Chapter 123: The Plan
Chapter 123: The Plan
The sky quickly turned dark. After discussing it, the three of them decided to take a cautious approach.
“Next, Mr. Toriumi and I will stay in Room 507…”
Karasawa proposed his idea: he and Toriumi would stay in Room 507, and they would not sleep but instead keep watch over the room’s activity.
“Nishizuka, just in case, you shouldn’t stay in the room. Leave the ward for now and contact me in Room 507 every fifteen minutes.”
“Wouldn’t it be better if I stayed inside too?”
“If something abnormal really happens, Mr. Toriumi and I might run into trouble and be unable to contact you. Then you could support us from outside.”
He spoke very carefully: “From my experience, having a ‘third-party observer’ is necessary in strange phenomenon incidents. Also, when these kinds of strange phenomena occur, the area of influence doesn’t usually cover the whole place. If someone can intervene from outside, it often breaks the original situation.”
If it were someone else, they might find Karasawa’s words confusing. But after experiencing the effects of the illusions in the Apartment and at Mount Sagiri, Fang Jing suddenly understood his reasoning.
—The first time he encountered a “Strange Phenomenon” was in the Apartment, where he almost died by hanging because of an illusion.
—And that night in Mount Sagiri, staying at the “Defiled Temple,” he was almost tricked into leaving the safe area.
If there had been a third person to step in and warn him, he wouldn’t have been so passive.
“…That makes sense!”
Fang Jing nodded. If Karasawa and Toriumi in Room 507 were deceived by illusions, he could still react and support them.
Toriumi Kotaro was still a bit hesitant. He crossed his arms and asked quietly, “What about the other patient in the room? Shouldn’t we ask them to leave?”
“We’re not hospital staff. We don’t have the authority. Besides, what reason would we use to convince them?”
Karasawa Meisuke spread his hands, indicating there was nothing he could do.
“For now, the most we can do is stay here and investigate. Anything further is beyond our ability to handle.”
“Why do you say that?”
“‘Strange Phenomenon’ can’t be measured by common sense. The rumor that old man Sakagami mentioned was that ‘it takes five people every year.’ Have you considered that if there’s no one in Room 507, the ‘Strange Phenomenon’ might shift to other patients on the fifth floor, or randomly cause a fifth victim to appear?”
Karasawa Meisuke furrowed his brow and said, “We shouldn’t think too simply about supernatural things like ‘Strange Phenomenon.’ Staying in Room 507 might help us gather some information. If everyone leaves, we’d be completely in the dark, and that could make things worse.”
From another perspective, Room 507 was a fixed location. Staying here might confine the “Strange Phenomenon.” If everyone left, the “Strange Phenomenon’s” movements would become random.
“Also, there’s one more thing. Everyone in Room 507 is in danger. The more people there are, the safer we’ll be. It sounds harsh, but I don’t plan to risk my life willingly.”
Karasawa Meisuke’s tone turned quite cold: “To be blunt, I’m just here to help. I don’t intend to throw my life away.”
Toriumi Kotaro was left speechless. Fang Jing leaned against the wall in silence, as if the matter had nothing to do with him.
That was only natural. No one would sacrifice their own life just to stop a “Strange Phenomenon” incident.
“Mr. Toriumi, you understand too, right? So far, the first four victims all had legitimate reasons for their deaths. Their health was already poor, and their deaths followed the natural course. In other words… in Room 507, the most endangered person isn’t the two of us, but the third patient.”
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“You all worry too much! It’s just my old condition. I’ll be fine after resting for a few days.”
“Mom, you’re still as reckless as ever. Your body really can’t take this.”
Room 507, where Toriumi Kotaro stayed, was a double room like the other wards.
Yesterday, a middle-aged, overweight woman named Makimura was admitted, making the somewhat empty room a bit livelier.
Mrs. Makimura was hospitalized due to heart failure. That day, her daughter—a well-dressed office lady—brought a little boy from kindergarten to the room.
She must have traveled from a nearby city to visit her mother, but Mrs. Makimura felt her condition wasn’t serious enough to trouble the whole family.
Mrs. Makimura appeared to be a mother of several children, a homemaker for many years. Over the past few days, several people had indeed come to see her.
“That’s Mrs. Makimura.”
Karasawa Meisuke sat at the edge of a hospital bed, holding a book. He was turned slightly, so no one noticed the Radio earpiece he wore.
“Yeah.”
Toriumi Kotaro sighed. “The first four all had corresponding illnesses. Their deaths were due to natural causes from worsening conditions.”
“In Irish mythology, there’s a spirit called a banshee. They only appear before those who are about to die. The banshee’s appearance foretells death…”
Karasawa said quietly, “The banshee doesn’t cause someone’s death; she visits because death is approaching…”
“So, what Chieko drew—the ‘thing in the painting’—isn’t some abnormal ‘Strange Phenomenon’ but a messenger from the underworld coming to claim souls.”
Toriumi Kotaro was also startled.
“Meaning… someone in Room 507 will die.”
“If this really is a ‘Strange Phenomenon’ event, anything can happen. Don’t be too surprised, old man…”
Karasawa contacted Fang Jing, who was now in Sakomizu’s room on the sixth floor, using the Radio earpiece.
“Hello, hello, how’s the signal…”
“No problem here. What about you? Did you raise any suspicion from Mrs. Makimura and the others?”
“It’s fine. I told them I’m Toriumi’s nephew.”
“Besides! In a hospital, having too many people gathered isn’t good for other patients either.”
Mrs. Makimura turned to Toriumi Kotaro and Karasawa with a slight smile. “Sorry, you two. I hope we’re not being too loud?”
“It’s alright, please don’t mind us.”
Toriumi Kotaro smiled and nodded. The office lady also gave an apologetic smile, then pulled the curtain around the bed and lowered her voice to speak with her mother.
“Let’s synchronize our time. What time is it now?”
“7:30.”
“We don’t need to worry too much for now. I doubt anything will happen until late at night. The first four patients all died around one or two in the morning. Even if something happens, it probably won’t be until then.”
Just then, Toriumi Kotaro’s attending physician, Tōdō, and a young nurse happened to enter.
“Kotono, you’ll be in charge of Mrs. Makimura’s consultations. From now on, you’ll handle Room 507…”
“Yes, Dr. Tōdō.”
Kotono glanced around Room 507. It looked almost the same as the other rooms, with nothing unusual.
Toriumi Kotaro, Karasawa, and she exchanged looks. After their earlier discussion, they had brought Nurse Kotono back and explained the situation to her.
“I’m on duty tonight. I’ll stay in the duty room and keep a close watch on the hallway monitor.”
“Thank you, Miss Kotono. This is Karasawa and Nishizuka, my assistants. They’ll cooperate with me, so please take care of us.”
“No, I should be the one thanking you.”
She bowed to the three of them.
“It’s absurd, but I’m grateful Mr. Toriumi was willing to listen to my explanation. If it were me, I might not believe it so easily.”
“Can’t be helped. If it really involves people’s lives, we can’t just stand by.”
After exchanging a few more polite words, the three of them reached an understanding with her.
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Night fell quickly. The light gradually faded, and a crescent moon hung in the dark, curtain-like sky.
A cold silence began to descend upon the land.