Chapter 848 - Doctor’s Secret
“Are you sure you’re fine?” Chen Ge hurried to support Yin Bai. The child took an involuntarily step back, but Chen Ge still managed to grab her arm. She did not struggle and stayed by Chen Ge’s side like a quiet kitten.
“Before your grandfather arrives, I will take good care of you.” Chen Ge ruffled the girl’s black hair. “I will show you the world outside. You were unable to experience bliss before death, but at least you’ll need to experience the warmth of the world after death.”
The girl did not quite understand what Chen Ge meant. She merely nodded obediently and shyly asked, “What... is your name? Are you one of grandpa’s children?”
“You can consider me a person whom your grandfather came to for help. I will protect you from further harm.” Chen Ge picked up his bags. As he prepared to leave, he turned to look at the furthest room. There were four rooms in total in the School of the Afterlife’s nurse’s office; Yin Bai and Yan Fei were in the third room. There was another room further inside.
“Yin Bai and Yan Fei should be considered serious cases, but they still do not have the qualification to use the innermost room?” Chen Ge was curious, so he squatted before Yin Bai. “Do you know what kind of students stay in the last sickroom?”
“Only students or staff with serious injuries or those who have gone mad will be sent in there.” Yin Bai’s eyes were darting about when she said that, like she was afraid of the fourth room. When she spoke, her body naturally leaned away from the room. “Many people have entered that room before, but I rarely see people walk out of it. Perhaps there’s another exit.”
“There’s only one exit to this place.” Chen Ge guarded Yin Bai behind him. He activated the recorder and slunk over to the entrance of the fourth room. The member of staff responsible for the nurse’s office was a Red Specter; Chen Ge had met him before. The white coat that he was wearing was just a disguise. He gripped the doorknob and turned it slowly. Chen Ge realized that the door was not locked, so he pushed it open slightly. Blood leaked out from the gap. When the door was fully open, Chen Ge narrowed his eyes and used his body to block the rest of the students. The fourth room was not for patients. There were no beds or medical equipment, only many cracked mirrors. Blood-drenched white coats hung on each of the mirrors. They were of different sizes, but they should belong to one person. Chen Ge covered his mouth and carefully entered the fourth room. A sticky warm feeling crawled on every inch of his skin. Walking into the room was like wading into an ocean of blood. The bloody stench overwhelmed and suffocated him.
“Why would there be a room like this in the nurse’s office? I saw these mirrors in the school reconstructed by the painter.” Chen Ge stopped before the mirror closest to him. He pulled off the white coat. The surface of the mirror was blood red and filled the cracks. “This is similar to the mirror I saw in the eastern campus’ staff dormitory’s maintenance room.”
His finger caressed the surface, and it almost cut Chen Ge. “Even though I’m standing before the mirror, I can’t see my reflection only a slate of redness...”
He was about to move to the next mirror when a voice suddenly echoed in his ears.
“Save me... Please don’t go... Save me...” Stopping in his tracks, Chen Ge turned around and realized that the voice was coming from the mirror.
Narrowing his eyes, Chen Ge looked at the cracked mirror. “Is someone trapped inside the mirror?”
“Save me... It’s dark in here. I can’t see anything. Don’t close the window. Help me... please?” The voice became clear like there was someone standing on the other side of the mirror.
“How can I help you?” Chen Ge took one step back. He knew very well that feelings like pity and empathy were lacking in this world cultivated by despair. Being kind to others would often bring tragedy.
“There is a piece that’s misplaced on the top left corner of the mirror. If you find it and replace it as I say, you’ll be able to see me.”
“Is it that simple?” Chen Ge nudged forward. Just as he was about to reach the mirror, he suddenly stopped. “I can help you, but what will I get in return?”
“What do you want? As long as I have it, I will give it to you!”
“How about this? I’ll ask you a few questions first. If your answers are satisfactory, I’ll help you.” Chen Ge pointed at those white coats. “How much do you know about the doctor here? The man looks quite scary.”
“I am the real doctor. The monster trapped me inside this mirror!” Blood squeezed out from the cracks. The man reacted harshly, and his emotions were fraying. “He is not an employee of our school; he’s an outsider!”
“An outsider?”
“Save me, quick! He’s coming back! I need to tell the headmaster everything that happened here!” More blood appeared on the surface, and each crack were shuddering.
“You said he’s an outsider. What evidence do you have?”
“He comes from a hospital with the name ‘Xin’. I do not know whether he’s a doctor or patient, but I know he’s mad! He’s experimenting with something here; all the teachers have been tricked by him!” The information revealed by the mirror attracted Chen Ge’s attention. He happened to know one hospital with the name ‘Xin’. It was the four-star mission mentioned by the black phone—the Cursed Hospital.
This is getting more interesting.
Chen Ge remembered many details. When he was doing the Trial Mission in Li Wan City. Clues related to the Cursed Hospital had appeared as well. The female patients wearing the patient’s garb had ridden the bus to Li Wan City. The private hospital in Li Wan City had been hiding the patients who had escaped from the Cursed Hospital. Chen Ge remembered the details very clearly. The source of the problem was a little boy, and the boy’s garb had the name ‘Xin’ on it. In the end, the boy had been taken by the red high heels.
The hospital has appeared everywhere. What is its purpose?
When Chen Ge was considering this, the man in the mirror kept pleading.
“I will temporarily trust you,” Chen Ge said. “The doctor is an outsider in disguise, but why would he place so many mirrors here? What is the meaning of a mirror in the School of the Afterlife?”
“Each mirror represents a living person. Save me, let me out! There’s no time! He’ll be back soon! After you let me out, I will tell you everything!” The voice became more desperate, but it did not affect Chen Ge at all. If the doctor returned, then he would take him down. Actually, when he saw the doctor, Chen Ge had already formulated some plans for him. If not for the doctor’s quick escape, things might have been different now.
“I can save you. I hope you aren’t lying to me.” Chen Ge’s eyes zeroed in on the mirror—his gaze was frighteningly calm. Walking to the mirror, Chen Ge looked at the top left corner. “Which cracked piece?”
“Just at the top left side, come closer so you can see better.” The voice in the mirror urged Chen Ge.
“There are many pieces. Which one are you talking about?”
“The small one, come closer.”
“Okay.” Chen Ge took another big step forward until his body was almost stuck to the surface. “Is this it?”
“Yes, that’s it. Right there!” The voice suddenly grew. A scarred hand reached out from inside the mirror to grab at Chen Ge. “You are the missing piece. Get in here! Replace me...”
The monster was halfway through when he noticed that something was wrong. He tried to yank Chen Ge into the mirror, but Chen Ge refused to budge. The scary thing was that he was unable to pull his arm back!
“Don’t worry, I’m going to save you using another method.” Chen Ge stepped back. “Xu Yin, pull him out.”
The monster in the mirror only then realized that his hand was grabbing another’s person’s arm. The person was wearing a red shirt, standing close to Chen Ge.
“Wait! If I can’t find a scapegoat, I will...” He did not get the chance to finish; Xu Yin pulled him directly out from the mirror. The cracks on the mirror were like knives. When the monster was pulled out, the cracks severed his body. He was lacerated, and blood dyed the mirror redder.
Xu Yin held onto the monster’s five remaining fingers, but Chen Ge did notice that the monster inside the mirror was wearing a white coat, so at least one thing was not a lie—he was indeed the real doctor.
“I did not wish to harm you, but you harmed yourself. It was not my intention to do things like this, but thankfully...”
Chen Ge looked around.
“...there are plenty of other mirrors here.”