CHAPTER 454: SICK BAY

They stopped when they came to the sixth floor. Even though they only glanced into the corridor from the stairwell, the place felt oppressive. Everything was dyed in dim colours. This floor had been vacant for a long time already.

They passed several rooms, and all the doors were closed. The doors were locked from the outside with chains and iron locks. Based on the rust on the locks, they hadn’t been touched for a long time.

Perhaps feeling bad for them. The nurse explained that they wouldn’t be staying there, but in an adjacent corridor. Since they took the stairs, they had to walk this way. If they took the elevator, they would skip this corridor. Then, she explained that this side had already been abandoned before she started working at the hospital. Only the few sick bays near where they’d be staying were still in use.

Soon, Jiang Chen saw the rooms the nurse mentioned. The rooms were not locked. The doors were left open with gaps about the size of one’s fist. Through the gaps, he could see trash like old equipment. He didn’t see anything out of place. Since the nurse was present, he didn’t dare to enter the rooms brashly.

They took a few steps further and came to a small lobby. There was a row of plastic chairs near the wall. Facing the chairs was a giant aluminium shelf with a glass cover. The glass was dirty. One could see that the contents were old newspaper articles. They were probably literature meant to honour the working staff. There were photos and articles. It was like a hall of honour.

Connected to the lobby was another corridor. The environment was a lot better. The floor looked clean, as if it had been cleaned not too long ago.

The nurse stopped before Room 604. She took out the key to open the door. Due to the night, the room was dim. The nurse didn’t stride in directly but reached her hand through the door to switch on the light. The room was rather big. It had five beds. However, it was observable that there should be six, three on each side. A giant closet occupied the spot where the last bed should have been. There were some everyday items inside the closet, like a kettle and so on.

A few red mud pots sat on the windowsill. They were empty and had no flowers. This was the room for Jiang Cheng’s group of four. The rest of them didn’t need to stay since their rooms were on the second floor. However, Kui Yi insisted on taking a look. After all, he was the most experienced.

While the nurse introduced the amenities, Kui Yi lowered his voice to warn Jiang Cheng’s group to be careful at night. They should stay in the room if possible. If they needed to leave the room, they should move in pairs. Someone had to stay to guard the room at all times. In conclusion, they shouldn’t be left alone.

Du Feng swallowed nervously. “What will happen if you’re left alone?”

Kui Yi shook his head and whispered, “I don’t know. The dead don’t speak.”

Du Feng looked scared.

The sky was darkening. The nurse urged them. “That’s basically everything.” She looked at Jiang Cheng’s group and said, “If there’s nothing else, the patients and their families can stay. The rest will come with me.” She added, “We should hurry.”

“Wait,” Jiang Cheng asked, “If we encounter something at night, where can we find you?”

The nurse looked frightened, but she tried to remain calm. “We have a nurse station on the fourth floor.”

Jiang Cheng was sincere as he looked at her, “Miss, will you be on duty tonight?”

“No.” Unwilling to waste more time, the nurse said quickly, “You'd better stay put at night. The things here are old. Some lights might not work so well.”

Then, she led the rest and left, not giving Jiang Cheng the chance to ask more questions. Jiang Cheng narrowed his eyes. The nurse managed to control her urge to flirt with him and hurried to leave. This showed how cursed the hospital was at night.

Jiang Cheng, Lin Wan ‘Er, Du Feng and Weiwei were left in the room. They didn’t feel so awkward since they already knew each other. After closing the door, Du Feng helped Jiang Cheng push one of the beds against the door to block it.

Then, each of them would take one of the remaining four beds. Jiang Cheng didn’t have any plan for exploration that night. They had too little information. He would wait until the morning after. If he were lucky, he might capture a few nurses to get them to give him information.

When he thought about it, the corridor that they had passed earlier gave him a strange feeling. However, the rooms there didn’t look that important. Technically speaking, the door’s native lock should be enough. There was no need for additional iron locks. Who… or what were they guarding against?

And this room…

Jiang Cheng paced around and discovered many strange places. He shook the water heater. It was already filled with water. He removed the stopper, and the steam assaulted him. He opened the closet, and a heady smell wafted out. Other than a few wooden hangers, there were a few boxes of mothballs and rolls of toilet paper. To Jiang Cheng’s surprise, there were packs of instant noodles and MRE meals.

Du Feng walked over and whistled. He said that since his grandmother passed away, he hadn’t seen these things anymore. That was twenty years ago. Jiang Cheng ignored him. Jiang Cheng leaned close and took a good sniff. An inexplicable scent of light rot entered his nostrils. As he expected…

This room wasn’t always as clean as it was then. It was probably prepared overnight. Before that, they had been left vacant for years, like the locked rooms. Afraid that they might pick up the scent of rot, the staff used a heavy dose of air fresheners and a lot of mothballs to cover the smell.

This act of kindness unsettled Jiang Cheng. He turned to the door. A glass observation window was installed on most sick bay doors. However, their window had been blocked by a piece of white paper.

Jiang Cheng walked over to touch the edge of the paper. The paper was thin and had a crisp feel. It looked newly pasted.