The group soon reached their destination. Under Cheng Shuili’s calm gaze, Lang Yu knocked on the door with trembling hands, and a low voice from inside called for them to enter.
Pushing the door open, the first thing Cheng Shuili saw was a desk piled high with documents, and...
A sturdy, massive brown bear beastman.
The robust bear beastman had squeezed his frame into a white lab coat, looking quite incongruous. He also wore rimless flat glasses, which added a touch of absurdity to his already strange attire.
As Cheng Shuili sized him up, he was doing the same to her.
Hmm... the familiar Doctor Lang Yu, and two humans.
No patients.
Xiong Ji reached this conclusion easily, but immediately, another problem occurred to him.
So... why were they looking for him?
He grew wary, taking the initiative to stand up and move to a sofa on the side. "Have a seat," he said.
Cheng Shuili nodded and sat down on the opposite sofa first.
Only then did Xiong Ji realize that of these three, the human woman was the leader.
He was somewhat surprised, but felt more confused, along with a trace of helplessness at the incompetence of his own doctor.
Cheng Shuili cleared her throat and stated their purpose directly: "Director Xiong, I would like to purchase the gold vial in your safe."
Cheng Shuili was certain that this item was the hospital's treasure. Since every establishment here was profit-driven, the hospital was naturally no exception.
Since they were all out here to make money, she might as well just ask for a price.
It wasn't that Cheng Shuili was stubborn about using money; it was just that the plan Lang Yu had suggested was simply impossible to execute!
That thing was in a safe...
Cheng Shuili was a programmer, not a master thief. She didn't know how to pick locks, let alone crack a safe like that.
She sighed silently.
Xiong Ji's ears suddenly perked up. The moment he heard those words, his gaze toward Cheng Shuili brightened.
Cheng Shuili had an intuitive sense that something was wrong. Given that it was something locked in a safe, why would he have that kind of reaction?
A flash of insight crossed her mind. She suddenly realized that it wasn't necessarily because the item was valuable that it was locked away; another possibility was that... the item was a nuisance.
Keeping it anywhere other than a safe would cause trouble.
And she had actually forgotten that possibility!
It was all Lang Yu's fault for going on about legends and myths, leading her to assume it must be something good!
She had been influenced by that idiot...
Cheng Shuili lamented internally. Watching Xiong Ji open his mouth to speak, she quickly interrupted: "No, Director, I actually wanted to ask you: what exactly is this gold vial?"
Xiong Ji paused, his open mouth snapping shut.
He gave Cheng Shuili a resentful look, ignored the question entirely, and said: "I just heard you say you wanted to buy it. It's very cheap, you can take it for just 10 game coins!"
That made it even more suspicious.
Cheng Shuili denied it flatly: "You misheard."
"But you just said..."
Xiong Ji was unwilling to give up.
Cheng Shuili turned directly to Su Rui and Lang Yu: "Did I say that?"
The human and the beast were not entirely clear why Cheng Shuili had suddenly decided not to buy it, but that certainly did not stop them from shaking their heads.
Xiong Ji's bear face turned beet red instantly. His thick paw slammed onto the desk with a "bang," sending documents scattering across the floor.
"Lang Yu!" he roared, his voice filled with the pain of betrayal. "You ungrateful wretch, have I not treated you well all these years? And you actually side with this ordinary—"
He cut himself off mid-sentence. Xiong Ji's nose twitched violently, as if he had suddenly smelled something.
He whipped his head toward Cheng Shuili, his eyes widening behind his glasses: "Wait... on your body..."
Cheng Shuili subconsciously straightened up, while Xiong Ji suddenly recoiled as if electrocuted. His heavy body crashed into a bookshelf, knocking down several thick medical tomes.
"The... the aura of the King..." His voice turned hoarse, and his thick bear legs began to tremble uncontrollably. "You, you are... of the human race...?"
Oh... Cheng Shuili wondered what was wrong.
So he had finally sensed the majesty of the 【King】.
Lang Yu whispered a reminder: "She is our Wolf King."
Still a Wolf King?
Xiong Ji opened his eyes wide, suddenly understanding why Lang Yu had betrayed him.
So that was it.
The human before him... was actually the king of two races.
He was stunned for a moment, and then, as if seeing hope, Xiong Ji’s bear paws clapped together with a "clap." His eyes behind his glasses burst with astonishing brilliance.
"The king of two races?" He was so excited his voice went out of tune. His heavy body plopped onto his knees, making the floor vibrate. "A dragon among humans! You are the one the prophet spoke of, the dragon among humans who can lift the curse!!"
Cheng Shuili frowned slightly, leaning back subconsciously.
This reaction was even more exaggerated than she had imagined.
And... this curse?
Cheng Shuili sensed something ominous, but Xiong Ji had already crawled over on all fours. His furry bear paws trembled, wanting to grab the hem of Cheng Shuili’s clothes, but he restrained himself at the last moment. "My lord! I beg you to save our hospital!"
What is this!
A bear should act like a bear!
"What curse?" Su Rui stood protectively in front of Cheng Shuili. "Explain yourself clearly."
Xiong Ji’s ears drooped, and his voice dropped low: "That gold vial... is actually a cursed object."
He swallowed hard. "Thirty years ago, a mysterious merchant sold it to the previous director, claiming it contained the Fountain of Eternal Life that could cure all diseases..."
His bear claws scratched the carpet unconsciously: "Ever since then, strange things started happening in the hospital. The vial would change locations on its own, it would cry in the middle of the night, and everyone who tried to throw it away would meet with misfortune..."
Lang Yu gasped: "Is that why the Director locked it in the safe?"
"Not just that." Xiong Ji smiled bitterly and took off his glasses. "It also drains the vitality of the hospital. Over the years, our cure rate has plummeted, specialty medicines have failed, and even basic wound suturing has started to go wrong..."
As he spoke, he suddenly threw himself at Cheng Shuili’s feet, his forehead pressed against the floor: "To solve this, I even went to find the all-knowing prophet! I searched for a long time, begging in many places, before I finally found him at a gas station! He said to wait for a dragon among humans, that only someone with the aura of a king could save this hospital! Isn't that you?! I beg you... please save this hospital!"
Cheng Shuili looked down at the trembling Xiong Ji, her fingertips absentmindedly tracing the sofa fabric. No wonder he had been so eager to get rid of the vial just now...
As for this prophet...
It must be the merchant NPC from the gas station, right?
Cheng Shuili was even more curious now, hoping that one of the four remaining batteries would lead her to that gas station.
"Let me see the vial first," Cheng Shuili finally said.
Xiong Ji, as if granted a reprieve, scrambled toward the safe.
He was so nervous while unlocking it that he entered the wrong password three times, and finally just smashed the keypad with one bear paw.
Cheng Shuili twitched the corner of her mouth. If she had known it was that easy to break into, she would have listened to Lang Yu and come to steal it.
But it was a good thing she hadn't come to steal it. She had guessed that Lang Yu was unreliable, but she hadn't realized he was this unreliable! He had completely gotten the legend backward.
There was only one gold vial in the entire safe.
Xiong Ji reached out and took it out.
Once the gold vial was removed, Cheng Shuili felt a distinct chill.
The patterns on the bottle twisted and writhed, as if they were alive.
After a moment of thought, Cheng Shuili reached out and took it.
【Vial of Eternal Life at Both Ends】
【Description: Its surface flows with a sacred golden radiance, and the bottle is engraved with ancient healing prayers, yet twisted dark patterns emerge vaguely when light and shadow interweave. This item has two states. First, the positive effect, also known as the activated state, where the "Fountain of Life" surges within; it can cure all physical trauma, one drop can extend the life of someone on the brink of death, and topical application heals wounds instantly without leaving scars. Second, the curse effect, which continuously absorbs the life energy of nearby living beings while reducing the success rate of treatments; it cannot be discarded.】
【Current State: Curse Effect.】
【Current Effect Details: Continuously active.】
【Modify State: Unlocked (This item is a special item of the Town Central Hospital; please go to the Town Central Hospital to search for clues)】
Unlocked?
It's still in the curse state? Absorbing life?
Cheng Shuili raised an eyebrow and opened her panel to check. Her health value had already dropped to 80.
For Cheng Shuili, this was the lowest her health value could go, so it wouldn't drop any further.
As for Su Rui... she was a servant and clearly didn't have a health value. Servants didn't get sick; aside from physical trauma, they couldn't die.
In other words, this negative effect had no impact on Cheng Shuili or Su Rui.
Whether it had an impact wasn't the main problem; the key was how to modify the state of this thing.
Cheng Shuili narrowed her eyes, her fingers gently stroking the patterns on the bottle. Since the prompt said to search for clues in the hospital, then... there must be some special place in the hospital, right?
She raised an eyebrow slightly and asked this question.
Xiong Ji was still shocked that this human was so bold as to hold it without letting go!
He hadn't just shown it to this human! All the previous beastmen—even when the Rat King came—would only take a hurried glance before putting it down and having him lock it back up.
Could it be that the curse was finally going to be broken?
Would the hospital’s performance finally improve?!!
The director was very excited. He realized belatedly that the human seemed to have asked something. He paused and asked: "What did you just say?"
Cheng Shuili: "......"
Su Rui repeated her boss's question. After the two beasts heard it, they both fell into deep thought.
If one were to speak of a special place...
The two beasts looked at each other and couldn't help but shudder.
Cheng Shuili saw this and understood immediately. Right, it was definitely a dangerous place again.
Sure enough...
"That would be the morgue on the first basement level!"
Rate on N.U.
