Chapter 139: Abnormal Investigation Bureau

While checking the messages Yin Zhen typed in the team channel, Bai Qiang explained to everyone that the inpatient building had been constructed in the shape of a coffin.

“…In Feng Shui, since the entire building is used to suppress a vicious entity underground, the suppression core must be at the lowest point of the coffin. That would be the first basement level, somewhere around the bottom of the central vertical line. When using a coffin to suppress a vicious entity, there are usually two ways to break the formation.

“One is lifting the coffin, which means demolishing the building. Obviously, we can’t do that. The other is venting the energy. We need to use something even more vicious than the suppressing object to smash right through the bottom of the coffin, and then open a skylight at the very top to let the energy vent out. That will break the coffin’s entire layout.”

Yin Zhen stood silently to the side, clutching the hem of Bai Qiang’s clothes and pretending to be a well-behaved child.

Wei Yang had stood up from the bench while listening. Her gaze toward Bai Qiang shifted from contempt to surprise. She hadn’t expected such an ordinary-looking middle-aged woman to have such profound expertise in Feng Shui. She wondered if true experts were really hiding among the masses. A talent like this could easily become an office-based consultant at the Abnormal Investigation Bureau, a rank much higher than her own as an intern investigator.

Wei Yang had known from the start that breaking the Feng Shui layout was the third option. However, she didn’t understand it herself, nor did she expect anyone else in the group to understand it, so she simply hadn’t mentioned it.

She quickly weighed her options. Breaking the Feng Shui layout was the safest bet, and Ghost Devices were more likely to appear at the suppression core. If she could successfully break the Ghost Realm here and obtain a Ghost Device, she would immediately be promoted to a full member upon returning to the Abnormal Investigation Bureau. Although the level of danger was equally high, it was a risk worth taking.

“What was the first basement level originally used for?” Wei Yang asked the head nurse next to her.

The head nurse looked troubled, but she knew that hiding anything now would only doom everyone. She answered honestly, “It was originally the morgue. After the new building was constructed, bodies were sent straight to the crematorium, so it’s currently the cafeteria for the inpatient department.”

“Are there any other ways to go upstairs?” Wei Yang asked.

“There is a dedicated elevator and a stairwell for transporting garbage and medical waste,” the head nurse said. “The door is usually unlocked from the inside, but after the fire alarm went off last night, it wouldn’t budge no matter how hard we pushed. There’s a stairwell on the first floor that goes both up and down to the basement. However, opening it from the outside requires a key, and there’s a spare one in the first-floor security room.”

Only then did Wei Yang slowly pull an ID booklet from her pocket and hold it up for everyone to see.

“Wei Yang, investigator of the Abnormal Investigation Bureau. I now require all of you to follow my orders. I have the authority to execute anyone who disobeys on the spot.”

She quickly flashed the ID across the crowd. At the top sat the emblem of the Abnormal Investigation Bureau—two yin-yang fishes, head to tail, biting down together on an ancient horizontal lock. It was called the Twin Fish Lock. Below it was a line of standard text reading ‘Abnormal Investigation Bureau,’ followed by Wei Yang’s photo and a brief profile.

While everyone else’s eyes were immediately drawn to the emblem and the photo, Yin Zhen and Bai Qiang noticed the part Wei Yang was deliberately covering with her thumb.

[Heavenly Dao Rewards Diligence]: Intern?

[Blossoming Prosperity]: Intern!

[Heavenly Dao Rewards Diligence]: What a scam!

Bai Qiang and Yin Zhen exchanged a knowing look. They had already grasped the rough outlines of Wei Yang’s personality. She definitely hadn’t shown her ID earlier because she was afraid of being guilt-tripped by the crowd into protecting them. Now that she was suddenly flashing it, she clearly saw a profitable angle.

Wei Yang looked at Bai Qiang. “Zhang, since you understand Feng Shui, you must know that breaking the suppression core won’t be easy. I’m the only one who can do it. So, I need to trouble you to head up to the 15th floor and open the skylight. While you’re at it, find the patient who triggered the Ghost Realm. We’ll tackle this from both ends.”

“Opening the skylight isn’t hard; we just need to open the door to the roof terrace for ventilation. But what happens after I find the patient?” Bai Qiang asked.

“Kill him.”

Several nurses let out low gasps of shock. The surrounding patients and their families stepped back in horror.

“One person’s life in exchange for all of yours. Isn’t that a good deal?” Wei Yang said in a flat tone. “Or do you all want to die instead? It makes no difference to me.”

Everyone averted their eyes, too afraid to utter a single word.

[Triggered Main Event: Explore the story behind the fire and find that Special patient. This task cannot be declined.]

[Reward: 5,000 words, Exclusive Ghost Device x1]

[Current Completion: 10%]

Bai Qiang looked at Yin Zhen. The girl frowned, clearly having received the same task.

“Fine, I’ll go.”

Wei Yang then turned back to the head nurse. “Can you lead the way for her? The ICU doors are probably not easy to open.”

The head nurse squeezed her trembling hands together and nodded. “Alright, I’ll take her. Feifei, Chen, the rest of you stay here and take good care of the other patients. Try your best to keep everyone from separating.”

“Head Nurse!”

The nurses were all deeply worried, but the head nurse remained composed and offered them a few words of comfort.

“I’ll go to the security room and grab the key first,” she said.

After the head nurse left, Wei Yang looked toward the few male family members in the crowd. “You lot, follow me down to the first basement level!”

Everyone she locked eyes with instinctively looked away. A balding middle-aged man backed up, waving his hands frantically.

“I’m not going! If you want to throw your lives away, do it yourselves! I won’t—”

The balding man suddenly froze. He could clearly feel wet hair brushing against the back of his neck, making his hair stand on end and a chill run down his spine.

“Refuse to follow me, and you’ll die right now,” Wei Yang said evenly.

The balding man stood with his mouth agape. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down, but he couldn’t squeeze out a single word.

“You’re lucky I happened to be hospitalized here; otherwise, all of you would be dead today. Following me down gives you a chance to survive. If you don’t go, neither you nor your families will make it out alive!”

The balding man’s legs were trembling so hard he looked ready to cry. From within the crowd, a girl who was staying at the hospital to care for her mother suddenly stepped forward.

“I’ll go with you. If I die, I only beg that you save my mom.”

Wei Yang clicked her tongue and shot the men a look of utter disdain. She walked over to Yin Zhen and suddenly reached out, pinching the girl’s cheek.

“Little one, your grandma didn’t lie to you. As long as you aren’t afraid and don’t cry, they won’t be able to find you.” After saying that, she straightened up and met Bai Qiang’s eyes. “In the Ghost Realm, those things don’t necessarily play by the rules, but adhering to the rules is usually your safest bet. I hope at least one of us can complete our task before ten o’clock tonight. If it passes ten and the Ghost Realm still hasn’t been broken, you’d better find a ward to spend the night in. Do not wander outside.”

The head nurse returned with a bundle of keys. She led the way as the group walked through the corridor and arrived at the entrance to the medical waste transport corridor.

She inserted a key and turned it twice from the outside. With a click, the latch sprang back, and the iron door swung open. A foul stench—a mixture of disinfectant and rotting matter—surged up from below. The stairwell was pitch black; there was no light whatsoever.

Wei Yang turned on her flashlight and tilted her head at the male family members. “Let’s go.”

The head nurse turned to Bai Qiang. “Are you sure you want to take the child up with you? You can leave her here for the nurses to look after.”

Bai Qiang smiled. “Don’t underestimate my girl. She’s been different from other kids since she was little. She can help us.”

The head nurse handed Bai Qiang a flashlight. They had only gone up one flight of stairs when they suddenly realized that Yin Zhen, who had been following right beside them, had stopped on the steps.

When the head nurse and Bai Qiang turned to look, Yin Zhen raised her hand and pointed behind them.

“There’s a lady with long hair in the middle of the stairs.”

Bai Qiang’s eyes instantly widened. Before the chill could even rush from the soles of her feet to the crown of her head, Yin Zhen spoke again.

“She’s crawling down!”