I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

"That's some kind of ritual, a special ritual that can summon a being that transcends human understanding and reigns over this world. By offering sacrifices to Him, one can gain extraordinary power, even to the point of resurrection."

"The contents of this manuscript are obscure and difficult, filled with incomprehensible annotations and some delirious ramblings that only a madman would utter. But I must say, these contents are very tempting. What doctor doesn't want to understand the mysteries of life, or want to be brought back from the dead? But I am highly educated. We call this kind of thing superstition. I find it very strange. Is Correa using this to fool those rich people?"

"Until, until he showed me a small-scale ceremony. I can hardly describe the process of that ceremony. I can only say that while the ceremony was taking place, I regretted witnessing it all. But when the results of the ceremony were revealed, I was astonished. All the science I knew vanished in the face of that person who stood up again. I am so glad that I met Correa. Otherwise, I would have been deceived in a false world for the rest of my life."

"The hospital construction project is progressing smoothly. I don't know what methods Correa used to get those workers to agree to the preliminary work for the ceremony. I feel sorry for those workers who died, but when I think that their sacrifice was for the well-being of more people, I feel at peace."

"After the hospital opened, I saw my first patient. It's hard to describe how excited I was when his heart, which had stopped beating, was refilled with blood and his ashen skin regained its color."

"As for the offerings, don't worry, I think Correa will find a way."

"The next surgery is about to begin, and I must complete it."

These words were different from what Lu Ban had seen before. The previous words mostly went from neat to messy and eventually became unrecognizable, but the words now started out a bit messy, but later became calm and upright, which, combined with the content, gave off a creepy feeling.

Lu Ban knew that this should be Dean Zhao Gongping's record.

"A ritual, so that's how it is. This hospital was built for a certain ritual, and they succeeded. They successfully summoned something through the ritual, something that can bring the dead back to life?"

"No, that's not right. The dead can't be brought back to life, but they can walk, just like I saw in that foreign land. Perhaps Zhao Gongping's ritual wasn't about bringing the dead back to life, but rather about letting something occupy the bodies of the dead, making them appear as if they were alive?"

"Yes, just like these wandering doctors, workers, and nurses in the hospital, acting according to their own obsessions, or perhaps it's the summoned creatures that are controlling these people's corpses."

"That man, Correa is very strange. He seems to have a lot of similar knowledge and can persuade those wealthy businessmen. It turns out that the reason they invested in this hospital was to carry out this ritual. They are trying to use this ritual to prolong life, so they are investing without regard for returns."

"But why did they stop investing? Was it because the ceremony went wrong? Was it because of Zhao Gongping's death?"

"According to the description, Zhao Gongping should have started as the dean at around 35 years old. He has been in office for almost 20 years, so he is indeed almost 50. His aging is unnatural, perhaps due to the influence of the ceremony."

"So, when the ceremony could no longer be performed here, the investors stopped funding it, and the hospital declined and went bankrupt. But the inability to perform the ceremony does not mean that the ceremony is completely ineffective; it is still working in some way, causing people to disappear."

Lu Ban felt that he had vaguely grasped the core secret of this hospital and this mission.

Now only two questions remain.

First, who exactly was the ritual at this hospital connected to? Why did the ritual go wrong? And how should we deal with this strange hospital building?

Another question is, where are the fragments of the melody that Du Danping left behind when he visited the hospital? Why was he unable to solve the hospital's problems?

"I'm afraid I'll have to completely resolve the trouble here before I can live to see tomorrow morning."

Lu Ban thought to himself.

"According to Nurse He Bisong's description, the elderly man in room 502 was already critically ill, but he was able to stand up that night and even waved to her. It seems that this is related to his visit to the room at the end of the corridor. Perhaps that is where the ceremony was held."

He put away his notebook, picked up his crowbar, and left the room.

Even though the corridor was bright and spacious, Lu Ban felt as if it were shrouded in a gray hue.

He saw that the half-closed door at the end of the corridor seemed to have opened a little more, so Lu Ban quickened his pace and arrived at the end of the corridor.

The door was unremarkable; it could be pushed open with a flick of the wrist.

Lu Ban took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

It was a spacious room, with a layout not much different from an operating room. In the center was a hospital bed, and there were various medical instruments around it. However, what was most eye-catching was a huge transparent container next to the instruments, which contained a murky, gray, viscous liquid.

"cement?"

Lu Ban immediately thought of what was overflowing in Zhao Gongping's mind.

But this thing has a more unique texture.

Lu Ban walked closer and saw that the thing was like jelly, gelatinous, and seemed to be alive, constantly wriggling.

The arrival of humans may have awakened it, and the thing suddenly stopped wriggling.

Then, one eye opened.

One, two, three, countless eyes opened from the eerie creature in the container, along with mouths filled with jagged, ugly teeth. Countless mouths, those millions of eyes and mouths seemed to be demanding food, and countless gray slimes secreted from them.

Lu Ban stared at the blasphemous creature, and suddenly, a song rang in his ears.

Chapter 146 The Other Side of the Door

It was a song that transcended all perception.

Lu Ban couldn't understand the language used in it. The singing, which sounded like noise, formed a complex and irregular melody. The chilling music had a sense of oppression. Just listening to it made one feel as if they were drowning and couldn't breathe.

If an ordinary person were to hear this song, they would likely experience confusion, hallucinations, and a loss of rationality.

Even a well-informed chosen one like Lu Ban couldn't help but frown, trying to drive these melodies out of his mind.

Moreover, Lu Ban heard that the singing voice actually came from the ugly monster inside the container.

It's like a lullaby it's humming.

Lu Ban saw many tubes next to the container, which were connected to different instruments. One of them looked like an oxygen mask, and it seemed that the soft monster could spread out from these tubes and flow into the human body through the oxygen mask.

Amidst the frenzied singing, Lu Ban saw a series of footprints extending from outside the door, crawling towards the container, and abruptly stopping beside it.

He had almost understood everything.

"Is this what the ritual summoned?"

Dean Zhao Gongping and that man named Correa used a ritual from a handwritten copy they obtained from who-knows-where to connect with the otherworld and summon this thing, but they didn't summon it completely; it was only a part of it, or rather, its offspring.

This thing seems to have the ability to bring the dead back to life. As long as its flesh and blood are injected into the body of the dead, the dead can stand up again. However, it is not a true resurrection, but rather a walking corpse constructed by this evil thing from a distant land that controls the bodies of the dead, reads their memories, and imitates their behavior.

Zhao Gongping relied on this to complete many exquisite surgeries, which is why the intensive care unit is on the fifth floor. Whenever an accident occurs, those wealthy people who have paid a lot of medical fees and are barely surviving will be sent to the room at the end of the corridor. The monster with eyes will secrete gray "cement", which will be poured into oxygen masks through tubes and inhaled by those who are dying.

The conversion may take a long time.

This is why He Bisong saw patients who couldn't even walk before suddenly being able to stand up and wave at her.

This is probably because the body has undergone treatment and has been transformed into a monster, but it has not yet accepted its new body, which is why it appears slow and sluggish.

Such control cannot last long, so many patients who receive treatment die soon afterward.

Xu Xiao, on the other hand, encountered a different kind of trouble.

"The liquid secreted by this monster might just be the cement used to build this hospital..."

Lu Ban then thought of an even more terrifying truth.

The reason why the summoning ritual requires a living human stake is certainly not simply due to feudal superstition, but because it is to offer sacrifices to this monster.

The corpses and souls of those workers, along with the "cement" secreted by this monster, formed the foundation and walls of this hospital. The workers who died gruesome deaths within the walls were the raw materials that summoned this monster!

At the same time, the entire hospital became part of the monster. The container that Lu Ban saw was just a part of the monster's manifestation. Its true form was this hospital!

This is why the demolition of Nan Hua Private Renji Hospital has repeatedly failed; it's because this monster is trying to protect itself.

The alternate dimension that Lu Ban is currently in is inside the monster's body!

The people who have disappeared from this hospital over the years, like Xu Xiao and Liu Qingjiang, have all become nourishment for the monster, nurturing its growth. It's laughable that Zhao Gongping thought those things were gifts to him, when in reality they were just the skin that the monster shed as it grew up.

Those who went missing were corrupted and eroded, becoming puppets of the monsters. People like Zhao Gongping, who frequently came into contact with the monsters, were also subtly controlled and ultimately met a terrible end.

Within that constantly writhing mud, some new life is being conceived, ready to break through the soil at any moment.

Dean Zhao Gongping was just an unlucky guy who was used. The real culprit was Correa, the man who tricked Zhao Gongping into establishing the hospital and gave him the ritual to summon the monster.

However, Lu Ban had almost never seen this name in the hospital records. It was as if he had vanished into thin air, existing in no records at all.

"It seems we need to solve this problem."

Lu Ban stared at the monster in the container, all its eyes fixed on him, emanating a venomous malice. Lu Ban noticed that the surrounding walls were beginning to melt, like flowing lava, engulfing him.

If he were to be encased in this "cement," Lu Ban felt that it would be similar to what happened in Kushui Town; without a bit of luck, he wouldn't survive.

However, Lu Ban noticed that the cement flowed slowly, like an animal that had not yet awakened. The melodic part of the song coming from the container gradually became weaker, while the frantic babbling became more and more obvious. At the same time, the cement flowed faster.

"Lullaby... fragments of melody?"

Lu Ban immediately understood.

"When Du Danping visited this place back then, he probably also discovered the strangeness of this place. However, at that time he was not able to completely eliminate this monster, so he could only leave this piece of music to temporarily suppress it and deal with it later."

"Unfortunately, Du Danping died in an accident on the day of rehearsal, so the problem could not be completely solved. Over the years, with the passage of time, the piece of music has been worn down and weakened. In addition, with Zhao Gongping and others constantly provoking the monster, it is finally about to awaken."

"And the demolition was the final stimulus. He fully recovered from that half-awake state. Now, even if Du Danping's melody still exists, it can no longer suppress this monster that is about to be born. He will completely descend into this world and devour others."

Lu Ban realized this amidst the increasingly noisy murmurs.

The only way to survive is to completely destroy this monster.

Right now, in the real world.

The building of Nanhua Private Renji Hospital experienced a subtle tremor.

Ordinary people would hardly notice it, and even the security guards on duty at the entrance were clueless, only feeling a slight tremor in the ground, as if a subway had passed by.

It was the darkest time of night, but for some reason, the two security guards felt that something was about to break through the ground.

They became dazed, stunned, and sluggish, only able to stare blankly at that building.

Suddenly, a clear cry rang in the ears of everyone nearby.

That was the first cry of a newborn baby.

That is a symbol of hope.

Chapter 147 Crying

Fifth floor of Nanhua Private Renji Hospital.

The room at the end of the corridor.

Around Lu Ban, the insane, irrational babbling lingered, while Du Danping's melody had almost disappeared.

The silver pistol appeared in his palm, and the last magazine of the [Last Words] spun, collecting Du Danping's melody.

In his field of vision, the system's indifferent and cold gray text appeared, reminding Lu Ban.

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

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

[Remaining Time: 06:51:12]

"That's not it?"

Lu Ban was puzzled. The melody that suppressed the monster should have been done by Du Danping, but this was not a fragment of the melody he left behind. So, where was Du Danping's fragment of the melody?