Chapter 71 – Room 101, The Room of Curses – "Media of Distorted Logic" (5)

- Fourth Attempt

- Cha Jinchul

Startled, I turned around sharply. Suddenly, the broadcasting station was gone.

In its place were towering cliffs connected by a single, precarious rope bridge. I was now balancing on that fragile line.

On the other side stood a schoolgirl.

… I understood immediately. That girl—no, that monster—was the source of all these bizarre phenomena. If I killed her, it would all end!

Pushing off the rope with my feet, I launched myself toward her, springing forward like a slingshot. Within five seconds, I reached her.

Up close, she looked like an ordinary, cute girl. She might even have been quite popular in school.

But her expression was chilling—completely blank, like a mannequin, as she stared at me.

It didn’t matter. She was still a monster. One hit would suffice!

I swung my fist down.

The world shattered once again.

Suddenly, I found myself in a jungle. Monkeys swarmed me from all directions.

I fought back with all my strength, hurling them off me. I smashed their skulls with single punches, grabbed one by the legs and slammed it into the ground, and crushed two at once in my hands.

After killing over a dozen monkeys, I—

The world crumbled again.

This time, I was surrounded by mountains of rocks. Everywhere I turned, there were boulders. Frantically swinging my arms and legs, I smashed the rocks around me.

But I began to think: this wasn’t a fight I could win.

I was trapped in an endless hell.

Was it the schoolgirl from before? What kind of power allowed her to do this?

---Bang! ---Bang!

A sharp pain erupted in my chest.

Looking down, I saw blood.

...

My consciousness began to fade.

Within this nightmare, I felt myself waking up—just barely.

What the hell was going on? So this is what happened to me—

- Elena

Wiping away tears, I looked at the broadcasting station.

The scene resembled a battlefield.

More than ten broadcasting station employees were dead, crushed beyond recognition, and Grandpa Mookseong lay groaning, his legs shattered.

...

---Bang!

...

Songyi roamed the area with a gun, systematically "finishing off" survivors.

I thought back to earlier events.

Jinchul had completely lost his mind, half-killing Grandpa Mookseong. I had tried to shoot "Mother" with a gun but failed.

At that moment, I thought I was doomed.

But then Songyi arrived and took control of the chaos.

She waved her hand behind Jinchul, causing him to abruptly turn and run in a random direction, trip over himself, and crash into a wall.

As Jinchul rampaged, dozens of station employees and security guards tried to stop him but were all killed.

It was like watching a gorilla tossing people around, or King Kong tearing through New York.

Songyi eventually approached with a gun and fired several rounds at Jinchul, finally ending the chaos.

In the aftermath, Jinchul’s "Mother" had long since died, but the curse showed no signs of lifting. With no other options, Songyi began massacring the remaining employees.

I stood there, half-dazed, when suddenly, a camera and microphone were thrust in my face.

"Hello! Elena Ivanov, is it? I’m PD Cha. We’ve received countless reports about an entertaining event happening live at the broadcasting station. Could you tell us what—"

---Bang! ---Bang!

Before I could react, Songyi shot both the PD and the cameraman.

It would have been unthinkable in a normal situation to kill so many people, even with a gun. At the very least, they would have tried to run.

But under the curse, human death was treated as entertainment—a bizarre event or a show. No one even tried to flee. They laughed and died.

...

Why had Jinchul reacted so violently?

In this twisted world, what was the big deal about losing a "Mother"? According to the logic of this place, it should have been something to laugh off. Maybe he was just an exceptionally devoted son.

"Be careful, Sister."

"...Ah. Th-thank you."

Songyi approached Grandpa Mookseong, who had managed to patch himself up somewhat.

"Are you holding up?"

"I’ve stabilized one leg, but the other is beyond saving. I’ll need support to move."

"Rest for now. I’ll clean up the mess here."

Songyi resumed her grim task, draining blood from the bodies and ensuring everyone was truly dead.

Watching her, Grandpa muttered:

"We’ve got another top-tier agent in the making here. Are young people these days usually this competent? Guess I was worried over nothing."

...

Someone entered the broadcasting station.

- Han Kain

[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 23
Current Location: Tier 1, Room 101 (The Room of Curses – Media of Distorted Logic)
Sage’s Advice: 3]

It’s really starting to feel like I’m the one doing everything in this room!

Gathering information, conducting investigations—it all falls on me, doesn’t it?

Shouldn’t I be getting some kind of legacy by now?

When I reach the next Shrine of Blessings, I’ll slam down my findings and yell at that blasted Owl, "Look at this, you bastard!"

I was already excited. On this fourth attempt, I’d uncovered even more truths!

While I didn’t know the exact nature of the "villain’s" powers, I had a good idea of who they were and the rough outline of the scenario.

As I mulled over these happy thoughts, the taxi ride—which would normally have been miserable—passed quickly.

With plenty of information to share, I felt like a parent bringing home pizza or fried chicken after payday. I stepped into the broadcasting station with a big smile.

...

?

??

???

What the hell? Why does this place look like a warzone?

Shocked, I completely blanked out.

 

The situation left me speechless.

When I finally got an explanation from my companions, I couldn’t believe it.

So…

Jinchul brought his mother along. Perhaps when he was still rational, he planned to come to the station alone, but during his cursed state, his mother insisted on accompanying him, and he gave in.

No one could have foreseen the chaos that followed.

As a result, Jinchul was dead, Grandpa Mookseong’s leg was ruined to the point that he could barely move, and only Elena, Songyi, and I remained.

The three of us gathered amidst the near-destruction of the broadcasting station, which now resembled a warzone.

"..."

"..."

"What do you think we should do now?"

"It looks like we’ll have to try again. That idiot pig is gone, leaving a gaping hole in our team," Grandpa muttered, shaking his head.

Elena voiced her concern.

"But Grandpa, this was already our fourth attempt. Things are supposed to get harder from the fifth attempt onward."

"Well, what else can we do? We’ll just have to push through."

"Can you even move?"

"..."

"Be honest with us."

"Not without someone constantly supporting me."

Songyi, embodying what we were all thinking, spoke up.

"Then Grandpa, wouldn’t it be better for you to leave the station and escape? If you leave and move around outside for ten minutes, you’ll likely meet the conditions for an escape since you don’t have any family near you."

"...Fine. I suppose it’s better for me to stay out of your way."

"Go ahead and rest. We’ll gather as much information as we can and, if possible, acquire the legacy."

"Do your best. Oh, before I go, I might as well ask—did you uncover anything useful in your searches?"

All eyes turned to me. I was the only one who had properly researched.

"Alright. I’m not sure exactly how the curse started spreading, but I figured out who and why.

There was a student named Kim Sangmin at Shindong High School. Based on the articles I found, he suffered severe bullying. The main perpetrators were a group of eight students.

When he couldn’t find help within the school, he sought outside assistance, filing lawsuits, and his parents actively supported him.

However, he lost in court. The articles suggest the court ruled that Kim Sangmin suffered from delusions caused by mental illness and fabricated the claims of bullying. But another article speculated that his mental illness was a result of extreme bullying.

In short, the court sided with the argument that his mental illness caused him to imagine the bullying, and as a result, he was sent to a hospital."

"And how does the broadcasting station fit into this story?"

"One of the main reasons the victim lost in court was the news. An ABS journalist investigated and published multiple articles portraying Sangmin as mentally ill and violent, painting the other students as victims. These articles were used as evidence during the trial."

Songyi chimed in.

"Listening to this, it’s possible the court was right. Maybe Sangmin really was mentally ill and lashed out, imagining the bullying."

"You’re right, Songyi. I can’t say for sure what the truth is. I’m just presenting what we know based on the ‘scenario.’ For now, the story frames Kim Sangmin as the villain, so we need to understand what he’s doing and where he is."

"Keep explaining. We know about the broadcasting station, but what’s the connection to Shinsegae Hospital?"

"After losing the trial, Kim Sangmin began treatment at Shinsegae Hospital. That’s when a different narrative started emerging—one more sympathetic to him.

Shinsegae Hospital specialized in mental health, and the hospital director personally treated Sangmin. During the treatment, the director seemed to become partially convinced by Sangmin’s account.

The director publicly claimed that the bullying was real and caused Sangmin’s mental illness. This led to a wave of media coverage sympathetic to Sangmin.

Then, the hospital suddenly disappeared—just three days before the world fell apart."

"The hospital disappeared?"

"Yes. It was a massive story at the time. The entire hospital, building and all, vanished."

"Do you think that’s when Kim Sangmin gained some kind of extraordinary power?"

"Most likely."

After my explanation, the room fell silent as everyone processed the information.

"So, you think this ‘Kim Sangmin’ kid is the one behind all this?"

"Yes. The students being tortured in the basement, the chaos starting at the hospital and spreading to the broadcasting station, and even the destruction of the world—all of it ties back to him."

"Hmm. If we assume Sangmin is targeting the students, the broadcasting station, and even the entire world for revenge… why was the hospital his first target? Wouldn’t the hospital be his ally, given that they supported him?"

"We’ll need to investigate further to confirm. It might simply be that he went mad."

"The story feels formulaic. Knowing who the villain is doesn’t matter as much as figuring out how a mere high schooler managed to destroy the world."

"Do you think there’s a supernatural beast involved?"

"Could be. Or maybe he got his hands on some artifact beyond his control."

"What do you think we should do next?" Songyi asked.

"We’ll need to search the upper floors of the broadcasting station," I replied.

"And what are we looking for?"

"I’ll spell it out for you. The only thing we need to find now is that Kim Sangmin kid, the one responsible for all of this.

He’ll be somewhere in this broadcasting station or in the ‘disappeared hospital’ accessible through here. If we can, we kill him. If not, we regroup and return with everyone to finish the job next time."

With that, Grandpa Mookseong sighed and left the station, limping toward freedom.

The three of us who remained—Songyi, Elena, and I—turned our focus to searching the upper floors of the broadcasting station and the mysterious "disappeared hospital" to find the villain responsible for this nightmare.