Thumb unlocked

"Bad review."

At the mention of that, Lin Luo had no choice but to take it seriously.

In the horror game, their task ratings determined their performance for the day's work, and their performance was tied to their lives.

How could he not take it seriously?

Even so, Lin Luo still made no move.

He was waiting, waiting for an opportunity.

The instant the Crimson Demon Finger touched the Fat Ghost, he had sifted through some of the ghost's memories.

"She betrayed me. She stabbed me in the heart, killed me, then pushed me into a dried-up well. Bugs bit through my skin, burrowed into my flesh, and bred inside my heart... It's been so, so long. I came to Yellow Springs Hospital and had them surgically remove the bugs from my body. I finally felt relief... But I feel like there's still a bug inside my heart. It keeps growing bigger, and my heart hurts more and more..."

Yet even the Fat Ghost himself couldn't tell whether there was still a bug inside his heart or whether the pain came from his girlfriend's betrayal.

Lin Luo focused his vision and concentrated on the Fat Ghost's heart.

A hideous wound gaped in the Fat Ghost's chest, leaving most of his heart visible. At its center was a hole left by a knife.

Lin Luo kept his gaze fixed on that hole.

One minute passed, then two, then three, but he still couldn't spot anything.

The Fat Ghost kept howling.

His cries grew louder and louder.

Lin Luo's eyes had gone dry, yet he still saw nothing unusual.

Just as he blinked, he vaguely caught a thumb-sized black spot squirming near the Fat Ghost's heart.

When he looked again to make sure, nothing seemed amiss.

Were my eyes playing tricks on me?

Lin Luo didn't think so.

He continued staring intently at the Fat Ghost's heart. If the thing existed, it would have to show itself.

Most importantly, the Fat Ghost kept crying out in pain. If that bug really existed, it had to be moving constantly.

At last, Lin Luo caught the bug moving again.

It was right in the knife wound in the Fat Ghost's heart.

This was an opportunity.

But it came with enormous risk.

Hesitation would get him killed.

Lin Luo tightened his grip on the medical scissors and suddenly shouted.

"Look! What's that?"

The Fat Ghost instinctively turned his head.

Lin Luo strode up to the Fat Ghost and drove the medical scissors hard into his heart.

His movements were lightning-fast.

One thrust, one pull, then a swift retreat.

By the time the Fat Ghost came to his senses, Lin Luo was already three steps away from him.

A pitch-black bug was impaled on the medical scissors in his hand.

The bug had twelve legs covered in sharp spikes. Even with its body pierced clean through, it was still alive and struggling wildly.

Its wings kept beating, producing a piercing noise that made his scalp crawl.

Realizing that this filthy insect had tricked him, the Fat Ghost instinctively flew into a rage.

Then he saw the black bug on Lin Luo's medical scissors and froze.

His heart really didn't seem to hurt anymore.

"Filthy insect, do you know what you've done?"

The flab on the Fat Ghost's face instantly twisted, his eyes bulged, and the fat covering his body shook incessantly.

A putrid stench spread from his body.

Standing closest to the Fat Ghost, Lin Luo nearly passed out from the pungent reek of rot.

He endured his fear and the torment of that foul smell, keeping a professional smile on his face.

"It's my duty to serve my patients."

On the outside, he looked utterly composed. In truth, Lin Luo was panicking like mad.

Although he had helped resolve the Fat Ghost's heart pain, he had, in a sense, still overstepped the rules.

He had done something outside his duties.

Under these circumstances, if the Fat Ghost wanted to make trouble for him, it would actually be within the rules.

Still, since Lin Luo had acted, he had some confidence.

This was a gray area to begin with. If the matter reached the director ghost, there was no telling how he would rule.

Even so, Lin Luo discreetly took a few steps back.

Keeping himself safe came first.

The Fat Ghost's bloated body slowly rose into a sitting position on the hospital bed.

As he moved, the bed began creaking incessantly, unable to bear the weight.

"I'm giving you a good review! A fantastic review!"

The vicious look on the Fat Ghost's face suddenly turned into a smile, his attitude making a complete reversal.

Lin Luo was stunned.

If you want to thank me, just thank me. Why look like you're about to eat someone?

"Thank you for your approval."

Despite his inward grumbling, Lin Luo didn't forget to express his gratitude.

Then he carefully placed the bug in a box on the trolley beside him.

Qin Yu let out a long breath.

Today's task was finally complete.

He had made it through the first day.

Six more days remained.

[Received a good review from the Fat Ghost. Thumb skill unlocked: Emotion Stitching (Can stitch together two or more emotions belonging to ghosts to produce a new emotion).]

[Reward received: Substitute Straw Man (Can block one attack from a ghost).]

At the sight of this, delight surged through Lin Luo.

The second reward, in particular, put his mind considerably more at ease.

With this, he now had some protection here.

Meanwhile, Liu Yanyan had also finished her task. She was luckier than Lin Luo; her ghost wasn't especially difficult to deal with, and she had made it through with a scare but no harm.

The two of them then left the ward and waited outside.

Waiting in an environment like this made time agonizingly slow.

Liu Yanyan also kept finding things to talk about, whether consciously or not.

She used conversation to dispel the fear in her heart.

Before long, Zhang Zhihao and Zhang Xiaoli emerged from the neighboring ward.

Zhang Xiaoli's eyes were red and swollen, her gaze vacant, and tear tracks remained on her face. She had clearly been through something terrifying.

By comparison, Zhang Zhihao was in worse shape.

He had lost an ear.

The wound was perfectly even, with no blood flowing from it.

This had dealt Zhang Zhihao a devastating blow.

He glanced at Lin Luo and Liu Yanyan, then walked into a corner without a word.

At the sight, the little color that had returned to Liu Yanyan's face instantly drained away again.

The person who had lost a hand earlier had nothing to do with them, giving her the illusion that such things weren't all that close to them.

Only after seeing what had happened to Zhang Zhihao did she realize that these horrors were right beside them.

The atmosphere instantly grew heavy.

After an agonizing wait, it finally reached six in the evening.

The director ghost appeared before them once again.