Chapter 24: Pick Up the Head and Put It Back On

Chapter 24: Pick Up Your Head and Put It Back On

[Instance: Qingshan Hospital]
[Instance Population: 20+1]
[Instance Difficulty: D-Rank]
[Instance Objective: Survive for 72 hours]
[Friendly Reminder: Caution! Your assigned identity only provides minimal protection. Knowing how to leverage your identity may yield unexpected results.]

"A mission for 20 people? Does this '+1' refer to me?"
Duan Ming carefully savored the brief instance description.
Rated as D-rank, the objective only required surviving 72 hours. The system prompt almost explicitly stated that the assigned identity would not offer the significant protection found in the previous novice instance, the Coffin Residential District.
In the Coffin Residential District, the Property Management Committee strictly forbade owners from harming property staff. Even a monster as powerful as Jiang Xiaoxiao had to resort to underhanded tactics to act. It could be said that the Property Management Committee was the ultimate backer for everyone who entered that first game.
In the current Qingshan Hospital, while the mission details didn't explicitly mention the identity, it could be inferred that it was either dispensable or of low status.

Duan Ming observed his surroundings.
It was a space resembling a storage room, piled high with vegetables and fruits—and, of course, many bloody, severed limbs. It looked like the kitchen's pantry.
Just as he was pondering, the door was pushed open, and a grotesquely obese ghost with a massive, gaping wound on its stomach entered. Foul, disgusting fluids continuously oozed from the gash.
The creature clearly hadn't expected to find someone inside. Startled, it shrieked, "Duan Ming! Slacking off on your first day of work?!"

Duan Ming froze.
He knows me?
Oh, right. When he first entered the Coffin Residential District, the supervisor, Qin Wei, already recognized the students. He assumed this was the powerful effect of the boundary stone.
He thought for a moment and pointed at himself: "Do you know who I am?"
"I don't give a damn who you are! You could be the King of Heaven and it wouldn't matter here! A damn newcomer trying to threaten me!"
The fat ghost was so angry its belly shook.
"If it weren't for the surge in meal orders these past two days and the lack of manpower, I'd have eaten you by now!"
*Oh, so I'm a delivery guy.*
Duan Ming nodded, ignoring the other's rage, and asked, "A surge in meal delivery tasks? Have a lot of new faces arrived?"
Veins bulged on the fat ghost's forehead.
"Watch your attitude, kid. Do you really think I wouldn't..."
But in the next second, its twisted face turned serious and obedient.
"Yes. Two days ago, the hospital's nursing department hired 20 living employees all at once."
"It's already been two days! Hurry! Tell me the situation!"
Duan Ming grew anxious, and the kitchen knife he held against the fat ghost's neck pressed in slightly.
As a genuine Fierce Ghost-level entity, what the fat ghost feared wasn't the Evil Ghost-level knife at its throat, but the red toilet paper in Duan Ming's other hand. It swallowed nervously and stammered, "What… what do you want to know?"
"Bullshit! Obviously the situation with those new faces!"
"Those people?" The fat ghost scratched its head. "Nothing special. Same as the ones who come here before. Newcomers don't know the rules, and quite a few were killed within days. Just in the nursing department alone, the dinner order count dropped by seven or eight last night."
"That's considered normal."

"Normal your mother!" Duan Ming was truly desperate now. He pressed the red toilet paper firmly against the creature's forehead. "Tell me! Among the remaining orders, is there one from someone named Han Lingling?!"
The fat ghost felt like all it could see was red. Terrified, it almost wet itself, shouting tremblingly, "I-I-I don't know! Do you people write your names and contact information on orders?"
"Yes!"
"Huh?!"
The fat ghost was stunned, then resumed its mournful expression.
"But our hospital cafeteria doesn't! We just need to know how many portions to deliver."
Hearing this, Duan Ming felt as if his heart were burning. He closed his eyes, took several deep breaths, and when he opened them again, his tone was much calmer.
"Is there a way for me to get into the nursing department?"
"Yes, I can take you there."
"Oh?"
Duan Ming quickly pulled back the red toilet paper. The bead-like eyes on the fat face still held a glimmer of cunning, but as he regained his "sight," the ghost feigned terror like a thief caught in the act.

...

The cafeteria hall.
It was morning, not mealtime, and several ghosts dressed in chef uniforms were gathered preparing ingredients—some processing vegetables, others chopping bloody meat of unknown origin—chatting as they worked.
Just then, someone entered the cafeteria.
A person. A living person. A girl.
She pushed the door open tremblingly, and upon seeing the blood-soaked preparation table, her face turned deathly pale. Her movements stopped abruptly.
The noise among the ghosts died down. They all turned to look at the entrance, their gazes filled with mockery and malice.
Then, a male ghost whose forehead was entirely missing stood up, hands in his pockets, and walked over with a smile.
"Little girl, here to deliver the menu again?"
The girl didn't dare look at him, keeping her head down and murmuring a sound barely louder than a mosquito.
She took a slip from her pocket and handed it over, trembling, hoping to leave immediately. But the flat-headed ghost grabbed her hand as he took the slip, letting out an evil chuckle.
"Heh heh heh, don't be nervous, little girl. I'm a gentlemanly ghost."
"I've been watching you for two days. Did you know? You look exactly like one of the girlfriends I had when I was alive."
The girl tugged, trying to pull her hand away, but she didn't dare exert too much force for fear of angering him. She looked like she was about to cry.
"But I'm not your girlfriend. Can you let me go?"
"That won't do. I loved her so much. Even after dying for so many years, I still can't let her go. Since heaven brought us together here, how can I waste this opportunity? Heh heh heh."
As he spoke, the flat-headed ghost moved to pull the girl into his arms.
Just then, a loud crashing sound came from the kitchen, stopping the ghost's movements. He looked back and saw the fat ghost and Duan Ming walking out.
The fat ghost looked wretched, its face covered in bruises.
Duan Ming spotted the girl immediately, his eyes lighting up.
A living person seeing another living person—tears welled in their eyes.
He ignored the fat ghost and rushed forward, but was blocked by the flat-headed ghost.
The flat-headed ghost looked at him suspiciously and asked the fat ghost behind him, "Old Fang, what's going on?"
Before the fat ghost could reply, a cold voice reached his ears.
"Move."
The flat-headed ghost was so angry he laughed. Completely oblivious to the fat ghost's frantic signaling, he curled his lips into a wicked smile. "Watch your attitude, kid. Do you really think I wouldn't..."
The words cut off.
Not because he was too scared to speak.
But because he couldn't.
The flat-headed ghost watched in horror as his vision spun, and then he saw his own headless torso.
The girl was even more astonished.
This boy had simply slashed his finger through the air, and that annoying ghost had been decapitated?
Duan Ming withdrew his hand.
Just a Fierce Ghost-level entity.
The "Ghost Path 78: Severance" skill consumed a lot of energy; using it for the first time had drained nearly half of his mana.
He hurried past the headless body to the girl. "Are you an entrant from the nursing department?"
The girl nodded blankly.
Duan Ming's eyes brightened, and he pressed on: "Do you know Han Lingling? How is she? Is she still alive?"
Hearing the name Han Lingling, the girl's eyes finally regained some focus, and she nodded.
"Lingling sister? I... I know her. She's doing fine."
Duan Ming almost jumped for joy.
"That's great! Take me to see her, quickly!"
He reached out to pull the girl away but noticed the flat-headed ghost's hand was still gripping her wrist.
His expression turned cold.
"Did he just bully you?"
The flat-headed ghost wasn't dead. Unlike the Starving Ghost previously killed by Jiang Xiaoxiao's skill, Duan Ming was still too weak to achieve that level of lethality. As long as the ghost's energy wasn't exhausted, losing a head wasn't fatal.
Hearing Duan Ming's cold words, the ghost immediately let go in a panic.
The girl pulled lightly on Duan Ming's sleeve. "Forget it, I'm fine."
Duan Ming patted her hand to signal her to let go, then pulled out his blood-stained kitchen knife and handed it to her.
The next second, the girl's eyes widened in sheer terror.
Duan Ming kicked the headless torso to the ground without a hint of hesitation, then pointed at the head on the floor and said coldly:
"Pick up your head and put it back on."