Chapter 21: Clearing the Hospital Ward Duplicate (Two in One)

The third-floor archive room was vast, yet abruptly crowded with resentful spirits condensed into monsters.

The Evil Fallen that had once gathered in the second building returned to the hospital in the form of resentment.

Wu Jiu would be fine.

Hong Yin's fierce offensive had already unfolded, and under the influence of Evil Fervor on Wu Jiu, the monsters, imitative of resentful energy, moved even faster.

A one-man army, in the third and fourth buildings of the Ninth Hospital only Hong Yin stood alone, but the resentments and hatreds she had "absorbed" had become a part of her strength.

But although Wu Jiu was worried about Bai Wu, he did not let his teammates come to harm. His speed was extremely fast, and he even seemed to have an edge over Hong Yin.

Yin Shuang moved slowly, but she didn't need to move at all. Wang Shi's arm strength might have diminished, but his body remained tough and strong.

Especially Wu Jiu, who was faster than when Bai Wu last saw him by a third.

Wu Jiu didn't understand why these monsters had suddenly appeared; his gaze occasionally fell on Bai Wu, who was lost in thought.

Had this kid discovered something?

In the crowded and gradually narrowing space, Wu Jiu's figure traced a series of shadowy trajectories.

Like the winding path of a comet, a flowing light.

Wherever the light passed, Evil Fallen were precisely decapitated by the sharp blade of resentful energy.

Evil Fallen did not have any special effects on intangible resentful spirits, but Wu Jiu's cutting was so swift that he could still easily cleave through their bodies.

But Hong Yin was by no means weaker; no matter how ferociously Wu Jiu eliminated the incarnate resentments, soon more would arise.

Wang Shi and Yin Shuang were dumbfounded, knowing that their captain was strong, but they seldom saw him display his true strength.

Now, watching their captain transformed into a streak of light, swinging his blade, and facing the endlessly spawning monsters of condensed resentment, they felt as if they were witnessing a battle of deities.

...

...

As if a whole bottle of vodka had been chugged down in one go, Bai Wu's sense of direction suddenly became terrible...

[Extra-Tower Obstruction Entry: Disorientation.]

A flash of such a word in his consciousness immediately made Bai Wu understand what was happening.

The four hours were up...

This negative attribute was quite a strong interference. Seeing that Wu Jiu could handle over a hundred negative attributes, his strength truly was remarkable.

Bai Wu shook his head vigorously.

Though it was disorientation, everything in sight was shaking, but his consciousness was not confused.

"I've just got a problem with my sense of direction, not a big deal, I just need to find the corresponding relation to the direction before."

After calming down, Bai Wu quickly found the regularity of the shaking, his directional sense had deviated by sixty-five degrees.

His focus returned to the puzzle at hand.

The view before him changed again; the previously tiny memory windows that peppered Bai Wu's vision suddenly enlarged.

These pieces of memory, which resembled a puzzle, now looked like a series of doors, lined up one after another in the vast white space.

"It seems it's time to make a choice again."

The game's designers must have a certain tacit understanding with the average player, and the levels they design must be universally comprehensible.

Like creating a monster, one has to make it clear at a glance whether it's there for players to slay for experience or to discuss philosophies of life.

Of course, more often than not, designers leave players with choices that seem right but aren't quite so.

Bai Wu had no choice, he had to bite the bullet and enter one of the entrances, then figure out a way to eliminate Hong Yin's hostility towards him.

"There are hundreds of memory entrances here... but only one can bring me back to reality."

In the entrance at the very center, there was a segment of Hong Yin's own memories, documenting how she transformed, little by little, from a human girl into an indescribable monster.

...

...

It was like suddenly coming from a world of color into one that only had shades of black and white.

Everything in the memories was shrouded in a layer of deathly grey.

Bai Wu arrived once again in that room, where there wasn't the girl as adorable as the girl next door, but instead, a monster enveloped in black fog with dozens of eyes filled with resentment and panic.

Bai Wu took out that comb, and edged closer to Hong Yin bit by bit.

"You see, I didn't lie to you. Even now, I don't dislike you, I am not afraid of you. I haven't been in this world for long, and my understanding of Evil Fallen is different from others."

The eyes in the black mist varied in expression, some scornful, some wary, some resentful, some perplexed.

"Do you really... not fear me?" The voice in the black mist reverted to a mixture of various tones.

Bai Wu had roughly found out the entire process. He had also gained a certain level of understanding about Evil Fallen, although he still shared the confusion of the doctors in the logs.

Before the Era of the High Tower began, there were Evil Fallen that invaded human cities around the world.

Therefore, to find the Origin and weaknesses of Evil Fallen, many organizations started to research them.

The Ninth Psychiatric Hospital's job was to inject humans with Evil Fallen serum, in an attempt to create Evil Fallen that wouldn't slaughter humans.

So far, there appeared to be one semi-successful subject, and one successful subject.

The semi-successful was Hong Yin, and the successful was Elijah.

Although the love-deprived, introverted Elijah thought he was no match for Hong Yin, who completely outdid him.

But Elijah was able to control his emotions very well; even when he got close to people like Wu Jiu and sensed the fear in their hearts, he could use reason to suppress his urge to kill.

Elijah came from that mysterious teacher with at least a dozen disciples. The puzzle of the teacher couldn't be solved for the time being.

Hong Yin, on the other hand, was purely an experimental accident, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe her as an Angel.

She was a girl who, after being injected with the serum, awakened a psychic superpower that allowed her to communicate with all the patients in the entire hospital, deceiving the doctors with her willpower.

Her kindness made it impossible for her to ignore these people's feelings, constantly thinking of ways to alleviate their pain.

As her abilities grew, Hong Yin discovered she could directly absorb the despair and resentment of those around her, easing the agony of those other subjects.

In short, she was a black hole of resentment, able to continuously absorb the resentment of others.

All the resentment from the experiment subjects at the Ninth Hospital was gradually absorbed by her. Those subjects no longer in pain left the world with their own will, turning into pure Evil Fallen.

But this pain didn't disappear; it was all borne by Hong Yin alone.

Hong Yin eventually turned into a monster, yet most of the time, her heart remained that of the little girl longing to play with others.

As long as she didn't smell fear, sadness, or anger, as long as she didn't feel these negative emotions, Hong Yin could still live by her own will.

So, compared to Elijah, she was more powerful but still a half-finished product.

"It's truly regrettable that no one could comb your hair, that no one could take you away. But the world is not just as big as buildings one to four; the breadth of people's hearts are certainly not confined to doctors and patients."

Some of the eyes gradually closed, as if commanded by their owner.

Bai Wu knew what these eyes symbolized.

They were the obsessions absorbed by Hong Yin, tormenting her for seven hundred years, urging Hong Yin to devour others whenever they sensed any negative emotions.

They were the pure will of the Evil Fallen, but Hong Yin had not abandoned them, or rather, she was unable to erase them.

What Bai Wu could do was to as much as possible awaken the kindness within Hong Yin's heart.

"Do you know why the humans of the High Tower dislike and fear the Evil Fallen? Because to this day, no research has been able to prove that human will can overpower the Evil Fallen's desire for slaughter."

"Elijah is one example, guided by a near-religious devotion to a leader. And you are another."

"I can't imagine the pain you feel when you bear the resentment of so many people. But since you still retain your own will, that means you're still human, not a detestable monster."

More and more eyes closed.

At the same time, in the archive room, Wu Jiu could feel that the resentment had thinned out significantly.

And Bai Wu, in the memory, knew that this was the moment when Hong Yin was about to go mad, when the resentment would burst forth.

No one brushed her hair, no one played games with her; even though she saved everyone, these people had long since become the will of the Evil Fallen. They would not relieve Hong Yin's boredom; they would only keep urging her to create more slaughter.

On this day in history, due to Hong Yin's break from her cage, the hospital started a riot.

But now, Bai Wu stood at the door, his expression more gentle than ever:

"Don't let yourself become a monster. The world is still vast, and outside the Ninth Hospital, there are many places you haven't set foot in, many kind humans you have yet to meet."

"But I… can't leave this place…"

Her voice once again became pure and clear, Hong Yin's resentment and desire to kill temporarily suppressed by Bai Wu's words.

The main reason was that none of the eyes saw any fear or loathing in Bai Wu.

"I will find a way to get you out. It's just that I can't do it right now. If you are willing to trust me, willing to wait for me."

"Really? You're not lying?"

He's lying, he wants to hurt you, kill him!

Such voices still echoed in Hong Yin's ears, endlessly colliding in her consciousness.

But they had faded quite a bit compared to before, and her original temperament was no longer disturbed.

"If every journey has its mission, then my mission in coming to this world, I guess, is to unravel the various mysteries of the world beyond the tower."

After getting a clear understanding of Hong Yin's entire experience, Bai Wu was no longer double-tongued; his every sentence was sincere.

He was devoid of sadness, anger, and fear, but he knew how to act in a way that made people believe he was deeply sad.

He could perform those traces, which perhaps could more deeply move this angelic girl before him.

But Bai Wu didn't do so; he was just very calm, very serious.

"Why do Evil Fallen exist, how did the High Tower appear? How many floors does the High Tower have, and what's at the top? Why can't the Evil Fallen leave certain areas? Where do the Innate Force and Talent Sequence come from?"

"For me, these are mysteries I am very interested in solving, the significance of my journey."

"When I find the answers to these questions, I will think of a way to take you with me. You are not alone; at least from today on, you have a friend willing to play with you, one who comes from the world outside the Ninth Psychiatric Hospital."

The Hei Wu was still dense, but the eyes in the Hei Wu had almost all shut, leaving only a pair of tearful, misty eyes, filled with childlike innocence, watching Bai Wu.

Persuading Hong Yin, of course, was not so simple. This process seemed smooth, but it was all built on the foundation of Bai Wu's utter lack of fear.

If there was any deviation in the process, it would inevitably lead to not being able to meet these clear and bright eyes.

Bai Wu silently breathed a sigh of relief.

At that moment, Hong Yin's voice came through:

"Do not go to building four, you and your companion... if you get too close to me, it will be very dangerous."

Bai Wu could imagine, feeling her formidable presence from such a distance, if he actually got close to Hong Yin, a loss of control might mean... an immediate and complete end.

"The next time you see me... I may not be this lucid," Hong Yin said sadly.

Bai Wu's words had indeed awakened the girl with the pure heart.

But what about after he left? The malice those eyes represented would tempt her once again.

"So... you need to become stronger, just like the person as tall as me. Then, you can come and see me."

The atmosphere suddenly became a bit comical, as if the person as tall as Hong Yin...

Pfft, thankfully he was a professional and managed not to laugh. Even the captain's height was subject to ridicule by Evil Fallen?

But this also indicated, indirectly, that Hong Yin seemed to recognize the captain's strength.

It seems the notes were correct, the captain harbors some secrets that even the sixth layer is interested in.

"Alright, no matter what you become, I will wake you up."

An odd commission with Evil Fallen had been achieved.

The tearful eyes blinked, and Hong Yin's emotions gradually stabilized as she suddenly remembered something, swiftly changing the topic:

"Before you leave, you should visit building one. Two days ago, someone came here and they left something in the first building."

Bai Wu was startled.

What kind of plot development was this?

Wait a second, the notes did mention, the blood-colored patterns on the wall and the medical records scattered about were laid out by someone two days ago...

The Teacher.

Elijah's Teacher!

Bai Wu deduced intuitively.

It couldn't possibly be someone from the High Tower who was alone. Without the means like Wu Jiu, no one would rashly enter a building outside the tower.

"Did that person do anything? What impression did he give you...?"

"I'm not sure, but that thing is very similar to the device you're using to return to the High Tower."

Return Roulette?

Bai Wu knew that in the seven hundred years, there certainly had been people who had entered the hospital, it wasn't strange for Hong Yin to know about the roulette.

But why would someone leave a Return Roulette in this hospital? What was this peculiar behavior?

Things were getting more interesting, Bai Wu was somewhat excited:

"Can you take me there?"

"Okay."

As Hong Yin's voice ended, the scene before Bai Wu suddenly shifted.

The archives room had undergone a transformation, all the shelves had been cut down by blades, and lay in disarray on the floor. But not a single medical record was present.

Wu Jiu's voice came through, still in his usual calm tone:

"You sure have been looking at that medical record for a long time."