Returning

The old-fashioned landline on the desk rang frantically; miraculously, the phone didn't even have a cord.

In the empty, silent sanatorium, the ringing was incredibly piercing.

Yue Shi thought for a moment and, under the protection of his barrier, picked up the phone.

He didn't speak, and the receiver remained silent.

After five or six seconds, a low, raspy voice finally came through: "What's wrong with you?"

In an instant, an incredible light burst from Yue Shi's eyes. This unique voice, which sounded like a throat damaged by smoking, was one he would never forget!

—It was an assistant to Su Yuanhe, the head of that illegal laboratory!

Yue Shi took a deep breath, suppressed his surging emotions, and activated 【Raven's Secret Whispers】: "State your identity and your current location."

With this information, he could try to track them down step by step.

After he spoke, the person on the other end paused for a moment, then panted heavily. "A manipulation-type ability? Too bad it's useless against me."

Yue Shi's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately lied: "I am the director of Qingshan Sanatorium. Patient, do not be agitated. Please state your exact location immediately, and I will send someone to pick you up for treatment at once."

Beep, beep, beep—

The call was disconnected; only a dial tone remained in the receiver.

"Decisive, indeed." Yue Shi hung up with regret. This eerie old landline didn't even allow him to see the caller ID.

Just then, the cacophony in the hallway suddenly ceased.

The director had appeared and put an end to the riot with incredible speed.

Yue Shi immediately turned invisible and rushed out of the ward, fearing he might be trapped inside.

The director seemed to sense something and turned to look at Ward 404, but saw nothing.

Yue Shi instinctively held his breath.

The director was male, looking relatively young, around thirty years old. He was very sturdy, over 1.8 meters tall, and likely weighed more than 100 kilograms. He had a messy bird's nest of hair and patrolled every ward with a lifeless gaze.

The patients in the wards became as quiet as mice upon seeing him.

Yue Shi hugged the wall to bypass the director and quickly descended to the third floor via the stairs.

All the ward doors on the third floor were closed, and the same was true for the second and first floors. The doors that had been violently broken open had all returned to their tightly shut state.

Yue Shi successfully reached the exit of the sanatorium building without encountering the so-called "Clown."

By now, the sky was completely dark. A dim moon and stars hung in the sky, and the wind was picking up. Yue Shi felt the keys in his bag and quickly pushed the battered, modified motorcycle from the parking area, leaving the sanatorium.

Just as he crossed the gate, the director's roar erupted from behind: "Where are the keys? Damn it! Camera, did you see where the keys went?"

"What?! Someone took them outside!"

The director's gaze burned as he looked out. In that moment, the entire sanatorium seemed to come alive; every window became one of "its" eyes, filled with coldness and madness.

【Demon Feather Barrier】 began depleting at an incredible rate. Without a word, Yue Shi hopped on the motorcycle and fled.

The director could only see an unmanned motorcycle roaring away into the distance.

Yue Shi's forehead was slick with sweat. He only turned on the headlight to illuminate the road ahead after he was far away from the sanatorium.

The sky was dark and the road conditions were poor. Since it was his first time there, he was already starting to lose his way.

Fortunately, he had come prepared. Before entering the sanatorium, he had released a Shadow Soldier raven to track the biker gang he had encountered on the way in.

Sensing the raven's position, he soon returned to a certain unspeakable street.

Night in the Chaos Zone was quiet; no one wandered outside without reason. The sound of the motorcycle echoed continuously, sounding somewhat eerie.

Yue Shi stopped at an intersection and pushed the bike to the front of a row of single-story houses.

Some people were playing cards in their rooms, some were sleeping next door, and others were engaged in exercise.

Yue Shi pushed open a door without any pretense of gentleness. Before the few people engaged in some 'close-range' exercise could scream, he pressed a finger to his lips: "Shut up!"

His manipulative voice instantly invaded their minds. Yue Shi continued, "Is there gasoline, alcohol, or any other flammable or explosive materials here?"

The people nodded hurriedly.

Yue Shi: "Find it all."

The commanded group didn't even have time to dress; they immediately went to haul oil drums.

The commotion in the room disturbed the neighbors. When one of their associates came out to check, Yue Shi killed him cleanly and efficiently.

"Pour the gasoline on and set it on fire." Yue Shi pointed at the nearby illegal structures.

Given the density of buildings in the Chaos Zone and the lack of fire safety, a man-made fire would be incredibly difficult to extinguish.

The Su family had likely already received word that an experimental subject had been to Qingshan Sanatorium. In Yue Shi's position as a lone wolf, it was easiest to strike from the shadows, so he had to do his best to erase any trace of his presence.

Although he had already disguised himself, setting a fire wasn't a difficult task; it was just a small extra effort.

Flames began to rage, and the wind fanned the fire, causing it to spread with incredible speed.

At first, Yue Shi remained invisible and stood guard for a while, killing everyone who came to put out the fire.

Only when the fire was out of control and beyond saving did Yue Shi mount his motorcycle and speed away.

The shrill, tragic wails and cries for help were practically the most pleasant music in the world.

Yue Shi returned in high spirits. He abandoned the bike as he neared Amber City and walked the rest of the way.

He had kept his invisibility and barrier active the whole time, leaving him physically and mentally exhausted. Yet, he didn't dare relax for a moment. He bypassed the numerous checkpoints entering the city and didn't return to his small, dilapidated rental room until the middle of the night.

He didn't even have time to eat or wash up. He summoned two ravens to guard the room and fell asleep the second he hit the bed.

The two Shadow Soldier ravens had no real combat power; their purpose was to wake Yue Shi in the most brutal way possible if someone broke into the room.

In his dreams, Yue Shi's consciousness seemed to become weightless, rising higher and higher.

Above him was a lightless moon. Dimly, he could see a massive, eerie, and sinister palace standing upon it. An inexplicable sense of belonging made him feel incredibly at peace.

He slept until noon the next day.

Yue Shi woke up famished.

As if he’d been hit with a pig’s appetite, he first polished off all the bread in his bag, then devoured all the snacks and fruit in the house, and finally cooked a pot of instant noodles.

After filling his stomach, he finally had the mind to attend to business.

He carefully placed the ring of keys he had brought back from Qingshan Sanatorium into a biscuit tin, then left the tin on the balcony of the vacant room next door.

The ill-fated neighbor's place had encountered a new trouble.

Then Yue Shi picked up his phone and took a look. Man, a whole string of unread messages.