"The production team spends a lot of money to build a large escape room for each episode, but this is the first time we've seen such a large hospital. It looks like it's been converted from an abandoned hospital. I can't wait!"
"Countless horror movies flashed through my mind, so exciting, I love it!!!"
Hearing the door open, Song Shi'an was pushed inside, his hands freed, and he quickly removed the burlap sack from his head.
The entire space was pitch black, without a single ray of light.
The next second, something vibrated in his pocket. Weren't they saying no cell phones allowed? When did he put this phone in his pocket?!
He took it out and looked at it; the blinding white light made him squint.
Several rules are displayed on the screen.
[ Lightless Hospital RC-071]
[Participants: 32 / Patients: 6]
[The rules are as follows:]
[I. The game area is the third floor of the main hospital building and the morgue; players are not allowed to leave the building area.]
[II. Each person will be provided with one flashlight. The batteries are non-replaceable, and damaged flashlights will not be replaced.]
[III. The game consists of three rounds of tasks: Soothing the Soul, Diagnosing the Problem, and Substitute, with each round spaced one hour apart.]
[IV. If all three rounds are completed and all patients are identified, the participant wins, and all patients are eliminated.]
[5. If the patient fails in any round or is still alive after three rounds, the patient wins, and half of the participants are randomly executed.]
[VI. The first hour after the game begins is a safe period; the patient must not move during this time.]
When Song Shi'an finished reading the last message, thirty-one beams of light illuminated the area around him.
The flashlight turned on automatically, its beams swaying and intertwining in the darkness, illuminating part of the space.
A long corridor with yellowed tiles on the walls and terrazzo floors, common in hospitals, filled the air with a mixture of disinfectant and mold odors.
The emergency room was much bigger than he had imagined; the props team was really impressive!
Half of the glass in the registration window was broken, waiting chairs were overturned haphazardly on the floor, and a crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling was not lit and was covered with a thick layer of dust.
Thirty-two people were scattered throughout the hall, their flashlight beams flickering back and forth.
Some people were squatting on the ground studying the markings in the corner, some were looking up to observe the structure of the ceiling, and some had already begun to peer into the corridor.
Song Shi'an shone his flashlight around and found a floor plan that had been torn in half in the corner. He walked over, squatted down, and took a closer look.
The first floor is for emergency care and registration, the second floor is for wards and operating rooms, the third floor is for administrative offices, and the basement is for the morgue. It instantly felt eerie.
The live stream instantly flooded in with comments, showing the entire hospital from every angle.
" An'an way An'an looks at the map while squatting there is like she's doing reading comprehension."
"Did he even understand it? The diagram is half torn."
"There are six patients. Six patients are mixed up among thirty-two people. How are we supposed to find them? We can't read minds."
"The production team has upgraded the show; it used to be purely puzzle-solving, now they've added werewolf gameplay."
A boy wearing a baseball cap came over, shone his flashlight on the picture, and then turned to Song Shi'an: "Did you understand it?"
"All I know is that the morgue is on the basement level," Song Shi'an honestly shook his head.
The baseball cap paused for a second, then said, "That's still pretty useful; at least we know where we shouldn't go."
What's your name?
" Cheng Shuo, from Katwell."
" Song Shi'an, from Jingchen."
Cheng Shuo squeezed his hand. "I know you, that celebrity who's just there to make up the numbers."
Song Shi'an almost couldn't keep his composure; he really was thanking him...
"Just telling the truth," Cheng Shuo pushed up his hat brim, "But just don't hold us back. I'm not asking you to solve the mystery, just stick with the group and don't wander off."
"Alright, you're in charge." Song Shi'an nodded, then silently followed half a step behind Cheng Shuo. This guy looked like a big shot; it was always a good idea to follow him!
The comments section was bursting with laughter.
"The top students at Katwell Institute of Technology said our Ann was just there to make up the numbers, that cracked me up."
"This guy is so arrogant... How come my An is just there to make up the numbers...?"
"This guy seems pretty confident, I wonder if he can win!"
Before long, someone discovered the first clue: there was an old-fashioned computer inside the registration window in the center of the hall.
The screen displayed the following message: "First mission [Requiem]: Find the three medical records hidden in the ward area and deliver them to the dean's office on the third floor."
Everyone was silent for a few seconds, then simultaneously turned to look at the staircase leading to the second floor.
The dark stairwell entrance resembled an open mouth, and the stair railings were covered in rust.
A flickering emergency light could be vaguely seen around the corner.
The crowd hesitated for a moment, then someone took the first step, and the others slowly followed.
Song Shi'an followed Cheng Shuo with a flashlight, deciding to play it safe for now.
The corridor was lined with hospital rooms, the glass windows of the doors covered with a thick layer of dust, making it impossible to see what was inside.
Occasionally, the beam of the flashlight would reflect a small amount of light when it swept across the glass, as if something was moving behind it.
"Have you guys noticed...?" Song Shi'an lowered his voice and began, "... that there seem to be people in those rooms?"
The people in front of him stopped at the same time, and their flashlights shone on him in unison.
Cheng Shuo turned and glanced at him. "Don't scare me."
"I'm serious," Song Shi'an said, shining his flashlight at the window of the next ward, "I think there was a flash of light coming from that window just now."
Everyone looked in the direction he pointed, but the window was shrouded in gray and nothing could be seen.
Someone suggested opening the door to take a look, but Song Shi'an was the first to shake his head. The others hesitated for a moment, but eventually someone reached out and turned the doorknob.
The moment the door was pushed open, a gust of cold wind rushed out, carrying a strong smell of formaldehyde.
The flashlight beam shone inside, revealing an empty hospital room. The bedding on the bed was neatly folded, and a thermos flask sat on the bedside table.
Song Shi'an stood at the door, too afraid to go in; the smell was too strong!
Cheng Shuo went inside, rummaged through the bedside table drawer, and pulled out a medical record folder. The cover had the patient's name written on it, but that section was blank.
"Medical records." Cheng Shuo waved the item in his hand. "Looks like this is what I've been looking for."
Someone nearby shouted, "There's one here too!" A copy was also found in another ward.
Song Shi'an stood motionless in the corridor, scanning the end of the corridor back and forth with his flashlight.
He discovered that each ward's room number was a three-digit number, but the order was not consecutive.
I squatted down to compare the floor plan with the old one posted on the wall, then looked up at the actual apartment numbers, and something just didn't seem to match.