Chapter 30: The True Purpose of the Boundary Stone
Chapter 30: The True Purpose of the Boundary Stone
Half an hour later, Duan Ming, Han Lingling, Chen Feng, and Xu Haoran gathered together.
Or rather, only Duan Ming and Han Lingling actually convened; the two war correspondents were just tagalongs.
Duan Ming looked somewhat proud, lifting his chin. “I got twenty-three. How many did you get?”
“Thirty-five,” Han Lingling replied calmly.
“Impossible! I was as fast as I could be. How could you have so many more than me?”
At that moment, Xu Haoran timidly spoke up, “It’s true. Duan Ming, when Sister Han went into those wards, the sick ghosts willingly took their medicine without any fuss. If she hadn’t taken it slow, maybe you wouldn’t have even reached twenty-three.”
Duan Ming was speechless.
“Damn it! Cheating just because you built up your credibility a few days ago! This competition is totally unfair!”
Han Lingling bared her teeth. “But I already told you that in advance. You insisted you could beat me, so what can I do? Besides, I handled the fierce ghost level ones. No more nonsense, you lost the bet; take your money.”
Duan Ming’s lips moved, muttering something, but reluctantly he took out one hundred million ghost coins and handed them to Han Lingling.
Chen Feng and Xu Haoran rolled their eyes.
Bullies like them were on a whole different level—bets counted in billions.
Han Lingling then said to the two, “Alright, you two go play. I already told you, ghosts of the third and fourth layers won’t dare bother you. If anything happens, just report it; if nothing, take this chance to learn how to fight ghosts.”
Duan Ming agreed, “Right, you two need to learn how to fight. Otherwise, how can you be my team leader? Don’t worry about getting beat up; Han Lingling has your back.”
“Huh? What did you just call me?”
“Han Lingling.”
“Grown some skills, huh?”
“In the cultivation world, age doesn’t matter, only ability does!”
“This is the ghost realm!”
“Same difference.”
“Even if it’s the same, you’re not better than me. I have more good stuff.”
“My ghost energy is higher!”
“I dealt with thirty-five sick ghosts.”
“Damn!”
The two bickered as they walked away.
Chen Feng and Xu Haoran silently watched their departing backs.
“Captain, I feel like we don’t really need to get involved in this mess at all,” Xu Haoran said.
Chen Feng’s gaze was deep. “It’s necessary.”
“We’ve connected with the human realm’s garrison commander.”
Xu Haoran blinked in confusion.
Chen Feng didn’t respond.
He was serious.
“Let’s go.”
Xu Haoran’s eyes lit up. “Captain, are we really going to fight ghosts? I’ve never fought a ghost before.”
Chen Feng stopped in his tracks, his tone stern. “Calm down. Do you think you’re still a three-year-old?”
After a moment.
“I’ll take the short ghost. Who do you choose?”
...
In the fourth-floor nursing staff lounge, Han Lingling brusquely kicked out some lazy teammates and carefully locked the door.
“Sis Lingling, is this really necessary?”
“It is. What I’m about to say isn’t trivial. Neither humans nor ghosts should overhear this,” Han Lingling said seriously.
Duan Ming sat up straight. “That serious?”
“Yeah. Take out that rag you use to block detection.”
“Oh.”
Duan Ming produced the ghost cloth.
It was the item rewarded from the bug in raising goodwill with the Ripper ghost He Weiyou, never used before. He thought it would just stay locked away. He didn’t know why Han Lingling was interested in this shabby thing.
At that moment, he saw Han Lingling pull out a small black bead.
“That’s—”
“Your upgrade bead that boosts ghost item levels?”
Han Lingling didn’t respond. She placed the bead on the ghost cloth, and both emitted a faint glow. The bead disappeared, but the cloth looked unchanged, except the description had changed.
[Ghost Cloth]
[Fierce Ghost Level]
[Description: Upgraded in grade. When worn, it blocks detection from fierce ghost-level spirits.]
Duan Ming’s face was full of question marks.
“Sis Lingling, what exactly are you trying to do?”
Han Lingling was extremely satisfied reading the new description. Then she said, “Do you know why I got such a rich reward in the first round?”
“Wasn’t it because you completed several hidden tasks?”
“There’s a world of difference between a few hidden tasks and a whole series of hidden tasks,” Han Lingling said solemnly.
“Hmm,” Duan Ming nodded seriously.
“Do you understand what I mean?”
“No.”
“Then why act like you do?”
“Well, the atmosphere’s been set like this.”
Han Lingling slapped her forehead.
“Alright, no more messing around.”
“Actually, what I experienced was...”
“I uncovered the secret behind the entire dungeon.”
“What do you mean?”
Duan Ming was stunned; this was the first time he’d heard such a theory.
Han Lingling explained, “Simply put, if you discover and solve the secret behind the dungeon’s background, it changes the whole dungeon’s state afterward. The rewards become extremely rich, even absurdly so.”
Duan Ming scratched his head. “I get the part about rewards, but the first half—can you say it again in plain English?”
Han Lingling felt a headache coming.
“Ah, forget it. I’ll start with what I found at Qingshan Hospital these past few days; you’ll naturally understand.”
Duan Ming sat upright.
Han Lingling adopted a serious tone and began narrating.
“The first day I came in, after dealing with those sick ghosts, I started observing Qingshan Hospital. Don’t be fooled by this inpatient ward looking normal. The sick ghosts can move around freely, but only within this building—they can’t step outside the front door.”
“More strangely, every night in the ghost realm, each ward echoes with heart-wrenching screams until six in the morning when the night ends.”
“I even snuck out at night...”
“You snuck out at night?!!!”
“Don’t interrupt, that’s not the point,” Han Lingling shot him a glare.
“Oh.”
“I tried to check those wards at night. The doors were completely locked. In other words, at night, the sick ghosts are locked in their rooms, forced to endure endless torment.”
Duan Ming’s brows furrowed deeply.
Han Lingling continued, “You probably don’t know, but the head nurse rarely appears. I only saw her for the first time today. Yet every sick ghost fears her terribly—even mentioning her name makes them tremble.”
“I suspect the ward’s strange nighttime phenomena are closely linked to her. The head nurse is likely the true controller of this building. Even the patients’ extreme resistance to taking medicine might stem from her influence.”
By now, Duan Ming’s brows had knotted into a tight frown.
He pondered aloud, “So, you mean if we find and resolve the secret behind the ward, the whole hospital’s condition will change. The sick ghosts won’t suffer unexplained torment or resist their medicine. Qingshan Hospital would return to a normal ghost realm medical facility.”
“Or more boldly, those who enter would no longer face terrifying difficulties. The dungeon’s difficulty would drop dramatically, or it might even disappear altogether.”
“Looking at it this way...”
Han Lingling’s eyes brightened, but she wasn’t surprised, just smiled faintly. “You thought of that too?”
“Yeah,” Duan Ming said softly.
“If the assimilation between the ghost realm and the real world is truly irreversible, then offering high rewards to encourage players to solve these deeply resentful places is undoubtedly a way to expand humanity’s living space.”
“Perhaps this is the boundary stone’s true purpose.”
(End of chapter)