Chapter 170 Frank Hospital
Cheap rain boots made a squeaky sound when walked in.
In the dark, there was a bloody smell inside, suggesting something had happened. A man with bushy beard suddenly grinned. Someone had come into his precious pet’s hideout and paid for it. The warning signage on the closed door was hung askew, with shadows darker than the night swirling nearby.
The monster became visible as it ate the body. It moved closer to the door, as if indicating something.
“Are there any thieves left?” The iron hook that replaced a hand gleamed with an eager shine as A’Ao walked towards the inner room.
Every time he took a step, the noise from inside the door became very clear.
The players’ heart was beating faster than the footsteps.
“It’s too late,” someone quietly said inside.
There were definitely more clues here, but there wasn’t time to search.
“There’s a risky plan. Use invisibility item to hide your presence again. When the door opens, maybe we’ll find something from the Director’s actions.”
In a situation where they suspected thieves, NPCs might check important items and such.
A random cat interrupted, “There’s an even riskier way, turn on the lights now.”
“……”
Perched innocently on Ji Yuanzhi’s shoulder, the little black cat suggested something that was more like a farewell to everyone than providing illumination.
However, Wen Shi wasn’t joking. He explained seriously, “I have a way to gather information from personal belongings.”
The Feeding Log belonged to A’Ao, so using the skill directly would likely yield scattered clues about him. He needed to focus on things more closely related to the monster.
It was just uncertain if such things could be found in this room.
Yu Xingzhou compromised, “Let’s split into two groups. Ji Yuanzhi and I will search for clues, and the rest will look for items.”
No one disagreed. Footsteps were nearing the door, and they had no better options.
“Get ready with items to resist mental contamination.” Before A’Ao broke in, Wen Shi muttered, “Wandering Corpse!”
The Wandering Corpse cooperatively appeared, holding a harp. Its strength, drained by the solution in the special treatment room during the daytime, had not fully recovered. The Wandering Corpse’s gaze seemed a bit vacant.
“Me, perform?”
Wen Shi nodded. “Play the music however you want.”
Upon hearing this, the Wandering Corpse immediately perked up. Its greenish nails twitched, and the next moment, it played a melody that was unbearable to the ears, causing severe mental contamination. The performer seemed to be plucking on everyone’s tightly stretched nerves as if they were strings.
Once the Heavenly Melody was used, it affected everyone, without distinction.
Except for its master, all living beings would become weak and powerless within a minute.
The heavy footsteps at the door, which brought significant psychological pressure, briefly paused. Despite Wen Shi’s earlier warning, Seventh Commandment Guild Leader and the female player’s legs still went weak for a moment.
As former victims, Ji Yuanzhi and his group were well-prepared when they learned that the Wandering Corpse would be summoned. By now, the two of them had successfully reached the worktable and began a careful examination of the items on the desk. They couldn’t spare a moment to complain about this terrifying song. On the other side, the female player took out her illumination item again, and the remaining few began searching other corners at the fastest pace.
“Not many skulls,” Li Nan said after about ten seconds, looking at the pile of remains.
The absence of heads suggested that the bodies had often been dismembered before being brought here. Carrying body parts by hand would be both conspicuous and troublesome. Li Nan narrowed his eyes. “Look for buckets.”
In a way, that was the monster’s feeding trough.
Shortly after he spoke, the female player happened to touch a loose wall panel. She pushed it, and a hidden storage cabinet was revealed. A dirty iron bucket sat quietly inside, with some dried minced meat clinging to the edge.
“Over here!”
The black cat agilely darted to the edge of the iron bucket. Beneath its glossy black fur, one could still sense the disdain on its face.
Ignoring the revolting flesh and blood, it raised one paw and pressed it on the iron bucket.
“Do you want to use【Extrasensory Perception】?”
“Yes.”
The skill description specifically emphasized the ability to access private information, so it shouldn’t be too disappointing.
The moment the skill activated, a chilling sensation passed through the flesh and organs, ultimately reaching the brain. This was the first time Wen Shi had used this skill, so he hadn’t expected this negative effect. He shivered.
His ears felt cold, and Wen Shi anxiously checked his attribute panel, realizing he was currently in a state of having absorbed Yin energy into his body.
His brain lost its recognition of external things as a fragment of the past was forcibly thrust into his mind through the sensory link.
In the memory fragment, the first thing that appeared was A’Ao’s muscular figure, gazing satisfactorily at something ahead.
Using his viewpoint, Wen Shi followed his gaze.
An irregular black mass wriggled into the iron bucket. With extensive contact, the flesh inside the bucket rapidly dissolved and vanished. The process of consumption was identical to what had happened when the male player was devoured earlier.
Was this the monster’s original body?
Wen Shi furrowed his brow. The creature had no features or shape. It seemed like flowing liquid, with no clear weakness to be seen.
Next to the iron bucket, a candle burned. The timing was just right. As the candle neared the end of its life, the shadowy monster finished its meal. In the last few seconds of the candle’s flickering light, the dark mass turned towards A’Ao’s direction. It didn’t attack A’Ao. Instead, right before him, it slowly split into a new entity.
Another similar shadow appeared in the room.
“Good, we finally have a new ally.” In the image seen through the sensory link, A’Ao’s voice sounded distorted, but his anticipation was still apparent. “Shadows can infiltrate anywhere. I hope they can help me find that thing quickly.”
A’Ao seemed to say something else, but it was blocked by the rules. Wen Shi couldn’t hear it.
“Pei Wenwei!”
A’Ao’s image gradually blurred and faded.
“Pei Wenwei!”
Wen Shi snapped back to attention, hearing someone urgently calling his name.
The effects of the Heavenly Melody had disappeared, and the room had become dark again at some point. Li Nan and Seventh Commandment Guild Leader were blocking the door, while the iron hook kept slamming against it, narrowly missing their cheeks a few times. The entire door was about to give way. It couldn’t hold much longer.
“Splitting.” Wen Shi’s throat tightened, his voice a bit hoarse as he said, “The monster is like the mother, able to reproduce new entities by consuming flesh in large quantities.”
The monster in the archives room was one of its offspring.
Ji Yuanzhi and the others seemed to have made some discoveries, but before they could speak, the door was completely destroyed by the iron hook. A’Ao kicked the door open roughly, and the Wandering Corpse’s unpleasant music only intensified the anger of this once-genuine musician.
With a disturbing smile, A’Ao swung the iron hook roughly. Just as he was about to get within three steps, the mechanical voice of the system sounded in time:
“You have successfully discovered the monster’s splitting ability.”
“Current collection progress: 36%.”
“Teleportation is about to begin—”
Compared to the Wandering Corpse’s performance, what the players were hearing now was the real Heavenly Melody.
A’Ao’s sinister laughter faded in an instant. From one darkness to another, everyone found themselves back in the corridor on the third or fourth floor.
Twisted and eerie sounds from the deeper zones reached them, their revelry and brawls having never ceased past midnight. For about ten seconds, none of the players said anything. They were all adjusting their breathing.
Wen Shi took a moment, realizing that his body transformation was still active, and he still appeared as a black cat. He laughed, finding humor even in adversity, “A’Ao really is a Pandora’s box.”
Every time it was opened, there were new disastrous surprises.
Whether it was him or Seventh Commandment Guild Leader, they hadn’t paid too much attention when encountering the monster in the archives room. It was common to encounter strange creatures in instances, just like the fox spirit Wen Shi had encountered before.
But now, looking back, having something like this in a mental hospital was indeed quite odd.
Li Nan said, “This place isn’t safe. Let’s go back to the first floor first.”
While heading downstairs, everyone had their own thoughts.
Since it was a special quest, completing it surely had benefits. They wondered if it might be related to the legendary super divine item.
Wen Shi had no interest in the so-called super divine item. His next task was to kill A’Ao, and this pet undoubtedly made the quest even more challenging.
Wen Shi sighed softly. He had to quickly learn everything related to the pet and see if there were any clues he could use to his advantage.
They made it to the first floor safely.
When there were only a few more steps left, the grumbling of Nurse Zhang, the plump nurse, drifted over. “Wasting so many bottles of medicine, and now even giving medication is such a hassle.”
Since the daytime, the patients’ inexplicable excitement had caused her a lot of trouble in her work.
Seeing the players coming out of the stairwell, Nurse Zhang looked strangely impressed and rarely praised them, “Much better than those useless interns from before.”
After she finished speaking, she walked to a ward with the medicine in hand. The black cat, hidden behind a few players, poked its head out again and headed towards the dormitory with Yu Xingzhou and the others.
Wen Shi was really curious about the specific contents of the Feeding Log now.
Currently, there was only Song Yan in the dormitory. Surprisingly, even in the dim environment, he accurately locked eyes with the black cat. Song Yan’s DNA was stirred, and he almost felt like worshipping and calling the cat, “My King.”
The hypnotic effect of Merfolk Shore had long ended, but his potential as a devoted fan seemed even stronger.
Wen Shi’s lips moved slightly, but in the end, he didn’t say a word. In this utopia, Song Yan was probably the only faithful believer with loyalty.
On a whim, he checked the interface of the Kingdom. The hypnotic effect on the Seventh Commandment Guild Leader was about to end.
What surprised him was the faint glow from the turtlekin’s side, as if it was saying, “Active now.”
Wen Shi shook his head to dispel this strange thought. At that moment, Ji Yuanzhi took out the Feeding Log, and everyone began to study its contents in earnest.
•
Crucifix.
The Deception God was reading a book. He loved everything related to logic. In the extreme silence, there was a ripple in the air, and not long after, the Mirror God stood before him, still holding the beastkin from his domain.
“I-I-I-I…” The turtleguy was at a loss, his neck retracting, on the verge of tears. “Why did you catch me again?”
The Deception God finally lifted his eyelids to see what tricks the Mirror God was planning.
“Ever since you did a divination for my incarnation, I’ve been having a streak of bad luck.” The Mirror God was talking about the tour guide.
He continued, “Not long ago, I had it do another divination, and it led to nothing except frustration.”
This time, he was referring to the failed scheme at the cosmetic surgery hospital.
The Deception God furrowed his brow slightly. “Why are you telling me all of this?”
“Divinations can be addicting,” the Mirror God asked, “Do you want to give it a try?”
Soon, they’d be able to see which one between that kid and A’Ao would become the ghost in the hospital. He kind of wanted to try divination but didn’t want to risk bad luck, so he wanted someone else to try it first.
“Give it a shot,” the Mirror God earnestly recommended.
Deception God: “……”
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