Chapter 90

Chapter 90

An entire day passed, and Tu Nan hadn’t found any useful information.

Even in a dream, a nurse had to strictly adhere to her duties and couldn’t leave her post at will. Consequently, she didn’t have many opportunities to observe He Ling.

They could only exchange a few words during meals or after finishing work and returning to the dormitory.

After a day’s work, she returned to the dormitory with He Ling and Yi Weichun.

The security guard downstairs let them in after checking their ID badges.

Although this was a dream, Tu Nan guessed that the Rules here shouldn’t differ much from reality.

She took back her badge and asked, as if casually, “What happens if you don’t have an ID badge?”

Yi Weichun turned to look at her, asking with a hint of confusion, “Did you even forget that? Without a badge, you can’t enter the dormitory.”

Not being able to enter the dormitory meant having to spend the night outside. Although this dormitory building was dilapidated and filthy, Tu Nan speculated that it likely protected Players from harm at night.

“The conditions in the dormitory are a bit poor, but it’s safer than sleeping outside,” Yi Weichun continued, as expected. “My roommate is a perfect example…”

Her expression suddenly turned despondent.

Tu Nan paused.

“Yeah, she somehow lost her badge,” He Ling sighed. “When we went out the next morning, we found her dead right at the dormitory entrance. Her body looked like it had been mauled by some wild beast; only her head was left, eyes wide open. It was terrifying.”

Yi Weichun showed a look of pained sympathy.

Mauled by a wild beast…

Tu Nan couldn’t help but think of the Dean’s Dog.

Lost in thought, they reached the door of their dormitory.

Yi Weichun’s room was next to theirs. She waved at the two of them with a smile and entered her own room.

Once Yi Weichun left, He Ling became noticeably quieter.

They entered the room and lit the lamp. He Ling urged Tu Nan to go wash up quickly.

Tu Nan decided to test He Ling.

“It’s actually quite strange,” she said, observing He Ling’s expression. “This dormitory building is so old and run-down, so why does our bathroom look like it was just renovated?”

He Ling froze, subconsciously replying, “Hasn’t the bathroom always been like that?”

“Don’t you find it odd?” Tu Nan said slowly. “It’s dark and damp outside, yet the bathroom is so bright and clean… No matter how I think about it, something feels wrong.”

He Ling’s expression became vacant. Her gaze seemed to lose focus, drifting off to nowhere. “The bathroom should be clean. Weichun likes things clean…”

Related to Yi Weichun again?

“Weichun likes things clean, so the bathroom is this clean?” Tu Nan asked skeptically. “If that’s the case, why is it still like this outside the bathroom?”

“That’s because…” He Ling suddenly clutched her head, a look of agony crossing her face.

“What’s wrong?” Tu Nan stepped forward to support her, but He Ling pushed her away.

“Because…” she muttered incoherently, “Because on the first day we moved in, she complained to me that the bathroom was dirty and damp, full of moss and cobwebs. She was scared to be in there alone…”

“Right… right…” she spoke in fits and starts, her mental state making Tu Nan’s heart race with apprehension.

But right now seemed like a good opportunity.

“So you made the bathroom look like it does now?” Tu Nan asked urgently.

“Was it me?” He Ling became dazed again. “Wasn’t the bathroom always… no…”

Her vacant eyes suddenly cleared.
“It’s me, it’s me…” He Ling laughed and cried at the same time, looking like she had gone mad. “It’s all meaningless now, it’s all meaningless. Why did I have to wake up? I don’t want to… I don’t want to…”

“What…?” Tu Nan’s eyes widened. Before she could voice her confusion, He Ling suddenly shattered right in front of her.

Yes, He Ling shattered before her eyes.

Like a broken mirror, she splintered into countless shards in an instant. Then, the world before Tu Nan began to dissolve into billions of particles, just like a scene from a sci-fi movie. Standing at the center of the world, she looked down to find a massive void beneath her feet.

She plummeted into endless darkness, left with nothing but a prolonged sense of weightlessness.

*

Tu Nan snapped her eyes open.

She was drenched in sweat, her breathing shallow and ragged.

Faint sounds of sobbing came from below her bed, but she didn’t investigate immediately.

She felt exhausted, her head throbbing with a splitting pain. It was likely that her work as a nurse was simply too grueling-so draining that she felt almost numb.

The weeping below continued unabated until she finally felt a flicker of annoyance.

She was already exhausted after a long day of work; why did her roommate have to be so irritating?

Wait, who was her roommate again…?

Tu Nan leaned over the edge of the bed and saw a woman slumped over the desk, crying.

“What are you crying for?” she asked with a hint of impatience, though she still tried to keep her voice level. “Shouldn’t you get some rest?”

The weeping woman lifted her head to look at her, her face etched with a dull, numbing sorrow.

As tears streamed down her face, she apologized, “I’m sorry. I’m just so sad.”

Tu Nan found it strange. “What are you so sad about?”

“Weichun is dead,” the woman sobbed. “I don’t think I can go on living either…”

Weichun? Who was Weichun?

For that matter…

“Who are you?” Tu Nan asked, bewildered.

She felt like this woman was familiar, yet she couldn’t quite place her name.

Wait… She clutched her head as her temples throbbed violently. Tu Nan felt an agonizing headache, but she didn’t have the mental energy to figure out why it hurt so much.

She suddenly realized something terrifying.

Who was she? Why couldn’t she even remember her own name?

Tu Nan’s breathing grew rapid.

In her mind, she knew she was an intern nurse at Fairy Tale Hospital, but beyond that, her brain was a total blank. She remembered nothing.

No, something was definitely wrong.

She seemed to have forgotten something very important.

The woman below the bed continued to cry.

Tu Nan felt a surge of irritability.

The panic and anxiety of not knowing her own identity made her snap, “Stop crying!”

The woman gave her a hollow look, tears still flowing silently.

“What’s your name?” Tu Nan asked.

“He Ling,” the woman replied succinctly.

He Ling… Such a familiar name.

“The person you mentioned just now… Weichun, was that the name?” she asked, following her instincts. “How did she die?”

For some reason, she felt that the cause of this person’s death was vital-she had to find out.

“She…” He Ling buried her face in her hands and wailed. “It was me… I’m the one who killed her.”

“You killed her?” Tu Nan looked at the near-catatonic He Ling in shock. “Then why are you so heartbroken?”

“I was blind.” He Ling ignored her question entirely, simply venting her emotions. “I ruined her. If it weren’t for me, she might still be alive…”