Chapter 104

There was a simple reason why I specifically mentioned Paseong.

Je Hyun-oh was hostile toward both the Trial and the Adaptees.

He had no reason to show leniency to a Adaptee who wasn’t even affiliated with the Trial Response Agency.

He had gone easy on me so far only because I was part of the Agency’s Special Mission Team; otherwise, he would have torn me to shreds long ago.

We had been thrust into this situation suddenly, like a bolt from the blue—or a crashing meteorite.

I doubted Je Hyun-oh had heard from Samra about whether I was renewing my contract, so I sent him a telepathic message.

Upon receiving the message, Je Hyun-oh lowered his head toward me.

The glossy surface of his goggles drew a little closer.

Perhaps because the surroundings were dim, his dark silhouette seemed to loom over me like a cascading shadow.

“Goyo.”

His low, heavy voice whispered languidly.

“Did you sign a contract with the Agency?”

It was a rough, guttural bass—no different from the growl of a beast.

I glanced at the nearby guards. They showed no sign of surprise, even though the creature had spoken.

Since Je Hyun-oh was classified as a creature, the guards likely heard his voice merely as the roar of a monster.

I replied in detail via telepathic message.

I fired off the message rapidly, almost like rapping. Then, I carefully gauged his reaction.

Sure enough… the atmosphere seemed to soften just a bit.

Breathing a sigh of relief inwardly, I cautiously walked past Je Hyun-oh.

Then, I threw open the door to Solitary Cell No. 13—which was already unlocked—and called out to him.

“Creature Inmate No. 13. Please come this way.” A snort of suppressed laughter was heard.

It was Kwak Hanmuk, who had been watching the scene and couldn’t hold back his amusement.

Dominic also chimed in regarding my imitation of a doctor.

“Since Roasted Chestnut’s subordinate is in a somewhat unstable state, it would be wise to combine counseling with treatment while we have the chance.”

I deeply agreed with Dominic’s advice, given his background as a former psychiatrist.

However, if Je Hyun-oh’s mental instability were the sort of condition that could be cured, the Trial Response Agency would have already fixed it using every means at their disposal.

I looked at Je Hyun-oh with a pounding heart.

He watched me standing there gripping the cell door, and then, a moment later, a glowing emoticon flashed across his goggles.

I had never been so happy to see an emoticon.

While I was moved by the sight of an emoticon after such a long time, Je Hyun-oh walked toward me.

Then, he docilely stepped inside the cell.

“…!”

A stir ran through the guards at the sight of such submissive behavior from a creature that had previously been violent enough to kill a guard.

While they were flustered, Kwak Hanmuk held out his palm to them; he had evidently joined a betting pool in the meantime.

Since he likely wagered on my survival, it looked like he was about to make a tidy profit.

Thinking I should ask him to treat me to a delicious meal later, I settled into the solitary cell alongside Je Hyun-oh.

In truth, the real challenge was about to begin.

The schedule displayed upon the completion of my mission had indicated that “Creature Inmate No. 13” would be present today; consequently, I had to treat the relevant section of the operational manual as the absolute truth and carry it out.

I was required to treat Creature Inmate No. 13 “kindly,” but I had no idea how Je Hyun-oh would perceive my actions.

‘Well, at least I’ve got that emoticon displayed on my goggles.’

I decided to trust the emoticon and just go for it.

Since things had come to this, the best course of action was to get the rounds over with right now.

“Creature Inmate No. 13. Could you please sit here?”

When I pointed to the chair, Je Hyun-oh sat down.

Bolstered by his cooperative attitude, I bravely took out my stethoscope.

Of course, I didn’t forget to send a message ahead of time.

I gently placed the stethoscope against Je Hyun-oh’s chest.

Tap.

My hand trembled at the slight sensation of the stethoscope making contact.

I was ready to bolt instantly if any metallic clanking sound occurred, but Je Hyun-oh remained perfectly still.

After going through the motions of an examination, I hurriedly pulled the stethoscope back and announced:

“Everything is normal! You’re in excellent health.”

Then, I quickly retrieved the chart from my inventory.

Since I wasn’t a real doctor, I only needed to make a simple note indicating a normal status.

After finishing the entry, I swallowed hard. Only one final hurdle remained.

That was to treat him ‘kindly’…

In the original game, this was an action performed toward empty air.

But now that Creature Inmate No. 13—specifically Je Hyun-oh—had actually arrived as an inmate, the difficulty level had skyrocketed.

With grim determination, I took an item out of my inventory.

Then, I placed it gently—very, very gently—onto Je Hyun-oh’s knees.

“…….”

Je Hyun-oh stared intently at the object resting on his knee.

It was a yellow candy.

In reality, it wasn’t a candy, but a nutritional supplement.

After looking at the supplement, Je Hyun-oh raised his gaze to look at me.

I squeezed my eyes shut and blurted out:

“I… I only give these to well-behaved creature patients…!”

My voice rang out loudly across Zone X.

I hadn’t actually spoken that loudly, but the silence of the surroundings made the sound carry much further.

Feeling embarrassed, I cautiously opened my eyes again.

Je Hyun-oh was still staring intently at me.

His goggles lit up.

…Does he like candy?

Two large circles appeared on his goggles, though I couldn’t quite guess what they signified.

Since he reportedly ate whole cakes with Kwak Hanmuk, it seemed likely he enjoyed candy, too.

In any case, I was off the hook. It seemed a bit of camaraderie had developed between us after all.

I quickly wrapped up the examination and stepped out of solitary cell No. 13.

Clang—the door shut.

I glanced back at Je Hyun-oh through the bars.

He sat motionless, faithfully playing the role of a prisoner.

Seeing him confined in that small, stifling space, I felt an urge to let him out, even though I was the one who had locked him up.

As I stared at him, lost in thought, a different question suddenly crossed my mind.

Why was Je Hyun-oh at the TRA? It seemed unlikely that Jang Seokyun had managed to trap Je Hyun-oh in an inescapable contract; given Je Hyun-oh’s personality, he wouldn’t have accepted just anything.

‘I’d like to ask, but he probably wouldn’t answer…’

It seemed best to just focus on shutting down Cell-X as quickly as possible.

After all, playing the role of a prisoner wouldn’t be easy for Je Hyun-oh, and I wanted to get him out of there fast.

I let out a deep sigh inwardly and looked at the prison guards.

I saw Kwak Hanmuk mouthing a word that looked like ‘chestnut.’

Just as I was wondering if he meant Chestnut…

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

Sounds signaling changes in stats erupted all at once.

The notifications rang out so rapidly and chaotically that it was impossible to tell where the sounds were coming from.

System windows popped up and jumbled together haphazardly, making it difficult to distinguish whose stats were rising.

It wasn’t just the guards; the creatures were experiencing stat changes as well.

Having seen how I treated Creature Inmate No. 13, it wasn’t strange for the creatures’ stats to fluctuate.

But the magnitude of the increases was bizarre.

As I frantically checked the system windows, I flinched.

‘Affinity +62?’

It was an absurd increase.

The Affinity +55 that followed was also unusual; there were simply too many double-digit jumps.

It made no sense. Increases of that magnitude almost never happened.

Moreover, since Suspicion rose easily while Affinity was notoriously difficult to raise, the whole situation felt like a system error.

‘Wait a minute…Who is the one with +67 Suspicion?’

When the stat exceeds 50, a major shift occurs in the relationship with that individual.

It often triggers a quest; if the person is significant, that quest could drastically alter the ending.

I reflexively checked the Chief of Security’s stats.

…Crazy.

Back at the infirmary, the stats had been 13 Suspicion and 3 Favorability—but now, they had skyrocketed.

‘The Chief of Security was the one with +67 Suspicion and +55 Favorability?’

I was so dumbfounded that my mouth fell slightly open.

Even granting the rise in Suspicion, I couldn’t fathom why Favorability had increased as well, especially after I’d just treated a creature.

But there was no time to analyze the numbers.

“Little Lamb.”

I felt a chill run down my spine as I looked at the Chief of Security.

In Cell-X, an increase in a guard’s Favorability—especially when accompanied by a rise in Suspicion—was never a good thing.

“Shall we go somewhere quiet to talk?”

“…Ah, well. Since I’m already here, I should finish my rounds with the remaining creature patients…”

The Chief of Security spoke with a smile.

“This isn’t a request.”

I was screwed.

I realized I was in deep trouble.

The Chief of Security stepped closer and placed his hand on my shoulder. His large hand pressed down firmly.

“Let’s go.”

“…Yes.”

As I was practically dragged away, I hurriedly sent a message to Kwak Hanmuk.

And the moment I stepped into the Chief of Security’s office…

Bam!

I was grabbed by the scruff of my neck and slammed face-first onto the desk.

“Urgh…”

A groan of pain involuntarily escaped my lips. Since I had anticipated the impact, I managed to turn my head slightly and narrowly protect my face.

Had I not, the force of the blow would have certainly caused a nosebleed.

Dominic spoke in a startled voice as I lay pinned flat.

“I’ve never seen such a brute. Roasted Chestnut, shouldn’t we punish him?”

Dominic clearly believed I was capable of firing a laser beam.

But I was just a powerless human, quietly pinned against the desk.

“Little Lamb.”

The Chief of Security asked the question while pressing down on me from behind.

“Are you able to communicate with Creature Inmate No. 13?”

I had deliberately ignored Je Hyun-oh’s words and replied via telepathic message instead, but the Chief of Security was sharp.

For now, I feigned ignorance.

“I don’t know what you mean… Gack!”

The pressure intensified. My chest was being crushed, making it difficult to breathe.

As oxygen ran low, my vision began to blur.

“Roasted Chestnut?”

Dominic’s voice seemed to drift further away.

Just as I thought I was about to lose consciousness, the Chief of Security eased the pressure.

I took a deep breath.

Looking down at me as I panted, the Chief of Security spoke.

“Did you know? We are always short on prison guards here.”

“…….”

“With just a little training, you might make a fine colleague, Little Lamb.”

So, it was that quest after all.

There was a specific quest that triggered once your levels of suspicion and favorability with the Chief of Security crossed a certain threshold.

It was the kind of quest I’d rather avoid in real life, but it seemed I couldn’t escape it now.

The Chief of Security grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and dragged me along.

He headed toward a corner of the office, where a large iron door lay on the floor.

As he lifted the door with his free hand, a passage leading underground was revealed.

It looked like a ventilation shaft, but it was wide enough for a grown man to tumble right through.

An eerie darkness hung within the bottomless hole.

“Little Lamb. I’ll be waiting for you.”

Whispering this into my ear, the Chief of Security shoved me inside.

“Ugh…!”

Roughly thrust in, I plummeted into the unfathomable depths of the passage.

In an instant, the light vanished, and darkness enveloped my entire body.

Amidst the fall, I frantically groped around my head, worried the Pudding Slime might have fallen off.

I felt a soft, squishy texture and let out a sigh of relief.

Then, the moment a flash of green light crossed my vision, I took a sharp breath in.

Splash!

I plunged into a pool of neon-green liquid.

The viscous fluid coated my entire body.

I had been mentally prepared for it, but the actual sensation of it touching my skin was incredibly unpleasant.

Swallowing a curse, I thrashed about in a panic. The doctor’s coat wrapped around my body, hindering my movements, but I managed to swim nonetheless.

Struggling desperately while trying to avoid swallowing the liquid as much as possible, I finally reached solid ground.

Soaking wet, I hauled myself onto the land and took a moment to catch my breath.

“Haa… haa…”

A quest window appeared before my eyes.