novelGlobal Chapter 178: Whom Did He Replace?
Chapter 178: Whom Did He Replace?
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Yu Xiao’s mind went blank, and the world around her dissolved into an icy abyss. Darkness pressed in from all sides, stealing her voice before she could even cry out.
Finally, a shudder rippled through her.
“Precious? Misty?” she whispered, her voice thin and reedy.
Only the wind answered, whistling a mournful tune through the empty ward.
“Misty!” Panic welled up in Yu Xiao’s chest, choking her. “Precious!”
She scrambled for the light switch, flooding the room with a harsh, unforgiving glare. Chaos greeted her. Furniture lay overturned, bedsheets ripped from the mattress, and a trail of bloody footprints stained the linoleum floor like a macabre painting.
Her breath hitched in her throat. The footprints were large, far too large to belong to either Misty or Precious.
Someone—no, *—had been here.
But how? Misty always locked the ward door.
Yu Xiao sank to her knees, her hand trembling as she pulled out her phone.
“Sorry, the number you are calling is currently unavailable…” a robotic voice chirped.
Relief washed over her, fleeting but potent. If Zhao Lan’s phone was out of service, it meant she was still out there, alive. Hope flickered, only to be extinguished when she tried Precious’s number. This time, a cheerful pop song blasted from beside her.
Precious’s phone. Abandoned on the bed.
Pressing her hand to her forehead, Yu Xiao fought to rein in the fear that threatened to consume her. She didn’t have all the answers, but one thing was clear: a ghost had infiltrated their sanctuary. The same malevolent entity that had been terrorising hospitals across this hellish place. How it had bypassed Misty’s key lock, she had no idea. But it was clear that they had been forced to flee, leaving everything behind.
Her gaze drifted towards the darkened doorway. She had ventured out there twice before, always with Goldie, the three-headed guard dog, by her side. The one time she had walked those halls alone, she had worn Goldie’s work badge like a shield—a beacon that kept the shadows at bay.
But Misty and Precious had no such protection. Their talismans would only last so long, their tools useless against this new threat. Out there, in the echoing silence of the hospital, they were vulnerable.
Beside her, Nightmare watched her every move. He was a silent observer, his presence both comforting and unnerving.
Yu Xiao pushed herself to her feet, feeling a sudden surge of determination. She tore open the cupboard, her heart sinking as she saw their cache of tools and function cards untouched. They hadn’t even had time to arm themselves.
The door hung precariously from its frame, with splintered wood as a testament to the force used to break it open. Misty wouldn’t have been able to lock it again.
Turning to Nightmare, she simply said, “I have to find them.”
He didn’t speak but fell into step beside her as she moved towards the door, the hallway yawning before them like the mouth of some monstrous beast. Which way had they gone? The question echoed in the silence, every shadow a potential hiding place, every whisper of wind a phantom cry for help.
“To the right,” Nightmare rasped.
Yu Xiao shot him a questioning look. “I sense something,” he elaborated, his tone brooking no argument.
“Misty! Precious!” Yu Xiao didn’t hesitate, breaking into a jog down the corridor. The thought that her shouts might attract unwanted attention prickled at the back of her mind, but finding her friends was paramount. Every second wasted was a second closer to disaster.
Nightmare followed, a silent spectre radiating the raw power of a top-tier monster. Cowering ghosts melted further into the shadows at his passing, desperate to become one with the dust and grime. He was enraged, his fury a tangible presence.
“Misty!” Yu Xiao’s voice echoed down the desolate corridor. “Precious!”
“Misty!!!” She stopped, straining to listen.
Was that…
“Woo-woo-woo…”
A soft, muffled sobbing reached her ears.
“Precious, is that you?” she called out tentatively.
“Misty, what should we do?” The voice, choked with tears, came from just around the corner.
It was Precious!
“Precious…” Yu Xiao rounded the corner at a run, her phone clutched like a lifeline, its feeble light cutting through the oppressive darkness.
A huddled shape emerged from the shadows. Yu Xiao whipped out her phone, its feeble light illuminating the figure and revealed the decaying purple flesh.
The thing squatted on the ground. Its eyes were rotted away, replaced by oozing, pus-filled sockets that swivelled towards Yu Xiao with a sickening shlurp.
The figure’s head lolled at an unnatural angle, its neck emitting a sickening crack as it tried to right itself. Then, in a voice that sent shivers down Yu Xiao’s spine (because it sounded suspiciously like Precious), it moaned, “Boo-hoo… boo-hoo… Misty, what do we do?”
As the monstrosity lurched to its feet, continuing its mournful serenade, Yu Xiao clutched a wad of talismans, her bravado momentarily deserting her.
“Strong one,” Nightmare murmured in her ear. “Hold tight, I got this.”
With that, Nightmare launched himself at the thing like a furry missile. He collided with it in a heap of claws and fur, the impact sending the monstrosity sprawling. It didn’t seem too fazed, though. It just twisted its head at an even more horrifying angle and sank its teeth into Nightmare’s neck.
**
Escaping from the ward, Zhao Lan and Zhou Xiao Zhen were surprised to find that the corridor was less treacherous than they had expected. They sprinted through the hospital, their footsteps echoing in the silent halls until finally they burst into the cool night air.
Standing outside the dilapidated building, shrouded in an unnatural black mist, they could scarcely believe their luck. They had actually escaped. But their relief was short-lived.
The eerie silence was broken only by the unsettling gurgle coming closer, and the oppressive darkness felt heavy with unseen dangers.
“What now?” Zhou Xiao Zhen whispered, clutching Zhao Lan’s arm, her voice tense with fear. “Are we going to die?”
“Don’t be absurd,” Zhao Lan hissed, her eyes scanning their surroundings. Behind them, footsteps. The ghost. There was no time for panic.
“This way.” She grabbed Zhou Xiao Zhen’s hand, pulling her into the swirling mist.
“It’s so thick,” fretted Zhou Xiao Zhen, stumbling over unseen obstacles. “We’ll never find our way back.”
Zhao Lan, with her senses on high alert, navigated the darkness by feel. The stench of blood hung heavy along with the gurgling sound behind them.
“We need to lose it,” she said, her voice steady despite the tremor in her heart. “Once we’re safe, we’ll contact Smiley.”
“But my phone…” Zhou Xiao Zhen’s voice faltered. “And yours got smashed…”
“Don’t worry,” Zhao Lan reassured her. “She’ll find us. I’ve been leaving talismans. Ghosts can’t touch them. As long as they’re intact…”
Zhou Xiao Zhen nodded, holding onto her friend’s confidence.
The footsteps were getting closer. Then, blessed relief – solid ground beneath Zhao Lan’s feet.
“This way,” she whispered, pulling Zhou Xiao Zhen along.
As if by magic, the mist thinned and then vanished entirely. Blinking in the sudden light, they stared in disbelief at the scene before them.
A wide, bustling street stretched ahead, a chaotic symphony of car horns and shouting vendors. Towering skyscrapers pierced the sky, dwarfing the decrepit hospital behind them.
“Where…?” Zhou Xiao Zhen stammered, utterly bewildered.
Zhao Lan turned. The black mist seethed behind them, a portal to a nightmare they had barely escaped.
“The world we saw from the amusement park,” she realised.
“The ghost…” Zhou Xiao Zhen glanced back. “It’s here.”
Zhao Lan didn’t need to look. She could feel its malevolent presence, a shadow creeping towards them. “We need to enter there.”
“What?” Zhou Xiao Zhen squeaked, her eyes wide with terror.
“Into the city,” Zhao Lan clarified, pointing towards the bustling crowds.
“No!” Zhou Xiao Zhen grabbed her arm. “We’ll be assimilated, don’t you remember? We’ll become… someone else. We’ll be trapped forever!”
Panic clawed at Zhao Lan’s throat. “Smiley will find us.”
“Find us?” Zhou Xiao Zhen’s voice was a shriek. She clutched at her hair in despair. “We don’t have phones, she can’t reach us! And if she stays here
“Not take,” he corrected, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips. “Receive. Embrace.”
“And what of my own heart?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
“The Yin energy will consume it,” he said, his tone almost gentle. “Slowly, inevitably. You will become a creature of this place, a true Director, able to walk freely in both worlds, unbound by the limitations of flesh and bone.”
“And I could save them,” she breathed, the truth of his words settling over her like a shroud. “But I would be trapped here, forever.”
He inclined his head, his smile widening. “Unless, of course, you find another willing soul to inherit this burden.”
Yu Xiao had not yet carved out her heart, but she already felt a searing pain that another would feel if she did the same.
“I won’t do it,” Yu Xiao declared, her back straight as she met the Director’s gaze. “This hospital ends with me.”
The Director’s smile remained unchanged, his head tilting slightly to the side. “Your friends may be safe for now, but time has a way of eroding even the strongest protections.”
“Then take it,” Yu Xiao challenged, her unwavering voice. “Take my heart.”
With a graceful movement, the Director bent down and took her hand, pressing it against his chest. “Tell me, what do you feel?”
The chill that seeped into her palm was like touching a tomb. “Cold,” Yu Xiao breathed.
“And knowing that,” the Director murmured, his eyes holding hers, “do you accept?”
“Yes.”
He lifted his hand, reaching for the place where Yu Xiao’s heart beat beneath her ribs.
Nightmare, who had been perched on a nearby chair, suddenly sprang up, shifting into his human form in a blink. He lunged forward to intervene, but Yu Xiao caught his eye and shook her head, a soft, sad smile on her lips.
The Director’s hand pierced into Yu Xiao’s chest, and she spat out a mouthful of fresh blood before losing consciousness under Nightmare’s sorrowful gaze.
Gently, the Director lowered her onto the bed. Where her heart had been, there was now only an empty cavity, a void in her chest. Yet, impossibly, she still clung to life, her breath shallow but steady. His hand was drenched in blood, clutching a heart that still throbbed with life.
The Director turned to Nightmare, his smile distorting into a grotesque parody of its former self. “Why the long face, Nightmare? Isn’t this what you desired, for her to remain by your side?”
Nightmare knelt beside the bed, his gaze fixed on Yu Xiao’s face, serene as if in a peaceful sleep.
“I don’t understand,” he admitted, his voice ragged. “She chose this. To stay. I thought… after countless years surrounded by death, finally something other than loneliness. But seeing her like this, choosing this eternity… all I feel is a bone-deep sorrow.”
“Perhaps,” the Director mused, his voice like silk over steel, “this is what the living call love.”
“Love?” Nightmare echoed, the word foreign on his tongue.
“A sentiment wasted on those who breathe,” the Director replied, glancing down at the heart cradled in his palm. He licked his lips before handing the heart to Nightmare. “Keep it safe. It is yours to guard now.”
Nightmare accepted the heart, his fingers closing around it with a reverence that contradicted his monstrous nature.
The Director pressed his hand to his own chest, his eyes closed as if listening to a secret symphony. “Yes,” he whispered, a hint of something hungry in his voice. “I can feel it… the desire, the longing… It yearns, you see. Yearns for a vessel, for the vibrancy of life…”
**
When Yu Xiao opened her eyes, a strange stillness had settled over her. It wasn’t that she had forgotten; the memories were all there, sharp and clear, but they felt distant, like echoes in a vast, empty chamber. The frantic need to save Misty and Precious, the roiling emotions that had always driven her – they were gone, leaving behind a chilling emptiness.
She lay there for a time, taking stock of the silence within and without, until she sensed him – Nightmare – beside her.
Sitting up, she met his gaze, her own reflection staring back from his dark eyes. She lifted a hand to her chest. It was silent, her own heart absent. Yet, in its place, a new kind of power hummed beneath her fingertips, potent and intoxicating. She could feel the strength of Nightmare as if it were her own, knew with chilling certainty that she could crush him with a thought. The entire hospital, its very essence, thrummed in her blood.
“Where is the Director?” she asked, her voice devoid of inflection.
“Discharged,” Nightmare replied, his tone carefully neutral.
“Whom did he replace?”
“No one. He left as himself.”
Yu Xiao frowned, a flicker of her old annoyance breaking through the calm. “He was a patient?”
“Yes,” Nightmare confirmed, sinking gracefully onto one knee. He picked up her foot, his touch surprisingly gentle as he helped her into her shoes.
So the old fox hadn’t told her everything. Hadn’t mentioned that he, too, had once been under the hospital’s ‘care’, hadn’t warned her about the price of power, the emotions it would leech away. But even as the thought crossed her mind, it dissipated, leaving behind only the unsettling tranquillity.
“Let’s go get Misty and Precious,” she said, standing.
Nightmare opened the study door for her, his movements fluid, almost subservient. Outside, the three-headed hellhound guarding the entrance lifted its heads, six eyes fixing on Yu Xiao with an unsettling intensity. Then, with a whimper, it lay back down, tucking its heads under its paws.
Yu Xiao didn’t even pause. “Goldie is relieved of duty. Nightmare will head security from now on.”
“Understood.”
“As for Goldie,” she continued, her voice as cold and sharp as shattered ice, “it can go plant lotus roots in the ditch. Perhaps when they bloom, it can apply for a new position.”
“Understood.”