The cries of children came from every direction, making it impossible to pinpoint the source.
"Brother Peng, don't you think that crying sounds familiar?" Chen Ge possessed Ghost Ears. He held his breath and listened quietly. Before long, he made a startling discovery — among all the children's cries, one voice sounded remarkably like Wu Sheng.
Wasn't that child supposed to be hiding inside the cabin?
Chen Ge couldn't make sense of it. He looked over at Wu Jinpeng. The tall man was trembling uncontrollably, pushed to his absolute limit by those monsters.
Both physically and mentally, he was on the verge of collapse.
His chest heaved as he gasped for air, his back pressed against the hospital wall. His eyes were threaded with blood vessels, red and swollen to a frightening degree.
"Are you all right?"
During their earlier escape, Chen Ge hadn't noticed just how out of shape Wu Jinpeng was. He had unconsciously assumed the man shared his own physical capabilities. In reality, not everyone had a body that could rival an athlete's.
"Let's go — the back door." Wu Jinpeng didn't dare linger any longer. Ever since entering the hospital, his behavior had grown strange. Something must have happened to him the last time he was here, leaving deep psychological scars. If he hadn't been cornered with nowhere else to go, he never would have chosen to come back.
The children's cries grew louder, and that voice so similar to Wu Sheng's was gradually swallowed by the overwhelming wall of sound. Chen Ge filed the observation away in his mind and silently followed behind Wu Jinpeng.
The old district's hospital was small, but it had every department. From the outside, it looked completely ordinary — just a typical hospital late at night, nothing particularly frightening about it.
Passing through empty corridors, Wu Jinpeng led Chen Ge to a stairwell intersection. By now, the cries of children in their ears had reached an almost ear-splitting pitch.
"Do you see that window at the stairwell corner? Jump through it and you'll land on West Street — we can shake off those monsters for a while." Wu Jinpeng said the words but didn't move. His eyes were filled with dread and terror, which told Chen Ge things might not be so straightforward.
"Brother, pay attention. When we go up the stairs, no matter what you hear or see, don't stop. Rush through in one go — understand?" Wu Jinpeng gave Chen Ge a final warning. "If your backpack feels too heavy, I can carry it for you. Once you hit those stairs, you have to sprint to the window at top speed!"
"Got it. I've been fast on my feet since I was a kid."
Wu Jinpeng and Chen Ge stood side by side at the base of the stairs, both braced and ready. They exchanged a glance and bolted simultaneously toward the door.
Footsteps echoed through the stairwell. The moment Chen Ge took his first step, he didn't feel anything unusual. But as he continued running upward, the children's cries surged into his ears like a tidal wave. In that instant, his mind was completely flooded with the sound, so much so that his vision blurred and his head spun.
"Don't stop!" Wu Jinpeng had clearly experienced this before. Even in this critical moment, the man didn't forget to look out for Chen Ge, shouting the warning at the top of his lungs.
The children's cries grew ever louder. The stairs beneath his feet began to feel soft, as if he weren't stepping on concrete at all.
Chen Ge glanced down. Small hands were reaching up from the ground, grasping at his legs. The stairwell that had been completely empty was now crawling with faceless infants — God knew when they had appeared.
Even someone as seasoned as Chen Ge hesitated for a split second. Instinctively, he dodged the babies, planting his feet on the bare patches of the steps.
On the second floor of the hospital, a door creaked open. When Chen Ge looked up, a crimson wave of blood came pouring down the second-floor hallway, slamming straight toward him and Wu Jinpeng.
"Jump! Don't stop!" Chen Ge reached the window first. When he threw it open, the blood wave was already bearing down on them. In that moment, he could have leaped straight through the window — but if he did, the blood wave would sweep Wu Jinpeng away.
"Grab my hand!" The words had barely left Chen Ge's mouth when the blood wave crashed into them, swallowing both men in an instant.
The stench of blood flooded his nostrils. He couldn't breathe. Searing pain tore through every part of his body.
Chen Ge forced his eyes open. At the very last moment, Wu Jinpeng had grabbed onto his backpack.