Life Game In Other World
Chapter 558

Chapter 558: 558

"Hmm?"

Upon hearing this phrase, He Ao was slightly startled, but then smiled and said, "How come I heard he is still here? Was he discharged with his family picking him up?"

Arent was the mentally ill murderer who had killed Jess’s wife, Tiny. Back then, Jess had seen some information about the murderer of his wife.

"Your information might be a bit outdated," the nurse said with a gentle and sweet smile, "Mr. Arent has completed his treatment and discharged himself. We have the discharge records here."

She lifted her wristband and unfolded a page of discharge records for He Ao to see.

"Then it seems that I am the one who is outdated," He Ao glanced at the discharge record and continued, "Then, please take me on a tour."

"Of course."

The nurse maintained her smile and turned around, "Follow me please."

He Ao watched her retreating figure and slowly followed. It was only then that he noticed that the nurse was wearing a pair of white pointed high heels.

The high heels clacked crisply on the polished hall floor as she walked.

He Ao withdrew his gaze and looked to both sides.

It seemed that none of the patients or nurses noticed them, continuing with their own activities.

It wasn’t until the nurse in high heels walked by that they would naturally make way for He Ao and the high heel-wearing nurse to pass.

From the distant television came the enthusiastic cheers of a sports commentator, but the audience sitting in front of the TV maintained an oddly silent demeanor.

There were many people here, all engaged in their own activities, yet the scene, which should have been noisy, was so quiet it was almost as if you could hear a pin drop.

As they moved forward, He Ao’s gaze fell on a patient sitting in a corner, who seemed somewhat out of it.

The patient was situated between the hallway and elevator lobby, constantly staring upward in what seemed to be a state of confusion.

But He Ao noticed that when the nurse’s gaze was directed elsewhere, the patient’s fingers on his thigh would lift, and the raised finger would point directly towards He Ao.

He seemed to be trying to catch He Ao’s attention.

Thus, after the nurse had walked past this patient, He Ao slowly approached him.

As He Ao approached, the patient’s cloudy eyes blinked, then slowly shifted towards He Ao. He opened his mouth slightly, as if wanting to say something, but no sound came out.

"Mr. Jess," a voice sounded in He Ao’s ear, "Do you need something?"

He Ao looked up and caught the nurse’s somewhat puzzled gaze.

He had just shown the charity fund management interface which had his name, and the nurse had only glanced at it but remembered the key information.

"Nothing."

He Ao cooperatively averted his gaze and continued to follow the nurse forward.

"Mr. Jess, up ahead we’ll take the elevator to the third floor. The third floor is where our Medical Equipment Department is located, which is the area in our hospital most in need of funding."

The nurse nodded with a smile and turned to continue leading He Ao forward.

In the corner of He Ao’s eye, the cloudy-eyed patient once again lost focus, reverting to his chaotic state.

He Ao slightly opened his mouth, mimicking the patient’s mouth shape from just now. The patient had said, "Leave quickly."

"Mr. Jess, did you say something just now?"

The nurse, standing by the elevator, lit up the elevator button and turned slightly, smiling at He Ao.

"You seem quite familiar with the hospital?"

He Ao casually asked with a smile.

"Not really,"

The nurse chuckled shyly, and just then the elevator doors opened, and she led He Ao into the elevator, "As the receptionist, I have to know some things about the hospital so I can respond quickly if a patient’s family members have questions."

"You’re very responsible."

He Ao affirmed with a smile as the elevator doors closed and it began to ascend. He continued, "Are there many patients in the hospital now?"

"Not many," the nurse shook her head lightly, "The hospital has been operating for so long, patients come and go, but not many stay for a long time."

The elevator reached the third floor, and the two walked out into a corridor glowing with bright light.

"It seems your hospital has a high cure rate?"

He Ao followed the nurse along the corridor, examining the rooms on either side as he inquired.

"Not very high, but we have some quite special treatment methods, so many patients can be discharged quickly."

She moved quickly to a nearby room and pushed open the door, "It’s the night shift now, so we have fewer staff, which is why I have to guide and show you around by myself."

"Alright."

He Ao nodded, "Thank you for the trouble."

"It’s no big deal,"

Then the nurse began to introduce the equipment in the room one by one,

"This room contains a mental correction instrument, used to guide patients who have lost control of their psyche. This kind of equipment is very expensive and has a high rate of wear and tear, and it’s often broken by patients... This room stores some restraints, for controlling patients who have tendencies towards violence..."

As He Ao listened to the nurse’s explanations, expressing wonder and approval at the same time, he continued to ask, "I heard that your hospital was established over a decade ago, and it seems it was converted from an old chemical plant?"

"I’m not sure about that," the nurse said with a smile, shaking her head, "I’ve only started working here in the past few years."

She walked to the next room, continuing to introduce its equipment, "This is a biofeedback therapy machine. Our hospital has three; this one is a spare, and the other two are in the treatment room."

"Does this equipment wear out fast?"

He Ao asked softly.

"Not really," the nurse walked out of the room, "biofeedback therapy machines are quite durable and not a consumable. However, the latest models, which are suitable for monitoring the brainwaves and muscle states of mental patients, are very expensive."

"It sounds like your hospital’s therapy equipment isn’t very affluent."

He Ao and the nurse walked back into the corridor.

"Yes, so we are quite hopeful for your assistance,"

The nurse walked on with a smile, "That way we can also help more patients escape from their mad worlds,"

She glanced at the time on her wristband, then at He Ao, "Our director will still be some time before arriving, shall I take you to visit our wards?"

He Ao looked down the long corridor, where many doors were still shut, "Are there no medical devices in those rooms?"

"No,"

The nurse shook her head, smiling as she walked towards the elevator, "Those rooms are just filled with some less scarce devices and various odds and ends."

"Okay,"

He Ao nodded, turned, and walked back to the elevator. On the way back, he continued to inquire, "So, in all the years your hospital has been operating, has there been a long-term patient who has never been discharged?"

"It doesn’t seem like it?"

The nurse thought carefully, "Your friend, Mr. Arent, is the patient who has stayed with us the longest. He was here for three years, until he was discharged last year."

"Do you know about Arent’s past?"

The two stopped in front of the elevator, He Ao asked.

"Mr. Arent had just arrived when I started working. I know he was transferred here from the court, and it seems that he had committed a crime, so he was under the strictest control in our hospital,"

The nurse lit up the elevator button and smiled warmly, "He stayed in the hospital for three years, during which time his mental state was not very good, but last year, he finally got discharged and freed."

"Then he’s quite fortunate."

He Ao pondered and nodded.

"If you and Mr. Jess have such a good relationship, maybe you’ll see him again—it’s not impossible."

The nurse gave a smile and brought He Ao into the open elevator, "Currently in our hospital, only the wards on the sixth floor and floors nine to thirteen have patients. The seventh and eighth floors house the laboratories and doctors’ offices."

"Is there any difference between the sixth-floor wards and the other wards? There are the seventh and eighth floors in between."

He Ao looked at the elevator floor selection screen.

"The sixth floor has the compulsory wards, housing some ’unsafe’ patients. They are mostly quite extreme and prone to injuring people, like your friend, Mr. Arent, who previously stayed on the sixth floor."

The nurse explained as she pressed the elevator button for the ninth floor.

"Can I take a look at the sixth floor?"

He Ao asked with a smile, "I’d like to see the environment where Arent once lived."

"Are you sure?"

The nurse watched He Ao, "The environment on the sixth floor may not be very good... You know, with the specifics of our psychiatric hospital, there are always some places where mandatory measures are taken."

"I understand."

He Ao nodded slightly.

His gaze still rested on the elevator floor buttons; the fourth and fifth floors were absent from this elevator, with the sixth floor coming right after the third.

"The third and fourth floors seem to have been left closed due to the difficulty of renovation. They’ve been sealed off since the hospital was established,"

The nurse chuckled softly, stretching her hand to press the elevator button for the sixth floor, "I’ll take you to the sixth floor to have a look."

"Alright,"

He Ao nodded gently, his gaze falling on the nurse’s uniform and her tightly stretched stockings.

Although some of the Federation’s cosmetic hospitals let their front desk nurses dress a bit sexier and beautiful, the majority of hospital nurses dress modestly and simply.

The first reason is to avoid overly glamorous attire affecting the patient’s condition, and also to prevent these attires from causing secondary harm to some allergic or fragile patients.

The second reason is that refined and competent attire can shape the employees’ professionalism, increase patients’ trust, and enhance the hospital’s reputation.

In a certain sense, the second reason is more important than the first because for the Federation’s hospitals, patients are customers, and the more customers choose them, the higher their revenue.

Of course, many medical consortia also tailor their medical staff’s uniforms for increased recognizability and aesthetics.

But generally, they don’t make them more sexy.

At this moment, the nurse in front of He Ao was a bit too sexy.

This kind of sexy nurse attire usually appeared in some special-made films, hmm... sometimes his wife, Tiny, would also try out new clothes.

The elevator slowly ascended, quickly arriving at the sixth floor.

This time, as the elevator doors opened, what appeared before He Ao’s eyes was not a brightly lit area, but a somewhat dim corridor.

One after another, black iron doors were densely lined along both sides of the corridor, with room numbers painted in bright red on them.

These doors seemed to be specially made, looking exceptionally sturdy, with a rectangular window on the top end of each door, covered by vertically welded steel bars like a burglar-proof fence.

The spaces between these steel bars were extremely narrow, just enough for fingers to barely poke through.

"The environment here isn’t very good," the nurse said with a hint of apology, but she did not press any other floor buttons and just quietly watched He Ao.

"Indeed."

He Ao nodded and stepped out of the elevator.

He walked along the corridor, observing those barred windows.

It seemed that only the corridor was lit, behind all the doors it was pitch dark.

As He Ao moved, those ’residing’ behind the doors seemed to have heard the noise.

They slowly approached the doors.

In the dim light, behind the barred windows, faces with various expressions appeared.

"Save me!!!"

A somewhat frantic voice came from He Ao’s side, the man watched He Ao’s movements, his fingers barely stretching out of the window.

"Save me!!!"

He opened his mouth, showing his sticky saliva.

A pair of bloodshot eyes were wide open, staring blankly at He Ao.

"You, come here... come over here... I’ll tell you the secrets of this hospital..."

His hoarse voice sounded like a battered gong, yet it seemed to have the power to bewitch.

He Ao stopped in his tracks, looking at the man who was calling out to him.

The man’s iron door was marked with his room number, 07.

In his mind, there seemed to be a vague and undulating thought, hidden deep within his soul, like a water droplet moistening soil, gradually seeping into his spirit.

These thoughts did not come from the man calling out to him, and He Ao couldn’t trace the origin of these thoughts.

They appeared to have always been lurking deep within his soul, slowly growing, until now, finally reaching the point where He Ao could perceive them.

Bang—

A very faint noise came from behind He Ao; it was the sound of the elevator doors closing.

He Ao turned around to look, the nurse who had come up with him did not follow him out of the elevator.

The entire corridor was empty, leaving only the panel by the elevator emitting a faint glow, indicating the elevator was descending.

"Hey, come here! Come over here!"

The figure behind door 07 violently shook the iron door, making a loud noise, drawing He Ao’s attention to him.

He watched He Ao, laughing hoarsely, "If you free me, everyone in this hospital is a butcher; you free me, and I’ll help you kill them all, kill them all!!! Hehehaha!!!"

He Ao slowly approached the door, watching the man.

He mobilized his Divine Sense, his vision passing through the iron door to see the energy channels of the man behind it.

This was a Transcendent.

"Ah, yes, that’s right," the man at door 07 said, laughing frenziedly as he saw He Ao come closer, "A bit closer, do you see that doorknob? Twist it open."

Then He Ao glanced at him and stopped in his tracks.

"Closer, come closer," the shadow behind the door violently shook it, "You believe me, I am with you. Open this door, and we shall both gain our freedom."

Yet He Ao still stood there, quietly watching him.

Under the gaze of the Eyes of the Night, the man’s body, shrouded in darkness behind the iron door, was clearly displayed before He Ao.

It was a twisted husk, flesh and bones interwoven, with writhing flesh that had already crawled up the walls.

"Why won’t you open the door?"

The only human-like part left on the man was this human head, and beside the head, only half a set of fingers was visible. This twisted and terrifying being watched He Ao through the thin iron door, its head supported by flesh and exposed bones.

This was a Transcendent who had completely lost his mind.

As He Ao came to a stop, the man grew increasingly agitated, shaking the door in anger, the fingers that had stretched out of the door now extending upward to reveal the writhing flesh below the wrist.

"Why don’t you open the door," the man sneered with a shake of his head, "You will vanish, everyone will vanish... hehehaha..."

He Ao withdrew his gaze, turned his head toward the other faces behind that iron door, and spread the power of his Divine Sense.

Most of these somewhat vacant faces were still that of normal humans, and they were still ordinary people.

This ’prison’ was not only for holding Transcendents.

In fact, this mad Transcendent before He Ao’s eyes was in the minority.

It was unclear if this Transcendent had gone mad before entering the prison or after.

According to the feedback from the Divine Sense, the energy level of this Transcendent was between D-level and C-level, and before his madness, he must have been a D-level Transcendent.

He Ao’s gaze fell on the iron door with the number on it.

There was nothing special about the material of the door, which could easily be forced open with D-level strength.

He pondered for a moment, then took a step forward, placed his hand on the doorknob, and gently turned it downward.

"Yes, that’s right, open this door," the Transcendent behind the door roared hoarsely, "Let us kill everyone in this hospital, let them all become a part of us."

In that darkened room, the flesh that covered the house began to tremble with excitement.

Then He Ao released his grip, the doorknob sprung back to its original place, and he retreated to the corridor, leaving the door behind.

"Open the door!!! Open the door!!!"

The Transcendent behind the door roared violently, "I’m going to eat you, tear you apart, grind you into a pulp!!!"

He Ao ignored his roaring and looked at the iron door thoughtfully.

The iron door wasn’t locked; it could easily be opened with a slight twist, and its material was not very strong.

What was locking these people behind the doors wasn’t a tangible prison, but something intangible.

He Ao lifted his head, briefly activated Super Memory, and looked at the other doors in the corridor.

Then his gaze paused.

At the dim end of the corridor, the last room with the number 47, the iron door was not shut tight but ajar, as if it had been closed.

He Ao quickly walked over, stopped in front of this door, and after a moment’s thought, pushed open the iron door.

An empty and pitch-black little room appeared before his eyes.

A pile of disheveled bedding was thrown carelessly on the floor.

He Ao’s eyes scanned the room briefly, and then on the wall hidden by the bedding, he saw some carvings that appeared to have been made with a hard object.

He Ao squatted down, looking at the text. A dagger glittering with a cold light slid out from his sleeve and naturally fell into the darkness of the doorway.

The text was divided into two lines. The first line read,

[We will all vanish]

And the second line was obscured by the piled-up bedding.

He Ao pondered for a moment, hesitated, then pushed the iron door all the way open, stepped into the room, and pulled aside the bedding to reveal the second half of the sentence,

[To become a part of it]

Creak—

The open iron door, dragged by some external force, suddenly closed.

The brilliance within the room rapidly dimmed.

Click—

The sharp blade of the knife caught the door just before it closed shut.