On the other side, Chen Mo had actually left the operating room twenty minutes before the mission ended. Although nothing unusual had happened in the past half hour, he wasn't optimistic enough to believe he could hide there until the story concluded.
More likely, the vengeful spirit had prioritized Old Zhang, and somewhere in the hospital, a silent chase and deadly struggle was unfolding.
While staying on the move, Chen Mo tried to find spots with a wide field of view, hoping to spot any approaching danger in advance.
Just then, a terrified scream suddenly rang out from afar in the night sky—clearly Old Zhang's voice.
"Not good!"
Muttering to himself, Chen Mo understood exactly what that sound meant. Old Zhang must have finally come face-to-face with the pursuing female ghost.
After that brief cry, the world fell silent again. He had no idea whether Old Zhang had driven off the ghost or if the ghost had finished him off.
A vague sense of dread crept into Chen Mo's heart, and he quickened his pace.
After a few seconds of thought, he changed direction and headed toward the corridor connecting the two buildings.
Standing in the middle of the corridor, the view was relatively open. No matter which direction the ghost came from, he could spot it immediately. Plus, the corridor linked both buildings—he could run to the inpatient ward or the outpatient clinic. It was well-connected and hard to get cornered.
Less than fifteen minutes remained. If he could just hold out until the end, he'd leave this supernatural world.
It took him just over a minute to go from the fifth-floor hallway of the outpatient building to the connecting corridor leading to the inpatient ward. The view opened up.
Chen Mo breathed a sigh of relief. There was no sign of the female ghost around.
He checked the time—ten minutes left.
Hang in there!
Just as he thought that, he suddenly sensed something—like a cold, sinister gaze fixed on him from some angle.
What's going on?
A jolt of terror sent an involuntary shiver through him. He immediately spotted, on the fourth-floor corridor across the way, a blood-soaked ghostly figure. Its face was smashed to a pulp, a horrifying death mask, staring up at him.
Those bloody eye sockets brimmed with endless resentment!
A buzzing filled Chen Mo's head, his scalp tingling.
The female ghost was here!
He'd come face-to-face with her completely unprepared.
But thankfully, she was on the opposite corridor. Though she could see him, there was a thirty-four-meter "chasm" between them. She shouldn't pose an immediate threat.
Just as he thought that, he saw the bloodied ghost lift off the ground, floating lightly toward him through the air.
Holy crap!
Forgot—she's a ghost!
A million curses raced through Chen Mo's mind. Without a second thought, he turned and ran.
The ghostly figure was even faster than his full sprint, lunging through the air in an instant. At the same time, Chen Mo dashed into the inpatient building, through the hallway, and into the stairwell.
The barefoot, floating ghost followed right behind, drifting into the hallway. It paused briefly, as if sensing his location.
A few seconds later, it seemed to reacquire his position and shot toward the stairwell at terrifying speed.
Luckily, the ghost had to stop every so often to re-sense his location. Otherwise, with that speed, Chen Mo wouldn't have lasted a minute.
Even so, within five minutes, the ghost's horrifying form appeared in his sight again. They were on the same hallway—one at each end.
Without thinking, Chen Mo turned and ran downstairs. But he quickly realized the bottom of the stairs led to the inpatient building's first-floor lobby.
Both the inpatient and outpatient lobbies had their main doors sealed by supernatural forces. There was no escape that way. His eyes scanned the area, and suddenly, his pupils contracted.
In the dim center of the lobby, large pools of blood stained the floor. Amid the blood, a headless body lay prone under the faint light.
That body... was Old Zhang!
Chen Mo's heart sank. Even a veteran like Old Zhang hadn't escaped the ghost's clutches.
His gaze swept over Old Zhang's gruesome remains, then froze.
A cylindrical object lay rolling in the pool of blood.
It was Old Zhang's flashlight!
Chen Mo had seen its mysterious power before—it could even repel supernatural attacks.
In a flash, an idea crossed his mind.
Since Old Zhang was dead, the flashlight was now ownerless. He wanted to risk grabbing it.
But the danger was obvious. No matter how hard he pushed, the few seconds it took to dash over and pick it up would be enough for the ghost to catch up and strike.
It was a gamble.
Explaining it takes time, but for Chen Mo, these thoughts were just a split-second flash.
In that instant, the ghost floated into the lobby. At the same time, Chen Mo gritted his teeth and lunged toward the flashlight, rolling on the ground and snatching it up.
Simultaneously, the terrifying ghost flickered and pounced in front of him, its pale, bony claws reaching for his shoulder.
Chen Mo closed his eyes, offered a silent prayer, and aimed the flashlight at the ghastly figure ahead, pressing the switch.
A blinding beam of light shot out. Bathed in the glow, the ghost let out a pained howl, as if burned by flames. Its form gradually faded and vanished without a trace.
Chen Mo stared blankly ahead, then at the flashlight in his hand. This item was incredibly powerful.
He wondered why Old Zhang hadn't used it before dying. Otherwise, he'd probably be dead too.
Looking at Old Zhang's body, Chen Mo silently said to himself.
"Thank you, Old Zhang. You saved me again."
At that moment, less than five minutes remained until the mission ended. Based on past experience, when the story concluded, participants would be automatically teleported out of the supernatural world.
So Chen Mo didn't bother heading for the door. He just sat on the floor, gasping for breath.
The frantic sprint of the past few minutes had drained his energy. Now that he'd stopped, exhaustion hit him hard.
He checked the time again—three minutes left.
Those five minutes felt agonizingly long, each minute dragging on.
Time ticked by, second by second. Finally, only one minute remained.
Thirty seconds.
Twenty seconds.
Chen Mo stood up, ready to leave the story world. But then, an icy, sinister aura suddenly enveloped him.
It was like being plunged into a freezing cellar.
His face went pale.
With less than twenty seconds left, the ghost was attacking again!
His reflexes were lightning-fast. The moment he felt the chill, he leaped up and dodged to the side.
The bloodstained white-clad ghost materialized in midair, its eerie little hand grabbing at empty space.
But in the next instant, the ghost flickered again, appearing right in front of him. Its smashed, bloody face seemed to twist into a cruel smile.
Ten seconds left.
The ghost's pale, bony claws shot out without hesitation, piercing straight through his abdomen.
A cold sensation, followed by excruciating, suffocating pain.
Seeing Chen Mo still standing, the ghost tilted its head, seeming dissatisfied. Its ghastly white hands reached for his neck.
Clearly, it wanted to twist his head off cleanly, just like it had done to Old Zhang.
Chen Mo knew exactly what it intended. Though his vision was blurring, he fumbled and grabbed the ghost's icy hands.
A bone-chilling cold spread through his body. It felt like gripping a block of ice.
An immense force twisted his neck. His vertebrae creaked, on the verge of snapping.
Gritting his teeth, Chen Mo used every last ounce of strength to hold onto those ghostly claws, preventing them from breaking his neck immediately.
The ghost's power was terrifying. In just a moment, he felt he couldn't hold on.
Those few seconds stretched into an eternity. Then, suddenly, a sharp *ding* echoed in his mind.
"Congratulations, participants, for uncovering the hidden truth in the main storyline. This story's time has ended!"
"However, since the final seal was not completed, no additional rewards will be issued for this story."
"Surviving participant of this story: Chen Mo."
"Deceased participants of this story: Zhuang Fei, Zheng Ling."
"Beginning teleportation out of the supernatural world..."