Escaping the Mystery Hotel-Chapter 248: Room 202, Cursed Room - ’The Little Mermaid’ (26)

“Well, I did, but still…”

“There’s a substitute flute at the place we’re heading to, so it’ll be fine.”

That’s right.

The place we’re heading to holds an alternative flute crafted by the Administration.

Our limousine is on its way to the research facility.

At the same time, Grandpa was on the phone with Director Park Jinseong.

By now, we fully understood what kind of person Park was.

His mind was entirely consumed with maintaining the secrecy of the “Project”.

Grandpa filled the call with suspicious remarks to throw Park off, then asked for support, saying we were heading to the Sea God’s Island.

Predictably, Park would dispatch forces to eliminate us on the island, weakening the research facility’s defenses.

Of course, we had no intention of going to the island.

To avoid tracking, we disposed of all our phones and any other devices we had.

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Ahri still seemed anxious.

It was understandable.

This approach was vastly different from our usual methods and felt like it rendered much of our previous discussions meaningless.

But we tried to set aside preconceived notions and think.

This time, we weren’t trying to “game the system” or solve the scenario mechanically.

We stepped back to view the bigger picture.

What path would lead to a “happy ending”?

Around that time, our limousine arrived near the research facility.

“What the heck? Why is a lab supposedly conducting shady experiments so openly massive?”

Jinchul-hyung sounded incredulous, and Grandpa replied dryly, “Are you dumb? No one’s going to trespass if there’s the Administration sign outside.”

Realistically, the scale of the experiments made it impossible to hide the facility entirely.

We waited inside the limousine, observing the research facility’s surroundings.

About 20 minutes later, several vehicles departed from the facility.

Park Jinseong had dispatched an assault team composed of his “advanced humans” to head for Sea God’s Island.

But it still wasn’t time.

Even with the main force gone, this was a major Administration facility.

It was bound to be well-guarded.

So we waited, holding our breath, for an advantageous situation to arise.

Finally, the ground shook, and a tsunami surged.

No matter how formidable the Administration might be, this was Korea.

While not a seismically pristine country, it wasn’t plagued by frequent earthquakes and tsunamis like Japan across the sea.

A heavily guarded research facility wouldn’t be prepared for a tsunami.

As expected, the tsunami swept through the area, causing utter chaos around the research facility.

It was clear even from our observation point how panicked the staff and researchers were.

It was time to begin.

“Huff…”

The tension was palpable.

Most of the group stayed behind.

Given the plan, it was deemed best for me to act as the “vanguard”.

Even in the Protective Suit, I felt my skin tingle with nerves.

As I approached the facility, a sharp-eyed man struggled toward me despite the chaos.

“The research facility is in complete disarray right now… Are you wearing an enhanced suit? If you’re from the Administration, can you show me your ID?”

Instead of answering, I summoned a book imbued with ominous energy into my hand.

“What on earth—”

“Thanks for your body. I’ll be borrowing it now!”

***

- Lee Eunsol

Our strategy started with Kain as the lead, causing absolute chaos near the research facility’s perimeter in an instant.

Soldiers started shooting at each other and throwing punches, creating a full-blown brawl.

Watching this unfold, the rest of the team signaled to move.

Ahri joined in, gesturing through the air, and as Songee’s bracelet flashed, over 20 soldiers were rendered helpless.

Perro added a few roars, and the situation became neatly resolved.

Despite all this, the research facility failed to mount an adequate response.

With Director Park Jinseong and the main forces gone, coupled with the earthquake and tsunami, the remaining staff were in complete disarray.

Soon, Sanghyun and Grandpa gathered the soldiers’ equipment.

I observed from the back, walking leisurely.

The battle seemed to be under control.

The situation was already falling apart before we intervened; we just gave it a significant push!

Ahri summoned the red mist she had used before, taking down over ten soldiers at once.

Sanghyun, now wearing a bulletproof vest, displayed impressively precise shooting skills.

As for Grandpa and Jinchul, their combat prowess needed no further explanation.

And with Perro by her side, Songee was practically an army of one.

“…”

While marveling at their feats, I felt a little inadequate.

I wasn’t doing anything except following along.

Thankfully, Seungyub next to me wasn’t doing much either.

That thought only deepened my gloom.

He was still a middle schooler, after all.

Just as I was lost in these thoughts, I heard someone approaching.

Luckily, it wasn’t a soldier.

“Who are you people?! How dare you—”

I adjusted my hat and shouted confidently.

The staff member approaching me froze, muttered an apology, and collapsed flat on the ground.

Seungyub looked at me incredulously.

“They really just fell flat like that?”

“Apparently.”

We needed to locate Imelda or the Deputy Director to reach the secret chamber containing the conductor Rudah.

But where could they be?

The chat window suddenly lit up.

Kim Mooksung: I think this fat guy might be the Deputy Director. Everyone, head to the entrance.

Pushing through the chaotic floodwaters and debris, we ran to the entrance, where Grandpa was holding onto a portly man.

“Hey! You, you’re the Deputy Director, right?”

“N-no! I’m just a low-level employee—”

“This guy has a name tag that says ‘Deputy Director’. Why are you lying?”

“Look at this little punk. You want to drink a mouthful of this muddy water to get your head straight?”

Why does Grandpa always act like a gangster in these situations?

Sanghyun held back a laugh and gently pulled Grandpa’s arm.

“Let’s step back. There’s no need for rough methods.”

At least, not with Kain here.

Sure enough, Kain began controlling the Deputy Director’s body.

Jinchul carried Kain’s body while Ahri naturally put on the Protective Suit.

“Ugh, this is so uncomfortable.”

“What’s wrong now?”

“This guy’s body is in terrible shape. Every step feels like it’ll kill him. How did he even live like this?”

“Anyone seen that Imelda woman?”

Ahri answered, “A car left earlier. Looks like she fled with some close aides.”

“She sure knows how to take care of herself.”

As we traversed the research facility, I thought back to how Elena had described this place as a “manifested labyrinth of madness”.

She wasn’t exaggerating, considering the horrifying sights she’d witnessed.

Indeed, this facility was a testament to twisted creativity.

A place where supernatural creatures of high intelligence were treated like lab rats and countless humans were sacrificed to create abominations like the “living flutes”.

Reflecting on the Room 202 scenario, I considered the root cause of all these atrocities.

Without fixating on words like “Root Cause of the Curse” or “Adversary”, we decided to take a step back to view the scenario as a whole and make it clear.

The root of all this chaos is the Administration.

What was the Sea God doing initially?

Simply leading the obedient merfolk on a small island, living peacefully.

The island wasn’t stolen from humans—it was land the Sea God created from the sea.

When impoverished fishermen begged for salvation, the Sea God granted them blessings, freeing them from starvation.

Even when the merfolk schemed to live on land despite their “blessings”, the Sea God tolerated it for 800 years.

For over eight centuries, there were no problems—until the Administration abducted the Sea God’s offspring for their deranged experiments.

This realization struck me like lightning.

Suddenly, I understood the meaning behind the Sea God’s question: Why are you still a merfolk?

Why was Elena given the role of a merfolk in this scenario?

What is a merfolk, anyway?

A being born from the fusion of humans and Rudah.

Neither fully human nor wholly another species, they stand on the boundary.

This made them beings unbound by the perspective of any single group.

To see the truth, one must step away from the human perspective and observe from a neutral “gray position”.

Only then could the root of the problem become clear.

I thought about it.

What are we now?

When I look at my companions, who are they?

Some could break concrete with a light punch and shrug off gunshot wounds with minimal complaint.

Some could manipulate human senses with a wave or command a monstrous bird with a word.

Others could collapse dozens of humans with a drop of blood or mock humanity with a single book.

Haven’t we already begun stepping outside the bounds of humanity?

Perhaps the Hotel, the Sea God, was urging us to think beyond the human perspective.

With that thought, I made up my mind.

Here, in this room—

We would shatter the Administration’s twisted ambitions.

***

- Han Kain

The confident strides of our group finally came to a halt at the most perilous location.

We had arrived at the chamber holding the key element of our plan.

The moment we saw the “conductor” Rudah that Elena had mentioned, we instinctively knew this was it.

Its sheer size alone set it apart—it was far larger than any of the Rudah we’d encountered before.

Ahri scratched her head and muttered, “If you implant something like this, most people would probably just die, right? Maybe we should’ve brought Elena to summon the moth again?”

I had a different perspective.

“It wouldn’t be easy to summon it. I know a thing or two about Ominous Imagination—it’s not exactly consistent. It’s heavily influenced by the user’s mental state.”

“So, you’re saying that you’d need to be consumed by despair and madness to summon a truly terrifying monster, right?”

“Exactly. Sure, the first creation, the caterpillar, seems easy enough for her to make at any time, but a much stronger moth? Even if Elena were here with us, she wouldn’t be able to summon it under these conditions.”

Right now, we had allies, the facility was already in ruins, and there was still a significant amount of time before the Sea God’s descent.

In other words, it wasn’t exactly an environment conducive to despair or madness.

Of course, we anticipated this situation and prepared a solution.

Jinchul-hyung approached with a tense expression, accompanied by the doctor.

“Jinchul, if something feels off, I’ll step in immediately,” the doctor said.

“Well, my best trait is having a sturdy body. I’ll be fine. If it doesn’t work, well…”

Ahri smirked.

“Then we’ll just head to the Sea God’s island, bring Elena, and have her summon the moth.”

“Phew! Alright! Mind over matter! Mental discipline!” Jinchul exclaimed, pumping himself up.

What kind of battle cry is that?

The doctor carefully examined the conductor, hesitated for a moment, and then slowly implanted it into Jinchul-hyung’s body.

“…”

My heart pounded.

Could this really be the right move?

Last night, Eunsol-noona’s plan had been surprisingly simple.

Instead of preventing the Sea God’s descent from the human or Administration’s perspective, the goal was to eliminate the reason for the Sea God’s descent in the first place.

To put it bluntly, we intended to seek vengeance on the Sea God’s behalf.

If we dealt with most of the objects of its wrath, perhaps its fury would subside.

That was the entire plan.

“Ugh… this hurts a little,” Jinchul-hyung groaned.

Bubbles seemed to froth at his mouth before he opened it wide.

Silence fell as all eyes turned to him.

Slowly, Hyung’s massive frame rose to its feet.

Was it my imagination, or did he seem even larger than before?

“I finally understand what Liringanaur was talking about,” he said.

“What?”

“I hear their screams.”

“Hyung, are you okay?”

“This feels like the right path. The screams of all the Rudah across the world… we must silence them. Let’s go.”

Even though we had steeled ourselves for this moment, hesitation was apparent in some of us.

Now, we would have to fight the Korean branch of the Administration in Seoul.

The prospect of the battle itself wasn’t frightening.

No matter how formidable the Administration was, they couldn’t be scarier than the Being of Chaos we had faced so far.

And yet, our steps felt heavy.

It wasn’t their strength that weighed on us. It was the fact that they represented an organization meant to protect humanity.

Jinchul-hyung glanced back at us and smirked.

“Tonight, the Administration’s world order will crumble!”

His attempt to lighten the mood made Noona chuckle.

“Jinchul, that’s a bit much…”

“It’s about confidence,” he replied with a grin.

Incomprehensible chaotic waves began radiating from Hyung’s body.

Within the tumultuous facility, the living flutes finally began to align under his control.

At the same time, the Administration’s dream—an army of the “evolved human”—started clutching their heads in pain.

They wouldn’t last long.

Rudah, as a hive-mind species, submitted to the strongest.

And the strongest Rudah here belonged to none other than Jinchul-hyung.

***

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