Horror Game Developer: My games aren't that scary! Chapter 673: Walking Disaster [3]

The sight caught me completely off guard. I had been aware of the fact that something had happened to her, but I didn’t expect her to end up here, of all places.

’No, in a way, this might be a good thing. I was planning on looking for her. This at least proves to me that she isn’t dead.’

This was good news.

However⎯

"Sir...?"

Hearing the voice behind me, I suddenly realized my situation. Despite this, I kept my attention fixed ahead before eventually nudging my head.

"How is the situation going here?"

"The situation...?" The security captain paused for a moment before immediately giving me a brief overview, "I don’t know much, given my position, but from what I’ve heard, the doctors appear to be experimenting with the new drug on the patients. I believe she is one such patient."

"I understand that. What I’m asking about is the progress on the experimentation. How is it going?"

"...My apologies, but I’m not very well aware."

The security captain lowered his head. I pressed my lips together, not showing much of a reaction. In the meantime, I gave a cursory glance to my surroundings, paying attention to the recessed lighting humming faintly above, alongside the numerous glass panels that stood on both sides of the corridor.

I traced everything before my gaze settled on a long green line running along the upper wall, stretching into the distance, with [SECTOR 3] written boldly along its center.

’Hmm, so this is Sector 3.’

I didn’t really know what that meant, but at least it was something. I had managed to buy myself some time to properly assess my situation.

’I don’t know where I’m supposed to go. That’s the only thing that I know as of now. Given that I’m the one leading, if I somehow go in the wrong direction, it might lead to them noticing that I’m an impostor. In this situation, I should take advantage of this time to extract as much information as possible.’

Eventually, my gaze settled on another window.

I pointed in that direction.

"The treatment should already be underway, correct?"

"Ah, that’s..."

The security guard looked a little troubled as his head lowered.

"Ah, no, sir. From what I understand, they are still in the early stages. The first phase has only recently been completed."

"I see." I kept my eyes forward. "And Veyra is overseeing it personally. As expected."

"...I believe so, sir. Though I’m not entirely certain of the specifics. Doctor Veyra would be more informed on that front."

"Where is he now? Is he done treating h-er?"

Though subtle, I let out a small tremble at the mention of ’her’.

The captain paused for a moment before quickly recovering.

"His office, I believe. Or perhaps the second sector." He paused. "Shall I confirm his location?"

"Do it. And tell him to come to me. I’ll have something to relay to him directly."

"Understood."

The security guard tapped on his ear as he began communicating.

I drew a shallow breath in the meantime. I had to think extremely carefully about each word that came out of my mouth.

’Nonetheless, I am now certain of the doctor’s importance to this place.’

He...

"Yes, I’d like to request the doctor’s location. The Enforcer is looking for him. Yes, I’d like the information to be given to me as soon as possible, and..." The security captain paused, his head lifting to stare at me as I nudged him with my chin.

"Tell the doctor to come to me directly."

"Come to you...?"

"Yes, I’d like him to meet me directly. There’s something that I’d like to relay to him."

"I... understand."

The security captain nodded, tapping his communication device as he relayed my message.

"Relay to the doctor that the Enforcer wishes to see him. We’ll be in sector four, right in the monitoring rooms. Yes, please inform him quickly. If⎯"

"It’s not urgent."

I cut him off before he could continue. I didn’t want to make this seem like a sort of emergency. Thinking about my interaction with the doctor, although it had been brief, it was clear that he had somewhat seen through my disguise.

He was someone dangerous. The less I interacted with him, the better.

If possible, I didn’t even want him to come to me, but considering the current circumstances, I thought this was the most appropriate approach for me to gain information.

"And the meeting point," I said, keeping my tone even. "I’ll leave that to you. Somewhere appropriate."

A small pause. Then, almost reflexively, he filled the silence exactly as I’d hoped.

"Of course, sir. There is a designated waiting area adjacent to the monitoring room. It’s near the entrance of this sector, just one right turn from the monitoring room itself. We typically use it for situations such as this, given that only one individual is permitted inside the monitoring room at a time. If that works for you..."

His voice trailed off as I remained silent. I didn’t show much of a reaction, but secretly I was clenching my fist as I burned all the information into my mind.

Pretending to be in thought, I asked another question.

"This might work." I paused before eventually nodding, "Okay, we’ll go with that arrangement."

"Understood."

The captain began to relay my orders.

At the same time he did, I hesitated, my lips opening on their own.

"That..."

The captain paused, his attention turning towards me as I continued, "Try asking about he... no, never mind."

I pulled my gaze away from the security captain and started walking ahead, leaving behind a bewildered gaze.

As I kept going, I could hear him finishing up the call.

I took a small breath while walking ahead, scanning my left and right carefully.

A figure in a white coat rounded the corner ahead, clipboard in hand. His eyes lifted briefly, landing on me.

He slowed.

I held his gaze, giving him nothing. No greeting or acknowledgement. Just the flat, unreadable stare of someone who didn’t need to explain their presence.

For a moment, he seemed to weigh something internally. Then his eyes dropped back to his clipboard, and he moved on without a word.

I exhaled through my nose.

The captain behind me hadn’t noticed a thing.

I continued.

Somehow, I had managed to extract some extremely valuable information. Despite this, I was still far from being in the clear. Although I now knew where I needed to go, the information was still rather vague.

’The goal is finding the waiting room. So long as I find the waiting room, I should be able to find the monitoring room. He said that it should be ahead, right at the edge of the third sector.’

Step! Step!

The quiet echo of my steps continued to resound through the surroundings as I remained silent, scanning both my right and left while noting the corridors branching around me. I continued following the green line overhead until I eventually noticed that in one of the corridors feeding into mine, the line shifted to a different color.

It was... purple.

My heart pressed against my chest as my steps started to slow down.

’Could this be SECTOR 4?’

Based on all the information that I knew, it was supposed to be. However, it was also possible that it wasn’t.

’Right, he said that the room should be close to the entrance. I should be able to see it. Since I can’t see anything in this corridor, this must not be it.’

Taking note of each corridor that branched into the one I was on, my steps never slowed. The quiet echo of my footsteps carried on, mingling with the security captain’s as I carefully scanned each passageway, my pulse steady and controlled as I walked on, showing little emotion.

As my gaze mingled across the surroundings, the captain’s voice broke the silence behind me.

"Sir, if you’re heading to the monitoring room, the faster route would be through the left corridor. It cuts through the central hub."

I didn’t break stride.

"I’m aware. I want to check something first."

There was a pause behind me. Then his footsteps resumed, slightly more measured than before. I could feel the weight of his stare pressing against my back.

For a brief moment, my back started to feel cold.

I didn’t want to admit it, but it seemed like I was quite nervous. My heart was beating quite loudly.

Given how a single wrong step could lead to my death, it was only natural for my heart to be this way.

And yet...

The more I walked, the more I realized it wasn’t purely out of nervousness.

There was something else mixed in with the nervousness.

Something like...

’Excitement?’

I suddenly brought my hand to my face, feeling the corner of my lips rising at the absurd thought. Excitement? In this situation...? I really was...

"Hm?"

Something snagged my attention. My head turned slowly as a large black door appeared, set flush against the wall of one of the branching corridors. Easy to miss if you weren’t looking.

My steps slowed.

No, it was a little too much...

Behind me, the captain’s footsteps slowed in response, mirroring mine. If I stopped now, he would stop too. If I turned, he would see exactly where I was looking.

I had one second.

Maybe less.

I wasn’t sure why my heart stuttered the way it did, but I had the sudden urge to glance back at the captain rising in my chest.

I swallowed it down.

The black door...

The corridor, the way it sat just off the main path...

Like it had been described...

But when I looked up, the main corridor I was in still stretched ahead of me, and many other corridors branched off. There was no guarantee that this was the correct path.

And yet, I only had a split second to decide.

Go, or not...?

"Sir? Is there a problem?"

The captain’s voice whispered behind me.

"...Do you perhaps not know the way?"