Chapter 102
Monday morning.
As soon as I opened my eyes, I re-checked my weekly schedule.
[The medical officer’s Monday schedule was as follows:]
▸ Monday
☐ Organize and inventory medications.
☐ Examine 6 or more patients during face-to-face consultations with human prisoners.
☐ Make rounds in Sector X.
☐ Check the CCTV in the infirmary.
It looked simple at a glance, but even working all day wouldn’t be enough time.
First of all, inventorying the medications was not easy.
This was because hundreds of different drugs were mixed together hazardly.
When I first organized them during the game, there were times when the day ended just from sorting them.
’On the first day, I failed the mission and was dragged away by the guards to be beaten.’
Fortunately, the medication inventory was always the same, so once I memorized it, things became easier.
If it was identical to the game, I should be able to resolve it within 30 minutes.
I decided to hurry to the infirmary first.
Since the consultations for human prisoners started at 9:00 AM, I had to get to the infirmary before then.
’I also need to find something to eat.’
There was a cafeteria, but if I went there to eat without reading the room in the beginning, I’d be beaten by the guards immediately.
I had to sneakily procure food while avoiding the guards’ eyes, which was no easy task.
Looking in the mirror, I neatly put on my doctor’s gown.
Originally, the prison’s medical officers mainly wore scrubs, but in The Cell X, a white gown was provided.
In a prison that was entirely pitch-black, being the only one in a white gown made me stand out even more.
’I heard that white animals in the wild are more visible and thus more prone to be attacked.’
Recalling information I’d seen in animal shorts, I pondered the correlation between the doctor’s gown and harassment, fiddling with the fabric before stepping out of my quarters.
The infirmary, the primary workspace for the medical officer, was located at the outermost edge of the prisoner block.
"Roasted Chestnut, does a problem arise if you do not carry out your fixed daily schedule?"
I answered the slime guard’s question sincerely.
*Yes. If I fail a mission, the guards harass me."
"Oh dear.... Must I harass you as well, Roasted Chestnut?"
If a slime guard were to exercise violence, how would they do it?
Hitting with a squishy body, pressing down with all their might, rubbing frantically..
None of that sounded too bad.
I replied while indulging in the vain fantasy that all the guards would tum into soft slimes.
"Unless you are performing your duties as a guard, there is no need for you to do so."
"That is a relief."
To begin with, the act of commuting to the infirmary with me was already far removed from any guard’s duty.
Upon arriving at the infirmary, I took a look around the interior.
Fitting for a prison that held heinous criminals, the atmosphere of the infirmary was extremely bleak and gloomy.
Most of the fixtures were made of stainless steel that emitted a dull luster, giving off a cold and suffocating feeling.
At a glance, one might believe it was an anatomy lab rather than an infirmary.
The small window had dense iron bars, making it difficult to see outside.
The space wasn’t large, so there was only one examination bed, and the thick restraint belts installed on the bed were the first thing that caught my eye.
The bed legs were bolted firmly to the floor, a structure that wouldn’t budge even if several grown men hung from it.
I looked up to check the ceiling.
I saw a CCTV camera mounted in the corner.
A CCTV camera that monitored every single move of the doctor and the prisoner was an essential item in the infirmary.
As someone who had been beaten senseless in the infirmary in the game after the CCTV broke, the well-being of the CCTV was more important than anything else.
’I will protect it at all costs.’
Hardening my resolve, I stepped up on a chair to check the CCTV.
The light indicating it was operational was on, and nothing was broken.
After confirming it was intact, I organized the medication storage.
Thanks to it being identical to the game, the organization was smooth.
After neatly arranging the last medicine bottle, I checked the weekly schedule.
A checkmark and a short note had been added to the completed missions.
▸ Monday
☑︎ Organize and inventory medications. Keep the key.
☐ Examine 6 or more patients during face-to-face consultations with human prisoners.
☐ Make rounds in Sector X.
☑︎ Check the CCTV in the infirmary. Must be working.
These were notes that revealed the truth regarding the operational manual.
The start was smooth.
After finishing a quick cleaning of the infirmary, I found some expired cereal tucked away in a corner of the desk drawer.
It was emergency rations hidden by the previous medical officer.
That person must have been harassed quite a bit, as they had hidden small amounts of food throughout the infirmary.
I munched on the cereal and tried sharing some with the pudding slime, but as expected, I received a polite refusal.
’I can survive for about two days on the food the predecessor left behind.’
After gathering all the food, I checked the clock.
8:50 AM.
Soon, the human prisoners would swarm in for their consultations under the escort of the guards.
Face-to-face consultations with human prisoners were quite difficult.
I had to weed out the fake patients and find the real ones to examine six or more, but perhaps because they were heinous criminals, their temperaments were formidable.
All of them claimed to be patients, demanding prescriptions for narcotic painkillers and hospitalization to avoid forced labor.
If things didn’t go their way, they frequently flew into a rage and caused a commotion.
Although a guard was present, they were no help at all, merely snickering while watching the medical officer be bullied by the prisoners.
’It’s a relief that I know everything.’
Since I knew who the real patients were, their diagnoses, and the treatments, I should be able to mimic a doctor.
Now, the important thing was which guard would come.
It would be easiest if Kwak Han-mook came, but then I wouldn’t be able to grasp the internal situation of the prison.
I only hoped that the most indifferent guard among them would show up.
Just before 9 o’clock, I used my ability for the first time in a while to check Kwak Han-mook’s status window.
As soon as I saw his current state, I became curious about his situation.
- Current State: Irritated.
I wondered what was happening to make him feel imitated.
Meanwhile, I chuckled a bit seeing that his inventory’s acquired items were filled with food and snacks.
I also checked Je Hyeon-oh’s status window, but it didn’t appear, likely because he hadn’t entered the trial yet.
And then, it became 9 o’clock.
Bang!
The infirmary door swung open without a knock. A guard in uniform stepped in as if trampling the place with his combat boots.
My eyes widened the moment I saw the gray metal mask.
"Security Chief?"
He held a rank far too high to simply come and monitor a medical officer.
The Security Chief was the real power in the prison.
Every guard obeyed his instructions absolutely.
To the extent that they might ignore the Warden, they followed the Security Chief’s orders.
To the prisoners, the Security Chief was the most feared existence.
This was because he immediately disposed of anyone who deviated from the rules.
There were numerous prisoners he had thrown into the sea and framed as deaths by disease or accident.
Honestly, since they were all heinous criminals, it didn’t matter if they fell into the sea and became fish food.
The problem was that this violence was directed at me as well.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the ’guards’ harassment of the medical officer was a practice created by the Security Chief.
Under the Security Chief’s tacit approval and guidance, the guards had gradually begun to harass the medical officer.
By now, it had reached a point where no doctor wanted to be appointed here.
The position of the prison’s medical officer remaining vacant was exactly what the Security Chief wanted.
However, I, a new medical officer, had been appointed to the position that had been empty for a long time after the previous one.
That was why I had been relentlessly harassed even in the game.
Regardless, the Security Chief rarely took direct action.
He mostly had the guards under him do the harassing, but...
’Why is he here?’
With an anxious heart, I gave an awkward greeting.
"Hello."
"Lamb. Begin the consultations."
Instead of retuming the greeting, the Secunty Chief immediately gave an order.
His words were polite, but his attitude was practically condescending.
I began the consultations under his surveillance.
The human prisoners all had menacing appearances.
Since their hands and feet were bound, they couldn’t exert physical violence on me, but there was no problem with them shouting with ferocious faces.
"What does a little brat like you know! Hospitalize me!!"
Knowing that the guards were infinitely lenient when it came to harassing the medical officer, the prisoners expressed their anger very actively.
However, I had experienced too much to be startled by mere shouting, threats, or insults.
Just thinking about the pudding slime on my shoulder made such things feel like tiny crumbs.
In any case, regardless of the human prisoners’ values, it didn’t affect the ending.
I pretended to examine them roughly and gave perfunctory prescriptions.
"Nothing seems wrong. Drink plenty of water and get some rest."
"You quack! You didn’t even take my temperature!"
"Next patient, please."
Then, when the real patients, the ones from the previous exam questions I had memorized appeared, I pretended to examine them with all my heart and soul.
"My goodness! This is a Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection!"
"...Medical officer."
They haven’t even sat in the chair yet.
"Ah, I can tell just by looking at your face. There is a risk of contamination, so I request the patient be isolated immediately."
"Ahem, if it’s isolation, then. I suppose I could do that, Meth, what? That thing?"
Because I acted like I knew too quickly, the prisoners started to get suspicious, so I added a bit of performance, like pretending to take their temperature and placing a stethoscope on them.
I conducted face-to-face consultations until lunchtime and successfully completed the
Mission.
▸ Monday
☑︎Organize and inventory medications. Keep the key.
☑︎Examine 6 or more patients during face-to-face consultations with human prisoners. Patient 13.
☐ Make rounds in Sector X.
☑︎Check the CCTV in the infirmary. Must be working.
’Now all that’s left is the rounds in Sector X.’
Depending on the schedule, the truth and falsehood of the operational manual items changed.
Since the phrase ’Patient 13’ was added, I had to act with the understanding that there was a 13th prisoner in Sector X today.
Before starting the rounds, I paused as I was about to read the previous medical officer’s manual one last time.
The Security Chief was still in the infirmary.
’Why is he still here? Is he going to hit me?’
Just as I was tensing up, thinking he might take direct action, a ’ding’ sound suddenly rang out.
[Suspicion +5]
[Favor +2]
Once again, suspicion and favor rose simultaneously.
I figured suspicion might have gone up because I examined the patients too well.
But I couldn’t understand for the life of me why favor was increasing.
I checked the Security Chief’s current values.
[Security Chief]
- Suspicion: 13
- Favor: 3
’Suspicion is still far ahead, but...’
Even if it was within a safe range, I was anxious because I didn’t know the reason for the change in values.
Just then, the Security Chief’s radio emitted a burst of noise.
- Security Division, Sector X, Code Red.
The Security Chief responded to the stiff-voiced radio call.
"Confirmed. I’m heading there now."
He immediately looked at me and ordered.
"Lamb. Follow me."
"Pardon?"
"It seems a newly arrived prisoner in Sector X is causing trouble. Come along and check their condition."
I looked at the Security Chief with surprised eyes.
I was flustered because it was the first time a creature riot event occurred on the first day of the schedule.
Furthermore, Code Red meant that a violent incident had occurred.
I had heard it in reality not long ago, and hearing Code Red again in the trial felt strange.
"And to think a new creature prisoner has arrived..."
In the game, a creature prisoner had never been added.
I wanted to check out a creature I didn’t know.
I followed the Secunty Chief to Sector X.