Chapter 14
-----------------------
13. If someone asks for help, ignore them. Your job is not to help the patients in this hospital.
17. If you feel like killing yourself, go up to the 10th floor.
18. If you can't go to the 10th floor, call the in-house counseling center.
19. Never follow Rule 6.
23. If a call comes in from the director's office, it takes precedence over all other rules.
-----------------------
Those were the rules that had been crossed out.
Now the rulebook finally felt a little more human.
There were no contradictions, and only things that could somehow be done were left.
As long as I didn't get fooled into reacting in surprise for no reason, I should be able to carry out my security guard duties without any problem.
The fact that my predecessor was still alive was proof enough that this worked.
"Yeah. I'm going to live. I'm definitely coming back alive."
If I fail here.
I'll become part of this monster of a hospital again and be tormented for a very long time. I can never go through that again. Besides, the regression point is here, not my room, so I have to solve this somehow.
I memorized the rulebook one last time, down to the letter, and waited for the phone to ring.
As if on cue, the bell rang, and I answered at once.
-Today's working hours are from 8:00 to 17:00.
So today's working hours are confirmed as [08:00 ~ 17:00].
Surprisingly humane working hours.
When I checked the clock, there were still ten minutes left before I had to report for duty. Come to think of it, the first shift had been during the day. It seemed some time had passed since I blacked out after seeing the Administration Bureau get wiped out. I changed into the security uniform and put on Mr. Lee Seung-cheol's name tag.
I can't break the rule about names. Before long, my name tag will be changed to my real name, and once that happens, I'll become part of the hospital.
"Let's go."
It was time.
I left the security room and entered the hospital. This was an extremely tense moment. Were these bastards really going to look like monsters?
"..."
Fortunately, they weren't.
Every one of them had a blank expression—just ordinary people. Neither the nurses nor the patients paid me any attention.
As long as I followed the rules, they'd think of me only as a security guard in the hospital.
All right, then. Let's start work.
Take the cart, go up to the second floor, and collect the black boxes. Never think about what's inside them. The moment I do, I'll throw up.
I had to ignore everything that happened outside the window. Last time there had been a monster plastered to the window, and it had startled me. Since I know that now, I can just pretend it's not there.
I went into the storage room beside the desk.
The smell of strong chemicals and the rank stench of blood hit me. There were far more black boxes stacked up than I remembered. So all of those have Administration Bureau agents in them...
ㅡWriggle!
"...!"
For a second, a black box popped up and I nearly screamed. One of the Administration Bureau agents, with his limbs severed and his innards ripped out, was probably struggling inside.
I'm human too, so seeing those Administration Bureau agents reduced to such a miserable state honestly did make me feel some pity, but that vanished the instant I nearly screamed.
You bastards.
You'll pay dearly for ripping out my brain and killing me.
The moment I took the cart and stepped outside.
"Excuse me."
A nurse said with a blank expression.
I nearly jumped again!
You bitch!
What, is this some kind of jumpscare? Why the hell do you suddenly start talking when you show up!
"Yes."
But I'm not the one who'll be startled. I answered flatly, my own face blank. Right now, I was an emotionless security guard at Cheongak Mary Hospital.
"Are you the new security guard?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"What's your name?"
A nurse is asking for my name?
[3-3. If someone asks you for your name inside the building, you must answer only with the name written on your name tag.]
All I had to do was answer according to the rulebook.
"Lee Seung-cheol."
"That's not it."
"Pardon?"
"That's not it."
"That's not it."
"That's not it."
It wasn't just the nurse.
Everyone on the first floor.
All of them were looking at me as they spoke.
"You're not Lee Seung-cheol."
"You're not Lee Seung-cheol."
Y-you bastards!
"""You're not Lee Seung-cheolllll!!!!!!!!!!!!"""
The mouths of the patients and nurses split unnaturally wide, and impossible shrieks burst out. The urge to abandon everything surged up from the terrifying fear, but I kept my expression under control until the very end.
"I am Lee Seung-cheol."
The rulebook said.
No matter what happened, I had to answer only as it said on the name tag.
"..."
Did it work...?
Suddenly everyone went quiet.
No, they didn't just go quiet—they returned to normal as if nothing had happened and went back to their own tasks.
This hospital is really insane...
I can't let my guard down for even a second.
This isn't the time for this.
I went straight up to the second floor.
And as soon as I got off, I glanced sideways at the window.
ㅡThump-thump!
A huge eyeball outside the window was pulsing like a heart as it watched me.
[15. Ignore everything that happens outside the window.]
I ignored it.
I acted like I didn't know. Like there was nothing outside the window. I didn't show any sign of surprise and just moved normally. I acted like someone focused only on work.
There were a total of five boxes on the second floor.
I lifted them one by one, loaded them onto the cart, and took them down to the first floor.
ㅡCreak.
The door opens.
Last time, I'd already broken the rules, so things were already completely fucked by this point.
But now?
"..."
Nobody reacts to me!
I cheered inwardly and went into the storage room. Then I loaded the black boxes one by one. In the middle of it, one of the boxes that had already been stacked there wriggled, and I could hear something like a groan from inside, but... I ignored it completely. The agents of the Administration Bureau are my enemies. Honestly, if these incompetent bastards were on my side, that would be even scarier. What the hell is Section Chief Lee Do-hyeong doing, seriously? The Administration Bureau bastards can wipe out people that well, but they get one-shotted by monsters? Damn, there's no fool like these fools.
And so I continued my work.
Third floor.
Fourth floor.
Fifth floor.
I collected all the boxes without any problems.
And when I reached the sixth floor.
I felt my heart sink.
Because there were two patients in the hallway.
One of them was plastered against the wall as if it were trying to become one with it.
[8-1. If a patient is bleeding from the mouth and pressed against the wall, do not make contact; ignore them.]
Looks like it's bleeding from the mouth.
Let's ignore this bastard.
What about the other one?
"..."
It was wandering around slowly with vacant eyes. I checked its eyes first. They weren't pitch-black.
In that case.
[8. If a patient is wandering around, immediately put them in the room at the end of each floor and lock the door. That room can be locked from the outside.]
I should follow Rule 8.
As long as I follow the rules, there won't be a problem.
"Stay still."
I grabbed the patient.
It didn't resist.
It simply let me lead it, and I dragged it to the room at the end. It was a door that could be locked from the outside.
I opened the door first.
ㅡWhoosh.
It's pitch-black.
It wasn't as if it connected to the room... It was pitch-black, as though it connected to some black world instead. It felt like a black hole absorbing all light.
Let's do it by the rulebook.
ㅡSwish.
I shoved the patient inside.
It vanished into the darkness.
ㅡThunk.
I closed the door and locked it according to the rules.
That should do it.
ㅡThud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
"...!"
The pounding sounded insane as I was about to turn around, but I didn't make a sound. I just cursed inwardly and turned my body.
That bastard's trying to scare me.
When I looked ahead while thinking that, the person who had been stuck to the wall was gone.
The wall was covered in a pool of red liquid.
[10. Sometimes red liquid may flow from the wall, but that's paint, not blood, so ignore it.]
Hmm.
So that was the rule.
Let's just keep collecting the boxes...
* * *
After that, nothing out of the ordinary happened. I kept going floor by floor for the allotted time, repeating the task of collecting the boxes.
In the end, I waited in front of the first-floor desk, and the moment my shift was over, I clocked out and went back into the security room.
As soon as I got in, I took off Seung-cheol's name tag, put it in the drawer, and changed clothes.
"Locker."
[3-6. If you clear out the locker in the security room, you can enter the living quarters. Live there.]
So clearing out the locker really does open up a living space.
I cleared it out, and there was a small door. Inside was a goshiwon-like studio room. At least I could shower in the booth. But what about food? Come to think of it, I hadn't eaten anything.
"Fridge?"
There was a lunch box and water in the fridge.
So all I have to do is live here.
"Haa."
Sitting on the bed, I let out a breath. Somehow, I'd made it through the day. I had safely finished my shift in this monster of a hospital.
But this wasn't over.
If I didn't escape this place.
Tomorrow.
And the day after that.
I'd have to be trapped here for countless days. Even if I got used to the work, would I really be safe? If some ridiculous, unfair bullshit happened, it'd be game over that day.
I'd end up suffering eternal torment again.
"Let's eat."
I pushed the thoughts aside and took out the lunch box.
The rulebook said to live here. That had to include food, clothing, and shelter. I ate the lunch box in full, took a shower, and lay down on the bed. I needed to recover my strength so I could work again tomorrow.
When I closed my eyes, the image of Section Chief Lee Do-hyeong came to mind.
As the bureau's chief, he was an incredible superhuman who could cut down monsters in an instant. Judging by how he carried himself, it seemed like he had faced countless monsters while working at the Administration Bureau. Just from watching him fight, he was basically Levi himself.
Even so, he was still just a small fry who'd get his ass handed to him by a real monster.
That superhuman movement was probably some kind of superpower... But even if you had such a power, if you came face-to-face with something outside the rules, you were done for.
Just like how I have regression, but can't really do anything with it.
"Damn it."
What exactly can I do with this regression ability?
I still haven't even been able to beat a vampire.
Honestly, if you were to rate regression by tier, it'd be an S-rank, utterly broken ability.
If I'd gotten such an overwhelming ability, I'd need to put on some kind of show worthy of it... Well, for now, let's just act humbly. Even that scary Administration Bureau wasn't guaranteed to win against monsters like these. Besides, in this world there are things worse than death...