CHAPTER 326: ROOM 203, CURSED ROOM - 'NEW BEGINNING' RE (6)

0% – Yu Songee

I had a dream. A very, extremely long dream.

In the dream, I looked out from a translucent tube with every single cell of my body completely frozen. The outside world was full of light, looking just like heaven.

While spreading my vague imagination wings, anticipating the day I would go outside someday, a small figure approached the tube.

...Huh?

– Hiss!

“Ms. Yu Songee, have you regained consciousness?”

“...”

“Ms. Yu Songee?”

“I-is it my turn this time?”

“Pardon?”

Get a grip! This AI borrowing Ahri’s body is an extremely dangerous being!

If it senses that my memories and self are different from the “crew mate”, it will start to suspect me. So I need to pretend to “know”.

“Ah, my head hurt for a moment. ‘Pride’. What’s going on?”

There was a reaction as I immediately mentioned the word Pride, appealing that I remembered “it”.

“It’s normal to have a headache when coming out of a cold place. You’ll feel better soon. Fortunately, it seems there’s no major memory problem since you recognized me right away.”

With those words, Ahri—no, Pride started walking through the spaceship. The next line was indeed as I heard from Kain-oppa.

“Ms. Yu Songee, there’s a problem with Adravita. You’ll remember that you and Mr. Han Kain were in charge of communicating with Adravita.”

It seemed this “spaceship awakening” event wasn’t necessarily just for Kain-oppa to wake up. The AI woke me up this time.

“What kind of problem?”

“Adravita has been trying to contaminate the spaceship for a few days now.”

I thought as I walked down the pure white corridor.

Didn’t Kain-oppa say before that the AI told him people often suffered from amnesia when waking up from long cryosleep?

That statement was surprisingly true.

My memories were somewhat unclear right now. We all woke up early this morning and talked about how to proceed with the early stages of Room 203, but...

I can’t remember.

All memories of how the meeting went and when we entered the Cursed Room were blurry.

What was extremely serious was that only one sentence clearly came to mind among these blurry memories.

— Wow~ Songee’s role is really big this time! I’ll just trust and wait for you~!

I clearly remember those words Kain-oppa said as the meeting was ending.

But what’s my role?

“Pride.”

“Yes?”

“How about waking up other crew mates? Can’t you wake up crew mate Han Kain?”

“Haha! Are you feeling lonely after waking up after a long time? Don’t worry. By your perceived time, you’ll be able to meet the others soon.”

For something said with a laugh, it was content that didn’t leave even a shred of possibility.

After sighing once, as I was following along, I recalled what the AI said earlier and had a question.

What on earth is Adravita’s contamination?

Kain-oppa was careful with his actions because he was suspected by the AI from the beginning due to “memory loss”, but I didn’t seem to be under much suspicion, so couldn’t I ask?

“What exactly is Adravita’s contamination?”

“Hmm... It’s a very technical concept abridged into a single word, so it’s difficult to explain.”

“Wouldn’t I need to understand that concept to communicate smoothly with Adravita?”

So you need to explain it perfectly!

“That’s a persuasive point.”

Pride stopped for a moment and started tilting its head this way and that. It was fascinating because it looked just like the behavior of a person trying to recall the appropriate word.

“Let’s say it’s the process of twisting the genes and souls of existing life forms to make them Adravita’s servants?”

“Um... Is it like hypnosis or brainwashing?”

“It’s a biological process, not magical power, but the result is similar. Ah! A very similar case came to mind.”

“A similar case?”

“Have you ever raised animals?”

“A lot.”

“Oh ho! Then it should be easy to understand. Think of dogs.”

“Dogs?”

“When humans meet someone they love, a hormone called oxytocin is secreted. Usually, when humans meet lovers, partners, parents, or children, oxytocin secretion increases by about 50%.”

“Really?”

“When dogs meet their owners, oxytocin secretion increases by 60% or more.”

“Hmm...”

“Dogs are wolves bred to love humans. Many dogs feel much stronger emotions towards their human owners than they do towards their parent or child dogs.”

“I’ve heard about that.”

“Adravita’s contamination is like that. Because it’s a being that wants to be worshipped.”

With those words, Pride started walking again.

So humans contaminated by Adravita love and worship Adravita? Like dogs love humans? This was a bit disgusting.

At that moment, Pride grabbed the doorknob of a huge room.

“Ms. Yu Songee, please. As you know, this one refuses to communicate with me. Ah, please block your sight and hearing with your bracelet and hold my hand. You need to restore your senses slowly.”

As I blocked my senses as instructed, I couldn’t see or hear anything.

As I was walking, led by Pride’s touch, Pride tapped my palm. Thinking this was the signal, I started restoring my senses as slowly as possible.

Just as a huge shape too large to take in at a glance dimly appeared in my vision, suddenly the form of a giant flying whale became clearly visible.

“Ms. Yu Songee, are you alright?”

“Yes.”

“Why don’t you try saying something? This one doesn’t even pretend to listen to me.”

“...Can you hear me?”

The flying whale that had been leisurely floating in the air turned its head towards me.

[I c□□ h□□r y□□, □□s.]

I can hear you, yes.

Huh?

“Is that what you just said?”

Normal communication is impossible until the 5th attempt.

“Normal communication is impossible until the 5th attempt? Is that right?”

“What conversation are you having?”

Pride showed a puzzled reaction, as if wondering what the two of us were saying. On the other hand, Adravita’s reaction was completely different.

– Splash!

“Aaah!”

As the whale’s entire shining body rippled, something that could only be seen as a kind of shockwave spread in all directions.

At this sudden burst of power that could only be seen as a surprise attack, not only I but also Pride, who was physically just a small girl, flew backwards.

At that moment, my body flying through the air suddenly stopped in mid-air as if grabbed by an invisible giant hand and landed gently.

it was a mistake. My apologies.

“...Yes.”

Just now, Adravita was surprised that I accurately understood its noise-mixed expression of intention and emitted a shockwave!

Adravita tilted its head towards me.

[C□□ you h□□r □□?]

“...Pardon?”

Can you hear me me?

“Can you hear me?”

Strange. Humans should be beings that communicate through hearing...

“How are you conveying your opinions right now?”

I am not conveying, just thinking clearly. Therefore, it’s not that I conveyed my intention, but you should ponder how you are understanding.

Adravita didn’t convey its intentions to me, but I was reading its thoughts with some kind of power?

Could it be Tacit Communication?

I had never used this power to read the thoughts of a divine being before?

“There is a power that comes to mind, but I’ve never read the thoughts of a being like you before.”

That’s because I’ve been trying to convey my intentions to you somehow, and they haven’t.

I vaguely understood what was going on.

What was certain was that this situation was a great opportunity for both me and everyone!

“If you have something to say—“

First, we need to send out the nuisance.

A strange wave filled the space. Just in case, I turned around to see that Pride had disappeared.

“...What exactly is your purpose?”

I have no intention of harming you.

That was unbelievable. Usually, villains pretended to be harmless until they killed you.

“We think you’ve gone mad.”

Mad?

“Aren’t you?”

Even if there has been a change in me, it is not madness. There is no madness, only adaptation.

“Adaptation? I mean, you’ve already helped us several times. Some people suspect you might want death.”

Why does helping you connect to my death?

“When the Cursed Room is solved, all beings inside disappear, right?”

...

Instead of answering, Adravita fell silent. I felt an indescribable wall of communication.

“Hello?”

Child.

“Yes?”

You still don’t know much about this place. Death, you say. You might see it that way. But the essence of the Hotel is not disconnection.

“What?”

Death is an eternal end, so it’s disconnection, and life anticipates death that will come someday, so it’s also disconnection. Therefore, both life and death are not the essence of the Hotel. There is only circulation.

“Um... I don’t understand what you’re saying at all. Do you have to talk in such vague terms?”

I spoke with utmost clarity, how is it my fault that your small head cannot understand?

“...”

Ah, so what you’re saying is that it’s my fault for being stupid?

I was momentarily at a loss for words.

At the same time, Tacit Communication conveyed Adravita’s “mood” to me. It was enjoying its conversation with me right now.

“Let’s stop the philosophical talk and return to easier topics. If you really want the room to be solved, please tell me the easiest shortcut.”

Haven’t I already told you? Take the core and head to the mountain range.

“By core, do you mean the machine you showed Miro?”

The core is the main power of the Pride of Humanity ship. Retrieving it is the mission of the spaceship. If you take it, the legion in the mountain range will not invade you.

If this was true, it meant Seungyub’s hypothesis and Eunsol-unni’s interpretation were surprisingly correct.

The machine device Miro saw was the spaceship’s power source, and if we took it to the mountain range, the AI wouldn’t attack us.

There’s an even easier way.

“An easier way? I like that kind of thing. My lifelong dream is to live life easily.”

...I don’t know what method you used, but it seems you have a means to escape as soon as you start.

Killing the Ahri summoned by the Time Borrower!

It seemed the Convict didn’t know exactly what method we used.

“You could say that.”

Do it two more times.

“What?”

If you escape two more times and reach the 5th attempt, most of the restrictions on me will disappear. Then I will guide you directly.

“...How can we trust you? Will you try to persuade me?”

That’s impossible.

“Pardon?”

Even I find it hard to trust you, so how could you trust me? So do your best. If you can’t trust me, what else can I say?

I was at a loss for words again when he said that.

Let’s stop here. It’s been quite an enjoyable conversation, but I’m starting to feel restrictions being imposed on me.

“P-purpose!”

...

“Tell me what your purpose is!”

I want to see the true end.

“What?”

I want to see the true end, not the incomplete catastrophe the Hotel shows.

“What on earth does that—“

My consciousness was fading. This was my last memory from the spaceship.