Chapter 1917: U: Beyond the Great Event (43)

Many people always feel that hospitals at night are exceptionally cold and eerie. Beyond the influence of the countless horror legends about hospitals accumulated throughout human history, those colors that bring peace and relaxation during the day inevitably appear gloomy and chilling at night.

The white, blue, and gray tones adopted by most hospitals are intended to avoid stimulating the patients' vision, but under the enhancement of darkness and cold-toned lighting, they inevitably remind one of death, which is actually far less common than recovery.

Batman walked through such a cold, eerie corridor. Every recessed door was like a mouth waiting to devour someone. Batman certainly wouldn't make such an association, but he couldn't help but speculate about what was happening inside each ward.

The doormat at the entrance of the first ward on the left was crooked, with a corner folded over that hadn't been smoothed out yet. Judging by the marks on the floor, a struggle had occurred here during the day, likely involving one patient having an episode and two nurses.

The door frame of the third ward on the right had been bumped; it looked like someone hadn't been paying attention while entering or exiting with an IV pole, leaving a mark on the wooden frame. There might be a patient here who, in addition to mental illness, had some chronic condition requiring regular IV infusions.

Batman walked forward step by step. Countless pieces of information were collected into his brain, categorized, and filed, gradually reconstructing the various states of life in this corridor during the day.

Patients came and went, and medical staff shuttled among them. Batman turned sideways to avoid medical staff struggling with a patient having an episode, dodged vomit that had just landed at his feet, and had just brushed past a patient carrying an IV pole when he heard a crisp sound.

"Clang!"

Batman turned his head abruptly. All his imagination vanished, but the crisp sound lingered in his ears. A black shadow flashed past at the end of the corridor.

"Click, click, click, click, click"—the lights along the long corridor went out rapidly, as if something was closing in. Batman turned and blocked.

A gust of cold wind blew his cape up. Lowering the cape he had held in front of him, Batman saw only darkness.

Another "Clang!" sounded. Batman had to turn his head to look at the corridor he had just walked through. The sound had come from the end of the corridor, but there was nothing there now.

Suddenly, a burst of hurried footsteps rang out. Batman frowned and walked quickly toward the stairwell.

As he stepped past the stairwell, a black shadow slammed into him. Batman looked down and saw it was Natasha.

This was no romantic collision; Natasha had fallen from four steps up, essentially crashing directly into Batman's arms, forcing him to take half a step back.

But Batman felt no surprise, because he had already judged from the cadence of the footsteps that this was his teammate, which was why he had hurried over.

Natasha steadied herself and closed her eyes, letting out a long breath.

"What happened?" Batman asked.

Natasha caught her breath, peeked at the long corridor, and then looked at Batman, saying, "I know this sounds unbelievable, but this hospital is haunted."

Batman narrowed his eyes.

"I was lying in the ward just now when I suddenly heard a 'Clang!' I thought someone in the next room had knocked something over. When I stood up to check, I saw the reflection of a ghost standing behind me in the observation window of the door."

Just as Batman was about to speak, Natasha held up a hand to stop him and said, "I didn't take the medicine they provided, I'm not hallucinating, and that thing teleported away. The moment I turned my head, it was gone. It's either a ghost or a spirit; either way, it's not human."

Batman composed his expression, becoming serious again, and said, "You ran out of the ward."

"I had to." Natasha looked up at the top of the stairwell and said, "This thing is very evil. The moment I turned to look at it, the cabinet next to me fell over. A sharp sculpture inside happened to smash the glass of the cabinet door, and even chipped the tile in front of me. If I hadn't dodged, you'd be looking at my corpse right now."

"It can influence reality."

"Yes, and I'm afraid it wants to kill us."

Natasha turned to look at the steps she had just fallen from; there was a missing piece of tile on the exact step she had stepped on, which had been fine during the day.

Just as Batman was about to say something, he saw Natasha opposite him stiffen. The female agent immediately curled up, hiding in his arms as if afraid, but she used Batman's figure to shield her mouth and formed a shape with her lips to Batman.

"Behind you."

Batman remained calm, as if comforting Natasha, and placed his hand on her back. The next second, the lightbulb above his head exploded with a "Bang!" Countless glass shards flew out like shrapnel, and Batman hugged Natasha and fell backward onto the floor at the corner.

The two stood up from the ground. The moment Natasha turned her head, she saw a female ghost with long black hair and red clothes staring at her with cold eyes through the gaps in her hair at the window at the end of the corridor.

Batman saw her too.

Batman didn't react much; after all, the strange and bizarre things he had seen in Gotham were far more terrifying than this. Thus, the female ghost stared straight at him, and he stared straight at the female ghost.

The female ghost might have been staring at him to scare him, but Batman was staring at the female ghost to glean more information. Unfortunately, the shadow flashed and vanished, never to appear again.

The entire corridor began to shake violently.

"Run!" Natasha shouted.

The two sprinted toward the other side of the corridor at top speed, rushing past the corridor a second before the ceiling tiles and floor tiles poured down. Natasha shouted to Batman, "You angered her!"

"It has nothing to do with me." Batman replied rationally while running, "No matter what we do, she will be angry. She just wants to be angry."

The two turned a corner. Natasha glanced at the ward window with her peripheral vision and suddenly revealed a horrified expression.

Natasha hurriedly grabbed Batman's arm, and the two stopped. Batman turned to look at her and asked, "Why did you stop running?"

Natasha froze for a moment, as if she had forgotten what she was about to say. She looked at Batman and said, "What do you mean? It's as if only I was running."

"I was just cooperating with you." Batman shook his head and said, "We didn't need to run at all. The shards of the plaster ceiling and tiles aren't enough to injure anyone."

"Haven't you ever watched a horror movie... That's not what I meant!" Natasha covered her forehead and pointed to the window, saying, "Did you see anything on it just now?"

Batman shook his head.

Natasha revealed a suspicious expression. She leaned in to look carefully, then continued pulling Batman forward.

"What did you see?"

"Nothing, I might have been hallucinating." Natasha straightened her hair. As soon as she looked up, she saw that red ghost shadow at the end of this corridor again.

Batman wanted to walk forward, but Natasha held him back. Just as Batman was about to speak, Natasha said, "We are indeed not acting in a horror movie, but look at the glass behind her."

Batman looked in the direction of Natasha's gaze, his pupils shrinking.

The horrified expression appeared on Batman's face for the first time, which was extremely out of place with his usual deep and serious demeanor.

The reflection in the glass behind the red-clothed female ghost was not the back of the female ghost, nor was it the figures of Batman and Natasha, but a pale, lean hand holding a knife with a cold, gleaming edge.

That was clearly not the female ghost's hand.

The moment Batman and Natasha saw this hand, they shouted simultaneously: "Run!"

The two turned and ran, their speed more than doubling. They rushed through the corridor almost instantly. At the same time, a sharp, ghostly howl erupted from behind.

The lightbulbs and tiles in the corridor began to shake violently again, and shards constantly pelted Batman and Natasha. Seeing they were about to reach another stairwell, Batman reached out and pulled Natasha, and the two rushed into the nearest ward.

It was eerily quiet here, with only two patients sleeping soundly. Their medication lists were hanging on the headboards of the beds, showing they had already taken today's medicine. Batman glanced at them and discovered that both were schizophrenic, and the medications and dosages were similar.

Perhaps due to the medication, both slept very soundly and were not awakened by the noise Batman and Natasha had made.

The two in the darkness exchanged a look by the faint light filtering in from the window, each seeing the disbelief in the other's eyes.

"I'm sure that wasn't a hallucination," Batman said first.

"Then things are troublesome," Natasha responded.

"Let's leave here first." Batman looked left and right, deciding to leave this somewhat cramped ward first to prevent any accidents; the place was too small to fight in.

Natasha and Batman walked out one after the other. They had only taken two steps when they heard a "Thump" behind them. Batman turned his head and saw the patient on the bed by the window sitting up.

"Possessed by a ghost." Natasha immediately named the phenomenon, but she hesitated and stood on tiptoe, saying, "The problem is which ghost is possessing them. Could it be..."

The patient who had sat up suddenly twitched a few times, stood up abruptly, and reached out with both hands to pounce toward Natasha and Batman.

Batman didn't even dodge, directly kicking the pouncing patient away with a frontal kick. Natasha breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Luckily it's not. I told you we were hallucinating."

Immediately after, the second patient also sat up. Before Batman could act, Natasha walked over and knocked him unconscious with a punch.

Natasha pushed open the ward door and looked out. The corridor was still very quiet, gloomy, and cold; it seemed only their ward had abnormalities.

A gust of cold wind blew past the female agent, and her long red hair fluttered. Natasha turned to look in the direction the wind came from and, sure enough, saw that red figure again.

Natasha couldn't help it and looked at the window behind the red ghost shadow. That pale hand holding the boning knife revealed more of itself.

With a "Bang," Natasha slammed the door shut. After turning around and pressing her back against the door, she looked at Batman with a look as if she had seen a ghost and said, "It's not a hallucination, it's Schiller!" ===== CHAPTER 1918 =====