Global Collapse

There were countless corpses scattered around the perimeter of the hospital.

Gu Mian took a quick glance and noticed that some corpses were so decayed that only a layer of skin and clothing remained. On top of them, there were relatively fresher bodies.

The closer the corpses were to the hospital, the more decomposed they were. Gu Mian also noticed several bodies clad in biochemical suits among them, which appeared to have died recently. Their equipment was intact but generally already scrapped.

"It seems that quite a few biochemical squads are involved in this game," Gu Mian said, removing a long gun from a corpse.

He found that the gun was already broken.

There wasn't enough time to thoroughly inspect these bodies. The sound of approaching vehicles grew louder, seemingly heading directly for the hospital.

Gu Mian quickly bypassed the corpses and walked towards the main entrance of the hospital.

He was sure that what happened in the restricted area years ago must be related to the hospital, but it seemed the hospital wasn't easy to get into now.

The main gate was highly intelligent—two glass doors locked tightly once closed, and beside them was a card reader like one in a cafeteria. No one could get in without a card.

"God damn it..." Gu Mian fiddled with the intelligent door. "The whole city is experiencing a power outage, yet this password door is still operational?"

As he spoke, he peered into the hospital through the transparent glass door. Inside, it was pitch-dark; it seemed only this door still had power.

"It's ridiculous! Places that should have lost power haven't, and places that shouldn't have, did!" Gu Mian grumbled, grabbing a chair leg and preparing to smash the door.

But Chu Changge stopped him. "I've seen monsters in white coats on the streets. They must have come from this hospital."

When Chu Changge mentioned "monsters in white coats," Gu Mian subconsciously thought of himself.

But he quickly reacted. "Those Doctors should be able to freely access this place." Which meant they had to have keycards.

As Gu Mian mused, he reached into his pocket. He still had the staff card belonging to Frandy, the deputy director of the Respiratory Department.

He took out the staff card and swiped it on the reader. As expected, the card reader emitted a BEEP, and the door opened.

"I'm in luck," Gu Mian said, stepping into the hospital.

However, just as he finished speaking, the glass door behind him slammed shut with a BANG. Then, the two of them, now inside the hospital, heard a small explosion.

Looking back, they saw that the card reader was smoking.

It had exploded and was no longer usable—a fact clear to anyone with eyes.

So this is a door specifically designed for me to enter but not exit? Gu Mian felt like his head was about to explode.

Chu Changge was observing their surroundings with a flashlight. "You should be used to unexpected things like this by now."

"I'm just angry." Gu Mian looked around.

The hospital's power supply had been cut long ago, and since it was night, the interior was pitch-black.

Chu Changge handed Gu Mian a flashlight, and Gu Mian shone it to the side.

Just inside the entrance was a large lobby.

In the middle of the lobby was a long counter with a computer. Next to the computer was a pile of files. A standing sign on the table read: "On duty today: Emily."

Several large windows, likely for registration or payment, were set into the walls around the lobby.

Several elevators were lined up against one wall, but with no power, they were useless. Beside the elevators was a stairwell, clearly for use during power outages.

Gu Mian also noticed an electrical box on one of the walls.

"I'll go check the electrical box," Chu Changge said, aiming his flashlight.

He clearly intended to try flipping the circuit breakers to see if power could be restored to the hospital. That would make things much more convenient.

Gu Mian nodded and looked towards the counter in the first-floor lobby.

The stack of documents on the counter appeared to be medical records, likely containing patient information.

Gu Mian walked over. He really wanted to find the name 'Jin Hu' among these files, but there were far too many; it would probably take days to go through them all.

If only there was electricity, Gu Mian thought. The computer probably contains the hospital's database, allowing a direct search for Jin Hu's name.

Chu Changge was staring at the electrical box with a frown.

He couldn't quite make sense of the electrical box's configuration; after all, he wasn't an expert in this area. If Fatty were here, he'd probably understand it…

Gu Mian, of course, wouldn't dream of touching the circuit breakers. With his luck, he'd probably be electrocuted the instant he made contact.

While Chu Changge was still pondering, the electrical box in front of him suddenly emitted a CLICK, like a circuit breaker tripping.

With this sound, the overhead lights flickered a few times and then blazed to life.

Gu Mian put away his flashlight and looked at Chu Changge. "Did you do that?"

Chu Changge shook his head, his expression grim. "No."

Gu Mian didn't care why the hospital had suddenly decided to be cooperative; he immediately reached out and switched on the computer.

The computer's mainframe emitted a HUMMING sound. It seemed ancient and had clearly not been powered on in a very long time, so it started up incredibly slowly. But it did, eventually, power on.

Gu Mian stood expectantly before the computer screen as it slowly began to glow. However, just as it was half-illuminated, the HUMMING from the mainframe abruptly stopped, and the screen, which had taken so much effort to light up, went dark again.

Along with it, all the lights in the hospital went out.

For an instant, as all the lights extinguished, Gu Mian even wondered if he'd suddenly gone blind.

"What's happening?" He looked toward Chu Changge.

At that moment, Chu Changge was about to turn on his flashlight. Bathed in the faint moonlight filtering in, Gu Mian saw a strange, twisted white figure not far behind him.

It was moving silently, gradually getting closer to Chu Changge's back.

Gu Mian opened his mouth, about to shout a warning, when the overhead lights suddenly flared back on. The white figure vanished as if it were just a figment of Gu Mian's imagination.

"What's wrong?" Chu Changge asked, looking over with his flashlight now on.

The twisted spirits have always been here.

People's vision is obscured by the light, allowing these spirits to lurk in the darkness, gradually approaching their unsuspecting prey.

But once the lights go out, people realize these monsters are already right in front of them.

Turn off the lights, and you'll see them.

Just turn off the lights...

Before Gu Mian could reply, the overhead lights flickered again. The darkness lasted only an instant, but he saw everything clearly.

The white figure behind Chu Changge was even closer now.

And it wasn't just one; it was a group of Doctors with grotesque death-like appearances, moving with eerie motions, inching closer to Chu Changge.

Gu Mian didn't need to look back to know there were similar things behind him too. When the lights flickered back on for that instant, Chu Changge's expression had turned strangely horrified, as if he'd seen something too.

"Don't just stand there frozen!" Gu Mian yelled, yanking Chu Changge towards the stairs. "Run!"

He knew entering this hospital meant trouble, and sure enough, trouble had found them the moment they stepped inside.

The lights above them flickered back on.

The eerie figures vanished from sight once more, but Gu Mian knew they hadn't truly gone; they were merely invisible again.

Chu Changge, not being foolish, immediately turned and ran up the stairs after Gu Mian.

He ran, but his mouth wasn't idle. "Have you noticed something?"

"Yeah," Gu Mian panted, still scrambling upwards. "They're all pale and ugly. Nothing special about them."

"No," Chu Changge refuted seriously. "I mean those things following us. Each one was wearing a staff badge, just like the one you used to swipe the card reader."

As expected of someone with outstanding Spiritual Value, Gu Mian thought. To notice what they were wearing even in a situation like that!

Gu Mian fumbled for the staff badge in his white coat. "Are you saying I can blend in with them if I pin this on?"

He quickly pinned Frandy's badge onto his own white coat.

But Chu Changge shook his head. "No, I mean we might be able to determine their identities from their badges."

The lights overhead continued to flicker on and off. Gu Mian didn't dare look back, listening intently to Chu Changge.

"From the clues we have, the miners and the Upper Class People had a violent conflict, which led to this place becoming a restricted zone. That conflict was connected to the hospital. Factory Manager Xiao En seemed to know some inside details, and I also found a medical examination report deep in the mine."

"We can speculate…"

Gu Mian cut in, yelling, "No need to analyze it! I think we're on the same page. It's just that the miners found out they'd been tricked…"

"Xiao En regularly sent the miners to the hospital for physicals. Each time, all their health indicators were normal. However, gradually, they realized their bodies were becoming increasingly unwell, yet every check-up still showed nothing wrong."

"There must have been some harmful substance in the coal mine, like toxic gas. Factory Manager Xiao En, for his own profit, colluded with the hospital to hide this. That's why the miners' medical reports always showed them as healthy after every physical."

"Later, as the miners' health deteriorated further, the truth was finally uncovered. The furious miners kidnapped Factory Manager Xiao En. I guess they must have also stormed the hospital and even killed some Doctors. Those things following us are probably the Doctors who died back then."

Chu Changge looked at Gu Mian. "When did you figure it out?"

Gu Mian replied instantly, "I figured out half of it when I saw the city's travel brochure. A coal mine, a hospital, regular check-ups—connect the dots, isn't it obvious? Don't forget what I do for a living. This kind of thing, I..."

Noticing Chu Changge's increasingly strange expression, Gu Mian quickly backpedaled. "Of course, we've never done anything like that. But I've heard that such hospitals exist in those wicked capitalist societies."

Chu Changge didn't press the issue. He continued, "What we need to figure out now is who Factory Manager Xiao En made the deal with—the entire hospital, or just the Doctors in a specific department."

"I'm not sure how many people Xiao En made agreements with, but if he made a deal with a specific department, it would probably be the pulmonology department," Gu Mian replied, glancing at the badge on his chest.

Chu Changge nodded slightly. "Let's go to the Pulmonology Department then. We might find clues about Jin Hu there."

But who the hell knows what floor the Pulmonology Department is on in this hospital!

As Gu Mian was thinking this, he glanced back over his shoulder. Just then, the overhead lights flickered again. In that brief moment of darkness, he saw those eerie figures scrambling up the stairs after them like frantic spiders.