The Hospital

The town is small, and many essential facilities were built in a single building, including the hospital.

The hospital is located in the central area of Nanshui Town, surrounded by two residential areas and a commercial street—which is actually a cluster of food stalls and clothing stores.

The guide's house where Yu Xing and his group had previously stayed was located near the edge of the town. Yu Xing, after hiking to the hospital, they discovered that the scene before them was vastly different from the edge of the town.

"I'm speechless." Zhang Yu was eating a pancake he had just bought from a roadside vendor when he complained to Yu Xing, "We've explored the entire Nanshui Town ourselves, so what's the point of having that guide?"

"Although it's because of family reasons, it's outrageous to take a tour guide's job and not do any work—" Zhang Yu Yumeng suddenly stopped mid-sentence, almost choking on his pancake.

After a two-second pause, he whispered, "Captain... everyone here seems so heavy-hearted."

Yu Xing was also observing.

When they passed by the food street, they felt the festive atmosphere was very strong. Many places were decorated with red ribbons for the Snow Festival, and the townspeople were chatting and laughing. The flow of people was extremely high.

Yu Xing even had a feeling that no one in this town stayed at home; they were all wandering around outside.

But as soon as you step into the hospital grounds, the atmosphere suddenly becomes somber. There are far fewer people. There are patients wearing hospital gowns who have come out for some fresh air, and there are also family members of patients who seem to be muttering to themselves.

Everyone coming and going through the hospital had a numb expression. Whether they were patients or their families, they all carried an almost tangible aura of illness, like walking corpses.

If Yu Xing to comment, the patient and their family were only different in appearance; inside, they were no different—both looked like they were on their deathbeds.

The hospital's main building has only four floors, but there is an inpatient building next to it that is actually taller than the main building, a six-story building.

The stark white walls are pitted and uneven, showing signs of several renovations, resulting in varying shades of color. Some cracks have been left unfilled and have spread up the exterior walls, creating a very dilapidated visual effect that would make patients feel unsafe.

Fortunately, people in Nanshui Town have no other choice but to seek medical treatment here.

A wall surrounded the two buildings, with an opening at the front to form a simple gate.

The four bright red characters "Wenhe Hospital" are printed on the side of the gate. The paint was probably not applied properly when it was first applied, as the red paint has dried and dripped down the wall, adding to the eeriness.

Yu Xing glanced at the guardhouse at the hospital entrance. There was an old man in a guard uniform there, his gloomy gaze following everyone who came in and out, as if he wanted to poke a hole in them with his eyes.

It would be difficult for a normal person to get in, so he said, "You pretend to be sick, and I'll pretend to be your family member."

Zhang Yu readily agreed, "Okay."

Just then, a woman in a hospital gown stumbled out. Yu Xing immediately looked at her and raised an eyebrow slightly.

Even though she tried to blend in with the other patients, her slightly trembling legs and bare feet still betrayed her unusual nature.

The old gatekeeper's eyes gleamed; he'd figured it out too. Grabbing his stick, he stepped forward. "Stop! Who let you sneak out?!"

Everyone around shuddered for some reason, and the woman plopped down on the ground. "No, Doctor. Zhao said I can go for a walk..."

"You're lying! I've seen plenty of people like you trying to run away!" The old gatekeeper slapped the woman with his stick, making her howl in pain, then grabbed her hair and dragged her inside.

The struggling woman's skin rubbed against the rough ground, easily breaking it and leaving two long, bloody streaks.

Zhang Yu swallowed hard. "Captain, you should pretend to be sick. I can't take it..."

Watching the old gatekeeper and the woman head towards the main building, Yu Xing scoffed, "Stop pretending, just go in."

He grabbed Zhang Yu around the waist and hoisted him onto his shoulder, quickly slipping over the wall while the old gatekeeper was facing away from the gate. He was so fast that even the other patients around him couldn't see him clearly.

Zhang Yu's stomach was being pushed against Yu Xing's shoulder, feeling like a hard rock. The jostling made him feel like the pancake he'd just eaten was about to burst out of his stomach. His face flushed red, and he felt utterly defeated—oh no, if Ranran saw this, wouldn't she think he was so unmanly? So embarrassing...

Why has the captain become so masculine after just one trip? Based on past records, this isn't his usual style!

Like a gust of wind, Yu Xing swirled into the walled area and stopped in the small garden below the hospital's inpatient building, placing Zhang Yu behind the low ornamental shrubs.

"Once the gatekeeper is back on duty, we'll go inside and take a look," Yu Xing calmly instructed.

Zhang Yu replied, "Hoo."

Yu Xing: "..."

He looked at his teammate with a complicated expression, wondering how this guy had escaped Zhao Mou's grueling physical training.

His physical condition is only slightly better than when he was weak before!

Only he could appear so frail and delicate in the broken mirror; no one else could.

The hypocritical Yu Xing silently considered how to torment Zhang Yu after they got out. After all, it was one thing for him to be weak and frail, but no matter what injury Zhang Yu suffered, he would only suffer pain, not die.

For someone like Zhang Yu, once he dies, there's no going back.

Just then, the gatekeeper had already "dealt with" the woman who had run away, and casually walked past the bushes, swinging his blood-stained stick.

He didn't even glance in their direction, but sat back down on the small stool in the guardhouse, crossed his legs, and continued his surveillance.

Zhang Yu, rubbing his stomach to calm down, said cautiously, "Patients can come and go freely, but the security guard wouldn't let that woman leave, saying she 'sneaked out.' It seems the hospital has its own set of standards for deciding whether patients can be free."

Yu Xing had naturally considered this as well. He looked at the main building, and after a moment, waved his hand. "Zhang Yu, get ready."

Zhang Yu: "... Mental preparation?"

"You've learned your lesson, haven't you?" Yu Xing's lips curled into a fleeting smile.

The situation at the hospital is completely different from that in the town; it's blatantly filled with an aura of danger, and the hospital is probably a place where many "real-life scenarios" exist.

However, the more obvious the danger, the more flaws there are, and those numb patients can provide more information than the cheerful ordinary townspeople.

The security guard was probably just the beginning; the Doctor and nurses inside the building were the biggest obstacle to getting into the hospital.

Yu Xing lowered her gaze, her face suddenly turned pale, and she collapsed limply to the ground. Frostbite marks began to appear on her body, and cold sweat poured from her forehead, instantly wetting her temples.

Zhang Yu reacted quickly and caught the person, thinking to himself that the captain was really good; he actually pretended to be a patient, faking frostbite, which was the only type of illness they were sure this hospital would accept.

And this act is so convincing; it's clear he's very experienced. Even from a detective's perspective, he couldn't spot any flaws.

He pulled Yu Xing's arm and put it on his shoulder, and the two slowly moved towards the main courtyard entrance, successfully blending in.

There were people queuing to register in the main lobby. Zhang Yu noticed that Yu Xing was hanging his head and was breathing heavily, making it difficult for him to observe his surroundings. So he tried his best to sneak glances around without attracting attention.

However, in a dimension he couldn't see, several thick branches swayed out from under Yu Xing, extending into the entire hall.

The branches passed by the people in line, went through the counter, and stopped behind the nurses in white coats.

The nurses seemed perfectly normal; they were quick and efficient, taking numbers and prescribing medications.

Until one day, a branch overheard a young nurse saying to the family member next to a newly arrived patient, "Good, take him to room 203 in the ward. After that, continue your rounds. I heard there's a tour group here today... Don't let them notice anything unusual."

The patient was being restrained by his family members in pain and despair, struggling incessantly. The family members, however, nodded blankly, and when they turned around, a bright smile, just like that of ordinary townspeople, suddenly appeared on their faces.

However, this laughter didn't fit in here; instead, it revealed an inhuman strangeness.

Yu Xing moved slightly, trying to extend the branch upwards.

"Where did you come from?" Suddenly, without warning, a cold woman's voice appeared behind him and Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu turned him around, and a pair of cold white high heels appeared in front of him.

Above the high heels were long legs in black stockings, which only reached the top of the thighs before being covered by the hem of the nurse's uniform.

They can't be called natives... A glint flashed in Yu Xing's eyes, which were hidden by his bangs. Clearly, in this hospital, "family members" were not real family members.

Therefore, what they discussed outside is not feasible.

It remains to be seen whether Zhang Yu has realized this in just a few steps of observation.