When Lin Sanjiu cautiously approached the door, it had already closed automatically.
When she saw the transparent window on the door, she immediately crouched down. She waited for two seconds. When she heard that there was no movement behind the door, she straightened her body and looked through the window.
Ever since she entered the basement of the hospital, her vision had been filled with thick fog. Coupled with the layer of foggy, translucent material, she couldn't see anything clearly. Even when she squinted her eyes and looked carefully, she couldn't find any clues other than the vague shadow of a person.
After that half-scream, the red-faced man seemed to have melted into the air. He didn't make another sound.
"Aren't all the main characters in horror movies like this?"
Lin Sanjiu thought hesitantly as she placed her hand on the doorknob. "Even though I know that something is wrong, I still want to barge in … The wisest thing to do now is to turn around and leave.
But then again, a wiser person wouldn't rob the toll booth in the first place.
Lin Sanjiu covered herself with a layer of [Defense Forcefield] and nailed one of her feet to the floor outside the door. Then, she tore an old-fashioned gas mask from the [Penguin Books for Kids]. Lin Sanjiu felt that she had used almost all the defensive measures she could think of. Unlike the red-faced man, she wouldn't walk in and take a quick glance. Once she sensed something was amiss, she would immediately retreat.
The door gradually opened wider. Even if the light in the room was switched on, it would be very dim. The thick fog stubbornly lingered in her vision, refusing to budge. There was a faint smell of chemicals in the air. It was so quiet that not a single sound could be heard.
Lin Sanjiu closed the door quietly and stood outside the door, touching her gas mask. The sweat on her back had dried and sticky, and her muscles were sore. But other than that, she was fine.
She opened the door again. This time, she widened the gap so that the light from the laboratory could illuminate the dark room that reeked of drugs. Only the light from inside the hospital could dispel the fog. Her vision was much clearer now. A face covered with black holes emerged from the fog and stared straight at her.
Lin Sanjiu swallowed her gasp. She almost knocked into the door when she retreated.
The face floated motionlessly in the darkness. The contours and the features of the face had been eroded and blurred. An indescribable feeling stopped her from moving and stopped her in her tracks.
She waited for a few seconds and saw that the guard didn't move, as if he couldn't see her. She held back her heartbeat and poked her head in to take a closer look.
The red-faced man was lying on the ground not far from the door. His limbs were bent and spread out, but there were no visible injuries on his body. The guard stood in front of his head. His posture was strange. He looked like a person who had fallen and was trying to get up from the ground, but the process of getting up was frozen. He bent his knees and leaned his upper body forward. He raised his head slightly as if he was attracted by the person who pushed open the door. However, even after Lin Sanjiu locked eyes with him for a few seconds, the guard remained motionless like a specimen.
… Seems like a dead one?
Lin Sanjiu didn't know why, but there was something about the guard that made her stomach clench uncomfortably. She even broke out in a cold sweat. She really wanted to go in and take a closer look, but she couldn't take a step forward. After thinking for a while, she made up her mind.
She couldn't go in, but she could pull the guard out. If she deactivated her [Defense Forcefield], her Higher Consciousness could still be used as a rope. However, before she pulled him out, she needed to open the door completely and use something to block the door so that there was enough space.
When Lin Sanjiu thought of this, she turned around and looked at the cramped and quiet laboratory. The long metal tables on the floor were arranged in a dim light. A few X-ray machines stood silently not far behind her. They were still standing where the red-faced man had pushed them away.
"They are so big that they can block the door," Mrs. Manas said, "Why aren't there any chairs here?"
In the end, she had no choice but to use a corpse. She pulled the guard's corpse out from under the metal table, opened the door, and used the man who once held hope as a doorstop. Throughout the process, she didn't forget to avoid the door. She tried her best not to face it.
When everything was ready, she stood beside the door and deactivated her [Defense Forcefield].
Her Higher Consciousness faded from the surface of her body. It was as if she was standing up from the sea and the seawater was pouring off her body. When the tide receded, Lin Sanjiu felt a hand on her back.
"It's gone," a soft, sighing voice whispered into her ear.
By the time she heard those four words, it was already too late. The hand exerted an irresistible force and pushed her into the door. The door was opened to the right. Since it was blocked by the corpse, Lin Sanjiu naturally chose to stand on the left side of the door frame. When she was suddenly pushed into the door, she didn't even have the time to use her left hand to hold on to the door frame. She stumbled and fell into the door.
In less than half a breath's time, Lin Sanjiu's only reaction was to reactivate her [Defense Forcefield]. The door closed behind her with a loud bang.
"Get out!" Mrs. Manas screamed, "Something is corroding the [Defense Forcefield]. Your Higher Consciousness can only hold on for a few more minutes!"
Lin Sanjiu rolled on the ground and got up. She almost stepped on the red-faced man's calf. She threw herself at the door and slammed into it, but she couldn't find the doorknob no matter how hard she tried. When she looked again, she couldn't help but hold her breath.
The interior of the door was smooth and flat. It was perfectly fitted to the wall. There wasn't even a gap for a fingernail to dig through. She summoned her metal gauntlets and hammered the door with all her might. She felt that she had used all her strength, but there were only a few scratches on the door.
"Is it because the door is too sturdy?" A thought flashed across her mind. Mrs. Manas shouted, "It's not because of the door!"
"Then, what's going on?"
"I'm sorry."
Through the translucent window above the door, Lin Sanjiu could vaguely see a face. Lin Sanjiu widened her eyes and looked out. Right now, there was only a door between her and the person's face. Their breaths were so hot that they painted the window white. However, even though she couldn't see clearly, she could still recognize the person. "It's you?"
Like a photo that had been soaked in water, Wei Xing's face, color, and facial features were slightly blurred in the white mist. Even though she was the one who pushed Lin Sanjiu in, even though she couldn't see her expression clearly, there seemed to be a hint of melancholy in her voice. She sighed through the door, "I'm sorry."
"Why?" Lin Sanjiu couldn't understand. "Why?"
Wei Xing didn't answer her question. "After a while, the gas will enter your body. I … I don't know, but the process might not feel good. I'm sorry. "
"What gas?" Lin Sanjiu pounded on the window a few times with all her might, but the acrylic window did not budge. Her fist was like a hollow piece of dead wood; it was all for show. "What process?"
"You won't die." Wei Xing acted as if he did not hear her question and only explained to himself. He was like a child desperately trying to explain that her mistake was not that serious, "You won't die. It's just a different form …"
That sentence was enough to make Lin Sanjiu break out in a cold sweat. She turned around quickly and rushed into the room. She pounced on the guard who made her feel extremely uncomfortable. Now that she was face-to-face with the guard, she could finally see him clearly. The guard's face was filled with holes of various sizes, and his body was shriveled like a withered twig. He was wearing Hei Zeji's uniform.
Cold sweat, tears, and stomach acid flooded her body at the same time. For a moment, everything in her field of vision was blurred. Lin Sanjiu staggered back to the door. Her [Defense Forcefield] kept jumping on her skin as if she was being pricked by needles. Every time the needles pricked her, a portion of her resistance would be drained away.
"It was you …" Lin Sanjiu said to Wei Xing, who had just turned his head away, "You let that red-faced man in?"
"He could've caught anyone, but he caught me," Wei Xing laughed bitterly as she stopped in her tracks. "This should've been good news for you … I was happy to replace you with him. Who knew that you would barge in and become a wanted criminal? "
Lin Sanjiu had to let her out before the "gas" took complete control of her. But, how could she agree to that?
"Wait, I don't understand," Lin Sanjiu's mind was spinning. She shouted, "How … how did you trick him into coming in?"
Actually, when she asked that question, she had already pieced the pieces together. Why would Wei Xing think of bribing the female NPC? Why would he be so eager to enter the basement of the hospital to "visit" the female NPC? It was all to mislead the other players — Lin Sanjiu — into thinking that she had found a shortcut through bribery.
If the red-faced man didn't capture Wei Xing at that moment, the two of them would've been surrounded by a few players at the toll booth. In addition, Lin Sanjiu already had a "good relationship" with the female NPC … Then, the best choice would've been to enter the basement of the hospital!
"It took me a lot of effort to convince him that I have a good relationship with the NPC. After all, unlike you, he didn't see me bribing the NPC." Wei Xing sighed, "If only you weren't here … After I confirmed that he had entered the room, I could've turned around and left. But, you just had to come out now … "
"Left?
She followed him in? "
However, when the red-faced man entered the room, Lin Sanjiu kept staring at the door. She didn't see a third person enter the lab — No, that's not right.
When she thought about it carefully, she realized that after a certain point, she couldn't see if anyone entered the lab anymore.
This was because the red-faced man had pushed a few X-ray machines to the side, blocking most of her vision. This meant that Wei Xing had been standing quietly behind the X-ray machine, watching her open the door, poke her head out, and move the corpse to block the door …
"I don't understand," Lin Sanjiu anxiously tried to buy herself more time. She asked again, "Why did you do that?"
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