Chapter 10

Chapter 10. Hunting Humans (1)

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Ten days ago.

In other words, when I had just escaped from the 「Railway Station Where the Siren Sounds」.

Naturally, I had many things I was curious about.

So before receiving the video training, I asked the topknot man this and that.

“About how many people enter Special Zones each year?”

“We cannot confirm that for you.”

“How many people make it out alive?”

“We cannot confirm that for you.”

“Can someone who entered and left a Special Zone once be dragged in again?”

“We cannot confirm that for you.”

But the topknot man did not answer a single thing properly.

“Then in a Special Zone…….”

“Mr. Seo Do-un.”

Perhaps annoyed by the continuing questions, he said this with a straight face.

“The entry of ordinary citizens into Special Zones is an extremely rare phenomenon, and the probability of it repeating with the same individual is so slim that it can essentially be ignored. In short, this case is something that will never happen again in Mr. Seo Do-un’s life, so please stop taking unnecessary interest and focus on returning to your daily life.”

To think someone could be this rude in just two sentences.

His character was astonishing, but separate from that, I liked the words he had nailed down.

Something that would never happen again in my life.

The topknot man had clearly asserted that, and I had believed those words completely.

In other words, that had been only ten days ago.

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And today.

The place where I, who had been sleeping at home, suddenly woke up was a quiet hospital room.

The surroundings were bright, as if it were midday.

The beds placed in the hospital room were clean, without any signs of use.

And there was no one here except me.

Aha, so Special Management Zones weren’t limited to railway stations?

No, no.

Even in this situation, wasn’t it unnecessary to conclude that this was a Special Zone?

He said someone who had been dragged in once would not be dragged in again.

So it was still too early to jump to conclusions. Yes.

Thinking positively, I looked around.

Just then, an information board hanging on a hospital bed entered my sight.

When I saw it, a bright smile came to my face.

Hahaha.

When I tried to read the writing on the information board, my eyes hurt as if they were about to be plucked out.

This must be that place. Hahaha.

I wanted to cherish my daily life……!

SLAP—!

I thrashed silently, then struck my own cheek.

It was enough to drive me mad, but for now, let’s face reality.

It seemed I had been dragged in again.

A place similar to the previous railway station, but different.

No matter how I looked at it, this place was a hospital.

Perhaps because it was the second time, I was not as confused as before.

Only the thought that I was screwed calmly washed over me.

And at least last time, I had been properly dressed.

Right now, I was barefoot.

The T-shirt and shorts I was wearing were thin enough for mosquitoes to pierce through.

At this rate, even being grazed would kill me. What should I do?

Should I find something like a patient gown and layer it on?

No, I have no idea what anything lying around here is.

Last time, there had been a siren that crushed people to death just by being heard.

So there could be clothes that sucked my blood just by being worn.

Then what do I do?

The rulebook.

First, while protecting myself as much as possible, I need to find the rulebook.

If the topknot man did his work as properly as he acted arrogant, there should be Survival Rules here too.

I searched the hospital room where I had woken up first.

But I did not see any paper here that I could read.

Where do I need to go to get them?

Would they be in the hospital lobby or at the information desk?

I carefully opened the door to the hospital room.

I saw the corridor of an empty ward, and there I found a nurse station.

Normally, nurses were stationed day and night at the nurse stations of inpatient wards.

But now, even that place was empty.

If it’s there, there might be Survival Rules.

With hope, I approached the nurse station.

But there too, there was nothing I could read.

Looks like this place is a bust too.

No, how much could printing cost?

When they print them, they should print a ton at once and scatter them here and there!

RING RING RING—!

At that moment, a bell suddenly rang behind me.

Startled, I turned around and saw a landline phone on the desk ringing.

A phone is ringing here?

Worried that something might pop out, I hurriedly looked around.

Fortunately, there was no suspicious movement.

Only the sound of the phone bell rang out through the silent hospital.

I waited for the sound to stop, but the ringing went on endlessly.

I grew deliberately uneasy and simply left the spot.

Coincidence or not, the moment I left the front of the phone, the ringing also cut off.

Feeling strangely creeped out, I kept walking and came upon another nurse station.

But.

RING RING RING—!

The moment I approached, the phone there started ringing too.

What is this? Did it ring because I came close?

RING RING RING—!

The phone bell kept ringing.

Following that sound, my heart began pounding as well.

I hesitated, then found the elevator and headed toward it.

I was about to blindly press the down button, then flinched and stopped.

Is the elevator safe?

Elevators are practically a staple of all kinds of urban legends and traps.

RING RING RING— RING RING RING—!

Even while I hesitated, the phone bell stubbornly continued.

The elevator did not seem like a good choice at all.

Would it be better to run down the stairs?

And if I ran? Would there be no phones on other floors?

There were few places with as many phones as hospitals.

And if this ringing followed me to other floors, that would be even more frightening.

After agonizing over it, I returned to the nurse station.

I glared at the phone with a horrible feeling, then made up my mind and picked up the receiver.

CLICK—

The ringing stopped.

But I could not bring myself to put the receiver to my ear.

So as I awkwardly delayed, it happened.

From beyond the receiver, I heard a familiar voice.

-Mr. Seo Do-un?

A voice so excessively businesslike that it instead sounded argumentative.

It was that topknot bastard’s voice.

I hurriedly put the receiver to my ear.

At the same time, an utterly unfair reprimand flew at me.

-Why are you there?

“Are you asking me that?”

I asked back not because I wanted to argue, but because I felt wronged.

I was in such a state that I did not even notice the topknot man speaking informally.

To be honest, I thought I was saved now.

“Where am I? What happened?”

-It is a Special Management Zone. We have also just confirmed that Mr. Seo Do-un has re-entered a Special Zone.

“No, you said that wouldn’t happen!”

-It should not happen under normal circumstances.

I clenched my molars.

I held back the urge to curse with great difficulty.

There was a mountain of things I wanted to argue about, but getting out alive came first.

“Then what do I need to do now? Where are the Survival Rules?”

-They are still being produced.

“Being produced?”

-Mr. Seo Do-un, this time, a rescue team will be deployed. Please endure without dying until then. We have matters to confirm with you, Mr. Seo Do-un.

“Are you saying if there were nothing to confirm, I could die……?”

There was no answer. Was that a silent yes?

It was absurd, but I did not get angry.

If a rescue team was coming, I thought that was something, at least.

-From this point on, I will read out the precautions for the relevant Special Zone. Can you memorize them?

“How long are they?”

-Half the length of the railway station rules.

The amount was too small.

Did that mean it was less dangerous?

Or that there was not much known information?

Probably the latter.

Judging from the fact that the Survival Rules were still being produced.

-I will read the same contents twice. Your current location is the Special Zone 「Hospital That Hunts Humans」.

The topknot man began reciting the Survival Rules.

I wondered if combining the place noun “hospital” with the modifying clause “that hunts humans” even made any sense…….

But for now, I crammed that vicious explanation into my head.

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■ Escape Directives for the 「Hospital That Hunts Humans」

The 「Hospital That Hunts Humans」 is a general hospital-shaped Special Zone where the dangerous entity 「Moving Gun」, which actively kills humans, roams.

The survival methods identified so far are as follows. Please refer to the contents below, survive the dangerous entity, and search for an escape route.

-The following-

1. Cover your face.

The 「Moving Gun」 tracks and kills targets whose faces it has seen as its highest priority.

2. Do not stay in one place for long.

The 「Moving Gun」 detects places where humans have hidden for a long time. The shortest time in which the 「Moving Gun」 has successfully detected a human is 9 minutes and 50 seconds.

3. Do not go out into open areas.

The range of the 「Moving Gun」 exceeds the straight-line distance of this Special Zone.

4. If the 「Moving Gun」 approaches, hide and stop moving.

The 「Moving Gun」 judges its surroundings through sight and hearing, but it has astigmatism and hearing loss. In particular, it cannot easily identify parts other than the human face.

If the 「Moving Gun」 is at close range, hide, or if you cannot hide, minimize your movements. If you are lucky, it may recognize you as an object and pass by.

5. Use surrounding cover, but consider exceptional situations.

The bullets of the 「Moving Gun」 generally cannot penetrate walls.

However, some high-powered bullets fired at certain intervals can penetrate concrete walls and floors.

The firing conditions and cycle of these bullets are currently under investigation.

6. The 「Moving Gun」 repeats active phases and dormant phases in 43-minute cycles.

During its 43-minute active phase, it actively hunts humans, and during its dormant phase, it stops completely.

However, in order to transition from active phase to dormant phase, it must hunt at least 1 person.

A 「Moving Gun」 that passes its active cycle without a hunt will enter indiscriminate firing, and that state will continue until at least 1 victim occurs.

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“……Somehow, this sounds more dangerous than last time.”

-It does not. The random crushing deaths in the 「Railway Station」 triggered by the siren cannot be avoided, but the 「Moving Gun」 here can be sufficiently dealt with.

Ah, is that so?

Well, I suppose that was why a rescue team was coming.

-It will take approximately 70 minutes for the rescue team to enter. From now on, I will explain Mr. Seo Do-un’s survival strategy. The 「Moving Gun」 is currently inactive and will resume action in 14 minutes.

“Does that mean someone died 30 minutes ago?”

-That is correct. In the Special Zone where Mr. Seo Do-un is located, there are currently 5 people other than Mr. Seo Do-un.

Then do I just need to join up with those people until the rescue team comes?

Naturally, that was what I thought.

But the topknot man spoke as if he had read my mind.

-Avoid contact with them as much as possible.

“Avoid contact?”

I asked back because I did not understand.

Then the topknot man paused briefly before speaking.

-You are well aware of the serious crimes that occurred in the 「Railway Station」, Mr. Seo Do-un.

The serious crimes that occurred in the 「Railway Station」.

He must have meant the mad bastards who killed people for money and put them in the Storage Locker.

I immediately understood what the topknot man had said indirectly.

So instead, I became uneasy.

“Why is that coming up now?”

-Those serious criminals are now in the same space as Mr. Seo Do-un.

The topknot man’s voice was as casually monotonous as ever.

But to me, it was an unprecedented bolt from the blue.