Chapter 111: Strange People and Secret Passages
Because she had been unconscious for quite some time after being hit hard earlier, Linlang slept very lightly this time, as if the sleepiness was gone as soon as she closed her eyes and opened them again. She found that it was already dark outside the window, and the ward was dim, and Luo Mei had disappeared.
She felt the pain in the bandaged area at the back of her head had eased a lot, and thought she was almost recovered, so she got up from the bed and walked out of the ward.
The corridor outside the ward was deserted, lit only by a flickering electric light, which dimmed and brightened the atmosphere. "Is anyone there?" Linlang asked timidly, perhaps not even knowing who she was asking.
No one answered.
There was no one in the wards and clinics on the second floor. She came to the stairs on the second floor and looked down, but there was still no one in sight.
"Luo Mei! Are you there?" Linlang called out again, but still no one answered.
She walked down the stairs to the first floor. The hospital lobby was deserted, and no one was at the reception desk opposite. Where had everyone in the hospital gone? Linlang was puzzled.
Suddenly, in this quiet environment, Linlang heard the faint sound of footsteps. The source seemed to be...
She looked at the stairs on the other side and saw that there were steps going down! Could this hospital have a basement? No wonder, hospitals generally have basements. That's where the bodies of those who died after unsuccessful treatment were placed, which is where the morgue is located.
Wait… Linlang's heart trembled—the morgue… footsteps were actually heard? Could someone be inside at this time? Living or dead?
Although she had followed Yin Chuan for several years and had encountered many strange cases and seen many victims' bodies, she had never faced the fear of the unknown alone in such a gloomy environment. Cold sweat could not help but seep from her forehead.
The intermittent sound of footsteps made it impossible for her to tell whether the person in the basement was getting closer or farther away. This made her extremely curious in addition to her fear.
Involuntarily, Linlang walked down the stairs to the basement step by step, trying to make her steps as light as possible, for fear of disturbing the people below... or something else.
When she tiptoed to the basement entrance, she saw a long, narrow corridor with a flicker of light in the darkness. She mustered her courage and peered deeper into the corridor. What she saw startled her so much that she almost cried out, and she quickly covered her mouth.
In the pitch-black hallway of the basement, a dimly lit lantern flickered, like a ghostly will-o'-the-wisp in a cemetery. It was obvious someone was carrying it, slowly moving forward, apparently heading deeper into the basement. The flicker of the light allowed Linlang to vaguely discern the sign hanging on the door to the room ahead: Morgue.
Oh my goodness! I guessed right! Linlang gasped.
In this environment, she didn't dare to act rashly. She just kept adjusting her breathing, fearing that the fear in her heart would make her hands and feet uncontrollable and she would be discovered by that person.
Perhaps fearing what comes to pass, the lantern bearer seemed to sense something was amiss and slowly turned around. The tense atmosphere nearly made Linlang's heart leap out of her mouth, and she quickly retreated. In her last glance, she caught sight of the man's face—a lifeless, bluish-gray complexion, two eerie rays of light emanating from his eyes, like a spirit returning from the underworld.
Or rather... he is a dead man!
Suddenly, Linlang remembered that she had secretly overheard not long ago about the connection between the organization's members and Satanism. Could it be that this walking corpse was also related to Satanism?
With a creaking sound, the tall zombie opened the door of the morgue, walked in slowly, and then closed the door. The basement corridor fell into darkness.
Linlang took a deep breath, calming her nerves for a moment, and walked to the end of the corridor. Arriving at the morgue door, a feeling struck her: How could this be exactly like the scene she'd eavesdropped on the organization members' conversation at the end of the diversion tunnel not long ago? Linlang muttered to herself, feeling something was amiss.
No, this time we can’t lose the clue like last time, we must catch up no matter what!
Having made up her mind, Linlang gently pushed open the door to the morgue, intending to turn and run once she came face to face with that strange man. As for whether her legs would still be able to obey her commands by then, she didn't have time to think about it.
After pushing the door open, she found that the lantern was placed on the table by the wall. There was a door in the innermost corner of the room. It seemed that the strange man had walked in there, but where did this door lead to?
Linlang walked gently to the door and looked inside. There was a secret passage only two meters high. The strange man was not far away, and his tall figure was particularly conspicuous in the dim light.
Linlang was so focused on peeking that she didn't notice a broken jar under her feet. It made a crisp "clang" sound when it was kicked, which scared Linlang so much that she quickly retreated and covered her mouth tightly.
After waiting for a long time, there was no response from the passage. Linlang was puzzled and cautiously peeked over again. The tall figure had already walked a long distance away. Could it be that the strange man didn't hear the noise? It was impossible. Such a clear sound suddenly came from such an empty and quiet environment. He couldn't have missed it. What was going on?
Seeing the strange man walking further and further away, Linlang suppressed her inner fear, walked into the passage in the morgue that led to an unknown place, and followed the strange man slowly.
I don't know how long I walked, maybe five minutes or so, when suddenly the ghostly figure in front of me vanished. Perhaps he'd turned a corner? Or perhaps he'd gone up, out of the underground, and onto the surface?
Linlang held her breath and hurried forward a few steps. She found the trunk of a large tree in front of her. How could there be a tree growing underground? Oh—Linlang remembered that there was a small banyan tree in the middle of the garden between the hospital and the church. Unknowingly, she had walked to the banyan tree in the middle of the flowerbed.
Suddenly, a pungent smell rushed into Linlang's head, making her cover her nose involuntarily.
Could it be that all the fertilizer for the entire garden is piled under this banyan tree?
Holding her breath, she barely made it around the banyan tree. Linlang took a few quick steps before she felt a slight improvement. The air, while still murky, was much better than before. However, the strange man's traces disappeared before her eyes, leaving her hesitant.
Should I continue to follow him? What if that guy has already discovered me and is hiding in the shadows not far ahead, waiting for an opportunity to strike? Wouldn't it be a trap if I continued to move forward?
No! No, I couldn't let this go. I couldn't bear to give up halfway. The brickwork beneath the flowerbed was almost identical to the one at the end of the water tunnel I'd walked through earlier. This meant both the hospital and the church were most likely connected to that organization, perhaps even Satanism. I had finally found this clue again, so how could I give it up so easily?
Somehow, Linlang's fear was suddenly thrown to the back of her mind. She quickened her pace and walked forward along the passage without hesitation. Until she reached the upward stairs in front of her, she felt that she had reached the end.
Another staircase! Could it be another locked door? Are the Satanists in the worship room behind the door?
However, this time she guessed wrong. When she reached the end of the stairs, she found an unclosed door. After she walked out, she found a spacious hall. This was originally a corner of the main hall of the church.
Linlang looked around but couldn't find the strange man. Only the dim candlelight in the confessional in the corner of the church was visible. She walked over and pushed the door. It was locked, but the candles were still lit so late, so someone must have been there not long ago. Could it be the priest?
Linlang's experience traveling around Europe taught her that if the lights in the confessional were still on, the priest would listen to the believer's confession and give him God's guidance, no matter how late it was. She turned to the barred window behind the confessional and found only a single candle, and no one was inside.
Where on earth did that weirdo go? Linlang wondered.
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