Chapter 36: Encountering the Head Nurse Again, Fierce Ghost Level?

Chapter 36: Encountering the Head Nurse Again, Fierce Ghost Level?

Duan Ming’s eyes sharpened. The emergence of the third clue had essentially overturned all his previous deductions. The hidden task was titled "Irreparable Regret." Whose regret was it? And who was the target of that regret? These were two crucial pieces of information.

If, as he had previously thought, Sun Dapang was the perpetrator and He Yuwei the victim, neither should logically possess such an emotion. But if a third party were involved, everything would be different. Many previously inexplicable doubts began to clarify, and the outline of a story took shape in Duan Ming’s mind.

"So, I just need to find the final piece of the puzzle to restore the truth. If I’m not mistaken, the last clue is on the fifth floor." He glanced upward before turning to rummage through the desk and drawers, hoping to find more useful information.

He did indeed make a discovery. The other woman in the photograph was named Pei Qiongyin, a doctor in the inpatient department who had not been at Qingshan Hospital for long, as evidenced by the date on her signature.

There was another special gain. Duan Ming picked up a sealed syringe containing a pale blue liquid.

[A Stimulant (Consumable)]
[Description: Can be used during combat. Upon use, it slowly restores physical injuries until they are perfectly recovered.]

Good stuff. Isn't this just a combat healing potion? Duan Ming stowed it away with satisfaction, but then his heart skipped a beat. Triggering the first hidden task had yielded the "Disfiguring Hairpin," and the third had yielded the "Stimulant." It made no sense that triggering the second task had resulted in nothing. Since it was a hidden task, it couldn't possibly be that mundane. Something must have been missed. Duan Ming resolved to return to the delivery room when he had the chance.

Feeling content, he looked back on his exploration journey with a touch of nostalgia. Impulsively posing as a police officer had led to the second clue, and coming here to deliver food had led to the fourth. This was really... wait! The reason I, Duan Ming, have achieved this is not because of luck or a protagonist's halo, but entirely due to my innate talent!!!

Just then, Shang Xiaoya let out a gasp: "Oh no! The head nurse is coming!"

Duan Ming, feeling bold, curled his lips and waved a hand: "What are you panicking about? It’s just the head nurse. We haven't done anything wrong."

"But the head nurse has explicitly forbidden anyone from entering this office!"

Duan Ming: "━Σ(Д|||)━"

"Then run!!!"

"We can't go out! The head nurse has a clear view from the hallway; she’ll see us coming out of the office immediately. We can only hope she isn't coming here." Shang Xiaoya’s voice trembled.

Duan Ming rushed to the door, cracked it open, and swept a glance outside. In the corridor, a tall figure moved unhurriedly. Beneath her tight-fitting skirt, a pair of long, pale legs moved with a crisp *clack-clack-clack* of high heels hitting the floor, a sound that made one’s heart race in the quiet environment. Of course, there was also that heart-stopping sway.

Duan Ming frowned tightly. The sound of high heels grew closer.

Meng Qian: "What do we do, what do we do? It really looks like she’s walking toward us."

Duan Ming pondered for a moment. "Follow me." He immediately stood up, searched the room, and headed toward a corner piled with junk. "Why are you just standing there? Come over."

Meng Qian and Shang Xiaoya followed, confused. Duan Ming pulled out a tattered cloth and pointed to the ground. "Crouch down, stay close." Once the two complied, he moved to the very corner and pulled the cloth over their heads.

He realized something was wrong as soon as it covered them. It was pitch black. Damn! Is this ghost cloth opaque? I thought I could see outside from within it. He had to give up on that idea.

Outside, the sound of high heels continued at a steady pace. The three hid beneath the ghost cloth, not daring to make a sound, controlling their breathing to the extreme. Duan Ming realized the situation was becoming awkward. The ghost cloth was just big enough for two; it was a tight squeeze for three. Meng Qian, as a member of the Occult Investigation Bureau, had instinctively positioned himself at the front, leaving Shang Xiaoya to crouch in the back. The corner was cramped, and in the urgency, Duan Ming had to hold the curled-up Shang Xiaoya in his arms to fit them all in.

Shang Xiaoya, enveloped in warmth, felt her skin crawl as Duan Ming’s breath brushed against her neck; she felt feverish. Duan Ming also began to feel that something was off, so he quickly cleared his mind and recalled the information he had gathered on the head nurse earlier.

[Cow Ghost]
[Name: He Yuwei]
[Level: Fierce Ghost Level]
[Ghost Energy: 99,999]
[Friendliness: 0]
[Target Info: Friendship is her lifelong creed. After a close friend committed suicide due to an incident, she followed suit in rage, transforming into a ghost spirit to invade the human world and slaughter indiscriminately.]
[Hint: Either become her friend or use her friends.]

What concerned Duan Ming most was that she was only at the "Fierce Ghost" level, which was why he had chosen to use the ghost cloth at this time. The Disfiguring Hairpin was already at the "Evil" level; it made no sense for the original owner to be a level lower.

He had no time to think further. He focused his mind, staring tensely toward the door, even though he couldn't see a thing.

The head nurse entered.

*Click.*

The door opened, and the crisp sound of heels hitting the floor grew louder, as if she were right in front of them. The three held their breath in unison. The footsteps moved toward the desk. There was a slight clatter of hard objects colliding—the photo frame must have been picked up.

Then came the head nurse's murmur, her tone filled with loneliness and frustration.

"Qiongyin, I miss you so much."

"I have already dragged everyone involved back then in here. I said, if anything happened to you, I would make everyone pay with their lives. I have done it."

"Not only that, I will make every one of them suffer endless, unceasing pain!"

Her tone shifted abruptly, cold as frost, and the three felt the temperature drop significantly.

The next ten minutes were heart-stoppingly silent. Especially with the three of them in total darkness, their inner fear only intensified.

*Click.*
*Click.*
*Click.*

The sound of high heels resumed, step by step, slow and deliberate. First, she circled the desk, then moved away, then approached again—a recurring cycle. Several times, Duan Ming felt she was right next to their hiding spot, his heart nearly jumping out of his chest.

Finally, after a few more minutes, the footsteps moved toward the door. The crisp sound of the door closing was like a signal of rebirth for the three. Even after the door was shut, they remained silent for another ten minutes. Duan Ming quietly lifted a corner of the ghost cloth, then more boldly poked his head out. A second later, he collapsed onto the floor.

"Everyone come out, it’s fine now."

Meng Qian and Shang Xiaoya followed suit, lying on the floor without any dignity, gasping for air. What they didn't know was that as the head nurse left, she had glanced back toward the direction where they were hiding.