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Fukang Hospital
Chapter 22.1
“Zi…Zi…”
The light overhead made an unstable buzzing sound.
Because of being old and unrepaired, the elevator door was a little stuck when it was opened. The space inside was much larger than an ordinary elevator. The iron gray walls were densely covered with reddish-brown rust, which almost looked like dried blood in dim light.
Wen Jianyan gritted his teeth and forced himself to walk in.
He didn’t know if it was a psychological effect, but with the strong smell of disinfectant, there was still a faint stinky smell in the elevator, which made people feel uneasy.
On the button panel in the elevator, there were only two buttons: the first floor and the basement.
The “-1” button lit up.
With the buzzing sound of machinery, the elevator fell slightly and then began to move down slowly.
The phone in Wen Jianyan’s pocket vibrated twice.
He paused, reached out and took the phone out of his pocket.
Although there was still no signal, two lines of words popped up on the screen:
【Due to a large number of NPCs in this instance, in order to ensure the quality of your live broadcast, the Nightmare background APP service will be opened for you.】
【Please continue to work hard to create a more exciting and innovative viewing experience for the audience!】
The text disappeared.
Wen Jianyan saw that an app with a dark icon appeared on the screen at some point.
There was only one word written below: Nightmare.
He clicked on the icon and found that there was everything in it except for the barrage. It was simply a miniature version of the entire live broadcast interface. Not only did it have ID card information, you could also check your points and backpacks, and even shop in the system store.
The current main task had been updated on the taskbar:
【Complete the patrolling task on the basement within two hours.】
【Degree of Completion: 0%】
【High-difficulty side quest refreshed: Protect NPC Qi Shen in the basement.】
Wen Jianyan turned his head thoughtfully and looked at Su Cheng.
Su Cheng cast a meaningful glance at Qi Shen who was in front, and Wen Jianyan immediately understood.
It seemed that the other party’s task should be the same as his own. The main task was to complete the patrol, and the side quest was to protect the NPC. In this case…
Wen Jianyan stepped forward, put his hand on Qi Shen’s shoulder, and let out a long sigh.
“Hey, I really don’t know what’s there to patrol in the basement. Isn’t it just the mortuary? Could it be that the corpses inside can still come back to life?”
Qi Shen clearly felt the same way, he nodded:
“Yes… and it’s also a night patrol, which is really weird.”
After a short back and forth conversation, Wen Jianyan had easily become acquainted with the other party.
At this moment, his words suddenly changed.
“Speaking of which, do you know? There seem to be some strange rumours about Fukang Hospital…”
Wen Jianyan narrowed his eyes slightly. His amber eyes shimmered slyly under his long and dense eyelashes, and his casual voice was slightly depressed.
Qi Shen was startled: “What, what rumors?”
“Didn’t you notice that the speed of the elevator is too slow?” Wen Jianyan’s voice didn’t fluctuate, and it looked particularly gloomy in this special elevator used to transport corpses: “It is said that ah…”
In the following time, Su Cheng witnessed how this damn liar made up all kinds of bizarre, scalp-numbing morgue ghost stories without changing his face.
The added emotions were rich and vivid, and the sense of substitution was very strong.
Soon, the elevator made a “ding” sound, and the old elevator door slowly opened.
Outside was a bottomless bluish-white corridor leading to several halls in the distance. The temperature here was much colder than that on the first floor. Even with a layer of long-sleeved shirt and trousers, you can still get goosebumps.
“Crack!”
The sound sensory light overhead lit up.
Even though he knew that 80% of the stories that Wen Jianyan told were made up, under the atmosphere of the mortuary, Su Cheng couldn’t help feeling a little uneasy, and he almost didn’t dare to move forward.
Not to mention Qi Shen.
With a pale face, he subconsciously moved closer to Wen Jianyan’s side, and said in a pretentiously calm tone, “Zhao, Brother Zhao, why don’t we act together, anyway, it won’t be long before the inspection is over.”
Wen Jianyan turned his head and blinked at Su Cheng, indicating that he was done.
Su Cheng’s face was expressionless: “……”
You’re a damn liar who scares innocent NPCs and also frightens his teammates by the way!
Although the other party’s method was indeed rogue, it also fully ensured that the NPC would stick to their side along the way, and the success rate of the side quest became much higher.
Wen Jianyan stopped in front of the map next to the elevator, and secretly remembered the layout of the mortuary.
The basement area here was much larger than he imagined, consisting of three main halls, all of which were connected by narrow corridors.
These morgues here were independently powered, and the main electric switch was near the elevator.
The one closest to them was used to temporarily store the patient’s body, which would be taken to the crematorium by the patient’s relatives in a few days at most. The other one not far away was responsible for the storage of the body of the deceased who donated their bodies voluntarily. These bodies will be transported to the medical school to contribute to the training of the next generation of medical students.
The innermost morgue was also the smallest on the entire floor.
Most of the corpses stored there have a strange death. They needed to be sent to the police’s medical appraisal centre for autopsy and tests, and they couldn’t be buried until the cause of death was determined.
According to Xue Mingyan’s account before leaving, they need to count the number of bodies within two hours and send them to a freezer to be locked.
Wen Jianyan turned his head to look at the deep corridor not far away, the three inner halls that had been connected by the corridor.
“……”
It’s over, the after-effect of the ghost stories I just told is coming up.
Now he himself was a little frightened.
Wen Jianyan maintained a calm expression, and said to the other two bravely, “Let’s go and start. The sooner we finish the task, the earlier we can leave.”
Su Cheng and Qi Shen nodded and followed behind him.
They first came to the temporary storage room for the patients’ bodies.
The area here was the largest among the three halls. The iron platforms connected to the refrigerated cabinets were neatly arranged in the empty morgue. The blue light above the head was buzzing, becoming the only sound in the entire hall.
The corpse lay motionless on the platform, covered with white cloth from head to toe, and the undulating human figure could be vaguely seen.
The three people had a clear division of labour. Wen Jianyan was responsible for matching the list with the corpse one by one and ticking it off, and the other two were responsible for pushing the corpse into the freezer after he was finished taking notes.
The tip of the pen slid across the paper, making a rustling sound.
After making the mark, Wen Jianyan nodded to the two of them.
The metal pulleys under the iron bed made a sliding sound, and the body covered with a white cloth was pushed into the refrigerator cabinet with force.
“Jingle”, “Jingle” ——
All of a sudden, the crisp bell sounded in the empty morgue, sounding extraordinarily strange.
The two who pushed the iron platform were startled, they subconsciously released their hands and took a step back.
The white cloth covering the corpse was pulled down slightly, revealing the bluish-purple, half-stiff toes. In addition to the labels tied to the toes, there was also a small bell tied around the ankle.
“Ah…”
Qi Shen seemed to have thought of something. His eyes widened slightly, and he said, “I didn’t expect Fukang Hospital to keep this tradition.”
Su Cheng was startled: “What do you mean?”
“In the past, many old morgues used to tie a bell around the feet of the dead body. As a semi-professional who was relatively familiar with this, Qi Shen talked about it: “Because the technology was not developed enough in the past, it was sometimes difficult to judge whether the corpse was dead or alive, so a bell was tied on the foot to prevent misjudgment.”
He lowered his head and looked at the bell tied to the corpse’s ankle with some strangeness.
“But later, this method became more symbolic than practical. I didn’t expect that Fukang Hospital was still using it.”
While these few people were talking, suddenly, a faint voice sounded from the depths of the morgue.
“…Jingle Jingle. ”
The voice was very small, separated by the deep corridor and the huge open space. It was almost suspected to be auditory hallucinations, but it was inexplicably deafening, causing the three of them to subconsciously suck in a breath of cold air. They abruptly stopped the conversation and turned toward the voice, looking in the direction from which the voice came.
The air was dead silent.
“……”
Su Cheng swallowed a mouthful of saliva with difficulty, and his face became pale: “That, did you also hear it…”
The expression on Qi Sen’s face was stiff and panicked and he seemed to be trying to convince himself:
“No, it’s impossible. It should be because we are too tired and have hallucinations, right?
Wen Jianyan felt his stomach tighten again.
The symptoms of fear manifested themselves physiologically, and his body’s instinct urged him to escape from this ominous place. But his reason was very clear: if he did not complete the main task, he would die even If he went upstairs.
Wen Jianyan took a deep breath and said hurriedly, “Let’s speed up, finish the task and leave quickly. ”
Su Cheng’s face was pale, and he nodded vigorously.
The movements of the three people accelerated significantly.
In the first morgue, there were a total of twenty-five corpses, twenty males and five females.
In the second morgue, there were a total of nine corpses, six males and three females.
At the very end of the corridor, the overhead sensor light came on, illuminating the narrow room not far away—the third morgue was in front of them. It was only ten steps wide, had no windows, and the walls were compacted, making it seem particularly claustrophobic and narrow.
There were only four iron beds inside, and only a solitary corpse lay inside.
Looking at the scene in front of him, Su Cheng’s hair couldn’t help but stand on end.
He subconsciously turned his head to look at Wen Jianyan, who was standing beside him. Under the dim light, the young man’s face profile was clear and neat, and his eyes were bright and focused, looking fixedly into the third morgue.
For some reason, seeing the calm and composed eyes of the other party, Su Cheng suddenly felt a lot more at ease.
He took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and took the lead to step forward: “Let’s go, it’s the last one.”
Wen Jianyan’s pupils suddenly trembled, and he turned his head to look at Su Cheng in disbelief: ??
Brother, why are you so fierce?
I’m still doing mental construction, and you’ve already stepped forward.
He sighed, raised his hand to wipe his face, and followed reluctantly.