My organs are too abstract.

Just as Zhao Ze and his group were making their tense and exciting escape, a car slowly pulled up near Ren'ai Hospital.

Yang Minghao turned off the engine, glanced out the window, and his face showed a hint of interest: "Tsk, it really does look like something out of the ordinary."

Xu Yuan followed his gaze and saw several gray-white buildings standing alone on the wasteland not far away. On the tallest building, a faded red cross hung crookedly, as if it might fall down at any moment.

Most of the windows were broken, the exterior walls were mottled, and dark red stains flowed from the rooftop all the way to the dark door, leaving mottled bloodstains, which added a touch of gloom and eeriness in the afterglow of the setting sun.

Next to the main entrance stands a faded sign that reads "Ren'ai Hospital - Immersive Horror Experience." The lettering is stained with blood-like dye, creating a deliberately evocative atmosphere of terror.

Xu Yuan didn't seem to notice anything amiss; instead, his gaze was drawn to the long queue at the entrance, and he asked in surprise, "I thought today was a weekday? Why are there so many people?"

"This haunted house hasn't been open for long, but it's very popular, so it's normal for it to be crowded," Yang Minghao explained casually. His gaze swept over a few people in the queue who were eating bread, and he couldn't help but sigh, "These people are really enthusiastic. It looks like they haven't even had time to eat and have just been queuing here."

Xu Yuan thought for a moment and said seriously, "I think they must have eaten their fill before they came."

Yang Minghao was taken aback: "Why?"

"Only people who are too full to stand would rush to this desolate wilderness to join in the fun when it's almost dark and they're still hungry."

Yang Minghao: "..."

Xu Yuan suddenly remembered something and asked curiously, "By the way, where is the girl you're pursuing?"

"Damn, I almost forgot about it if you hadn't mentioned it!"

Yang Minghao slapped his forehead and quickly looked around. When his gaze swept to the end of the line, his eyes lit up, and he pointed in that direction: "She's over there!"

Xu Yuan looked in the direction he pointed and saw a girl with a high ponytail sitting on a small stool, wearing a light-colored hoodie, her chin resting on her hand, scrolling through her phone listlessly.

Yang Minghao raised an eyebrow smugly: "How is it? Pretty, right?"

"It's quite pretty, but I suddenly thought of a question."

Yang Minghao was taken aback: "What's the problem?"

"The line is still so long. By the time it's our turn, it'll probably be midnight," Xu Yuan said with a worried tone, glancing at the long queue.

"That's it?" Yang Minghao smiled dismissively upon hearing this. "I thought it was something huge."

"Isn't this question important enough?" Xu Yuan thought for a moment, then suddenly realized, "I see, could it be that you have connections with the haunted house owner and can get in through the back door?"

"Haha!" Yang Minghao laughed triumphantly, "No, not at all."

"What are you laughing at if there's nothing wrong with you?" Xu Yuan was dumbfounded.

"Many things can be accomplished without connections," Yang Minghao shook his head knowingly. "Your understanding of this world is still too shallow."

Xu Yuan looked slightly taken aback: "What do you mean?"

Yang Minghao didn't say much, but just smiled mysteriously: "Don't ask, you'll understand once you follow me."

As soon as he finished speaking, he unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car.

Xu Yuan followed, completely bewildered. He thought Xu Yuan would go find the girl with the ponytail first, but to his surprise, Xu Yuan walked straight to the front of the group.

"Come on, follow me." Yang Minghao pulled Xu Yuan to squeeze to the front of the line.

Xu Yuan suddenly grasped the meaning and exclaimed, "Oh, I understand."

Just as Yang Minghao was about to flash a "you're teachable" smile, Xu Yuan continued, "You want to cut in line?"

Yang Minghao's face darkened, and he said, "Why would I need to resort to such methods? A fair trade will suffice."

As he spoke, he walked to the front of the line, his gaze casually sweeping over the three young men chatting together, and his eyes immediately lit up.

"Ahem," Yang Minghao leaned forward, cleared his throat to attract the three men's attention, and then chuckled, "Hey buddy, want to talk to you about something?"

One of the young men, dressed in black, looked up and sized him up: "What is it?"

"Here's the thing, can you sell me these three tickets and your current seats? I'll pay double the price," Yang Minghao said confidently with a smile.

Another man glanced at him and said in a cold tone, "We've been queuing for over an hour, we're not selling."

Yang Minghao's smile remained unchanged: "Three times."

"Not for sale."

"Four times."

"I'm really not selling."

Seeing Xu Yuan looking at him strangely, Yang Minghao felt a little embarrassed: "Five times, five times is alright, isn't it?"

"..."

The three men exchanged a glance, their expressions hesitant, but they still shook their heads: "Sorry, buddy, if it were just for our own use, we would definitely sell it to you, but we're reserving the spots for a friend, so we can't sell it to you."

Yang Minghao's expression softened slightly, but he was still somewhat unwilling. He hesitated for a moment, then pointed to the girl with the ponytail not far away and said sincerely, "Have you seen that girl? She's my friend. She's been waiting here for a long time. The three of us just want to go in together for a bit, could you make an exception?"

The three men followed his gaze, which fell on the girl. They exchanged glances, and the man in black suddenly asked, "What's your relationship with her?"

Seeing that things seemed to be going well, Yang Minghao quickly said, "My girlfriend has been waiting here for a long time."

"Such a beautiful girlfriend?" the man in black remarked, then suddenly sighed. "The three of us noticed her a while ago. Seeing her waiting here all alone, she really does look quite pitiful."

The man in black hesitated for a moment, then seemed to have made up his mind: "Fine, since you dote on your girlfriend so much, I'll sell it to you!"

"Okay, okay, thank you!"

Yang Minghao was overjoyed and immediately took out his phone to transfer the money.

The man in black glanced at the transfer notification and remarked, "Did you give too much?"

"The extra money is to explain to your friend. I'm sorry."

"You're a real buddy!" the man in black exclaimed, giving a thumbs-up. "My friend will definitely be satisfied!"

Another man exclaimed, "Your girlfriend would be so surprised and delighted if she knew how much you've done for her!"

The man in black echoed, "Yes, if it were me, I would have been moved to tears on the spot!"

Yang Minghao beamed: "You flatter me, you flatter me."

"We have some things to attend to, so we have to go now," the man in black said hurriedly, glancing at his phone. "Hurry up, we'll be able to get in soon."

"no problem!"

As Yang Minghao spoke, he turned and handed a ticket to Xu Yuan, saying smugly, "See? I told you we didn't need to queue, right?"

Xu Yuan watched him, his face beaming with excitement, the setting sun casting a warm golden glow upon him. Perhaps it was the angle, but he inexplicably felt the other man's head looked a size larger, yet he still sincerely praised, "You've got skill."

"Come on, quickly call my friend over." Yang Minghao grabbed Xu Yuan and ran towards the girl.

Xu Yuan nodded, and as he turned his head, he saw the three men in black leaving, their steps unusually hurried.

Why are they running so fast?

Xu Yuan was still wondering when Yang Minghao rushed to the girl with the ponytail and patted her on the shoulder: "Meimei!"

Meimei looked up in surprise, saw Yang Minghao, and her face immediately lit up with joy: "You're here!"

Yang Minghao waved the tickets in his hand: "Let's go, let's go straight to the front, no need to queue!"

He had been expecting a surprised look from the girl, but Meimei was taken aback and asked, "How did you know?"

Yang Minghao looked puzzled: "Know what?"

Seeing that he was completely unaware, Meimei looked up at him, then at the ticket in his hand, and her expression became somewhat subtle.

"Where did you get this ticket?"

"I bought it."

"Who did you buy it from?"

"Those three guys up ahead, one of them in black, he's a really nice guy. He wasn't going to sell at first, but I told him you'd been waiting a long time, and he gave me face."

Meimei glanced at him, remained silent for two seconds, sighed, and said in a strange tone, "But those three people... were the ones I paid to arrange the playoffs."

"?"

Yang Minghao's smile froze on his face.

"I contacted them more than an hour ago and they agreed to help me get three seats so I could go straight in. I didn't expect you to buy another one."

Yang Minghao's expression turned even more unpleasant.

Meimei comforted me, saying, "They wanted to charge me four times the price, but I didn't agree and only paid twice. If you also paid twice the price, then you didn't actually lose much."

After saying that, she asked with a curious look, "By the way, how much did you spend?"

Yang Minghao: "..."

After listening to this, Xu Yuan stared at Yang Minghao's head for a moment, then suddenly realized, "No wonder his head seemed bigger; he'd been ripped off!"

"Ahem, it's not much money," Yang Minghao glanced at the line and quickly changed the subject, "Alright, let's not worry about it anymore, let's go!"

The three walked towards the front of the group and stood in their previous positions. They heard the cold, heavy iron door creak open slowly.

The staff member standing at the entrance, expressionless, called out, "Next batch, come in!"

"Hurry up, it's our turn!"

Yang Minghao took the lead, rushing excitedly at the front, while Xu Yuan followed behind him at a leisurely pace.

The staff member stared ahead, mechanically scanning the tourists entering the venue. But when their gaze fell on Xu Yuan's hand, they suddenly paused, and a glimmer of light flashed in their previously numb and lifeless eyes.

"Um?"

Xu Yuan, who was about to enter, sensed something and turned his head to see the staff member's empty, lifeless gaze staring straight at his wrist—or more precisely, at the black rope on his wrist.

"What is he looking at? The black rope? Does he know what that thing is?"

Xu Yuan glanced at him in surprise, and just as a hint of confusion arose in his heart, he saw the staff member suddenly reach out and grab his wrist!

Xu Yuan's gaze sharpened, and his left hand casually reached out, striking Xu Yuan's wrist precisely before Xu Yuan could react, asking with curiosity, "What are you doing?"

The staff member seemed not to hear him, his gaze fixed on the black rope, and he uttered two words in a dry voice: "Deformed machine..."

"A malformed machine?"

Xu Yuan was taken aback, then saw the staff member abruptly withdraw their hand, looking at him with a hint of confusion: "You are... a patient?"

"How dare you swear at me!" Yang Minghao sensed something was wrong and glared at the staff member with indignation. "Look at yourself before you criticize others. You're the one who's sick!"

To everyone's surprise, the staff member slowly nodded: "I... am indeed a patient."

Yang Minghao was momentarily speechless.

"patient?"

Xu Yuan's eyes flickered slightly, and he repeated the word in a low voice, his heart stirred with emotion.

When he grabbed the other person's wrist, he noticed that the touch was wrong—cold, stiff, and not like a normal person at all.

Therefore, when the other person says "patient," they may not mean that the person is physically ill, but rather that they are describing a certain identity or state.

Since his left hand regained consciousness, he often thinks about one question: Am I the only "oddball" in the world?

He had seen calamities, but they were clearly different from his own, and often he felt a strange loneliness.

As he encountered more and more calamities, an uncontrollable guess arose in his mind—since there are all kinds of calamities, then...could he also have one of the same kind?

If such a group exists, what would it be called? And what secrets do they hold?

Now, he seems to have a possible answer... perhaps this group should be called "patients".

If that's the case, then the person in front of him might be the first kind of person he's ever met.

Thinking of this, Xu Yuan suddenly became interested and couldn't help but ask, "What are you, and what are you doing here?"

The staff member succinctly stated, "To treat the illness."

"To cure illness?" Xu Yuan's heart stirred.

The words "patient" and "treatment," which are naturally linked in reality, take on a strangely intriguing quality when applied to this particular individual.

Yang Minghao, listening from the side, was completely baffled. Looking at the staff member who seemed listless and on the verge of death, he couldn't help but say, "Judging from your appearance, it seems like your treatment isn't going well?"

The staff member nodded stiffly, his voice hoarse, and said, "Yes, I was too hasty; the treatment failed."

"How can it not fail when you say that?" Yang Minghao couldn't help but tease him, seeing his serious expression. "If you're going to get treatment, go to a regular hospital. What are you standing here for? Is this some new folk remedy?"

"Don't speak yet."

Xu Yuan stared speechlessly at the two's nonsensical conversation.

He shook his head, about to ask further, when the staff member's expression suddenly changed, a look of confusion on his face: "I...failed?"

"No!"

His voice suddenly turned cold, and the emotion on his face instantly transformed into an inhuman indifference. "...I succeeded."

"I can't control it..." He looked pained again, as if struggling desperately, and warned in a dry voice, "Be careful... whatever you do, don't... let me catch you."

As soon as he finished speaking, his expression returned to its previous numbness and indifference, his eyes lifeless, and he urged expressionlessly, "Please enter as soon as possible, do not linger."

"What does this mean, schizophrenia?" Yang Minghao asked, looking completely bewildered.

Xu Yuan ignored him, looked at the silent staff member, and asked, "Hey, what's wrong with you?"

The staff member numbly repeated: "Please enter as soon as possible and do not linger."

"strangeness."

Xu Yuan frowned and looked at him twice, confirming that he wasn't faking it, but was genuinely in some special state.

"Xu Yuan, are we going in or not?"

"Walk."

Xu Yuan turned and walked towards the hospital entrance. He hadn't been interested in haunted houses before because they were boring, but now that he might be able to uncover more of the world's truths, he felt a stronger desire to explore.

Yang Minghao quickly followed, asking curiously, "What was he mumbling to you just now? Was it some kind of plot twist?"

"Maybe."

"But I was clearly walking in front, why didn't he tell me? Why did he have to look for you?"

Xu Yuan thought for a moment: "Perhaps it's because there's a clear difference between us."

Yang Minghao was somewhat unconvinced: "What's the difference?"

"Of course, I'm obviously more handsome than you."

Yang Minghao: "..."

"Being mysterious, if you don't want to talk about it, then don't."

Seeing that he was deep in thought, Yang Minghao stopped pursuing the matter and instead praised, "But the acting skills of this staff member are truly superb; that's what you call a veteran actor."

Xu Yuan did not respond, but walked forward with his head down, seemingly lost in thought.

Meimei couldn't help but mutter to herself, "Your friend seems a bit aloof."

"I don't know what happened, he wasn't like this before," Yang Minghao shook his head. "Never mind, let's just do our own thing."

Suddenly, he noticed a ghostly doll swaying precariously on the ceiling in front of him. A mischievous idea quietly formed in his mind.

"Look, that doll is about to fall!" he whispered to Meimei. "Let's not warn him, he'll definitely get a fright later."

The two watched expectantly, and as Yang Minghao had predicted, the doll wobbled twice and then fell straight down. Xu Yuan, however, seemed to have eyes in the head. Without even looking up, he casually flicked the doll away, sending it flying without even stopping.

The doll flew towards Yang Minghao by sheer coincidence. He caught it instinctively, his mouth agape in disbelief: "Holy crap, that's awesome?"

Before he could finish speaking, the doll in his arms suddenly exploded, and an eyeball flew straight into his mouth.

Yang Minghao's face turned green: "Holy crap!"

"Patients, deformed machines, treatment... This world seems to be getting more and more interesting."

Xu Yuan was immersed in his own world, paying no attention to the ghosts and monsters in front of him or the screams of the tourists, until he suddenly stopped when he turned a corner.

Yang Minghao looked at him curiously: "What's wrong?"

Xu Yuan did not answer, his gaze fixed on a wooden human-shaped sculpture leaning against the wall. The sculpture was plain and unremarkable, no different from the other decorations in the corridor, but Xu Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly.

He smelled a scent—

A strong, pungent...stench of blood.