Chapter 27 Xincheng Hospital (End) The portal has been completely closed...
Compared to Lin Qinghe, who was covered in blood, Shen Su, who was actually unharmed, was more frightening.
The fighting marks all over his body at least prove that Lin Qinghe is the real Lin Qinghe. But who can prove that this Shen Su is the real Shen Su?
Lin Fengbai tugged at Shi Yu's sleeve, pulling him back a few steps, and whispered, "It's impossible to go in and come out without any problems. This might be a lie."
Shi Yu turned slightly to listen to Lin Fengbai finish speaking, then looked up at Chen Su again. The man who had been all smiles just moments before now had a cold face and his gaze was icy as he looked over here.
That's a remarkably fast change of heart.
Although Shen Su likes to disguise himself, he has a decent temper and is not unpredictable. Lin Fengbai's words are not without reason.
“We suspect you’re an imposter.” Shi Yu looked Shen Su up and down. “Let’s check the code.”
Shen Su's expression turned even uglier, but he did not refuse the request.
Shi Yu asked Shen Su to say the Morse code he had typed before going in. But Shen Su blurted out, "The little girl in kindergarten who played Snow White with you didn't give you fruit candy in exchange for a bigger gift. Your candy gift bag later gave her cavities."
"During the summer vacation of my first year of high school, our two families went to a mountain resort to escape the heat. The resort owner's daughter asked you to tutor her, and you made her cry while teaching her test papers. On Christmas Eve of my second year of college, that sports student asked you to meet him at the school gate after school because he wanted to confess his feelings to you. But you thought he wanted to challenge you to a fight and sneaked out of the back gate of the school. He was standing in the cold wind waiting for you for five whole hours with an apple wrapped in 999 layers of apple paper."
Chen Su, without stopping, seemed determined to expose every blemish on Shi Yu's record: "Last year..."
"That's enough," Shi Yu interrupted, her brows furrowing deeply. "Can we stop talking about these things?"
Nobody wants these old, trivial matters to be brought up again, especially since they're currently live-streaming.
Moreover, Shi Yu doesn't remember many of the details.
Why is Shen Su able to remember it so clearly?
"Otherwise," Shen Su curled his lips, his smile still chilling, "how am I supposed to prove I'm real?"
Shi Yu let out a soft breath: "Alright, I believe you."
At times like these, viewers in the live stream certainly won't forget to enjoy the sweet moments:
[Click to see the smile gradually disappear; I reasonably suspect someone is jealous.]
[Ugh, it was just a tug on his sleeve, a little handshake, and a whispered conversation! His eyes practically screamed he wanted to stab our little angel Lin Fengbai. How could he be so petty?]
[He knows him so well! He knows so much! Turns out they not only know each other, but they're childhood friends! I'm totally shipping them!]
No, actually their relationship isn't good at all. If you don't believe me, watch the replay, watch the beginning; their relationship really is bad.
[Childhood sweethearts who don't get along? Ah, that makes it even more adorable!]
Lin Qinghe was puzzled that Shen Su came out unharmed. After Shi Yu proved that Shen Su was real, Lin Qinghe asked Shen Su, "How did you get out?"
Shen Su: "I saw the door open, so I came out."
Lin Qinghe: "..."
Shen Su then said, "Didn't you open the door? Why are you asking me?"
Lin Qinghe: "…………"
[Hahahaha, Shen Su understands nonsense literature!]
[Lin Qinghe: So angry, so angry, so angry!]
[Shen Su's answer is spot on, hahaha]
Lin Qinghe patiently changed his questioning approach: "What did you experience inside?"
“Oh, you mean the illusion inside?” Shen Su said with a look of sudden realization. Lin Qinghe realized that he had been played. He suppressed his anger and listened to Shen Su continue. “It’s supposed to be about digging out the strongest desires in people’s hearts and weaving illusions for them, right? But the voice inside told me that I have too many desires and they are too chaotic. It doesn’t know how to choose. So in the end, it selected the one thing that I have the strongest desire at this stage.”
"The voice told me I had cleared the level and instructed me to follow the long corridor that appeared ahead until I reached the end to exit."
"What I want to do most right now is leave the game. I'm so happy to hear that I've completed it!" Shen Su's tone was excited and his expression was genuine. "I'm so happy! I almost want to rush out right now!"
"Then why don't you go out?" Lin Qinghe asked.
"Because I'm bringing my companion with me." Shen Su glanced at Shi Yu, speaking as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "We came together, so we should leave together. How can I leave him alone?"
"So I didn't leave. The voice was quite interesting, so I chatted with it for a while. It seemed to know a lot. We were planning to have a long talk for three days and three nights... Suddenly the door opened, so I had no choice but to come out."
At first, Lin Qinghe was skeptical of Shen Su's words, but after hearing this, he realized that he had been fooled again, and he could no longer suppress his anger.
"Are you kidding me?"
Shen Su suppressed his smile: "Dean Lin is joking. Haven't you been the one playing us all along?"
Lin Qinghe, furious, laughed out loud: "So it was my oversight that I led you inside, since the scene inside doesn't really affect you, does it?"
"Just because the things inside the door don't work on you doesn't mean that other things don't work on you either. You've been in here for too long, it's about time to let this world return to peace."
Lin Qinghe's gaze suddenly swept to Lin Fengbai, who was standing next to Shi Yu, and he commanded, "Come here."
Lin Fengbai trembled slightly, but obediently moved forward. However, he did not walk towards Lin Qinghe. Instead, he stepped forward and blocked Shi Yu's path. He said to Lin Qinghe, "Send them out. If you want the world to return to peace, all you need to do is send them out."
Lin Qinghe seemed not to hear him and said coldly, "I'll say it again, come here."
"I……"
Lin Fengbai was about to say something when he was suddenly grabbed by the collar and thrown into Lin Qinghe's arms.
Lin Fengbai was bewildered.
Lin Qinghe reacted quickly and caught him.
"If you're going to do it, just do it."
"There's no need to go over the preamble or anything like that."
As Chen Su spoke, he threw aside Lin Fengbai, took off his trench coat, and wrapped it around Shi Yu in one swift motion. Finally, his gaze fell on Shi Yu's chin, and his eyes turned cold.
There was a bloodstain nearly two centimeters long near the jawline, clearly a cut from a sharp object.
The wound wasn't deep.
But it's very glaring.
Shi Yu comes from a typical family where the father is strict and the mother is kind. Although his uncle is strict with him, his aunt sometimes spoils him, and his grandfather dotes on him. Shi Yu has been raised very well since childhood, to the point of being pampered. Even the slightest carelessness will leave red marks on his fair skin, so his riding instructor and self-defense instructor pay special attention to him.
Shi Yu had never been injured since childhood, let alone had any injuries on her face.
This face is so beautiful, what if it leaves a scar...?
"careful!"
Lin Qinghe walked towards them with a dagger in his hand. Shen Su was still in a daze with his back to Lin Qinghe. Shi Yu suddenly pulled Shen Su and was about to step forward to block when a strong arm blocked his movement.
In that 0.1-second moment, Chen Su seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. He quickly turned his head to dodge Lin Qinghe's slashing dagger, kicked the dagger away with a turn, and then accurately caught the falling dagger. His next move was to stab the dagger into Lin Qinghe's palm.
The series of actions were fast, swift, and ruthless, and the whole process happened in the blink of an eye.
Lin Qinghe's right palm was pierced through by a dagger, and blood dripped down, but he seemed not to feel any pain. He raised his hand, looked at his palm, smiled, and commented, "Your fighting style... doesn't seem like ordinary self-defense. I thought you learned the same thing as him."
"Oh, this?" Shen Su shielded Shi Yu behind him, flexing his wrists as he spoke. "Actually, we were taught by the same teacher, but he practiced more in the training field, while I did more hands-on practice."
"So that's how it is..." Lin Qinghe pulled out the dagger, and the blood hole in his palm healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. In less than ten seconds, his palm was completely restored.
Lin Qinghe, wielding a dagger, attacked Shen Su again, the two talking as they fought.
"It's obvious you're not a good student."
"You're wrong. I really was a good student. I consistently ranked second in my grade throughout junior high and high school."
"Why not first place?" Lin Qinghe asked.
If Shi Yu and Lin Qinghe could only fight to a draw, then Shen Su completely crushed Lin Qinghe. With a "crack," Lin Qinghe's entire arm was dislocated.
"Because he's number one." In stark contrast to his ruthless actions, Shen Su spoke in a lazy tone.
Lin Qinghe put his arm back in place, and the two continued to fight. This time, no one was talking nonsense. Both of them were ruthless and aimed to kill each other.
Although Shen Su had the upper hand throughout, he was unable to kill Lin Qinghe. The wounds he inflicted healed quickly, his broken arm could be reattached, and even when a third of his neck was cut off, he did not die.
This kind of boss with such powerful self-healing abilities is really disgusting.
"Stop fighting!" Lin Fengbai suddenly shouted, "Run!"
Chen Su was too engrossed in the battle to notice that the atmosphere in the morgue was gradually becoming eerie.
He couldn't kill Lin Qinghe, who was constantly healing himself, and Lin Qinghe couldn't kill him in a one-on-one fight either. They could fight like this for three days and three nights without a result. Lin Qinghe couldn't possibly not have realized this.
Lin Qinghe was deliberately stalling for time.
Realizing something, Lin Qinghe clung to Chen Su even tighter, willing to injure the enemy by eight hundred while losing a thousand of his own, offering his arm for him to twist, not allowing him any moment of distraction.
Shi Yu swung a steel pipe and attacked Lin Qinghe from behind. Taking advantage of the gap in Lin Qinghe's block, he shouted to Chen Su, "Go!"
Lin Fengbai had already run towards the morgue entrance. Shen Su was about to run out with Shi Yu, but it was too late.
The morgue was filled with hundreds of steel mortuary beds, each containing a corpse. At this moment, as if hearing some command, all the corpses sat up in unison from the steel beds.
They all had the same face as Lin Fengbai, but their eyes were cloudy and lifeless, and their fingers were not normal, with long, sharp, dark red nails.
Hundreds of lifeless eyes turned to Shi Yu and Shen Su.
A few seconds later, they pounced on them.
Corpses surged toward Shi Yu and Shen Su from all directions. Lin Qinghe stood still, watching calmly. Lin Fengbai had already run to the morgue entrance and shouted to them, "Over here! Come over here!"
They were about five or six meters away from the morgue entrance, with a lot of corpses in hospital gowns waving their long fingernails and expressionless faces blocking their way.
Fortunately, these corpses were mindless and not as troublesome as Lin Qinghe; they were just ordinary monsters. Shen Su grabbed a steel bed and threw it, knocking down the row of corpses running at the front. Shi Yu found a steel pipe from somewhere and handed it to Shen Su, who took it and started hacking away at it. The corpses fell to the ground with a thud, and a path was cleared in front of them.
"Walk!"
Shi Yu was pulled away by Shen Su, who grabbed his wrist and dragged him outside. The rough calluses on Shen Su's palms made his wrists itch slightly.
In the moment of life-or-death escape, he shouldn't have thought so much; it was just that the hand covering his wrist was too hot.
Lin Fengbai stood at the morgue entrance. After they ran out, he slammed the door shut, trapping the hundreds of corpses and Lin Qinghe inside. Lin Fengbai stood against the door and said to them, "I can't hold them off for long, you guys run!"
"Let's go together."
Shi Yu reached out to pull Lin Fengbai, but was stopped by another hand. Shen Su probably found it troublesome and simply lifted Lin Fengbai up, while still holding Shi Yu's wrist with his other hand.
With one person on his shoulder and another by his hand, Chen Su ran down the emergency exit to the first floor.
.
The sun was shining brightly outside, but in the blink of an eye, night fell. The transition from dawn to dusk was almost instantaneous.
Immediately afterwards, the medical staff walking on the road, the patients strolling in the small garden, the cleaners cleaning the lobby, the landscaping workers trimming the lawn, and the security guards at the main gate all stopped in their tracks and turned their heads slowly and blankly in the same direction.
The three of them stepped out of the building.
Forced to stop in their tracks by the scene before them, they all walked away.
They had been in the morgue for too long, and it was now late at night, but it was different from any other night. The sky was as black as spilled ink, and the darkness seemed endless. The hospital streetlights appeared even fainter than fireflies.
The cobblestone path ahead and the open space further away were crowded with people. The dense crowd moved under the streetlights, making it look as lively as a popular star holding an open-air concert. They were doctors, nurses, cleaners, security guards, and even patients who had come for treatment. They were wearing white coats, work clothes, and hospital gowns.
They had the same expression on their faces.
His eyes were lifeless, and he stared blankly at Shi Yu and Shen Su.
—They were all controlled by Lin Qinghe.
A chill rose inch by inch from the soles of my feet, spreading and enveloping the entire hospital in a deathly atmosphere.
A series of hurried footsteps echoed from the stairwell behind me; the corpses from the morgue were coming after me.
Ahead lay a dense array of ghostly puppets, while behind them came hundreds of pursuing corpses.
Their path was blocked.
.
Shi Yu had hated Shen Su for over twenty years. The two of them had been mortal enemies for over twenty years, and had never once found each other pleasing to the eye.
Shi Yu never imagined that one day he would shake hands with Shen Su and reach an agreement, so he never imagined that one day he would fight alongside Shen Su.
Shen Su probably thinks so too.
However, at this moment, they entrusted their backs to each other with complete peace of mind.
— Fighting alongside your arch-enemy.
This was indeed a novel experience, but fortunately, the experience wasn't bad.
The puppets and corpses that ran out of the morgue in front of them are ordinary monsters. They have no brains, cannot think, and can only use their fingernails to make ordinary attacks. Even Lin Fengbai can defeat them, and Shen Su can kill them with a single strike.
However, because the number was simply too large.
Fighting three people is quite exhausting.
After fighting for a while, Chen Su became impatient and asked Lin Fengbai, "Can you control them? Weren't these corpses brought to you by Lin Qinghe? Try to see if you can possess their bodies and control them?"
Lin Fengbai said with a mournful face, "I've tried, it doesn't work, I can't control it..."
After a while, Shi Yu asked Lin Fengbai, "Have you left the hospital?"
His mission is to help Lin Fengbai gain his freedom. So, could the definition of "freedom" be taking Lin Fengbai away from the hospital that is trapping him?
Since the hospital is now a den of monsters and demons, they can't possibly do their mission here in peace. They might as well leave the hospital and think of other ways.
Lin Fengbai's answer poured cold water on Shi Yu. Lin Fengbai shook his head: "No, I can't get out. I'm confined to the hospital. As soon as I get close to the hospital gate, I'm blocked by an invisible wall."
Shi Yu fell silent.
After dealing with the monsters in front of him, Shen Su asked Lin Fengbai, "Were all these doctors, nurses, and security guards created by Lin Qinghe?"
“Yes, but not entirely.” Lin Fengbai nodded, then shook his head. “Actually, Xincheng Hospital also exists in my world. This world was created based on Xincheng Hospital, and the doctors, nurses, and patients here are actually people who died in Xincheng Hospital in that world.”
“My soul is trapped here by him, and the souls of the dead are also collected and trapped here in different forms, some as patients, some as employees, and he even made those employees sign labor contracts that are hundreds of years old…”
Shen Su: "So, they're conscious?"
Upon hearing this, Shi Yu suddenly looked towards Chen Su.
He seemed to have a clue why Chen Su had asked that question.
“Yes, those in the morgue had their consciousness erased, but these ghosts here, who have identities, have memories of their lives and their own consciousness.” After a pause, Lin Fengbai quickly added, “But they don’t now. They’re being controlled now.”
Shen Su nodded, and after clearing another wave of monsters, he put his arm around Lin Fengbai's shoulder and put his arm around Lin Fengbai like two buddies, saying, "I'm giving you a glorious mission."
"Huh?" Lin Fengbai felt a chill run down his spine from being hugged so tightly. He ducked out from under Chen Su's arms, stammering, "Wh...what mission?"
“Try to wake them up.” Shen Su pointed to the enthusiastic aunties, uncles, sisters and older women waving their nails and said, “Tell them to support you as the new director of Xincheng Hospital, and to cancel their previous labor contracts and sign new ones.”
"The new contract strictly adheres to the Labor Law, with a 9-to-5 workday and weekends off, national statutory holidays observed, five social insurances and one housing fund provided, two company trips organized annually, and the contract is renewed annually. There's no need to pay liquidated damages upon resignation; you just need to follow the proper procedures... What are you waiting for? Speak up!"
Lin Fengbai was stunned for a moment, then nodded vigorously: "Ah? Oh, oh, okay, okay!"
When Shen Su’s gaze shifted from Lin Fengbai, it met Shi Yu’s gaze again. In that brief moment of eye contact, the two seemed to understand each other’s thoughts. Then, they protected Lin Fengbai in the middle and moved on to the next round of monster clearing.
Lin Fengbai has only two ways to gain his freedom: either leave the hospital or kill Lin Qinghe. It's impossible for Lin Qinghe to release Lin Fengbai voluntarily.
However, killing Lin Qinghe is too difficult through either of these methods, and getting Lin Fengbai to leave the hospital is also impossible.
So let's try a different approach—
What if the hospital director changes?
What if Xincheng Hospital became Lin Fengbai's hospital?
The mission did not explicitly define the meaning of "freedom," so could Lin Fengbai staying in his own hospital be considered "freedom" in another sense?
Although this method may not be successful.
But it's worth a try.
.
After leaving the morgue, Lin Qinghe went back to the dean's office, took a shower in the bathroom of the cubicle, changed into clean clothes, and slowly left when he estimated that it was about time. Before leaving, he did not forget to take a Lin Fengbai coat with him.
Lin Qinghe went to his destination.
The actual scene was quite different from what I had imagined.
There were signs of a fight, but no one was fighting anymore. All the puppets stood still, looking up at the high platform not far away.
Two people who should have died were standing on a high platform giving vivid speeches, while the puppets below listened attentively.
The whole scene was like the opening ceremony of a super mobilization meeting.
And judging from the content of their speeches, this is indeed the case.
Lin Qinghe attempted to issue an order.
But he discovered that none of the puppets obeyed his commands.
Shi Yu and Shen Su each stood on one side of the platform, Lin Fengbai stood next to Shi Yu, and Shen Su held up a banner that read "Long live Dean Lin Qinghe".
Who stands on whose side?
It's clear at a glance.
However, this is not the case.
Shi Yu said, "Mr. Lin Fengbai promised that everyone's daily working hours will not exceed eight hours and weekly working hours will not exceed 44 hours."
Shen Su said, "If performance improves, there's no need to worry about salaries not increasing! Old Wang only sleeps three hours a day, and he works overtime at the company while his wife and daughter are sick. He's already bought a car and a house! As long as everyone works hard, buying a car by the end of the year, a house within two years, and achieving financial freedom within five years is no problem at all!"
Shi Yu added, "The contract has been changed to a one-year renewal, and leaving the company only requires following the normal procedures."
Shen Su continued, "What is the purpose of signing five-hundred-year labor contracts? Is it for Dean Lin Qinghe himself? Of course not! Isn't it so that everyone can have a stable job? How can you not understand Dean Lin's good intentions!"
Shi Yu continued, "After signing the new contract, in addition to basic employee benefits, employees' family members can also receive corresponding benefits, such as a free medical check-up once a year."
Shen Su continued, "What are those small favors? By following our great Dean Lin Qinghe, when the time comes, everyone will be promoted and receive a raise. Everyone will have a bright future!"
Shi Yu: "Overtime will only happen occasionally, so that everyone has enough time to go home and spend time with their families."
Shen Su: "Go home? The company is everyone's home! Dean Lin Qinghe is everyone's family!"
...
The two appear to be working for different employers, each campaigning for their own, but in reality, they are playing good cop/bad cop.
Lin Qinghe below turned green with rage.
The two talked for a while like a comedian, and seeing that they had mobilized enough people, Shi Yu stepped forward and said, "I believe everyone has a basic understanding of the situation. Now let's vote. Those who support Mr. Lin Fengbai as dean, please stand on our side. Those who still support Dean Lin Qinghe, please stand on Chen Su's side."
Shi Yu continued, "Mr. Lin Fengbai will not force everyone to support him. You can also continue to support Dean Lin Qinghe. Everyone has the right to choose freely."
The people below were cursing and taking sides at the same time:
"I'd still support him? Do you think a 500-year contract isn't long enough?"
"In order for the dean to live a good life, everyone should work hard, preferably for 24 hours a day without eating or drinking."
"Old Wang only sleeps three hours a day; he's a twenty-year-old man but looks like a seventy-year-old."
...
As the first rays of dawn broke in the east, everyone lined up in their places.
Lin Fengbai's side was packed with people, while Chen Su's side was occupied by Chen Su, and later by Lin Qinghe.
The voices below were loud and clear, like a tidal wave.
"We support Mr. Lin Fengbai!"
"Lin Qinghe, get off the stage!"
"Please appoint Mr. Lin Fengbai as the new dean!"
"Lin Qinghe, get off the stage!"
...
Responding to public opinion, the system displayed a line of text above Lin Fengbai's head: "President of Xincheng Hospital".
At the same time, a new message popped up on the Shiyu game panel.
[Congratulations to player Shi Yu for winning the story-driven [Twins] battle game!]
[You have received a gift from the dungeon NPC Lin Fengbai—a Wishing Ticket.]
Shen Su received a completely opposite system message:
Unfortunately, the player failed in the story-driven [Twins] battle game.
You are about to face death. You have three minutes to leave your last words before the punishment is carried out.
[Countdown begins...]
Shen Su glanced at the messages and then closed the game panel, as if these messages had nothing to do with him, as if he wasn't the one who would be executed in three minutes.
He also left no last words.
But his gaze pierced through the crowd, lingering on Shi Yu in the crowd for a long time.
Shi Yu and Lin Fengbai were busy answering the employees' questions and didn't notice what was happening here.
With only thirty seconds left in the countdown, Chen Su sat down on the ground. He sat casually, one hand resting on his knee, the other hand covering his eyebrows and eyes, and closed his eyes in the morning light.
I silently counted to thirty.
But the punishment of death did not come.
A new line of text appeared on the game panel—
[The Wish Ticket is now active, exempting the player from the death penalty during slumber. The player can now leave the game at their own discretion.]
Chen Su: "?"
Shen Su looked at Shi Yu, who was still standing in the crowd, but his gaze was fixed on him, and he didn't know how long he had been looking at him.
Shi Yu glanced at the distance not far away.
A portal emitting a faint blue light appeared there.
—It's a portal that truly allows you to leave this place.
"You think you can leave like this?"
As Lin Qinghe's voice faded, the whole world turned upside down.
The sky cracked open with countless fissures, and countless meteorites crashed down from the cracks like a giant hailstorm, only tens of thousands of times more destructive, leaving countless craters in the ground. The hospital building collapsed in an instant, shards of glass raining down, turning doctors in white coats, staff in work uniforms, and countless patients into dust in a flash, leaving the once bustling open space completely deserted.
The portal gradually closed as the world warped.
"Hurry up—" Lin Fengbai shoved Shi Yu hard. "If we don't leave now, it will be too late."
However, how could Lin Qinghe possibly let them go?
When Lin Qinghe was enraged, his fighting power was ten times that of usual. Shen Su was beaten back step by step, and he was injured in many places, each one quite serious.
Just as the dagger was about to pierce Shen Su's eyes, Shi Yu attacked from behind. The dagger missed its mark, and Lin Qinghe was enraged. He grabbed Shi Yu and threw him out.
Shi Yu's back slammed heavily onto the floor, his entire chest cavity felt like it had been shattered, and a thick smell of blood surged up from his throat, causing him to uncontrollably spit out a mouthful of blood.
Shen Su's eyes turned red, and he attacked Lin Qinghe recklessly. He grabbed a steel bar and aimed it at Lin Qinghe's face, but before the steel bar could crack Lin Qinghe's head, it disappeared into thin air.
Not only that, everything on the ground that could be used as a weapon vanished into thin air.
They could only fight Lin Qinghe with their bare hands.
The sky cracked open, but the sun remained unaffected, tirelessly radiating its warm and brilliant light, following the principle of rising in the east and setting in the west.
As the sun set in the west, Shi Yu and Shen Su lay on the ground, barely alive.
When Shi Yu was thrown by Lin Qinghe, his internal organs were injured. After that, Lin Qinghe would target his chest with each attack. He looked okay on the outside, but his entire chest cavity was actually shattered.
Shen Su was covered in blood, one arm hung limply at his sides, his five fingers were deformed to varying degrees, there was not a single patch of undamaged skin visible, and countless wounds were hidden in other places.
Chen Su tried many times but could not stand up again.
Even if they can stand up.
Even if they defeat Lin Qinghe, they still won't be able to get out.
The portal has long been completely closed.
"You're pretty good at fighting, get up and keep going!"
Lin Qinghe walked over and kicked Shen Su. Shen Su, who was already covered in blood, bled even more blood from some part of his body, staining the floor where he was lying red.
“Chen Su…” Shi Yu lay on the ground beside him, looking in this direction, his bleeding lips moving slightly.
"You're not going to fight anymore?" Lin Qinghe squatted down, grabbed Shen Su's still movable left hand, and rotated the entire arm 180 degrees. Seeing that Shen Su was no longer moving, he shook the dagger in his hand, as if considering where to start. "Then let me send you on your final journey."
"Shen Su!" Shi Yu shouted, but the voice coming through her severely injured chest was very faint, almost negligible, "No..."
But Shen Su heard it.
Shen Su turned his head and looked over. A smile appeared on that blood-covered face. He probably didn't have the strength to speak. Shen Su mouthed to him, "No scallions for the braised noodles..."
Shi Yu: "..."
Shi Yu looked away.
Even on the verge of death, he was still thinking about that meal; only Shen Su could do that.
"You're about to die and you still have the mood to flirt?" Lin Qinghe sneered with dissatisfaction, then nodded. "Speaking of which, you should thank me for making you two a pair of doomed lovers."
Shi Yu opened her mouth, then closed it again.
He's said "We're not a couple" too many times; he's tired of it.
Shi Yu closed her eyes.
So what if he dies? Even Shen Su isn't afraid of death, so what is he afraid of? He won't be too lonely on the road to the underworld with Shen Su by his side.
However, death did not come.
"Lin Qinghe!"
The closed portal had reopened at some point, and Lin Fengbai stood in front of it, one foot about to step inside.
Lin Qinghe's pupils constricted sharply upon seeing this, and he shouted, "Stop right there!"
The portal wasn't an ordinary door, but a huge, circular vortex. The wind inside was fierce. Lin Fengbai stood by the portal, his bangs blown up by the wind, revealing an excessively pale face. He looked at Lin Qinghe and said, "They tried many methods to help me fulfill my wish. They considered killing you, taking me away from the hospital, and finally, they decided to make me the new director..."
"They succeeded, but they also failed."
“But there’s actually another way.” Lin Fengbai smiled as he said this, but Lin Qinghe seemed to realize something and suddenly took two steps forward. However, Lin Fengbai stepped back, one foot already inside the teleportation portal, and warned, “Don’t come any closer!”
Lin Qinghe stopped in his tracks, his eyes almost glued to Lin Fengbai.
Lin Feng glanced at the portal behind him out of the corner of his eye: "This portal connects to another space. I don't belong to that space. If I walk in, I will immediately turn into dust."
"This is one way I can gain my freedom."
His voice was soft, but every word was firm: "Lin Qinghe, let them go, or I'll walk in right now."
"Are you threatening me?" Lin Qinghe's voice sounded like it was being squeezed out from between his teeth.
Lin Fengbai smiled bitterly: "My threats to you have never worked. When have you ever been threatened by me? I can't resist you, nor can I change the status quo. Their arrival gave me a glimmer of hope. What I wanted was even about to come true... but now it's gone. All hope has been shattered."
"Why did you do this?" Lin Qinghe's hands clenched into fists at his sides, his nails digging into his palms, blood seeping from between his fingers. His eyes were bloodshot. "Do you hate me that much?"
"No." Lin Fengbai shook his head, his eyes devoid of any emotion. "It's not because I hate you, it's because I made a deal with someone, and I can't break my promise."
Lin Fengbai took a deep breath and continued, "I don't ask for freedom anymore. Let them go, and I will stay quietly by your side from now on."
Upon hearing this, Lin Qinghe's eyes wavered slightly, but she also seemed a little doubtful. She asked, "Are you serious?"
"Really," Lin Fengbai said.
"I promise you," Lin Qinghe said almost without thinking.
Lin Fengbai helped Shi Yu and Shen Su to the teleportation gate. Shen Su's arms were twisted and deformed, making him weak and unable to sit steadily. Shi Yu let Shen Su rest his head on his shoulder and said to Lin Fengbai with his eyelashes down, "I'm sorry."
"There's nothing to apologize for, you've already helped me a lot." Lin Fengbai's throat bobbed, his voice bitter. "I should be the one apologizing for dragging you into this."
Shi Yu shook her head: "No."
Lin Fengbai smiled at Shi Yu, looking quite pleased with himself. He said, "Shi Yu, I'm so happy to have met you. Thank you for telling me stories, drawing lotus flowers for me, and the candy..."
"Is gratitude expressed verbally?"
Suddenly, Shen Su, who was half-dead, spoke up, as if he had risen from the dead.
Lin Fengbai: "Huh?"
Even though Shen Su was half dead, he still talked nonsense with a straight face: "Where we come from, we give gifts to thank others. What's the use of just saying it?"
"Ah? Oh." Lin Fengbai looked worried. "But I didn't prepare a gift..."
"It doesn't necessarily have to be a particularly expensive gift; the important thing is the sentiment."
Lin Fengbai thought for a moment, then took out a palm-sized doll from his pocket. The doll had short black hair and was wearing a shirt and trousers, looking exactly like a miniature version of Lin Fengbai. He handed the doll to Shi Yu and said somewhat embarrassedly, "This is something I just sewed for fun. If you don't mind, it's yours."
Shi Yu took the doll, looked it over, and smiled, "It's very well sewn, thank you."
"You should leave quickly."
Lin Feng's face flushed slightly. He was about to help Shi Yu lift Chen Su up when he suddenly staggered.
He looked down and noticed that his left foot was slowly disappearing.
His heart, however, was completely calm.
"Lin Fengbai!"
Lin Qinghe rushed over like a madwoman and pulled him into her arms, but she couldn't stop the changes in his body. Like those who turned into dust, only his disappearance was slower, so it was clear that his body was disappearing, starting from his feet and slowly moving upwards...
Shi Yu and Shen Su also stopped.
"What's going on? What's going on!" Lin Qinghe's hands trembled as she held Lin Fengbai, her voice filled with panic, "No...no, I won't let you leave me!"
"That door...it's that door!" Lin Qinghe suddenly turned his head to look at the reappeared teleportation portal, and then went berserk, shouting, "Don't even think about leaving...they can't leave! Nobody can leave! I want them all dead! All of them dead!"
Lin Fengbai grabbed Lin Qinghe's sleeve.
He was very weak at the moment and could have easily broken free with a slight struggle, but Lin Qinghe stopped abruptly, squatted down, and hugged him back into his arms.
For the first time, Lin Fengbai did not resist at all, and stayed quietly and obediently in Lin Qinghe's arms.
His voice was weak: "Shi Yu once asked me a question. He said if I had another chance to kill you, and he was 100% sure I would succeed, would I do it?"
Lin Qinghe tightened his grip on Lin Fengbai's fingers, causing Lin Fengbai pain, but he didn't utter a sound.
He looked back into Lin Qinghe's eyes, shook his head gently, and said in a voice like a sigh, "My answer is... if there were other options, I would still hope that you are doing well."
Lin Qinghe froze.
Even his eyeballs won't move anymore.
After a long, long time, Lin Fengbai gave him a smile, a faint smile, but one that came from the heart.
These words came from the bottom of my heart.
"Because...when you were little...you were really...a very good person..."
He couldn't bring himself to say the last "brother".
Lin Fengbai has completely disappeared.
Shi Yu felt the doll in her palm was slightly warm.
He helped Shen Su into the portal, glancing back before leaving.
Lin Qinghe seemed to have his soul ripped out, sitting motionless on the ground, his arms still in the position of embracing Lin Fengbai, but his arms were empty.
The world is collapsing again.
He was buried along with the collapsing world in the afterglow of the setting sun.
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