588 Treatment
With the accidental help of the nameless hero at Building Two, Han Fei didn’t waste too much time dealing with the creatures at Building Five. He led Worm to the basement. The walls looked like an elder’s skin. The whole building radiated death, and the lower they went, the stronger the feeling.
“Brother Han, did you run into other players when you arrived?” Worm followed carefully behind Han Fei. “I mean, they might be investigating the hospital too. It’s not good if we accidentally harm them.”
“Do you think I’d be so reckless?” Han Fei raised his arm. Worm shut his mouth. He was loyal to Han Fei. If players had loyalty points, Worm would have a higher point than Big Sin. Han Fei eased open the safety door. He used Ghost Eyes and looked down. There was more than one shadow moving in the dark.
“It’s quite lively down there.” Han Fei narrowed his eyes. He planned to clear the room one by one. “Don’t get close to the left side. There are things hidden in the dark.”
“How can you tell?” Worm noticed Han Fei’s watery eyes. “Is this your talent? Crocodile’s tears?” Han Fei turned to glare at him. Then, he began his infiltration. The building was utterly different underground. The place felt strange. Various pipes crossed above them. The floor was uneven, like things were pulsing underneath.
“This building feels like it’s alive.”
“Isn’t that perfectly normal?” Han Fei had been through too much. Buildings closer to the altar would be affected by its power. Even lifeless objects would act like the altar owner. It was the same with the Midnight Hall after Han Fei inherited it.
“You’re right.” Worm quickly nodded. His world was opened that night. He had a new understanding of Perfect Life. Han Fei was his life coach. He used action to prove that even a mental patient could live with such confidence.
“Blood is mixed with machines, and the underground is reflective of Fu Sheng’s dream.” Compared to Building One’s basement, Building Five’s basement was more like a prison. Rusted bars separated the wards, and broken medicine equipment was scattered everywhere. Bloody bandages and rotting patient coats formed little mountains. Han Fei moved further and saw a small mount made from fake limbs.
“They smell awful.” Worm’s eyes glowed. “But I can’t resist smelling them.”
“You have a strange hobby.”
Han Fei came to the room closest to him. He grabbed the rusted handle. He tried the handle and was surprised to find that it was not locked. Han Fei slithered in and saw a very pale guard fixing something.
The skin scabbed off. Blood trickled. The guard sensed something. He turned around. When he saw Han Fei in the doctor’s coat, he immediately stood up and blocked the table from view. “Doctor, are you here to procure the medicine?” The guard sounded very mature, but he looked so young.
“What are you doing?” Han Fei walked forward. He saw a box placed on the guard’s table. It contained a fake limb just removed from a patient.
“A patient got lost underground. We found this when we were throwing out the trash. Therefore, I took it back to study it.” The guard turned in panic. He wanted to move the box under the table. “I’ll go get the medicine for you…” The guard suddenly felt something was wrong. He lowered his head and felt his chest being pierced by sunlight. He didn’t feel pain. He looked at Han Fei with confusion, “Is it daylight?”
Han Fei pulled out Rest in Peace. The guard crumbled. He started to search through the pockets. “Notification for Player 0000! You’ve found Grade G Mission Item—Ward Keys.”
Han Fei had Worm drag the dead body to the side. Han Fei studied the box on the table. The fake limb was still stuck with the patient’s flesh. At this hospital, humans became nothing more than an object.
“Notification for Player 0000! You’ve discovered Grade G Mission Item—Her Left Leg.” The system said when Han Fei touched the fake limb.
“This thing is a mission object?” Han Fei pulled out the fake leg and handed it to the confused Worm. “Take care of it.” Worm didn’t dare to ask. He looked helpless.
“The guard had six keys. But I have looked around. There are at least nine rooms on this floor.” Han Fei left the guard room with the keys. He moved to the nearest ward. After multiple tries, Han Fei finally got the door open. The horrible stench hit him. There was no normal item like a bed, cupboard inside the ward. Instead, there were several big locks in the middle of the ward to pin someone to the ground.
“There are struggle signs and slashes on the ground. The chains are bloody. This place should be used to dismantle the patients.” Han Fei touched the chains. “The blood is still fresh. It is only dry on the surface. The patient should have been recently moved.”
Han Fei entered the second ward. He frowned as he studied the various fake limbs hanging on the wall. There were hands and legs, adults and children. It was like he was at a fake limb shop.
“This is too creepy.” Worm didn’t dare go in. He watched Han Fei walk freely through the ward, touching this fake limb and that fake limb.
“The system is not triggered. None of them is a mission item.” Han Fei turned back to look at Worm. “Why is that leg a mission object? What is so special about it? Its owner is still alive?”
Han Fei led Worm to the third ward. This ward was filled with boxes and bottles. They contained various organs.
“The first ward is to dismember the patients; the second ward has the replacement limbs, the third ward is to store the internal organs…” Han Fei held six keys. He moved to the fourth ward. Chill blasted out as the door opened. Several large freezers sat against the wall. Han Fei opened one, and it was filled with crystal-clear skin. Han Fei looked around and came to the fifth ward. It was filled with human bones. From afar, the bones looked like they were made from white jade. They looked like natural art. Finally, Han Fei came to the sixth room. Before he opened the door, he could hear crying coming from inside. The small ward appeared to contain humanity’s sadness.
Han Fei’s eyes narrowed as he opened the door. Worm behind him was stunned. Human faces hung in Ward Six. They were taken from different people. They looked scary at first, but if one calmed down to study them, the fear would be replaced with a strange sense of awe. They were like very realistic paintings. Once Han Fei in the doctor’s coat opened the door, all the voices in the ward disappeared. The human faces closed their eyes. Han Fei moved forward, but Worm held his arm. “Are you sure you want to go in?” Worm couldn’t understand where Han Fei found the courage to enter this hellish room. “Those are actual human faces!”
“Shush. Be quiet.” Han Fei slowly entered the ward. He used Soul-Depth Soul and caressed one of the faces. He could sense fear and anxiety. His ears echoed with faint cries. The face contained the emotion of sadness. It had been crying.
“Each face represents one stripped emotion? How did the hospital manage this?” Han Fei wanted to study this technique and used it to correct the players’ memory, but he now realized this ‘technology’ was very complicated. He touched the face, and it felt like he was touching a person’s soul.
“Can you hear me?” Han Fei whispered to the face. Worm was shocked by how serious Han Fei was.
“I’m not a doctor here. I’m here to save you.” Han Fei instantly felt a prick of pain on his finger. His palm that caressed the human face was filled with bloody holes. The beautiful faces hid scary curses.
“Notification for Player 0000! You’ve been infected by low-grade Soul Poison. The curse can’t enter your body, so the curse can’t harm you.” Han Fei’s expression changed as he studied the small wounds on his palm. If he didn’t gain immunity to Soul Poison from having Big Sin as a pet, Han Fei would be dead already.
“I want to save you, but you curse me?” Han Fei took out Rest in Peace. The blade slowly approached the human face. “If you don’t answer, I’ll give you release now.” The human faces contained different emotions. The blade slowly approached. As it was about to touch the nose, the face flipped open its eyes!
The taboo was triggered. Every faces opened their eyes. They all stared at Han Fei. Worm staggered from fear, but Han Fei’s tone was firm. “Your physical bodies are gone, but your souls still retain their original state. You must be unwilling to remain like this, right?”
With Worm looking on in shock, Han Fei took out the patient’s lists from his pocket. “Some of your names are here. I know what happened to you, and I know your families are waiting for you. Now is your chance to leave.”
With one hand holding the book and the other holding the knife, Han Fei studied the faces. “It’s fine if you don’t want to leave. I’ll help you seek release now so you won’t have to suffer anymore.”
Through the Grade F Clue, Han Fei knew all the harmed patients were stored underground. He infiltrated the basement to save these people and destroy the hospital’s ‘foundation’. Han Fei stood alone inside the room of faces. Worm felt his heart quivering just looking at it. After the temporary silence, the human face Han Fei touched earlier cracked. The skin fell to expose the black capillaries underneath. The Soul Poison came from the capillaries.
“Kill me, kill me please!” The broken face pleaded. Those were its last words. Han Fei resisted the pain and looked at the face. Every human face in the room represented a unique emotion. They were the fruit of the patient’s memory, a unique part of their souls. It was because of this uniqueness that they were different from others. They were imperfect, but it was because of these imperfections that built this unknown and unpredictable world.
“This hospital needs perfection, so it took the useful things from you and dumped the imperfect ‘parts’ here, trapping you with curse and Soul Poison.” Han Fei pinched the cursed blood capillaries. He wanted to pull them off, but the capillaries had taken root on the human faces.
“Kill me! Kill me!” As the Soul Poison was triggered, more faces started to scream.
“There is no better solution now.” Han Fei gripped the blade. The human faces shone in the light. “Someone still misses you since you’re here. His memory of you imprinted you in his memory world. I will help change your fate.”
Rest in Peace cut through the faces. Black blood, clear tears, humanity’s glow spread in the air. As the blood and tear fell to the ground, the humanity in the human faces seeped into Rest in Peace. The crying silenced. Han Fei’s knife became brighter. It had started a new evolution. “More people have decided to walk this path with me.”
Han Fei empathized with the patients. He really hated this Perfect Plastic Surgery Hospital. “This world has no perfection, so why the insistence on pursuing something that is unreal?”
“Han Fei, someone is coming!” Worm waved at Han Fei. He hugged the leg and looked anxious. The human faces made too loud of a noise. The ‘people’ on this floor were gathering.
“This is bad! We’ve been discovered!” Worm saw moving shadows in the dark. He wondered if he should find a corner and pretend to be dead. He had a high pain tolerance. He wouldn’t even wince if he was cut.
“Don’t panic. There’s still hope.” Han Fei dragged Worm into Ward Six. “We only need to kill these people.”
The shadows moved in the dark. An enormous male doctor with cracked cheeks appeared before him. Behind him were two pale nurses. Down the corridor, two guards were rushing over.
“Did something happen here earlier?” The fat doctor’s skin was bloated with blood. His gut wobbled like something was moving underneath his belly.
“A patient has sneaked into Ward Six.” Han Fei walked out of the ward and said expressionlessly.
“Only one patient?” The fat doctor grinned. He pointed at Han Fei. “How come I see two patients?”
“I followed him here. This is my Id.” Han Fei walked fearlessly towards the fat doctor.
“Do you really think you can fool me?” The fat doctor chortled. His stomach grew. “Since you’re a doctor, what illness do I have?”
“Your lips are cracked because you are too talkative.” Han Fei stopped before the fat doctor. The butcher knife glowed. “My treatment proposal is euthanasia.”
