Wang Lei was staying in the intensive care unit, while Lin Hao's ward was at the very end of the corridor.
Plainclothes officers, disguised as family members of patients, were guarding the entrance. The moment the elevator doors opened and they saw Chen Xi, they all stood up.
“Captain Chen.”
“Captain Chen.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Chen Xi nodded. Before she even reached the door, she heard the sound of things being smashed inside the ward, accompanied by a man's hysterical, ghostly shrieks.
“Get out! Everyone get out! Don't touch me!”
“It hurts! It hurts so much! Don't touch it!”
“Tear it off! Hurry up and tear it off my neck!”
Chen Xi frowned, pushed the door open, and walked straight in.
The ward was in complete disarray.
The bedside table had been overturned, and water cups, pills, and thermometers were shattered all over the floor.
Two nurses who had come to change his dressings stood in the corner, their faces pale, stealing glances at the thing around Lin Hao's neck.
Sure enough, wrapped around Lin Hao's neck was a purplish-blue "intestine" about the thickness of a baby's arm.
The "intestine" was slimy, its surface covered in a layer of transparent mucus. One end was fused to his neck, and it was even squirming slightly.
...
“Officer, please! Quick, save me! Get this damn thing off my neck, hurry!”
“Aren't you police supposed to protect innocent citizens? Save me!”
Seeing Chen Xi, Lin Hao struggled to sit up. Grabbing the intestine, he desperately thrust it toward her.
“Can't you see it?! This monster has been clinging to me, biting me the whole time!”
“Are you blind?! There's a dead kid—a ghost kid! It wrapped its umbilical cord around me!”
“There's a ghost! There's a ghost!”
An umbilical cord?
Everyone in the ward felt a sudden chill run down their spines.
Looking closely, that segment of "intestine" fused to his flesh did indeed look like an enlarged, thickened umbilical cord.
So, was he truly haunted by a ghost?
The more faint-hearted nurse had already begun shrinking behind Chen Xi.
...
“Lin Hao, calm down. I'm Chen Xi from the East District Criminal Investigation Bureau.”
Chen Xi walked to the bedside and said in a heavy voice, “The doctors will find a way to treat you. Struggling like this will only hurt you.”
“Calm down? How am I supposed to calm down! This thing has clearly latched onto me!”
Lin Hao shrieked hysterically, “Look at me! I'm neither human nor ghost like this!”
“How am I supposed to live my life now? It's all because of that ghost bus!”
“I know... it's all because of that damn Instance! I'm going to kill them! I'm going to kill them!”
He grew more and more agitated, reaching out to tear at the "umbilical cord."
“Don't touch it!”
Chen Xi grabbed his hand. The instant her fingers brushed against the "umbilical cord," Lin Hao let out a heart-wrenching shriek.
“Ahhh!!! It hurts! It hurts so much! Let go of me! Don't touch it! It's biting me!”
Lin Hao's face turned deathly pale instantly. Beads of cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and his entire body trembled violently.
Chen Xi quickly let go.
The "umbilical cord" squirmed slightly, secreting even more mucus onto its surface.
“You see that?”
The attending physician beside them sighed, explaining with a pale face:
“The moment anyone touches it, he experiences excruciating pain.”
“We've given him the maximum dosage of painkillers, but they don't work at all.”
“Furthermore, we have absolutely no idea what this thing is, and we don't dare disturb it. For now, we can only keep him under observation and see if there are any changes.”
Watching Lin Hao's agony and then looking at the bizarre "umbilical cord" around his neck, everyone felt a chill in their hearts.
What on earth was that Instance?
Turning people into paper effigies, mutating others into monsters.
Chen Xi suddenly recalled Wang Hao, who had died after having his yang energy sucked dry during the living corpse incident in Hongguang Community.
When he died, his body was shriveled and deathly pale. Medicine could not explain the cause of death; it was utterly bizarre.
Though their experiences differed, the essence was the same.
These people had all encountered supernatural events, and their bodies had been altered by some supernatural force.
Thinking back to the statements of Zhang Dong and Zheng Zhi, Chen Xi stepped out of the ward and whispered to Xiao Li:
“...Go and investigate the backgrounds of these victims. The more detailed, the better. I have a feeling there's a pattern to everything they've experienced.”
“Understood.”
Xiao Li didn't ask any questions and quickly jogged away.
...
Su Ya's ward was at the other end of the corridor, where it was relatively quiet.
Outside the door, two female plainclothes officers stood guard.
Seeing Chen Xi approach, they immediately stood at attention and saluted her.
Chen Xi nodded and walked inside.
Su Ya was sitting on the hospital bed, leaning against her pillows, holding a magazine to pass the time.
Her personal belongings had been temporarily confiscated and sent for disinfection, so she couldn't use her phone or contact her family.
Among the survivors, Su Ya was in the best condition, with no obvious external injuries.
Aside from being a bit pale, she showed little fear or panic.
“Hello, Su Ya.”
Chen Xi walked over to the bedside, pulled up a chair, and sat down. “How are you feeling? Do you have any discomfort?”
“I'm fine, just some minor cuts and bruises. But the doctor won't let me leave. I need to go home, or my family will worry.”
Su Ya pursed her lips.
“I'd like to ask you a bit more about what happened last night,” Chen Xi said, her tone incredibly gentle. “Don't be nervous. Just tell me whatever comes to mind.”
Su Ya clutched a corner of her blanket tightly with both hands and slowly nodded.
Her account was concise, glossing over many specific details.
Chen Xi listened quietly without interrupting, constantly comparing Su Ya's words with the statements of Zhang Dong and the others.
“I heard that completing the task yields rewards?” Chen Xi looked into her eyes and asked earnestly, “Is there anything else you might have left out?”
Su Ya's body stiffened slightly, and she hesitated.
She didn't know whether she should tell Chen Xi about player identities and classes.
It was simply too bizarre. If she spoke of it, would Chen Xi even believe her?
Would they treat her as a lunatic?
Would the government lock her up for research?
Countless thoughts flashed through her mind.
Su Ya looked up to see Chen Xi watching her calmly. There was no pressure in her eyes, only warmth.
Only then did she take a deep breath and make up her mind.
“There are rewards,” Su Ya whispered. “Each of us received rewards after completing the task.”
“I don't know about the others, but I got some.”
“A Route 404 Ticket, a bottle of Thousand-Mile Hunger-Free Pills, and a Bone-Grown Flower...”
“Where are these things now?” Chen Xi asked.
“They were put away in a tray at the nurse's station,” Su Ya answered honestly.
Chen Xi immediately ordered someone to bring Su Ya's personal effects.
...
Before long, a plainclothes officer entered carrying a white tray. On it lay Su Ya's phone, wallet, and keys, alongside three very strange items.
A yellowed, old bus ticket; a porcelain bottle of pills; and a red flower blooming upon a white bone.
Chen Xi's gaze fell upon the three objects. She tentatively reached out to touch them.
The moment she made contact, a line of ink-wash-style black text abruptly appeared before them.
【Item Name: Route 404 Ticket (The holder of this ticket can board the Route 404 Bus on the night of a full moon to enter the Taiping Cemetery Instance.)】
Chen Xi's pupils contracted sharply.
She whipped her head up, locking eyes with Su Ya, who looked just as astonished. “Did you see that?”
Su Ya nodded hesitantly, but the other officers in the room looked around in confusion.
“Captain Chen, see what?”
“There's nothing there. Are you just too tired?”
“You can't see it?”
Chen Xi took a light breath and picked up the next item.
Sure enough, another line of ink-wash text appeared before her and Su Ya.
【Item Name: Thousand-Mile Hunger-Free Pill. Once consumed, the user will feel neither hunger nor thirst for three days, remaining full of energy. (Note: Grants immunity to ordinary fatigue; cannot negate negative status effects.)】
Finally, she picked up the red Bone-Grown Flower without hesitation.
【Medicine Name: Bone-Grown Flower. Rich in life energy. Can be refined by an Alchemist into low-to-mid-tier medicine to treat internal and external injuries, as well as disperse yin energy. (Note: Born atop withered bones, it is a gift from the underworld.)】
Finally, three lines of golden ink-wash text, larger and more eye-catching than before, slowly materialized deep within her consciousness.
【Special Talent detected: Chen Xi】
【Talent Class: Constable (Inactive)】
【Class Description: Guardian of order, bane of evil. Possesses sharp insight and a powerful righteous aura, exerting a natural deterrence against spiritual entities. After participating in an Instance, the player's official status will be activated, granting class skills.】
【Class Skills (Locked): *******】
Chen Xi's entire body shuddered, and the Bone-Grown Flower in her hand nearly slipped to the floor.
A Constable?
Her worldview completely shattered from this moment on.
Physics, law, science, logic... everything she had known for the past thirty years was smashed to pieces by these words.
This world truly had ghosts and gods, truly had the supernatural, and there even existed things that transcended science.
Her class was Constable. Did that have to do with her real-life identity as a police officer?
“What is your class?”
Chen Xi whipped her head around to look at Su Ya. The latter's body stiffened, a look of shock washing over her face as she stammered:
“【Architect】... it's 【Architect】.”
Realizing something, Su Ya suddenly looked up at Chen Xi, her eyes wide.
“Officer Chen! You... you saw it too? Do you have a class as well?”
“It prompted me that I've become an official player. My class is Architect. Currently, I'm only level one and haven't unlocked any skills yet.”
“The text said that by participating in more Instances and completing tasks, I can gain experience points to level up and unlock skills.”
Players.
The system.
Mysterious text.
Classes.
The others in the ward listened in utter bewilderment, their faces filled with confusion and disbelief.
Chen Xi's mind raced, countless pieces of information colliding and integrating within her brain.
This was by no means an accidental supernatural event.
This was a "game" with rules, a system, and a class structure.
And those of them who had encountered these supernatural events were the "players" of this game.
Besides Architects and Constables, there were highly likely other classes as well.
What did this mean?
It meant there was a complete, clearly divided class system behind all this.
Was there someone pulling the strings behind the scenes?
Could everything that happened at Taiping Cemetery be just the beginning?
Just thinking about the possibility made Chen Xi shiver.
...
The ward fell into a dead silence.
Everyone remained quiet, their hearts filled with shock and confusion.
But everyone understood that after today, their previous worldview would face a monumental challenge.
The peaceful, tranquil world they were familiar with, where peace generally reigned despite localized conflicts, was quietly undergoing some unknown transformation.
“How terrifying.”
“It's too terrifying... What exactly is this system?”
Chen Xi muttered to herself, “Why did whatever is behind this create these Instances? Why make us players?”
No one answered.
They were all busy reconstructing their worldviews.
...
“Achoo!”
In her rented apartment, Song Mo, who was watching the playback, sneezed.
Rate on N.U.
