I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 138 - 138 137. Person in the Mirror_1

Chapter 138: 137. Person in the Mirror_1 Chapter 138: 137. Person in the Mirror_1 “It was close to Chinese New Year, and the hospital had fewer people. Around this time, even those who are ill are reluctant to come to the hospital, let alone this place, where the costs are so high. So, aside from those few long-term patients, most had gone home for the New Year.”

“I was on the night shift in the latter half of the night, with the shift change at one, which gave me a chance to catch a bit of sleep. Some think the late-night shift is exhausting, but to me, the early night is even more so—you’re constantly called upon by patients getting up throughout the night, unable to sleep. But during the latter half, most patients are asleep, and one can actually get some of their own things done.”

“On duty with me was Xu Xiao, who joined two years after me and was still a greenhorn. Just after eight o’clock, she took a flashlight and went to check on the wards. I lay straight down on the on-call room bed and fell asleep quickly. I don’t know how much time had passed when suddenly someone shook me awake. It was Xu Xiao—was it time to change shifts? I asked her, but she didn’t reply. Only then did I notice something odd about Xu Xiao’s expression.”

“This girl was always lively, her eyes brimming with laughter, but that time, her face was expressionless, stern as if she were in class; she didn’t say a word, just stared at me. It was unnerving. I got up and checked the time—it had just passed midnight. I thought she was there to change shifts, but then Xu Xiao suddenly stood erect and turned to leave.”

“I told her to wait, hurried into my clothes, grabbed the flashlight, and followed her. But Xu Xiao moved quickly and entered the elevator before I could catch up. I was a bit dazed at the time and didn’t sense anything wrong; I just thought Xu Xiao was reminding me, so I followed her into the elevator.”

“The elevator was a bit run-down; I remember the chief mentioning it needed replacement, but nothing came of it. Young people walking briskly could beat the elevator from the first to the fifth floor. I saw Xu Xiao press the button for the fifth floor and waited, yawning. I wanted to check myself in the mirror—the mirror in the elevator was very bright. Looking at it, I saw my dark circles, which looked awful.”

“I was just about to speak to Xu Xiao, but then, I suddenly realized—in the mirror, there was only me.”

“Standing beside the elevator buttons, Xu Xiao was not reflected in the mirror at all!”

“Suddenly, I thought of the old nurse who mentioned a ghost—that the hospital housed impure entities that would take people to the fifth floor, and those who followed would disappear. Had Xu Xiao already become a ghost? Was she out to harm me?”

“I didn’t dare to speak and could only stare intently at Xu Xiao’s back. That was when I noticed Xiu Xiao was walking on tiptoe! Only ghosts walk on tiptoes!”

“The elevator reached the fifth floor, and the noise it made sent a chill down my spine. I watched Xu Xiao step out onto the fifth floor; I stood frozen at the elevator door. The corridor was unlit. I saw Xu Xiao walking towards the end of the hallway where one of the ward doors seemed to be open and lighted. I wanted to call out to her, but my voice refused to come, and I could only watch helplessly as Xu Xiao entered the ward and closed the door, plunging the entire corridor back into darkness.”

“I waited for what felt like ages until the elevator again reached the fifth floor; the ding of its arrival seemed to snap me back to reality. I re-entered the elevator, and seeing my own reflection, noted how pale I looked, especially around the eyes—that dark, haunted ring that made me look like someone who had seen a ghost.”

“The next day, Xu Xiao was missing. We searched the entire hospital and couldn’t find her. But every time I took the elevator, I would instinctively look into the mirror to see if there was anyone aside from myself.”

The person who recorded this on-call log was Wang Ping. According to her records, she left the hospital in 2012 to start a business back in her hometown. Earlier this year, she had a fall in the bathroom, ended up hospitalized for half a month, and ultimately didn’t make it.

As for Xu Xiao, the one mentioned in the memo, Lu Ban had turned the hospital staff records upside down and found no trace of her.

There were several other similar on-call logs, most pointing to the room at the end of the corridor on the fifth floor, as if that room held some inexplicable power, with various strange incidents tied to it.

“If entering the hospital, that area might be a key investigatory spot.”

Lu Ban concluded.

He looked again at the information about the construction team; the leader, Liu Qingjiang, had disappeared without a trace, and most of the construction workers had already dispersed, making it difficult to find any leads. Now only the security from Jiangcheng Industries remained, guarding outside the construction site, preventing others from entering.

“Security?”

Lu Ban noted the issue.

He leafed through the records and found the security rotation schedule, seeing their photos.

The on-duty guards in uniforms, and the two workers who caught the broadcaster that day, were obviously not the same group.

In fact, there weren’t really any workers at the construction site.

“So, who took the broadcaster away that day?”

Lu Ban thought of the phrase in the mission description.

[The disappeared have not died, they just accompany you in a different way]

“Does this mean that the people who disappeared in this hospital never died but instead became some kind of monsters, or mutated into non-human entities, still haunting the hospital? Is this why the demolition crew always encounters various inexplicable resistances when they work?”

Lu Ban speculated.

“Or is it that this place may have concealed some crisis, but Du Danping’s visit resolved the crisis to some extent, yet also left behind hidden dangers? Could someone be accidentally affected and turn into a monster?”

After three days of preparation, Lu Ban felt he was now ready to enter the hospital.

He packed up his things, took the Suona and the crowbar, compressed rations, a flashlight, and some equipment for reviewing the recordings, then headed to Nanhua Road.

This once bustling area of the city was now extremely desolate, Lu Ban saw that the security guard in the neighbouring mall was dozing off with no shops open. The main building of the hospital, even under the afternoon sun, appeared sinister and frightening.

“There’s something wrong with the design here, the orientation is off, so even during the day it doesn’t get enough light. I wonder if it was designed this way on purpose, or just a coincidence.”

Lu Ban recalled the hospital’s designer, a foreigner who fell into depression after designing the hospital building and three years later slit his own wrists with a knife, committing suicide.

As for the companies that sponsored the hospital, most have collapsed or shifted to completely different industries as if everything connected with this place was doomed eventually.

He looked up at the end of the corridor on the fifth floor, where the windows were tightly shut, with nothing visible inside.

Lu Ban showed his credentials to the guards and then entered the hospital gate under the guards’ peculiar stares.

Looking up once again, Lu Ban noticed what seemed to be a girl standing next to the fifth-floor window. The girl had a wooden expression, staring right at Lu Ban.

Lu Ban gave her a bright smile.

Then he walked into the hospital.