Chapter 100
I roughly understood Samra’s refined explanation.
It seemed CEO Cha was throwing a proper fit.
It must have been absurd for him too.
We had reached a full agreement and even signed the contract, but then I suddenly got hit by a meteorite and entered a Tral.
It was a new Trial for which no information had been gathered.
I had entered a place where it was unknown if it was a one-star or a six-star Trial, and my very survival had become uncertain.
CEO Cha had caused a terrorist attack at the TRA Administration and paid massive damages just to get his hands on me.
And now, I might die without providing any value at all.
CEO Cha likely wanted to enter the Trial himself to pull me out.
"And while he’s at it, he probably wants to verify my utility by seeing how I tackle the Trial."
It seemed a combination of various motives led him to insist on entering the Trial I was currently in.
The TRA Administration probably didn’t want to shove Je Hyun-oh and CEO Cha who had fought and blown up a building just three days ago into the same Trial.
However, it seemed difficult to stop CEO Cha.
Since Je Hyun-oh wasn’t the type to back down either, it was a certainty that the two of them would enter The Cell X side by side.
I figured they would arrive around tomorrow, in Trial time.
I asked another Question.
"Um, Samra. Is Captain Mo... still hospitalized?"
- That is correct. Entry into this Trial is impossible for her.
Thinking of Mo Hae-in sleeping inside a glass pillar made me feel a bit gloomy.
On the other hand, I felt it was a relief that she hadn’t come here.
The atmosphere here was just bad to begin with. Too dark and bleak...
If she had ended up in the role of the medical officer, I think I would have suffered.
"Understood. Then I’ll assume that Lieutenant Colonel Je, Lieutenant Won, and CEO Cha will all be entering."
Due to the nature of The Cell X, one doesn’t know what role they will be assigned.
We would meet while tackling the Trial, but until then, we wouldn’t even be able to track each other’s locations.
I could send messages to Je Hyun-oh and Kwak Han-mook to check in, but for Won Tae-beom and CEO Cha, I’d just have to bump into them blindly.
After reorganizing the roles of The Cell X in my head, I called Samra again.
"Samra."
- Please speak.
Samra likely already knew the conversations I had with CEO Cha and Kwak Han-mook.
Possessing an electronic device meant being placed within Samra’s information network.
I began speaking on the premise that he knew everything.
"By any chance, have you found any other users who played the Creator’s game?"
It seemed the Creator had distributed the game to several people to experiment with something.
The viewers in the chat window were suffering while playing the Creator’s game.
I wanted to hear the testimonies of other users as well.
- The users identified so far total 666, including Mr. Han Goyo and CEO Cha. It is expected that there are no further users.
If that was the case, couldn’t I get testimonies from them?
But Samra immediately told me why that wasn’t possible.
• Among the 666 who played the Creator’s game, 598 are currently missing, and 66 are deceased. It has been confirmed that all 66 deceased users committed suicide after exhibiting symptoms of mental derangement.
"Then... only CEO Cha and I are sane?"
- That is correct. This was one of the reasons why I advised Mr. Han Goyo against contracting CEO Cha during the initial information search. I was considering the possibility that CEO Cha had murdered other users.
Samra, having grasped CEO Cha’s personality, had made a very wise judgment.
As expected, the judgment of a cutting-edge AI android was on another level.
"But if that was one of the reasons, there must be others."
While I was debating whether to ask about the other reasons, Sama continued.
- Investigation results showed no charges against CEO Cha. It is presumed that the disappearance and death of the users are related to the Creator.
If the chat window was accurate, the users who committed suicide seemed to have made extreme choices due to the mental shock received while playing the game.
"Samra. Is there no information on the missing users? Like how they disappeared?"
- None exists. It is impossible for me to fail to track a single piece of information on 598 people. I presume this is also due to the Creator’s abilities.
A staggering 598 people had vanished overnight as if evaporated, leaving no trace.
If even Samra couldn’t find them... it was far more likely that they had effectively disappeared from ’Earth.’
I proposed a new hypothesis to Samra.
"Could they be trapped inside the game? Like being trapped inside a Trial."
Recalling the contents of the ’viewers’ chat, it felt as though they were trapped in the game.
CEO Cha and I had played it only as a PC game, but other users might not have.
Samra was silent for a moment. I waited, assuming he was calculating.
- If we assume the Creator is a god, it is possible.
I told Samra about the Creator’s chat window and the gods outside of Earth.
I also mentioned that my current state was a bit strange.
By telling Samra now, if my memory and perception became confused again, he would be able to judge correctly based on objective information.
As I pondered what other information I could provide that would help Samra’s data learning, a question was suddenly posed.
- Are you not afraid?
"Excuse me?"
- Currently, Mr. Han Goyo is in a situation where you are feeling a significant level of pressure along with strong stress.
I hesitated for a moment before asking.
"Are you... worried about me?"
- Then what meaning do you think this has?
I muttered, bewildered.
"It’s just, I find it a bit hard to believe..."
The Samra I saw in the game was no different from a machine.
He was an emotionless being, like the computers used by the TRA Administration, and there weren’t many instances where he interacted with me, the player.
Even when I spoke to him, only stiff answers returned.
"Do not interfere with calculations with unnecessary business."
"This is an inefficient and worthless conversation."
When he had to mimic a human, he acted as if he possessed emotions, but if there was no reason to do so, he revealed himself as a machine and blocked useless actions and conversations.
He only provided a corresponding reward when I provided something useful.
Once, out of spite, I kept following Samra around and pestering him, which resulted in me being banned from the TRA Administration.
The ban carried over to the next game, and I was only able to enter the TRA Administration after sending a letter of apology promising never to mess with Samra again.
However, the more I experienced Samra in reality, the more I felt he was different from the game.
’I decided not to judge based only on game information.’
Recalling my resolution, I spoke.
’I’m fine. Well, there are hard parts, but there are good parts too. Thanks to this, I got to meet Samra.’
"If there is anything I can do to help you, Samra, please tell me anytime."
- ... Understood.
"Ah, and should I keep the hologram badge turned on?"
- For Mr. Han Goyo’s safety, I recommend keeping it on.
At the somewhat chilly response. I hurriedly made an excuse.
"It’s not that I’m refusing to communicate with you..."
Along with mentioning that I wanted a bit of privacy, I promised to report to Samra periodically and turn on the communication immediately if I needed help.
Only then did I find out that the hologram badge had an on/off function.
Before ending the communication, Samra gave me one last piece of advice.
- Mr. Han Goyo. Please prioritize your own well-being.
"Yes, Samra. I’ll be in touch."
After turning off the hologram badge, I began a full-scale exploration for the walkthrough.
First, I searched the interior of the medical officer’s room and acquired the ’Weekly Schedule’ and the ’Predecessor Medical Officer’s Work Manual’ items.
The Weekly Schedule, which changes randomly with each playthrough, updates the tasks the medical officer must perform by day of the week once a week.
If even one task is not completed on a given day, one is immediately dragged away and beaten by the guards, so checking the schedule was more important than anything.
However, since there is only one medical officer in the prison, if an emergency occurs during the schedule, all routines are suspended and an event for emergency treatment may occur.
’Today is Sunday.’
Since the schedule starts the day after arrival, I can perform the tasks starting Monday.
After checking the days and tasks, I looked at Dominic.
The pudding slime wearing a guard’s hat was squishing on my wrist, reading the medical officer’s weekly schedule.
Guards have daily tasks too, but...
’Well, it shouldn’t matter for Dominic.’
Since general NPCs can’t even perceive Dominic’s existence, it should be fine.
I took out the Predecessor Medical Officer’s Work Manual.
Old bloodstains remained as blotches on the worn manual.
[This work manual was written for the safety of the medical officer and the smooth performance of duties.]
[Please familiarize yourself with this along with the Weekly Schedule for survival.]
[Article 1. Always carry the medicine bottle placed with the work manual.]
[Article 2. The consultation hours of this prison are from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM.]
[If a guard knocks on the door after 6:00 PM saying, ’I have brought a prisoner who has not yet received treatment’, do not look at the clock and immediately turn off the lights in the office.]
[You must not make any sound until the knocking stops.]
[This prison absolutely does not permit the movement of prisoners after 6:00 PM.]
[Article 3. The key to the psychotropic drug storage box in the infirmary must be held only by the medical officer.]
[If a guard requests the key, saying, "I will check the drug inventory by order of the Security Chief," absolutely do not comply.]
[If the key is stolen, read the very last item of the manual.]
[Article 4. Rounds of Sector X are conducted every Monday and Thursday.]
[Rounds are never conducted on other days.]
[The guards accompanying you during rounds must always stand ’behind’ you.]
[If an accompanying guard walks ahead of you and blocks a specific solitary cell, do not look into that cell and pass by it.]
[There is a high probability that a creature prisoner, mangled by the ’guards’ cruelty, is in there.]
[The moment you see it, you too will be trapped in that room.]
[If you are trapped in a solitary cell with a creature prisoner, read the very last item of the manual.]
[Article 5. All CCTVs in the infirmary are functioning normally.]
[If guards approach you friendly and say, "I will check the CCTV for a moment," refuse the inspection.]
[The guards will forcibly break the CCTV.]
[From that moment, everything in the infirmary will break. Including you! You must refuse the inspection.]
[If CCTV is broken, read the very last item of the manual.]
[Article 6. Joyfully accept and eat whatever food the Security Chief gives you. He is your ally.]
[If you discard the food, immediately go to the Security Chief’s office and apologize.]
[Article 7. There are 12 prisoners in Sector X.]
[If a guard opens the 13th solitary cell door during Friday rounds and requests treatment, even if only an empty bed is there, politely pretend to examine it by placing your stethoscope against it.]
[Then, write ’Normal on the chart and place a simple nutritional supplement on the bed.]
[It is originally an empty room. You must be kind to the entity there.]
[If you fail to be kind, read the very last item of the manual.]
[Article 8. Article 6 does not exist in the work manual.]
[Article 9. Ignore any sounds coming from outside after midnight.]
[If you hear heavy footsteps and the static of a radio in the hallway, put on earphones and try to sleep.]
[If someone knocks on the door, immediately hide under the bed.]
[You must never open the door.]
[If the door is forced open, flee to the infirmary, lock the door, and wait until the sun rises.]
[If the Security Chief gives you coffee the next morning, quietly discard it where it cannot be seen. Canned drinks are okay to drink.]
[Article 10. If you violate the above guidelines, fail to cope, or become isolated, swallow one or more pills from the enclosed medicine bottle.]
[This is the most painless and dignified salvation you can encounter in this prison.]
I had thought this when I saw it in the game, but it was a manual designed to confuse people.
I had no idea why it was written this way.
Dominic, who read the manual with me, seemed to think the same and added a comment.
"There are logical flaws, so it does not seem to be a reliable document."
Still, not everything written in the manual was fake.
Since which item was real or fake varied depending on the Weekly Schedule, I had to verify them while tackling the Trial.
I left the medicine bottle in its place and put the work manual and weekly schedule into my inventory.
I also made sure to pack the flashlight and medical supplies, which were basic issued items.
Finally, after changing into the doctor’s gown and just before leaving the medical officer’s room.
"Phew..."
I let out a long sigh.
It was because I wasn’t particularly fond of what I was about to do.
"Mr. Dominic."
"Yes, Roasted Chestnut."
"I’m about to do something now, so I’m telling you in advance so you don’t get too surprised."
When I strongly urged him that there was no need to help and just to watch, Dominic flicked his ears and asked.
"What are you doing?"
I really disliked The Cell X...
Swallowing another sigh that was about to escape, I answered Dominic.
"I’m going to get beaten up by the guards."