Horror Game Developer: My games aren't that scary!

Chapter 686: Walking Disasters [6]

“C-ough! Cough…!”

The pain in my mind had yet to subside, even after taking the strange pills I had stolen from the doctor. In fact, I could still barely use my nodes. That being said, the doctor wasn’t some quack. He genuinely seemed to know what he was doing, as I could feel the nodes within my mind showing slight signs of improvement.

They were just enough to sustain the Conductor as I headed for Sector 3.

As I ran, I couldn’t help but think about my nodes.

‘While I did go to see his pills, their effects are much better than I originally anticipated. They almost feel like the same pills that I bought from the system shop. In fact, they feel a little stronger.’

Of course…

I was also deeply aware of the possibility of the pills having potential side effects.

Taking the pills wasn’t exactly the smartest thing that I could’ve done, but given my circumstances, there wasn’t much of a choice.

At the very least, not for what I wanted to achieve…

“It should be this way.”

Running through the corridors, I already had the route memorized. Even as the sound of hurried footsteps echoed behind me, I never looked back. I simply kept running, doing my best to stabilize my mind.

As I ran, I looked down at the cuffs that were placed on my hand and smiled, reaching for them and tossing them away.

“How lucky~”

I couldn’t really smile for much longer.

I knew that the luckier I was now, the unluckier I’d be later.

But none of that concerned me at the moment as I continued to follow the path back to Sector 3.

One thing that I had to point out while running was that I hadn’t encountered any real obstructions. The path ahead seemed totally clear, and I knew exactly why.

‘Looks like she’s causing quite a lot of trouble herself.’

The thought made me smile, but thinking about the doctor’s last words, I knew that I had to hurry up.

There wasn’t much time left until the really annoying people showed up.

***

“Wheeeeew.”

A whistle flowed in the air.

“You people are really insane, aren’t you? Testing all sorts of crap on so many people. And the fact that the BUA hasn’t done a thing to stop it? I can’t say I’m surprised.”

Soran’s gaze swept across the surroundings, her eyes lingering on the countless patients displayed behind the glass. She had long since lost count of how many there were. Unfortunately, with Rowan’s sister hanging limply over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes, she didn’t have the luxury of stopping to observe everything in detail.

There was also the troublesome matter of the people who kept coming her way.

“Will you stop?”

Soran turned her head just as a group of guards rounded one of the corners. Their expressions tightened as they activated their nodes, preparing to attack her. Before they could make a move, however, she raised her free hand and lifted a figure by the hair, displaying his battered face for everyone to see.

“…I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

The guards stopped at the sight of the figure in her grasp, their faces tightening considerably.

Soran shook her head.

“Look. If you care about this guy and care about yourselves, just let me leave, alright? I’m only taking her. Sure, I broke a few things along the way, but we can all forget about that, can’t we? Just pretend you never saw me, and everyone walks away happy. Especially since the cameras and monitoring systems are down. You don’t get in trouble, and neither do I. Sounds like a win-win to me, right?”

The more Soran spoke, the more convinced she became that she had made an excellent proposal.

It was to the point where she took their agreement for granted.

“Right? I mean—”

The guards still ended up attacking her, with several attacks moving her way as some of the guards dashed at her directly.

Soran’s lips froze mid-speech, her eyes blinking slowly before her shoulders slumped, and she sighed.

Time froze.

All stopped before her eyes.

Her nodes started to ache as she silently clicked her tongue.

‘…Brainless farts. And here I thought I had made a good deal. Stupid.’

Clicking her tongue again, Soran didn’t engage with them. Not because she didn’t want to, but because she found the situation already taxing enough. There was no need to waste any valuable time on people like them.

‘I’ve also got some baggage to carry.’

Soran turned to look at the figure slumped over her shoulder. There was also the captain, but to be honest, she no longer needed him, so she just dropped him to the ground.

He wasn’t good as a security captain, and he wasn’t good as a hostage.

“The hell are you even good at?”

Soran spat.

As she did, her gaze drifted in the direction of where she was supposed to head.

She was supposed to meet Seth over there.

‘I’m still somewhat confused as to why he told me to go there. Based on my understanding, there is no way for us to escape from there. I’ve even checked some of the maps. As things stand, it seems kind of impossible to escape.’

The Team Leader was at a loss.

Nevertheless, there were no real complaints. Based on what she had seen so far, there was no need for her to doubt Seth. He had shown her his capabilities, and based on what she had seen, he certainly had something up his sleeve.

‘I’m just curious to see what exactly he has up his sleeve. From what I see, there’s no way for us to escape.’

Glancing at the security captain one last time, Soran prepared to leave when she suddenly stopped. Her lips pursed tightly as she turned back to look at the numerous patients being treated behind the glass windows. After a brief pause, she sighed again, setting Rowan’s sister down before patting her on the head.

“Might as well, you know?”

The situation just didn’t sit well with her.

Not the fact that everyone was trapped and being experimented on. She felt a certain level of sympathy for that, but it wasn’t what was really bothering her. What bothered her more was the fact that she was leaving so quietly.

That…

It didn’t really suit her style.

Lifting her head to stare at the numerous patients, she cracked her fingers.

Her lips pulled into a smile right after.

“Yeah, it really doesn’t.”

***

By the time I arrived back at the spot where I had found Soran, she was already inside, waiting for me with her arms crossed behind her back while a figure lay on the bed beside her. I was a little out of breath as I entered the room, but immediately taking notice of her expression, I had a sudden foreboding.

“What did you do?”

“Huh? What…?”

Soran blinked rapidly.

Lifting her head and looking around, she pointed at herself.

“Are you talking to me?”

“No, Rowan’s sister.”

“Oh, if that’s so, she’s sleeping.”

“….”

“Ehm.” So…? What are we supposed to do now?” Soran looked around the room, pretending to have forgotten my previous question. “I’ve got her. What should we do now? Based on what I’ve found, this place is entirely locked. There’s no way to escape.”

“Don’t worry about that.”

I let the matter go and took another breath, catching it as I looked around the room before moving to the open space on her right and rubbing my ring.

‘It should be opening soon.’

I could feel the heat radiating from it. It was only a matter of time.

All we had to do was wait.

Looking at the door, I closed it behind me before eventually taking a seat.

I was quite exhausted.

But thinking about the entire situation, I felt rather satisfied with what I had accomplished. It was just sad that I wouldn’t get to see the results with my own eyes.

A pity, really.

But it was better than nothing.

“Oh?”

Suddenly, Soran raised her head as she looked towards the door.

Her ears perked up as she looked at me right after.

“It seems like there are quite a lot of people headed our way. If you have something, do pull it out now. I don’t think we’ll be able to weasel our way out of this if you don’t do anything.”

“….”

I didn’t reply.

I stared at the door.

The Team Leader took my silence for something else as she stood up.

“I guess this is it, huh? We had it good. Short as it may have been, I was happy. If we somehow get out of this, we should go and move our wedding up. I can’t stay like this for much longer. I need assurance. I need…”

“Get a prenup.”

“….”

“I need to keep myself protected.”

“…That’s fucked up.”

I strained my ears while staring at the door.

I could hear the sound of numerous footsteps coming from the other side. There were quite a lot of them, rushing towards where we were fast. I stood up from my seat and stretched my body.

“Well, I guess this is our cue.”

I turned to look behind me.

Right at that moment, the ring on my finger heated up, and the space before us warped as a familiar portal space appeared. The air around it bent and shivered, light folding inward like it was being swallowed.

Soran’s eyes widened at the sight, but I didn’t give her much of a say as I directly walked into the portal.

Better to leave fast…

I could feel the appearance of something rather terrifying.

“⎯”