NOVEL WEB Chapter 4
Chapter 4: My Bad!
Han Gang-ho dashed down the hospital corridor without even glancing back.
In mere moments, a thunderstorm had unleashed its fury.
Patsutsuts!
Boom!
Wherever he passed, weak currents of electricity coalesced in the air, occasionally sparking.
Fizzle.
Fortunately, there were no physical abnormalities—the concerns he had feared did not manifest.
However, perhaps due to a slight state of excitement, his nerves felt sharper, and his mind clearer.
‘Is it just my imagination?’
Thanks to his unexpectedly powerful offensive capabilities, he arrived at Dr. Lisa’s examination room without facing any major crisis.
Before opening the locked door, Gang-ho turned back to check if Satoshi had kept up.
But Satoshi was nowhere to be seen.
Nor was Wolf.
“……”
After a brief assessment of the situation, Gang-ho sighed.
Haa.
‘That guy. Trying to survive alone….’
Shaking his head slightly, Gang-ho shouldered the locked door and burst inside.
Bang!
“Dr. Lisa!”
His swift entrance and immediate survey of the surroundings were executed flawlessly.
His past experience as a Counter-Terrorism Team Leader hadn’t rusted away.
However, he froze in place.
“Well, well, looks like we have a guest.”
Huuuuuh.
The bizarre sound escaping the mouth of the person before him was none other than Dr. Matthew, whom he had seen a few times before.
Unfortunately, the form he had previously encountered was no longer recognizable.
His eyes were slitted like a reptile, and his constantly flicking tongue resembled that of a snake.
‘This is a different situation from zombies.’
What exactly was happening became maddeningly unclear.
But his curiosity quickly shifted toward another thought.
‘More importantly, what the hell was he doing in that grotesque form?’
Next to the desk lay Dr. Lisa, collapsed.
Her lab coat was open, and her shirt buttons were undone.
A large white bra with a prominent size made its presence known.
Matthew was hunched over her, his hands gripping both her bare chest and the bra straps.
“So even as a monster, the libido remains?”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Gang-ho lunged at the reptilian Matthew.
Thud.
“What a pathetic sight…”
Hoo-hoo.
Thwack.
“Krrr!”
Matthew fell without even a chance to resist, his limbs twitching as if he’d been electrocuted.
Zzzzzzz.
Thump.
As expected, even this time, illusory sparks erupted from Matthew’s body.
Zap.
Fizzle.
Watching the scene unfold, Gang-ho examined his own fist.
‘So even a standard punch carries an electric charge?’
Once his abilities awakened, it seemed there was no need to configure the attributes separately.
‘Right. Let’s gradually figure out the full extent of these powers.’
He hurried over to Lisa and checked her breath and pulse.
Then, he examined her pupils and mouth to see if she had experienced any creature mutations.
‘Thankfully, no abnormal signs.’
In the midst of his inspection, his eyes involuntarily drifted toward one area.
‘Hmm. Impressive indeed.’
Recognizing himself, Gang-ho glanced back at the still-twitching Matthew.
The primal instincts of a man.
Moreover, he had truly turned into a beast now.
Thus, feeling a little sorry not to acknowledge the male instincts, he cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Ahem.”
Gang-ho, feeling a bit nervous for no apparent reason, searched for the emergency medical kit through his status window.
He quickly administered an antidote to prepare for any potential infections.
“And this is a stimulant spray to bring back consciousness.”
Shiiiik.
He sprayed it near her respiratory system and waited to observe whether her condition improved.
“No external injuries; that’s a relief.”
In the brief waiting moment, he checked her status information.
As expected, she had acquired abilities she hadn’t possessed before.
[Name]: Lisa Azbel.
[…]: ……
[Species]: Human / Type 1 Mutant.
[Traits]: Elemental Fusion.
[Grade]: LV. 1
[Attribute]: Four Great Elements.
[Special Skills]: Basic Element Utilization.
[Auxiliary Skills]: First Aid. Anesthesia. Body Incision and Suturing. Tanning. Leatherworking. Sewing.
Each ability seemed extraordinary in its own right.
Not precisely clear, but it certainly seemed related to her field of expertise.
[Major]: Chemistry. Biology. Medicine.
Suddenly, an absurd scene floated to his mind.
Even while turning his gaze away from Lisa, this symbolic image of her remained hovering in the air.
Gang-ho momentarily enjoyed the illusion.
“……”
Then, he snapped back to reality.
‘Is this another symptom of exposure?’
Feeling embarrassed, he decided he should at least cover her up.
However, he was confronted with an unexpected hurdle.
He had seen Matthew holding onto her underwear but hadn’t anticipated the hook would be undone.
“This is awkward.”
What could he do about it?
He couldn’t just strip her, so he thought he’d quickly put it on while she was still unconscious.
“Huh. This isn’t something I did wrong.”
Feeling unreasonably tense, he awkwardly tried to lift her upper body, reaching around to her back.
The size was so ample that he struggled to find the hook’s position.
Another ridiculous thought crossed his mind.
‘At least a G-cup, I’d say.’
Just then, the woman opened her eyes.
“Mmm.”
Without realizing it, Gang-ho’s body froze.
“……”
Lisa blinked and focused on Gang-ho’s face.
Then, she soon absorbed the sight of him ‘removing’ her underwear (?).
Gang-ho could only swallow dryly.
Gulp.
After a moment of silence, Lisa was the first to speak.
“Um, this situation seems a bit inappropriate, don’t you think?”
“It’s a misunderstanding! It’s not what it looks like!”
Gang-ho, still tense, barely managed to direct his gaze sideways to explain the situation.
“When I came in, that Matthew was already….”
Though he didn’t stutter, the explanation became unnecessarily lengthy.
“Is that so?”
Her tone and gaze suggested she didn’t quite believe him.
Aware that he was in a situation that could easily arouse suspicion, Gang-ho answered promptly and accurately.
“Yes, absolutely.”
However, her response was unexpected.
“Well, that’s nice…. Huh.”
“… Huh?”
Gang-ho sighed deeply, feeling a weight lift as he no longer needed to stay tense.
Phew.
He couldn’t help but think that truly understanding a woman’s mind was impossible.
Lisa quickly regained her composure and rose to her feet, and Gang-ho escorted her outside of the ward.
Habitually surveying for threats, he spotted Wolf not too far away.
‘Where’s Satoshi? Did he go ahead to the platform?’
Gang-ho made his way to Wolf, accompanied by Lisa.
She also noticed Wolf and thought he was just a wolf, while Gang-ho briefly explained the situation.
‘He has indeed become more wolf-like since the exposure. He’s even bigger now.’
Just as he got closer to Wolf, a shadow suddenly appeared next to him.
“……!”
Gang-ho instinctively raised his guard to protect Lisa, and she took a startled step back.
“Eek!”
Fortunately, what appeared was neither a zombie nor a creature, but Satoshi.
Unlike Lisa, Gang-ho was not overly surprised.
Satoshi.
Instead, Satoshi seemed more flustered.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you; I still can’t control this yet.”
Gang-ho raised an eyebrow, a bewildered look on his face.
“What happened?”
“As soon as you entered the hospital, a horde of zombies appeared.”
The explanation was straightforward.
Most of the zombies roaming around didn’t notice Satoshi, but two of them headed straight for him.
Anxious, Satoshi instinctively thought he wanted to hide, and at that moment, his body slipped into the nearby shade of a tree.
It was an utterly unbelievable statement, but immediately made sense to Gang-ho.
‘So this is what invisibility is!’
Comprehending this, another question arose.
“What about those two zombies?”
Satoshi responded by patting Wolf’s head instead of answering.
Though no verbal explanation was given, Gang-ho could picture the situation.
“Hmm.”
Satoshi went invisible, and the approaching zombies were bitten by Wolf.
Gang-ho nodded then turned serious.
“That aside, I told you to cover me, and you run away to save yourself?”
“My bad!”
The change in Satoshi’s tone left Gang-ho momentarily speechless.
“What’s with that way of speaking?”
In response to Gang-ho’s bewilderment, Satoshi scratched his head sheepishly.
“I’m Japanese, so when I get flustered or surprised, I can’t help but pronounce it like that….”
Anyone could find themselves in a similar situation.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t understand, but the sudden shift was almost comical, causing him to lose the will to be angry.
Even if it was unintentional, Satoshi’s adaptability struck him as quite impressive.
Transitioning from a commanding attitude to suddenly adopting a respectful one showcased a unique level of flexibility.
‘A ninja… well, that fits him.’
As Gang-ho pondered, a green glowing orb caught his eye on the ground.
“Huh? What’s that?”
At Gang-ho’s words, everyone’s gaze shifted toward the orb.
“Ah, I was thinking about that too until you arrived, Colonel.”
Satoshi finally noticed the green orb there.
He conjectured that it seemed to be left behind after the zombies died.
After listening to him, Gang-ho voiced his doubt.
“You mentioned there were two zombies, but there’s only one orb.”
“Oh, that’s because Wolf probably ate the other one.”
“No way.”
As the two exchanged dialogue, Lisa crouched down in front of the orb.
“It’s so shimmering. Is it liquid or gas…?”
She slowly reached out her hand toward the green orb.
“Don’t touch it! It could be dangerous!”
Her movement was swifter than Gang-ho’s warning.
Swish.
“……!”