It was a wide, thick metal door, already locked.
And the door bolt used the same standardized mechanism as a bank vault… even a strong man couldn't break it down directly, let alone Fran without her kidneys.
The door didn't use a password lock, but a vintage, classic key lock.
This was the first puzzle set by "Themis."
Fran smiled faintly, her index finger gently brushing the already-sutured wound on her abdomen, feeling the intense pain spreading outward.
"Although it's called a puzzle, what 'Themis' is implying is quite obvious. Perhaps she's also worried I wouldn't be able to open this door and would just die trapped inside? In that regard, she's not too bad…"
In fact, after Themis finished her opening message, Fran already had a fairly accurate guess.
"Lose something, yet gain something else, requiring courage to obtain it. And that phrase 'the path to salvation lies within'… such an obvious hint."
"All of that basically means 'the key is inside me.' Compared to a true puzzle, this is much simpler, very much in the style of Jigsaw."
This cruel test was only entry-level difficulty for her—perfectly within her professional expertise.
Fran's portable medical kit contained a full set of cutting tools. She could use the ability Drive Away Dust and Filth to block micro-contaminants and ensure lighting… and she certainly didn't care about cutting herself open.
She even worked while humming a tune with no discernible melody, looking quite entertained…
The main danger in Jigsaw-type trials is time—an unavoidable threat of death that draws closer with every passing second. The method of solving them typically revolves around physical pain.
The designer uses that pain and layered hints to force the victim into a monk-like "transcendence"… or to lead them to death.
But Fran didn't feel pain from dissecting herself, nor did she repent for anything.
Her values were complete and steady; she never needed emotional cleansing or spiritual redemption.
…
After groping around the area where her kidneys should have been, Fran pulled out a blood-soaked gelatin pouch. Inside was a brass key.
Setting the key aside, she calmly sutured the incision again. Bloody, precise, elegant. Her slender fingers danced with needle and thread like a delicate machine entirely indifferent to pain.
"She even put the key in a gel pouch to reduce infection. She's really meticulous… there truly are good people in the world."
Now she believed this civilization had advanced medical standards… because this method of retrieving the key easily caused infection.
Without proper safeguards, even someone who passed the test perfectly would die of complications afterwards.
…
After finishing the suturing, Fran picked up the key, walked to the door, and inserted it into the keyhole.
As the teeth aligned, the metal door opened with little resistance. The design seemed to consider that the user would be quite weak at this stage and unable to push hard.
Behind the door lay an even wider new room, equally undecorated. Her view was filled with the despairing dark gray of raw concrete.
But the room was certainly not empty. Quite the opposite—more than a dozen bookshelves filled the space.
Fran scanned them briefly. The shelves were full of newspapers, magazines, and notebooks, stacked thickly.
One bookshelf had collapsed for some unknown reason, scattering piles of paper across the floor.
Fran approached. Her eyes brightened slightly. She noticed a tape sitting atop a pile of scattered documents—a conspicuously placed piece, like a cherry on a cake.
She picked up the tape and inserted it into the player. The woman's voice sounded again.
"Obviously, you have discovered where 'salvation' lay, and you demonstrated the courage to obtain it. Perhaps you are curious about my identity, or confused by the cause of these events…"
"So, in this room, I have prepared three keys called 'answers' for you. They lie in 'the mouth of the witness,' 'the betrayal of the lover,' and 'the end of the genius.' After collecting the keys, you will receive the second half of the diary."
Fran listened with interest, even replaying the tape to ensure she didn't miss any keywords.
"It seems this Ms. Themis is very fond of riddles. Quite a unique hobby. But her puzzles aren't very difficult. Each clue is very clear… after all, the room isn't that big. Shouldn't be hard to find."
She spent three minutes carefully examining the room layout, then returned to the fallen bookshelf.
"This shelf's angle is unnatural after it toppled. Looks like it's pressing down on something…"
Fran pulled away the stacked magazines and newspapers. She smelled a sharp, rancid odor mixed with the sting of formaldehyde.
As expected, the shelf was pressing on a corpse—a female one. The body was dried, decayed, and had undergone simple preservation.
Her face was ashen and shriveled, frozen in her final moment—hysterical, tear-streaked. Her mouth was stretched wide in a silent scream, split at the corners.
"This should be Julie Jane… I suppose she's the 'witness.' Then the first key should be in her mouth."
Fran slipped her fingers carefully into the corpse's mouth, retrieving a key lodged around the middle of the throat.
"The remaining two clues are 'the betrayal of the lover' and 'my end.' A bit too abstract… but fortunately there's plenty of information. Should be able to string the clues together."
She casually picked up a roll of newspaper and flipped through it.
All unrelated events, nothing of value. There was far too much information here; reading it all was impossible. Fran didn't have that kind of time…
Without kidneys, the body loses most metabolic function. Uremia and multi-organ failure would follow… but if she was lucky enough that no acute symptoms suddenly occurred, it would be a slower decline.
Could be a few hours, could be half a day.
No one knew when the body would reach its breaking point. Maybe a day, maybe an hour… maybe the next heartbeat.
She glanced at the newspaper she had just read—a July evening paper. Probably the only useful piece of information.
"So that's the meaning… I overcomplicated it. The first key appearing on the corpse misled me a bit."
Fran rubbed her fingertips and began purposefully selecting newspapers.
"September 13th, Julie was confirmed dead. So by then, Themis had already made her move. Then 'the betrayal of the lover' must have occurred before that."
Her speed was impressive. Within about five minutes, she found what she needed from the dozens of shelves. It was an August 25th evening paper, featuring a missing person notice. The missing person was Julie Jane.
More importantly, it stated that anyone with information should contact "John Howard," including his contact information and address.
"This newspaper is heavier… and several pages are stuck together…"
Fran tore open the newspaper and found that a part in the middle had been hollowed out and glued shut.
She peeled away the paper covering and found the second key.
This confirmed her reasoning. The key clue was "time." By following Themis's hints and searching for documents from the correct time periods, the keys would be found.
John publicly searching for Julie meant he no longer cared about his fiancée's feelings. By then, he had most likely already broken with her. This could be considered "the betrayal of the lover."
Fran's pale cheeks took on a faint rosy tint as she smiled. She looked utterly relaxed, even delighted by the ever-present possibility of dropping dead.
Then what exactly was "my end"?
⸻
The documents on the shelves were sorted by time, so once the approximate date was known, the search range became easy to narrow.
And the puzzle designer was even more considerate.
Themis already mentioned in the first room's materials that Dr. Fran's public trial was scheduled for October 30th.
For a renowned top-class doctor, being publicly tried before everyone, having all her "crimes" dissected, every secret exposed… this could indeed be called her "end."
But only if her actions could truly be defined as crimes in proper legal terms, and if she could actually be punished and convicted.
Otherwise, none of it meant anything.
Fran quickly found the October 30th evening paper. The front page was that high-profile trial.
But the paper contained no hidden space, clearly no key. And the front-page headline read:
"The Innocent Prove Their Innocence—She Gave Us an Unassailable Answer!"
"The testimonies from dozens of patients alleging involvement in Dr. Fran's horrific experiments contained numerous contradictory details in timing and narrative, with exaggerated or fabricated content, making a coherent chain of evidence impossible."
"Furthermore, Dr. Fran's legal team presented a legitimate 'clinical drug trial cooperation agreement.' The entire process was lawful with no unethical elements involved!"
"It seems this 'me' understands the law quite well, and even has some crisis-management skills. Handling something this troublesome so beautifully… as expected of me…"
Fran touched her chin and nodded approvingly, even looking faintly smug.
"But this means the event called 'my end' must be later. The search range will be larger."
She began checking newspapers sequentially after October 30th. If there had been a second trial, it would have been three or four months later.
But judging from "her" sharp legal skills, even if there was a retrial, she wouldn't lose.
Fran clicked her tongue, frowning slightly.
Tsk, couldn't I just have weak legal awareness and obediently go to prison? Really causing unnecessary trouble…
She found the second-trial report three months later. The result: upholding the original verdict, unsurprisingly.
"Her" resources and procedures were nearly flawless; there was no reason to lose.
Finding the newspaper cost Fran quite a bit of time and effort. It was a daily publication, issued every day.
She had to check nearly ninety issues to find the second-trial report… still with no key.
She felt her concentration fading, the pain intensifying.
Without kidneys, toxins in her bloodstream would continue to rise. Eventually leading to irreversible organ failure.
To survive, Fran needed to finish the trial quickly, undergo dialysis, and reinstall her kidneys…
Yet Fran wasn't anxious. She was abnormally calm.
She simply increased her speed, flipping through newspapers even faster, often glancing only at the front page before moving on.
She had already guessed the approximate timeframe of this final event.
Even if she couldn't pinpoint it precisely, she could brute-force it—just keep following the timeline.
"Oh, here it is… found you."
Finally, Fran located the issue she wanted. She tore it open and happily retrieved the final key from the hollowed-out section.
It was the January 20th newspaper of the following year. The front-page headline:
"Dr. Fran Herschel Missing! Special Task Force Formed Within 24 Hours of Confirmation! Police Have Entered the Investigation!"
Being kidnapped into this sealed room was the real "end"!
As Fran inserted the three collected keys into the door of the second room, the bolt quietly released.
So her reasoning was correct. After the first key from Julie's corpse, the remaining two simply required following the timeline through the documents.
Likes hiding things in books so much… maybe the room's owner is a fan of The Shawshank Redemption…
⸻
Fran slowly walked into the third room. The same dim concrete greeted her, but compared to a real cell, this wasn't too bad.
"Layout is simple, but the cleaning is immaculate."
She crouched down, brushed a fingertip across the floor, and found no dust—only a faint smell of chlorine disinfectant.
"Is this Themis's occupational habit as a doctor? Or just ordinary obsessive cleanliness…"
Fran raised her gaze and saw a wooden desk. On it, a small paperweight pinned down three torn pages—the second half of the diary.
She took them and read.
-
"May 25th. A private detective approached me, saying he could help. He showed me photos of John and Julie having secret meetings, then gave me a price. I paid him double and hired him. He agreed."
-
"June 1st. How exactly did Julie climb into my fiancé's bed? Since when did John covet the inheritance? How did he tamper with my father's brakes?"
"I don't want to know, but the detective is very diligent. He found many shameful pieces of evidence… I force myself to look every day, and have nightmares every night. I said I was sick, so the wedding was postponed to September."
-
"August 1st. I have completed all preparations. I can't wait to personally take everything back from them."
-
"Not bad. The closer her mind gets to breaking, the calmer she becomes. Not just some naïve romantic… cruelty is far more endearing than stupidity."
Fran now understood the general outline of the events. As for the details… she had filled in the blanks herself.
Simply a revenge story, really quite cliché.
Regardless, her curiosity was satisfied. She narrowed her eyes, exhaling comfortably.
"Let's see what the third room's puzzle is."
Upon entering, she had noticed a plastic-cased mechanical device hanging on the wall. A bright red cross was printed on its exterior—clearly medical equipment.
Fran approached the device, opened the plastic shell, and found a new tape inside.
After playing it, the faintly distorted female voice spoke again.
"Dr. Fran, by now you should have a rough understanding of the entire incident. And the fate of those two people… you should have guessed it. I did not strip them of hope; they chose death themselves in madness."
"Now, I ask you… If I place your life and another's on opposite ends of a scale, how will you balance them? How will you choose? Do you wish to die nobly, or live disgracefully?"
"The device before you is a blood-collection machine. Across the room is an injured person with massive blood loss. I have pre-screened them; your blood types match, and there will be no rejection. Only simple processing is required for transfusion."
"Inside the device is a container. Once this container has collected 800 milliliters of fluid, the door will open."
⸻
T/N: Hey readers~! New Translator here! Before I say anything, I'd first like to thank the original author for creating this wonderful story. Without them, I wouldn't have the chance to share this adventure with you. I hope my translation does justice to their work, and that together, we can enjoy this story.
With that said, I'm happy to let you know I'll be uploading daily chapters. And for those who wish to support my work and gain early access, I've set up a Patreon where advanced chapters will be available.
[email protected]/PeakTL