In a corridor about 5 meters wide.
The dilapidated walls, scattered syringes on the floor, discarded newspapers still stained with some blood—the scene was utter chaos.
Bang
A wooden figure toppled to the ground.
[Yare yare, why though? They don't even talk. Is it because their level is too low? Sigh~]
Saiki Kusuo casually scanned the messy room with one hand still gripping the throat of a ghost that was shrieking hoarsely.
To be honest, Saiki absolutely hadn't expected that the random room he picked would turn out like this.
Halfway through, there was even a waterway—and in that waterway, crocodiles and sharks.
After the sharks came traps: a few steps and giant boulders would roll down, darts flying everywhere—it didn't feel like a hospital at all.
Finally reaching the innermost room, he found three living ghosts inside. The place was filled with wooden figures.
They were very similar to the ones Saiki had encountered on the road to the village before arriving at the hospital, but those didn't move—they were completely inanimate. Only a few could move, including the ghost currently being choked single-handedly by Saiki.
But on this ghost, half its body had already turned into wood. Extremely bizarre.
[Well, this time it wasn't a complete waste.]
After realizing the ghost he was choking had completely stopped moving—transformed into an unusual kind of death—Saiki casually tossed it aside and pulled out a phone with his right hand, looking at it with interest.
In this strange phone, Saiki discovered an unusual diary entry.
Saiki swiped the screen to read.
April 7.
I'm a journalist. It's been over a month since I arrived in this sealed-off, quarantined village.
Yeah, everyone here is pretty normal—not like those worlds outside invaded by the bizarre and terrifying.
But now there's bigger trouble. I'm too poor, but now there's bigger trouble. I'm too poor. In this old village, being a journalist doesn't earn much money at all, and there aren't any explosive scoops. No way, I need to make big money.
April 9.
I'm so poor I'm eating grass. I even ended up in the hospital.
This hospital connects to the edge of another village—it's a very ordinary hospital.
My chance has come. Guess what I saw at the hospital?
They were delivering packaged organs to the morgue. There has to be some huge news waiting for me.
"…"
April 20.
A lot of people who accidentally wandered into this village and couldn't leave have recently been feeling unwell.
They're slowly turning into monster-like forms. I know that's what happens when you're invaded by the bizarre.
This year the hospital has taken in an especially large number of patients, but the mortality rate during surgery is extremely high. There's definitely something wrong here.
April 25.
I discussed it with the village chief. I'll sneak into the hospital to dig up a big scoop.
Although I've heard this hospital has gotten stricter lately—you can't just enter casually unless you're sick.
Sneaking in would be a serious crime; I can't let anyone else know. But I trust the village chief a lot, so I told him.
Ever since I arrived in the village, he's been the kindest to me—treated me like his own son.
"…"
May 1.
Where am I? How did I become a patient here?
Good thing the evidence on my phone is still preserved. Once I get out, I have to expose all of this.
May 5 or 6, I guess.
Weird, what day is it today?
I can't adjust the time either. I always feel like I've forgotten something?
How did I… get in here?
May 10.
Strange, I really forgot something.
I had surgery yesterday. It hurt so much, but the doctor gave me a ton of medicine. I'm feeling much better now.
"…"
May 18.
Damn it, this light is so blinding. I really forgot something!
The contents on my phone absolutely cannot be discovered by anyone else.
May 19.
Today I asked them where the morgue is.
I went to check out the morgue. Strange, why is the morgue on the top floor?
I feel like I met someone and said something to them, but why did I pass out?
May 19.
Lights out!
I remember now!
I remember!!
I hate this!!!
"…"
...…
Saiki stared at the phone screen, brows tightly furrowed.
[This…]
"Why… why do I have to do something like this? Jeez."
In one room.
In the bathroom, Xiao Chen was washing the hair of a long-haired woman soaking in the tub.
Except that woman had no eyeballs in her sockets, and what filled the tub wasn't water—it was blood!
Xiao Chen felt a mix of emotions inside. Although his hand looked like it was helping someone wash their hair, when he reached in, it felt soft, sticky, and wet inside her head.
Clearly, what he was touching were internal organs, and there was even a stinging sensation.
Xiao Chen [Why did a task like this suddenly come up? I can't take it!]
(Looks like the others aren't having it easy either.)
Saiki, using his clairvoyance the whole time, retraced his steps.
(Let's check on that Lin Fan kid next!)
If Saiki had eyes, they would have crossed as he looked ahead.
At that moment, Lin Fan was in a 20-square-meter room, sitting on the sofa with his feet up on it, arms hugging his legs, maintaining a professional smile while watching TV.
Sitting right beside him were two kids who looked about teenage.
Except those two kids had wrinkled faces, empty mouths and eye sockets, and limp hands resting on Lin Fan's shoulders.
They swayed their heads while watching TV. The TV was playing a black-and-white styled movie that had already reached its climax.
A family of four sat at the dining table, eating leisurely. The table was richly set—with eyeballs, severed fingers, ears, noses, and other blurred objects.
The four people at the table: one adult man and one adult woman, seemingly a married couple.
The other two were children—and those two protagonists looked exactly the same as the ones leaning against Lin Fan.
When it reached this part, the two kids beside Lin Fan stopped watching the TV and started staring at Lin Fan from time to time.
Lin Fan broke out in a cold sweat but still kept up his smile, completely unfazed.
Lin Fan [What the hell is this show? Domestic violence, child abuse from a fighting couple—the injured one is the kid. And now those two kids are sitting right next to me? Do I dare move? I completely don't dare!]
(Yare yare, looks like things are pretty exciting over here too.)
Drip drip…
The sound of water droplets falling!
Inside one room, it was especially quiet—you could even hear someone swallowing hard.
Yao Yao held a candle, looking a bit nervous, when suddenly someone patted her shoulder.
[Yo, what are you doing!]
"Eek~~" A startled scream ₍₍ ง(*Ӧ)ว ⁾⁾
Yao Yao hopped back twice. Seeing it was Saiki, she took a big breath and asked, "So it was Saiki-kun… When did you get here?"
[Just now. Didn't expect to scare you.]
Saiki used the candlelight to look around. This was a real bedroom with very few items. As he walked, Saiki suddenly stopped.
[By the way, are you alone? I don't see that blue general anywhere!]
Saiki stopped in front of a stone statue. He shone the light around it. The more he looked, the more familiar it seemed. Oh… wait, it was a statue made of stone.
Yao Yao pointed at the statue with her finger.
Saiki tapped it with his hand, looked left and right. Because it was just too similar, a sense of familiarity welled up inside him. He turned back to Yao Yao.
[Don't tell me this statue…]
Yao Yao lowered her head and nodded her little head. "This is General-oniichan."
(No wonder it felt so familiar!)
[Hey! What's going on here? Don't tell me we ran into…]
Yao Yao loudly cut in, "Yes yes yes, it's exactly Medusa's doing!"
Saiki: …
(I wasn't even finished!)
[Yare yare, this is troublesome now.]
Saiki tilted his head, looking at the statue, pondering. His restoration ability had no way to reverse it.
Because he also had the same ability as Medusa to turn people into stone—he'd done it to others before. The restoration ability doesn't work on inanimate objects.
In other words, it can't revive the dead.
Yao Yao saw the "troubled" Saiki walk over. She tugged at the corner of his clothes and asked considerately, "What do we do? Saiki-kun, if there's no way, don't force it. Don't save him. Let's just go back."
(You're giving up way too fast. Just how little do you care about this person? ("▔□▔))
[No need. Actually, I have a way.]
Saiki rummaged in his pocket, pulled out a bottle of red liquid, opened it, and poured it over the statue.
The body of the male general who had turned to stone began to slowly wriggle. Cracks appeared on the stone.
First from the eyes, hands, nose, feet, abdomen—the statue cracked open. The person wrapped inside stood dazed in place, staring at his own body as the stone fragments fell to the ground.
[Done.]
Yao Yao: "You can even do that!"
[That wasted a whole bottle of potion. Well—whatever. How are you feeling? Do you remember what happened just now?]
Saiki stepped forward and brushed the stone fragments off the blue general's collar. The blue general finally came to his senses. Seeing Saiki, he asked, "What happened?"
[How are you the one asking me? I'm the one asking you, idiot!]
The blue general clutched his head. "My head's a bit dizzy. Just now it felt like I saw some monster, and then I lost consciousness."
[I see. So it even has the ability to erase memories!]
"General-oniichan, are you okay? Earlier you ran into that monster called Medusa and got turned to stone!" Yao Yao popped out, tilting her head as she spoke.
"What? Ambushed by a monster again!"
The blue general's expression grew heavy, looking like he'd just eaten something awful. Then he looked at Yao Yao in confusion and said, "Then how come you're fine?"
Yao Yao shook her head. "I don't know. He turned you to stone and then ran off."
"This… I see. Why doesn't my damn luck ever kick in!"
Saiki watched the two chat with a calm expression, saying nothing more…
At the entrance.
The four regrouped.
Xiao Chen looked strange as he wiped his hand on Lin Fan's clothes and asked, "How'd it go?"
"Don't touch me, what are you doing!" Lin Fan pushed Xiao Chen away in disdain. "It was super dangerous over there just now. Those two brats almost made a move."
The blue general said tiredly, "Mine was worse. I ran into that Medusa and got turned to stone. Good thing Saiki was there."
"How are you so useless!"
"You… you you you!"
"Alright, enough. Let's first talk about what we got." Xiao Chen held his hand to his nose to smell it, then quickly pulled it away in disgust.
[Sorry, if there's anything, let's talk tomorrow. We're heading out first!]
Saiki hoisted Yao Yao onto his shoulder and walked toward the door.
"Hey, so fast?"
[Yeah. Not going home at 2:30 AM means trouble for sure. I'm going back to catch some sleep first.]
With that, Saiki didn't linger and jogged away.
After Lin Fan and the other three walked out, they found Saiki had already disappeared around the corner.
"That jerk ran off so fast!"
"2:30 AM not going home—this some kind of superstition? By the way, what time is it now? We've only been out for half an hour at most, right?"
The blue general pulled a small clock from his pocket. "2:29. Almost 2:30."
Tick tick tick
The second hand reached the top. The time became 2:30.
Boom boom boom…
Heavy footsteps rang out. A bad premonition rose in everyone's hearts at once as they looked toward the corner.
It was still the familiar security guard, but his steps gradually became distorted. He stomped heavily on the stairs, making eerie sounds as he charged over.
Everyone jumped in fright at the same time: "Holy crap!!"