Where could the contamination source be? For now, getting out of this massive space seems to be the most important thing. We have spent quite a while inside this enormous dome that resembles a concert hall, yet not a single monster has appeared.
A contaminated zone where no monsters appear at all. I never expected to face a situation like this. It is good that it is safe, but this makes it difficult to collect any contaminants.
What, should I tear off the walls or something? But if I do that, noise will inevitably be made.
Maybe this time we will not be able to collect any contaminants.
[We finally got out.]
Moving carefully, paying attention even with every single step, we slowly stood in front of the door that leads out of the massive dome.
Can we really open this door without making a sound?
I do not think so. Is there anything more foolish than forcing yourself to attempt something impossible?
[Everyone, brace yourselves.]
I have to admit it. We cannot open this huge door silently. The best we can do is to soak the hinges holding this massive door in plenty of the lubricant I use when cleaning my guns.
Now we have to open it. Prepared to endure pain in silence, we opened the door.
A heavy reverberation spreads outward.
"...."
If I had not been gagged, would I have screamed?
Icicles the size of beds are pouring down from the sky like rain. If one of those hits you, it would not be a concussion, your body would be pierced through?! With a cracking sound, three or four icicles slammed into my body, and my battery immediately dropped by about 30%.
If I were an exceptionally skilled cleaner, I would have dodged them all or simply tanked them. But I...
Without even looking back, I pulled out a tent into midair and shoved the end of it into my inventory. The tent, frozen in time, catches the falling icicles. Of course, it takes not even the slightest damage. I step beneath the indestructible tent and watch the icicles pour down.
This can only be called good luck. There are not many cleaners who could deal with this so simply.
"...."
After some time passed, I once again found myself standing in front of the wide-open massive door. I retrieved the tent I had kept suspended in midair. And this time, I learned one thing for certain.
I should probably squeeze one more force field generator out of the Korean government. Equip both of them and alternate their use. Otherwise, dangerous situations will happen more often than expected.
"...."
Oh Minhyuk and Han Sehee also managed to return. Judging by their faces, both of them had gone through something horrible. Among them, Han Sehee was in especially bad shape, with wriggling larvae embedded all over her body, their heads burrowed in.
Without exchanging many words, Oh Minhyuk and I tore out the larvae that Han Sehee could not remove herself.
[This feels disgusting.]
Considering that flesh-eating larvae were embedded all over her body, it was a remarkably flat reaction. In any case, somehow we succeeded in getting out of the massive dome.
[A corridor.]
What unfolded beyond it was a long, stretching corridor. No, calling it a corridor feels wrong since there are no doors at all. Tunnel would be a more fitting term.
And one characteristic of tunnels is that sound echoes extremely well. This place is the same.
"...."
If there is a difference, it is the countless objects hanging from the ceiling by strings, like a mobile. There were things that would obviously make a loud noise if they fell, as well as bells hung from traditional Korean eaves that jingle whenever the wind blows, and even fireworks that look like something you would use at a birthday party.
Every single one of them is an invitation calling us to hell. And they were not hanging high up near the ceiling. Strings stretched across the tunnel, drooping everywhere we would have to pass, hanging down thickly like rice ears during harvest season.
The spacing is such that a person cannot pass through. Worse yet, shining a flashlight on them reveals that they are all connected to each other.
If even one is touched, the rest will shake in a chain reaction. To be honest, I do not want to take even a single step forward.
"...."
And beyond this tunnel, as if saying "come in here," there is a red door decorated with gold.
That must be where the contamination source is. In the end, to clean this place, we have to pass through this horrific tunnel and reach that spot.
Who is that?
A woman wearing a worn leotard stands in front of the red door. Her entire face is covered by a pure white mask. The mask has no eyes, no nose, no mouth. Like an egg ghost, it is nothing but smooth white.
She spins around in ballet shoes or hops lightly, her movements so light they seem to reject gravity.
And above all, despite repeatedly jumping and landing, she makes not even the slightest sound.
"...!"
I see her hand reaching toward the strings that hold the objects suspended in midair. For a moment, I almost said, stop.
The white mask turns toward us. Even though it was a featureless white mask.
Somehow, I could read a sneer from it.
That damn thing yanked the string hard.
Countless sounds reverberated, and I fell into a space filled with razor blades.
Slowly swirling, the razor blades shave away at the force field. Gradually, the force field generator's battery is drained. The speed at which the battery decreases is not fast.
But this is not a momentary noise. It will continue for a long time, for an unknown duration.
The battery is dropping. Oh Minhyuk and Han Sehee must be in similar situations right now.
What should I do?
What am I supposed to do to break through this situation?
Think, Kim Sangseon. You did not come all this way just to be minced by razor blades. Even dried squid gives up water if you squeeze it hard enough.
Damn it, think. Anything is fine, just come up with some way to get out of here...!
Ah.
As I stared at the razor blades swirling together with me, I swallowed.
Is noise the problem? Or is hearing the noise the problem?
A baseless curiosity that suddenly surfaced in this extreme situation. I immediately took out a thin iron rod and a ruler from my inventory.
The distance from the human ear to the eardrum is 3 centimeters. I read that in a comic that used to be popular. It was a comic drawn by a Korean author, about gambling where he bets his own eardrum.
That author ended up leaving the industry amid controversy over plagiarizing content written by a Japanese manga artist during the turbine era, but that is none of my concern.
What matters is that the distance from the ear to the eardrum is 3 centimeters. I measured the length of the metal rod with the ruler, then cut it accordingly.
"There is nothing else."
I cannot hesitate. Anyway, anyway, it can be treated at a hospital. This is a world where they can even regenerate lungs, so an eardrum is nothing, right?
I placed a plank over the swirling razor blades, froze time through my inventory, and climbed on top of it.
Now, turn off the force field generator.
I shoved the metal rod into my eardrum.
"!!!!!!"
I clenched the gag in my mouth. Hot blood flowed from my ear. But humans have two ears.
I shoved a metal rod into the other one as well. Blood poured out, and horrific pain traveled from my ears and slammed into my brain.
"...."
And the razor blades that had been swirling beneath me until just moments ago disappeared without a trace.
I returned to the tunnel.
What about Han Sehee and Oh Minhyuk? I scanned the surroundings. I can see them. Normally I should not be able to see them, but now I can. I see Han Sehee standing blankly with foam at her mouth, and Oh Minhyuk with large nails embedded all over his body.
Once my hearing was destroyed and I could no longer hear any sound, I could finally see them.
I do not know what kind of scene they are seeing, but what I have to do is clear.
I shoved metal rods into both of their ears as well. Ruining someone else's ears with my own hands felt incredibly filthy.
But as a result.
"...?!"
The two of them came to their senses and stared at me blankly. They had escaped that horrific environment.
[It is not the noise that is the problem, it is hearing the noise.]
I immediately wrote that on a sketchbook and showed it to them, then pointed to my ears. Unlike me, Han Sehee and Oh Minhyuk are not in good condition. They are already injured and cannot fight properly.
Oh Minhyuk has metal nails embedded all over his body, and Han Sehee looks like she has been subjected to electric torture.
[If we use a rapid recovery agent, the eardrums will heal. Then we will have to deafen ourselves again.]
At my words, Han Sehee gasped for breath, wiped her mouth, then clenched her teeth and wrote on the sketchbook with trembling hands.
[We cannot fight like this. Fine, I will just stab my ears one more time.]
[I will tear that bastard apart with my own hands.]
Their resolve seems sufficient. Maybe their anger overcame the pain. Both of their eyes look murderous.
To endure such pain and fear. Manifesting a stigmata is not something just anyone can do.
But I am just as angry.
If I do not put a bullet in that masked ballerina's head, I feel like I will not be able to sleep from how pissed off I am.
[Alright, then both of you, brace yourselves.]
I injected the rapid recovery agent into both of them, and as soon as they fully recovered, I once again shoved metal rods into both ears, making them deaf.
Then I handed out painkillers.
[Let us go.]
Now it is time to enter beyond that bright red door. There is no way to know how strong that masked ballerina bastard we just saw is.
So the plan is to pour out the maximum firepower we can the moment we kick in the door.
Deaf as we are, we exchange signals with our eyes.
And kick the door open.
The moment the door shattered, Oh Minhyuk poured a massive stream of flames through it.
I pulled out grenades, claymores, rifle grenades, everything that explodes, from my inventory and hurled them inside.
Because our ears are deaf, the deafening roar that should be heard does not reach us. We can only guess at its power through the vibrations spreading through our bodies and the searing heat.
It is not over yet. I pull out a heavy machine gun and spray fire through the doorway. Two full sets of linked ammunition are used up, and even in between, I fire grenades from a rifle equipped with a grenade launcher.
Of course, Yu Sanghyeok is not slacking off either during this time. At the same time, Han Sehee continues her breathing.
Inside, the distinctive mist created when Han Sehee uses her ability is continuously being sucked into her nose and mouth.
That means she is still alive. Persistent. Just die already.
Then, from beyond the burning doorway, the tattered ballerina bursts out. The already filthy leotard is even more ruined, scorched by fire, and the mask covering her face is about half shattered.
This bastard was blocking her ears too.
"Looking good?"
Since none of us can hear anyway, I openly speak out loud. I cannot hear myself, and neither can the other two. Still, just opening my mouth and speaking makes me feel refreshed.
Most importantly, the greatest relief is that our attacks are working.
― @!#$!%@@!#@!
She is shouting something.
I cannot hear you, idiot. My ears are wrecked. Now that I can see the target properly, I pull the trigger while aiming at her.
The ballerina dodges the bullets, leaving afterimages. Her movements are still light.
Then, a pillar of fire erupts beneath her feet. Oh Minhyuk's work. Of course, Oh Minhyuk's own condition after producing that result is not good either. His body has turned bright red like Guan Yu.
But in any case, the ballerina is caught in the flames and stops moving.
And I pour bullets into her body with satisfaction.