As Han Seo-yeon climbed the stairs toward the third floor of Building C, a faint light leaked from the end of the hallway.
Unlike the other floors, for some reason, the electricity seemed to be working here.
“Aha. So this is the setting?”
**[The electricity is still on here. It feels different from the other wards.]**
“I’m glad the power is on! It feels a little less scary.”
Aria spoke as she peeked out from behind my back, looking relieved.
However, I decided not to mention that in the horror genre, such things were usually an omen or a hint that something even stranger might happen.
Han Seo-yeon cautiously walked down the hallway, noticing the framed pictures hanging on both walls. The faces in the photos were all blackened out.
“Ugh. What’s that?”
“The faces of the people in the photos are all erased.”
Usually, covering them like this meant there was a secret or a hint.
— Can you take a closer look at the photos in the hallway?
“They’re painted black, so I can’t see anything.”
— Even the names?
“Ah! Yes.”
Even though she looked closely at the photos, the faces were indistinguishable, but the names and titles written below were clear. Judging by the positions listed, they were photos of the doctors at the psychiatric hospital.
**[Director Kwak Jun-ho, Park Min-su, Lee So-yeon….]**
I read the names one by one along with Han Seo-yeon. But my eyes stopped at the last nameplate.
**[The last one says Deputy Director Kwak Jun-su.]**
“Kwak Jun-ho and Kwak Jun-su?”
Was it a coincidence that a person in such a high position as the deputy director had a name only one character different from the director, who shared the same rare last name? They were likely brothers.
As she followed the photos to the end of the hall, she saw a nameplate that read ‘Director’s Office’. Fortunately, the office was not locked. When Han Seo-yeon turned the doorknob, it rotated smoothly.
**[Finally, the director’s office. I think all the answers will be here.]**
The inside of the director’s office was more organized than I expected. Various files were neatly arranged on the large desk, and medical books were packed tightly on the walls. For a psychopathic doctor suspected of being the root of all this, it was perfectly tidy. Though even that could be an act.
Han Seo-yeon began to examine the documents on the desk.
**[Here’s a list of discharged patients. But it’s strange.]**
Han Seo-yeon looked closely at the documents. In the column for the reason for discharge, text was clearly written, but it had all been crossed out with red X marks.
**[The reasons for discharge are all crossed out with a red pen. But underneath the X, there’s some other writing…]**
When Han Seo-yeon shone her flashlight closer, she saw small, handwritten notes under the X marks.
**[The original reasons were ‘normal discharge due to recovery’ or ‘discharge at family’s request’. But above those, it’s been rewritten in red pen as ‘transferred to another psychiatric hospital’, ‘deceased’, or ‘missing’. Every single one of them is strange.]**
As Han Seo-yeon turned to the next page, a handwritten memo appeared.
**[There’s a note here. ‘Rumors are circulating that some of the serious patients have suddenly become docile. However, contrary to this, nurses say some patients have actually seen their symptoms worsen. This is strange.’]**
As Han Seo-yeon continued to flip through the file, more of the director’s personal memos appeared on the next page.
**[Wait. This is odd. It says the director was in charge of the patients in Ward Eight. Then why is the director’s office actually in Building C?]**
“That certainly is strange!”
Aria was so fully immersed in the situation that she had reached the point of having a conversation with Han Seo-yeon.
Han Seo-yeon began to read the next memo.
**[Ah, here’s the answer. ‘My younger brother, who returned from studying abroad, volunteered to work in Building C, saying he wanted to take charge of serious patients for his training. I allowed it, thinking it was the passion of a young doctor.’ So the director had a younger brother.]**
Han Seo-yeon’s voice gradually grew darker.
**[Look at the next memo. ‘Police visited, saying some of the patients recently discharged from our hospital have gone missing. Most of them were people from Building C, who were under my brother’s care. When I asked my brother, he only gave vague answers. It might be faster to investigate myself.’]**
The last memo was written with shaky handwriting as if it had been penned in a hurry.
**[And here. ‘I secured testimony from patients that strange sounds are coming from the basement. The nurses dismissed it as mere auditory hallucinations of the mentally ill, but patient Kim So-yeon, whose symptoms eased from severe to mild and moved to Building B, said she no longer hears the hallucinations. It turns out only the patients in Building C were complaining of these symptoms. Why did my brother say he lost the basement key?’]**
Having read that far, Han Seo-yeon nodded.
**[It looks like the director found the key to the basement after all.]**
Sure enough, while rummaging through the desk drawers, Han Seo-yeon discovered a small key.
**[It looks like he kept the basement key separate and made a secret copy of it.]**
Han Seo-yeon held the key up to the camera.
**[With this, I think I can really go down to the basement!]**
Han Seo-yeon turned on her flashlight and began to descend the stairs toward the basement.
*Step, step.*
However, once she actually reached the basement, the flashlight was no longer necessary.
**[I’ve arrived at Basement Level One. The lights are on here too.]**
Han Seo-yeon searched the parking lot with extreme thoroughness.
‘She’s definitely not a novice at exploration.’
She was so thorough that even I, who had played countless horror games, felt certain that no more doubts or secrets would remain.
However, there was nothing in the basement parking lot.
**[No matter how much I search, this is just a parking lot. There are only a few cars.]**
Han Seo-yeon did not give up and looked around the parking lot further, but nothing special was discovered.
**[It’s strange. All the clues point to the basement.]**
Expressing her doubt, Han Seo-yeon climbed back up.
**[For now, I’ll examine Building C more closely. I feel like I missed something.]**
Leaving the basement, Han Seo-yeon began to explore Building C. Eventually, she found a small nameplate in a secluded corner at the end of a hallway.
**[It says Deputy Director’s Office here!]**
When she opened the door and entered, the atmosphere was completely different from the director’s office. The desk was messy, and medical books and research materials were scattered everywhere.
**[Quest Updated: Hidden Truth (0/3)]**
**[So this was the real culprit’s room.]**
As Han Seo-yeon looked over the desk, she found it filled with shocking materials.
**[Look at this! There are tons of papers related to frontal lobotomies. ‘Physical treatment through lobotomy’, ‘New ways to utilize frontal lobe resection’.]**
**[First Truth Discovered: The Deputy Director’s Illegal Medical Experiments]**
The quest counter changed to 1/3.
“A frontal lobotomy?”
“Guardian, what is that?” Aria asked curiously.
“It was a surgery that destroyed part of the brain under the guise of treating mental illness. It could make a patient docile, but it was a horrific method that ruined their emotions and their very personality. It’s a procedure that is completely banned now.”
As Han Seo-yeon dug deeper into the materials, she found the deputy director’s experimental proposal.
**[There’s a list of experimental subjects here too. The girl from Ward B who told me not to go to the basement is on the list.]**
Han Seo-yeon began to read the notes. As she delved deeper into the records, horrific surgical logs appeared.
**[Here is the surgical record book. The patient names match the list I saw earlier. And here is the deputy director’s signature.]**
**[Second Truth Discovered: Evidence That the Deputy Director Personally Performed the Surgeries]**
The quest counter changed to 2/3.
Han Seo-yeon continued to rummage through the documents until she found the most shocking one.
**[This is about the director. It seems the older brother, having realized the truth, urged him to turn himself in. But it looks like the deputy director killed his brother because he thought he was a hindrance who didn’t understand his vision.]**
**[Third Truth Discovered: The Director’s Disappearance]**
**[Quest Completed: Hidden Truth (3/3)]**
Once the quest was completed, Han Seo-yeon found additional materials deep inside the desk.
**[Quest Completion Reward: Important Information Unlocked]**
**[There’s more material here! And it’s a list of items needed to defeat this Anomaly!]**
Han Seo-yeon began reading the memo.
**[It says they can be found in the village or inside the hospital. But there are items that can also be obtained at the basement altar. There was nothing like that in the basement, so what happened?]**
Instead, Han Seo-yeon read the other additional material.
**[This is a layout of the basement. It clearly only had the parking lot on Basement Level One, but Basement Level Two is marked here. And there’s a strange note written. ‘Under sunlight that is too bright, even shadows disappear.’ What could that mean?]**
The moment I saw that note, I had an intuition.
“This is a classic hint pattern from a game.”
It was a cliché I had seen in numerous horror games. It was a pattern where hidden elements appear when it becomes pitch black after turning off the lights.
— Han Seo-yeon.
**[Yes?]**
— Only certain parts of this building have electricity, right? While everywhere else is a blackout.
Han Seo-yeon also nodded.
**[That’s right! I thought it was strange.]**
— Let’s try searching the basement after turning off the lights.
**[Ah! It might have meant that! I’ll go to the basement parking lot right away.]**
Han Seo-yeon found the light switch for the basement parking lot and turned it off. Instantly, the parking lot was enveloped in darkness.
And the atmosphere changed completely.
**[The vibe is definitely different now.]**
Then, a new door appeared that hadn’t been there when the lights were on.
“Eek! It’s scary!”
Aria shrieked and hid completely behind my back. She even pulled a blanket over her head.
“Aria?”
“I’m not looking! It’s too scary!”
**[There’s a door here leading down to Basement Level Two. It definitely wasn’t here before.]**
When Han Seo-yeon tried the key the director had copied, it fit perfectly.
**[It’s opening!]**
Around the entrance, things were installed that didn’t suit a normal hospital at all.
**[This is weird. There’s an altar here like something you’d see at an exorcism site. A candlestick, an incense burner, and are these talismans? At any rate, I’ve obtained a few items needed for the exorcism.]**
Ritual tools that one might find in a shrine or a shaman’s house were placed everywhere. Han Seo-yeon peered into the stairwell entrance, looking bewildered.
Just then, a new quest notification appeared.
**[New Quest Discovered: Investigation of the Basement Truth]**
**[I don’t think I should go in here right now. I think I need more preparation.]**
After leaving the psychiatric hospital, Han Seo-yeon smiled as if nothing had happened.
**[Subscribers, I’ll end today’s broadcast here.]**
Han Seo-yeon looked back one last time as she stepped out of the building.
**[Thank you for watching the broadcast today. I’ll quickly gather the tools needed for the exorcism and broadcast again this evening!]**
“Let’s also look for and secure any items that might be helpful for the exorcism.”
Since things could fail unexpectedly, just like last time.
“Aria?”
“I don’t know. I’m going to sleep here for just one day!”
“What about the World Tree?”
“I moved it to a wide space, so other spirits have come to visit! It’s not like I’m a child, and they won’t have problems or be lonely just because I’m gone for one day!”
I had originally planned to tease her once more, but Aria’s state was not good. If I teased her now, she might actually get sulky.
“Fine, then. Do whatever you want.”
Besides, it was way past my usual bedtime. Yawns were pouring out of me. Let me just check the current status one last time.
“Huh?”
However, a message from Yun Tae-seong had arrived in the meantime.
At this hour of the morning?
He wasn’t the type of person to be so inconsiderate of the time. I got the feeling that something had definitely happened. —
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