Chapter 63: Hospital of Terror

That very night, Chen Mu left Landscape Courtyard and boarded his private taxi.

"To Terror Hospital," Chen Mu instructed the driver.

The driver nodded, stepped on the gas, and sped away with Chen Mu.

In less than ten minutes, the taxi arrived at a remote suburb.

Looking around, there were hardly any residential buildings, and the highway was completely devoid of pedestrians, making the surroundings appear exceptionally desolate and bleak.

Amidst the darkness stood a five-story building.

Through the windows of the building, dim green lights flickered in the dead of night.

From a distance, it looked extraordinarily gloomy and eerie.

This was Terror Hospital—a hospital dedicated to treating anomalies!

"Alright, stop right here. Wait for me outside; I might need your help."

Chen Mu said to the driver.

As an anomalous zone, Terror Hospital naturally harbored other entities.

Following the principle that "two tigers cannot share one mountain," it was inappropriate for the driver to enter, so he had to wait for Chen Mu outside.

After getting out of the car, Chen Mu took a deep breath.

The chilly night wind, mixed with a faint, lingering scent of disinfectant, instantly made Chen Mu much more alert.

Chen Mu knew very little about this hospital.

After all, in his previous life, Chen Mu lacked sufficient strength and was merely struggling to survive; he had no business visiting an eerie hospital for fun.

Therefore, most of Chen Mu's understanding of Terror Hospital came from rumors.

Gazing at the gloomy hospital before him, Chen Mu couldn't help but sigh:

"I wonder what the situation inside Terror Hospital is really like."

Arriving at the main entrance of Terror Hospital, the gates were wide open, and the security booth beside them was empty.

Chen Mu walked through the gates with ease. Standing right before him was the five-story building emitting an eerie green glow—

Terror Hospital!

The next second, lines of blood-red text slowly materialized before Chen Mu:

[Anomalous Quest: Midnight Doctor]

[Quest Description: In a remote, desolate suburb stands an inconspicuous hospital. Every midnight, strange patients are seen constantly coming and going... You are a young doctor, and due to your mediocre medical skills, your job hunt has met with rejection everywhere. Finally, a hospital named "Terror" is willing to offer you an internship, inviting you to serve as the midnight duty doctor. Cherishing this internship opportunity, you have arrived at this mysterious hospital...]

As the lines of blood-red text faded, the temperature in the air dropped significantly.

A cold night wind blew past, the smell of disinfectant permeated the air, and fleeting figures seemed to flash through the windows of Terror Hospital.

Chen Mu gathered his focus and prepared to step into the building.

Upon entering, a pungent odor hit him directly, and the tiled walls inside were covered in bright red bloody handprints.

"The background setup here is a bit gloomy."

Chen Mu couldn't help but mutter.

Having played through so many anomalous quests, this hospital's setting was the first to make Chen Mu feel genuinely uneasy.

Just as Chen Mu was observing his surroundings, a cold voice came from behind him:

"You must be the new duty doctor."

Chen Mu turned around to find a female entity dressed in a nurse's uniform staring right at him.

"Oh, yes," Chen Mu replied.

According to the description of the anomalous quest, he was now a newly arrived intern doctor.

"Please follow me. The chief physician is waiting for you inside."

With that, the little nurse began to lead the way for Chen Mu.

After walking a few paces, the two arrived before a door.

A few blood-red characters were inscribed upon it:

[Duty Operating Room]

Pushing the door open, a thick wave of the stench of blood rushed over them.

The pale white surgical lights hurt Chen Mu's eyes.

In the exact center of the room stood an operating table.

Beside the operating table was a small cart laden with various surgical instruments.

Pasted along the walls of the room were numerous blood-red silk banners.

Emblazoned upon these banners were striking lines of large characters:

[Miraculous Hands Bring the Dying Back to Life]

[A Benevolent Heart of a Healer]

[Saving Lives and Healing the Wounded]

...

Judging by these, the doctor seemed deeply beloved by the patients.

Aside from that, there was only one other entity in the entire room, dressed in physician's attire.

The anomalous doctor wore white garments and looked like an old man in his sixties, wearing reading glasses.

This entity was undoubtedly the "chief physician" the nurse had mentioned.

Seeing Chen Mu arrive, the chief physician flashed him a kindly smile:

"Ah, a newcomer has finally arrived. I'm getting quite old, and my manual dexterity is nowhere near what it used to be. With a newcomer here, you can take over performing the surgeries."

As he spoke, the chief physician handed a manual to Chen Mu.

"Young doctor, is this your first time in the operating room? This manual contains the requirements of the operating room. Follow its contents diligently, and I will guide you from the side. I believe you will become a qualified doctor."

The chief physician's warmth caught Chen Mu somewhat off guard.

This was the first time Chen Mu had ever encountered such a friendly anomaly without offering any gifts first.

Chen Mu did have some gifts prepared inside his ring.

However, since he had never visited Terror Hospital before—unlike the Fog Museum, which he had thoroughly explored in his previous life and thus dared to offer gifts right away—he held back.

Therefore, for the sake of caution, Chen Mu temporarily withheld the gifts, waiting for an opportunity to figure out the situation first.

Taking the manual and flipping it open, Chen Mu discovered that it contained a series of rules:

[As the new duty doctor, you need to obey the following rules:

1. Terror Hospital is a strict medical facility. Giving gifts to doctors, nurses, patients, or anyone else is strictly prohibited; otherwise, you will face punishment.]

Upon reading the first rule, a cold sweat broke out on Chen Mu's back.

Fortunately, he had been cautious and hadn't pulled out a gift right off the bat, or he would probably be dead by now.

His five years of experience in the anomalous apocalyptic world during his previous life had indeed paid off, making him far more cautious.

Continuing to read down the list:

[2. The chief physician is an experienced veteran doctor of high skill and noble character. He will not deceive you and can always provide the correct treatment methods.

3. During your shift, you are required to treat five patients. Once treatment is completed for all five patients, the quest will automatically end.

4. Among the five patients, you must successfully cure at least three; otherwise, the quest will be deemed a failure.

5. A doctor's success is inseparable from the patients' evaluations. Whether a patient has been successfully treated can only be answered by the patient themselves.

6. Some patients have eccentric personalities and are extremely difficult to get along with. You will need to exercise greater patience and skill to avoid receiving negative reviews from them.

7. Terror Hospital has relatively few patients, so you must have enough patience to wait for them to arrive for consultation. While the quest remains unfinished, you must never leave the duty operating room.]

The manual contained just these few rules, and Chen Mu memorized them one by one.

Judging by the descriptions of the rules, the chief physician was on his side; it would not deceive him and could provide the correct treatment methods.

After all, Chen Mu had never studied medicine, let alone understood the treatment of anomalies.

Without the chief physician's guidance, Chen Mu would certainly have no idea where to begin.

So, where were the death traps hidden among these rules? And where was the path to survival?

Chen Mu began to ponder this question.