24. The Video

Chi You held a dark red folder in her hands. She pulled out a chair, sat down, and instinctively crossed her legs.

Opening the folder, she found a disc and several sheets of A4 paper. Because they had been stored for so long, the paper had already begun to yellow. Chi You took out the sheets and began to read, but after finishing them, she felt completely bewildered.

"Jiang Pan, take a look at this," Chi You said, handing the file over directly.

Jiang Pan took the file and studied it carefully. After finishing, he sat there, rubbing his chin in thought. It was impossible for there to be no clues here, yet the pages were filled only with a person's journal entries, recording mundane details about taking medication, observing the scenery, and nothing more.

"Do you have any idea what this means?" Chi You asked, her gaze fixed on him.

Jiang Pan shook his head and passed the file to the two people beside him so they could examine it as well.

"Shall we check this then?" Chi You asked with a smile, holding up the disc.

"Sure."

The old computer in the room finally served a purpose. Chi You walked over to it, sat down in the chair, and said with a chuckle, "Pray that you still work."

As she spoke, she reached out and pressed the power button, her eyes fixed on the screen. Soon, the old computer flickered to life. Seeing that it was functioning, the corners of Chi You's mouth curled upward. It worked.

She inserted the disc and began to navigate with the mouse. Once she found the contents of the disc, she looked up at the others. "Let's watch it together."

"It’s better to look at it this way so we don’t miss any clues."

Hearing this, the group walked behind her. Six people crowded around Chi You, their eyes glued to the computer screen.

After she clicked play, the figures in the video began to move. Because of the age of the footage, the image quality was not very clear; it looked grainy and nostalgic, reminiscent of the 1980s or 90s.

A man in a white lab coat held a small child in his arms. The boy clutched a windmill in his hand, a sweet smile on his face.

"Daddy, look, a windmill!" the boy’s young voice rang out. He turned to hand the colorful windmill to his father.

The man’s face was full of smiles. He reached out to pat the boy’s head and laughed, "Yes, a windmill."

They were sitting on a swing, swaying back and forth. Chi You looked at the background; the large tree behind them felt familiar, but she couldn't quite place where she had seen it before.

"Daddy, when you have time off, let's go to the amusement park," the boy said. "I want to ride the roller coaster!"

The boy’s smile grew even wider when he mentioned the amusement park, and he started gesturing excitedly. "And I want to ride that big Ferris wheel! You have to come with me."

The man ruffled his hair, his expression gentle. "Alright, Daddy will go with you."

Just then, a woman wearing a pale yellow floral dress appeared on screen. Her brown hair was pinned back, and she wore a light touch of lipstick. Her attire made her look exceptionally serene and elegant.

She walked over carrying a bowl of fruit and smiled at the father and son. "Time for some fruit. Delicious fruit."

Seeing the woman, the little boy immediately struggled to jump down from his father's lap. He trotted over, threw his arms around the woman’s legs, and happily held up the windmill. "Mommy, look, a windmill! You play with it."

"Thank you, my treasure," the woman said, looking down at him with a sweet smile.

The man walked over, took the bowl of fruit, and looked at her with bright eyes. "You’re back. They didn’t give you a hard time, did they?"

The woman bent down to pick up the child and shook her head. "No, they were quite kind."

Hearing this, the man let out a sigh of relief. "As long as you're okay."

In the end, the family of three sat together eating fruit, looking perfectly content. As the video played, faint, muffled sounds of persuasion and comforting words could be heard in the background.

The video ended, and the seven of them were left feeling baffled.

"Is this just a record of a happy life?" someone asked, frowning.

Meng Shuyin looked at the file in her hand, then at the video on the disc. "It seems so."

The papers were the same; it really was just a record.

"Tch, what was the point of locking this up?" the man complained, clearly annoyed that it had almost cost them their lives.

Chi You put the disc and the files back into the dark red folder, stood up, and walked to the bookcase to continue searching. Jiang Pan and the others were not idle either, continuing to sift through the books and documents.

Only the other three stood there, looking disdainful. "I don't know why we're wasting time on this stuff. We should be thinking about how to get out of this office."

Once they escaped this hellhole, they vowed to burn the place to the ground. They had lost three of their brothers here; they had to make the place pay.

"Hurry up and come up with a plan. We can't stay here forever," the man insisted. "There are so many ghosts on the first floor—how are we supposed to leave?"

The man asked, but after he finished speaking, he realized that the other four were ignoring him completely. This made him feel humiliated; after all, he was someone people called "Brother Wang."

The group actually dared to ignore him. Brother Wang grew angry and kicked a nearby chair to the floor. His voice rose in volume, "I'm talking to you! Can't you hear me?"

"We need to get out of here. I don't want to spend another minute in this godforsaken place!"

The four of them paused in their search. Chi You looked at him with clear disgust. Jiang Pan, having none of it, pulled out his handgun and fired a shot toward the doorway.

"The door is right there. Don't let the exit hit you on the way out," Jiang Pan said coldly.

White smoke curled from the barrel of the gun he held, and a faint smell of gunpowder permeated the air.

Meng Shuyin chimed in with a sneer, "We never stopped you from leaving."

Zheng Hong, holding a document, merely glanced at him without saying a word.

Seeing the gun suddenly produced, Brother Wang’s rage vanished instantly. If he went out there now, he might very well be eaten by that monster.

Liu Qiang reached out and patted Brother Wang’s shoulder to comfort him. "Alright, don't stir up trouble here. Do you want to die?"

At the mention of the three men who had died, Brother Wang trembled slightly. It was too terrifying.

The gunshot brought silence back to the office. The four of them searched the office inside and out, but still found no clues.

Chi You sat in the chair and sighed. Why did the director curse this hospital? What had this hospital done to make the director so furious?

Everything remained an unsolved mystery. Chi You rubbed her temples; she hadn't expected the difficulty to increase just because of a "+" sign in the task.