Chapter 163: The Absence of Intellect
I open the manual.
[Manual for Office Workers]
[Gangbuk Special Hospital - 6th Floor]
6. Cases of people emerging unscathed from this floor are not very common. However, synthesizing the statements of survivors, it is advised to be cautious of 'the thing that speaks backwards'.
7. Furthermore, there have been no personnel to date who have encountered 'the thing that speaks backwards' and survived. Please be very careful.
The thing that speaks backwards.
I knew exactly what it was referring to.
Blood-soaked patient gowns were scattered across the floor.
As if someone had carefully stripped off only the clothes, the bloodied garments were neatly arranged on the floor.
"I'll go check for an exit."
"Let's go together."
Yu Daon and Jang Chae-yeon walked up the corridor, and in the meantime, Song A-rin and I checked on the people trembling in fear.
People muttering something with their heads pressed against the wall, or shaking in terror with their faces buried between their own thighs.
It was obviously strange.
It wasn't strange that they were trembling in fear.
The problem was that their behavior was far too unintellectual for people terrified with fear.
They didn't even think to hide somewhere. They should be thankful for surviving, looking around at the people nearby, or denying reality, grieving and feeling sad for the lost ones.
But not a single sign of any such thing could be seen in the people wearing patient gowns.
"Those people are a bit strange, don't you think?"
There's always someone who figures it out best at times like this.
Hearing my words, Song A-rin frowned as she looked at the people.
"...You're right."
She muttered while looking at the people.
"Their emotions are fragmented."
"What do you mean?"
"There's only primal fear. No sadness, no anger, no pity. I can't sense anything else."
Song A-rin looked at the people around her.
"It's like their intellect has been removed."
The removal of intellect.
Song A-rin and I quickly exchanged glances.
Just then, Yu Daon and Jang Chae-yeon walked back to us.
"There's a door down the corridor."
"Can we get out?"
"It's locked. I think we need a key."
Jang Chae-yeon shook her head.
"I thought we might be able to break it by force, but even if we did, it would probably make a loud noise, so I didn't do anything for now."
"You did the right thing."
The door was locked. Just knowing that fact was helpful for now.
If we forced the door open, I had no idea what might happen.
"Did anyone hear that monster from before, or at least something similar to a monster, speaking?"
Thanks to the Team Leader warning us of the danger so quickly, we were able to escape in time, but because of that, we didn't even get a chance to see the monster with our own eyes.
Of course, it was obvious what would have happened if we had seen it.
"I heard it."
Yu Daon raised his hand.
"What did it say?"
"I'm so curious what we'll have for dinner tonight," Yu Daon muttered.
"And... um, 'Don't run away. I'm hungry,' is what it probably said."
"..."
I pondered Yu Daon's words.
Walls and floors drenched in blood, and people saying they're hungry.
"Could this be some kind of dining hall?"
"Dining hall?"
The Team Leader repeated my words and muttered.
"Yes. For some unknown reason, if we go by what A-rin said, these people have a significantly reduced intellect."
The words about being hungry, and people with reduced intellect.
"Frankly, there's no easier prey than people who aren't intelligent."
Taking away intellect from a species that survived through intelligence is no different from taking away their greatest weapon.
"So, let's assume this is a dining hall."
"Dining hall..."
Jang Chae-yeon frowned slightly.
"Then there must be an entrance to the dining hall too."
There had to be a way.
"...But."
Just then, Song A-rin, who had been listening to us, muttered.
"Weren't the walls clean when we first came in?"
"..."
Hearing Song A-rin's words, I recalled the scene when we entered.
The walls were clean.
If they hadn't been clean in the first place, they would have stuck in our memory.
After all, unusual things always stick in a person's memory more than everyday things.
"...The walls were clean."
Which meant.
"That means someone is cleaning them."
The moment my eyes met Song A-rin's,
"Something's coming."
The Team Leader muttered as he grabbed my arm.
A trudging sound could be heard.
Should we hide now?
We could hide, but then we might not be able to find information about the exit.
Someone had to stay and observe the situation.
"Only A-rin and I will stay; the rest of you hide."
"But what about you, Jae-heon...!"
"Quickly."
At my firm words, Yu Daon's pupils shook slightly.
"Let's go."
Jang Chae-yeon pulled Yu Daon and the Team Leader inside.
Soon, only Song A-rin and I remained in the corridor.
I hurriedly took off my vest and started putting on a patient gown. Song A-rin, noticing my actions, also quickly took off her vest and started putting the patient gown over her own clothes.
"It sti...nks...!"
"You can go inside too, A-rin."
"No way...?"
While putting on the blood-soaked clothes with a deeply furrowed brow, Song A-rin diligently wore the patient gown.
-Thud, thud...
The footsteps grew closer.
Song A-rin and I hurriedly blended in among the patients.
"Uuuhh..."
We walked in among the muttering patients, making the dumbest expressions we could.
Song A-rin also, with a frown that seemed to say she hated this, muttered something and then let out a sigh.
Soon, her eyes grew dull and vacant.
"Uhh..."
"Uu..."
I didn't know if Song A-rin had finished her hypnosis or was just acting, but she stuck right next to me, leaning on me and making stupid sounds.
She's acting, right?
"A-rin."
"Uuuh..."
Song A-rin didn't give a separate answer, just whined and rubbed her cheek against my arm.
"Uhh..."
Matching the patients' moans, she also let out moans.
"Uuuh..."
But why is she so close?
However, the footsteps were getting closer, so I stayed put with her clinging to me and looked around, blending in with the surrounding patients.
From the front corridor, nurses were walking towards us.
Where faces should have been, there were only round holes.
The same faces I had seen at Gangseo University Hospital.
A semi-transparent window floated up.
[Name: Kim Ki-tae]
[Age: 36]
[Trait: Nursing]
[Talent: X]
[Background: He never intended to become a nurse. But it seems life doesn't always go according to plan.]
[Weakness: Beings bound to the 'hospital' generally have high pain tolerance. Conversely, they have more memories of pain than anyone.]
They ignored us, walked to the wall, picked up wet mops, and began cleaning the floor.
"...They call it a dining hall, but they sure clean meticulously."
"Ueh?"
"...Let's not talk."
Song A-rin didn't seem to be in a state to understand speech.
The nurses cleaned in an orderly fashion without saying a word.
Soon, as the walls and floor became clean, they stood up, holding the rags and mops soaked in blood, and walked back the way they had come.
To see the exit, we had no choice but to follow them.
I slowly followed their trail,
"Uueeh... Uhp..."
Covering the mouth of Song A-rin, who was clinging to me and moaning, I moved forward.
The nurses moved towards the door,
-Creak, creak.
They took a key from their pocket, opened the door, and went outside.
We needed a key to get out.
It seemed we'd have to ambush the nurses later and steal the key.
"We'll have to steal the key."
"Ehh..."
Song A-rin looked at me with an innocent expression.
"A-rin. Snap out of it now."
"Ueh?"
"..."
How do I wake her up?
I clapped my hands in front of her face.
With a Clap! sound, the light returned to Song A-rin's unfocused eyes.
"..."
"Ueh?"
"You're gonna die, for real."
When I repeated what she had said verbatim, Song A-rin's face instantly turned red and she swung her fist at me.
*
After teasing Song A-rin a bit, I called the others and explained the situation.
"So, we have to wait until someone dies and then wait for the nurse to come and clean the floor."
"Correct."
"But how do we know when they'll come?"
"It said it was hungry. It's probably mealtime."
It probably wouldn't take too long.
What bothered me, however, was...
"...It means another one of these people has to be sacrificed."
"..."
The Team Leader looked at the people around us with a complicated expression.
"What did these young kids do wrong?"
"...A-rin, could the reason for these people's reduced intellect be similar to a hypnotic phenomenon?"
"..."
Song A-rin closed her eyes and seemed to be concentrating deeply, letting out a moan.
"Um, uum... ...um."
"..."
"...No."
Soon, she opened her eyes and looked at me.
"As I said before. It feels like the part that should contain intelligence has disappeared."
"..."
"I'll be frank."
Song A-rin bit her lip tightly, then spoke again.
"In my opinion, it's already too late for these people. It would be better... to just let them go. If they return alive... well."
"..."
If that was the case, there was nothing we could do.
"Shall we wait a bit longer? Team Leader, please stay alert."
"Okay."
The Team Leader nodded.
How much time had passed?
"...It's coming."
The Team Leader muttered and hurriedly went back inside the room.
Soon,
-Thud... thud...
The sound of footsteps could be heard again.
<Eoeop… gasu-eul-cham… geolpeun-gobae—!>
A sound came from beyond the door,
"I can't stand the hunger."
Yu Daon muttered.
"Ahhhhk!"
"Kyaaak!"
Screams were heard again.
The sound of something tearing. And people's screams.
<Raeo?>
"Huh?"
After a brief silence, a voice expressing surprise was heard.
<.Gasem… hahn-tok-tok… cheong-eom… ⸮ dene-nat… myeongbun… gasem…>
"There was a really smart smell."
"...A smart smell?"
Yu Daon frowned, and Song A-rin and I exchanged glances again.
"Heeuk..."
The Team Leader inhaled sharply.
-Creeeak...
The door opened, and something revealed itself.
It was a person standing on their hands.
Perhaps because they were walking on their arms, their arms were twisted grotesquely, while their legs were conversely extremely thin.
Where the head should have been, there was only a large mouth smacking its lips, attached to a muscular human body.
<Rasa—tok, tok… f-found…?>
-Swish!
In that instant, two iron balls embedded themselves in the thing's arm.
<Aaaagh!>
The thing fell backwards.
-Ting!
Jang Chae-yeon had flicked the iron balls.