Chapter 187 - Infestation pt 1

Liu Xiaodan? 

The people at the table felt like Ruan Jin actually said a name, but they were still debating within their minds if they heard it right. However, by then, the food started to arrive. Most of them actually dropped the subject and went to eat in silence. That auntie who volunteered to feed him was doing it quite professionally as if she was also a nurse before she got into this place.

Yun He walked back to join them and took over the spoon-feeding so the other patient could eat real quick if she still wanted to do the same thing. However, the way he looked at Ruan Jin felt like he was bothered by something. Ruan Jin glared at the nurse that Yun He caught perfectly. The hand even trembled, but it was still steady enough to not spill any on the patient.

"What's wrong, Jin? Why are you glaring at me?" Yun He reached out to stroke at the patient's head, but Ruan Jin tried to evade his hand. The slightest movement wasn't lost to the nurse—and even to the other patients—so Yun He didn't pressure him into receiving it. However, he still smiled. "Let's establish a way for you to communicate with us. Have you heard about the two blinks for 'yes', one blink for 'no' before, Jin?"

Blink. Blink.

"Do you not like me touching you?"

Blink. Blink.

"Do I remind you of something terrible?"

Blink. Blink.

At this point, Ruan Jin kept on sweeping his eyes among the people before staring at Yun He. He did this about three times before Yun He frowned as if noticing that he was trying to tell something. The nurse turned to them, but he didn't say anything for now. He only smiled at Ruan Jin. "Let's eat first. Then, we'll talk again later… when there are fewer people around..."

…

"It's not that bad though. I mean… everyone signed up for the things we do here, and it's not like we didn't give enough warnings. It's just that… things that pursuit of money and science bring that is not something for the light-heart." The nurse said while she was encoding figures for the mandatory check-up every night. She just wore a strange face as she had so many blanks in just two days of the project.

"So the death waiver wasn't for contingency. There's really a big chance that the participants will die?" Li Feng asked again before sipping on the warm coffee in the paper cup. He was chatting with the only nurse in the nurse station at the moment as most were doing routine checks on other personnel that morning.

"I wouldn't say that… but the death rate of the participants isn't zero." The nurse only hummed. She only knew the surface knowledge of the projects, but it was a start for Li Feng. Even if he probably knew more than this nurse, she was still one of the few people who had seen most of the active projects of the facility.

The nurse then turned to him with a dissatisfied expression and twisted lips. "Feng'er, I really wish I can gossip insider things to you, but it's really above my pay grade. I'm just here to make sure everyone is still healthy. If you want to speak with someone who had more knowledge about the bizarre things..."—she beckoned Li Feng to come closer and whispered—"you should find the nurses working in the Rooms Hall. They deal with the craziest.

"Not people… but events. You see I heard that they used to have this patient who walks through walls. Like… he shows up in places he shouldn't be… even if his room door barely opens." She then giggled before staring at Li Feng's handsome face from a distance less than her hand span. "Aiyah, so handsome. Don't get yourself in trouble. Dr. Fan has a lot of ways to get rid of you."

"Thanks for the tip… and the coffee." Li Feng wasn't stingy with his smiles and kisses so he would often reward these old aunties with a kiss on their cheeks. The auntie was reduced to a squealing girl as she moved away. The young master got up from his seat and walked around again while finishing the cup of coffee he received. He dropped the empty cup at the trash can and wandered around aimlessly. 

The people that normally populated the hallways were all in their mandatory checks. He barely found anyone loitering aside from him… until he got to a corner. Despite the similar lighting of the hallways, that one leading to an intersection felt rather suffocating.

Li Feng's relaxed face grew tensed as he ventured along that hallway. There was a ghost lurking in the corners, and he was sure of it. Moreover, the black horse's foot was also warning him. Soon, the lights above him started to flicker. The shaman slowly reached behind him to fish talismans from his back pocket…

"Uwaaa..." A low cry came to his ear, and it was the sound of a baby. 

Li Feng somewhat shuddered as he was reminded by Xiao Luan. However, they had successfully cleansed her and helped her cross over even though she had become a transcending King. He stopped in his tracks and sensed his surroundings carefully. The entity seemed to be—

"Hey, you! What are you doing there?!" A male orderly just came back from the chaos of weekly checks, but he suddenly saw someone venturing into the danger zone. He quickly went to fetch Li Feng immediately. "Can't you read? There's a keep-out sign over there—huh? Where did it go?"

"Sorry, I didn't know." Li Feng spoke during the pause of the man, but since the orderly was confused, the shaman grew alert again. Moreover, when the orderly loudly shuddered. 

The lights began to flicker around them, with the 'exit' hallways completely dimming. The orderly held onto Li Feng, but it felt like this muscular orderly was being reduced to a beansprout from fear. He then made a deep breath as if he was trying to stop his knees from trembling. "Ah, shit, it's real..." 

Li Feng secretly took out talismans before asking, "What is?"

The orderly glared at the reason why he was here in the first place. Then again, with the keep-out sign taken away, it was probably because he was lured in… just like the rest who had seen it. He then whispered, "There's a ghost in here. Not just a stupid one that stands around… but one that actually eats people. Then again, they said it's too huge to move fast so—"

"Uwaaaa…!" The baby's cry grew louder, and the orderly gasped in terror. When they both turned to the source of the sound, it was coming from the very hallway that was supposed to be their way out. From the darkness came scratching noises. Another baby cry echoed, but it was rather bone-chilling.

"Damn, we have to run!" The orderly tried to pull Li Feng, but the shaman stood his ground. "What are you doing—?!"