The corpse before the bed stopped bleeding.
Without a sound, it gave off wisps of black mist that scattered into the Void.
The ward's four walls flickered a few times like an old television with a bad signal, then vanished.
Then the hospital disappeared, the city, and finally the entire world.
A soft pop sounded.
The world before Xu Yuan's eyes went completely black.
Mist.
Fragments of light and shadow flashed through it.
A full ten minutes or more passed.
The hospital reappeared.
A nurse slowly pushed a cart loaded with IV bags into the ward.
A scream rang out.
Then crowds of people rushed over.
The ward was sealed off.
Police officers charged upstairs with guns drawn.
Xu Yuan was pinned to the floor and handcuffed.
A medical examiner inspected the corpse.
Xu Yuan watched silently as a question surfaced in his mind.
Isn't this a little too real?
Why are you making up what happens next based on what I did?
Within the shifting images of light and shadow,
the investigation swiftly unfolded.
The police uncovered numerous suspicious details. Why had Xu Yuan been the only patient in a six-person ward? Because someone inside the hospital had been bribed. Why had every hallway camera been shut off? Because a large sum of money had suddenly appeared in a server-room employee's account.
... The truth came to light.
Seven or eight days later, Xu Yuan had put the entire affair behind him.
He stood in an alley across from the school.
Outside an internet café.
Suddenly, Xu Yuan felt his consciousness sink, and he entered the scene once more.
"Brother Xu, we were wrong. From now on, you're our boss. We'll follow you."
Several High School students spoke in meek voices.
A few young men with dyed yellow hair