I, the screenwriter, have experienced a resurgence of inspiration.

……

Wang Lei was in the intensive care unit, while Lin Hao's room was at the very end of the corridor.

There were plainclothes officers posing as patients' family members guarding the entrance. As soon as the elevator doors opened, they all stood up.

"Team Leader Chen."

"Team Leader Chen."

"Thanks for your hard work."

Chen Xi nodded. Before she even reached the door, she heard the sound of things being smashed coming from the ward, as well as a man's hysterical screams.

"Get away! All of you get away! Don't touch me!"

"Ouch! It hurts so much! Don't touch it!"

"Tear it off! Tear it off my neck right now!"

Chen Xi frowned, pushed open the door, and walked straight in.

The ward was a mess.

The bedside table was overturned, and water glasses, pills, and a thermometer were shattered all over the floor.

Two nurses, pale-faced, stood in the corner as they changed Lin Hao's dressing, secretly glancing at the object on his neck.

Sure enough, a bluish-purple "intestine" about the thickness of an infant's arm was wrapped around Lin Hao's neck.

The "intestine" was slippery, covered with a layer of transparent mucus, and connected to his neck at one end, even wriggling slightly.

……

"Officer, officer! Quick, please help me! Get this thing off my neck, please!"

"Aren't you police officers supposed to protect innocent civilians? Help me!"

Upon seeing Chen Xi, Lin Hao struggled to sit up, clutching his intestines and desperately offering them to Chen Xi:

"Can't you see it?! This monstrous thing, it's been following me and biting me!"

"Are you all blind?! There's a brat, a ghost child, wrapped its umbilical cord around me!"

"A ghost! A ghost!"

Umbilical cord?

Everyone in the ward felt a chill.

If you look closely, that section of "intestine" connected to the skin and flesh looks like an enlarged and thickened version of the umbilical cord.

So, he was really haunted by a ghost?

The timid nurses started hiding behind Chen Xi.

……

……

"Lin Hao, calm down. I am Chen Xi, a criminal police officer from the Chengdong Branch."

Chen Xi walked to the bedside and said in a deep voice, "The doctor will find a way to treat you. Struggling like this will only hurt you."

"Calm down? How can I calm down! This thing is clearly clinging to me!"

Lin Hao screamed hysterically, "Look at me now, I look like neither human nor ghost!!"

How am I supposed to live now? It's all because of that ghost train!

I know...it's all because of that damned copy! I'm going to kill them! I'm going to kill them!

He became more and more agitated as he spoke, and reached out to pull at the "umbilical cord" on his stomach.

"Don't touch it!"

Chen Xi grabbed his hand, and the instant her fingers touched the "umbilical cord," Lin Hao let out a heart-wrenching scream.

"Ouch! It hurts! It hurts so much! Let go of me! Don't touch it! It's biting me!"

Lin Hao's face turned deathly pale instantly, beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead, and his whole body trembled violently.

Chen Xi quickly released her grip.

The "umbilical cord" twitched slightly, and more mucus was secreted from its surface.

"See that?"

The attending physician beside him sighed and explained, his face pale:

"He's in excruciating pain if you touch him."

We gave him the maximum dose of painkillers, but it didn't work.

Moreover, I have no idea what this thing is, and I dare not touch it carelessly. For now, I can only observe it and see if there are any changes.

Seeing Lin Hao's pained expression and then looking at the strange "umbilical cord" around his neck, everyone felt a chill run down their spines.

What the hell is that dungeon?

Turn people into paper effigies, turn people into monsters.

Chen Xi suddenly remembered Wang Hao, who died after his yang energy was drained, in the Hongguang Community zombie incident.

When the other person died, their body was shriveled and their face was deathly pale. The cause of death could not be explained by medicine, which was extremely bizarre.

Although their experiences are different, they are essentially the same.

These individuals all encountered paranormal events and had their bodies altered by some supernatural force.

Considering Zhang Dong and Zheng Zhi's testimonies—Chen Xi walked out of the ward and whispered to Xiao Li:

"...Go and investigate the life stories of these victims, the more detailed the better. I always feel that there is some kind of pattern to everything they have experienced."

"it is good."

Xiao Li didn't ask any more questions and ran away.

……

……

Suya's ward was at the other end of the corridor, where it was relatively quieter.

Two plainclothes policewomen were guarding the ward door.

Upon seeing Chen Xi approach, the two immediately stood up straight and saluted her.

Chen Xi nodded and went inside.

Su Ya was sitting on the hospital bed, leaning against the pillow, holding a magazine to pass the time.

—Her personal belongings were temporarily confiscated and sent for disinfection, so she is temporarily unable to use her mobile phone, including to contact her family.

Of the group, Su Ya was in the best condition, with no obvious external injuries.

Aside from being a little pale, he didn't show much fear or panic.

"Hello, Suya."

Chen Xi walked to the bedside, pulled up a chair, and sat down. "How are you feeling? Is anything bothering you?"

"I'm fine, just some minor injuries. It's just that the doctor won't let me leave the hospital; I have to go home, otherwise my family will worry."

Su Ya pursed her lips.

"I'd like to ask you more about what happened last night."

Chen Xi said in an unusually gentle tone, "Don't be nervous, just say whatever comes to mind."

Su Ya gripped the corner of the blanket tightly with both hands and slowly nodded.

She spoke very concisely, glossing over many specific details.

Chen Xi listened quietly without interrupting her, but kept comparing Su Ya's words with the testimonies of Zhang Dong and others.

"I heard that you get a reward for completing the task?"

Chen Xi looked into her eyes and asked earnestly, "Is there anything else I've forgotten?"

Su Ya's body stiffened slightly, and she hesitated.

She didn't know whether she should tell Chen Xi about the player's identity and profession.

—This is too bizarre. If I tell her, will Chen Xi believe me?

Will the other party think she's crazy?

Will the government arrest her and investigate her?

Countless thoughts flashed through her mind.

Su Ya looked up and saw Chen Xi looking at her calmly, his eyes filled with gentleness, not coercion.

She then took a deep breath and made up her mind.

"There are rewards," Suya added softly. "Each of us received a reward after completing the task."

"I don't know about others, but I do."

"It's a bus ticket for route 404, a bottle of 'Thousand Miles Without Hunger Pill,' and a 'Bone-Blooming Flower'..."

"Where are these things now?" Chen Xi asked.

"It was put away on the tray at the nurses' station," Su Ya confessed honestly.

Chen Xi immediately had someone bring over Su Ya's personal belongings.

……

Shortly after, plainclothes officers came in carrying a white tray. On the tray were Su Ya's cell phone, wallet, and keys, as well as three strange items.

A yellowed old train ticket, a porcelain bottle of pills, and a red flower blooming on a white bone.

Chen Xi's gaze fell on the three items, and she tentatively reached out to touch them.

The moment they made contact, a line of black text in the style of ink painting suddenly appeared in front of them.

[Item Name: Bus Ticket No. 404 (The holder of this ticket can take bus No. 404 on the day of the full moon to enter the Taiping Cemetery instance.)]

Chen Xi's pupils suddenly contracted.

She suddenly looked up, meeting Su Ya's equally surprised gaze: "Did you see that?"

Su Ya nodded hesitantly, while the others in the ward looked around in confusion.

"Captain Chen, what are you looking at?"

"There's nothing here. Are you too tired?"

"Can't you see it?"

Chen Xi took a slight breath and picked up the next item:

Sure enough, another line of ink-wash characters appeared before her and Su Ya's eyes.

[Item Name: Thousand-Mile Famine-Free Pill. After consumption, one will not experience hunger or thirst for three days and will be full of energy. (Note: Immune to ordinary fatigue, but cannot counteract negative status effects.)]

Finally, she picked up the red bone flower without hesitation.

【Medicine Name: Bone-Growing Flower, containing abundant life energy, can be refined by pharmacists into low and medium-grade injury medicines to treat internal and external injuries and dispel yin energy.】

(Note: Born from withered bones, it is a gift from the underworld.)

Finally, three lines of golden, larger and more striking ink-wash characters slowly emerged from the depths of her consciousness.

[Special Talent Detected: Chen Xi]

[Talent Class: Constable (Not Activated)]

Job Description: Guardian of Order, Slayer of Evil.

Possessing keen insight and strong righteousness, they have a natural deterrent effect on spirit-type enemies.

Participating in the dungeon will activate your official player status and grant you class skills.

[Profession Skills (Not Yet Unlocked): ********

Chen Xi was startled, and almost dropped the Bone Flower in her hand.

Catch fast?

Her worldview completely collapsed from that moment on.

Physics, law, science, jurisprudence... everything she had known over the past thirty years was shattered by these words at this moment.

This world truly has ghosts and gods, truly has supernatural phenomena, and even exists things that transcend science.

Her profession is a constable. Could this be related to her real-life identity as a police officer?

What is your profession?

Chen Xi abruptly turned to look at Su Ya, who stiffened, a look of shock on her face, and stammered in response:

"【Architect】, is 【Architect】."

She suddenly realized something, looked up at Chen Xi, her eyes wide:

"Officer Chen! You...you saw it too? You have a job too?"

It reminded me that I have become a full player. My profession is Architect, and I am currently only level one with no skills unlocked.

The text said that by participating in more dungeons and completing more quests, you could gain experience points, level up, and unlock skills.

Players.

system.

Mysterious script.

Occupation.

The others in the ward were completely bewildered, their faces showing confusion and disbelief.

Chen Xi's brain was working at lightning speed, with countless pieces of information colliding and integrating in her mind.

This is not some random paranormal event at all.

This is a "game" with rules, a system, and a professional structure.

—And those who encountered paranormal events were all players in this "game".

Besides architects and constables, there are likely to be other professions.

What does this mean?

This implies the existence of a complete and well-defined professional system behind it.

Is someone manipulating all of this behind the scenes?

Could what happened at Taiping Cemetery be just the beginning?

Just thinking about this possibility sent chills down Chen Xi's spine.

……

The ward fell silent.

Everyone remained silent, their hearts filled with shock and confusion.

But everyone understands that after today, their existing worldview will face a huge challenge.

The peaceful, tranquil world we all know, a world of overall peace with localized conflicts, is quietly undergoing some unknown change.

"That's terrifying."

"This is terrifying! What exactly is this system?"

Chen Xi muttered to himself, "Why did the thing behind this create these instances? Why did it make us players?"

No one responded.

Everything is redefining my worldview.

……

……

"Ah owe!"

In the rented room, someone who was watching a retrospective of the late Song Dynasty sneezed.