There were things Fang Ziming might not tell the truth about, or might gloss over, if
The person Fang Ziming truly respected was Dr. Wei. When he was backed into a corner with nowhere to turn, he would choose to trust the people Dr. Wei trusted.
In Chen Ge's eyes, Fang Ziming might also be connected to that cursed hospital — the appearance of the smiling ghost was a sign.
But he currently lacked both the ability and the time to help the man, so this was the only approach he could take.
Chen Ge gave Fang Ziming a different social media account, and in return, Fang Ziming recommended another doctor and handed over the contact information.
After ending the call, Chen Ge turned to Jiang Ming's mother and explained the current situation.
Jiang Ming's mother wrote a great deal on a piece of paper. Besides expressing her gratitude, she also told Chen Ge that she had been secretly saving money — over thirty thousand yuan in total. She planned to put all of it toward Jiang Ming's surgery, and whatever was still short, she would ask Chen Ge to cover it first. She swore she would pay him back.
"You need to raise Jiang Ming. There are plenty of other expenses ahead. Let's not argue about this." Chen Ge knew Jiang Jiu would never let the little boy go. They wouldn't agree to a cochlear implant for Jiang Ming either, because once his hearing was restored, it could throw off the Nether Fetus's plans. So they would do everything in their power to block it.
Chen Ge wasn't planning to intervene personally. If Jiang Jiu refused, the Women's Federation and the police would step in to help.
"In seven days, we'll all go to Xinhai City together. If you can't reach me by then, just go to the New Century Land theme park — the haunted house. Someone there will give you the money." Chen Ge had already mapped out his priorities: kill the Nether Fetus first, then deal with the cursed hospital with everything he had. Of course, that was predicated on him actually defeating the Nether Fetus rather than the other way around.
"Traces of the cursed hospital are everywhere. I get the feeling that even if I don't go looking for them, they'll come looking for me. I did, after all, receive an invitation to that cursed game."
After wrapping up his business here, Chen Ge left behind a contact number and headed out.
"Tonight I'll make another trip to Fang Yu's place. If a door appears after she falls asleep and everything goes smoothly, that rules out three people right there. Only six kids left."
Six nights, six children. Chen Ge wasn't as tense as he had been. Part of that probably had to do with his own temperament — once he got past the initial panic, he became exceptionally calm.
Walking through the grimy back alley, Chen Ge pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts until he found Wu Sheng's father's number.
Ever since the teacher at the Peizhi School had given him this number, he had never managed to get through.
The phone rang for a long time. Just as Chen Ge was about to hang up, someone picked up.
"Hello? Who is this?"
There was a constant stream of noise on the other end. Wu Sheng's father seemed to be out on the street, surrounded by a clamor of voices.
"My name is Chen Ge. A child in my relative's family has a similar condition to your son. We'd like to enroll the child in the same school, but the tuition is quite steep. I was hoping to ask you about it."
"Sure! I'm at work right now — let's meet at the front gate of the Peizhi School in the western suburbs at five o'clock this afternoon!" The man's voice sounded hoarse, quite distinctive.
"Thank you."
…
Just after five in the afternoon, school let out at the Peizhi School. One by one, the children walked out through the gate, accompanied by their teachers.
It wasn't long before Chen Ge spotted Wu Sheng.
Wu Sheng — who normally showed interest in nothing — kept turning his head, scanning the crowd around him, a trace of anxiety on his face. He seemed to be looking for someone.
"Don't run around. Your father will be here soon." The teacher had barely finished speaking when a man's voice came from the distance.