Chapter 1 Midnight Hospital_2

"I remember the oath I took when I was in medical school, as a doctor..."

As he spoke, Dai Lin experienced a sudden, unprecedented intense pain in his eyes, making it impossible for him to keep them open.

After a while... the abnormality in his eyes gradually disappeared, and when he opened them again, Dai Lin felt that his vision was exceptionally clear, and looking at the computer screen no longer caused any discomfort, as if he had a new pair of eyes.

He was somewhat startled by this condition.

"Dr. Dai, are you, are you alright?" Dr. Zhao asked anxiously.

"No, nothing's wrong..."

"Alright then... I'm going to make my rounds. If your eyes don't improve, you should go to the ophthalmic hospital for a check-up, as our hospital's ophthalmology is not as authoritative as theirs. Oh, I'll leave my phone here to charge; if you need me, call the nurses' station on the eighth floor."

"Alright, Dr. Zhao."

After Dr. Zhao left...

Dai Lin was the only one left in the office.

He looked forward in surprise and then noticed that even in the dim room, he could clearly see a fly resting on a table in the distance.

"Dai... Doc... tor?"

Just then, Dai Lin heard an elderly voice. He immediately looked up to see an old man standing at the doorway, dressed in patient attire, with a bald head and a halting gait.

When the old man opened his mouth, almost all his teeth were missing, making his speech unclear.

Dai Lin immediately recognized him as a patient from ward 413, surnamed Zhang, currently undergoing radiotherapy and chemotherapy in the hospital, with a very unstable condition.

"Uncle Zhang, you can't just leave your ward like this..." Dai Lin immediately thought, where was the duty nurse from the inpatient department? How could they let such a critically ill, elderly patient walk around alone?

Uncle Zhang continued to speak unclearly: "Doctor, doc... tor, I'm, looking for my... son..."

Dai Lin remembered that after this patient was admitted to the hospital, his son had only visited him once and then disappeared without a trace.

The old man was advanced in age, had just had surgery last year, and was undergoing radiotherapy and chemotherapy; perhaps he was already confused.

"Uncle Zhang, your son isn't here; let me call a nurse to take you back."

Dai Lin stood up, about to walk over, when Uncle Zhang said, "Then... I'll... go other... place... look..."

Then, Uncle Zhang turned around and walked out of the office.

Dai Lin quickly walked out, but on closer inspection... there was no sign of Uncle Zhang outside.

This made Dai Lin feel very odd... With the old man's age, his steps had been so sluggish just now; how did he vanish in the blink of an eye?

Dai Lin ran around nearby to search but still did not see Uncle Zhang.

Dai Lin grew more and more worried and immediately went to the nurses' station nearby, saying, "Notify the fourth-floor nurses' station that a patient from ward 413 has left the ward; the patient is a male, should be about 70 years old, ask them to look around."

Seeing the patient like that, if he accidentally fell, the consequences would be unthinkable!

If it wasn't necessary to have a doctor stay on duty in the office, Dai Lin would have joined the search for the patient as well.

Not long after he returned to the office, the phone on his desk rang.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Dr. Dai, this is the fourth-floor nurses' station. We just checked, and all the patients in ward 413 are sleeping normally; no one has left."

"What?"

Dai Lin felt increasingly baffled.

He had returned so quickly?

For some reason, this made him think of the strange text message.

"Are you certain?"

"Yes, the patient you mentioned is also lying down properly."

Dai Lin breathed a sigh of relief; it was good that he had returned.

Then, he sat in front of his desk and continued to review the patient information on his computer.

He did not know how much time had passed...

"Dai... Doc... tor..."

The familiar voice rang out once more.

Dai Lin abruptly looked up, only to see Uncle Zhang standing at the doorway again!

He was taken aback for a moment – how had the nurses on the fourth floor allowed him to come up again?

"Doctor, doc... tor, I'm looking for my... son..."

The same tone as before, even the pauses during speech were identical, with not the slightest difference.

At that moment, Dai Lin began to feel slight discomfort in his eyes again.

Meanwhile, his gaze swept towards the old man.

The old man's standing posture was exactly the same as before, even the expressions and demeanor were no different.

Dai Lin himself was surprised by his extraordinary memory.

Vaguely... he felt this was related to the changes in his eyes.

Then, he noticed something else.

Uncle Zhang's current position was different from before.

Compared to previously, he stood a meter closer.

Afterward, he remained silent, merely staring at Old Zhang.

And then...

Old Zhang slowly began to speak.

"Then...I...will go to another place...to look..."

The same words as before!

The places where he paused and stuttered were exactly the same too!

Dai Lin slowly stood up, walked to the office door, and looked around.

There was not a single person in the corridor.

A strong sense of unease attacked his heart.

He returned to his desk, grabbed the phone quickly, and dialed the nurse station on the fourth floor.

"Sorry to bother you, but could you check room 413 again, this time make sure it's really the patient himself! He's come to see me again!"

As a doctor, Dai Lin's mind was filled with absurd thoughts.

Soon, the nurse responded.

"Dr. Dai, the patient is still in the room! How about I have a nurse watch outside the room?"

"Thanks."

Dai Lin hung up the phone with a chill running down his spine.

This is the tenth floor.

Even sprinting at full speed from here, it would not be possible to get back to the ward so quickly, let alone for an old man who could barely walk?

Such a weird scene...

He got goosebumps all over his body instantly.

Dai Lin took a deep breath.

He picked up his phone and called the landline on the table, then clicked the connect button.

Then, with his own phone in hand, he closed the office door and quickly went to the corridor corner.

This place did not lead to the staircase or elevator.

He held the phone to his ear, maintaining the call.

His heart beat wildly, and at the same time… his eyes began to throb with pain.

Finally...

"Dai...doctor...Lin?"

A distinct voice came through from the other end of the phone.

But now, he was no longer there!

"Doctor, doctor Lin, I, am looking for my...son..."

The voice got closer and closer.

Keep in mind, Dai Lin was no longer in the office, yet the words he said were still exactly the same as before!

"Then...I...will go to another place...to look..."

The voice's tone became more and more sinister...

Dai Lin could only gasp for air.

Supernatural curse...

Could it be that text message...was actually true?

Dai Lin immediately hung up his phone and ran toward the emergency stairs!

Now, was the patient still lying in the hospital bed?!

What is this thing that appears now? Soul? Evil spirit? Or...

Just then, footsteps sounded from behind him!

The steps sounded very slow, but the sound kept getting closer and closer!

"My...son...where..."

The problem was... no matter how Dai Lin ran, he couldn't reach the emergency stairs!

"Holy shi*!"

Finally...

He felt a pair of hands grasp the back of his neck tightly!!

Then he could no longer move forward an inch, as his face was forcibly turned to the back...

Dai Lin's strong will to survive peaked in that instant!

And at that same moment, as his eyes suddenly widened, he felt as if his mind exploded, revealing two vast, deep spaces.

It was as if his eyes had turned into two massive black holes, generating an intense suction force!