Volume 1. Let the Game Begin
Wait a minute... why do I always want to gather all the information together?
When did this game ever say there was only one condition for leaving midway?
In other words... could it be that this game has multiple ways to exit?
Then... if there really are multiple ways to exit, could it be that each of the game rules hides some kind of hint?
Escape the hospital?
Is the range limited to inside the building?
Then does the outside of the window count as within the building?
If being in contact with the building still counts, then would lowering oneself down with a rope count as leaving the building?
It doesn't actively inspect beds, desks, or cabinets, so what's the commonality between these three?
Bed... desk?
Cabinet... drawer?
Wait, although these are all ordinary pieces of furniture, there really is one thing in common.
Whether it's under the bed, under the desk, or inside a cabinet, the only commonality is... narrowness!
Yes, that's it... narrowness.
So what's the connection between this commonality and the monster not actively checking those places?
Could it be that the monster has claustrophobia?
Think about it... whether it's under the bed, under the desk, or inside a cabinet, normal people can tolerate that.
The only case where one couldn't would be someone who has claustrophobia, who would feel extreme fear in a confined space.
Although the monster isn't human, the game rules give such an obvious clue, which suggests the game definitely imposes some kind of restriction on the monster.
Then... deducing from that, the only situation where the monster would be restricted is in narrow spaces.
It cannot observe or enter any narrow space!
Of course, leaving the hospital building might be an option, but unfortunately, I didn't bring any ropes or bed sheets or anything like that, so there's no way to test it.
Besides, my leg is in this condition now, taking that risk is too difficult... so the only remaining option is to leave through a narrow place.
What narrow places are there in the hospital building?
Instinctively, I raised my head and looked up at... the air vent above.
"This is probably the hint in the game... leave through the ventilation duct."
Fortunately, the ventilation ducts here connected the entire building.
This private hospital's facilities were all very advanced.
Otherwise, someone as wealthy as Liu Wanqian and Gong Lianyu wouldn't have let me stay here.
The ventilation system here was also intricately connected in all directions.
But whether I could actually escape through it... was still uncertain.
At the very least, it was worth a try.
Gritting my teeth, instead of hesitating here, why not just give it a shot?
Once I got the idea, I acted on it—that was my habit, but also my flaw.
I glanced around, then casually tore a strip of relatively intact fabric from the rotting bed and wrapped it around my hand.
Although most of the fabric had already weathered, it was still usable.
I hopped onto the bed with one leg, raised my hand and grabbed the iron grille of the air vent.
The grille had severely rusted.
I had thought I could easily take it off, but I was wrong... no matter how corroded it was, it was still metal.
The first time I tried, not only did I fail to remove it, I almost cut my hand.
Gritting my teeth, I tried again, but it still wouldn't budge.
Again!
This time, I braced my intact right leg against the wall, gripped the grille with both hands, and pulled backward with all my strength.
Screech~ creeeaaak crunch! Clang! Crack!
Amid a sharp metallic twisting sound, I finally wrenched the grille loose.
The screws, long since rotted, gave way under my full force.
But... what I didn't expect was that from the moment it started to loosen to the moment the grille came off, less than a second passed.
I hadn't even reacted when I heard the screech—and the entire grille came off in my hands.
Because I was standing on the bed while pulling on the vent, when the grille came off, I was flung backward onto the bed.
The wooden beams couldn't support my weight and collapsed instantly.
I sank straight into the bed, and at the same moment, a loud bang came from downstairs as a heavy iron door was suddenly flung open!!
A jolt of intense pain shot through my back, but I had no time to check the injury.
I only felt... something had pierced into my lower back, and warm fluid was gushing out along the edges of whatever it was.
But no matter what it was, I couldn't deal with it now!
That thing was fast—climb!
Climb up!
Crawl into the ventilation duct!!
Forcing myself up, even though the bed had collapsed in the middle, the steel frame was still intact.
I clenched my teeth, steadied myself on one leg, climbed to the head of the bed, planted my foot on the metal frame, and gripped the edge of the vent with both hands.
At that moment, the footsteps were clearly already on this floor!
Plap plap plap plap!!
The bizarre footsteps were rapidly approaching.
I could no longer care about the injury to my left leg—I bit down hard, lifted myself with my hands, and kicked at the wall with my right foot, trying to boost myself up!
"Ugh..."
Faster!
Hurry!!
It's close!
The sound is getting closer!!
Plap plap plap plap~
Bang!!
The sound of the door being slammed open hit my ears like a thunderclap.
In that instant, fear overtook every one of my nerves.
Pain, left leg—none of that mattered anymore.
I kicked frantically with both feet against the wall.
And in that moment, I suddenly felt a burst of support from my left leg.
Screech!
My whole body lurched upward.
At the same time, I almost instinctively glanced at my left leg...
There, on the thin shin of my left calf, a bone gleaming white with dangling strands of red flesh was jammed into the crack between the tiles, its sharp edge providing leverage.
At that moment, an overwhelming surge of pain nearly drove me insane!!
"Aaaarghhhhhhh!!!!"
Using every ounce of strength, I turned the agonizing scream into raw power and instantly pushed myself up, crawling straight into the ventilation duct.
And right at the moment I entered the ventilation duct, I felt a... furry hand from my left leg!
It grabbed my leg!?
I froze for a second as my body was yanked backward.
I couldn’t care less about the leg that got grabbed—I twisted my body violently and, lying down, looked toward the vent opening.
At that moment… a hand covered in black fur, full of scars, dripping with blood, was clutching my calf, which had already twisted a full 180 degrees!
The terror of death left me no room for hesitation.
My left leg jerked hard, and a sudden feeling of release and lightness came over me.
At the same time, a black, twisted long leg emerged from the broken left leg!
“F*** your mother, eat my stinking foot!!!”
With a bang, the black twisted long leg kicked out violently.
At the same time, I clearly felt the sensation of hitting something solid.
The monster seemed stunned by the kick and actually let go of my left leg!
F***ing great!
If that thing really hadn’t planned to let go of my leg, I was already prepared to rip my left leg off completely!
My body quickly backed into the duct while my left leg kept kicking out with all its might.
After several kicks, finally… my whole body was inside the ventilation duct, and that furry hand didn’t reach for me again.
Right now, I had no sensation in my left leg, but the moment I forced the Evil Spirit Form’s left leg back into my body, an intense wave of pain shot straight into my brain.
My vision went black, and my ears buzzed.
The pain was so intense it made my whole body instinctively freeze up.
But just at that moment, a sudden plap plap plap sound came from below.
Immediately after, a chilling coldness hit my left waist.
My mind went blank—no thoughts at all.
My body reacted instinctively, twisting sideways.
With that motion, a furry hand burst through the tiles with a thud, punched through the metal, and clawed just a centimeter from my waist.
Then, as if being burned by something invisible, it started emitting black smoke.
The entire duct filled with the stench of charred rotten flesh, and that hand quickly retracted!
It… really couldn’t enter narrow spaces!
I guessed right!
But… although it couldn’t enter narrow spaces, it could still reach in and pull out!
“FML!!”
Gritting my teeth, I flipped over and lay flat inside the vent.
I knew… there was no time to stop.
That thing was still outside, trying to grab me!!
However, that last burn seemed to have caused it serious damage.
At least during the time I turned over, it didn’t launch a second attack!
There was no time to think.
Using my knees as feet, and hands for support, I began crawling inside the vent accompanied by a series of clang clang clang clang sounds.
Just when I felt I had crawled about seven or eight meters, suddenly, those plap plap plap footsteps returned again!
FML!
I could only desperately crawl forward.
And just at that moment, a black hand thud—punched through the metal.
I instinctively arched my back and drew in my abdomen!
Seeing that black, furry hand less than a centimeter from my belly, I even held my breath!
SSZZZZ!!!
A burning sound entered my ears.
That furry hand lasted no more than 0.5 seconds in the vent before it suddenly pulled back, leaving behind a thick stench of burnt flesh—and a faint smell of formalin!
No time to feel lucky.
I gritted my teeth and crawled on.
The part of my left leg below the fracture dragged along the ground, leaving a bloody trail behind me.
At the same time, I could also feel that warm liquid from my lower back slowly flowing to my abdomen.
But I didn’t have time to pull out whatever was stabbed into my back.
By now, I could roughly feel its shape—it seemed like a broken wooden splinter, probably less than five centimeters long.
Judging by the sensation, it was embedded about two centimeters deep, and the wound’s width was roughly three centimeters.
Bursts of pain continued to stimulate my senses, but I didn’t dare stop crawling.
I scrambled madly toward the end of the duct.
The path ahead was pitch-black—I couldn’t see a thing.
All I could do was bet.
Bet that the direction I was crawling toward... was the downward slope of the ventilation system!
If it wasn’t—then... I could only die.