I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

This is an article from February 2009.

"It's getting colder and colder. No matter how much I turn on the air conditioning at the nurses' station when I'm on duty, it's not warm enough, let alone when I'm on patrol. But yesterday, when I was on patrol, I discovered something strange."

Chapter 137 The Man in the Mirror

"With the Lunar New Year approaching, there are fewer people in the hospital. At this time of year, people are less inclined to come to the hospital when they are sick, let alone here, where the prices are so high. So, apart from a few long-term patients, most of the hospitalized people have gone home for the New Year."

“I’m on duty in the second half of the night, and I get off at 1 a.m., so I can get a little sleep. Some people think that being on duty in the second half of the night is tiring, but if you ask me, the first half of the night is more tiring. Patients get up at night and can’t sleep, so they all come to you. In the second half of the night, most patients are asleep, and I can do some of my own things.”

"Xu Xiao was on duty with me. She joined the team two years after me and was still a greenhorn. Just after eight o'clock, this young girl took a flashlight and went to check on the wards. I lay down on the bed in the duty room and fell asleep quickly. I don't know how much time passed, but suddenly someone shook me and woke me up. I looked and saw Xu Xiao. Was it time to change shifts? I asked her, but she didn't answer. That's when I noticed that Xu Xiao's expression was a little strange."

"This girl has always been very lively, with a smile in her eyes. But that time, she had no expression, her face was stern, just like in class. She didn't say a word, just stared at me, which was kind of scary. I got up and checked the time. It was just past twelve o'clock. I thought she was asking me to switch shifts, but Xu Xiao suddenly stood up straight and turned to leave."

“I told her to wait a moment, quickly put on her clothes, grab a flashlight, and follow her, but Xu Xiao walked very fast and entered the elevator in a flash. I was a little confused at the time and didn’t think there was any problem. I just thought that Xu Xiao was reminding me, so I followed her into the elevator.”

"The elevator is a bit old. I remember the dean said before that it was going to be replaced, but it never happened. From the first floor to the fifth floor, even the fastest young people can walk faster than the elevator. I saw Xu Xiao press the fifth floor button, so I waited. I yawned and wanted to look in the mirror. The mirror in the elevator was very bright, and I saw my dark circles. They looked terrible."

"I was just about to strike up a conversation with Xu Xiao when I suddenly realized that I was the only person in the mirror."

"Xu Xiao, standing next to the elevator buttons and looking at the floor, wasn't reflected in the mirror at all!"

"Suddenly, I thought of the ghost the old nurse mentioned. She said there were unclean things in the hospital that would take people to the fifth floor, and those who went there would disappear. Could it be that Xu Xiao has become a ghost? Is she trying to harm me?"

"I didn't dare to speak, I could only stare intently at Xu Xiao's back. It was then that I realized Xu Xiao was walking on tiptoe! Only ghosts walk on tiptoe!"

"The elevator reached the fifth floor, and the sound sent a chill down my spine. I watched Xu Xiao walk out of the fifth floor, and I stood at the elevator entrance, too afraid to move. There were no lights in the corridor. I watched Xu Xiao walk towards the end of the corridor, where there seemed to be a ward door open and a light on. I wanted to call out to her, but I couldn't make a sound. I could only watch helplessly as Xu Xiao walked into the ward, closed the door, and the entire corridor was plunged into darkness again."

"I waited for a long time until the elevator reached the fifth floor again. That 'ding' brought me back to my senses. I stepped into the elevator and saw myself in the mirror. My face was deathly pale, especially my eyes, which were surrounded by dark circles. I looked like someone who had seen a ghost."

"The next day, Xu Xiao disappeared. We searched the entire hospital but couldn't find her. However, every time I took the elevator, I would subconsciously look in the mirror to see if there was anyone else in the mirror besides myself."

The person who recorded this duty roster is Wang Ping. According to the record, she left the hospital in 2012 to go back to her hometown to do business. At the beginning of this year, she fell in the bathroom and lay in the hospital for half a month, but ultimately could not be saved.

As for Xu Xiao mentioned in the memo, Lu Ban searched through all the hospital staff records but found no record of such a person.

There are several other similar memos, most of which point to the fifth floor, to a room at the end of the corridor, a room that seems to possess incredible power and is associated with all sorts of strange events.

"If we enter the hospital, this area will likely be the focus of the investigation."

Lu Ban drew a conclusion.

He looked at the information about the previous construction team again. The team leader, Liu Qingjiang, had disappeared and his whereabouts were unknown. Most of the previous workers had also been disbanded and were difficult to find. Now, only the security guards from Jiangcheng Industry remained outside the construction site to guard against others from entering.

"security guard?"

Lu Ban noticed the problem.

He looked through the records, found the security guards' shift schedule, and saw their photos.

The security guards on duty and the two workers who arrested the streamer that day were clearly not from the same group.

In reality, there were hardly any workers on the construction site.

"So, who... took the anchor away that day?"

Lu Ban thought of the phrase in the mission description.

Those who went missing did not die; they have simply found another way to accompany you.

"Is this suggesting that perhaps the people who disappeared in this hospital didn't really die, but instead turned into some kind of monster, or mutated into non-human beings, and are still wandering around the hospital? Is this why the construction team always encounters all sorts of unexplained obstacles when carrying out demolition?"

Lu Ban guessed.

"Or perhaps, there might have been some hidden danger here, but Du Danping's visit resolved the crisis to some extent, while leaving behind hidden dangers. Someone might be accidentally influenced and become a monster?"

After three days of preparation, Lu Ban felt he was ready to enter the hospital.

He packed his things, taking with him a suona (a traditional Chinese wind instrument), a crowbar, compressed rations, a flashlight, and some equipment to review the records of the fights, and then went to Nanhua Road.

This once bustling urban area is now extremely desolate. Lu Ban saw that in the shopping mall next door, only the security guards were dozing off, and no shops were open. The main building of the hospital looked gloomy and terrifying even in the afternoon sun.

"There's a design problem here. The orientation is wrong, so there's not enough natural light even during the day. I don't know if it was designed this way on purpose or if it's just a coincidence."

Lu Ban recalled the hospital's designer, a foreigner. After designing the hospital building, the foreign designer fell into depression and committed suicide by cutting his wrists with a knife three years later.

As for the companies that sponsored the hospital, most of them have gone bankrupt or shifted to completely different industries. It's as if everything associated with this place ultimately couldn't escape its fate.

He looked up at the end of the corridor on the fifth floor, where the windows were tightly closed and nothing could be seen.

Lu Ban showed his credentials to the security guards and then walked through the hospital gate amidst their strange looks.

Looking up, Lu Ban saw a girl standing by the window on the fifth floor. The girl had a blank expression and was staring at Lu Ban.

Lu Ban gave her a bright smile.

He then went to the hospital.

Chapter 138 Wash your hands frequently, ventilate your home often, and avoid crowded places.

[Mission Begins]

[Mission Objective: Enter Nanhua Private Renji Hospital and survive until dawn]

[Remaining Time: 13:06:54]

[Task Requirement: Find Du Danping's Melody Fragment 0/1]

"Six o'clock in the morning?"

Just like the previous Jiangcheng Grand Theater, surviving until dawn means surviving until 6 a.m. the next day.

As soon as Lu Ban entered the hospital lobby, he saw a black box tied to the central pillar.

He looked closer and realized it was explosives.

Lu Ban had previously asked Song Yunyan to hire a demolition team to plant explosives, so it seems he had already made preparations in advance.

The hospital was in a mess, with some forms, posters, broken chairs, and broken equipment scattered on the ground. These things were usually either cleaned up before demolition or simply disposed of along with the rubble, and no one cared about them.

Lu Ban squatted down, picked up a poster that promoted health knowledge, and pasted it on the wall, carefully securing it in place.

Wash your hands frequently, ventilate your home often, and avoid crowded places.

Lu Ban read the words above aloud.

He picked up the flashlight and walked towards the elevator.

According to the description, the elevator is also a frequent source of problems.

The elevator was very old and dilapidated. The doors were closed, the power was off, and the cables were probably broken. Lu Ban tried to push the doors, but they were loose.

He picked up the crowbar, used both hands to exert force, and relied on his skillful crowbar technique to slowly pry open the elevator door.

crunch--

With a sickening metallic scraping sound, the tightly closed elevator doors finally opened.

Lu Ban looked inside and saw a person standing there.

It was Lu Ban himself.

"Is this the mirror in the elevator?"

He didn't get into the elevator, but stood outside, carefully examining himself in the mirror.

In stark contrast to the dilapidated state of the rest of the hospital, this mirror was spotless, as if someone maintained and cleaned it daily.

Lu Ban could see his serious expression in the mirror, his skin looking somewhat dull due to the lighting, as he stood motionless at the elevator entrance.

He looked closely and saw something flash past his feet.

I looked down, but there was nothing there.

"Is this mirror less a strange creation and more a counter to a strange creation?"

He muttered to himself.

Normally, Chinese people don't put mirrors opposite their own doors, as it's considered very unlucky to see one's reflection as soon as one opens the door. Instead, they use mirrors facing outwards to ward off evil spirits.

Moreover, the mirror in this elevator is positioned facing the elevator entrance, so normal people can only see it when they enter the elevator, just like Lu Ban is doing now. In other words, as long as you enter the elevator, you can check yourself through the mirror.

"Can this mirror reflect extraordinary things?"

He said that the mirrors in the elevator can reflect reality and falsehood; those vicious and cruel people have no shadows.

Lu Ban remembered this sentence from the mission description.

"He said it was a pseudonym, referring to the person who installed the mirror? Was it Du Danping?"

"Are all those without shadows vicious and cruel? But if a little girl's shadow appears in the mirror, does that mean the little girl is a good person?"

"At least it proves that I'm a good person."

Lu Ban concluded with satisfaction.

He looked around and then got into the elevator.

This behavior is actually very dangerous because elevators are usually not at the bottom floor, but also have a basement level. Modern elevator cars are essentially suspended, and if they encounter any impact, they could very well fall.

crunch--

The elevator made a frightening sound. Lu Ban went to the mirror and saw that something seemed to pass by behind him.

He turned around and saw a face on the ground.

"..."

It was a poster with a picture of a child on it; it was also a poster promoting healthy living.

crunch--

As Lu Ban looked away from the poster, he heard a metallic scraping sound.

It's like the elevator started moving.

He saw that the elevator doors on both sides seemed to be closing, and Lu Ban immediately rushed out.

Turning around, the elevator doors slowly closed, and in the end, Lu Ban saw himself in the mirror smiling at him.

"Playing tricks and deception."

Lu Ban had seen this kind of thing countless times and was not afraid of it at all.

He went to the nurses' station on the first floor.