Unconsciously, Fang Xiu turned his head to glance at the former entrance of the psychiatric hospital, only to be taken aback— the hospital's gates had vanished.
In its place stood a wall.
He took two steps back and scanned the surroundings, but there was no trace of the psychiatric hospital. Instead, all that remained was the luxurious, opulent Bai Liu Academy.
Fang Xiu instinctively blinked, and when he opened his eyes again, the psychiatric hospital had reappeared! However, the security guard, Zhao Ge, had disappeared.
What on earth was happening?
He focused intently, his gaze fixed on Qing Shan Psychiatric Hospital.
In the next moment, an eerie scene unfolded before him—Bai Liu Academy slowly began to materialize, like a transition in a film, fading in and out. First a phantom, then solidifying, its color gradually deepening.
And bizarrely, Qing Shan Psychiatric Hospital was still there!
The two buildings seemed to have overlapped.
A distortion of time and space? An overlap of dimensions?
At this moment, Fang Xiu felt as though his vision had been scrambled. Everywhere he looked, there were overlapping shadows— the psychiatric hospital and Bai Liu Academy intertwined.
He changed his position and extended his hand, only for it to pass through the walls of the psychiatric hospital until it made contact with the walls of Bai Liu Academy.
A conclusion began to form in his mind: the psychiatric hospital, like those other strange occurrences, was likely illusory. It could only be seen and required certain conditions to be touched.
This place was still Bai Liu Academy, with the psychiatric hospital appearing like a hologram, enveloping Bai Liu Academy.
Fang Xiu's thoughts shifted—no longer interested in finding Wu Dahai, he was now determined to unravel the secrets hidden within the psychiatric hospital.
Why was this place an eerie building, while the others were merely strange occurrences?
"Hey, hey, Xiao Fang, why didn't you say anything and just leave?"
The voice of the security guard, Zhao Ge, came from behind, but Fang Xiu ignored him, fully engrossed in his observations of the psychiatric hospital.
He walked slowly, as the overlap between the two buildings was so intense that it was difficult to distinguish which was illusory and which was real, making it easy to collide with walls.
For instance, although Fang Xiu was near the landscaped area of Bai Liu Academy, before him stood the decaying walls of a hospital ward.
Without hesitation, he plunged into the hospital wall, as though entering thin air, and found himself inside.
The scene before him shifted—he found himself in a corridor, with long benches along the walls, which were stained with dried, black-red blood, creating a chilling atmosphere.
It resembled something straight out of a horror movie.
The place felt as though it belonged to a hospital from decades ago— the walls were dim, and instead of the usual marble flooring, there was cold, grey cement.
Fang Xiu did not take the usual route but instead navigated through the walls, searching diligently.
It seemed as though some horrific event had occurred in the psychiatric hospital, for there were bloodstains everywhere, and even decaying bits of flesh.
He passed through the lobby, the cafeteria, the restroom, and the activity rooms— all were desolate and empty.
It wasn't until he reached a particular ward that he involuntarily stopped.
This ward was unique. The door was a dark red, as though someone had splashed a bucket of blood across it, the color now dried and dark.
From a distance, it resembled a demon's gaping maw, sending a chill down one's spine.
The ward was marked as 104.
Ward 104?
Fang Xiu's curiosity was piqued. He took a step forward and walked straight through the ward's door, entering the interior.
The room was plain, with only a dilapidated bed. In the corner of the bed, a little girl, dressed in a patient's gown, huddled. Her head was buried deep in her knees, arms wrapped around herself, with a frayed flower cord around her pale wrist, her face obscured.
Fang Xiu kept his gaze fixed ahead, seemingly not noticing the little girl, but his peripheral vision was keenly observing her.
He would never naively believe that this eerie psychiatric hospital housed living people.
Even if the little girl appeared human.
The girl seemed to sense Fang Xiu's arrival and suddenly lifted her head.
Fang Xiu's peripheral vision immediately withdrew, for the girl's face— lacked features.
He proceeded forward, while the little girl, with her faceless expression, stared fixedly at him until he left Ward 104.
After passing through the ward, Fang Xiu encountered numerous others, each with its own number.
He entered them one by one, encountering many strange beings of various forms.
Most of them were violent and bloodthirsty, and upon seeing a living person, they immediately attacked in a frenzy.
Fang Xiu didn't flinch, letting them strike.
He counted briefly— there were at least dozens of such wards.
This meant that within the psychiatric hospital, there were at least dozens of these eerie beings!
"This psychiatric hospital is certainly hiding a great secret."
As he walked, he suddenly stopped.
He had realized that the doors to Wards 162, 169, and 177 were inexplicably open, and inside, there was nothing— an empty void.
Had the eerie beings escaped?
He pressed on, but his path was obstructed by a villa from the real world. Lacking a key, he was forced to take a detour.
After navigating around, he found himself in a doctor's office within the psychiatric hospital.
Inside the room was an office desk scattered with a stethoscope and case reports, all stained with blood.
Fang Xiu approached the reports, his pupils narrowing!
One of the blood-stained case reports revealed several lines of text.
It read: Subject 128... (bloodstains cover)... Transformation of eerie degree 21.64%, transformation failed.
Transformation into an eerie being!?
Did that mean that the eerie beings were once humans?
Had all the beings in those wards once been people?
A wave of shock surged within Fang Xiu. He wanted to continue looking through the reports, but in the next moment, he was struck by a realization.
This was all illusory, like a hologram. He couldn't physically pick up the reports and turn the pages.
D*mn!!
The secret was so close, yet just out of reach, and the frustration made his anger flare.
Suddenly!
Thin black strands of hair appeared before his eyes.
These strands hung from the air, connected to something unknown.
Fang Xiu was no fool— he didn't look up immediately. Instead, he pretended to casually wander, creating some distance while using his peripheral vision to observe.
What he saw was a "beautiful" doctor, dressed in a white lab coat, her limbs spider-like, crouching on the ceiling, staring directly at him.
Her face was deathly pale, her eye sockets dark and etched with grotesque lines. Her eyes were just white, with no pupils. Her hair, over a meter long, cascaded from the ceiling, and she held a gleaming silver scalpel in one hand.
A doctor!?
Fang Xiu's mind stirred.
Had she written these case reports?
Had she once been human?
Countless questions flooded his mind, but there were no answers— the eerie beings would never answer such questions.
Fang Xiu could only continue forward. Since the doctor's office held clues, the psychiatric hospital must have more to offer.
Including the headmaster's office!
That must be the core of the hospital— all the secrets could lie there.
He pressed on, traversing the halls of the psychiatric hospital, searching for the headmaster's office.
Soon, he located an office area, and based on the layout of a typical hospital, Fang Xiu deduced that the headmaster's office would be situated in this area.
As he drew closer, however, he discovered that the real-world location of this office area was none other than Bai Liu Academy's sales office.
The very place where Fang Xiu worked.