Chapter 996: Director

Lu Mi thought of the attendants he’d encountered at Mu Shu Hospital and the observations he’d made during previous visits, and concluded that those frequently entering the underground levels of Mu Shu Hospital might no longer qualify as human.

More than that, he was concerned that the underground section of Mu Shu Hospital was nearly finished with its “transformation.”

What changes would occur then?

What did this symbolize?

As Lu Mi’s thoughts churned, he longed to blow up the underground section of Mu Shu Hospital right now and be done with it.

Unfortunately, not only did he doubt his ability to infiltrate and completely destroy the underground section, but the fact that the aboveground portion of Mu Shu Hospital was still functioning normally—with numerous patients and medical staff coming and going—made him dare not act rashly.

It was impossible to destroy the underground section without affecting the aboveground area!

That would become a full-scale terrorist attack, causing the Dream Master’s consciousness to repel Lu Mi to the maximum extent, making it highly unlikely he could enter again afterward.

Should he first find a way to shut down Mu Shu Hospital for a few days and transfer the inpatients? That would be difficult… Lu Mi looked at Lyu Yong’an and carefully said:

“Are there still corpses in the underground morgue waiting for ‘rebirth’?”

“Not at the moment; no corpses requiring ‘rebirth’ have been delivered these past two days,” Lyu Yong’an replied honestly.

After Zarathustra and Mr. Cui were expelled from the dream, the corresponding events ceased? That means we did well… Theoretically, the Celestial Sovereign should have more than just these few subordinates—he must have found a method or medium allowing them to enter the Dream City… Were the others removed long ago, like the Major Arcana cards and former holders of the Lucky Coin? That makes sense; it’s implausible the Celestial Sovereign only recently gained access, and implausible that only he could expel people while “The Fool” could not… Lu Mi nodded slightly and changed the subject:

“Who is the current director of Mu Shu Hospital?”

He wasn’t afraid Lyu Yong’an would suspect him for asking, since he had previously asked Xu Xinyang and secretly asked Green, and Green, as a child of the “Great Mother,” also didn’t know.

“You don’t know?” Lyu Yong’an looked at Lu Mi in surprise.

She immediately turned to Green:

“You didn’t tell the Divine Child?”

Green shook his head:

“I didn’t know either; no one told me.”

Lyu Yong’an paused, then nodded in understanding:

“It’s normal you don’t know, but it doesn’t matter—the former director has left; not knowing who he was won’t affect anything. The new director will arrive in a few days.”

“Who is the new director?” Green asked for Lu Mi.

Lyu Yong’an shook her head:

“It’s still unclear; we’ll know when he arrives. Maybe it’ll be a surprise.”

A surprise? For us, it’s more likely a shock… Lu Mi grunted:

“Have you been to areas underground besides the morgue?”

He wasn’t trying to extract specific details about Mu Shu Hospital’s underground from Lyu Yong’an—he wanted to judge whether those granted the “Great Mother’s” blessing could enter non-morgue underground areas without excessive frequency.

“I’ve been there, but I can’t go deep—I can’t reach the second basement level,” Lyu Yong’an said, not finding it odd that the Divine Child asked; after all, the underground section of Mu Shu Hospital wasn’t solely under the “Great Mother’s” influence—other Great Beings exerted their own.

Even the “Great Mother’s” children can’t go to the second basement level? What’s there? Lu Mi nodded thoughtfully and asked:

“Are the followers of the Mother Tree also doing something?”

As the Divine Child of the “Great Mother,” he needed to show less respect toward other entities.

“Yes, but I don’t know what,” Lyu Yong’an said, pulling out her phone with a smile. “Divine Child, let’s add each other on WeChat? If I notice any issues in other underground areas, I’ll inform you immediately.”

She really knows how to handle things… Lu Mi let Lyu Yong’an scan his WeChat QR code.

Her WeChat name was her real name.

Lu Mi didn’t immediately browse Lyu Yong’an’s Moments, but pretended to casually say:

“Have you found Jidas?”

Jidas was suspected to be the true name of the “Pus-Soaked Severed Hand”; the lingering remnant within Oumibera’s corpse had once shouted this name at Lu Mi.

Lu Mi was testing whether the “Great Mother’s” children had ever heard of Jidas.

“Not yet,” Lyu Yong’an lowered her head. “The Mother is disappointed.”

Jidas is indeed closely tied to the “Great Mother”… Lu Mi stopped there and asked no further.

Seeing this, Green respectfully asked:

“Divine Child, you’re scheduled for night shift starting tomorrow. If you don’t want it, I can find you an excuse to switch to day shift.”

“Night shift is fine,” Lu Mi declined the change.

That way, his available time during daytime and evening would increase significantly.

Then he glanced at the bright moon overhead and said to Green and Lyu Yong’an:

“Let’s go back.”

“Yes, Divine Child!” Lyu Yong’an and Green replied in unison.

Lu Mi didn’t watch them leave—he “teleported” away first.

A quarter hour later, his figure reappeared in the hidden corner, but Green and Lyu Yong’an were already gone.

Only then did Lu Mi pull out his phone and browse Lyu Yong’an’s Moments.

Lyu Yong’an’s Moments mostly shared obstetrics and gynecology knowledge, thank-you banners she’d received, Mu Shu Hospital’s achievements, and updates about her children—nothing caught Lu Mi’s attention.

Since she had set her Moments to visible only for the past month, Lu Mi had to scroll to the top and check her background image and signature.

The background image showed a blurred figure holding a baby; the signature read:

“Be the guardian of women and children.”

Both perfectly matched her identity and nature… Lu Mi put away his phone and “teleported” into Li Keji’s ward.

Li Keji wasn’t surprised by the return of this beautiful woman; he looked at her and hesitated to ask:

“Are you really going to abort it?”

As the fetus grew, her maternal radiance seemed to intensify.

Lu Mi smiled:

"You've surely felt the demonic offspring's frantic consumption of your flesh and spirit, haven't you?"

“Yes,” Li Keji nodded honestly.

Lu Mi continued:

"And don't you want to see what innovative traits might emerge from a hybrid between the demonic offspring and mushrooms?"

He now understood Li Keji’s obsessions and weaknesses perfectly.

That was the “Tempter.”

Li Keji’s eyes instantly lit up:

“Alright, let’s begin!”

Could you just hesitate a little so I’d believe your maternal radiance is real? Lu Mi thought to himself, then stepped to Li Keji’s bedside, extended his right palm, and said calmly:

“It will be painful. Bear with it.”

“Okay,” Li Keji extended his arm, holding it midair.

The filaments hanging from the jellyfish-like mushroom swiftly drifted over, coiling around Li Keji’s arm and piercing into it.

“It has some anesthetic ability,” Li Keji happily explained to Lu Mi.

Lu Mi said nothing, letting his palm ignite quiet, sinister black flames.

He then pressed his right palm against Li Keji’s abdomen—the “Witch’s” black flame surged inside.

Li Keji’s swollen belly suddenly writhed, as if something inside was desperately struggling.

As the struggle continued, Li Keji’s face twisted slightly; even with anesthesia, he felt unbearable pain.

Meanwhile, the “Witch’s” black flame gradually dimmed and thinned—even as Lu Mi poured more into it, he couldn’t truly burn away the evil entity within Li Keji’s belly.

Fortunately, Lu Mi never expected the “Witch’s” black flame to succeed, because one of his goals couldn’t be achieved by a flame that only burned spirit and life.

He used the “Witch’s” black flame first merely for testing.

Suddenly, the quiet black flame in Lu Mi’s palm became turbulent—as if madness, brutality, and destruction were erupting!

“Flame of Annihilation!”

As the “Flame of Annihilation” poured in, Li Keji’s clothing burst into flames, followed by his skin and flesh.

The fetus inside his belly pushed upward, as if trying to escape the burning, but remained trapped within the womb, eventually collapsing back.

Almost simultaneously, Lu Mi heard phantom wailing and screams, and sensed a vast green wasteland forming around him—each flower and blade of grass first thrived with vitality, then was swallowed by spreading black flames.

“Ah!”

Li Keji screamed as well—the pain of his abdomen being burned through was unbearable for nearly anyone.

But Lu Mi had already sealed the ward with the “Vessel of Fiction,” allowing only faint traces of Li Keji’s cries to escape.

In the psychiatric ward, this wasn’t noteworthy.

Finally, the fetus inside Li Keji’s belly was reduced to ashes, and these ashes, stirred by the hot updrafts from the flames, spiraled upward and scattered into the air.

“Completely cleared,” Lu Mi stepped back, preparing to pull out a healing potion for Li Keji.

Li Keji glanced at his charred abdomen and, despite the pain, said with deep disappointment:

“Everything’s burned? Nothing’s left?”

“I originally only wanted to burn its life and spirit, leaving the corpse—but as you saw, that didn’t work,” Lu Mi explained sincerely.

“Ah…” Li Keji waved his hand, directing the jellyfish-like mushroom’s filaments to his abdomen to absorb the charred tissue and stimulate flesh regeneration.

Looks like I don’t need to provide treatment… Lu Mi stared deeply at the settling jellyfish-like mushroom.

Once Li Keji’s wound healed and the pain subsided, Lu Mi nodded gently and said:

“Rest well these next two days. Then accelerate your research—I don’t know how long my comatose friend can wait.”

“I can restart tomorrow!” Li Keji’s passion for experimentation flared again.

“Thank you,” Lu Mi politely departed.

Back in his rented room in Xinhong Community, he lay on the bed and fell into deep sleep.

In a daze, he heard crying.

The crying called out “Mama,” “Mama,” filled with intense pain, resentment, and venom.

(End of Chapter)