"The weather is getting hotter and hotter. By the end of June, I always feel drowsy. This time I fainted in the yard. It would have been even more troublesome if I had fainted on the road!"
The nurse, carrying a stack of patient files, said as she cleared the way, turning back to look at them.
Cheng Shuang quickly pulled Qianli against the wall, avoiding the hurried medical staff, and asked subconsciously, "Do many people suffer from heatstroke every June?"
"Yeah, every year!" Qianli rubbed her eyes. "To be honest, I'm actually a little sleepy!"
Cheng Shuang was puzzled. "Sleepy? Is drowsiness a symptom of heatstroke?"
"Everyone who suffers from heatstroke will feel sleepy first!" Qianli yawned, and finally couldn't resist. He hurriedly went to the doctor to get a bottle of energy-boosting medicine.
Cheng Shuang took a closer look; the plastic bottle was about the size of a thumb, and the liquid was a color similar to Ten Drops Water (a traditional Chinese medicine), but it tasted cool and sweet. The little girl's eyes immediately lit up, "How effective is this at energizing?"
"One bottle can last for ten hours. Right now, I can only take a small sip, otherwise I won't be able to sleep tonight." Qianli shrugged and indeed took less than half of it, then casually put the rest into his pocket.
"Are there any side effects after drinking it? Such as being overly excited, or anything else that's bad for your health?"
"Hmm, no!" Chisato's eyes were brighter than before, indicating that the medicine was very effective. "You've had it too, Yuko."
"I don't remember very clearly."
"That's true. We drank less of it before the age of ten, you know, because we were afraid that the child wouldn't have any self-control and would drink it like a beverage."
"I want to buy some to store up; summer is coming, and it's going to be so unbearable!"
Energy-boosting drugs are a staple in pharmacies, but according to regulations, each person can only buy seven vials at a time, and is not allowed to buy them again within ten days.
Cheng Shuang plans to buy seven vials. No matter what, as long as the side effects don't come at the cost of her life, it's not bad to have them as an emergency measure.
Yumi was a lovable and lively child who brought a lot of joy to Maki's mother. When they returned, Maki's mother looked much better.
Qianli whispered to Cheng Shuang, "She does have some redeeming qualities."
Cheng Shuang ignored him. Ever since the ghosts appeared, the arrogant little boy had become a chatterbox, and she only needed to listen.
Maki showed no reaction to the outside world. The four of them stayed there and continued to tell her some interesting stories about school. Seeing that it was getting late, Cheng Shuang suggested leaving, since nighttime was the best time for ghosts to appear.
Qianli naturally thought of this as well. He felt that the reason they had been able to go through the week without any accidents was largely because they went home on time every day and didn't go to any strange places.
His little face was serious. "Auntie, we'll take our leave!"
"Okay, you should go home early." Maki's mother kept Yoshida behind. "I'll take Yoshida home when Maki's father comes to relieve us."
The three said goodbye to Maki's mother at the elevator entrance. Yumi pressed the button for the first floor and casually asked, "Why does this hospital have a third basement level?"
“It’s a morgue,” Cheng Shuang replied. Whenever she arrived at a new place, she had a habit of observing her surroundings.
Yumi shivered, her fingers instinctively retracting from the button and avoiding the third basement level, nimbly hiding behind Cheng Shuang.
Qianli curled her lip and said sarcastically, "Could you be any more cowardly? You're like a pet mouse that runs to its owner whenever something happens."
Yumi raised her fist and threatened, "I hate men who talk nonsense!"
"Oh!"
Qianli didn't want to argue with her, or he would be ridiculed by his classmates. What a disgusting pair of bickering lovers!
As the two people went back and forth, neither of them noticed that the elevator did not stop on the first floor, but instead descended towards the basement.
Cheng Shuang stepped forward and tried to press the negative one button, but obviously the button did not respond. Without hesitation, she pressed the red alarm button.
Chisato and Yumi noticed something was wrong. Yumi's face immediately turned pale, and she asked desperately, "Why do we always have to go through all this bad luck!" Her hopeful eyes were fixed on the red button, but to her disappointment, everything was normal. There was no emergency stop, and the elevator continued to descend smoothly.
"Basement level one and basement level two are parking lots."
Qianli pressed the button for -2 anxiously, while Cheng Shuang calmly took out talismans and handed two to each of them. "Alright! Be careful not to scream, it will attract the attention of ghosts and monsters. Fear is their food!"
Ding, we've reached negative three.
The elevator doors opened, revealing a pitch-black void ahead. Yumi, who had been covering her eyes, peeked out through a small crack. Upon seeing this, she gasped, gripping Cheng Shuang's arm tightly with one hand while pressing the close button with the other.
"Close it! Close it! Please, please!"
Chisato stopped arguing with Yumi and nervously stared outside the elevator, as if something might emerge from the darkness.
The elevator doors remained motionless, wide open, giving one the illusion that they could be swallowed by darkness at any moment.
The two of them took a step closer to Cheng Shuang without prior arrangement. Of course, Qianli stood in front of Cheng Shuang to protect her, while Youmei leaned back slightly, wishing she could shrink herself into Cheng Shuang's shadow.
The pitch-black atmosphere undoubtedly amplified the sense of fear. Cheng Shuang ruthlessly pushed her two friends' arms away and stepped forward to carefully inspect the elevator's keypad to see if frequent clicks were causing damage.
After eliminating negative answers, the little girl sighed, "Now there are two ways."
Chisato and Yumi stared at her, barely daring to breathe.
"I. Wait."
"Second, proceed to the first floor via the emergency exit."
These are two options that are really hard to choose between.
Silence fell for a moment, broken only by the heavy, tense breathing of the two.
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