Chapter 113
Chapter 113
Children were always a bit afraid of someone with the Head Nurse’s appearance.
In fact, many adults in the hospital were also terrified of her.
Her horrifying image and her serious, humorless personality made her truly formidable.
Before York was taken to the Solitary Confinement Room, he had blurted out that he wanted to see the Head Nurse.
At that moment, the statement seemed fine, but upon closer reflection, something felt off.
The Head Nurse clearly loathed York; even if he saw her, she wouldn’t help him.
Whether inside or outside the dream, York’s words and implications suggested that the person who gave him the pills held a certain level of status in the hospital.
Could it be the Head Nurse?
“Sister,” Little Red Riding Hood waited expectantly for her reply, “this is our little secret, okay? Don’t tell anyone.”
Tu Nan snapped back to reality and looked down at Little Red Riding Hood. She smiled and patted the girl’s head. “Of course.”
“Then can you tell me why the Head Nurse doesn’t want you to tell anyone?”
Little Red Riding Hood toyed with the building blocks on the table. “The Head Nurse said that if I tell people, they’ll think I’m a strange person…” She looked at Tu Nan timidly. “Sister Tu Nan, do you think I’m strange?”
“Little Red Riding Hood is just a bit different from others, that’s all,” Tu Nan said softly. “Everyone in this world is unique.”
Little Red Riding Hood blinked, gave a sweet smile, and let out an emphatic “Mm!”
“Oh, right, it’s time for my medicine.” Little Red Riding Hood hopped off her chair and scurried to the window. She pulled open the drawer of the nightstand and took out a pill.
“Wait a moment,” Tu Nan stopped her.
“What’s wrong?” Little Red Riding Hood paused and looked at her.
Tu Nan walked over to the girl’s side. “Can I see that medicine?”
Little Red Riding Hood looked puzzled but still handed the pill over.
It was a small white disc, lying quietly in Little Red Riding Hood’s tiny palm.
This pill was identical to the one found on York.
However, just as He Ling had said, there were dozens, if not a hundred, types of pills in the hospital that looked like this.
Tu Nan couldn’t be certain if the pill Little Red Riding Hood was taking was the same hallucinogenic drug.
Even though Little Red Riding Hood’s symptoms certainly looked like the result of taking such a drug.
The person only she could see-Sister Xia Xia.
“Sister, is there something wrong with this medicine?” Little Red Riding Hood asked, blinking.
“Who told you to take this?” Tu Nan asked.
“The Head Nurse,” Little Red Riding Hood replied as she took her hand back. “The Head Nurse said my condition is very serious and I have to take medicine every day.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Little Red Riding Hood swallowed the pill.
Tu Nan was too late to stop her. She could only watch as the girl’s throat bobbed, gulping the medicine down.
Tu Nan paused, then instinctively knelt down to look at her. “How do you feel?”
“Feel like what?” Little Red Riding Hood looked bewildered.
“Do you feel… uncomfortable anywhere?” Tu Nan watched her tensely, trying to spot any sign of change on her face.
“No,” Little Red Riding Hood said with a giggle. “I’ve been taking this medicine for a long time.”
Suddenly, she pointed excitedly behind Tu Nan.
“Sister Xia Xia is here to play with me!”
Little Red Riding Hood skipped past Tu Nan, hopped onto a chair, and sat down, humming a cheerful tune.
“Sister Xia Xia, let’s play with the blocks.”
Tu Nan looked back and saw Little Red Riding Hood chatting happily with thin air.
Was it really as she imagined?
What was the Head Nurse’s goal in doing this?
*
Tu Nan returned to the Nurse’s Station, where the nurse sitting next to her reminded her that she was on the night shift tonight.
“Night shift?” Tu Nan asked in surprise. “Am I alone?”
The nurse beside her nodded. “Nothing usually happens on the night shift; someone just needs to be on duty. Occasionally, people might come to collect patients.”
“Collect patients?” Tu Nan found this even stranger. “In the middle of the night? What kind of patients?”
“Some patients have their surgeries at night.” The nurse rummaged through the desk and finally pulled a sheet of paper from a stack of documents, handing it to her.
“This is what a Night Shift Nurse needs to pay attention to. Make sure you memorize it well.”
Tu Nan took the paper.
[Fairy Tale Hospital Night Shift Nurse Guidelines:
1. Night shift nurses must wear their ID Badge at all times.
2. Night shift nurses are not allowed to leave their posts except in special circumstances.
3. Night shift nurses are required to perform one night patrol; please ensure the patients remain quiet.
4. Occasionally, unauthorized individuals may enter the hospital at night. You can confirm whether someone is a hospital employee by checking if they are wearing an ID Badge.
If you discover a suspicious person not wearing an ID Badge, please call the Security Office. The phone number is: 23839275
5. Security guards leave the Security Office to patrol every hour on the hour. If no one answers the phone, please call again after ten minutes. During this time, please ensure your own safety.
6. If a hospital employee needs to remove a patient, please check their documents carefully. Only documents stamped with the official hospital seal are valid.
7. Wishing you a safe night shift!]
Tu Nan read through the densely packed list of Rules several times, memorized the phone number, and then carefully tucked the paper into her pocket.
“It says here that people will come to remove patients?” Tu Nan asked the other nurse in a low voice. “Why don’t they come during the day? Why in the middle of the night?”
“The hospital schedules surgeries for patients at night,” the nurse said, glancing at her. “Usually, they only come once a week, so you might not even run into them. If you do, just remember to check the documents carefully.”
Tu Nan gave her a small smile and then, pretending to be a bit frightened, whispered, “Then… what does the fourth Rule mean about ‘unauthorized individuals’? I’m easily scared…”
“That…” The nurse paused and shook her head. “I’ve worked so many shifts and I’ve never encountered that.”
She reassured Tu Nan, “It’s fine. The chances are practically zero. The security guards patrol every night; how could anyone else possibly break in?”
Just because she hadn’t encountered it didn’t mean Tu Nan wouldn’t.
In fact, Tu Nan had a faint premonition that she definitely would.
From the look of it, the ID Badge served to distinguish hospital staff from these unknown entities. Security could suppress them, but she would need to make a phone call, and it would take time for security to arrive.
She suddenly thought of a problem.
To make a call, she needed a phone. But there was no phone at the Nurse’s Station!
“I see it says I can call security,” Tu Nan said, looking around. “But there’s no phone here.”
“The phone is in the breakroom at the end of the corridor,” the nurse said with a smile. “The hospital is afraid the nurses will use the phone to gossip, so there isn’t one at the Nurse’s Station.”
Tu Nan: “…”
Being a nurse at Fairy Tale Hospital really meant having no rights at all.