"Another one of these letters?" Chen Ge placed the letter he'd found in Xiaodie's room on the coffee table. "I had three employees go missing last night, and I found similar letters in their rooms as well."
"What are they after?" Zuo Han's eyes were locked on the envelope.
"Teacher Wang's letter has 'the first friend' written on the back, while the letter I found in my employee's room says 'the seventh friend.' They consider both my employees and Teacher Wang to be their friends, which means they must share something in common." Chen Ge analyzed the situation with perfect composure. "Judging from the timeline, I suspect they may be targeting people based on the serial murders from twenty years ago. Teacher Wang was the one who cracked the case — he was the first person to learn of the real killer's identity. And my employees, because I've been investigating that case recently, got dragged into it as well. They're the last few people still connected to the affair."
"So Teacher Wang is the first friend, and your employees are the seventh?" Zuo Han nodded, finding Chen Ge's reasoning convincing. "Boss Chen, could you let me hold on to the letter they left for Teacher Wang?"
Chen Ge vaguely guessed what Zuo Han was thinking. After a moment's hesitation, he handed the letter over. "Don't do anything rash. Those people don't exist in the same world as you."
"Not the same world?"
"I can't tell you more, but please trust me — I would never do anything to harm you." Chen Ge picked up his backpack. "You and Old Wu should leave Xinhai as soon as possible, and tonight, find somewhere crowded and lively to stay."
"And what about you?" Zuo Han caught an unusual note of urgency in Chen Ge's words.
"Some of this was set in motion by me, so I can't run from it." Chen Ge gave Zuo Han and Old Wu a few final instructions before leaving Teacher Wang's place.
The Cursed Hospital had been operating in Xinhai for years — Chen Ge had discovered this days ago while hunting down the vengeful spirits.
The Red Clothes in Xinhai all seemed to be under some kind of curse. Whether it was the evil spirit at the archway or the Red Clothes at the abandoned school, their obsessions had been corrupted, turning them into monsters that knew only slaughter and despair.
The Cursed Hospital's control over Xinhai was invisible. Every ghost with any semblance of power in this city appeared to have been influenced by them. In a sense, the Cursed Hospital represented the dark side of Xinhai itself.
"The seven friends may all be connected to the serial murders twenty years ago. In other words, all seven people might be connected to me — they could all be witnesses who knew about the case. The Cursed Hospital is trying to force me out into the open." Chen Ge had been through enough trials to see through the Cursed Hospital's plan at a glance. But the key problem was that this was an open gambit. Even knowing he was being lured, there was nothing he could do.
If he wanted to learn the truth, he couldn't retreat. And with at least seven lives connected to Chen Ge hanging in the balance as leverage, the Cursed Hospital was dead set on dragging him out of the shadows and into the light.
Perhaps the Cursed Hospital had grown just as frustrated with Chen Ge. After all, a living human roaming around with a vengeful god and top-tier Red Clothes in tow, waging guerrilla warfare against them — who could tolerate that?
Lose one Red Clothes today, lose a top-tier Red Clothes tomorrow — even the Cursed Hospital's reserves couldn't withstand that kind of attrition.
Having operated in Xinhai for over twenty years, the Cursed Hospital could not simply allow Chen Ge to continue unchecked. The scenario of repeatedly sending subordinates to feed the opposition was not one that played out in reality.
After Chen Ge had schemed and killed one of their top-tier Red Clothes, they had responded immediately. Regardless of the cost, Chen Ge had to be eliminated.
Truthfully, now was not the ideal time to make a move against Chen Ge. But the Cursed Hospital could wait no longer.
In terms of timing, terrain, and popular support — the Cursed Hospital held the terrain, while Chen Ge held popular support. The two sides had turned all of Xinhai into their chessboard, and today, they had finally torn off the mask entirely.
Night fell. Prosperous Xinhai was still ablaze with lights, even livelier than it had been during the day.
The revelers didn't notice the faint tinge of blood-red that had appeared in the sky. In the city's shadows, pairs of bloodshot eyes snapped open one after another. And they didn't notice the young man standing in a corner by the street.
He was carrying a large bag, with a white cat at his side.
Chen Ge had not returned to the Nightmare Academy. After leaving Teacher Wang's home, he had come to the municipal branch and had been hiding in the café right next to it ever since.
Passersby who saw him with a white cat and a mountain of bags assumed he was some kind of street performer, and no one bothered him.
A little after eight in the evening, Chen Ge received his first piece of good news. The Red High Heels had used a curse to establish contact with Dr. Gao.
"Establish contact" was perhaps a generous description. The Red High Heels had merely created the illusion that Gao Ruxue had arrived at the Cursed Hospital. Through the curse embedded in the blood, she could feel the distance between Dr. Gao and herself slowly closing.
To prevent accidents or misunderstandings during the battle, Chen Ge had the Red High Heels brand that drop of blood — the one laced with curses — onto the back of his hand.
It was a small, unremarkable scar in the shape of a blood droplet. This was the mark formed by the fusion of Gao Ruxue's heart blood and the blood threads within the white cat. Dr. Gao was now racing toward this mark at full speed.
"According to the Red High Heels' judgment, Dr. Gao is currently far more terrifying than she is — easily surpassing a top-tier cursed Red Clothes. That means Dr. Gao has very likely become a vengeful god as well."
Dr. Gao harbored an irreconcilable grudge against the Cursed Hospital. She could, at a stretch, be counted as Chen Ge's ally.
With two vengeful gods on his side, Chen Ge felt he could give it a try.
He took out the black phone and scrolled to the trial mission tab. His gaze settled on the four-star trial mission: The Cursed Hospital.
"The Cursed Hospital is the only task on the black phone's mission list that I haven't completed. I wonder if taking on this mission will bring about any new changes to the phone."
When the black phone's mission list had first appeared, there hadn't been any four-star trial missions at all. They had only begun to unlock as Chen Ge completed other tasks one after another.
"It's been ages since the phone updated any missions. Once I complete the Cursed Hospital mission, is there any chance a five-star trial mission will appear?"
The difficulty of a four-star trial mission was already something Chen Ge found hard to stomach. If a five-star trial mission truly existed, what kind of nightmare would its difficulty reach?
Chen Ge pushed all stray thoughts from his mind. He stared at the last mission on the list and slowly moved his finger.
His parents had disappeared in a hospital. He had never given up looking for them.
He had waited for this day for a very long time, in truth. Everything he had done, every ounce of effort and sacrifice, had been to earn himself the right to make this choice.
Now he had done it — and exceeded everyone's expectations.
"At least seven lives are in the hands of the Cursed Hospital. I can't just stand by and watch them be killed."
His finger touched the screen. Chen Ge quickly received a message from the black phone.
"Will you accept the four-star trial mission: The Cursed Hospital? Warning! This trial mission is extremely dangerous! Please ensure you are fully prepared before making your decision!"
"Accept!"
Chen Ge tapped the screen in rapid succession. The black phone vibrated continuously as message after message came through.