Chapter 120: Chapter 119

I've discovered a few more things.

If you already called someone "big sister" or "big brother" originally, it seems the AI doesn’t force you to use different terms. There’s no sudden repetition like “Rui Big Sister Big Sister” or “Kaiser Big Brother Big Brother.”

So if you start by calling someone “hyung” or “senior brother,” the AI doesn’t feel the need to change it.

It seems the AI’s judgment is that “a little sister who calls her big brother ‘hyung’ is also cute.” An unusual taste, but some would call it “refined appreciation.”

“The rules are simple. Just escape from the lab by any means.”

Kaiser looked a bit baffled but continued the broadcast professionally.

“But just escaping wouldn’t be much fun, would it? So, let’s make a wager.

Place your bets on the ‘three people you think are most likely to escape the lab first.’

However, you can’t bet on yourself, and opting out isn’t an option. You must choose and bet on three people.

If you guess the first-place escapee, you’ll receive six times your betting chips. If you guess second, four times, and for third, twice.

When the game is over, the person with the worst betting results and the last person to escape will face a penalty game.”

After Kaiser explained the rules, I suddenly found five coins in my hand. They were meant for betting on the escapees, no doubt.

“People with brains and a good sense would have an advantage here.”

But did anyone like that even exist here?

“Well, maybe I should bet three coins on Rui.”

She might not be the most intuitive, but she’s definitely smart. I’d heard she graduated from a well-known university in Japan.

Why someone like that ended up a VTuber, I couldn’t say, but she must have her reasons.

I put one coin on Son Nalim, too.

She was tenacious, more so than anyone else, so I figured she’d find a way to escape.

The last coin went to Sora.

Other than Rui and Son Nalim, I didn’t have anyone else in mind, so I decided to trust Sora. She’s on my team and the closest to me in this room.

“With everyone’s bets placed, let’s start the game.”

Flash!

In an instant, my vision flickered, and the surroundings changed.

Was this… a hospital room?

“Hm?”

I tilted my head, crossing my arms.

Didn’t Kaiser say it was a game about escaping from a lab?

But no matter how I looked at it, this was a hospital.

It seemed like a three-bed room.

In each of the three corners, there was a hospital bed, while the fourth corner had a partitioned wall—probably a restroom for patients who had trouble moving around.

Next to each bed was a cabinet.

There was a small refrigerator on one wall, but it didn’t seem to be working.

Overall, it looked like a hospital room that had been abandoned for quite a while.

The furniture was slightly worn, and the wallpaper was cracked in places. So, maybe it was an abandoned hospital?

“There’s only one exit.”

Apart from the restroom door, there was only one door leading out to the corridor.

And even without getting close, I could see that it had a door lock installed for some reason.

It was the most out-of-place item in the room. Hospital rooms generally need to be accessible for nurses, so it wouldn’t make sense to lock it with a door lock every time.

As I stared at the door lock, I noticed a small screen with text displayed.

“Please enter your name.”

That’s what it read.

Clunk

“Eek! Oh, you scared me…! Laura, you’re here too!”

The bathroom door suddenly opened, and out came someone I recognized, though not someone I saw often.

It was Son Nalim.

“Long time no see.”

“Yeah! It’s been a while!”

Son Nalim approached, glancing around.

“It looks like there’s no one else… Just the two of us?”

I looked around to confirm, but there was no one else here besides Son Nalim and me.

With Kaiser’s “The game will begin now” announcement, we had been transported to this hospital.

So, it seemed safe to assume the game had started and that other participants were starting in different locations.

“Maybe it’s set up for us to start in pairs?”

“Could be.”

I agreed with Son Nalim’s question, all while pondering what to do about her. Should I?

“If this is a battle royale-style game, maybe it’d be smart to take her out right from the start.”

Does thinking like this make me a cruel person?

But it’s just a game, after all.

Plus, there was the rule about the last-place penalty. If I eliminated Son Nalim here, I could at least avoid coming in last myself.

So, it’s worth considering as a tactical option.

But on second thought, eliminating her might not be to my advantage.

“I did place a betting chip on her, after all.”

I’d put one chip on Son Nalim.

If she finishes in third place, it’ll double, and if she wins, it’ll increase sixfold.

So, having Son Nalim survive and escape would benefit me more. Eliminating her would cost me more than I’d gain.

“So that’s how they prevent PK (player-killing) here.”

I crossed my arms without realizing it.

Preventing PK through pre-game betting? Kaiser put some thought into this.

“For now, it looks like we’ll have to work together.”

Son Nalim suggested.

Maybe she’d arrived at the same conclusion. Perhaps she, too, had considered eliminating me here.

But her offer of cooperation suggested she’d also bet on me.

There was no reason to refuse her suggestion to cooperate. I nodded.

“Oh! Laura, there’s a door lock here! Maybe we can get out by entering the password?”

Son Nalim reported with a slight sense of excitement.

Instead of looking at her, I gazed at the window on the opposite side. The windows were sealed tightly.

It seemed to be night outside.

Darkness lay thick, and it didn’t look like a height I could safely jump from.

“Escaping through the window seems impossible.”

I tried tugging on it slightly, but it wouldn’t budge. There were no tools in sight to break it, and the glass seemed reinforced, making it nearly impossible to shatter.

Peeking into the restroom where Son Nalim had been, it appeared ordinary.

Since she had already examined it, there didn’t seem to be any need for me to investigate further.

“Laura, the door lock says ‘Please enter your name!’ Should I enter mine?”

“If you enter the wrong answer, you might end up like Sina.”

“Ah…!”

Realizing the oversight, Son Nalim stepped back from the door lock.

“Th-then what should we do?”

“Try the cabinets.”

“Huh?”

“Open up the cabinets and see what’s inside.”

Son Nalim tilted her head but began checking each cabinet one by one.

“There’s nothing in here.”

“Then check the beds. There might be something hidden between the sheets.”

“?”

She searched the beds thoroughly, sticking her hands between the sheets and even checking under the bed.

“Nothing here either!”

“What about the refrigerator?”

“Let’s see… Nope, nothing here either.”

“There wasn’t anything unusual in the restroom, right?”

“Right!”

“Then type ‘your name’ into the lock.”

“...What?”@@novelbin@@

Son Nalim hesitated, looking confused. Why was she spacing out now?

I placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“Go ahead.”

“Oh… right, yes!”

Following my instruction, she typed “your name” into the door lock.

The lock clicked open, and the door swung wide.

“Wow, I was about to enter ‘Son Nalim’—that would’ve been a disaster. You’re amazing, Laura!”

“Am I only now starting to impress you?”

“Haha… But what was that all about earlier?”

“What do you mean?”

“You know, checking the cabinets, searching the beds, opening the fridge.”

Son Nalim asked curiously.

The reason was obvious, wasn’t it?

“In these types of games, it’s important to search thoroughly. You never know if hidden information or gimmicks might be there.”

“Right? …So, was that why you made me do it?”

“Of course. I’m the Duke’s daughter, after all.”

If I scurried around like that, it would only damage my dignity.

“Every task has its proper place. I’m in charge of strategy, and you handle the grunt work.”

“…Laura, please don’t treat me like a servant. One ‘Sina’ is enough.”

Son Nalim said, looking slightly exasperated.

After we left the hospital room, the next area waiting for us was an abandoned factory.

“The map lacks consistency.”

But maybe that’s the point. We were told it was a lab, yet we keep encountering maps that aren’t labs at all.

Come to think of it, we’re supposed to be test subjects, and we’re escaping as part of a test of the monster’s abilities.

This could mean that what we’re seeing is an “illusion created by the monster.”

Otherwise, the concept wouldn’t make sense.

“I’ll wait here while you investigate.”

“…”

Son Nalim looked like she had a lot to say but started investigating anyway once I gave her a nod. Since I had already solved the first problem, she didn’t have much choice.

I waited comfortably, seated on the windowsill, as she finished her investigation and came back.

“Laura… I think you’d better come over here.”

Her voice had a hint of unease.

Sensing that something unpleasant awaited, I followed her lead.

Soon after,

“Laura big sis! Laura biiig sis!”

【Mental Degradation Level 3】

【When interacting with high-ranked survivors, you frequently address them as “big brother” or “big sister.”】

【You tend to cling to survivors.】

【You frequently act like an elementary schooler.】

In every way, she looked like an elementary school kid.

Her usual fierce expression was replaced by an innocent smile unique to children.

And she was waving at me.

It was Mashina.

Carried on Sora’s back.

“…So this is what happened.”

Sora let out a sigh.

Sora, too, had shrunk slightly.