Goblin Library - Chapter 98

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 98.

Beep! Beep! Beep!
Cha Im-beom, who had used the master key to enter and was checking for occupants, suddenly turned his head at the continuous beeping sounds.
“What is that noise?”
“It sounds like a door lock being released?”
At Ho-su’s words, Cha Im-beom grasped the door handle of the room across from them and pulled down.
Whoosh!
When the door opened without a card key, Ho-su spoke with curiosity.
“It looks like all the room locks have been unlocked. But why were they unlocked?”
“Why doesn’t matter. We’re out of time, so it’s fortunate they’re unlocked. Let’s go in.”
Cha Im-beom hurried into the room and shouted.
“Is anyone here!”
While shouting, Cha Im-beom struck the wall with his hammer repeatedly. Even if they couldn’t hear his voice, they would surely hear the sound of the hammer striking the wall.
In response, some movement was heard from the bathroom. Then a young woman who appeared to be in her early twenties rushed out.
“Help me!”
At the woman’s words, Cha Im-beom looked at her. Her clothes, both top and bottom, were completely soaked.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes… Please save me.”
Cha Im-beom looked at the bathroom. Water was pouring from the shower, and the bathtub was filled with water.
It seemed she had turned on the water in the bathtub and endured there. The water cascading down would have created a barrier that helped settle the smoke, making it easier to breathe.
“You did well turning on the water.”
“Yes? Yes…”
Cha Im-beom approached the window and broke the glass.
Crash!
Cha Im-beom leaned his head out the window to check the position of the ladder truck. He needed to determine whether it was better to go to where the ladder was or to have the ladder brought here.
Soon, Cha Im-beom spoke into his radio.
“Helpful Driver, can you see me here?”
As Cha Im-beom waved his hand out the window, the Helpful Driver looked this way and sent a radio message.
[I can see you.]
“Can the ladder reach here?”
[It will reach, but it won’t be completely flush against the window. It will probably reach at an angle.]
“Do I need to move the truck?”
[It seems like I should… but it will take some time to organize things here and create space again. Let me try positioning it first. Even if there’s a small gap due to the location, if she just stretches her feet, it will be enough to reach.]
With those words, the Helpful Driver retracted the ladder, secured it, and began extending it toward where Cha Im-beom was.
And just as the Helpful Driver said, the ladder truck’s platform reached the window at an angle rather than head-on.
“Can you climb up there?”
“That… the bottom…”
The Young Woman stared out at the empty space between the window and the rescue basket with startled eyes.
The distance was barely a single step, but that didn’t make it any less terrifying.
One misstep and her life would be forfeit.
“Don’t worry. I’ll hold you, and the firefighter on the basket will catch you securely.”
“I…”
“You have to do this.”
At Cha Im-beom’s words, the Young Woman looked at him.
“Think of your family waiting for you at home. Just one step and you’ll be out of here.”
Drawing courage from his words, the Young Woman bit her lip and spoke.
“Okay. I’ll try.”
Cha Im-beom brushed away the glass shards from the window frame and draped a blanket over it.
“Go ahead and climb up. I’ll hold you, so don’t worry.”
The Young Woman nodded and carefully climbed onto the window. As Cha Im-beom steadied her from behind, he caught sight of the firefighter on the aerial ladder and the man extended his hand.
“Just grab my hand and come across.”
“Yes.”
As the Young Woman trembled and reached out her hand, the firefighter grasped it.
“On the count of three—one, two, three!”
At the firefighter’s signal, the Young Woman crossed over.
Thump!
The moment the firefighter caught the rescued person, Cha Im-beom spun around. Rather than cautioning the already-rescued person, his priority was to find those still needing rescue.
And Cha Im-beom emerged into the corridor.
Whoooosh!
Cha Im-beom felt his senses sharpen in an instant. It was as though every nerve in his body had been washed clean with cold water.
“Follow me!”
As Cha Im-beom walked quickly toward somewhere, Ho-su saw him.
“Where are you going?”
“I heard something.”
“Something? I didn’t hear anything.”
“No, I heard it. Come on.”
Then he quickly walked over and opened a door on one side.
Click!
Thanks to all the locks being disengaged moments before, the door opened immediately.
Cha Im-beom’s face hardened as he saw smoke hanging unusually thick in this room compared to the others.
“Fire Department!”
Crash, crash, crash!
Cha Im-beom struck the wall roughly with his axe, making noise. But no response came back.
Then… a tap! A sound suddenly rang out. Cha Im-beom rushed toward where he’d heard it.
It was near the window. Cha Im-beom quickly moved in that direction.
Then he saw the outline of a person crouched beneath the window.
Cha Im-beom hurried over to check. The man was covered with a water-soaked blanket, his face wrapped in a wet towel.
The heavy smoke had stolen his consciousness, but his pulse still beat. As Cha Im-beom rushed to lift the man, he spotted a phone lying on the floor.
Messages scrolled across the screen in an endless stream.

「Mother: Son!」
「Mother: Are you okay?」
「Mother: Son, my son!」
「Mother: Son… Mom loves you so much. Son… I really do love you.」
「Mother: I love you.」

Cha Im-beom steadied his breathing as he read the mother’s messages—each one a declaration of love—and slipped the phone into his pocket, tightening his grip on the man in his arms.
That sound I heard… it was this notification. I marveled at how I could have detected such a faint tone, but what truly mattered was that I’d found this person because of a mother’s message.
『I’ll make sure you tell her you love her yourself! Hah!』
Hoisting an adult man’s body was grueling work. For Cha Im-beom, already depleted from exertion, it was even more so. Yet he lifted the man with a determined cry.
『Senior!』
At Ho-su’s call from behind him, Cha Im-beom responded urgently.
『First room! Ladder truck!』
To transport an unconscious person, the ladder truck’s platform had to align perfectly.
At Cha Im-beom’s command, Ho-su pivoted quickly and spoke into his radio.
『Helpful Driver, ladder truck to the window where we rescued the first person!』
Cha Im-beom sprinted past Ho-su toward the room where he’d first found someone.
He burst into that room and leaned his head out the window.
The ladder truck rotated slowly toward him and locked into position.
Whirr! Whirr!
As the platform rose, Cha Im-beom carefully transferred the rescued person onto it.
『Unconscious, but pulse is strong.』
『Understood.』
『And…』
Cha Im-beom pulled out the phone and held it up.
『Reply for him. Tell her he’s been rescued.』
『Pardon?』
『You’ll understand when you see it.』
Cha Im-beom gestured to the Helpful Driver from the window, and the platform began descending rapidly.
The firefighter tending to the rescued man on the platform looked at the phone as Cha Im-beom instructed. Seeing the mother’s messages displayed there, he fell silent for a moment, then removed his gloves and quickly typed a response.

「Son: This is the Fire Department. Your son has been rescued.」

As the firefighter pulled his gloves back on and handed the rescued man over to the paramedics, a new message arrived on the phone.

「Mother: Thank you. Thank you so much. I’m so grateful.」

***

Whoooosh!
A torrent of water sprayed from the fire truck cascaded onto the Motel, and firefighters began emerging one by one, completely drenched.
『Phew!』
Cha Im-beom exhaled deeply and removed his oxygen mask, revealing a face smeared with thick soot and ash.
Even with an oxygen mask, it was impossible to completely block out the smoke from the fire.
The violent movements meant that ash and dust inevitably seeped in through the gaps of the mask.
As Cha Im-beom breathed heavily, the sound of a radio transmission reached his ears.
[Eighth floor search complete.]
[Fifth floor search complete.]
Radio reports continued confirming the completion of searches on other floors. Fortunately, there were no reports of bodies discovered.
They hadn’t abandoned the rescue operation to escape the fire scene first.
As I caught my breath, I noticed a man moving busily among the firefighters.
『You’ve all worked hard. Please have some of this.』
The man in the Convenience Store uniform carried over a plastic box filled with ion drinks and chocolates, distributing them to everyone.
『Thank you for your hard work.』
The Convenience Store Manager approached me and offered an ion drink. I accepted it and bowed my head in gratitude.
My throat was parched anyway.
But when I tried to open the bottle cap, it wouldn’t budge. I was so exhausted that I couldn’t muster the strength in my hands.
Seeing this, the Convenience Store Manager took the drink back and twisted the cap open.
Click! Click!
The Convenience Store Manager handed the opened drink back to me.
『Thank you.』
At my words, the Convenience Store Manager looked at me and spoke.
『I saw you firefighters lifting people up and carrying them out.』
He sighed and continued.
『Someone with such strength shouldn’t be unable to open a simple bottle cap. You must be that exhausted.』
He shook his head and looked around at the other firefighters.
『Many of you are like this, unable to open a cap. It shows how hard you all pushed yourselves to the absolute limit.』
The Convenience Store Manager tore open a chocolate bar wrapper and handed it to me.
『Nothing restores energy like sweets when you’re exhausted.』
『Thank you.』
『No, I should be thanking you. You’re doing your best to save us, so I’m the grateful one.』
The Convenience Store Manager smiled at me.
『Seeing a firefighter unable to open a bottle cap like this actually makes me feel very reassured.』
How hard must one have worked in rescue operations and fire suppression to lack even the strength to open a bottle cap?
That’s why it was reassuring. It meant they would give their all when we were in danger and needed help.
As the Convenience Store Manager picked up the box and moved toward another firefighter, I asked.
『By the way, who paid for all this?』
The Convenience Store Manager stopped in his tracks and turned back, answering with a smile.
“We’re Korean.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s a gift from our people for the firefighters who worked so hard to save lives.”
The man who spoke laughed awkwardly.
“I know my words sound a bit grandiose… but you all looked like you were working hard, so I brought what I had. Ah, please don’t apologize or anything. I’m a Convenience Store Owner with plenty of these items. Please, have them.”
Realizing his words had been overly formal, the man’s face flushed with embarrassment as he hurried over to the other firefighters.
Watching him, I smiled. A beverage and a chocolate bar—nothing much, but seeing a citizen express gratitude like this filled me with a sense of fulfillment.
Yet at the same time, my heart felt heavy.
“Phew!”
After exhaling a long breath, I approached the Emergency Medical Services team, who were organizing their equipment on one side.
I quietly asked the Paramedic.
“Today…”
As I trailed off without finishing, the Paramedic looked at me and sighed before speaking.
“Two people have died so far.”
“Could there be more?”
“Three people in the intensive care unit are in critical condition, but the others are not in life-threatening situations.”
The Paramedic gazed at the charred Motel with sorrowful eyes.
I too looked at the Motel. Given the scale of this fire and where it occurred, the loss of life was remarkably small.
Yet neither I nor any of the firefighters or paramedics could think of the casualties as small.
They were lives we could not save—people who were someone’s child, someone’s parent, someone’s sibling.
It was a sacrifice that could never be reduced to mere numbers.
After sighing, I shook my head and moved toward where the firefighters were gathered.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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