Translator: CinderTL
Upon hearing this, Zhao Ru's expression turned awkward. She was well aware of her own cooking skills. If it weren't for the fact that eating out was too expensive, she would never have chosen to cook for herself.
Strangely, at this moment, she wasn't even thinking about the fact that her meal had been taken away and what she would eat now.
Instead, she simply felt that her cooking skills were rather embarrassing.
It might leave a bad impression on the man in front of her.
"That..." Zhao Ru was about to speak when she met Jiang Cheng's expectant gaze.
In the end, she never found the opportunity to refuse.
She could only watch helplessly as Jiang Cheng took the lunchbox away.
"Where are we going?" Yu Yu asked.
Jiang Cheng walked ahead, leading the way. It seemed like they were heading upstairs.
"Room 604," Jiang Cheng replied casually. "I'm going back to get something. If you don't want to come, you can wait downstairs."
By his estimation, Huai Yi and the others should be back soon.
Wang Changguo had long disliked Jiang Cheng. Without even saying goodbye, he turned and went downstairs.
Yu Yu bid farewell to the others and followed Wang Changguo. Compared to a newcomer like Jiang Cheng, Huai Yi was clearly more reliable.
Moreover, the fact that Huai Yi and the others hadn't returned for so long likely meant they had found something.
As they walked through the abandoned corridor on the 6th floor, the oppressive feeling grew stronger.
Outside, it had started to rain, and the sky was heavily overcast. Combined with the dim lighting, it looked no different from nighttime.
Occasionally, a gust of wind would blow by, causing some of the doors to creak and make strange noises.
Jiang Cheng's eyes swept over the doors one by one. Although he was curious about these locked rooms, he had no intention of exploring them for now.
He also noticed something strange—none of these rooms had any markings.
Unlike the other rooms in the hospital, which had signs or at least a piece of paper indicating which department they belonged to or their purpose.
There were nearly 20 rooms on both sides of the corridor, and not only were there no markings, but there weren't even room numbers.
Based on the fact that he was staying in Room 604, he guessed that this area should be Rooms 620 and beyond.
It was just unclear what had happened back then that led to the entire area being abandoned.
When they returned to Room 604, Jiang Cheng looked up.
The lights in the corridor weren't very bright, but compared to the previous corridor, it was much better. At least they weren't flickering or going out.
Pushing the door open, he found that everything in the room was as they had left it.
"Mr. Jiang," Du Feng asked while rubbing his arms, "what are you looking at?" Due to the weather, the temperature had dropped quickly, and he was feeling cold.
"Nothing."
Once inside the room, Du Feng walked over to the kettle and poured himself a full cup of hot water.
Steam rose from the cup.
"You can use it to warm your hands, but don't drink it," Jiang Cheng said as he walked around the room. He turned and added, "Be careful, it might be poisoned."
Thinking of how Li Kaifeng had died and the unidentified nurse, Du Feng's face paled. He looked at the hot water in his hand, and the more he looked at it, the more suspicious it seemed.
"What did you manage to find out?" Lin Wan'er asked as she sat on the bed opposite Jiang Cheng.
Jiang Cheng briefly recounted what he had learned, but he glossed over the details. He wasn't in the habit of revealing everything.
Of course, if it were just him and Lin Wan'er, things would be much simpler.
"In Room 906, there's a paralyzed woman," Weiwei frowned. "And this woman is someone Director Qi arranged for others to take care of."
"That should be the case," Jiang Cheng said, looking at her. "And it's been ten years already."
Outside the window, the rumble of thunder echoed.
"But why didn't Director Qi tell us any of this?" Du Feng, who was holding a cup of water to warm his hands, interjected. "All he does is push us to find that thing and eliminate it."
Lin Wan'er, brushing a strand of hair from her temple, smiled and said, "It seems Director Qi not only knows this Ghost but is also well aware that it's coming for him."
Through conversations with some patients, Lin Wan'er and the others learned that there hadn't been any recent murders here, at least none that they had heard of.
However, the patients' families also mentioned that the hospital's behavior had been somewhat strange over the past month.
The absenteeism rate among doctors and nurses was high, and it was often difficult to find anyone on duty during emergencies at night. Some patients had already filed complaints out of dissatisfaction.
Some who had the means had already arranged to transfer to other hospitals.
As for the reason, no one knew, and the hospital's explanations were vague.
What is certain now is that Director Qi has an unusual relationship with this Ghost, and it's very likely that it was because of Director Qi that the other party died.
The latest clues are quite scattered, and Jiang Cheng plans to confirm one thing first.
The sky outside grew darker, and Jiang Cheng looked toward the door, then stood up and said to Du Feng, "Come and give me a hand."
Jiang Cheng walked outside, with Du Feng standing beside him.
Although there were lights in the hallway, the deeper parts remained very dark. Staring at it for too long even gave the illusion that the darkness was slowly moving toward them.
Du Feng suddenly had a sense of foreboding.
Jiang Cheng slowly surveyed the hallway, especially the distance between the two adjacent doors.
There was one thing Jiang Cheng couldn't figure out. Based on his stride, it would take no more than ten steps to walk from one door to the next.
But last night, that thing outside took a full twenty-three steps.
Moreover, the sound was different from normal footsteps, more like a small, dragging shuffle on the ground.
Just imagining that last night, just a door away, a faceless Ghost was shuffling down the hallway, searching for them room by room, was enough to send chills down one's spine.
But the key wasn't just that.
It was the shadow.
At first, Jiang Cheng thought it was a Headless Ghost, but now he had a new idea.
"Mr. Jiang," Du Feng whispered, "I'm going back inside. I'm really, really cold."
But Jiang Cheng didn't give him the chance. Instead, he closed the door from the outside, leaving only him and Du Feng in the hallway. Du Feng's expression became quite animated.
Motioning for Du Feng to step back, Jiang Cheng mimicked the Ghost's posture from last night, pressing himself against the door. "Turn off the lights," he said to the room.
A few seconds later, the room went dark.
"Can you see my shadow?" Jiang Cheng asked.
"Yes," Lin Wan'er's voice came from inside the room.
On the other side of the door, Weiwei looked down at the light coming through the gap under the door. Clearly, something was blocking two parts of it.
Those should be Jiang Cheng's feet.
Then Jiang Cheng crouched down and asked again, "What about now?"
"Yes," Lin Wan'er said. "But the blocked area is larger now."
Under Du Feng's puzzled gaze, Jiang Cheng finally lay down flat on the ground, his entire body pressed against the floor. He tilted his head, and his eyes were aligned with the crack of the Gate. "How about now?" he asked.
After a while, Lin Wan'er's voice responded, "I can't see it anymore." She paused, then added, "It's just like last night."
(End of the Chapter)
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