Chapter Four: Hospital Hauntings (Part One)

Immediately following another deafening crash, the elevator plummeted to the ground. Luo Hanya felt as though her entire body had been struck by a colossal hammer, pain exploding in her head and sending the world spinning wildly. It was as if every bone in her body had been shattered; she couldn't so much as lift a finger.

Suddenly, Luo Hanya's perspective shifted. She became a mere observer, watching as her former body slumped amidst the wreckage of the shattered elevator, blood seeping from every orifice. Though she had not yet recovered from the dizziness and pain, she couldn't help but think that this game was brimming with malice.

At that moment, the system's mechanical voice intoned once more:

"Script introduction will now play. Game will begin after playback is complete. This script may trigger a hidden special mission—completing it will grant an extra reward."

A cutscene unfolded before Luo Hanya's eyes, her perspective now that of a god, overlooking the events about to transpire from high above. Simultaneously, a narration began in her ear.

"This is a modest second-tier city, neither prosperous nor destitute. You are a young tycoon who has just arrived here. Unfortunately, as you were taking the elevator to your reserved hotel room, disaster struck. The elevator only reached the third floor before plummeting; you suffered severe injuries but survived.

The scene panned into the distance as an ambulance arrived and carried Luo Hanya away.

"Fortune within misfortune: the ambulance arrived swiftly and brought you to the hospital."

As the narration continued, the images before her eyes sped forward.

"You were admitted to a hospital on the outskirts of the city. Twenty years ago, a fire broke out here, resulting in an unknown number of casualties. The government quickly rebuilt the facility, but over the past two decades, strange occurrences have never ceased. Still, as the city's finest hospital, people continue to seek treatment here. Tales of hospital hauntings abound, circulating widely among the populace."

The images before Luo Hanya shifted rapidly, then faded to black before gradually brightening again.

"You open your eyes to find yourself sitting in a wheelchair. After a period of treatment, your condition remains grim, but all your bandages have been removed, and you are allowed to get up and bask in the garden's sunlight. At your leisure, you can browse the news on your phone. Your current ward is a single room—it makes you feel unbearably lonely. Not long ago, you requested to be transferred to a double room. Now, a nurse is escorting you there."

As these words entered her ears, Luo Hanya's vision sharpened, and her senses returned to normal. Though her body still ached faintly, she understood: the script had begun.

Luo Hanya now sat in a wheelchair, a nurse behind her pushing it down the corridor.

Out of the corner of her eye, Luo Hanya surveyed her surroundings. It was an old-fashioned hospital, the air thick with the scent of disinfectant. Some patients chatted in the hallway while a doctor did his rounds. As the doctor passed the ward beside Luo Hanya, she overheard him say, "What's going on? Where is the patient in bed one of room 205? It's time to change the dressing—why is no one here?"

"He got up to use the restroom this morning, but for some reason hasn't come back yet," replied an elderly voice from inside.

Luo Hanya's heart sank. If things continued in this vein, she feared this script was another supernatural one. Such scripts always contained elements beyond human control, especially sudden deaths—the most common of all.

"Sir, we've arrived at your room." As Luo Hanya pondered, a female voice interrupted her thoughts; the nurse had wheeled her into the room. Luo Hanya decided to set aside his concerns for now, planning instead to research the hospital's ghost stories on his phone later.

"Big brother, let's play a game together!" No sooner had the nurse left than a sweet little girl appeared before him, eager to play.

Though Luo Hanya was weighed down with worries, he couldn't possibly refuse such an adorable child's request. A smile immediately blossomed on his face. "Alright, what's your name?" he asked.

"My name is Shanshan! Big brother, let's play hide-and-seek. I'll hide, and you come find me!" The little girl was delighted, skipping circles around Luo Hanya, her cheerful voice as bright and warm as spring sunshine.

"Sounds good! Where should we play?"

"Let's go to the garden—it's beautiful there!"

"Off we go! Hurry up, big brother!"

"Alright, alright, I'll go faster."

"I've hidden, big brother! Come find me!"

"I'm coming for you, then."

"Hehe, you'll never find me, big brother!"

The gentle spring sun, a picturesque garden, an adorable little girl, and peals of laughter—everything was idyllic. Luo Hanya was completely immersed in happiness, all his troubles melting away.

Happiness comes too suddenly to last. Life is cruel; beautiful dreams are always shattered by harsh reality, leaving only a mess behind.

A piercing scream tore through the air, shattering the fleeting joy. Someone fell from the sky, crashing onto the ground not far behind Luo Hanya.

Suppressing his fear, Luo Hanya swiftly covered Shanshan's eyes. "Shanshan, let's go back to the room, shall we?" He knew this was only a game, and Shanshan merely a string of code, but he could not bear for such a pure soul to witness something so gruesome.

"Big brother, what happened just now? Why are you covering my eyes?" Shanshan remained as innocent as ever, completely unaware of what had transpired.

"Be good, Shanshan. I'm playing a game with you—if you beat me back to the room, I'll buy you candy." Luo Hanya did his best to cover up the horror, keeping a smile on his face, hoping to shield Shanshan from the bloody scene.

"Really? I'm really fast, big brother, so don't cheat!" With that, Shanshan skipped back toward the ward, her laughter ringing out like silver bells in the wind.

Once he saw Shanshan upstairs, Luo Hanya turned and walked toward the spot where the person had fallen.

It took only a dozen steps to reach the scene. There, what might still be called a human body lay on the ground. The head had burst open like a smashed watermelon, blood everywhere. Only the blood-matted, silver-streaked hair suggested the victim was an elderly person. A small crowd had gathered at a distance, but no one dared approach the corpse.

Forcing down the nausea that churned in his stomach, Luo Hanya stepped closer and noticed that the patient had been holding a now-shattered glass. It seemed he had been drinking water before he fell.

At that moment, the system's voice sounded:

"Main quest triggered: Uncover the mystery of the hospital’s haunting."