Chapter 111 The mental patient's saliva dripped from between his chipped teeth...
According to their planned schedule, it should still be early. But perhaps because they hadn't taken a nap, they all felt drowsy and kept yawning as they stood there.
But everyone had to keep quiet, so they had to keep their lips tightly closed and swallow their yawns back down, causing their eyes to glisten with tears.
In the quiet hospital warehouse, their heartbeats sounded even more deafening.
Liang Jun felt someone gently poking her arm, like a sticky, slimy little earthworm emerging from the ground after the rain.
She turned her head to the side following the direction of her skin's sensation. Although there was no light, she could still feel the other person's breath on her ear.
"Sister Jun, is Director Geng really alright?"
Gu Keke lowered her voice and asked, "Why isn't there even the slightest sound?"
The hospital's storage space is large enough that any noise can be heard from every corner.
It's so quiet now, it's really a bit eerie.
Liang Xun was also puzzled by this matter, but since everyone was not very familiar with this place, she could only suppress her confusion.
“Director Geng hasn’t been gone long,” she replied softly. “It’s probably because things are a bit tricky over there, so don’t worry about it…”
Just as the two were whispering to each other, Qi Zhixia, who was standing in another spot, suddenly tugged at their arms.
"Look, it seems like light is coming."
Liang Jun and Gu Keke looked towards the aisle where Geng Qing had left almost simultaneously, and sure enough, at the very end of the gap between the shelves, they caught a glimpse of a bright light.
In the almost pitch-black environment, it was like a cluster of fire that could ignite everything, allowing one to quickly lock onto the target in a short time.
Liang Jun still remembered Geng Qing's instructions before he left, but at this moment, the light was still quite far away from them.
Due to the slight dizziness caused by the excessive darkness, they were temporarily unable to confirm whether the lights were flickering.
To prevent any accidents, Liang Jun moved quietly, taking Gu Keke and Qi Zhixia with her as they approached the warehouse door.
Even without any verbal communication, the three of them understood each other perfectly. If they detected any abnormality in the other party's light signal, they would not hesitate to strictly follow Geng Qing's instructions and escape from this confined space immediately.
Their worst-case scenario is having to share a room with potentially unknown creatures, and there might even be a dark chase scene.
Thinking of this, Liang Xun held her breath and concentrated—
This is a huge disadvantage for them.
Six eyes were fixed on the approaching tiny ball of light, and Liang Jun's fingertips had already reached the edge of the wall switch; everything was ready.
As the distance between them closed, the intense discomfort caused by the darkness gradually subsided. Almost simultaneously, all three noticed that the flashlight beams were flashing in a peculiar pattern.
At the same time, the familiar sound of high heels was gradually approaching.
Gu Keke, soaked in cold sweat, finally breathed a sigh of relief and slumped weakly against the wall.
"I was so scared! Thank goodness Director Geng is back..."
"We cannot let our guard down yet."
Seeing that the other party was still moving towards them, Liang Jun quickly turned on her flashlight. After checking that there was no object following Geng Qing, she continued, "She may not necessarily be Director Geng. We need to further confirm her identity."
At this point, Geng Qing happened to be standing in front of Liang Xuan.
Her white coat was still loose, with one hand tucked into her side pocket, and the black, shiny high heels gleamed.
She and Liang Jun exchanged only one glance, yet she could see right through each other's thoughts.
Geng Qing shrugged indifferently, "Confirming your identity, is that right? Ask whatever you want."
"Director Geng must still remember the day I first woke up, right?"
Liang Jun crossed her arms, her expression relaxed and natural. "When you came to check on me that day, what else was on the medical cart besides alcohol and gauze?"
Upon hearing this question, Qi Zhixia frowned, seemingly not understanding why she would ask such a question.
Gu Keke looked troubled and muttered somewhat embarrassedly, "This is too difficult... The medicine on the cart seems to be different every day..."
However, Geng Qing's gaze behind his gold-rimmed glasses remained extremely calm, seemingly unaffected by the two women.
She simply smiled faintly, her phoenix eyes full of admiration. "That day during rounds, I didn't use a trolley, and I even took your saline solution directly from the ward."
Geng Qing turned his wrist and the flashlight pole gently tapped Liang Yun's forehead.
"You've got a lot of tricks up your sleeve, trying to scam me?"
"It's always good to be cautious."
Liang Xun rubbed her head, smiling, "By the way, Director Geng, what's the situation on your end?"
Geng Qing waved his hand, indicating that everyone should go outside first.
The moment the warehouse's metal door opened, a blast of cold air hit them. Without Geng Qing even needing to urge them, everyone rushed towards the elevator one after another.
Once back in the bustling outpatient building, Geng Qing whispered, "It's nothing serious, just a mental patient who accidentally wandered in."
Passersby were hurrying by, and no one noticed their secret conversation.
"An accident?" This explanation was clearly untenable, and Liang Xun couldn't help but feel confused. "But isn't the warehouse only accessible to doctors by swiping their cards? Could there be a secret door?"
"You're overthinking it. There's definitely no hidden door."
Geng Qing reached into the pocket of his white coat, pinched it between his index and middle fingers, and pulled out two magnetic cards.
"One of them is mine, and the other is the one I asked him to hand over."
After the demonstration, she put the two magnetic cards back into her pocket. "He's never been a very honest person. I don't know which doctor he took them from this time, but he actually managed to sneak into the warehouse."
Qi Zhixia then asked, "Shouldn't we bring him along? What if he gets lost if we leave him alone in the warehouse?"
Just then, an intern walking in the opposite direction greeted Geng Qing, and she politely smiled and nodded in response.
After the two walked away, she replied, "Don't worry about the props. Each one has a specific lock, and judging from his current mental state, he definitely can't open them."
The group finally made their way through the crowd and out of the hospital's outpatient building. A cool breeze dispelled the smell of disinfectant clinging to them.
"He probably sneaked out when people weren't looking."
Geng Qing touched the stray strands of hair at the back of his neck. "After we get back to the inpatient department, I will find the relevant personnel to ensure proper protective measures are in place before bringing him back."
Whenever she makes this arm-raising motion, the loose sleeves of her white coat always slip down due to gravity, revealing a section of her smooth, fair wrist.
Liang Jun felt the sunlight was too bright. When she frowned and glanced to the side, she inadvertently caught a glimpse of the marks on the other person's wrist.
There are three parallel wounds.
The injury was no different from the one that had landed on Geng Qing's chest earlier, except that this time, the affected area was significantly smaller, as if it had been dodged instantly after contact.
Blood beads were still seeping from the broken skin, and the semi-congealed blood droplets clung to the tender red scratches.
Liang Xun became suspicious, but before she could voice her question, Geng Qing had already put her hand down again.
The sleeves of the white coat swayed, once again concealing the suspicious mark.
Liang Jun pursed her lips slightly, deciding to put the issue aside for the time being and consider speaking out when the time was right.
Geng Qing didn't notice any of this. After the group walked into the inpatient building along the same route, she spoke again.
"By the way, please be extra careful while you stay in the ward."
Seeing the three people's puzzled looks, Geng Qing explained, "The mental patient we unexpectedly encountered in the warehouse was someone our hospital had been treating for a long time—he was already here long before the arrival of rule-based worlds."
"After so much training in the dungeon, although he has no physical injuries, his mental instability has become more and more serious. He often appears and disappears mysteriously in various corners of the hospital."
Geng Qing sighed and instructed, "If you see a man in his fifties or sixties with almost completely white hair, do not pay any attention to him. Pretend you did not see him and walk around him at a steady pace."
Staring at Geng Qing's serious expression, Gu Keke blinked, feeling a chill run down her spine.
"Is it that serious...?"
She's seen people like that before. When she was little, her downstairs neighbor was a mentally ill person living alone.
Gu Keke still remembers that the person walked crookedly. Adults would whisper among themselves when they saw him, and children would laugh loudly. But the person was neither angry nor made a fuss. He always had a crooked smile on his face that he might never be able to get rid of for the rest of his life. Saliva dripped from the gaps between his knocked-out teeth, sticky and dragging on the ground.
These kinds of people are strange in some ways, but normal in others. It's as if they would never resort to violence against ordinary people unless people treat them with malice.
Therefore, Gu Keke felt that Geng Qing's wariness was making a mountain out of a molehill, "Making it sound like a supernatural tale..."
Geng Qing seemed not to notice her muttering. After everyone had entered the elevator car, she pondered for a long time before adding her own thoughts.
"He was wearing a full hospital gown, a pair of loose brown, thick-rimmed glasses, and a pair of old-fashioned dark brown sandals."
As the elevator announced that it had reached the sixth floor, Geng Qing remembered something else: "He also has a very obvious hunchback, and he can hardly lift his head."
The corridor was long. On the way back to ward 602, Liang Jun couldn't help but ask curiously, "For patients with such serious conditions, don't you assign anyone to watch over them?"
A distinctly unnatural expression flashed across Geng Qing's face for a moment. She turned her head away, made a fist and covered her mouth with it, and coughed softly twice.
"We did before. But as the difficulty of the dungeons has gradually increased, we have lost quite a few healers."
Her voice was light and airy, “So, in order to facilitate centralized management, we have no choice but to gather everyone in the same place.”
As they were talking, the group arrived at room 602.
Gu Keke opened the door, and Liang Jun and Qi Zhixia entered one after the other, while Geng Qing remained standing at the door, motionless.
“I have to find someone to bring him back from the warehouse.”
Geng Qing tilted his head. "He can't stay in the warehouse alone for too long."
Just as she was about to turn and leave, Liang Jun suddenly called out to her.
Liang Xun's gaze first swept quickly over the other person's tightly covered wrists, and then met Geng Qing's phoenix eyes.
Where does that person live?
Liang Jun asked again, "Since he is so dangerous, we must keep a safe distance from him—so, where does that person live?"
Geng Qing rested one hand on his arm, gently pushed up the gold-rimmed frame of his glasses, and then pointed to the ceiling with only a slender index finger.
"Inpatient ward, seventh floor."
Before leaving, she made sure to close the door for her, saying, "I live upstairs from you."
"What?!"
Gu Keke, who had rushed into the ward earlier, was incredulous. She was so shocked that she spilled water from her cup.
But when she ran to the ward door in a daze, Geng Qing was nowhere to be seen.
"She kept telling us to be careful and avoid that person, but now she's informing us that the person lives right above us. Isn't Director Geng contradicting herself?!"
Seeing that she was so angry that her hands were shaking like she had Parkinson's disease, Qi Zhixia on the hospital bed patted her twice to comfort her.
"It's probably a problem with the hospital's overall planning; perhaps all the patients are in this one building."
Liang Jun didn't say much and silently walked back to her bed.
She was just about to take her phone out of her pocket when the cold metal suddenly vibrated twice—
There's new information in the "Never Die" group chat.
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Author's note: Happy Qixi Festival! May all your wishes come true!
I suddenly realized it's chapter 111. What a coincidence...
I've been dealing with some tricky issues lately, and in the midst of all that busyness, I completely forgot to send out my leave request. I'm so sorry, my dear readers!
Fortunately, things have been mostly resolved, so I can resume normal updates. I'll also try to make up for the previous word count so everyone can read to their heart's content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
