Translator: CinderTL
Upon reaching the 6th floor, everyone came to a halt.
Just from the stairwell, a glance down the corridor gave off an oppressive feeling, as if everything around was shrouded in a gloomy hue.
It seemed like no one had been on this floor for a long time.
After passing several rooms in a row, all of them were tightly shut.
Not the normal locking after work hours, but locked from the outside with iron chains, wrapped multiple times around the door handles.
Judging from the rust on the locks, they hadn't been opened for at least several years.
Perhaps sensing the harshness of the environment, the guiding nurse explained that they didn't reside here, but in another corridor adjacent to it.
Because they came up the stairs, they had to pass through here.
If they had taken the elevator, they wouldn't have.
She then added that this side had been abandoned before she started working at this hospital, with only a few rooms near the side where their wards were occasionally in use.
Not long after, Jiang Cheng saw the rooms the nurse had mentioned.
The rooms weren't locked, the doors slightly ajar, revealing a gap as wide as half a fist.
Through the gap, he could see inside were old equipment and miscellaneous items, nothing particularly noteworthy. With the nurse present, it wasn't convenient for him to go in and check.
After walking a few more steps and turning a corner, they arrived at a hall, not very large, with a row of connected plastic chairs along the wall.
On the wall directly opposite was a huge frame made of aluminum alloy.
Covered with a layer of glass.
The glass was very dirty, but one could vaguely see old newspapers and the like pasted inside, probably used in the past to commend medical staff who had made contributions.
Displaying their photos, or deeds, reports, and such.
Similar to an honor roll.
Connected to the hall was another corridor.
The environment here was much better.
The floor was very clean, as if it had been cleaned not long ago.
Stopping in front of the ward with the number 604, the nurse took out a key and opened the door.
As night gradually fell, the room was very dark. The nurse didn't immediately enter but reached her hand inside to turn on the light.
The room was quite spacious, with a total of 5 hospital beds. It was evident that there should have been 6 originally, arranged in three pairs side by side.
But where the last bed should have been, there was a large wardrobe placed, with some daily necessities like a thermos beside it.
On the windowsill were several red clay flower pots, but they were empty, without any plants.
This was the room for Jiang Cheng and the other three.
Originally, the remaining few didn't need to come up, as their rooms were on the 2nd floor, but Huai Yi insisted on coming up to take a look.
After all, with experience, he was the backbone of the group.
While the nurse was introducing the facilities in the room to them, Huai Yi lowered his voice to remind Jiang Cheng and the others to be very careful after nightfall.
Try not to go out, but if they must, then go in pairs.
Someone should also stay behind to guard the room.
In short, don't be alone, and beware of being ambushed.
Upon hearing this, Du Feng swallowed nervously and whispered, "What if we accidentally end up alone? What would happen?"
Huai Yi shook his head, leaned close to his ear, and whispered, "Not sure, after all, the dead can't speak."
Du Feng's expression was as if he had swallowed a fly.
As the sky outside grew darker, the nurse's voice became more urgent. "That's the basic situation," she said, looking at Jiang Cheng and the others. "If there are no issues, the patient and accompanying family members can stay, and the rest can follow me."
"Let's hurry," she added.
"Wait," Jiang Cheng asked, "If something happens tonight, where can we find you?"
A strange emotion flickered across the nurse's face, but she maintained her composure and replied, "Our nurse station is on the 4th floor."
Jiang Cheng looked at the nurse with a sincere expression. "Sister, are you on duty tonight?"
"No."
Seemingly eager to avoid further delay, the nurse quickly said, "Try not to wander around at night. Some areas in this building have aging facilities, and the lights aren't reliable."
With that, she led the remaining people away, leaving no opportunity for Jiang Cheng to ask more questions.
Watching the nurse's retreating figure, Jiang Cheng slowly narrowed his eyes. She had resisted the urge to chat and was in a hurry to leave.
It was clear that this hospital was quite eerie at night.
Only Jiang Cheng, Lin Wan'er, Du Feng, and Weiwei remained in the room.
Fortunately, they were somewhat acquainted, so the atmosphere wasn't too tense.
After closing the door, Du Feng helped Jiang Cheng move a bed to block it.
There were four beds left, just enough for each of them.
Jiang Cheng had no intention of venturing out to explore tonight. With so little information, going out could easily lead to trouble.
It was better to wait until tomorrow to wander around the hospital.
If he was lucky, he might catch a couple of nurses and extract some information.
After some thought, the corridor they had just passed gave Jiang Cheng a strange feeling. The nearby rooms didn't seem to be of any importance.
Logically, locking the door with its built-in lock should have been enough; there was no need to add an extra lock.
Who were they trying to keep out?
Or what? And what about this ward?
Jiang Cheng walked around the room and noticed several oddities. He picked up the thermos and shook it; it was full of water.
Removing the stopper, steam rose.
Opening the wardrobe, a faint fragrance wafted out. Besides a few wooden hangers, there were several boxes of mothballs, and a few rolls of toilet paper were piled in the corner.
To Jiang Cheng's surprise, there were also instant noodles and a stack of aluminum lunch boxes for them.
Du Feng walked over and sighed, reminiscing that he hadn't seen such things since his grandmother passed away, nearly 20 years ago.
Jiang Cheng ignored him.
Leaning closer to the open wardrobe, Jiang Cheng bent down and sniffed lightly. A faint, musty odor of unknown origin filled his nostrils.
It was clear that this ward hadn't always been as it appeared now; it had been hastily prepared.
It was probably similar to the locked rooms they had passed earlier.
They had been abandoned for many years.
To mask the musty smell from the wardrobe, they had sprayed a strong air freshener and added a large number of mothballs.
It was all to cover up the odor.
This seemingly considerate gesture was not a good sign for Jiang Cheng.
He turned to look at the door. Each ward door had a glass observation window.
The window in their room had been covered with a Lifeline Note.
Walking over to the window, Jiang Cheng touched the curled edge of the Lifeline Note with his hand.
The paper wasn't very thick, and its texture was quite brittle.
It seemed to have been pasted up just recently.
(End of the Chapter)
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