Chapter 185: Door‑Kill

Damn!

A kind of plant.

Jiang Yuan's brain, in 0.01 seconds, only managed to flash this one word.

His pupils contracted to the size of a needle tip, his whole blood surged to the top of his head in an instant, then froze into ice the next second.

Ghost Doctor!

Infiltrator!

These two terms exploded in his mind with a boom.

Time, place, everything is too coincidental!

This is not a patrol at all!

This is murder!

It was the Inside Traitor hidden among the seven people; the instant he stepped out of the door, he instantly summoned the Ghost Doctor to deliver a clean, swift door‑kill!

What a vicious scheme!

"Boom......"

"Clang......"

Footsteps and dragging sounds continued to approach at an unhurried pace, like the grim reaper's ticking pendulum.

No time to think, no chance to hesitate!

The instinct to survive overrode everything!

Jiang Yuan's body reacted faster than his brain; he became like an antelope spotted by a cheetah, muscles tensing sharply, then with an absolutely silent motion, he darted like lightning to the back of a load‑bearing column beside the corridor!

He pressed his whole body tightly against the cold concrete column, holding his breath completely, his heart pounding in his chest like a drum, almost leaping out of his throat.

Here it comes!

The footsteps grew clearer.

A tall, bulky silhouette wearing an ill‑fitting Doctor's Lab Coat shuffled slowly out from the corner of the corridor.

Using the peripheral light off the column's edge, Jiang Yuan saw the Ghost Doctor.

It was not human at all.

Its body displayed a bizarre contortion, hunched over, walking with a limp.

Its face was hidden in shadow, indistinct, only greasy, filthy hair visible.

The most hair‑raising part was its hand dragging on the ground.

That hand held no scalpel.

Its five fingers themselves were five knives of varying lengths, flashing with metallic cold light!

That teeth‑aching "Clang" was the trace left by its "Nail" scraping the floor!

Jiang Yuan's heart sank to the bottom of a gorge.

The Ghost Doctor's dragging was not a weapon; its body itself was the most terrifying killing instrument!

"Boom...... Boom......"

The Ghost Doctor slowly walked past the column where he was hiding; at its closest, it was less than two meters from Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan could clearly smell the strong Formalin stench mixed with rotting flesh emanating from it.

He stayed motionless, turning himself into a real stone.

Time, at that moment, stretched infinitely.

Each second felt like a torture in hell.

Finally, the heavy footsteps and scraping sounds gradually faded, disappearing at the far end of the corridor.

"Huh......"

Jiang Yuan leaned his back against the column, slowly slid down to sit on the floor, his whole body like someone just pulled from water, cold sweat already soaking the thin Employee Uniform.

He gasped heavily, his chest rising and falling violently.

A narrow escape.

After a brief moment of relief, a bone‑deep chill rose from his tailbone straight up to his Heavenly Spirit Cover.

Jiang Yuan slowly stood, did not linger, checked the direction on the map, lowered his body like a night‑time cheetah, and silently slipped toward the first target—the Psychological Counseling Room.

The corridor was spacious and silent, only his own faint footsteps.

The Psychological Counseling Room's door was ajar; Jiang Yuan did not push it directly, but tilted his ear to listen for a moment, confirming there was no movement, then darted inside.

Inside the room, a stale dusty smell hit his nose.

He saw it at a glance.

In the center of the room, on a coffee table, a red Candle stood quietly.

Jiang Yuan quickly moved forward, struck a match, and lit the wick.

"Puff."

A burst of orange‑yellow flame leapt up, casting wavering light in the dim room, dispelling some of the chill.

First one, done.

He did not linger, immediately retreated, and headed toward the second target, Surgery Room-05.

Just as he had just left the Psychological Counseling Room, preparing to cross a crossroads‑like corridor.

"Clang......"

That familiar metallic scraping sound rang out again without warning from the far left end of the corridor!

Here it comes again!

Jiang Yuan's complexion changed; without thinking, he rolled on the spot and dove into a sign‑less Storage Room beside the intersection.

Almost at the moment he had just finished hiding.

「Thud...... thud...... thud...... 」

The Ghost Doctor's silhouette appeared again at the end of the corridor, slowly approaching the spot where he had just been.

Jiang Yuan hid behind the door, staring fixedly at the monster outside through the broken glass on the door.

He watched the Ghost Doctor stop in the middle of the intersection, its dirty skull turning like a rusted gear, click by click, as if sniffing the air.

Don't look over here!

Jiang Yuan's heart leapt to his throat.

Fortunately, after searching for a moment, the Ghost Doctor detected nothing, then resumed its heavy steps, dragging its 'Surgical Knife Hand' deeper into another corridor.

Until that sound faded completely.

Only then did Jiang Yuan dare to take a breath.

We can't go on like this.

Too passive.

Each time felt like dancing on a blade's edge; luck couldn't always be on our side.

He forced himself to calm down, his brain racing.

He had to create some 'noise' to interfere with the Infiltrator's judgment.

A flash of ruthlessness crossed Jiang Yuan's eyes as a bold plan formed in his mind.

He no longer rushed toward the next target; instead, he turned and ran quickly in the opposite direction from where the Ghost Doctor had left.

He wanted to take the initiative!

He ran several dozen meters, deliberately made a slight noise on a metal cabinet, then immediately turned and rushed at top speed toward the third marked point on the map—the Nurse Station!

As expected.

The moment he had just arrived at the Nurse Station and lit the second candle.

「Scratch...... scratch...... 」

That deadly scraping sound once again came from the direction where he had just made the noise!

He had successfully lured the Ghost Doctor away!

「Effective! 」

Jiang Yuan felt a surge of joy; using this feint‑east‑strike‑west tactic, he managed to light all three candles marked on Chen Shao's map while under the Ghost Doctor's pursuit.

But a problem followed.

Where are the other candles?

With so many rooms on the second floor, searching them one by one is like looking for a needle in a haystack; sooner or later he'll run straight into the Ghost Doctor.

We must find a pattern.

Jiang Yuan hid in a corner, carefully recalling the three rooms where he had previously lit the candles.

Psychological Counseling Room, Surgery Clinic, Nurse Station......

What do these three have in common?

They are...... places that serve the 'Patient'!

A thought flashed like lightning, splitting the fog in his mind.

Candles appear only in places directly related to the 'Patient'!

Having realized this, Jiang Yuan no longer hesitated; he began purposefully searching for rooms marked with 'Examination Room', 'Ward', 'Treatment Room', etc.

As he passed through an especially dark and narrow corridor, his steps suddenly halted.

He saw.

On the wall not far ahead, there was a mass of black shadow.

That shadow belonged to no object, like a splat of ink flung on the wall; in the dim light it jarringly made his heart pound.

The content of Employee Rule Article 6 instantly surfaced in his mind.

【6. If you are staff, night patrol is your duty. If you see a black shadow moving on the wall while on patrol, please ignore it; it is a light‑shadow issue caused by equipment failure. If the shadow tries to 'play a game' with you, please stand still and do not move until it leaves on its own.】