“What’s going on? Did the power go out?” Ni Shanshan asked, a hint of confusion in her voice.
“It must have. Don’t worry about it; the security guards will check it out,” Xiao Tong advised, retrieving a flashlight from the workstation.
The other two found her words reasonable and dismissed the matter.
Shortly after, footsteps echoed from the direction of the stairs.
‘Who could that be?’ Chen Xuanqiu wondered, instinctively glancing toward the corridor, a movement mirrored by the other two young nurses.
As the footsteps drew nearer, three men in masks emerged from around the corner. The two men at the back had their hands tucked into their clothes, seemingly clutching something.
Following last night’s events, Xiao Tong instinctively sensed something amiss and took two steps back.
“Can we help you?” Ni Shanshan asked boldly, reasoning that with family escorts present in the hospital, she couldn’t immediately ascertain their identities.
At that very moment, a bizarre incident unfolded. The burly man leading the group swiftly drew two knives from his waist, plunging them with a reverse grip into the bellies of his own companions.
The two unfortunate souls collapsed, their eyes wide with disbelief, having no chance to react.
“Ah!”
Xiao Tong shrieked in terror, dropping to the floor.
Chen Xuanqiu and Ni Shanshan exchanged dumbfounded glances, utterly bewildered by the sudden, violent spectacle.
Before either of them could fully process what had happened, the muscular leader produced a submachine gun and began spraying bullets directly at Chen Xuanqiu.
‘Again?’ Chen Xuanqiu’s immediate reaction wasn’t fear, but a strange sense of absurdity. Protected by the Infant Spirit, she couldn’t fathom how these men intended to harm her.
Indeed, a scene eerily similar to last night’s unfolded. The Infant Spirit’s dark tentacles descended like lightning from various parts of the building, forming a black, impenetrable waterfall before Chen Xuanqiu.
*Crackling sounds.*
A storm of bullets rained down upon Chen Xuanqiu, yet they proved utterly incapable of piercing the shadowy cascade.
“Quick, get down!” Ni Shanshan, snapping back to reality, frantically pulled Chen Xuanqiu’s hand.
Though unafraid, Chen Xuanqiu was pulled down nonetheless. She glanced to the side, discovering that Xiao Tong had fainted from fright.
“Damn it, I don’t believe in evil!” Brute Bear cursed savagely, quickly reloading a fresh magazine before continuing his relentless barrage toward Chen Xuanqiu.
*Whoosh!*
At that instant, the black waterfall lashed out like a whip of lightning, deflecting all the dense hail of bullets back at their source.
“Ah…”
Blood splattered, screams echoed, and then silence once again descended upon the corridor.
The Infant Spirit’s tiny form materialized again, devouring the souls of all three masked men before letting out a wailing cry and vanishing.
Chen Xuanqiu immediately rose, her eyes gleaming like a hungry wolf as she gazed upon the blood-soaked corridor.
“Help! Murder!”
“Where did that gunshot come from? Someone’s trying to kill me? Don’t wall me up! I’m sorry!”
“Haha, the police are here! You evil ghost are finally getting your comeuppance!”
****
The gunshots had thrown the entire ward into a frenzy, with patients stirring restlessly.
“You stay here; I’ll go find the security guards,” Ni Shanshan said, her voice trembling.
“Alright, alright, alright!” Chen Xuanqiu readily agreed, nodding like a pecking chick, eager to be left alone.
As soon as Ni Shanshan departed, Chen Xuanqiu sprang up excitedly. “Blood, it’s all blood!” she exclaimed.
Chen Xuanqiu hurried into the corridor. Under the faint beam of the flashlight, she extended her fair hand into the blood of the burly man, Brute Bear. The warm current within her body began to absorb it like a slithering serpent.
As the blood entered her, fragmented memories from Brute Bear’s past began to surface in Chen Xuanqiu’s mind.
****
This was a reasonably spacious room, dominated by a long table in the center, much like a conference room. A dozen men sat facing each other, with a long-haired man at the head. Brute Bear occupied the first seat to the long-haired man’s left.
“Strategist, please update everyone on the hospital situation,” the long-haired man addressed the short, thin man with a middle part to his right.
“I spent half a day at the hospital and found everything to be normal. Aside from two security guards, there wasn’t a single police officer in the inpatient department, nor did I find anyone protecting the little ghost,” the Strategist reported.
“What happened then? Where are the Captain and his team?” someone from below inquired.
“They’re likely dead. I overheard whispers that three people had an internal conflict in the inpatient department last night, shooting each other,” the Strategist replied.
“Heh, no wonder they couldn’t complete the mission. So, they started fighting among themselves, probably scrambling to kill the little ghost for the bounty. Hilarious, what a disorganized mess,” Brute Bear scoffed.
“In that case, who will go next?” the long-haired man asked.
“I’ll go… I’ll go…”
“You? With your skills, you probably couldn’t even beat a security guard. Are you going to your death? Let me go instead.”
“You? That’s rich. You couldn’t even defeat the little ghost who turned into a girl, let alone a security guard.”
“Bullshit!”
****
The dozen or so assassins below began to squabble incessantly, like rabid dogs fighting over food.
“Shut your mouths, all of you! If you keep bickering, I’ll kill you all myself, and then no one will be able to compete with me!” Brute Bear roared, plunging his knife into the table, startling everyone into silence.
“I’ll go this time. I guarantee I’ll send that little ghost to reincarnation,” Brute Bear declared, looking satisfied as he addressed the long-haired man.
“Excellent! How many men do you need? Any other requests?” the long-haired man decided immediately.
“I’m enough on my own. I want to show you all that Captain is nothing but an empty shell, strong on the outside but weak within,” Brute Bear stated proudly.
“Brute Bear, this isn’t about your pride; it concerns everyone’s lives. I’ll still give you two brothers. Succeeding in killing the target will more than prove your capabilities surpass the Captain’s,” the long-haired man offered a compromise.
Unable to refuse, Brute Bear grudgingly accepted.
“Very well, go and prepare,” the long-haired man designated two brothers to accompany Brute Bear.
Brute Bear then led his two brothers out the door, producing a Bluetooth earpiece and putting it on. To his surprise, he could still hear the voices from the conference room.
“Faceless Deputy, what if Brute Bear and his men fail again this time?” the Strategist’s voice came through the earpiece.
“If they fail again, it confirms there’s something supernatural at play in the hospital. In that case, we’ll have no choice but to wait until the little ghost is discharged before making our move,” the long-haired man decided.
“That’s exactly what I was thinking. If the little ghost has no protection, yet we can’t kill them no matter what, then the problem must lie with the hospital itself,” the Strategist agreed.
****
“Me, fail? Dream on,” Brute Bear scoffed, pulling off his earpiece.
****
‘So that’s how it is.’ As the blood was absorbed, Chen Xuanqiu finally understood the sequence of events. Yet, she remained completely ignorant of the attackers’ origins.
‘What organization do these people belong to? Why are they trying to kill me?’ Chen Xuanqiu pondered, utterly perplexed. If their goal was something related to super female hormones, she wouldn’t be surprised. But their clear objective was to silence her. What could possibly be the reason for such a drastic measure?
Since Chen Xuanqiu had no idea of their identities, she could only improvise for now. She believed that the more people who tried to kill her, the more information she would undoubtedly uncover.
With the power out, Chen Xuanqiu wasn’t concerned about being seen. After absorbing most of the three men’s blood, the warm current within her body grew by another five or six centimeters.
Still feeling unsatisfied, Chen Xuanqiu returned to the workstation. She called out to Xiao Tong, who was still unconscious on the floor. Xiao Tong slowly came to, then immediately began to sob uncontrollably.
Chen Xuanqiu was not skilled at comforting girls, so she could only watch, feeling helpless.
Half an hour later, Ni Shanshan finally returned, accompanied by two security guards: Captain Tang and his young subordinate.
Seeing Xiao Tong’s pitiful state, Ni Shanshan immediately began to comfort her.
The two security guards were thoroughly shaken by the sight of three corpses and promptly called their superior.
Thirty minutes later, Dean Liu rushed over. His face turned ashen at the sight of the bodies on the floor, and he reluctantly had to call the police again.
Soon after, the same three police officers from last night arrived.
Under Dean Liu’s desperate pleas, the police once again handled the situation with a dismissive attitude, routinely taking statements from the three young women present.
“They had an internal conflict,” Chen Xuanqiu stated, as usual.
“A group of outsiders constantly coming to the hospital to fight among themselves? Afraid of killing each other, are they?” the leading police officer muttered, though he did not press further.
Chen Xuanqiu found herself increasingly impressed by Dean Liu’s influence. With him in charge, she mused, even if everyone in the hospital died, no news would likely leak to the outside world.
Shortly after, the three police officers arranged for the bodies to be removed, and the inpatient department gradually settled back into an uneasy calm.
“Bang, bang, bang… Let me out… Let me out… Don’t shoot me…”
Unfortunately, a series of thunderous thuds and shouts continued to echo through the corridor.
“Who is making that noise?” Dean Liu, already in a foul mood, asked Ni Shanshan with a grim expression.
“I’ll go check,” Ni Shanshan quickly offered, hurrying towards the noisy ward.
A short while later, Ni Shanshan returned, her voice trembling as she informed Dean Liu, “It’s the patient in Room 314.”
“314?” Chen Xuanqiu’s expression darkened. ‘Isn’t that the room where the strongest female ghost resides?’