The fear was practically visible in the handwriting.
Killer dressed as a doctor?
Jiang Luo sat on the ground, hiding under the nurse’s counter, and finished reading the newspaper.
The chainsaw killer was a psycho obsessed with the aesthetics of violence. It had taken the police tremendous effort to catch him. He was wounded during the arrest and sent to the nearby Third Hospital for treatment.
But Jiang Luo recalled that the Third Hospital was a psychiatric hospital. There was a hint of dark humor in the illusion’s details.
Now the hospital had become a living hell. The chainsaw killer had escaped and was slaughtering everyone in sight.
Jiang Luo looked at his patient gown. Great—he’d become the killer’s next prey: a defenseless, helpless patient.
He gave a cold snort, cleaned the scalpel, and continued searching for useful items.
In a cabinet, he found a few vials of anesthetic and several unused syringes. He filled the syringes with anesthetic. Since the gown had no pockets, he yanked down the blood-stained lab coat from the hanger.
The moment he held the coat, a desperate cry echoed from the stairwell at the end of the hall: “Help!”
Footsteps approached rapidly, frantic and tense. Jiang Luo hid beneath the nurse’s counter, clutched the lab coat, and peeked toward the sound.
A middle-aged male doctor ran toward him in panic, clutching his arm—which had already been severed. Blood sprayed from the wound. His steps were unsteady as he shouted, “Is anyone there?! Help me!”
Thud, thud, thud.
Leisurely footsteps followed.
Then the chainsaw roared to life with a loud buzz.
The doctor’s face contorted in fear, but he hadn’t gone far before the chainsaw bit into his back.
“Ahhh—!”
Blood burst forth like blooming flowers. The scream was shrill and agonizing. The doctor wasn’t dead yet. He collapsed to the floor and desperately crawled toward the nurse’s station. Bloody handprints smeared a winding path across the tiles.
Behind him, the man with the chainsaw walked unhurriedly.
Blood dripped from the chainsaw’s tip, making a soft drip drip sound.
The doctor used every ounce of strength to reach the side of the counter. Veins bulged on his face as he turned his head—and met Jiang Luo’s gaze.
His eyes widened, and he croaked twice—but before he could speak, the chainsaw sliced off his head.
The head rolled to a stop not far from Jiang Luo, spraying blood. Some even splattered onto Jiang Luo’s face.
Drenched in blood, Jiang Luo reflexively shut his eyes. “……”
How should he put it?
Even though he knew this was an illusion, that these doctors and patients were fake, he was still very displeased.
The killer stepped up to the corpse.
Jiang Luo held his breath and silently shifted further back.
From his angle, he could only see the body of the middle-aged male doctor and the bottom half of the killer’s blood-stained lab coat.
As long as the killer didn’t bend down, he wouldn’t see him.
“Another one dead,” the killer murmured to himself. “This time a doctor. Next time, I’ll kill a patient.”
He stepped around the corpse a few times, then suddenly said with interest, “Hm? Why are you staring at the nurse’s station?”
Of course, the corpse, eyes wide and fixed in that direction, gave no reply.
The killer crouched down and slowly turned his head toward the nurse’s station.
But before he could see, a sudden gust struck from behind. The black-haired young man darted in fast and fierce, plunging a syringe into the back of the killer’s neck and injecting the anesthetic, then bolted down a different hallway.
The killer caught a whiff of fresh, post-shower scent. In the blink of an eye, the black-haired youth was already thirty meters away.
Jiang Luo glanced back just before rounding the corner. The killer had already risen, pulled the syringe from his neck, and flashed him a gentle, slightly crazed smile.
That face—Jiang Luo would recognize it even if it turned to ash. Sure enough, it was Chi You.
Luring Chi You out had been part of Jiang Luo’s plan. Now that it was halfway successful, he curled his crimson lips in a provocative smirk and disappeared around the corner, black hair trailing behind him.
The sound of the chainsaw revved up again.
Jiang Luo sprinted, breath even and unbroken. Mid-run, he gave the lab coat a sharp flick and slipped it on in one smooth motion—instantly transforming from a patient to a doctor.
This hallway was also splattered with blood. Jiang Luo wiped his face with his sleeve as he ran. But before long, he realized the path ahead was blocked—he had run into a dead end.
“…sh*t.” He cursed under his breath, once again acknowledging his terrible luck.
Behind him, the chainsaw buzzed closer and closer. Jiang Luo picked a room on his left at random, ducked in, and locked the door behind him.
Turning around, he saw several metal beds lined up in the center of the room, each bearing a corpse wrapped in white body bags.
He had stumbled into the morgue.
Jiang Luo didn’t have time to take it all in. He shoved cabinets and anything heavy up against the door as a barricade. Then he went to the corner, pulled the mop head off a stick, and flipped the wooden pole in his hands, turning it into a makeshift weapon.
By then, the killer had already arrived at the door.
In the hallway, the killer glanced at the rooms to either side and mused aloud, “Now where could you be?”
His tone pitched upward at the end—like a madman. Jiang Luo silently cursed: Freaking psycho.
The killer began checking each room one by one.
There were only four rooms in total. Soon, he was at Jiang Luo’s door. He gripped the handle and pushed down—but it didn’t open. Someone had locked it from inside.
The killer chuckled. “Found you.”
The chainsaw slammed into the door.
The sound was deafening—so loud even Jiang Luo flinched, his heart skipping a beat. Scowling, he stared hard at the door.
The anesthetic hadn’t worked.
But then, he hadn’t really expected it to.
The screech of the chainsaw shredding metal rang out, sparks flying. But after two minutes of hacking to no effect, the chainsaw abruptly stopped.
Silence fell.
Jiang Luo pressed his lips together, his eyelids twitching. He stepped away from the door and circled the room.
One wall of the morgue was covered with a green curtain. When Jiang Luo lifted it, he found a small rear door hidden behind it.
He instantly realized where the killer had gone.
“F*ck,” he spat—just as a chainsaw suddenly stabbed through the rear door.
Jiang Luo spun around, shoved aside the furniture barricading the front door, and slipped out just as the killer broke through the back.
The black-haired youth vanished like the wind. Chi You emerged from the morgue, watched his retreating figure, and let out a low chuckle, brushing dust off his white lab coat.
Not a single wrinkle marred it—spotless, if one ignored the blood. He calmly disregarded the crimson stains as he began to pursue.
He looked elegant, his features refined. The bloodied lab coat might as well have been a perfectly tailored suit; the chainsaw in his hand, a glass of red alcohol with a hint of fragrance.
Except for the fresh and dried blood spattered on his face, Chi You looked like he was on his way to a grand banquet.
Just as he turned the corner, two patients came stumbling straight into him.
They instantly lost all strength. Fear overwhelmed them to the point that no scream escaped their lips. The two collapsed and scrambled backward, hands and feet slipping on the floor.
Their terrified expressions—their helpless, desperate struggle just before death—only stoked the sadistic desire of a serial killer.
Chi You had seen this look many times.
He gave them a blank glance, then walked past without a second thought, continuing his pursuit of Jiang Luo.
Even though he had once delighted in those terrified expressions, now they no longer interested him.
The only thing that caught his attention was the black-haired youth still fleeing ahead. Everything else was just a fake illusion.
***
As Jiang Luo passed the changing room, a hand suddenly grabbed him.
His reflex was to swing the scalpel—but just in time, he heard Ye Xun whisper, “It’s me.”
Jiang Luo halted abruptly, cold sweat springing up. Ye Xun pulled him into the changing room and they crouched down together.
Jiang Luo glanced to the side—Lu Youyi was making exaggerated facial expressions at him, and next to him crouched a hulking Dead Ghost.
Jiang Luo lowered his voice. “When did you guys come in?”
“You mean this hospital?” Ye Xun responded quickly. “About ten minutes ago. After I got in, I ran into Lu Youyi and Dead Ghost.”
Jiang Luo did a quick calculation. He had been pulled into the illusion around the same time.
Ye Xun said, “Since we appeared here at the same time, someone must be targeting us. Who it is, I’m not sure yet, but I don’t think we’re in an illusion.”
Jiang Luo was puzzled. “Hm?”
Ye Xun asked for Jiang Luo’s scalpel, then pressed lightly on his fingertip, drawing blood.
“There’s pain, and the scene is realistic,” he said calmly. “I recited the Cross Scripture in my mind, but I still feel pain. Ghostly illusions can’t reach this level.”
Jiang Luo humbly asked, “Then what is this?”
“More like an illusion art,” Ye Xun frowned. “A type of illusion within Qimen Dunjia.”
Jiang Luo looked thoughtful. “Explain more.”
“Qimen Dunjia has illusion arts too, but they’re different from simple illusions,” Ye Xun said. “Illusions are false, while illusion arts blur the line between true and false. If we die here, it means we truly die. Like these clothes—because we’re wearing something, they could be altered to look like hospital gowns. And this scalpel—it’s inherently something that can injure, so it transformed into a surgical tool.”
Jiang Luo understood. “Illusion art built on a real foundation. Like this hospital—it’s actually the building used for the trainee dormitory.”
Illusion art in Qimen Dunjia resembled a pocket dimension, creating an incredibly realistic scene on top of an existing structure.
“What about those corpses outside?”
“Illusions,” Ye Xun answered definitively. “That’s exactly what makes illusion arts so hard to break—some parts are real, some are fake. Lose your grip and you’ll get lost in it. If you’re trapped inside, you’ll either be killed by the illusion, die of hunger or thirst, or go mad and kill yourself.”
“Qimen Dunjia?” Lu Youyi whispered. “Wasn’t that supposed to be lost long ago?”
“Yeah,” Ye Xun sighed. “Which makes you wonder—who set this up?”
Jiang Luo furrowed his brows too.
He’d already felt the illusion was too realistic. He hadn’t expected it to be related to spellcraft. Could it be that Chi You set this illusion up?
But Chi You was different from the other ghosts. Even after death, he retained the memories from when he was alive—and not just that, he’d become even stronger, now possessing the body of an evil god’s statue. He definitely had the ability.
And Chi You had said it himself—this was a “small punishment” for him.
He’d even pulled Ye Xun and the others in as spectators.
But Jiang Luo didn’t think it was Chi You.
He knew Chi You—like he knew himself. Pulling them into a killing game was one thing. But if the plan was to trap them in an illusion with no way out, no chance to resist, Chi You would find that boring.
Rather than being the one who cast the illusion, it felt more like Chi You had anticipated it would happen—and so, going along with it, had stepped in to play the role of the ultimate villain, the chainsaw-wielding killer punishing Jiang Luo.
If not Chi You, then who?
Lu Youyi sighed. “If only Qi Ye were here. His family dabbles in all sorts of stuff—maybe they’d know how to break illusion arts.”
Jiang Luo’s movement froze. He slowly raised his head. “Qi family?”
“Yeah,” Lu Youyi said. “The Qi family studies all kinds of things, and they’ve got loads of ancient texts. They probably know a bit about Qimen Dunjia.”
After a moment, Jiang Luo chuckled. “You’re right. The Qi family does seem to dabble in everything.”
Before the competition, Qi Ye had suddenly been confined at home by his elders and wasn’t allowed to join the mission. That’s why Ye Xun had ended up with them.
Looking back now, that move seemed much more meaningful.
Jiang Luo thought of the bet he’d made with Chi You.
One of the terms was not to harbor any thoughts of destroying the Chi family.
Which meant… the Chi family was involved too.
Or maybe, the Chi family hadn’t even played their real hand yet.
Footsteps echoed from outside the hallway.
Everyone immediately fell silent, holding their breath.
Thud… thud… thud…
The steps were slow and leisurely, completely unhurried—like someone taking a stroll through a garden.
Anyone walking like that couldn’t possibly be a panicked doctor, nurse, or patient fleeing for their lives.
The killer was here.
Ye Xun and the others’ expressions turned grim.
Jiang Luo blinked, then leaned in close to Ye Xun, whispering, “Ye Xun, do you remember our plan?”
Ye Xun hesitated. “You’re going to deal with the faceless monster here?”
Jiang Luo nodded. “Like you said, this illusion relies on the structure of the trainee dorm. That means the building’s layout and electrical box locations won’t have changed. I’ll go draw the faceless monster away. We act as planned.”
In their previous plan, Jiang Luo would lure the monster up to the abandoned sixth floor. As he passed each floor, Ye Xun would cut the power one level at a time, guiding the monster upstairs using the changing lights.
Once Jiang Luo reached the sixth floor, Ye Xun would manipulate the lighting to trap the faceless monster there, preventing it from going elsewhere. Lu Youyi and Dead Ghost would be waiting at the end of the hall, where they’d set up a trap to help Jiang Luo take it down.
The breaker box was critical to the plan, and Ye Xun’s steady nature made him the best person for the job.
Ye Xun was still unsure, but Jiang Luo whispered, “Start cutting the lights in five minutes. Each floor—just give me thirty seconds. No matter what happens, thirty seconds is enough for me to run up one floor.”
His expression told Ye Xun that he had already made up his mind. Ye Xun’s own expression gradually turned resolute. He looked deeply at Jiang Luo and said, “Be careful.”
Jiang Luo curled his lips. “Don’t worry.”
After preparing the plan during the day, they put on their watches. Jiang Luo synchronized the time with them and got ready to leave the changing room.
“We’ll help you lure the killer away first,” Ye Xun said.
Jiang Luo thought, If you lure him away, how am I supposed to get Chi You and the faceless monster to fight one-on-one?
He stood up first. “I’ll go out first.”
Jiang Luo walked to the door, listened to the sounds in the hallway, and when he estimated that Chi You was still about fifty meters away, he didn’t hesitate any longer—he flung the door open and ran out.
Not far away, the killer smiled. His footsteps quickened from slow to fast, directly chasing after him.
The sound of the chainsaw behind him was oppressively urgent.
Ye Xun and the others also exited the room. Lu Youyi shouted behind the killer, “Come kill us instead!”
But the killer didn’t even turn his head, as if he had no interest in chasing them. He quickly disappeared after the black-haired youth.
Ye Xun felt worried but didn’t want to waste the time Jiang Luo had risked his life to buy for them. “You two head up to the sixth floor via the west stairs. I’ll find the electrical box.”
They split into two groups. Ye Xun quickly found the electrical box in the hospital. Just as he had suspected, it was located in the same place as the one in the trainees’ dorm building. He took a deep breath and waited for the five-minute countdown to end.
Dead Ghost and Lu Youyi reached the staircase and were about to go up when they saw a damp human-shaped mark on the stairs.
Jiang Luo had just mentioned this kind of mark, and Lu Youyi remembered it clearly. He froze for a moment, then his whole body shivered. “Wasn’t this mark on the second floor?”
Dead Ghost frowned and suddenly punched the human-shaped imprint hard.
With a bang, cracks like spiderwebs spread across the wall.
From within the cracks, a tuft of black hair was exposed.
Lu Youyi’s heart skipped a beat. Instinctively, he pulled Dead Ghost back two steps.
Moments later, the wall collapsed with a loud crash, and something inside moved. It stiffly stepped out from the wall.
A deathly pale face, tangled long hair, eyes full of bloodshot lines—
And a vaguely familiar appearance.
Lu Youyi cried out, “Fu Yuaner!”
Wasn’t this the very victim who had been bricked into the wall during the second stage of the National University Natural Science Competition?!
Lu Youyi clearly remembered—Fu Yuaner’s body had been taken away by the organizers.
Why was she here?
“Why are you here?” Lu Youyi stammered. “No—how can you move?!”
Fu Yuaner didn’t say a word. She walked toward the two of them like a zombie. Her hair grew longer and longer, creeping from the wall and floor toward them.
She came with hostile intent.
Lu Youyi yanked Dead Ghost and bolted upstairs. “Holy cr*p holy cr*p! Let’s talk this out, okay? We even helped catch your killer back then!”
As they reached the middle of the staircase, a thick mass of hair suddenly surged out from within the wall and, catching them off guard, wrapped tightly around Lu Youyi’s neck.
He clawed at the hair, face flushing red. Dead Ghost yanked the hair off with force, then dragged him upward at high speed.
Cough cough cough. Lu Youyi clutched his neck, gasping and dazed. “Why is Fu Yuaner trying to kill us…”
She was clearly just a corpse!
***
In Ye Xun’s arms, Little Pink suddenly moved.
Startled, Ye Xun looked down. “Little Pink?”
Little Pink broke free from his arms and walked step by step toward the staircase.
A sense of unease filled Ye Xun. He shouted, “Little Pink?”
The eyes of the wraith doll rolled. The soul of Wang Xinhui it had once absorbed had sensed her best friend Fu Yuaner’s presence. Its nose twitched. In a daze, it murmured, “Found her… found… her.”
Little Pink gradually walked farther and farther away.
Ye Xun grew anxious, but could only watch as Little Pink disappeared from view.
He wanted to chase after it, but now was clearly not the time.
He had to stay at the electrical box. No matter what happened, he couldn’t leave.
***
Jiang Luo ran for the full five minutes. When the time was up, he veered toward another staircase.
The chainsaw sound behind him never stopped. He glanced back—sure enough, the killer was still following him with ease.
Perfect.
He curled his lips and ran into the stairwell.
Chi You followed him in unhurriedly.
Jiang Luo had only run up half a floor when a hand suddenly grabbed his ankle. He instinctively broke free, but on the next step, another ghostly hand grabbed him again.
He looked down. Good grief—every step of the staircase had pale, bluish hands reaching out from the floor, flailing, trying to grab him.
Jiang Luo paused his breathing, then let out a breathless laugh. He stepped over the hands and continued upward, but even though he wasn’t afraid, they still slowed him down a bit.
By the time he reached the sixth floor, the lights had already gone out all the way down to the third.
The killer—his cheek streaked with blood, strikingly handsome—approached with his chainsaw. Jiang Luo stood at the edge of the sixth floor, lit from above. In the alternating light and shadow, he calmed his slightly ragged breath and stared coldly at him.
“Why aren’t you running?” Chi You raised his eyebrows in surprise, smiling gently. “Are you ready to be killed by me right here?”
As he spoke, he had already walked up to Jiang Luo.
The smell of blood was overwhelming.
Both of them wore the same bloodstained white lab coat. Both were tall and lean—just one slightly taller than the other.
Their shadows stretched long and narrow under the lights.
Chi You looked down at Jiang Luo and slowly raised the chainsaw in his hand. The roar of it was sharp and intense—chilling to the bone.
It was as if, in the very next moment, the black-haired youth would be sawed in half from head to toe, blood spilling out, life draining away.
But the black-haired youth remained still, gazing at him calmly and rationally.
Not seeing the panic he wanted, Chi You looked a bit disappointed. “You don’t seem very scared. That makes me a little sad.”
“Since you’re not running, well then, I guess I’ll just—” Chi You shrugged helplessly, like a true bloodthirsty psychopath, and grinned broadly. “—kill you.”
He was too caught up in the game, completely forgetting what he’d said earlier about recruiting Jiang Luo into his faction, about playing the hero.
The lights on the fourth floor went out. The faceless monster appeared at the edge of the floor, eyeing Jiang Luo like a predator.
Two floors. One minute.
Jiang Luo withdrew his downward glance and suddenly let out a snort of laughter. He lifted his eyelids, looking at Chi You with a half-smile. “I’m not running because this is boring.”
Chi You raised an interested brow. “So?”
Suddenly, Jiang Luo tugged down Chi You’s collar. Chi You obediently leaned down, still composed and amused—but before he could react, the black-haired youth sneered and, with lips stunningly vivid, lifted his head and forcibly kissed the killer.
Chi You’s pupils shrank.
Author’s note:
Next chapter, time for Chi You to taste the cruelty of the world and learn what it means to be used and tossed away (:з」∠)
Chi You: :-D
