Hospital

??? Under the glaring lights, Ji Jue felt as though he were lost in a dream. He instinctively looked around. Aside from the bodies strewn across the floor, the place resembled a shambolic conference room. Blood was splattered everywhere across the walls and ceiling. Not even the stench of disinfectant could mask the foul rot in the air. In the blink of an eye, everything had changed. But the real problem was... Wait, where's my car?! Little Niuma was gone! It hadn't been pulled in at all... Ji Jue reached for the holster at his ribs, but his hand came away empty. His gun was gone too! Yet... when he patted his pockets, he found the carefully preserved corruption bullets still there, and his necklace, ring, and bell were all right where they belonged. A flicker of understanding dawned on him. So it wasn't that alchemical items couldn't be brought in? Then again, the clothes on his back were ordinary street clothes. Could Little Niuma not count as equipment? Did the entry screening for a Chrono Ruin really have such flexible, capricious rules? Through a haze of dizziness and a pounding headache, he recalled what had happened before he was dragged inside. The moment he realized the Chrono Ruin was closing in, his immediate reaction had been to grab all his gear, hop into Little Niuma, and floor it toward the most deserted place possible. Yet the faster he ran, the tighter the Chrono Ruin pursued him. In the end, he hadn't escaped in time. Only at the very last second had he caught on, spotting a tiny line of flashing text at the bottom of Cousin's pop-up window: [Automatic Traction Program Running]. The memory alone made Ji Jue's blood boil. He wanted nothing more than to rip that damn watch off and smash it to pieces. So it was you, you little bastard, who reeled the Chrono Ruin right to my doorstep?! Was it truly the Chrono Ruin it had pulled in, though? Or something else entirely? In that fleeting daze, the final image before the ruin swallowed him resurfaced in his mind—the world seemed to shatter, or perhaps shed its disguise, laying bare a fractured, fragmented reality. Flames rolled over the cracked earth, and fissures spread across a crimson, burning sky. Shackled stars flickered dimly, as if on the verge of plunging from the heavens. Yet between heaven and earth, everything was enveloped in intricate spiritus circuits. Crisscrossing one another, they formed a colossal web that seemed to forcibly bind the entire world together. Everywhere, in all things. The so-called... Celestial Rail! Ji Jue tried to recall their shapes in detail, but the vision rapidly blurred and dispersed from his memory, leaving behind only the faintest impression. It defied clear recollection. Meanwhile, the pocket watch had fallen silent once more, leaving only a final pop-up notification: [Train Service Preparation in Progress]. Who knew what kind of nonsense it was up to. Within a few seconds, he pieced together his current situation. Letting out a quiet sigh, he looked up, only then noticing the figure standing by the door who had spoken. He froze for a second. Wait, brother, who the hell are you? "Are you awake?" A bizarre entity that could hardly be called human raised its eyes and peered over. It was a humanoid thing sewn together from corpses, yet gaping tears covered its entire body, crudely held together with coarse surgical sutures. Hunched over, two arms hung beneath its white lab coat—one long, one short—with ten fingers razor-sharp like scalpels. Three slit-like eyes scanned Ji Jue and the other captives selected by the Chrono Ruin, and it let out a raspy, eerie chuckle. "Good, very good. Fine seedlings, every one of you. "With so many reinforcements, our... our hospital will surely be able to save even more patients..." As it spoke, shrill laughter drifted from the end of the hallway, followed by a chorus of heavy, uneven footsteps, as though a large crowd were marching in their direction. Right then, in the messy conference room, groans finally began to rise. On the floor, the Celestial Chosen swept into the ruin were waking up at last. Looking around in panic, vigilance, or bewilderment, they immediately understood what had happened the moment they sensed an atmosphere utterly alien to the mundane world. "Damn it, a Chrono Ruin?!" "Where... where am I?" "Don't make a move! If we alert the abominations, none of us are making it out alive!" "A Chrono-what?!" Amidst the noisy chaos, several Celestial Chosen glared at one another warily. Those who grasped the situation tried to gather information, those who didn't scrambled for an escape, and others tried to strike up conversations. A dozen conflicting reactions played out all at once. Outside the door, the overlapping, heavy footsteps drew closer. Then, filing into the room came a group that looked almost identical to the doctor before them—if anything, even more ghastly and grotesque. Beastly traits marked their bodies. One had lost an eyeball, replaced by a wriggling tentacle poking deftly from the empty socket. Exaggerated smiles were plastered across their faces, revealing rows of jagged, razor-sharp teeth long stained crimson with blood. Others had already faded into faint, grayish-black, translucent specters... "Director Qian is already here?" Walking at the head of the group was a bloated figure that resembled a drowned corpse, tinged a deep, dark green. Foul-smelling pus seeped from its nose and mouth, and its voice gurgled with phlegm. "Ever dedicated to hospital affairs. You work so hard." "Finished up my rounds, so I came early." The stitched corpse addressed as Director Qian stepped aside. "All the doctors newly hired this week are right here." In an instant, every grotesque doctor turned their eyes upon the captives. "Why is there no order whatsoever? What did their teachers teach them?" "They're all young, full of vigor." "Talent rises in every generation. How could our hospital ever fail to prosper?" "Indeed, indeed." Amid the eerie laughter and muttered remarks, a bone-chilling dread washed over everyone present. No one dared to whisper or move another muscle. "Do not be afraid, everyone, and do not worry." The bloated, corpulent figure at the front spoke, a semblance of a smile stretching across its fleshy folds as it slurred, "Now that you've come... come to the hospital, we are family. From now on, we must all live in harmony. "As the hospital director, allow me to offer you all a warm welcome!" With that, he began to clap. Instantly, all the 'physicians' behind him began clapping in unison, filling the room with deafening enthusiasm. Yet the applause was so eerily uniform that each overlapping clap struck like the drumming of a death knell, making everyone's hearts race in terror. Before long, amidst the squeaking of wheels, a cart laden with garments was wheeled inside and parked right before the captives. Every piece was a white lab coat, identical to those worn by the physicians. Except no one knew whose bodies these lab coats had been stripped from. They were spotted with filth, smeared with blood, and carried the pungent stench of decaying corpses. "What is this? Why is it so filthy?" The director frowned, seemingly displeased. Yet almost instantly, the hallucination-like stench vanished. Even the lab coats on the cart regained their pristine cleanliness, radiating the crisp scent of disinfectant. Just like that, warm, eager gazes fell upon everyone. They smiled exaggeratedly, waiting. Finally, the first person summoned the courage to reach out with trembling hands, pick up a lab coat, and slip it on. Then came the second, the third... Ji Jue was among them, not bothering to cause a scene. The moment he held it, he could tell it was merely an ordinary lab coat, completely devoid of any trace of Sovereign Virtue. Once everyone was dressed in their white coats, the atmosphere in the conference room grew even warmer, as though they truly had become one big, harmonious family. Then, an emaciated, mummified physician stepped forward, pointing at the first two people in the front row. "We've had a lot of emergencies lately. Hand these two over to the Emergency Department." Behind him, the line of doctors said nothing, merely smiling as they waited. Under that sinister gaze, the two stiff, terrified Celestial Chosen were led away by the Emergency Department. "These two go to Surgery," selected a physician whose four arms squirmed ceaselessly. "Internal Medicine needs one too." "Infectious Diseases needs one as well." ... In just a few words, the captives were divvied up like livestock and led away, leaving only Ji Jue standing alone. Finally, Director Qian, who had been smiling off to the side the entire time, walked over holding what looked like a clipboard, eyeing Ji Jue where he stood. "Hmm? How come we're short one?" Director Qian gave Ji Jue a dull glance, his nostrils twitching faintly, before brushing it aside. "Forget it, doesn't matter. Follow me, and don't fall behind." And so, under the watchful eyes of the director and the assembled physicians, Ji Jue finally walked out of that conference room. He trailed behind Director Qian, whose cackling laughter echoed down the hall. Unfortunately, there was not the slightest sense of relief—if anything, he felt as though he were descending deeper into hell... The corridor was a total wreck, smeared with filth. Dried bloodstains were splattered across the walls. The air was heavy with the lingering stench of blood and disinfectant. Faint wails and weeping could be heard, punctuated by rabid roars and frenzied shrieks. Outside the window lay an empty courtyard flanked by two buildings. Between them roamed grotesque monsters that barely retained a semblance of human form. Further out, everything was shrouded in dense fog. Within that fog, massive silhouettes seemed to writhe slowly, impossible to discern clearly. Ding! The elevator began its descent. The inside of the cabin was covered in scratch marks, leaving dark-red grooves scraped by human fingers. The lights flickered incessantly. The entire time, Director Qian kept his eyes fixed on Ji Jue. His head seemed to swivel on his shoulders, turned a full hundred and eighty degrees, his warm smile unchanging. When the elevator doors slid open, Ji Jue heard a piercing scream. It belonged to one of the Celestial Chosen who had been taken earlier. "No! Fuck this! Fuck all of you!" From inside a consultation room came a frantic, hysterical screech: "I don't want to be here... I—I—" A figure bolted out at blistering speed. Yet faster still were the patients packed tightly into the corridor, waiting. Hunched, withered, or impossibly swollen figures whose genders were completely unrecognizable swarmed forward, swallowing him whole in an instant. No matter how desperately he thrashed, they pinned him to the floor, tearing into him with gnashing teeth. It was a savage feast that did not stop until even the spilled blood on the floor was hungrily licked clean. It was as if they were still ravenous. They turned their heads, lifting faces smeared with shredded flesh and gore, and fixed their hollow eyes directly on Ji Jue. Yet, as if wary of something, they did not dare advance. A cold, clammy hand came to rest on Ji Jue's shoulder at some point. "See that? That is the price of breaking hospital regulations." Director Qian continued to smile warmly, making no effort to conceal the vicious malice beneath his flesh. "Starting today, you are a resident under my care. "Don't worry. If you run into any trouble on the job, I will guide you with the utmost kindness." As he spoke, his other mutated hand pointed toward the mangled remains on the floor. "Consider this your first lesson: hold your post, and never be the kind of doctor who deserts his station." "..." The corner of Ji Jue's eye twitched. After a long silence, he couldn't resist asking, "Excuse me, Director... what's the salary like at our hospital?" Director Qian did not reply. He seemed completely stunned. Even the smile on his face froze, gradually contorting into something hideous and snarling. "A good doctor must know how to sacrifice himself for others and dedicate his life to the cause. Do not ask questions that are bad for your health." Fine, got it. So even a damn Chrono Ruin expects people to work for free, huh? Ji Jue knew when to back down. Abandoning any further attempts to test Director Qian's intellect and logic, he returned to the matter at hand. "Where are we headed?" "Very good. Dedicated to your duties, eager to contribute." Director Qian's smile returned. He raised his clipboard. "Let me see... The hospital has been quite busy lately, with quite a few vacancies. We're short-staffed everywhere. The department assigned to an outstanding newcomer like you is..." He paused, looking up with absolute solemnity: "—Obstetrics and Gynecology."