Escaping the Mystery Hotel-Chapter 236: Room 202, Cursed Room - ’The Little Mermaid’ (14)

User: Han Kain (Wisdom)

Date: Day 101

Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor

Sage’s Advice: 0

- Han Kain

When the word “Terminator” came out of Songee’s mouth, Ahri’s eyes widened in shock.

“…You’re not talking about the movie staring the governor of California, are you?”

Songee began explaining the incredible weapon she encountered, which Lee Suho had referred to as the Administration’s ultimate failsafe, only deployed when situations had reached their worst possible state.

The “Terminator” had struck the location of the Sea God’s Island at the final moment.

It wasn’t a missile or any other physical object but rather a brilliant mass of light, like a miniature star, radiating intense energy.

Hearing this, both Ahri and Grandpa looked visibly stunned.

“They’ve developed that already?”

“I thought it wouldn’t be possible for at least another 50 years.”

“I assumed it would take 100 years.”

What kind of weapon was it to provoke such reactions?

As everyone grew curious, Ahri gave a simple explanation, “It’s one of the ultimate weapons the Administration has been researching. Theoretically, it can exert overwhelming power not only against physical entities but also against immaterial beings.”

Grandpa elaborated further, “The Administration often compares the human world to land and the realm of supernatural beings to the sea. In this analogy, a world crawling with demons and monsters is like land becoming too ‘damp’ so to speak. This weapon is meant to ‘evaporate’ that dampness with overwhelming heat. Does that make sense?”

“It sorta does… and sorta doesn’t.”

“Same here, honestly.”

It wasn’t strange that neither of them fully understood the exact mechanics of the Administration’s latest weapon.

Ahri and Grandpa were essentially field agents, after all.

Just as soldiers in modern warfare didn’t fully grasp the principles behind their cutting-edge weapons, neither did they.

However, their concern seemed to stem from something else.

“The problem is, to my knowledge, the Terminator is still in the experimental stage and not ready for actual deployment.”

Eunsol-noona seemed unfazed.

“Does it matter? The world we come from and the one in Room 202 are different, right? Maybe civilization advanced a bit quicker inside Room 202.”

“Eunsol, you have a point, but there’s still something off about it.”

Ahri succinctly summarized the unease.

“It’s like suddenly finding an orbital elevator in 21st-century South Korea. If civilization were advanced enough to create something like that, it would show in other areas too. But Room 202 didn’t seem significantly different from the Earth I know in any other aspect.”

“Is that so?”

The conversation stalled, as continuing wouldn’t lead to answers.

It wasn’t clear if this topic was even relevant to solving Room 202.

Judging from Ahri and Grandpa’s reactions, the “Terminator” appeared to be a sci-fi weapon that, in our world, wouldn’t exist for another 50 to 100 years.

Could its early development in Room 202 be tied to the room’s scenario?

I thought about it but couldn’t come to any conclusions.

As the room fell quiet, Elena raised an important question, “What about me? My seal is already broken. Will I start in the limousine this time?”

In Room 201, when my seal was broken, we resolved the room immediately afterward.

But Elena’s situation required further progress even after her seal was lifted.

All eyes turned to Ahri, who seemed uncertain.

“The previous party didn’t get far on the second floor. They were too intimidated by one of their key figures being sealed for any further attempts..”

After a moment of thought, I offered two possibilities.

“There are two likely scenarios. First, Elena starts with us, and another NPC takes on the role of the ‘second daughter’. Second, she gets sealed again. Even if it’s the latter, it’s not a big issue since we already know where to find her. We can just go back to the hospital.”

Speculating further would be pointless, we’d only receive confirmation after experiencing it firsthand.

We spent the rest of the night carefully planning our next steps.

At one point, someone suggested trying a different room, but the idea was dismissed.

During our early days on Floor 1, when we didn’t understand the Hotel’s systems well, we frequently switched rooms.

But now that we had a better grasp, it seemed meaningless.

Every room was dangerous, and switching would only put us at a disadvantage.

Room 202 had already provided valuable information, whereas we knew nothing about the other rooms.

In fact, switching to another room might be more dangerous.

Switching rooms would only be worth considering if we had no useful information from the first attempt or if we’d already failed four times and the room had started to distort.

The next morning, everyone gathered again.

“You all remember what we discussed yesterday, right? This is a room where speed is crucial, so keep everything in mind and stay sharp.”

As expected, Seungyub raised his hand cautiously, asking what he needed to do.

Fortunately, his role was clear, so there was no need for a lengthy explanation.

Elena, looking anxious, spoke up, “Do you think we can go in without using Kain’s Advice? There are so many uncertainties.”

I answered, “It’s unsettling, but think about the curse that was active on the Sea God’s Island. It was probably set up by Lee Suho. There could be more curses like that, so it’s better to save Advice for later.”

And so, our second attempt at Room 202 began.

***

- Lee Eunsol

“Chief, did you read the materials sent by Cheongseong Group?”

“I read them, but what on earth are they trying to say?”

“It seems their public stance and actual position differ somewhat.”

“Isn’t that why we’re going to see that chairman face-to-face? Oh, that man—”

“Chief, please be cautious at Cheongseong Group. Despite everything, the chairman’s son died tragically.”

- Beep!

The familiar conversation played out again, and as everyone regained their senses, the car came to a stop.

A quick look around confirmed that Elena was nowhere to be seen.

Kain called out to her through the Chat Window.

Han Kain: Elena?

After waiting for a moment with no response, it became clear that Elena had returned to her slumber in the hospital.

“Elena seems to be at the hospital. That’s fine—we accounted for this in our plan. Everyone remembers their roles, right?”

Thankfully, everyone nodded. Grandpa and I were the first to step out of the car.

“Let’s do this!”

“Let’s go!”

The key to successfully progressing in Room 202 was clear: saving time.

There was no shortage of tasks to handle.

Investigating Cheongseong Group, bringing back Liringanaur, gathering information from Serenade on the Sea God’s island, and tracking down Lee Suho—all of this had to be completed before nightfall.

Since splitting up was unavoidable, Grandpa and I, who were most familiar with corporate operations, decided to investigate Cheongseong Group.

As we rode the elevator to the chairman’s office, I felt a wave of tension and couldn’t help but voice it.

“Grandpa, do you think this will be okay?”

“Eunsol, is this the same you who’s usually so confident, telling people what to do and how to do it?”

“This time my role is a bit… intense.”

When I gestured to the hat, Grandpa nodded.

“It’s true. Things would’ve been smoother with Elena around, but don’t worry. Half of a field agent’s job is being a thug anyway.”

“…”

“I once punched a congressman right in the face.”

“…Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“It wasn’t like he was a president—just a conglomerate chairman. Have some confidence.”

I sighed but agreed with his point.

Confidence was key.

- Ding!

We arrived at the chairman’s office.

Familiar pleasantries were exchanged between Grandpa and Chairman Lee Moonchun.

The chairman brought up the port incident and expressed grief over his son’s death.

He also suggested that his son’s murder by the merfolk could give them leverage in negotiating the port deal, considering the non-aggression pact between the Administration and the merfolk.

Listening to this with the knowledge we’d gained in the previous attempt, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Noticing my laughter, the chairman addressed me.

“The young lady in the back has been quiet. Do you have something to say?”

“Oh, sorry. It’s just… funny.”

“I wasn’t aware this was a humorous matter. I consider it tragic.”

He seemed to imply it was inappropriate to laugh while discussing his son’s death.

His reaction only made me want to laugh harder.

Your son’s perfectly alive, you old fool!

“Is there any reason to be sad?”

“…”

“Oh, sorry. Did you say your son died? Did you see the body yourself?”

Updat𝓮d from frёewebnoѵēl.com.

“It’s strange for you to ask me that. Wasn’t it the Administration who conducted the autopsy?”

So that’s the official story?

Quite curious indeed.

Lee Suho, now a Saint of an evil god, could easily fabricate a fake body.

But even the Administration had been fooled by it?

- Click!

Sensing the time was right, Grandpa locked the door to the chairman’s office.

The chairman immediately panicked.

“W-what are you doing?”

Did this man know his son had been in a relationship with the second daughter of the Sea God?

Time to find out.

“Lee Moonchun.”

“What—”

Special Chef’s Charisma activated!

“You son of bitch—actually, looking at your face, it’s clear your parents passed ages ago! From now on, I don’t want to hear any more yapping from that filthy hole of yours, got it? Do you have any idea how much fucking trouble you’ve caused us with your stupid lies?”

“W, w-what is this—”

“Eyes down old man! Do you want me to gouge them out with a fork? Huh?! Do you think you can keep running this piss-ant business after crossing the Administration?!”

“P-please, calm down! At least explain why—”

“Explain? There are plenty of reasons. Word’s out that your son was screwing the Sea God’s daughter’s brains out, and you tried covering it up. Don’t even think about saying you didn’t know. I’ll be severely disappointed if you try that excuse.”

The chairman froze as if struck by lightning.

Sensing the hat had done its job, I discreetly took it off.

A moment later, the chairman began confessing the secrets he had been hiding.

***

“It’s not as dramatic as I expected. I thought there’d be a grander reason.”

“Sometimes the truth is simpler than it seems.”

The chairman had hidden his son’s relationship with the Sea God’s daughter out of fear that the Administration would disapprove.

That was it.

Disbelieving how mundane the answer was, I put the hat back on and pressed him further, but the answer didn’t change.

He also reacted indignantly when we hinted that his son might still be alive.

“Could the chairman have resisted the hat’s influence to deceive us? Grandpa, you and Ahri handled it fine during our earlier tests.”

“Eunsol, the chairman is just a regular person. Comparing him to us makes no sense. Besides, he pissed himself at the end—if that was all an act, he deserves an Oscar.”

“Fair point.”

“What bothers me is something else.”

“What is it?”

“This world is ruled by the Control Faction, right? Those naive idealists?”

Grandpa clearly had a low opinion of the Control Faction.

“They’re always preaching about coexistence between humans and other races. To them, the relationship between Lee Suho and the second daughter wouldn’t be offensive—it would be something they’d actively promote.”

I understood his point.

From the Control Faction’s perspective, the union between a conglomerate heir and a non-human leader would be ideal for their goals.

“Maybe the chairman doesn’t fully understand the Administration?”

Honestly, I had no idea what philosophy the Administration in my world followed.

“That’s possible, which is why I didn’t press that point.”

As we prepared to leave, I cautiously asked Grandpa, “From the outside, it looks like an Administration agent just threatened a conglomerate chairman into submission. Is this really okay?”

“…”

“Grandpa?”

“Listen, don’t use that hat recklessly when we return to the real world.”

“Huh? Didn’t you just tell me to be confident?”

“I didn’t realize it would go this far. How can such profanity flow so naturally?”

***

- Park Seungyub

“Wait, am I even in the right place?”

“…”

The doctor beside me was starting to /genesisforsaken