Chapter 176: Internal Staff Rules

Jiang Yuan stared fixedly at the end of the corridor that devoured all light.

Accompanied by a sticky, nauseating dragging sound.

A twisted figure, from that pure darkness, slowly squeezed out.

The moment Jiang Yuan saw that figure, his pupils contracted violently.

It was a monster with a humanoid outline, moving toward him in an extremely slow posture.

Its belly bulged high, the blue-and-white patient gown stretched to the limit, bluish-black veins like ugly vines crawling over its entire abdomen, and they throbbed with a "thud-thud" sound.

The most scalp-tingling thing was its face.

Its mouth was forcibly stretched to an inhuman angle, and from that pitch-black cavity, seven or eight baby arms of varying sizes, with deathly pale skin, actually protruded!

Those arms flailed wildly, scratching, like a group of prisoners desperate to break free from their cage!

Jiang Yuan felt his stomach churning wildly, a cold surge of fear and nausea rushing from the soles of his feet straight to his heavenly spirit cover.

He recognized the opponent.

That was exactly the first patient on the medical record, Jack Smith!

No time to think why this terrifying thing would appear in reality.

Years of trained combat instinct, before fear completely consumed his reason, took over his body.

"Huuu..."

Jiang Yuan forcibly suppressed the rising nausea, his eyes instantly becoming sharp.

Whatever you are!

He flipped his wrist, two dark playing cards with edges flashing metallic cold light, already pinched between his fingers.

He exerted force with his wrist!

The two poker cards turned into two bolts of black lightning, carrying a piercing screech that tore the air, accurately shooting toward the monster's belly!

This was Jiang Yuan's all-out strike! Capable of cutting through a three-centimeter-thick hardwood board!

However!

"Pfft!"

"Pfft!"

The expected scene of flesh and blood flying did not occur.

Those two flying cards, which could be lethal, upon contacting the monster's belly, actually produced only two dull, laughable sounds.

Like two pebbles thrown into a pile of cotton.

The flying cards merely left two shallow white marks on the tough belly, then weakly spun and fell onto the dust-covered floor, making a "clang" sound.

Ineffective?

How could that be!

Jiang Yuan's mind went blank.

This was his proud attack method! It was his reliance for escaping death countless times from the weird!

Yet now, he couldn't even break the monster's skin!

The monster seemed annoyed by these two painless, itchless attacks.

"Yah——!!"

The baby arms waving in its mouth suddenly paused, then let out an even sharper wail!

Its movement speed suddenly accelerated!

Its massive body, with an agility utterly mismatched to its size, charged straight at Jiang Yuan!

Run!

The only word left in Jiang Yuan's mind was that!

Without thinking, he turned and sprinted madly toward the other side of the hall.

The dragging sound behind him and the infant's wail followed like a shadow, as if a hellish pursuit melody, tightly biting at his heels.

His lungs burned, every muscle of his injured body emitting painful groans.

He knocked over a fallen treatment bed, clumsily scrambling over a pile of scattered files, his peripheral vision catching the monster rapidly closing the distance!

No! Can't escape!

Must find a place to hide!

Just then, he saw to the side-front, an office door marked "DR. ANDERSON】SOFFICE" ajar, revealing a dark slit.

That's the place!

Jiang Yuan exerted his last strength, lunged forward, his body rolling twice on the ground, precisely crashing into that office.

He didn't even have time to get up, using hands and feet together to twist and slam the door shut with a "bang", then firmly pressed the old-style latch on the doorknob.

"Click."

A soft sound, at this moment heard as heavenly music.

He leaned against the cold door, panting heavily, his chest rising and violently, sweat soaking his tattered combat uniform.

The sticky dragging sound outside the door stopped.

Immediately after.

"Screech...... screech......"

Those infant fingers, frantically scratching the door panel!

That sound was fine and dense, as if countless mice were gnawing the wood, making Jiang Yuan's body hair stand on end.

He clenched his teeth, held his breath, even his heartbeat seemed about to stop.

Time passed second by second.

Each second feels as long as a century.

After an unknown amount of time, the scratching sounds outside the door gradually ceased.

The dragging sound sounded again, and drifted slowly toward the far end of the Corridor.

Did it go?

Jiang Yuan waited a full minute more, confirmed that there was absolutely no movement outside, then finally, as if exhausted, slid down the door panel and sat on the floor.

He survived.

He leaned against the door and began coughing violently.

What he had just witnessed made him feel more hopeless than facing tens of thousands of Spider Humanoids.

It was a sense of helplessness that seeped from his very bones when confronting an incomprehensible, unbeatable unknown.

After catching his breath, Jiang Yuan began to survey the room that had temporarily saved him from disaster.

It was a modest doctor's office, the air thick with dust and the smell of rotting paper.

A desk, a chair, and a toppled File cabinet made up the entire room.

Very ordinary.

But Jiang Yuan's keen eyes were soon drawn to something on the wall.

Right by the door, a yellowed sheet with curled edges was firmly pinned to the wall with a thumbtack.

In such a chaotic setting, the very existence of that paper seemed strikingly out of place.

He struggled to stand, limping as he walked over.

Printed on the paper was a line of English type, the title bolded in black:

【Saint John Hospital – Internal Staff Code】

Code?

Jiang Yuan furrowed his brow, forced his unease down, and read it word by word.

【1. This hospital is dedicated to providing every registered Patient with the quietest, most comfortable convalescent environment; at all times and places, please maintain absolute silence.】

【2. If, outside visiting hours, you hear a baby's wail in the Corridor, do not panic, and do not try to locate the source. Immediately seek the nearest red storage cabinet or room and hide there until ██████.】

【3. Please treat every Patient kindly; they are merely ill. Endeavor to meet their reasonable requests.】

【4. If a Patient asks you for a "part of your body" as a "souvenir", be sure to smile ███. Remember, you must smile.】

【5. All medical staff must be familiar with the hospital's layout. Remember, there is no second underground level. If you see a staircase leading to a second underground level anywhere, turn around immediately and do not look back.】

Jiang Yuan felt a chill run down his spine.

Recalling what had just occurred, the authenticity of the code seemed corroborated.

But why were parts of the code blacked out? And they were quite crucial sections.

He suppressed the hair‑raising dread and let his gaze continue downward.

【6. If you are staff, Night Patrol is your duty. If, during patrol, you see a black Shadow moving on the wall, ignore it; it is a lighting glitch caused by equipment failure. If the Shadow attempts to "play games" with you, stand still until it departs on its own.】

【7. As a member of Saint John Hospital, always keep your identity in mind.】

【8. If you see yourself in a mirror or any reflective surface wearing a Blue-White Striped Patient Gown......】

The paper here has been abruptly torn away.

The following content cannot be viewed.

Wearing a Blue-White Striped Patient Gown......

Jiang Yuan's heart leapt.

Isn't that the very outfit the monster just wore?

An indescribable chill raced up his spine.

Instinctively, he lowered his head and looked at himself.

His protective suit had long been shredded by successive battles, coated in dust and unknown fluids, but... it was indeed a protective suit.

He exhaled, feeling that his many Weird encounters had made his nerves hypersensitive.

Yet, the instant he lifted his head, his eyes unintentionally caught the office's window blanketed with thick dust.

The window resembled a blurry mirror.

In the mirror, a disheveled figure stood silently.

The silhouette wore a loose, faded...

Blue-White Striped Patient Gown.