RHWHEG – Chapter 14 The Water Ghost

Although West Third East Road Hospital was submerged in water, the building remained intact without collapsing. Yu Qunqing, thinking about his pitifully few exploration points, decided to thoroughly search this building in hopes of unlocking a second game slot soon, so he could start a new game.

The group rowed their boat slowly into the hospital’s central lobby. On both sides of the hall were escalators leading up to the second floor. The ceiling was tall enough that they didn’t need to worry about flooding. Inside was pitch-dark, and even with flashlights, the depths remained impenetrably black.

White pillows, empty IV bags, and weeds floated on the water’s surface.

They first pushed toward the right-hand corridor. Cartoon Ultraman stickers were on the walls, showing it was a pediatrics department. Turning the corner, they reached the blood test and lab area, where expensive instruments were scattered and drifting on the water. A little further out would have led to the open-air parking lot.

“There’s light under the water,” Yu Qunqing frowned. “I’ll go check.”

He tied a rope securely and dove in. The water rose over his head, murky and turbid, but indeed there was a light source beneath. Yu Qunqing fished it up and climbed back onto the boat.

“It’s a flashlight—and it still works.” Zhang Sanxi shook the flashlight. Clearly, it was much more advanced than theirs, even waterproof.

“Someone’s been here, and just within the last couple of days—otherwise this wouldn’t still be working,” Yu Qunqing said. “They might still be around. Stay alert.”

For both safety and the sake of exploration points, Yu Qunqing carefully checked every room on that side. Zhang Sanxi picked up a sealed plastic bag full of clean syringes—not sure when they’d need them, but worth keeping. Sun Min scooped up a pack of candies, individually wrapped and still dry inside, and quickly tore them open to share.

They returned to the main hall and headed for the central directory sign.

“Wait!” Sun Min shone his flashlight into a corner. “Isn’t that the Chinese Medicine Pharmacy?”

Sure enough, right beside it was the Western Medicine Pharmacy. Zhang Sanxi rolled up her sleeves: “Finally my time to shine—watch me clean this place out.”

Sun Min wanted to dive in too, but the water was cold, and someone who wasn’t a strong swimmer would burn too much energy. Yu Qunqing told him to stay on the boat and keep watch.

Zhang Sanxi slipped into the water like a fish. Yu Qunqing lit the way for her from below. She slipped through a small window easily, the rope at her waist looped around Yu Qunqing’s hand.

Before long, Sun Min saw Zhang Sanxi surface for air, then dive back down again. Splashes rose as she soon emerged near the boat, holding a bundle of medicine. There was cough syrup, fever reducers, burn ointment, antihypertensives—important essentials. She made several trips, and soon a little mountain of medicine piled up in the boat.

Meanwhile, Yu Qunqing surfaced occasionally, always on guard for any unusual movement around them.

“Phew—” Zhang Sanxi surfaced again, smiling as she handed medicine to Sun Min. She suggested to Yu Qunqing, “I’ll check the Chinese Medicine Pharmacy. Sometimes Chinese medicine works better than Western ones.”

Yu Qunqing said, “Let me electrify it first. The water’s too murky—I don’t trust it.”

“You electrify it, and there won’t be anything left!” Zhang Sanxi protested, remembering their encounter in the residential building. “Besides, I’ve already been down there so many times—nothing happened.”

Yu Qunqing followed her down. Perhaps because of the herbs floating loose in the water, visibility in the Chinese Medicine Pharmacy was especially poor. But Zhang Sanxi was fearless, slipping in like a loach.

This time, she stayed down longer. Nearly three minutes passed before she came up for air, shouting, “I can’t find anything! I don’t believe this!”

“Forget it if you can’t find anything, come back,” Sun Min called worriedly.

But Zhang Sanxi had already dived again and couldn’t hear.

Suddenly, Yu Qunqing felt the rope in his hand go taut—then slack, swinging limply from side to side. The rope had snapped!

The next second, a shadowy figure burst out of the small window, clutching Zhang Sanxi. It slammed into Yu Qunqing and dragged him swiftly into the dark depths of the hall.

The boat rocked violently. Sun Min nearly toppled over. He frantically hauled in the rope, only to find nothing at the other end. Panic rose as Yu Qunqing surfaced not far away.

“Brother Yu, you’re hurt!” Sun Min pulled him onto the boat. A gash bled heavily across Yu Qunqing’s arm.

Yu Qunqing squeezed the wound, making Sun Min wince in sympathy. He forced out a small shard of glass and sighed in relief: “It was done by a human.” If it had been a natural disaster entity, it would have been another matter entirely.

Binding the wound with a strip of cloth, he pushed the boat deeper inside.

After ducking under a particularly low beam, the view suddenly opened up—they emerged into a small open-air garden. Across from it was the hospital’s inpatient ward.

A shadowy figure was dragging Zhang Sanxi upstairs.

“Damn it!” Sun Min thought of what had happened in the residential building and shuddered. He glanced at Yu Qunqing’s face, expecting to see the same anger he felt. But Yu Qunqing’s expression was unreadable, which only made Sun Min’s fear and disappointment grow stronger.