Director Ghost

Biodata

Background / History

Director Ghost was a skilled doctor whose medical accomplishments earned him a position as a hospital director. Despite his professional success, he was wooden and poor with words, taking pleasure mainly in a drink after meals. The hospital’s higher-ups ostracized him and forced him out; his wife subsequently demanded a divorce. Overwhelmed by these setbacks, he killed himself by burning charcoal 28.

After death, he became obsessed with speaking well. He gouged out other people’s mouths and embedded them in his own face, eventually becoming a director at Yellow Springs Hospital 28.

Appearance

• Tall, burly build — repeatedly described as an imposing figure 13 25 31.
• Four mouths on his face — taken from other people after his death 23 28.
• Unusual speech — alternates mouths between sentences, speaks in disjointed bursts, or uses all four mouths in unison 13 25 31.
• Disturbing expressions — all four mouths can curve into a smile or gape open simultaneously; thick saliva drips from them when he is stunned 25 33 48.

Personality

Director Ghost is authoritarian and openly contemptuous of humans, frequently calling the players “filthy bugs.” He threatens to take their organs if they delay his work and responds brutally when his authority is questioned. When Zhang Zhihao challenges his distribution of rewards, he tears off one of Zhang’s arms, eats it, and warns that another objection will mean death 23 25.

His treatment of workers nevertheless depends heavily on results. He withholds wages for a negative patient review but pays generously for successful treatment and faultless work. Lin Luo’s repeated positive reviews gradually earn him praise, preferential assignments, and personal assistance 6 13 25 29.

He cares about his reputation and is deferential toward influential patients and his superior. Zhang Zhihao’s failure with Perverted Ghost angers him because it costs him face, while the Hospital Director Ghost’s hostility leaves him frightened and unable to protect Lin Luo 26 33 34.

Wine and praise of his eloquence are especially effective ways to win his approval. Before meeting Lin Luo, he had no like-minded drinking companion at the hospital. Lin Luo’s apparent enthusiasm for fine liquor gives him a rare sense of shared interest 27 28.

Abilities & Skills

Ghost Power

• Overwhelming pressure: His presence intimidates the Chef Ghosts and leaves Elevator Ghost feeling as though he will suffocate 25 33.
• Force projection: Throws Lin Luo back into his dormitory room with a surge of Nether Power 22.
• Suppression of weaker ghosts: Severely injures Transparent Ghost and forces the disturbed dormitory hallway back to normal 22.
• Direct combat: Blasts Wang Lei and Liu Xueru away, forcing both to reveal their death-state appearances 34.
• Limits: Admits that he cannot save Lin Luo if the Hospital Director Ghost becomes enraged 33 34.

Hospital Authority

• Assigns nursing duties, night shifts, and patient placements, including work in the morgue and VIP ward 1 6 29.
• Distributes Ghost Coins according to work performance and patient reviews; can dock wages entirely 6.
• Grants time off and excuses workers from ordinary assignments 13 48.
• His authority can deter other ghosts even when he is absent: Lin Luo invokes his name to obtain free uniforms from Flaying Ghost and compel Elevator Ghost to remove a curse 3 40.

Medical Expertise

• Possessed superb medical skills in life and rose to the position of hospital director 28.
• Supplies four male-dog kidneys for Lin Luo’s operation on Perverted Ghost 27.
• Assists with preparations for the Hospital Director Ghost’s blood exchange 34 35.
• Could not treat Security Guard Ghost’s longstanding eye condition 17.

Equipment / Items

• Earth-Burial Wine — a prized liquor in his private collection. He promises Lin Luo a flask for successfully treating Perverted Ghost and produces it from his mouth after the operation 27.
• Ghost Coins — used to pay wages and performance rewards, including 1,000 coins for Lin Luo’s first positive review and 5,000 for his successful morgue shift 6 13.

Relationships

• Lin Luo / 9527 — Initially a subordinate human worker. Successful treatments, shared drinking interests, and the cure of Nurse Ghost earn Lin Luo increasingly favorable treatment and the director’s protection 6 27 28 32 34.
• Nurse Ghost — His younger sister, both in life and after death. He asks Lin Luo to treat her persistent skin disease and offers his help after she is cured 31 32.
• Hospital Director Ghost — His superior, distinct from Director Ghost himself. He reports to him, follows his orders, and fears his anger 33 34 35.
• Zhang Zhihao — A worker he punishes for a bad review and later mutilates for questioning his authority. Zhang’s failed treatment of Perverted Ghost further damages his standing with the director 6 25 26.
• Perverted Ghost — An influential patient whom he treats with unusual courtesy. Winning this patient’s approval matters enough for him to part with his treasured wine 26 27.
• Flaying Ghost — Fears him intensely; Lin Luo exploits that fear to enforce the hospital’s uniform rules 3.
• Wang Lei and Liu Xueru — Lesser hospital ghosts whom he subdues to protect Lin Luo, then intimidates into submitting to blood extraction 34 35.
• Ghost Loli — Accepts her demand that Lin Luo spend the day playing with her, excusing him from work and promising a positive review upon his return 48.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Notable Quotes

“You have twenty minutes to prepare. In twenty minutes, you must be in uniform and at your assigned posts.” 1

“Interesting. I didn't expect you to survive, let alone make no mistakes at work. It's been a long time since I encountered a human as outstanding as you.” 13

“Once we're inside, watch what you say. If you anger the Hospital Director, even I won't be able to save you.” 33