23. Entering the Office

"Where should we hide?" Meng Shuyin asked.

It was fortunate that she had practiced various martial arts with her grandfather since she was a child; otherwise, she truly might not have been able to keep her composure in this situation. She glanced at the creature lying not far away, its body covered entirely in eyes. The mere sight of it made her skin crawl. She felt that by the end of this dungeon, she would surely develop trypophobia.

It was sickening. These eyes were viscous and sticky, smeared with blood. The entire hallway was permeated with a foul, fishy stench—acrid and overpowering.

Liu Qiang, who had always loved eating pig eyes, was now in despair. No one could understand how broken he felt inside at this moment. Eyes, eyes! Everywhere were eyes! His good friend’s entire body was occupied by them; just looking at it was enough to make his hair stand on end. He would never eat pig eyes again! Never again!

No one knew the hysteria inside him; everyone was struggling to fend off the eyes.

"Broodmother, get the key!" Chi You shouted. A more eerie smile spread across the face of the Broodmother, whose hands were folded over her abdomen. Her long hair slashed at the eyes while simultaneously lunging toward the key in the nurse’s hand.

But how could the nurse let the Broodmother succeed? With a gentle shake of the key, the attacking hair stopped in its tracks.

"Do not touch my key," the nurse’s voice rang out, and the sound of the jingling key grew louder and louder. Hearing this, the group felt as if their brains were about to explode. Damn it, why did the key have the ability to attack people, too? They gritted their teeth against the pain in their heads, unable to stop their movements. If they stopped, the next person to die would be them.

"Think of something, everyone!" Liu Qiang yelled. He felt he had reached his limit; if they didn't find a solution, he was going to die here.

Seeing the state of the group, Zheng Hong tremblingly took out a bronze bell. After pulling it out, he bit the pad of his index finger, and blood welled up from the wound. He smeared the blood onto the bell and began to shake it. A crisp, melodious ringing echoed through the corridor. The sound was so loud that it instantly drowned out the clinking of the nurse’s key. Upon hearing the chime, everyone felt a sudden wave of relief; the pain in their heads vanished, and the tightness in their chests subsided.

"If you had this, why didn't you bring it out earlier?" someone complained upon seeing the bell.

The sound of the bell caused the nurse’s movements to slow down, and the Broodmother took advantage of the opportunity to snatch the key from her hand. Once the key was in Chi You’s grasp, she put away her chainsaw and rushed to the door. She pulled out the special key, inserted it into the lock, and turned it with a heart full of anxiety.

With a click, the door opened. This crisp sound was the salvation of everyone present, and they filed inside one after another. Just as the eyes were about to surge in, Jiang Pan slammed the door shut, and the eyes splattered against it.

Only after entering the office did the group manage to catch their breath. Zheng Hong, however, could no longer endure the physical toll; he spat a mouthful of blood onto the floor. Bright red blood stained his pale lips, and his weapon slipped from his hand, clattering to the ground. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed forward. Chi You, standing closest to him, hurriedly grabbed his arm to prevent him from hitting the floor.

The others, who had just begun to relax, were startled by this sudden turn of events. How did he end up like this so quickly? Meng Shuyin quickly grabbed his wrist to check his pulse, only to feel it fluttering weakly, his life signs slowly fading. She panicked. "His—his vital signs are fading, and his heartbeat is getting weaker."

What? Everyone was stunned. They looked at the deathly pale Zheng Hong, then at the bronze bell, which had become unnaturally bright after being smeared with his blood. Chi You picked it up, took a bottle of mineral water from someone's backpack, and poured it over the bell. The blood washed away onto the floor until the bell was completely clean.

Meng Shuyin checked again; his vitals had stabilized, though he remained extremely weak.

"No wonder he didn't bring this bell out; it turns out it costs him his own life force to use," the person who had complained earlier said, watching the scene. But thinking that if he hadn't brought it out, they would all have died outside, he felt it was only natural. He didn't want to die in a place like this.

At this moment, Jiang Pan took out a box of special medicine. Chi You looked closely and realized it was the same medicine she had eaten like candy in the previous dungeon.

"How do you have that?"

"A reward from the end of the last dungeon."

"Ah, you have them too?" Chi You said with a hint of regret.

"There's a reward every time you complete a dungeon." His reward from the previous dungeon had been this special medicine.

"Fair enough."

She popped two pills into Zheng Hong’s mouth, and his paper-white complexion began to improve.

The special medicine lived up to its name. Three minutes after taking it, Zheng Hong, who had been in a deep coma, woke up. He sat up and felt his body—he wasn't dead. That was good. Just then, a box of medicine was tossed in front of him, and Jiang Pan’s voice sounded from above: "This is for you."

Zheng Hong picked it up and saw it was universal special medicine. He was stunned that Jiang Pan would just give it to him.

"Why don't you keep it?" Zheng Hong asked softly. A medicine that could quickly heal wounds was incredibly rare.

"Oh, I can get an infinite supply, so I don't care about this box."

Jiang Pan’s comment instantly drew the ire of the other three people. Why was he so irritating? Since he had said as much, Zheng Hong didn't refuse; he put the medicine away and stood up. He felt conflicted about the bell; if its master were a powerful and formidable person, they wouldn't need to use their own vital essence to control it. He put the bell away, picked up his copper-coin sword, and sat to the side.

After dealing with him, Chi You finally had time to examine the office. It was quite large, with six desks arranged in the center, topped with office supplies. The computers were of an older, outdated model.

"How long has this psychiatric hospital been open?" Chi You asked, reaching out to touch one of the old computers.

"I don't know. My grandfather said it had been here since he was born," Liu Qiang replied, shaking his head. They truly didn't know how long it had been there, and since childhood, their families had taught them never to come near this place. A few days ago, as if they were possessed, he and Zhao Qian had started arguing after mentioning the hospital. The argument eventually led them to shout that they would come here to uncover its secrets. Now they knew the older generation hadn't been lying—there really were unclean things here.

It seemed this hospital had existed for a very long time. Chi You stood before a bookshelf, her gaze sweeping rapidly over the books and files. She read quickly, line after line, until she spotted a folder that looked different on the second-to-last shelf. Chi You raised an eyebrow and reached out to grab it.