Having devoted myself to guiding souls, I was surrounded by them after my death.

Age: 26

Cause of death: Unknown

[Date of death: February 28]

Upon seeing this, Chen Shi was stunned for a moment.

Is Zhang Yan dead?

Who is in room 404?

No, I should say, is the person in room 404 a living person, or a malevolent spirit?

Suddenly, a bold idea popped into my mind.

Zhang Yan had died long ago.

Zhang Yan, from ward 404, was a malevolent spirit from the very beginning.

The core of this cage is neither the head nurse nor Zhang Yan's husband.

It is Zhang Yan herself.

She was already dead on the day she set the fire.

"Speaking of which... the head nurse just rushed me back to corridor number 2. Which ward did I fall into?"

Chen Shi suddenly had a bad feeling and looked up at the doorplate above...

Ward 404.

"..."

Right behind him, in room 404, which resembled a morgue, white curtains hung down, and a bedside lamp cast a shadow of a person.

Now, the figure slowly sat up.

Then, it turned its head and looked at him through the curtain.

Chapter 30 Accomplice

"broken."

Chen Shi immediately sensed something was wrong, feeling a chill creep up his neck.

"quack……"

Behind him, the bed frame creaked slightly, and behind the curtain, the blurry figure sat up, turning its head to face him.

Several bandages stretched down from the bed, extending from under the curtains, and began to snake towards the door.

Chen Shi took a deep breath, suddenly stood up, turned around, and grabbed the doorknob:

"Oh!"

Without hesitation, he closed the door.

"Moisturize!"

He wasn't stupid. He could suppress the other supernatural beings in the spirit cage with the effects of the spirit artifacts, but the evil spirit itself was impossible to kill except for "recreating the way it died," and it was easy to provoke it.

Although it's easy to guess, Zhang Yan most likely died in the fire.

But where can he start a fire in this cage?

"Wow! Junior, your horse riding skills are pretty good." Su Yining gave Chen Shi a thumbs up when she saw him running over.

"Not bad, little kid. You're not some kind of Taoist priest, are you? You really know magic?" The old man smiled, revealing his yellow teeth.

"Stop using magic and riding a horse! Run! The evil spirit is coming!"

Chen Shi pulled Su Yining and ran towards the next corridor, while Lao Deng took a swift stride, muttering to himself:

"Riding a horse? What riding a horse?"

"Never mind, kick your legs as hard as you can if you don't want to die!" Chen Shi took off running.

Su Yining and the old man turned around and saw countless brownish-red bandages emerging from under the door of ward 404, like countless snakes, climbing all over the ceiling, walls and floor, twisting and rushing towards them.

"Oh my god!" The old man took off running, his speed almost matching Chen Shi's.

Is this for real? Old Deng, can you please respect your age and that hospital gown you're wearing?

Chen Shi glanced at him, then pulled Su Yining around sharply.

Because she was running too fast, Su Yining couldn't stop in time. She pushed off with her long legs, ran a few steps against the wall, landed smoothly, and changed direction. Her body was as light as a cat.

"what is that?"

Su Yining runs without even breaking a sweat:

"Is Zhang Yan the true form of the evil spirit?"

"Yes, she is the core of this Spirit Cage. We can get it after we deal with the head nurse."

As Chen Shi ran, he handed over the [death report].

"The deceased, Zhang Yan... It really is her!" Su Yining was startled and her steps quickened.

"Turn ahead!"

Chen Shi braked suddenly, but Su Yining was even more audacious. She jumped up and used the wall as leverage to brake, then landed and turned smoothly.

As for Old Deng, there's no need to worry about his speed at all.

"rustle……"

"rustle……"

The bandage twisted and turned behind, making a dull, hoarse sound as it rubbed against the ground.

Chen Shi pulled Su Yining back to Corridor 1, burst through the door and rushed into the ward. Old Deng, on the other hand, was quick and slipped in as fast as he could.

"Oh!"

Su Yining kicked the door shut with a backward kick.

"The crack in the door!"

She had just reminded him when Chen Shi took out a rope and stuffed it into the bottom gap of the door to block it.

"Bah—!"

Soon, the sound of burning could be heard from outside the door.

The rustling sound sent chills down my spine; the door frame shook, and the entire door trembled violently, as if it would break open at any moment.

"This door should hold up, right?" the old man asked, trembling.

Beside her, Su Yining muttered:

"Zhang Yan didn't show such strong aggression before, why did she suddenly erupt now?"

"It's probably because of the [Death Report]. The evil spirits in Ling Cage are the hunters. The hunters can kill their prey with guns and knives, or they can use traps."

Chen Shi said:

"Now that we've found both the death report and the notebook, Zhang Yan no longer needs to pretend. We might as well hurry up and finish this."

"That makes sense." Su Yining looked at the rickety door and felt a little panicked.

"Little boy, what are you talking to yourself about?" The old man looked at Chen Shi in surprise.

"It's nothing, I just like talking to my imaginary enemies."

"..."

At the entrance, the impact continued for a long time, the dark red patterns on the rope constantly shimmering, and the burning sound never stopped.

The noise at the doorway lasted for more than ten minutes before it subsided.

"They're gone?" The old man breathed a sigh of relief.

"I don't know, it could be a trap."

Chen Shi pointed to the door:

"Why don't you go get it checked out?"

"?"

The old man looked at Chen Shi in shock, but actually reached out and grabbed the doorknob, preparing to look outside.

"Alright, step back, I'll handle this."

Chen Shi smiled, pulled the old man back, opened the door himself, and cautiously peeked out.

The entrance was empty, with only a dimly lit corridor.

The walls of the long corridor were covered with brownish-red scratches—the marks left by bandages.

"Looks like they've gone back." Chen Shi put away the rope.

Luckily, he had a vivid imagination; otherwise, those bandages would have gotten in long ago if the door crack hadn't been blocked.

"Thank goodness... I thought I was going to die here." The old man patted his chest and was the first to walk out.

"Hey, junior."

After the old man left the room, Su Yining suddenly called out.

"what happened?"

When Chen Shi turned around, he saw Su Yining looking at him with a grin, raising her hand—their hands were still clasped together.

“Junior, you’re burning up. Do you want me to blow on you?” Su Yining giggled.

"Isn't this kind of reward a bit inappropriate in Ling Cage?"

Chen Shi released his hand and said, "The situation was urgent just now, I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about. I know you wanted to save me~ Of course, next time you want to help, remember to let me know in advance, and also let me know in advance about other things."

Su Yining's voice was crisp and clear, and she used jokes to ease the atmosphere as always.

“I remember, senior likes the gentleman’s style.” Chen Shi followed up smoothly.

"So, now we need to figure out how to deal with Zhang Yan, right?"

After the atmosphere eased a bit, Su Yining brought the focus back and muttered:

"Zhang Yan died from arson, so where would she have gotten a fire from here?"

"Don't rush, let's put Zhang Yan's matter aside for now."

Chen Shi's eyes sharpened:

"Before that, there are other things to take care of. First, clear the internal toxins."

After leaving the room, the old man had already disappeared somewhere, but he didn't have time to care.

Chen Shi gripped the sling tightly and strode to the door of ward 402.

The room where Wenjie is.

"Waaaaah..."

The crying continued inside the room.

Chen Shi gripped the handle tightly and pushed the door open.

Inside the room, Wenjie was sobbing softly, looking like a pear blossom in the rain.

"Isn't this the nurse who almost found us before?" Su Yining exclaimed in the same way again.

However, Chen Shi remained silent.

"You... are you?"

Wenjie looked over with tears streaming down her face and her eyes filled with fear, like a frightened little animal.

"What...what's going on? This is terrifying."