I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 146 - 146 145. Partner_1

Chapter 146: 145. Partner_1 Chapter 146: 145. Partner_1 “How we met again, and the topics on which we instantly clicked, are all unnecessary and redundant details. In short, in the fifth year after my graduation, I returned to China and set out to establish a hospital in Jiangcheng.”

“At the time, I imagined that a hospital catering exclusively to the wealthy might not make much money, but Corea unexpectedly found a surprising number of sponsors. The haughty tycoons, the old men from the Overseas Chinese Chamber of Commerce, and some rich businessmen I knew and did not know were all on the list of sponsors.”

“I was amazed, wondering why these rich people, who would likely never set foot in this hospital in their lives, were asking Corea how he had convinced them. But that tall and skinny man, with his dark skin, just gave a mysterious smile and told me that Mortals eventually die, and when they are close to death, they will naturally seek my help.”

“I was astonished, I am just a surgeon, not versed in prolonging life. I felt like a charlatan, but Corea soon handed me a handwritten book, recording some content that I had never thought about before.”

“It described a certain ritual, a special one that could summon an entity beyond human understanding, reigning over this world. By offering sacrifices to It, one could obtain extraordinary power, even to resurrect the dead.”

“The contents of this manuscript were obscure and profound, filled with perplexing annotations and the sort of ramblings only a madman would utter. Nevertheless, I must admit, it was very tempting. What doctor doesn’t want to unravel the mysteries of life, to bring back the dead? However, I am highly educated; we call such things superstition. I found it odd—was Corea really swindling these rich people with this stuff?”

“Until, until he showed me a small-scale ritual. It’s hard to describe the process of the ritual. All I can say is that, as the ritual took place, I deeply regretted witnessing it all. But when the results of the ritual manifested, I was astounded. My understanding of all science fell to pieces before the resurrected person. I was grateful to have met Corea; otherwise, I would have spent my whole life shrouded in a false world.”

“The hospital construction project went smoothly. I do not know what methods Corea used to get the workers to agree to the preliminary preparations for the ritual. I feel sorry for those who died, but when I think that their sacrifices were for the welfare of many, I let it go.”

“After the hospital opened, I welcomed my first patient. It’s hard to describe how I felt when his heart, which had stopped beating, filled with blood again, and his deathly pale skin regained its color.”

“As for the offerings, don’t worry, I think Corea will find a way.”

“The next surgery is about to begin, I must complete it.”

These words were different from those Lu Ban had seen before. Previously, the text went from neat to messy and finally illegible, but now the writing started somewhat sloppy, then later became calm and proper. Along with the content, there was a chilling sensation.

Lu Ban knew that this must be the records of Zhao Gongping, the hospital director.

“Ritual, is it really like this? The hospital was built for a ritual, and they succeeded, successfully summoned something through the ritual that could resurrect the dead?”

“No, that’s not right. The dead cannot be brought back to life, but the dead can walk, as I saw in the Foreign Domain. Perhaps, Zhao Gongping’s ritual wasn’t about bringing back the dead but allowing something else to occupy the corpses, making them appear as though they have come back to life?”

“Yes, like the wandering doctors, workers, nurses in the hospital, acting according to their own obsessions. Or perhaps, the creatures summoned are controlling the corpses.”

“That man, Corea, is very strange. He seems to have a lot of similar knowledge and can even persuade those rich businessmen. It turns out that they invested in this hospital just to carry out the ritual, attempting to use it to extend their lives, hence the uncalculating investment.”

“But why did they stop the funding? Was it because there was a problem with the ritual? Was that the reason for Zhao Gongping’s death?”

“According to the descriptions, Zhao Gongping should have been around 35 years old when he started as the director, spanning almost twenty years, indeed close to fifty now. His aged appearance was unnatural, perhaps affected by the ritual.”

“So when they could no longer perform rituals here, the investors stopped their funding, and that’s why the hospital fell into ruin and closed down. But unable to perform rituals doesn’t mean they were completely ineffective; they still work in some way, causing disappearances.”

Lu Ban felt that he had begun to vaguely grasp the core secrets of this hospital, this mission.

Now, only two questions remain.

First, the ritual in this hospital, who exactly did it connect to, why did the ritual go wrong, and how should we deal with this eerie hospital building now?

The other question is, where is the Melody Shard that Du Danping left behind when he visited the hospital years ago, and why couldn’t he resolve the hospital’s issues?

“I’m afraid I need to thoroughly resolve the troubles here if I want to survive until tomorrow morning,”

Lu Ban thought to himself.

“According to Nurse He Bishong’s description, the old man in room 502 was critically ill, but that night he managed to stand up and even waved at her. It seems highly likely that it has something to do with the room at the end of the corridor, maybe that’s where the ritual took place.”

He packed up his notebook, picked up the crowbar, and left the room.

Even though the corridor was bright and spacious, Lu Ban felt it was covered in a layer of gray.

He noticed that the door at the end of the corridor, which was ajar, seemed to have opened even more. Lu Ban quickened his pace and arrived at the end of the hallway.

The door was quite ordinary and could be pushed open with a simple touch.

Lu Ban took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

It was a spacious room, similar to a surgery room, with a bed in the middle surrounded by various medical equipment. However, the most eye-catching feature was a giant transparent container next to the equipment filled with dirty gray viscous fluid.

“Cement?”

At first glance, Lu Ban thought of the stuff overflowing in Zhao Gongping’s brain.

But this substance had a more peculiar texture.

As Lu Ban approached, he saw that the substance was jelly-like, seemingly alive and continuously writhing.

The arrival of a human might have awakened it, as the substance suddenly stopped moving.

Then, an eye opened.

One eye, two eyes, three eyes, countless eyes appeared on the creature within the container. At the same time, numerous misshapen mouths full of ugly teeth also appeared, countless mouths, and those myriad eyes and mouths seemed to be seeking food, with a multitude of gray viscous fluid secreting from them.

Lu Ban watched this blasphemous creature when suddenly, a song resounded in his ears.