Chapter 100

I roughly understood what Samra was trying to say through his softened phrasing.

It seemed CEO Cha was raising a massive ruckus.

From CEO Cha’s perspective, the situation must have been absurd.

We had finalized the agreement and even drawn up the contract, only for me to suddenly get hit by a meteorite and swept into a Trial.

It was a new Trial with absolutely no available information.

I had entered a place where the difficulty—whether one star or six—was unknown, and my very survival was in doubt.

CEO Cha had gone so far as to stage a terrorist attack on the Trial Response Agency and pay massive damages just to secure me.

Yet, there was a real possibility I might die without delivering any value at all.

CEO Cha would likely want to enter the Trial himself to pull me out.

‘He probably also intends to use the opportunity to see how I tackle Trials and gauge my utility.’

It seemed a combination of motives was driving his insistence on entering the Trial I was currently in.

The Trial Response Agency wouldn’t want to throw Je Hyun-oh and CEO Cha—who had fought just three days ago, blowing up a building in the process—into the same Trial.

However, stopping CEO Cha seemed unlikely.

Since Je Hyun-oh wasn’t the type to back down either, it was a certainty that the two of them would be entering Cell-X together.

I figured they would likely arrive sometime tomorrow, according to the Trial’s timeline.

I asked another question.

“Say, Samra. Is Captain Mo… still hospitalized?”

—Yes, she is. She cannot enter this Trial.

Thinking of Mo Haein, who had been asleep inside that glass pillar, made me feel a bit downcast.

At the same time, I was relieved that Mo Haein wasn’t coming here.

For starters, the atmosphere here was terrible. It was so dark and gloomy… I felt I would have been distressed if, by any chance, she had ended up in the role of a medic.

“Understood. Then I’ll proceed with the understanding that Lieutenant Colonel Je, Lieutenant Won, and CEO Cha are all entering.”

Given the nature of Cell-X, there was no way to know beforehand what roles each person would be assigned.

While we might cross paths while tackling the trials, until then, we wouldn’t even be able to pinpoint each other’s locations.

I could verify things with Je Hyun-oh and Kwak Hanmuk by sending messages, but with Won Taebeom and CEO Cha, I had no choice but to face the situation head-on without any prior coordination.

After mentally reviewing the roles in Cell-X, I called out to Samra.

“Samra.”

—Please, go ahead.

Samra would already be aware of the conversations I’d had with CEO Cha and Kwak Hanmuk.

After all, simply possessing an electronic device meant being within Samra’s information network.

I began speaking, assuming Samra knew everything.

“Have you managed to find any other users who played the creator’s game?”

It seemed the creator had distributed the game to multiple people to conduct some sort of experiment.

Viewers in the chatroom had been suffering while playing the creator’s game.

I wanted to hear the testimonies of other users as well.

—A total of 666 users have been identified so far, including you, Han Goyo-ssi, and CEO Cha. It is estimated that there are no further users.

In that case, couldn’t I get testimonies from them, too?

However, Samra immediately explained why that wasn’t possible.

—Of the 666 people who played the creator’s game, 598 are currently missing, and 66 have died. All 66 deceased individuals were confirmed to have committed suicide after exhibiting symptoms of mental derangement.

“Then… are CEO Cha and I the only ones who are still all right?”

—That is correct. This was one of the reasons I had advised Han Goyo against contacting CEO Cha during my initial information gathering. I had considered the possibility that CEO Cha might have killed other users.

Samra, who understood CEO Cha’s character, had made a very wise decision.

As expected, the judgment of a state-of-the-art AI android was exceptional.

‘But if that was just one of the reasons, there must be others.’

Just as I was debating whether to ask about the other reasons, Samra continued.

—The investigation revealed that CEO Cha was not at fault. It is speculated that the disappearances and deaths of the users are linked to the Creator.

Based on the chat logs, it appeared that the users who committed suicide had taken such extreme measures due to the psychological trauma they suffered while playing the game.

“Samra, is there no information on the missing users? Like details on how they disappeared?”

—There is none. It is impossible for me to fail to find even a single piece of information on 598 people. I attribute this, too, to the Creator’s abilities.

It meant that a staggering 598 people had vanished overnight, leaving absolutely no trace of their whereabouts.

If even Samra couldn’t find them… it was far more likely that they had effectively disappeared from Earth.

I proposed a new hypothesis to Samra.

“Could they be trapped inside the game? Like being trapped within a Trial?”

Recalling the comments in the viewers’ chat, it certainly felt as though they were trapped inside the game.

While CEO Cha and I had played via PC, other users might not have.

Samra remained silent for a moment. I waited, assuming it was processing data.

—It is possible, provided we accept the premise that the Creator is a god.

I told Samra about the Creator’s messages in the chat and the concept of a god existing outside of Earth.

I also mentioned that my current condition was somewhat unusual. If I shared this information with Samra, he would be able to make sound judgments based on objective facts, even if my memory and perception became confused again.

As I pondered what other information I could provide that might aid Samra’s data learning, a question was suddenly posed to me.

— Aren’t you afraid?

“Pardon?”

— You are currently in a situation where you are experiencing significant pressure and intense stress.

I hesitated for a moment before asking.

“Are you worried about me?”

— What meaning do you think it holds?

I muttered, feeling a bit bewildered.

“It’s just… I find it hard to believe…”

The Samra I had known in the game was no different from a machine.

He was an emotionless entity—much like the computers used by the Trial Response Agency—and rarely interacted with me, the player.

Even when I tried to strike up a conversation, I received only curt, robotic replies.

While he would mimic human behavior when the situation required it, he would otherwise reveal his mechanical nature and shut down any actions or dialogue he deemed pointless.

He would only offer a reward when I provided something of actual utility.

I once pestered him out of sheer stubbornness—following him around incessantly—only to end up banned from the Trial Response Agency.

That ban carried over into the next game session; I was only able to regain access after submitting a letter of apology promising never to mess with Samra again.

Yet, the more I interacted with Samra in reality, the more I felt a difference from the game version.

‘I decided not to judge him solely based on information from the game.’

Recalling that resolution, I spoke. “I’m fine. Well, there are tough parts, but good parts too. Thanks to this, I even got to meet Samra.”

—…….

“If there’s ever anything I can do to help, please let me know.”

—…Understood.

“Oh, and do I need to keep the hologram badge turned on?”

—We recommend keeping it on for your safety, Han Goyo-ssi.

Sensing a hint of curtness in the reply, I hurriedly offered an explanation.

“It’s not that I want to refuse communication with Samra…”

I explained that I simply wanted a bit of privacy, promising to report to Samra periodically and to turn the communication back on immediately if I needed help.

Only then did I learn that the hologram badge actually had an on/off function.

Before ending the call, Samra gave me one final piece of advice.

—Han Goyo-ssi. Please prioritize your own safety above all else.

“Yes, Samra. I’ll be in touch.”

After turning off the hologram badge, I set out in earnest to explore the area for the sake of the walkthrough.

First, I examined the interior of the medic’s room and acquired two items: the ‘Weekly Schedule’ and the ‘Previous Medic’s operational manual.’

The weekly schedule—which changes randomly with each playthrough—updates the tasks the medic must perform for each day of the week.

Failing to complete even a single task for the day meant being dragged off and beaten by the guards, so checking the schedule was absolutely critical.

However, since there was only one medic in the prison, an emergency situation arising during the schedule could halt all routine activities and trigger an event requiring urgent medical treatment.

‘Today is Sunday.’

Since the schedule begins the day after arrival, I could start carrying out my duties on Monday. I checked the day of the week and the assigned duties, then glanced at Dominic.

The Pudding Slime, wearing a guard’s cap, jiggled on my wrist as it read the medic’s weekly schedule.

Guards have daily duties, too, but…

‘Well, it probably doesn’t matter for Dominic.’

Since ordinary NPCs couldn’t even perceive Dominic’s existence anyway, it would likely be fine.

I took out the previous medic’s operational manual.

Old bloodstains marred the pages of the worn manual.

I had thought so when I saw it in the game, too—it was a confusing set of instructions.

There was no telling why it had been written that way.

Dominic, who had read the instructions with me, seemed to share my opinion and added:

“There are logical inconsistencies; it doesn’t appear to be a reliable document.”

Still, not everything written in the manual was false.

Which items were real and which were fake depended on the weekly schedule, so I had to verify them as I played through the game.

I left the pill container where it was but put the work manual and the weekly schedule into my inventory.

I also made sure to gather the standard-issue items: a flashlight and medical supplies.

Finally, just before leaving the Medic’s room after changing into a doctor’s coat…

“Haa…”

I let out a long sigh. I wasn’t exactly thrilled about what I was about to do.

“Dominic.”

“Yes, Roasted Chestnut?”

“I’m about to do something, and I wanted to let you know beforehand so you wouldn’t be too startled.”

I firmly instructed him not to help but simply to watch, and Dominic twitched his ears as he asked:

“What are you going to do?”

I really didn’t like Cell-X at all…

Swallowing the sigh that threatened to escape, I answered Dominic.

“I’m off to get beaten by the guards.”