By Zephyria Filling the Gap
The Seowon Guild was much more crowded than the last time Jung-bin had visited. In a bad way.
“Patient transport! Please move!”
Jung-bin quickly stepped aside. A patient transport bed carrying a patient whizzed past. The patient he glimpsed had a face that was entirely white. Was it a Mutation symptom? Jung-bin stared at the backs of the people who had passed by and moved on.
Passing through the dense bookshelves and heading towards the center of the hall, he saw a boy in a white coat busily giving instructions. The boy spotted Jung-bin, dismissed everyone around him, and trotted over.
“You’ve arrived? Master is waiting. This way.”
Jung-bin followed the boy across the library. The boy went up the stairs to the upper floor. Unlike the bustling downstairs, it was quiet there. Looking at the doors and nameplates along the long corridor, it seemed to be a floor where the sickrooms were gathered. The boy passed several doors before stopping in front of one.
[Very Small Mirac******]
‘…Is there any point in hiding it?’
Jung-bin stared at the nameplate with a dubious look. Isn’t the first part of the name and the length of the name recognizable to anyone?
“If you wait inside, Master will come.”
The boy opened the sickroom door silently.
“You have a guest, patient.”
“Ooh.”
The sickroom was a private room. A black-haired man sitting with his back against the head of the bed raised his hand and waved it.
“It seems like it’s been a while. How have you been?”
Very Small Miracle Mingi Seo was sitting up perfectly fine, munching on a banana. It was quite funny that he didn’t take off his sunglasses even while wearing a patient gown. Still, he looked okay, which put Jung-bin’s mind at ease. Although his face still lacked color. Jung-bin approached him and asked.
“Are you alright now?”
“Yes, the wounds have all healed. I’ll be discharged in a few more days. They say there will be scars, but well, you won’t see them if I wear clothes.”
Min-gi Seo pulled at the collar of his patient gown, showing his upper body wrapped in bandages. Jung-bin let out a small sigh of relief.
“If I had known it was a sick visit, I would have bought a gift.”
“Oh, it’s okay. The Wave Guild members have already brought plenty of fruits and drinks. If you’re thirsty, there are drinks in the fridge, so have one.”
“I’m fine.”
Min-gi Seo tidied up the banana peel he had finished eating and asked.
“By the way, customer, I heard you’ve been doing a lot of things while I’ve been lying down.”
“I haven’t done that much…”
“Don’t even think about lying to me. I also heard the story about you being chained up and dragged to the interrogation room. I also heard the news that you dealt with a Mutant who appeared in the Bureau of Rift Management, and that Gyu-Gyu was useless.”
Damn it, how is the information so fast for a guy in a sickroom? Min-gi Seo knew everything about Jung-bin’s every move. Jung-bin asked suspiciously.
“Were you tailing me?”
“No way, of course, my shadow friend has been following you.”
A small person the size of a finger popped out from Jung-bin’s shadow. The little person pretended to take off his hat, then skillfully moonwalked and disappeared under the bed. Damn it, when did he attach that?
“Is it okay to attach a mole without my consent?”
“I can’t help it, it’s the Guild Master’s order. He told me never to leave you alone.”
“……”
That idiot. Jung-bin clenched his fist. The tips of his fingernails pressed painfully into his palm. Min-gi Seo put the banana peel on a plate and started peeling a small tangerine. He made a bird out of the tangerine peel and asked subtly.
“I’ve picked up a lot of information while I’ve been in the sickroom, are you curious?”
Black eyes sparkled behind the sunglasses. He looked like he would quickly lose energy and collapse if he said he didn’t need it, so Jung-bin nodded slowly. Well, if this is a necessary process for the patient’s recovery.
“Yes.”
“Then let’s start. The number of Mutants is increasing day by day. If you look at it as a graph, it’s trending upwards. As a result, the Seowon Guild is also very busy. The exact cause of the Mutation is unknown, but everyone thinks it’s because of the disaster falling from the sky. Or because of the Monsters that keep appearing.”
That could be true. The Whitehole in the sky is a hole connected to the Destroyed world. Jung-bin nodded and asked.
“How’s the Whitening phenomenon?”
“According to what I heard from the Vice Guild Master, some areas have been Whitened, centered around the Invasion Dungeon. It’s getting wider and wider, so the vicinity has been designated as a no-entry zone.”
“……”
“The fish market was lucky. If it weren’t for you, it would have been Whitened a long time ago.”
“Did Mackerel find a new place?”
“I don’t know about that. If there’s no contact yet, wouldn’t he still be looking for a place? Well, it’s not easy to find a safe and spacious Shield from Whitening.”
After that, Min-gi Seo gave a long explanation of the situation. The Whitening phenomenon is common to all countries. In some countries, half of the land has become wasteland due to Whitening. Nam Woo-jin is continuing to research vaccines based on the information written in his notebook, but he has not yet developed a perfect vaccine.
“In the meantime, Prometheus is moving ahead. They’re promoting that the vaccine is in the final stages. These days, they even have TV and YouTube ads. They also have a YouTube channel. Thanks to that, the number of people visiting Prometheus and praying has increased significantly.”
Min-gi Seo held out his cell phone. It was a YouTube video filled with white backgrounds and bright red letters.
Check for Mutation symptoms! Mutation self-diagnosis method!
If there is someone mutating around you? You must watch this video right now!
Mutation is cured? Interview with a recovered person!
“…The video views are basically 1 million?”
“They probably hired part-timers. Or maybe that’s how many people actually watched it.”
“Doesn’t the country block the channel? Isn’t it spreading false information?”
“Isn’t this a world where you can do anything if you pay? Besides, this kind of thing is Mackerel’s specialty, but Mackerel is closed right now.”
The door opened with a rattle, and a nervous voice cut in.
“Mutation symptoms have also changed. Previously, there was a latent period similar to a cold, but now, symptoms appear immediately without a latent period, or parts of the body turn white first. That means it’s progressing faster than before.”
It was Nam Woo-jin wearing a crumpled white coat. Nam Woo-jin dragged his Crocs as he approached. He yawned long and stuck his hands in his coat pockets.
“Thanks for coming even though you’re busy. There’s a bit of a problem.”
“I heard about the notebook, what’s the problem?”
“Ha, what should I say… No.”
Nam Woo-jin ruffled his white hair in embarrassment, then took out a notebook from his inner coat pocket and handed it over.
“It’s better to see it directly than to explain it in words… I don’t know what you did, but I wish you could put it back the way it was.”
“…Yes?”
What did I do? Jung-bin opened the notebook with a puzzled look. Jung-bin also knew the contents up to Jung-bin’s death, so he slowly read from then on. Several pages were full of formulas and words that Jung-bin could not understand. He roughly skimmed through that part and turned the page.
[Honeybee is strange. Recently, she has suddenly become irritable. Previously, the problem was lethargy…]
[Yoon Ga-eul has also suddenly become calm. What happened?]
[It seems necessary to check the mental health of the Hunters.]
[It is necessary to check whether changes in personality and character are also present in the prodromal symptoms of Mutation….]
Is this the story right after Honeybee and Student Ga-eul got out? Jung-bin carefully scanned the notebook. After that, experiment updates and memos continued. The scribbled handwriting gradually turned into weak, faint handwriting.
“……”
The image of Nam Woo-jin with only bones left flashed by. Is that time gradually approaching? Jung-bin bit the inside of his lip and turned the page.
At that moment.
[Is it you?]
Large, black letters were etched into his eyes. The powerfully scribbled letters spanning two pages overwhelmed all senses. Jung-bin raised his creaking head and looked at Nam Woo-jin. Nam Woo-jin was pinching the bridge of his nose and frowning, as if he knew it would happen.
“……”
“User… Do you know why I called you?”
Lee Sa-young, User…
“Unfortunately, he wrote it that way on a very important page. Thanks to that bastard, I can’t read the experimental content written there… J, you’re the most recent person to have been there, so I called you.”
“……”
“What the hell is it? What, is Lee Sa-young a little crazy? Did you hit him? Or, did I bully Lee Sa-young in that world? Is that why he’s protesting like this?”
“The Guild Master is usually a little out of his mind.”
“I know that! This is different!”
Crazy bastard!