[Longshan City Psychiatric Hospital]
"Oh, for fuck's sake... where the hell did they dump me..." Su Jin muttered, staring at the enormous psychiatric hospital sign before him.
Suddenly, a loud bang erupted.
Su Jin spun around like a startled bird and saw a blue-and-white trolleybus, its long poles trailing behind it, rolling down the asphalt road.
A scattering of cars followed the trolleybus.
Not far away stood rows of shops, their wooden windows half-open and painted in various colors. Through them, he could see glass counters inside. The decor looked decidedly dated.
On the street corner, an old man was gathering up popcorn.
The noise had come from his popcorn cannon going off.
The sunlight was scorching, and the air smelled of popcorn mingled with diesel and asphalt.
Su Jin's heart kept pounding, his gaze wavering.
The scene before him was strange yet familiar.
A slightly reddish sun, people on the street... they still looked Asian, and aside from being a little unfashionable, there was nothing unusual about their clothes.
The cars and architecture looked rather "plain," too.
His stylish trench coat outfit looked out of place, especially with him standing in the blazing heat.
Some of the pedestrians were casting sideways glances at him.
Su Jin quickly took off his trench coat and draped it over his arm, covering his briefcase.
He looked back at the psychiatric hospital, his heart hammering.
I really crossed into another world!!!
A moment ago, he had still been in his rented room. In the blink of an eye, it was broad daylight, and he was standing on a main road.
This place looked familiar at first glance, but the details made it clear that this was not the world he knew.
The shock of crossing into another world was genuinely impossible to put into words.
Everything that creepy company said was true!
But a dying world, an apocalypse... everything here looks peaceful. It doesn't look like the end is coming, or like anyone is urgently preparing for war.
Su Jin wiped his face with a trembling hand and took two deep breaths, quickly steadying himself.
Forget traveling to another world-even being sent abroad in a single second would have been more than his heart could take.
But there seemed to be no way back now... he had to either complete the assignment or get in touch with the company.
Neither was something to worry about right now. First, he needed to find that client.
It was probably guidance from the mask. In his vision, a red dot was flashing conspicuously inside the psychiatric hospital.
There was a security booth at the entrance, and the guard inside was staring straight at him.
Frowning, Su Jin hurried past the booth toward a distant corner, then stopped beneath an inconspicuous patch of shade.
He crouched down and began searching his trench coat pockets and briefcase.
Before long, he found a stack of banknotes and an ID card in his coat pocket.
The notes bore the words "Longshan Huitong Bank," while the ID had an unusual vertical layout, like an employee badge.
Su Jin pressed his lips together, feeling a little more reassured.
Apparently, the company notice hadn't lied. It really did provide currency exchange and proof of identity. The Chinese characters everywhere on the street were probably the company's translation work, too.
He had no idea what the Heavenly Dao Liability Unlimited Company was. He would probably have to learn about it from the client.
Since this person was a client, they must have communicated with the company before.
But this client was in a psychiatric hospital... hopefully, they were a doctor or nurse.
Su Jin prayed silently, put the money and gun into his bag, and slipped his trench coat back on.
Beside him stood the psychiatric hospital's boundary wall, less than two meters high.
Su Jin gripped the top of the wall and peered over. Seeing no one nearby, he pushed off with both legs and vaulted over.
Once inside the grounds, he jogged straight into the building.
Su Jin glanced nervously from side to side.
Quite a few nurses and patients were walking around inside, but he could understand everything they said.
He could read all the signs on the walls, too. Up ahead was... the restroom!
Su Jin darted straight inside without hesitation.
Inside the multipurpose hall of Longshan City Psychiatric Hospital.
Dressed in a hospital gown, Fu Qingdai sat dejectedly by the window.
Outside, sunlight spilled over the ground beneath lush green trees, making for a lovely scene.
But between the creaking ceiling fan overhead, the patients around her who either sat blankly or screamed, and the worries weighing on her mind, she had no desire to appreciate it.
Gradually, Fu Qingdai's eyes reddened, and her small hands clenched the hem of her gown.
There isn't much time left... I've tried so hard for so long, but in the end, not a single person believes me or will help me.
Is there really no escaping it?
No, there's still one chance.
The voice in her dream had told her that the man would come looking for her.
As long as he comes, there might still be a chance. If he doesn't... that's a good thing, too. It probably means the dream was fake, and the apocalypse won't happen!
As long as there's no apocalypse, even being mentally ill would be worth it!
At that thought, Fu Qingdai wiped the corners of her eyes and began to feel a little brighter again.
Though her mood had been swinging back and forth like this for days...
Tired of the view outside, Fu Qingdai stood to return to her room.
But the instant she turned her head, a black silhouette carrying a leather bag appeared in the dim corridor, his coat fluttering!
In her mind, the figure beneath a dark sky, standing amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood with a bag in one hand and a gun in the other, overlapped almost perfectly with the silhouette before her!
It struck her like a bolt from the blue!
Tears suddenly streamed from the corners of Fu Qingdai's eyes.
At that moment, only one thought remained in her mind.
It's over... the apocalypse really is real.
After washing his face, Su Jin emerged from the restroom with much of his panic under control.
The restroom was much like those on Earth. It had running water, though the toilets were squat toilets... and that familiar stink of piss was especially reassuring.
It smells just like home!
Halfway down the corridor, he spotted Fu Qingdai immediately.
His heart sank straight to the bottom... a kid in a hospital gown, probably around high school age.
She was exceptionally pretty, but looks were completely irrelevant right now!
Before entering the building, he had prayed that even if the client was mentally ill, he could live with it as long as he was given a strong, healthy man!
But the reality was...
Mentally ill! A student! A pretty girl! Every single one was a strike against her!
Entering the hall, Su Jin glanced around, pulled over a chair, and sat down in front of Fu Qingdai.
The moment they faced each other, the red dot he could see on Fu Qingdai's forehead abruptly vanished.
Neither spoke. Su Jin studied Fu Qingdai while she kept her head lowered, twisting her small hands together.
After a moment, Su Jin ventured, "The company... already contacted you, right?"
Fu Qingdai nodded, her heart racing as fast as it possibly could!
The man from her dream had appeared in reality, and that meant the apocalypse would come.
"What's your name?"
"Fu Qingdai."
"Sir... I still don't know what to call you..." Fu Qingdai said quietly, her head lowered.
What should she call me?
Su Jin hesitated.
She didn't currently seem mentally ill. Giving her his name wouldn't ordinarily be a big deal, but that goddamn company's rules prohibited disclosing company information.
He was connected to the company. Who knew where the confidentiality boundary lay?
In theory, there was no need to be guarded with a client, but there was no stopping a client from blabbing... better to make something up if possible. These were trivial details anyway.
What mattered most right now was gaining the client's full trust and gathering more information.
After a brief silence, Su Jin sat up straight. "The conversation we're about to have stays between us. I hope you won't reveal my identity to anyone. Do you understand?"
Fu Qingdai nodded firmly, her eyes full of earnestness.
"I'm the director of the company's Special Operations Department, as well as an elite operative. My name is Li Haocheng. You can call me Director or Brother Hao. Starting today, I'd like us to pass ourselves off as cousins in front of other people. Do you understand?"
"I understand... Cousin."
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