it weird?”
“…”
“Think about it. In the past, I was a pure and cute teenage girl. Then one day, I suddenly realized that my parents had been possessed by an evil spirit.”
“…”
“What is the most natural thing I can do here? Report to the management office. If a crime occurs, report it to the police. If a disaster occurs, report it to the management office. That’s common sense…”
Ari just gaped in bewilderment and finally managed to whisper in my ear.
“But now you know that reporting to the Administration Bureau is a trap. The lower levels of the Administration Bureau have long been invaded by the Iss race.”
“But, my past self wouldn’t have known that fact.”
Reporting to the management is a trap.
This fact was revealed by Eunsol during the first attempt.
Even though I know it’s a trap, should I report it to the authorities and say, “I think my parents have been possessed by a ghost!”?
I just couldn’t come to a conclusion.
At that moment, Ari took out her cell phone and looked up at the sky like me.
As if – asking a question to someone far away beyond that blue sky!
“Are you watching? If Songi picks up the phone, I’ll report her to the management office. There’s still a lot of time left until lunchtime, so think about it carefully. I’ll act in 20 minutes.”
*
“User: Han Ga-in (Jihye)
Date: 11th day
Current Location: Tier 3, Observatory – 301
Wise Man’s Advice: 3”
– Han Ga-in
“ah.”
Suddenly, an arrow of choice flew at me.
While they were panicking, Ari and Songi also began to quietly look up at the sky.
It was embarrassing to see him ask me questions so openly, but on the other hand, I understood.
No matter what, my colleagues sometimes trust my judgment more than their own.
“…Just wait a minute.”
In an instant, both positive and negative arguments came to mind.
Let’s start with the positive side.
First, according to what the manager revealed, the first wish is deeply connected to each room on the third floor.
Second, after following her past actions, Songi actually began to regain memories of the wishes she had forgotten.
Third, if Songi had noticed something strange about her parents in the past, there is a more than 99% chance that she would have reported it to the management office.
In short, in order to stick to Plan B, which is to ‘recreate past events and recall your first wish,’ Songi must report to the management office.
The basis for the negative argument is simple and clear.
Since the lower levels of the Administration are contaminated by the Iss race, reporting is a trap.
What if I report it?
Rather than the agents of the Management Bureau coming to rescue Songi’s parents, it seems like the Iss race will come and try to kill Songi.
As I took my eyes off the telescope for a moment and pondered, Sang-Hyeon Hyung responded.
“Mr. Gain, what’s going on?”
When I told him the situation, he summarized it.
“The question is whether you will go into the obvious bad ending in order to realize your first wish.”
“Yes.”
“In fact, in exchange for giving up half of the second solution, Songi will realize her first wish.”
“I hope you become aware of it.”
“I have two thoughts.”
“I will listen.”
“First of all, honestly, isn’t it already difficult to solve the second time?”
“…”
“I’ve already been mentally prepared to enter the post-apocalyptic world for a long time. When I think about it this way, giving up on the second solution isn’t such a big price to pay. Rather, the realization of a wish may be more valuable.”
“…”
“The agent used up his One More Chance. We will have to see the price of the reversal one by one. We paid a large amount of money, but it is difficult to solve the room. If it is difficult to solve, we should obtain valuable information.”
It seems like Sang-Hyeon has already made up his mind.
Even if the second resolution party is blown up due to Songi’s choice this time, I hope that she will realize her first wish.
“What is your second thought?”
My brother’s next words were quite meaningful.
“…Reasonably speaking, the past Ms. Song would have been reported to the management office.”
“I guess so.”
“If you report it, it’s a bad ending.”
“I guess so.”
“Then, the past Songi Yang must have reported it and suffered a terrible thing.”
“…”
“I’m becoming more and more curious. What on earth happened to Songi Yang in the past… Maybe, I want to see what happens next.”
Just before making a decision, I wrote down some final advice just in case.
“Advice: 3 -> 0”
‘Is it right for Songi to report to the management office now?’
The answer was simple and clear.
“High risk, high return”
*
– Yoo Song-i
20 minutes later.
I reached out to the phone as slowly as I could, so that Gain Oppa could cause a poltergeist if he wanted to.
It stretched so slowly that Ari, who was next to him, was dumbfounded.
“What are you doing? Are you scared?”
“…”
“You spent the whole night thinking about it and came to a conclusion, but now that you’re about to do it, you’re worried?”
“of course.”
“Well, don’t worry too much.”
“…”
“At best, what more can I do than die to the Iss race?”
“Be quiet.”
The poltergeist didn’t wake up until I picked up my phone.
It seems that Gain oppa gave her the advice to ‘try it’.
“Oh, just in case!”
“huh?”
“I don’t think oppa missed this situation because he was looking after Eunsol unnie instead of me -”
“Stop talking nonsense and report it. I told you that I check here and there periodically. There’s no way I’d be looking at Eunsol for over 20 minutes.”
“What is Eunsol unnie’s situation right now? She must be thinking about something too, right?”
“maybe.”
Finally, I dialed the number to report to the management and pressed the call button.
The moment you naturally hear a voice saying, “This is the Disaster Reporting Center.”
“…ah.”
I can hear it. I can hear it!
Old memories that had been dormant in oblivion rose to the surface like a hazy vision or hallucination!
— This is the Disaster Reporting Center.
— Ah, hello! My name is Yoo Song, and I’m a second-year student at XX High School. These days, I, I, so…
My mouth started moving without me knowing.
“Oh, hello! My name is Yoo Song, and I’m a second-year student at XX High School. I, I, these days, well, so…”
A trembling voice, a stammering speech.
The speech was exactly like that of a terrified teenage girl.
—Miss Songi, please speak calmly.
— Sorry, sorry! Something strange has been happening at home lately…
The words I heard from the other end of the phone were exactly as I remembered.
My answer was also the same as my past answer.
“I’m sorry! Something strange has been happening at home lately…”
So, I went back to being a frightened and weak girl and told her about the strange things that had happened at home for a long time.
— Bam!
As I closed my phone with trembling hands, Ari said with a worried expression.
“I guess you guessed it.”
“…”
“The Administration, no, the Iss race might try to kill you from now on.”
“…”
“Can I help you?”
“it’s okay.”
“but -”
“I wouldn’t have had a helper like you in the past. Just leave me alone.”
“…”
“Ariya, just leave me alone. Just observe from afar.”
She nodded with a dark expression and left.
“…”
As I sat alone on the school rooftop, slowly recalling the events of a little while ago, a vague vision flashed through my mind once again.
It must be something I experienced a long time ago.
I was kneeling before someone, looking at something, desperately wishing for something.
‘If there is a God in this world. Please, grant my wish.’
Stop here.
Not yet, not yet enough.
There’s still a bit of work to be done before I can fully recall my wish.
…
Suddenly, I realized something terrifying about myself in that vague illusion.
“…”
When I first made my wish…
It wasn’t human.