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◎Happiness◎

"It's alright, it's alright, don't worry, I'll call your uncle." Aunt Hai looked anxious, but still tried to comfort Mu and Qing.

She took out her phone, and it rang for a while, but no one answered.

She dialed again, but still no one answered.

"Oh dear, where did they go?" Aunt Hai was really worried at this point. They had been together for almost forty years, and their relationship was deeper than anyone else's.

Mu Heqing said, "Aunt Hai, don't worry. The nurse just said she thought she saw Uncle walk that way. The security guard went to look for him too. You go and check the surveillance footage with the nurse. I'll go take a look over there."

Aunt Hai could only nod worriedly and say, "Thank you for your trouble, Xiao Qing. Oh, I just ran into you. What's going on?"

Mu and Qing waved their hands and ran to the end of the corridor the nurse had mentioned, where there was a staircase. Uncle Hai would most likely have gone down from there.

She patted her head, realizing that spending so much time with those guys had made her almost forget about modern technology.

She took out her phone and called Li Shi, who answered quickly.

"Show me, have you found the hidden spot?"

"No, he has too many shadows and runs too fast."

"Then help me find someone, and I'll send you their photo."

There was a photo of Uncle Hai on the bedside table, and Mu and Qing took a picture of it while things were in disarray.

"It's not easy to find, there are too many people here."

Mu and Qing's gaze was fixed on a tile in the stairwell, while the chaotic sounds of the ward filled their ears.

When Mu and Qing were little, when their parents were busy, they would leave her with their neighbor, Aunt Hai. Aunt Hai was richer than their family, but she was never stingy. Many of her new experiences started at Aunt Hai's house.

And, hospitals are dangerous these days.

"If it's a wish, what offerings do you need?"

"Huh? You're not allowed to kick me out for the next year."

"Three months."

"Oh no, six months then!"

"One month."

"Why is it getting less and less? Okay, okay, I'll give it a try."

The phone went silent for a moment.

"It will take at least three months, otherwise it cannot be established."

Three months... It seems Uncle Hai is indeed in danger.

Mu Heqing said, "Okay."

"He seemed to be in a very dark place, with several cars around him."

Car? Underground parking garage? But this hospital has two underground parking garages.

"Could you be more specific?"

"Yes, there is a brand, B2, E18."

"I understand, come over here quickly."

Mu and Qing hung up the phone and quickly went down the stairs. The floor where the oncology ward was located wasn't very high, and it didn't take her long to reach the second basement level.

The second basement level of this former private hospital is exclusively for VIP service, so there aren't many cars on that level. According to the naming convention, B2 represents the second basement level, and E18 represents parking space number 18 in section E.

If you find parking space number 18 in section E, you should be able to find Uncle Hai.

The underground parking garage was huge, and Mu and Qing were anxious. They ran around several times but still couldn't find section E.

She leaned against the wall, panting. How did she end up getting lost?

She looked around and saw a person. Thinking that the person was there to get a car, she called out to the person and asked, "Excuse me, where is Section E?"

The man didn't answer her, and continued walking forward step by step.

Thinking he hadn't heard her, Mu Heqing quickly walked to his side and asked again, "Excuse me, do you know where Area E is?"

The man's steps were rhythmic, like a robot programmed to move. He seemed not to hear Mu and Qing's words.

Mu and Qing glanced at the man's wrist; there was a wristband with his hospitalization information written on it.

This person is a patient, it seems to be a nephrology patient.

The man walked into one of the light sources in the underground parking garage, and Mu and Qing could see his pale yellow, sunken face; he must be very ill.

In contrast to his pained expression was a smile on his face—not an intense one, but a natural and happy one, as if he had witnessed the happiest thing in his life. His eyes were full of light. He didn't seem to be walking in an underground parking garage, but rather on the road of his own hope.

Mu and Qing were startled; they had never encountered anything like this before.

This isn't the power of Yin Yin; Yin Yin can control many shadows, but not other people's expressions. Nor is it caused by Si Fei; Si Fei can only make people lose themselves and be deeply attracted, not show such a happy and hopeful expression.

Can happiness be faked?

She followed this person closely, and the sign for the second basement parking garage changed from Zone B to Zone E.

She finally found area E.

She noticed that the patient's eyes were always fixed on something in front of him.

"What are you looking at?" Mu Heqing asked, knowing that this person probably wouldn't answer her.

"Flowers," the man suddenly spoke, his voice extremely hoarse.

Mu and Qing looked ahead; there were no flowers, only an empty underground parking garage.

"Green grass."

Is it a hallucination?

"A few scattered raindrops."

"Award Certificate".

"hot pot."

"Mother."

"child."

"A health check-up report".

The man uttered one word after another.

He stretched out his arms and hugged himself, saying, "I am very happy."

"I am very happy." He repeated it again, and started running as if hugging himself. His body, weakened and thin from long-term illness, seemed to be running with all the strength of his life.

Suddenly, a blood-red ring appeared in front of him, and he jumped into it like a lion leaping through a ring of fire.

Mu and Qing tried to pull him back, but their hands only managed to grab the hem of the man's clothes.

The man's upper body passed through the ring, and he fell heavily to the ground. His waist looked as if it had been cut by the ring, and blood and intestines flowed all over the ground.

Mu Heqing trembled, swallowing her short scream. The scene before her was far more shocking than the three corpses she had seen at the company.

What is this ring? She has absolutely no recollection of it.

She looked at the ring suspended in mid-air, which was similar to a ring of fire, except that one was enveloped in flames and the other was enveloped in flesh and blood.

The blood-red ring was actually wrapped in flesh and blood.

Mu and Qing mustered their courage to take a look, and the dead patient still had a happy smile on his face.

The rings floated on the bodies of the dead patients, slowly absorbing their flesh and blood. Soon, there were no more corpses on the ground.

Were the people who went missing from the hospital killed by this circular ring?

Mu Heqing pressed his twitching left eyelid, took a deep breath, and calmed down.

Other sounds came from Zone E of the underground parking garage, and two more people walked in.

One of them, Mu and Qing recognized, was Uncle Hai, their former neighbor. His steps were hesitant, his expression shifting between a happy smile and a blank look; no wonder he was only arriving now.

The other person wasn't a patient, but a student. Her school uniform was dirty, she carried a large backpack, and her face wore the same happy smile.

Without hesitation, the students walked step by step toward the circle.

We absolutely must not let them get any closer to the circle!

Mu and Qing guessed that the ring's position couldn't be moved arbitrarily, otherwise it could kill people at will; it needed to attract humans.

She glanced at the circle, grabbed the student with one hand and Uncle Hai with the other, and the two of them were unable to move forward because of her pull.

As long as we hold on until Li Shi arrives, things should be alright.

The ring didn't hold much appeal for Uncle Hai; after Mu and Qing grabbed him, he stood still and wouldn't move.

The younger student struggled, trying to break free from Mu and Qing's grasp and get closer to the circle.

Mu and Qing had already walked around the underground parking garage and were not very energetic. Now, dragging the two of them along, they were sweating profusely.

She tried to wake Uncle Hai, "Uncle, do you still recognize me? I'm your old neighbor, Xiaoqing! Aunt Hai is waiting for you. Don't come out alone, she's very worried about you!"

Uncle Hai's smile vanished, replaced by a look of struggle.

Seeing that it was working, Mu Heqing continued, "Aunt Hai is looking for you very anxiously, you should go back quickly."

Uncle Hai stood frozen in place, while Mu and Qing tentatively let go of his hand and instead used all their strength to pull the student girl along.

"Why are you trying to stop me from being happy?" the young student asked in a childish voice, looking towards the circular area.

Mu Heqing exclaimed urgently, "That's not happiness, that's death!"

“Death is happiness.” The student’s voice was firm. She began to struggle, and Mu and Qing pulled her so hard that their hands turned red.

At her prompting, Uncle Hai, who had stopped walking, started walking again.

Mu and Qing could only grab Uncle Hai again.

After a few minutes, she began to feel weak. The younger student was struggling, and Uncle Hai insisted on going to the roundabout. Mu and Qing knew they absolutely could not let go. Her vision blurred, and sweat trickled down her neck, making it wet, sticky, and extremely uncomfortable.

She guessed that the circle would attract desperate people. Uncle Hai was hospitalized, in the oncology ward, and the student girl's clothes were tattered, probably because she had been bullied—all of which fit the delusion of a desperate person.

The fact that Mu and Qing were not attracted by the ring also confirms this.

Why hasn't Li Shi arrived yet? He's completely unreliable at crucial moments.

Mu and Qing were holding each other's hands, unable to make a phone call. She remembered that her phone had a voice assistant, so she mustered all her strength and said, "Call Li Shi!"

"There's a signal! There's a signal!" Mu and Qing prayed silently that there was a signal in the underground parking garage.

This is a VIP parking garage; surely there's a signal here.

Fortunately, the call was answered.

"Shi, where are you? Come to me quickly."

The phone was in Mu Heqing's pocket and wasn't on speakerphone; she could only hear Li Shi talking intermittently.

"This place... is blocked... I can't get in... I saw someone... following him..."

Mu and Qing breathed a sigh of relief. She roughly understood that the area was blocked and they needed to follow someone who was being attracted to enter.

Li Shi should arrive soon. He can sense Mu and Qing's presence. They haven't come for so long, there must be something stopping them.

"Just hang in there a little longer," Mu and Qing gritted their teeth.

But instead of waiting for Li Shi, she met someone else who attracted her.

Three more people entered, and like before, they all wore happy smiles.

Mu and Qing only have two hands, so they can't hold onto any more people.

Just then, a boy suddenly appeared beside the circle, and the circle moved with him.

This ring was indeed manipulated.

The boy walked up to Mu Heqing and asked, "Heqing, do you remember me? I'm Huanren from Class Four."