The pain reached its peak, and Li Shanji felt a warm flow from her nasal cavity. She raised her hand to wipe it, and it was blood.
She struggled to her feet, panting, and splashed cold water on her face. When she looked up again, all she saw in the mirror was her pale face and bloodshot eyes.
The dark lines on the skin were still there, but it seemed a little too still.
She carefully touched the patterns and was surprised to find that they actually responded to her consciousness.
"What is this...?" she murmured to herself.
Suddenly a commotion arose outside, and several medical staff hurriedly pushed a stretcher past, on which lay a young man covered in blood.
Li Shanji- hee had no idea what was happening outside the ward, but the rapidly moving stretcher seemed to have a strange attraction for her.
At the same time, she thought she could hear a faint electrical hum from the overhead light bulb.
Li Shanji could hear all the sounds that were almost imperceptible to ordinary people.
She returned to her ward, curled up in the corner of the bed, pressed her ears tightly with a pillow, and felt that nothing was right about her body.
"Miss Li, it's time to take your medicine." The nurse's voice suddenly rang out, sounding to Li Shanji as if it had been amplified tenfold.
The nurse pushed open the door and entered. Li Shanji shrank back even more, only to find her gaze uncontrollably locked onto the nurse's throat. The vocal cords, which vibrated slightly with each word, became a clear bullseye in her eyes.
Worse still, the nurse's rapid movement as she turned to fetch the medication left a clear afterimage on Li Shanji's retina. Her pupils contracted sharply, and she could suddenly see the movement of every single strand of the nurse's hair, even predicting the angle of her next move.
A strange impulse rose within her—the urge to pounce, to tear open that section of snow-white neck with her fingernails, to silence the piercing sound forever.
A murderous urge surged through her entire body; every cell yearned for it, as if something inside her was screaming for killing. Li Shanji's face was contorted in pain, and her teeth chattered uncontrollably.
"No, I can't..." She bit her lip until it bled, using the pain to stay awake. This wasn't her desire; she shouldn't be like this.
Her bloodlust grew stronger and stronger. Li Shanji's fingernails dug deep into her palms, and blood dripped down her hand lines. She had to find a way to control this impulse, otherwise she would definitely hurt innocent people, and she would also be arrested and imprisoned.
"Ah!" Li Shanji screamed as she tumbled off the hospital bed, knocking over the bedside table, and the medicine bottle smashed on the floor with a piercing noise.
The nurse was startled and impatiently bent down to pick it up.
"Don't move!" Li Shanji roared.
Unfortunately, it was too late. The nurse's rapidly moving arm became a blurry target in her eyes, and the five fingers of her right hand twisted uncontrollably, her nails turning eerily black, like the claws of that Charred Corpse.
In the nick of time, Li Shanji gripped her right wrist tightly with her left hand until the bones creaked under the strain.
The excruciating pain temporarily restored her control, but a bead of cold sweat slid down her forehead and condensed into a small ice crystal on the floor.
The nurse was so frightened by this shocking scene that she fell to the ground. She wasn't sure if she was seeing things, but she thought she saw the patient's fingers suddenly turn black and she could feel a chilling murderous intent. Her body instinctively screamed for her to get away quickly.
"I... I'll go get the doctor!" She scrambled to her feet and rushed outside.
"No... don't run..." Li Shanji desperately reached out her hand. The nurse's running figure seemed to break down into dozens of frozen images on her retina, each moment stimulating a newly awakened area within her body.
Her vision began to redden at the edges, as if she were looking at the world through a fog of blood. She felt that with the slightest movement, she could easily take the nurse's life.
As the nurse's figure disappeared at the end of the corridor, Li Shanji finally breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed to the ground.
She raised her right hand with trembling hands and found that the abnormal nails were slowly returning to normal, but the tips of her fingers still retained a charred color.
Having barely managed to suppress the murderous urge within her, she discovered that she could hear all the sounds on the entire floor: the cries of newborns in the maternity ward on the third floor, the screams in the emergency room on the first floor... These sounds flooded into her brain like a tidal wave, almost driving her insane.
Li Shanji tried hard to control her emotional fluctuations, selectively blocking out certain noises, like turning down the volume on a radio. She tried to concentrate, gradually filtering out most of the useless information and only keeping the sounds around her ward.
This sense of control made her relax a little. But when she tried to stand up, she discovered many spiderweb-like cracks in the floor, spreading from under her other palm.
"What... is this...?" She looked at her pale fingers, the veins beneath her skin appearing an unnatural bluish-black.
She gently tapped the floor, and it cracked.
Back in her hospital bed, Li Shanji curled up under the covers, trying to understand everything that had happened to her.
She seemed to have acquired some of the Charred Corpse's abilities: superhuman hearing and dynamic vision, extreme sensitivity to sound and movement, and... a bloodlust.
At the same time, her body underwent some strange change; her body temperature dropped, and some tissues seemed to be dying.
What terrified her most was that these abilities were corrupting her humanity; when the nurse moved in front of her, she felt an urge to kill, like the instinctive reaction of a hungry person seeing food.
Outside the window, a leaf fell. Li Shanji's gaze automatically locked onto its trajectory, and her brain instantly calculated its falling speed, angle, and final landing point. This perception both amazed and disgusted her.
She tried reaching for the water glass by the bedside, deliberately mimicking the posture she had adopted when the Charred Corpse attacked her.
To her shock, spiderweb-like cracks immediately appeared on the surface of the cup, as if it had been squeezed by an invisible hand.
"I can do the same thing as it..." This realization filled Li Shanji with both excitement and fear. Excitement at possessing extraordinary abilities, fear that... she was becoming that monster.
The doctor came to check on her soon after, Li Shanji forced herself to remain still and silent. When the doctor quickly flipped through the medical record, she had to bite her tongue hard to suppress the urge to pounce on him; the turning pages seemed to her like a defiant flag.
"Ms. Li, the tests show your metabolism is abnormally slow," the doctor frowned as he looked at the report. "Your temperature is only 32 degrees Celsius, which is unusual. We need further..."
The doctor's lips became a blurry source of vibration in Li Shanji's vision. She could suddenly see the frequency of the other person's vocal cord vibrations and even predict how the next syllable would be formed. This perception did not bring understanding, but an indescribable irritation, like looking at a constantly flickering faulty light bulb.
"No need." She interrupted the doctor, her voice carrying a chilling undertone.
The doctor seemed startled; the sound of his hurried footsteps as he retreated made Li Shanji's temples throb.
Seeing this, the doctor quickly adjusted his expression and spoke words of comfort.
The nurse has just reported Li Shanji's condition. Because this incident involves supernatural phenomena, the relevant departments are paying close attention and have requested that the hospital comfort Li Shanji various physical data, while awaiting further instructions from the relevant departments.
Li Shanji- hee managed to exchange a few words with the doctor before kicking him out.
When the ward finally fell Silence, Li Shanji closed her eyes in pain, feeling waves of discomfort washing over her.
She wanted to fall asleep and rest, but the subtle sounds became even more pronounced: the nurses' whispers, the electronic sounds of medical equipment, and even the sound of water flowing from the pipes inside the walls. She could accurately determine the distance and direction of the sound source.
Unable to sleep, Li Shanji sat up again, her fingertips unconsciously tapping the metal bed frame.
She didn't know how much time had passed when the knocking sounded. She could tell from the footsteps that the visitor wasn't a medical worker; the person's steps were almost mechanically rhythmic, and the contact area between the soles of their shoes and the floor was always precisely consistent.
"Please come in," she said calmly.
The door opened, and a woman in a dark gray suit walked in. She was about thirty-five years old, with shoulder-length black hair, and wore a uniquely shaped silver earring in her left ear, resembling some kind of rune.
"Miss Li Shanji?" The woman's voice was deep and steady, stating her identity directly. "I am Kang Min-jeong from the South Korea Supernatural Research Institute."
Li Shanji's fingertips twitched slightly, and when Kang Min-jeong spoke, her body would still instinctively surge with a murderous desire.
"Paranormal Research Institute?" Li Shanji tried her best to keep her facial expression calm.
Kang Min-jeong took out a tablet computer from her briefcase and pulled up a video. In the video, a Blood-Red Hanged Man to a cross floated in mid-air, while countless believers below were frantically worshipping.
"This is the True God Descent Event occurred in the Vatican, which you've probably heard about online. In fact, supernatural events have been happening all over the world in the past few months, and this is one of them." Kang Min-jeong's voice carried the calmness characteristic of a scientific researcher.
Several paranormal events have also occurred in South Korea. Although they haven't caused as much public outcry as some events abroad, the Seoul government quickly established Paranormal Research Institute to study and analyze these anomalies.
Li Shanji's pupils contracted slightly. She had seen news about supernatural phenomena online, many of which were treated as rumors by the government. Now it seemed that they were all true.
"Why are you looking for me?" She deliberately made her voice sound confused while suppressing the restlessness within her.
Kang Min-jeong explained, "The nurse noticed unusual changes in your body and reported it, so we received the news immediately."
"You previously joined the New Dawn Church, encountered a supernatural event, and then fled here. All the residents of the apartment you rented died, and you were the only survivor. When the doctor examined you, they found that all your physical data were different from normal people."
"So what do you want?" Li Shanji secretly hid her right hand under the sheet; her fingernails had already begun to turn black uncontrollably.
"I'd like to invite you to join the research institute." Kang Min-jeong leaned forward. "If I'm not mistaken, you should already possess extraordinary powers, right?"
Li Shanji- hee nodded. Since the nurse had already seen it, she didn't intend to hide it.
Kang Min-jeong continued, "As the first superhuman discovered in South Korea, you will receive national-level resources and professional training. In exchange, we need to conduct a detailed physical examination of you, and in certain special circumstances, we will need your assistance in handling supernatural events."
The clouds outside the window suddenly parted, and a beam of sunlight shone in.
"What if I refuse?" Li Shanji probed.
Kang Min-jeong shook her head, her smile not reaching her eyes. "Miss Li, you are the first superhuman discovered in South Korea."
She emphasized the word "first".
"This concerns matters of national importance, and my advice is that you'd better not refuse. Even if you possess extraordinary power, as long as your power hasn't reached the level of deterrence of nuclear weapons, obeying the country's arrangements is the best choice for you."
Li Shanji remained silent, her lips pursed. She maintained a skeptical attitude towards the South Korea government, the South Korea conglomerates, and everything in South Korea high society.
It's not that she's unwilling to love her country; it's just that she's suffered too much harm since childhood, and she can't bear to love it anymore.
An ordinary South Korea woman with no social connections, who is slightly more attractive, is surrounded by malice.
Having only beauty can indeed be a curse, leading to unhappiness. Fortunately, Li Shanji was not only beautiful; she was also quite intelligent. Apart from suffering losses in marriage, she protected herself very well in other aspects of her life.
"I'm not feeling well right now. Can I rest for a few more days before thinking about these things?" Li Shanji pleaded.
"Of course." Kang Min-jeong handed her a black card with an address and a number printed on it in silver lettering. "If you've thought it through, take this card and report to this address."
Li Shanji took the card, and then heard Kang Min-jeong say, "Miss Lee, I won't disturb your rest any longer, I'll take my leave now."
Kang Min-jeong got up and left. There were still many things to deal with in the city. All the residents who lived in the same apartment as Li Shanji were dead, and the whereabouts of the Charred Corpse were still nowhere to be found.
Unbeknownst to anyone, the Charred Corpse had already been taken over.
There's no doubt that Li Shanji will join the Paranormal Research Institute, given her current status as a national treasure.
As long as Li Shanji's requests aren't too outrageous, the South Korea government will definitely grant them, even if she wants top South Korea boy bands to perform suggestive dances.
She just wanted to rest for a few more days, and Kang Min-jeong naturally didn't object.
To protect Li Shanji's safety, the area around the hospital has been swarmed with South Korea intelligence agents.
People entering and leaving the hospital were also restricted, and some patients were forcibly transferred to other hospitals.
The noise that Li Shanji could hear suddenly decreased, and she closed her eyes and finally fell asleep.
She's been so tired lately.
Unfortunately, she didn't sleep well and even exhibited sleepwalking symptoms.
Fortunately, no one was talking near her or moving quickly around her while she was sleepwalking, otherwise... she might have died!