Cold, damp.
Bai Wu, with a splitting headache, opened his eyes.
"This... is a hospital?"
What greeted him was the dim light of the hospital's distinctive white fluorescent lamps. Strangely, the entire ward was empty except for him.
As Bai Wu pulled the covers aside, his entire face stiffened.
"I... didn't lose my... waist, right?"
Bai Wu shivered, a mix of fear and anger.
It was only then that he remembered what had happened before he lost consciousness.
Simply put, he had hit "great luck," the kind of "great luck" that comes from a very powerful truck.
But surely, he couldn't have collided with such a truck and ended up in a hospital, where they performed some sort of... waist-removal surgery on him, right?
Boom!
A thunderclap shook the air, and a flash of lightning illuminated the room and Bai Wu's pale face, as well as the deep scars on his hands.
He tossed the file aside and tried to get out of bed. A sharp, piercing pain shot through his waist.
"The first dawn of Dongxi! Even if I'm a mental patient, they can't just remove my waist, can they?"
Bai Wu twisted his face in pain, cold sweat streaming down, cursing in his mind.
After a while, the pain slightly subsided. Bai Wu clenched his teeth and limped to the window, intending to take a look outside.
He wanted to know if this was still the city he knew.
Boom!
The thunder roared again. With the flash of lightning, Bai Wu saw the outside world.
His pupils contracted, and fear spread from the depths of his heart.
"Is... is this still Blue Star?"
Bai Wu muttered to himself as he looked out at the vast, oppressive black fog that seemed to conceal everything.
"Leave this place."
Suddenly, a voice echoed in his mind.
"Who! Who's speaking?"
Bai Wu immediately turned his head, scanning every corner of the room.
"Leave this place."
The voice repeated, urging Bai Wu to act.
Bai Wu took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.
At this point, even though the voice sounded incredibly strange, he had no choice but to listen. Staying in the ward was not an option.
As he decided to leave, he realized that the pain in his waist seemed to have faded away.
He pushed open the ward door.
The white fluorescent lamps in the hallway flickered erratically, as if malfunctioning.
The darkness devoured both ends of the hallway, creating an eerie sense of unease.
"Human epidemic is a great danger; early detection and treatment are essential."
Bai Wu stared at the strange warning poster on the wall, feeling uneasy.
"Go left."
The voice appeared again.
Bai Wu followed the instructions, stepping toward the left.
As he passed the bathroom, a sudden noise echoed—a faint "thud."
He turned his head and saw that the bathroom door had opened slightly, revealing the swallowing darkness within.
"Crazy... this is obviously a problem. Only an idiot would go in."
Bai Wu muttered under his breath, instinctively moving away from the bathroom.
Anyone who's been in places where death often visits knows—don't go near the creepy spots.
Suddenly, a dripping sound rang out, as though it was echoing in his mind.
The next second, Bai Wu was plunged into darkness, a powerful force pulling him into the bathroom.
Then, with a loud "slam," the bathroom door shut with a heavy thud.
Drip, drip...
The unmistakable sound of water dripping echoed, distant yet close, like a heartbeat.
A cold breath brushed against Bai Wu's neck, sending goosebumps across his body.
When the darkness finally faded, guided by an unknown faint light, Bai Wu found himself standing in front of a filthy mirror.
With the dim light and the reflection in the mirror, he finally saw his appearance clearly.
His face was pale, his cheeks sunken, and his eyes lifeless, as if suffering from severe kidney deficiency.
"Three parts human, seven parts ghost."
Bai Wu evaluated himself in this way.
"Objective: Bai Wu (18 years old, source of plague?).Affiliation: Island Mountain High School, senior.Note: Here, you are the final intention of the other side, the only source of the plague."
Bai Wu had no time to consider whether he was being insulted when a sudden chill began to spread from his legs.
It felt as if something cold was caressing the part of his body outside the blanket—sharp, cold, and yet he couldn't move.
"Heh~"
Once again, a cold breeze swept over the back of his head.
Bai Wu's eyes widened, and through the mirror, he saw a translucent shadow.
"Objective: NightmareAffiliation: Low-level janitor.Duty: Cleanse the Yang Qi waste.Note: The most diligent worker in the hospital. Blow a little to refresh, and then blow the underworld report. It blows you, and you blow it too."
With each gust of cold air brushing against Bai Wu, he felt his body temperature plummet, as if he were about to freeze.
Both his mind and body were numb.
With a few more breaths of cold, Bai Wu thought he might just give up his life right there.
The Nightmare floated toward Bai Wu, its shadowy figure moving in front of him.
Suddenly, Bai Wu remembered the bizarre little text description. Instinctively, he opened his mouth and blew.
The Nightmare instantly vanished from sight.
Bai Wu felt a brief warmth in the cold bathroom, his heart filled with relief as if he had just regained his life.
He was also relieved by the strange subtitle that had appeared before him. If not for that, he would have already died.
This should have been his golden finger, but why was there only an informational prompt? Could there be more? Someone save him, Deep Blue!
At this moment, Bai Wu noticed a small white doll with stitched eyes on the washbasin.
There seemed to be a mysterious connection between it and him.
"Objective: Yangmian.Affiliation: Bai Wu's subordinate.Duty: Cleaning.Note: A little unfortunate soul transformed by the Yang Qi."
Bai Wu's pale face twitched.
"Do you mean my breath?"
Bai Wu silently cursed in his mind, then exhaled into his hand and sniffed.
He found it had no scent, which finally made him feel better. The subtitles were pure nonsense.
Bai Wu then tried using his mind to issue a command to the doll.
The doll immediately aimed for Bai Wu's mouth and crawled in. In that instant, Bai Wu felt his mind become much clearer.
He even felt something around his waist shrink slightly.
Afterward, Bai Wu washed his face to clear his mind and walked out of the bathroom.
The hallway was scattered with various medical instruments, as if the people here had been in a rush and didn't have time to take everything with them.
Soon, Bai Wu reached the end of the corridor.
The nurse's station appeared in front of him.
"This is?"
On the nurse's station desk was a bell covered in copper rust.
"Objective: Nurse's station bell.Function: Ring the bell three times to summon the bloody nurse.Note: The bloody nurse is ruthless with severe patients, so I hope you're not sick, but if you are, take more medicine."
"Get the medicine."
Suddenly, the strange voice appeared again.
Bai Wu saw a lonely bottle of medicine on the desk.
As his hand touched it, he felt a smooth, skin-like texture.
Then, a line of text appeared on the bottle.
"Objective: Ordinary painkiller.Function: Can help treat infections, relieve pain.Note: Overeating is bad for the body."
"Treating infection?"
Bai Wu's thoughts raced. This weird ghostly voice reminded him to take this medicine.
Since waking up, everything around him had been strange.
Suddenly, there was a loud explosion. The fluorescent light on the ceiling burst, and pieces scattered across the room.
The darkness swallowed the remaining light.
A sharp pain shot through Bai Wu's waist, causing him to bend over and struggle to rise.
He even felt something moving under his skin, trying to break free.
This pain only intensified, feeling as though it would never end.
Bai Wu's face twisted in agony as he stared at the medicine bottle in his hand, finally twisting off the cap.
He poured out a brown, oval-shaped capsule and swallowed it.
In an instant, the pain disappeared without a trace.
"This effect is too exaggerated."
Bai Wu believed this was no ordinary medicine. Based on his knowledge, there was no such thing as a medicine that worked so quickly.
Just as he was about to turn around, he caught a glimpse of a document hidden in the shadow on the desk.
"404 Bed Care Record.Patient: Bai Wu.Daily medication dosage: One painkiller each in the morning, afternoon, and evening.Infection severity: Moderate to heavy.Current treatment progress: Waiting for the infection to subside before surgery to remove harmful tissue."