572 Aphrodite's Table
Cao Lingling stopped struggling. She looked at the ceiling as the light in her eyes disappeared. It was like her soul had gone into hibernation. “What has she seen yesterday night?” Zhao Qian moved to the bed to hold Cao Lingling’s cold hands. Even Zhao Qian felt helpless.
“We’ll start treatment the moment she wakes up.” The nurse examined Cao Lingling’s body. “Other than mental trauma, she is not injured so don’t worry. The hospital will provide her with the best treatment, but about the payment…”
“Money is not a problem, you have to treat her.” Zhao Qian showed her membership card to the nurse. “You can deduct the payment from this card.”
“She is lucky to have a boss like you.” The nurse smiled as she took the card. Zhao Qian ignored the flattery and turned to Han Fei. “Why are you here to be a caretaker? Did you hear about the rumors and think you can use your talent to the best advantage here?” Zhao Qian looked at Ah Gou with disgust before walking to Han Fei. “Octopus is missing, Du Zhu is kidnapped, Immortal is heavily impacted, now is the best time for you to come back.”
“Go back to the company?” Han Fei shook his head. His life was limited. He didn’t want to waste it on game design.
“I know you hate the company but isn’t completing Immortal your life’s dream? I can allow you to work at home. You can remotely work with your own team and Octopus’ team. I can order the other departments to cooperate with you.” Zhao Qian was sincere.
“If you really need it, you can find my replacement among my former team members. They are very talented but they haven’t been given a chance.”
“You really won’t consider it?”
“My suggestion is for you to focus on completing my horror dating sim. If it can get popular, it’ll take a lot of pressure from the company. It might even help the company get over this hurdle.”
“That is the only thing we can do now.” Zhao Qian’s eyes moved between Han Fei and Cao Lingling. “Since you’re a caretaker here, then I’ll have trouble you to look after her. I’ll come often to visit.” Zhao Qian left with one police officer. The other stayed in Cao Lingling’s private ward. As the only witness of the disappearance cases, the police valued Cao Lingling’s safety.
“Fu Yi, since they have nominated you to be her caretaker, then I won’t steal the job from you. You’ll look after this patient from now on.” Ah Gou smiled at Han Fei. Cao Lingling was a normal employee. She wouldn’t offer Ah Gou any benefits.
“Okay.” Han Fei didn’t mind it.
“She’ll be down for at least four hours after the injection. I’ll give you a tour of the other places first.” Ah Gou sneaked a glance at the officer. He didn’t dare to look right at the police as if he had done something bad. After they left the private ward, Ah Gou became his usual self. It was hard to tell if he was there to be a caretaker of a male host. Regardless, the man enjoyed his job. Ah Gou led Han Fei to visit all the empty wards. Since Du Zhu was kidnapped, there wasn’t that many customers at Building One. As a hospital with many services, the inside of Building One was very complicated. The exterior was just a lavish shell. The deeper one went, the stranger the environment became.
“Next, I’ll bring you to the last place of this tour. It’s also the most important place at Building One.” Ah Gou and Han Fei came to the first-floor basement. There was a unique room connecting Building One and Building Two. “All the beauty and love are hidden here. The secret of immortality, the soul of youth, the source of every goodness.” Ah Gou’s eyes glowed with admiration like a fanatic when he touched the door. His veins pulsed. He was extremely excited. The door opened, and the light was blinding. Han Fei had to take a long time to adjust.
The underground room placed between the two buildings was extremely large. The wall was painted with red patterns, and the room was filled with much high-tech medical equipment. There were other humanoid items that Han Fei couldn’t recognize. “The clients from Building One do their surgeries here. A lot of them have sensitive backgrounds. Their info can’t be released.” Ah Gou stared at the strange devices with fanaticism in his eyes. It was like the machines were a gift from god. “Don’t touch anything here. We normally do not have the right to come here. Mainly, I brought you here to take a look.” Han Fei couldn’t connect to Ah Gou’s religious fervor. The place looked like a slightly bigger surgical room to him. The two moved carefully through the door. They soon encountered a surgical table more than 2.5 meters long in the room. All the light in the room was directed to the table. Ah Gou’s body trembled like he was about to have an orgasm. He placed his face on the table as gently as possible.
“Come and feel while the doctors aren’t here yet.” Ah Gou’s expression was maddening. “This is Aphrodite’s Table, the closest place to perfection.”
Han Fei stared at the surgical table. Instead of glory, Han Fei felt discomfited. It was like the table was filled with broken meat and dried blood. As Han Fei’s approached the table, the feeling of disgust grew. An image appeared in his mind. His dying body was fixed to the table. Ten Aphrodites looked at him on the dining table as they cut into his body and soul.
“Aphrodite’s table…”
The surgical room door opened. Two doctors appeared, “Who allowed you to be here?!” One of them shouted angrily, “Get out!”
Ah Gou was like a dog before the doctors. He dragged Han Fei and smiled apologetically. When Han Fei passed the doctors, he glanced at them. The doctor who scolded them was normal, but the doctor beside him radiated a horrible stench. His neck and wrists were bandaged. The stench came from under the bandages. Fanaticism lingered on Ah Gou’s face as they closed the room. “I need to try it again after I get enough money.”
“Try what?”
“You’ll understand soon enough.” Ah Gou smiled mysteriously, “You’re lucky to be assigned to Building One when you joined. As long as you don’t offend the doctors and clients, your future will be bright.” Ah Gou wanted to elaborate, but his walkie-talkie made a noise. The fat nurse’s voice came. She ordered Ah Gou to bring Han Fei to the second floor. They returned to the safehouse. The fat nurse pushed along a cart. It had Han Fei’s two working uniforms, a walkie-talkie, and a temporary work id.
“This is your stuff. Work with Ah Gou for three days first. Once you pass the trial, we’ll prepare an official contract for you.” The fat nurse had great hope for Han Fei. “Come on time for the next three days. Work your hands and not your mouth.”
“Understood.” Han Fei picked up his uniforms and entered the safehouse. There was another man in the caretaker uniform. The man was muscular, but his skin was loose, and he had a lot of age spots. He didn’t look so well.
“Zhang Zhuangzhuang, this is our new colleague, Fu Yi.” Ah Gou introduced kindly. Zhuangzhuang glanced at Ah Gou before grabbing Han Fei to leave the safehouse. Zhuangzhuang was strong. Han Fei used 20 percent of his power, and he couldn’t shake the man loose.
“I’d advise you to leave this hospital and find another job.” The man was half a head taller than Han Fei. He should be at least 1.9 meters tall.
“Why? The treatment here is nice.” Han Fei was confused.
“Most can’t even survive the trial period.” The man saw the greed on Han Fei’s face. He knew Han Fei couldn’t be persuaded. He had seen many people like that. “I can’t tell you too much. Remember not to trust anyone here, especially that Ah Gou. It might not even be human. From the time I came, it hadn’t changed.”
“When did you start working here?”
“I started working here when I was 23. I’m now 26. Over the three years, Ah Gou seems to have gotten younger.” The man released his grip on Han Fei’s shoulder. “You can earn a lot working here, but it’s not worth it to risk your life.”
Zhang Zhuangzhuang left after that. Han Fei looked at the man’s face, which was filled with age spots and he was shocked. “26?”
“Don’t listen to his nonsense.” Ah Gou silently appeared behind Han Fei. “He was chosen by a client and hired as a private therapist. However, he was fired after two months. He wouldn’t be welcomed back if his big sister didn’t work here as a doctor. I look down on him.”
“We’re colleagues, you shouldn’t look down on him.” Han Fei placed his uniforms inside the locker. The fat nurse had given him three days of the trial period, so he decided to use them well. He would try to find out everything about this place before the three days were up.
At 1 pm, Han Fei and Ah Gou went to the cafeteria for lunch. They saw Zhang Zhuangzhuang walk out of the hospital when they passed the entrance. “Isn’t he going to the cafeteria to eat?”
“Ignore him.” Ah Gou dragged Han Fei. “The food at cafeteria is very delicious, especially the meat. Once you have it, you will never forget its taste.” Han Fei was instantly reminded of bad things. He decided not to touch the meat at the hospital. Han Fei found an excuse and slipped away. He left the hospital with Zhang Zhuangzhuang. “Brother, why did you eat outside the hospital? Isn’t the hospital taking care of our accommodation and meals?” Han Fei ran towards Zhang Zhuangzhuang to ask.
“Sure, but do you know what you’re eating?” Zhang Zhuangzhuang grinned wickedly. He bought a simple lunch from the stall near the hospital.
“You seem to have a strong opinion of this hospital, then why don’t you quit?” This confused Han Fei the most. Zhang Zhuangzhuang clearly knew about the hospital’s problems but refused to leave.
“My big sister is a doctor here. She has been cursed. I’ll only leave with her.” Zhang Zhuangzhuang looked at Han Fei and said seriously, “Quickly leave and don’t come back.” Before Han Fei replied, Zhang Zhuangzhuang left.
“I should try to get his help. The old employees are getting younger and younger, but he’s the only exception. There has to be a problem.” Han Fei bought a boxed lunch. He was about to turn back when the pain came again. He looked down, and his nose bled. “The pain became more intense, and it also lasted longer.”
Han Fei felt dizzy. He held the wall as he moved towards the hospital. At that moment, three men in caretaker uniform moved to stop his way. “We’ve been waiting a long time here for you.” Inmate stopped Han Fei. He looked vicious and dangerous. “What did you tell Qiang Wei at Golden Leaf? Why did he help you kidnap Du Zhu?”
“If you want to survive, then work with me.” Han Fei looked at Inmate. “If you stand in my way, then don’t blame me.”
“You dare to threaten us?” Inmate grabbed Han Fei’s collar. “The black box is most likely in Perfect Life’s hidden map. Qiang Wei is Absolute Truth’s top black box hunter. Did he discover something inside this hospital?”
“You have to ask him.”
“Tell me everything you know! It’s not easy for you to raise your account to this level. You wouldn’t want to lose everything, right?” Inmate was not dumb, “We’ve studied you. You have seven wives on this map. You should have a very high charm. You will be sad to lose all that.”
Han Fei felt Fu Yi’s face inside his brain. He was eating Han Fei’s memory. It was growing and spreading.
“Speak!” Inmate grabbed Han Fei’s neck. He threatened, “Tell me everything you know! Is the black box hidden here?”
The pain caused Han Fei’s nose to bleed. This confused Inmate. “I haven’t even hit you. Why are you bleeding?” Inmate dumped Han Fei to the ground and wiped his hands. “Don’t play dead. If you don’t tell us everything, you’re going to pay.” The other players didn’t know what happened, but they followed Inmate’s orders to surround Han Fei. They wanted to drag Han Fei to the side when a high-school student jumped out of the bush. The student had been waiting there for a long time. He used a branch to shield Han Fei. “I’ve called the police! Watch it!”
Hearing the familiar voice, Han Fei opened his eyes. Fu Sheng shielded before him.
“Why are you here?” Fu Yi’s face became clearer. The image of Fu Sheng tied to the bed became clearer. Han Fei couldn’t control his emotions. He knew the players were outsiders, and they might harm Fu Sheng. Inmate ignored Fu Sheng, and he kept his gaze on Han Fei, “You might survive today, but can you survive forever? If you know what’s good for you, tell us everything. Don’t mistreat yourself.” The three players turned to leave. They didn’t want to create too big of a trouble since they had just started work at the hospital.
After the players left, Fu Sheng instantly checked on Han Fei. “Shouldn’t you be looking for a job? Why are you at a hospital?”
Han Fei looked at Fu Sheng and said in a rare stern tone, “Don’t get too close to the hospital!”
In real life, Fu Sheng lost his mind because of this hospital. Han Fei believed he had changed the future but Fu Sheng still found his way to the hospital. This made him worry that fate couldn’t be changed after all.
“Why are you in a caretaker’s uniform?” Fu Sheng knew his father as an extremely selfish man. He was always in a suit. But now, his father was covered in blood and wore a caretaker uniform. His face was haggard.
“I came here to work.” Han Fei made the decision then. If the hospital had to send someone to the surgical table, he would sacrifice himself for Fu Sheng.
“You can find a different job. I know you can.” Fu Sheng also didn’t expect to see his father like this.
“I can do anything you want me to, but you have to promise me two things.” Han Fei looked into Fu Sheng’s eyes, “Do not come near this hospital, look after your mother and your little sister.” Han Fei climbed up from the ground, “You need to hurry back.” Han Fei gritted through the pain. He held the wall and moved very slowly. He turned around, and Fu Sheng was still standing there.
“And… stop skipping school. I’ve started working, you also need to move ahead.” The tired voice came out of the tired body. Han Fei turned around and moved to the hospital.
