Chapter 163
Chapter 163
“Y-your appearance.”
Zhang Ru stammered and pointed at him with a trembling hand.
“What’s wrong with my appearance? Have I become even more handsome?”
Patient No. 6 grinned. Then something felt wrong. Why did air seem to be leaking from his forehead?
Zhang Ru silently took out a mirror and held it before him.
Patient No. 6 looked up and recoiled.
A horrifying figure appeared in the mirror. His head had grown where his buttocks should be, while his buttocks lay sideways on top of his head. His eyes sat at his temples, his nose protruded from his rear, and his mouth had appeared beneath it. Even his arms and legs had switched places.
“Aaah!”
Patient No. 6 screamed. The monster in the mirror screamed too. Only then did he realize that the monster was him.
“How did I become like this?”
He cried out in horror, then understood and turned toward the bottles on the table.
“That bastard tricked me!”
Zhang Ru stared at him.
So this was why Liu Ye had not dealt with the man earlier. He had been waiting for this.
At the same time, Zhang Ru concluded that this ward could no longer serve as an opposing pair. She was afraid of becoming like him. Death itself did not matter much, but becoming this ugly was unacceptable.
“Well, my grandfather is getting married today. I should go.”
Zhang Ru turned and fled. To keep Patient No. 6 from catching cold, she thoughtfully used a wooden pole to bar the door from outside.
“Come back here!”
Patient No. 6 tried to chase her, only to crash flat onto the floor.
His body was completely uncoordinated. He could no longer control it at all.
“Aaah!”
His despairing howls filled the ward.
After leaving, Zhang Ru went directly to Ward 01. She knew very little about that ward and intended to investigate it.
When she entered, No. 1 raised his head and looked at her. After the sight of Patient No. 6, his formerly hideous face no longer seemed particularly frightening.
No. 1 was surprised by Zhang Ru’s composure. She had not been frightened by his appearance.
“You… aren’t afraid of me?”
Zhang Ru shook her head. No. 1 looked far better than Patient No. 6. At least his eyes, nose, and everything else remained where they belonged.
“I’m not afraid.”
Zhang Ru answered honestly. The shock Patient No. 6 had given her was simply too profound.
No. 1 fell silent. A moment later, tears began dripping down his face. Since becoming like this, Zhang Ru was the first person who had not treated him as a monster.
He could see clearly in her eyes that she was telling the truth.
“What’s your name?”
“Zhang Ru.”
“Zhang Ru, you may stay with me for the next few days. My condition won’t infect you. But you can remain only until the seventh day. On that day, you must obtain an official hospital employee badge, or you will certainly die.”
No. 1 spoke in a hollow voice.
“May I ask why?”
No. 1 hugged his knees against his chest and leaned back on the bed.
“I haven’t slept in almost three months. Three days from now marks the final day of that period. I will inevitably be pulled inside. When that happens, everyone in the hospital without an official employee badge will be dragged into my nightmare. The last time I dreamed, I spent several decades inside. This time, I expect the dream to continue for centuries.”
A chill ran through Zhang Ru. She could not determine whether he was telling the truth, but either way, they had to obtain official badges.
But how were they supposed to obtain official badges? Zhang Ru sank into thought.
At dinner, the survivors gathered in the cafeteria. As usual, Liu Ye cleared his tray after eating, but the Chef suddenly called to him.
“Little Liu.”
“Yes, sir? Did you need something?”
“Heh. As you can see, things have been very busy here lately, and this brat is in no shape to help. I want to hire someone to do odd jobs in the kitchen. It would be an official hospital position. Could you help me find someone willing to take it?”
“Of course. No problem. Leave it to me.”
Liu Ye patted his chest and accepted the task.
“Then take this. If anyone is interested, have them bring it to me.”
The Chef handed Liu Ye a blank employee badge. Unlike those currently worn by Liu Ye and the others, this one had pink patterns across its surface.
Liu Ye accepted it. Behind him, Zhang Ru and the others stared in disbelief. The very thing they had exhausted themselves trying to obtain had fallen effortlessly into Liu Ye’s hands.
“So he washed dishes on the first day for this?” Tong Qian asked in shock. “He understood every rule in this hospital from the very beginning?”
“That must be it. I completed a mission with Brother Liu once before. He was exactly the same then.”
Remembering how Liu Ye had planned for every possibility at the wedding banquet, Zhang Ru thought he was unbelievably handsome.
“Wait. If Brother Liu can do it, then so can we!”
Another thought struck Zhang Ru, and understanding spread across her face.
“I understand. No wonder we’ve had so much free time over the past few days.”
“What do you mean?”
Everyone immediately looked at her.
“During our time as caregivers, we’ve had long stretches with nothing to do. If we follow the rules and avoid violating them, we should be able to continue like this until the seventh day. But that free time isn’t meant to be wasted. On the contrary, it’s an opportunity to earn the goodwill of other hospital employees so they’ll offer us official positions and badges!”
The others immediately understood.
Fear had kept them hiding inside their wards. In reality, the mission placed very few restrictions on them. Apart from certain Taboo areas, they could go almost anywhere.
Zhang Ru remembered the store where Wang Weiwei had bought food. The owner had been extremely busy. If Zhang Ru applied for a job there, she might receive an employee badge immediately.
Of course, she had not been awake at the time. An idiot like Wang Weiwei would never have thought of it.
Thinking about Wang Weiwei made Zhang Ru’s head ache. She could feel the girl beginning to wake. Her condition had already been eliminated, and she had skipped the evening medicine. Although the physical effects were gone, that recovery was allowing Wang Weiwei to regain consciousness.
If only she had not… Forget it. There was no use dwelling on that now. Zhang Ru could only hope she woke as slowly as possible.
Liu Ye approached with the badge in hand.
“Everyone, I have an announcement!”
He cleared his throat several times with the dignity of a true leader.
“Given the sorry state of all of you, I don’t think you’re suited to caregiver work. Fortunately, another opportunity has appeared…”
Liu Ye explained what the Chef had told him.
“So, do any of you want the job? I’m telling you, I fought especially hard to secure this opportunity for you. Don’t act careless and lazy the way you did as caregivers. If you refuse to work properly, don’t blame me for disciplining you.”