Horror Game Developer: My games aren't that scary! Chapter 670: Dr. Veyra [2]

Dr. Veyra sat alone in his private office, the lights dimmed to a soft, ambient glow that allowed the screens in front of him to take center stage.

On the largest monitor, a detailed scan of Soran’s brain rotated slowly, displaying the intricate web of neural pathways and the small, glowing clusters that marked her nodes.

His sharp grey eyes traced over each one carefully, his lips pressing into a thin line as he noted the extensive damage scattered throughout.

"It’s worse than I initially thought."

The doctor quietly rubbed his beard while staring at the scan before turning his head to stare in a certain direction.

Beyond the glass partition that separated his office from the recovery ward, Soran lay motionless on a medical bed, her eyes closed, her breathing shallow but steady.

Various tubes and wires connected her to the surrounding machinery, each one quietly monitoring her vital signs. She looked smaller than she had appeared earlier, almost fragile under the dim lighting of the ward.

"How is her condition?"

The sound of the door opening pulled his attention away from the screens.

Enforcer Brandt stepped inside, his presence immediately filling the room. His sharp features reflected off the glass window as his dark hair fluttered silently in the air with each step that he took.

His expression was straight and unreadable. However, if one looked closely, they’d notice the hint of worry in his gaze as he looked at the body beyond the glass.

The sleeve where his left arm should have been hung empty, his arm still missing after the events with the Butcher. In spite of this, he looked completely unconcerned about his situation.

The doctor turned slightly in his chair to face him, folding his hands in his lap. For a brief moment, his gaze fell on his sleeveless arm before his lips parted.

"Her situation is a lot more troublesome than I expected. Most of her nodes are damaged, and it’ll take quite a large investment to bring her back. I’m not sure I can carry on with the procedure. You’ll need to see whether the higher-ups think that investing in her is worth it or not."

A procedure that involved the treatment of a broken node was not something that he could just initiate as he wished. It needed to receive the green light from the higher-ups.

Brandt’s gaze drifted past him, settling on the unconscious figure beyond the glass.

"Don’t worry about them. I’m sure they will agree."

Dr. Veyra studied him for a brief moment before turning back to the screens, his fingers idly adjusting the rotation of the brain scan.

"Well, it doesn’t really matter. For now, she needs some time to recover. We can proceed with the operation once she’s more fit. She’s not in the right state to proceed."

The doctor paused, glancing up at the Enforcer once more.

’Thankfully, Osvald seems to be doing fine. He doesn’t need a check-up. But what about you? Your arm..."

The temperature in the room seemed to drop ever so slightly.

"...That’s none of your concern, doctor."

The doctor’s eyes locked onto the Enforcer’s, his gaze extremely heavy, carrying a threatening glint that would have made most men flinch. It was the kind of look that shut one from speaking any further.

The doctor, however, remained perfectly composed. He simply smiled back, the expression as polite and professional as ever, entirely unfazed by the silent warning being directed at him.

It was as he held that smile that something stirred at the back of his mind.

The edge of his lips curled up further.

"Oh, right."

The doctor turned, rummaging through his drawer and retrieving a small object which he displayed to the Enforcer.

"I found this in the patient’s pants, but it doesn’t seem anything special. What do you think?"

The Enforcer frowned before raising his gaze to look at the doctor.

"Are you here to waste my time?"

"Hehe."

The doctor chuckled, tossing the item away.

"Lighten up! There’s no need for you to always be this sulky! I’ll take care of this for you, and..." The doctor suddenly paused, his lips closing for a moment as he thought of something. "Regarding Osvald, I suggest you give him a better look."

"Hm?"

Brandt’s brows furrowed slightly, his attention fully returning to the doctor.

Dr. Veyra leaned back in his chair, his pale grey eyes glinting behind his thin-framed glasses.

"...Something about him seems interesting. We might just have a rat with us."

"A rat?"

***

I was given my own room. It wasn’t very big, just large enough for a small wardrobe and a bed. It wasn’t meant to be anything fancy, just a place where the "patients" were supposed to rest while the doctors kept an eye on them and their condition.

Sitting down on the bed, I crossed my legs while rubbing my shoulder.

The injury was real.

In order to play the part, I had purposely injured myself. Right on the same shoulder.

’It hurts.’

The pain was also real.

’...And I probably didn’t need to push things this far.’

I could’ve just pretended like the injury was there. I could always create the illusion that it was real. But that would only bring more variables into play.

The more realistic something was, the less likely I’d be suspected.

"Hmm."

Leaning further back onto the bed, I looked around the room. It was plain in every sense of the word, with sterile white walls no different from the area outside. The design was consistent, but despite the simplicity, it felt as though several eyes were directed my way, closely monitoring my every move.

But regardless of where I looked, I couldn’t see a single camera or object that could be monitoring me. Even when using Mr. Jingles, I wasn’t able to detect anything, meaning that the room was being monitored using some sort of special object.

’It’s very likely an anomalous object or something.’

This made things a little bit more complicated.

I closed my eyes while leaning further back onto the bed, musing over my current situation.

’It seems like I’ve been brought into a medical ward. I think I’ve got about a couple of hours to figure out the layout of the place before the cat is out of the bag. In that case, I need to be more careful with my steps. I need to get a proper idea of the layout of this place and also figure out exactly where I am.’

Unlike before, I didn’t have much information about the place that I was in.

My best guess was that I was in the secret hideout, or at least a branch of this organization called ’Hand’ or whatever.

Well, this was probably going to be the only rest that I was going to get for quite some time.

Things were probably about to get quite hectic.

’Might as well get some rest while I’m at it. What do they say...? The calm before the storm?’

"Hmm~ Hmmm~"

Before I knew it, I found myself humming to myself, my mind relaxing quite a bit as I brought both hands behind my head to cushion my head. Kicking my feet lightly, I continued to hum softly as the room filled with nothing but the sound of my soft hums.

In a way, it was strangely relaxing.

I wished this would continue for a bit.

But sadly, such moments of relaxation didn’t continue for much longer.

To Tok!

The knock came abruptly.

The door swung open without waiting for an answer, revealing a familiar figure. My lips curled slowly as I lifted my head, meeting the Enforcer’s narrowed gaze across the room.

He didn’t step inside. He didn’t need to. He simply stood in the doorway, one hand resting against the door frame, his eyes sweeping the room once, giving it a quick look before settling back on me.

"As I previously mentioned, I would..."

His voice was even.

Unhurried.

"I’m here to talk about what happened. Fill me in."

The silence that followed was heavier than it had any right to be.