708 Morgue

 

The sky at 10.30 am was still dark. Everyone was waiting for the sun to rise, but it wasn’t happening. The cryptic world was like the bottom of the ocean. Darkness had submerged the city. Supernatural events became more prevalent, and more people lost their minds. The sins were exposed, and humans became scarier than ghosts.

“The despair of humanity accumulated in the cryptic world. When the two worlds collide, the scariest things are not the ghost but the despair reentering people’s hearts.” Bloody scenes occurred all around the city. Many survivors only then realized how close everyone was to evil.

After a short rest, Han Fei led part of the players and Yan Yue back to the city. In just two days, the city had completely changed. The old rules collapsed, and new rules were absent. Everyone was consumed by despair. There was chaos everywhere.

“How many ghosts are there in the cryptic world?” Ever since that morning, Han Fei had been contemplating that question. He would take down any hostile ghosts he encountered on the way to his destination. This was for two goals. One was to increase Lee Guo Er’s points, and two was to increase Xiao Yu’s mother’s power. At first, Han Fei believed that one day he’d cleanse the city. However, he soon realized how naïve he was. Many buildings would start to inhabit new ghosts after the old ones had been cleaned out.

“It looks like I have to deal with this problem at its source.” Han Fei knew that Fu Sheng wanted to use this cryptic world’s memory to convince him of the necessity of destroying the cryptic world. However, Han Fei was convinced that there was another path. Moving through the city, another long cavalcade appeared behind Han Fei’s taxi. Han Fei would help any survivor who still had any humanity intact. This was when Han Fei’s Soul-depth Touch shone. He could immediately tell if a person’s soul was twisted from a handshake.

“Han Fei, are we being too obvious?” Xiao Jia glanced at the vehicles behind them. “We’re standing out too much. The ghosts aren’t dumb. Won’t they gang up on us?”

“I have similar concerns. That’s why we need to find more unique citizens and have them stand on our side.”

At 11 am, Han Fei’s taxi arrived at Ren Ai Private Hospital in the city center.

…

“Did you guys hear the sound of water?” Nurse Xiao He poked her head out of the office table. Her face was pale, and her voice was low.

“Shush. Those things might still be here.” A man’s voice came out of the dresser. He sounded very nervous. Xiao He shrunk backward. She glanced towards the water cooler in the office. There was a human head floating inside it. The water cooler had a very small hole. She had no idea how the human head managed to fit into the cooler and how it was still speaking. Black water weeds grew around the area where the neck was decapitated. Worms wiggled out of the ears and nose. The head slowly turned in the water cooler. When it turned to face Xiao He, the closed eyes suddenly opened!

The bloated eyeballs looked at Xiao He. The mouth opened and closed as if talking to Xiao He. Xiao He was so scared that she curled even deeper under the table. Xiao He turned her head away and forced herself to not look at it.

Xiao He and her four other colleagues had been trapped here for two days already. Yesterday night, one colleague went out to take a look, and he didn’t come back. Everything was getting worse. Xiao He felt like breaking down. She started to see and hear things. Sometimes, she wondered if she had lost her mind.

“Xiao He, are you still alright?” An aged man’s voice came from outside the door. Xiao He covered her mouth when she heard this voice.

“The patient in Room 1 is heavily injured. Can you go help him? His intestines have been dug out, and there’s blood everywhere…” No matter how hard the old man pleaded, Xiao He pretended not to hear him even though she was very familiar with this voice. The kind old man was the patient in Room 2. He was normally so optimistic, but he died three days ago. His body was still at the morgue.

“Xiao He, if you’re there, say something. The patient is not going to make it. His children are crying. He really needs help.” Since yesterday night, the elder came to knock on the door, hoping to get Xiao He to come to help the other patients. But the thing that scared Xiao He the most was that the elder only called her name when she had four other colleagues hiding in the office. The knocking eventually stopped. The elder walked outside the door but didn’t enter the office.

“Is he finally gone?” Xiao He knelt on the ground. She suddenly wanted to cry. The world was suffocating, and hell was everywhere.

“It’s already noon. Why is the sky still so dark? By this time yesterday, at least the sun was already up, and the ghosts had faded away.” A middle-aged woman’s voice came from the deepest part of the office. Xiao He crawled out of the desk to take a look. She couldn’t see anyone. The person hid very well.

“Sister Qin?” Xiao He called carefully.

“What’s wrong, Xiao He?” Xiao He sighed in relief when she heard the reply, but her heart soon trembled again. She whispered, “I haven’t heard from the new intern nurse since yesterday night. How is she doing?”

“She’s in the dresser with me. She’s still sleeping.” Doctor Wang’s voice came from the dresser. This answer aroused Xiao He’s suspicion. The dresser was small. It was barely enough to fit one person. How could two people fit in it, and one was sleeping soundly?

“Doctor Wang, do you mind waking her up? I have some questions for her.”

After Xiao He said that Doctor Wang’s voice disappeared, and the whole office became so silent.

“Doctor Wang? Sister Qin?” Xiao He’s heart pounded. She looked at the dresser not far away, and her heart was consumed by fear. These past two days, she had been communicating with Doctor Wang and Sister Qin through voices. She hadn’t seen them in person. Xiao He slowly approached the dresser. She raised her shaking hands to grab the dresser door. After taking a deep breath, she eased the dresser open.

Xiao He’s eyes narrowed. Then, with a whiff, she yanked the doors fully open. There were a few brand new doctors’ coats inside the dresser, but there was no one there.

“Where are the people? Their voices came from this place!” Fear enveloped Xiao He, and she broke out in cold sweat. If her colleagues didn’t make those voices, then who had she been talking to? “I’ve been staying with ghosts!” Xiao He shivered. Suddenly, the familiar voices returned.

“We thought we could hide this from you longer…” Doctor Wang and Sister Qin’s voices started at the same time. They sent chills down Xiao He’s spine.

Xiao He turned around and saw Doctor Wang and Sister Qin, whose chests were punctured. They looked at her gloomily. Their faces were covered in death spots, and their smiles were harrowing.

The most terrifying was the new intern nurse. She stood beside Doctor Wang. Her body was covered in wounds, and her neck was snapped. She couldn’t even speak.

“Are… you dead?”

“Yes. And it’s your turn now!”

Three twisted souls charged at Xiao He. The door of the office was kicked down at that moment. A patient rushed in, grabbed Xiao He by her wrist, and ran.

“Uncle Ying?” Xiao He felt the chill from her wrist. The elder’s hand was cold as ice.

“I’ve been warning you since yesterday night. You refuse to listen. You’re the only good kid at this hospital. Those doctors with rotten hearts are all dead now.” The elder ran very fast, very much unlike a dead person.

“Thank you for saving me. I was too afraid yesterday night.” Xiao He didn’t expect she’d be saved by a dead elder. She was both scared and guilty. She was about to apologize to the elder when she noticed something was wrong. The elder didn’t lead her to the exit but towards the underground!

“That’s… the morgue!” Xiao He wanted to shake the elder loose, but the elder grabbed hold of her tightly. The chill cut into her bone.

“Uncle Ying, where are we going?”

“You’ll know when we’re there. There’s no place that’s safe at this hospital. I need you to hide in my bed first.” The elder said without turning around. The temperature dropped, and Xiao He became more afraid. The door that she rarely used was at the end of the corridor.

“Remember, do not make any noise. Just pretend you’re a dead body.” The elder pushed open the iron door and led Xiao He in. This private hospital had the city’s biggest mortuary and morgue. There was a legend that the hospital had been selling organs on the black market. However, it still managed to run without any problem.

“Come, my bed is this way.”

When she saw the metallic tables with white cloths, Xiao He’s fear was palpable. She knew what was under the white clothes. She was held tightly by the elder so she could only follow him. When they reached the center of the room, the elder pulled back the ‘sheet’ for one of the ‘beds’. “Lie down. After I cover you under the white cloth, you shall close your eyes and sleep. Don’t open your eyes, and don’t move.”

The elder held Xiao He’s wrist throughout. It was unclear if it was to stop Xiao He from running or if it was to protect her.

“Remember. Do not remove this tag no matter what.” After the elder covered Xiao He under the cloth, he removed the tag from his left leg and tied it to Xiao He.

“Uncle Ying…”

“Currently, ghosts roam this hospital. The most dangerous place is the safest place. I’ll come back when I find a safe exit.” The elder then disappeared like he was never there.

Xiao He didn’t dare to move. Her mind started to wander. Even now, she couldn’t tell if Uncle Ying was good or bad.

“I normally treat the patients like they’re like my family. They won’t harm me…” Xiao He comforted herself. Suddenly, she felt a tug at the edge of her white cloth. She turned, and she saw a strange creature. There was a dead body that was moving around with its bent four limbs. Its stomach was facing up.

“What is that?” The dead body’s stomach was cut open from the middle. The skin flaps opened like butterfly wings. It still had the human shape, but it wasn’t a human anymore.

There was a rustling sound. Xiao He held her breath until the monster left. She turned her head and saw a fatty kid around eight poke his head out of the ‘bed’ beside hers. He recognized Xiao He and gave her a smile.

“Zai Zai?” The boy’s nickname was Zai Zai. He died three days ago due to bone cancer. Zai Zai winked at Xiao He, and he laid his remaining arm on his darkened lips, telling Xiao He to keep quiet.

Xiao He resisted the fear. But at that moment, she felt something crawling beside her. The body fluid dripped on the white cloth. The monster had returned, and it was reaching its head under Xiao He’s white cloth!

At that moment, one of the other ‘beds’ shook, and the white cloth fell. A kind-looking and well-dressed old lady was lying on the cold metallic table. The monster beside Xiao He was triggered. It charged at the old lady like crazy. It opened its stomach to bite the old lady and then crawled deep into the morgue.

“Auntie Zhang?”

The old lady also died three days ago. Before she passed away, Xiao He was her nurse.

“Did she do that to save me?”