The night is always mysterious, easily stirring one's curiosity.
The flame of the lamp wick flickered slightly, the light dimming and brightening intermittently.
After confirming the effect of the lamp wick, Qin Nuo got out of bed, tidied up a bit, and then pushed open the door to leave.
The corridor remained dark and cold, the hospital that was tidy during the day now appeared dilapidated and ruined, with countless burn marks spreading across the walls.
"No sign of the nuns at night. Do they need rest too? Or are they also wary of the things lurking in the darkness?" Qin Nuo muttered.
He held three clues in his hand now.
One led nowhere.
One was still being pursued.
So Qin Nuo decided to start with the clue he obtained during the day.
The clue was not vague, directly pointing to Room 606, which undoubtedly saved a lot of effort.
Qin Nuo followed the staircase upwards until he reached the top floor.
He had visited the sixth floor of the hospital during the day; it was dull, with no wards, mostly abandoned rooms storing miscellaneous items.
Returning at night, the dull feeling was gone, replaced by a bone-chilling cold.
As Qin Nuo walked along the corridor, he suddenly heard footsteps and silently drew out his Mountain-Cleaving Knife.
At the corner, a light suddenly appeared.
Then, Lan Yan came over carrying an oil lamp. Seeing Qin Nuo, he paused and then smiled, "How was last night's haul?"
Qin Nuo did not hide anything, replying blandly, "Spent half an hour watching a silent film with an old lady who had no children, and got a puzzle piece."
Lan Yan was stunned, "That's it?"
"What else? It was a heartwarming family movie, very healing."
Qin Nuo touched his nose.
Lan Yan couldn't help but curse, "Damn, I got a piece too, but it was worlds apart from yours."
"I had to wash the hair of a disfigured female ghost, the process was disgusting, I scratched off her entire scalp, and even now, I want to chop off my own hands!"
Thinking of last night's reward, Lan Yan shivered, the psychological shadow lingering all for a puzzle piece.
"So, you have two pieces, I have two pieces, why don't we piece them together and see what it forms?" Lan Yan suggested.
Qin Nuo shook his head, "This is a three-person collaboration, let's wait until the other person is present."
"Alright." Lan Yan shrugged, clearly understanding that Qin Nuo didn't trust him.
Qin Nuo walked away with the oil lamp, but after a few steps, he noticed Lan Yan was following him with his own lamp.
Qin Nuo turned to look at him, his gaze unfriendly.
Lan Yan explained, "I need to go somewhere, this corridor is the only way."
Qin Nuo hesitated, unsure if Lan Yan was telling the truth or had ulterior motives.
Lan Yan sighed, "If you don't trust me, let me go ahead!"
Qin Nuo stepped aside, indicating for him to go first.
However, in the end, they both suddenly realized they were heading to the same place—Room 606!
Lan Yan's expression was peculiar, "Did you also get that clue?"
Qin Nuo was speechless; Room 606 turned out to be a shared clue!
"Let's go in together then, shared clues mean the information won't be lacking."
Lan Yan extended the oil lamp forward, only to see the door handle wrapped in chains.
He pulled out a double-barreled shotgun, but before he could fire, there was a dull thud as Qin Nuo smashed the entire door handle.
"The gunshot is too loud, it might provoke the things in the night," Qin Nuo said.
Lan Yan coughed awkwardly, silently putting away the shotgun.
The two entered the room one after the other, and by the light of the lamp, they saw that the space was small, cluttered with various items.
At the far end lay a corpse.
Strangely, the skin of the corpse seemed to have been peeled off and then sewn back on, with dense stitches crisscrossing the body, reconnecting the patches of skin. r�
Moreover, the corpse was dressed in a black nun's robe.
A nun from the hospital!
Qin Nuo and Lan Yan's expressions changed slightly.
The nuns had always been the most mysterious presence in this instance, and here lay a nun's corpse, tortured so cruelly!
Qin Nuo raised the oil lamp, illuminating the wall, revealing a large blood-red curse totem painted on it.
It was identical to the two totems seen earlier in the restroom and meeting room!
"The dead in the Horror World always seem strange," Lan Yan muttered, wanting to reach out and touch the corpse, but ultimately lacking the courage, he withdrew his hand.
Who knows what might happen if he touched it? The ghost might just spring back to life!
Qin Nuo was puzzled.
According to the previous two instances, the appearance of a curse totem signified endless torment!
But this nun was already a corpse, how could she be tormented further?
"Could it be... a torment of the soul?" Qin Nuo's eyebrows twitched.
"This room, apart from a corpse, has nothing else, what kind of clue is this?" Lan Yan couldn't help but say in a deep voice, "Are we supposed to dissect this corpse?"
Qin Nuo suddenly said, "The clue is indeed on this nun."
"Where did this come from?" Qin Nuo asked.
Lan Yan stepped aside, pointing to the room's interior.
Inside, an ugly ghost was stuck in the wall, its body covered in horrific wounds. Its mouth was slightly open, seemingly not dead yet.
"Did you do this?" Qin Nuo looked at the two.
Lan Yan shrugged, "I just got here."
The blond man said calmly, "It went mad and attacked me, so I dealt with it first."
"The puzzle piece was extracted from its throat."
Saying this, he shook a naginata in his hand, wiping the blood off with his sleeve.
"This puzzle piece didn't take much effort."
"Now, counting, the Emperor has three pieces, I have two, Phantom has two, a total of seven pieces. If we piece them together, we should roughly see what it forms!"
Lan Yan eagerly said, "What do you two think?"
The blond man said, "I have no objections."
With all three present, Qin Nuo naturally had no objections either.
"Then let's bring them out." Lan Yan said, opening his palm.
Qin Nuo and the Emperor also took out their puzzle pieces.
As the three palms approached, ready to piece everything together, a hoarse voice echoed in their ears. Qin Nuo looked up and suddenly shouted, "Behind us!!"
The ghost in the wall, not completely dead, suddenly lunged at Lan Yan.
Lan Yan reacted quickly, pulling out his shotgun, and as he turned, he fired.
Bang—splat!!
The head exploded on the spot, flesh splattering.
At the same time, the loud gunshot echoed through the entire corridor...
Lan Yan wiped his sweat, saying with relief, "Phew, good thing I reacted quickly!"
The blond man and Qin Nuo remained silent.
Lan Yan noticed their expressions were a bit unnatural, asking, "What's wrong?"
The blond man spoke grimly, "Idiot, this is the night, do you know how loud a gunshot is?"
Lan Yan helplessly spread his hands, "In that situation, could you think about that?"
"Besides, don't we have oil lamps..."
Before Lan Yan could finish, Qin Nuo interrupted him, whispering, "Shut up."
Lan Yan immediately closed his mouth, not because he was obedient, but because he too sensed something was wrong.
The darkness in the corridor grew colder, and the air was filled with a dense Ghost Aura.
Something was moving in the darkness, but it never entered the range of the oil lamp's light.
This made the three of them breathe a sigh of relief.
The things in the dark were terrifying, but fortunately, they still feared the oil lamp's light.
However, as they had this thought, the next horrifying scene made their eyes twitch uncontrollably.
The three oil lamps in their hands suddenly flickered, and then, at a visible speed, began burning rapidly!
Moreover, the surrounding light seemed to be eroded by something, continuously weakening!
The oil lamps couldn't suppress that thing!
The three of them were shocked.
The lamp wicks were burning extremely fast, at this rate, they'd burn out in less than five minutes!
Cold sweat seeped from the three as they suddenly looked towards one side of the corridor.
At the end of the hallway, a White Shadow appeared, approaching them!
"Goodbye!" Qin Nuo said, and with those words, he turned and ran, holding the oil lamp.
Lan Yan and the blond man quickly followed with their lamps, the former sweating profusely and asking, "Where are we running to?"
"Back to our rooms!" the blond man said.
The rooms were boundaries; the things in the dark surely couldn't enter.
The three ran desperately, but the bone-chilling cold on their backs told them the White Shadow was right behind them!
Suddenly, Lan Yan, who was at the back, cried out in terror, "My oil lamp is about to burn out, wait for me!"
The blond man and Qin Nuo seemed not to hear, their pace not slowing at all.
Lan Yan cursed under his breath, seeing his lamp about to extinguish, his face twisted as he gritted his teeth, "Damn it, I'll fight that thing!"
With that, his oil lamp burned out completely, suddenly going dark.
As the light vanished, darkness instantly engulfed Lan Yan.
Enduring the terrifying cold, Lan Yan pulled out his shotgun, firing at the distant White Shadow.
As the bullet left the chamber, the White Shadow passed through Lan Yan.
In an instant, the bullet, the shotgun, and Lan Yan all shattered into pieces!
Lan Yan's head rolled down the corridor like a ball...
[Author's Note]: 4000 words, barely a long chapter!