"I never considered them my enemies. In truth, I know full well that my only enemy is the hospital."
Chen Ge was absolutely not putting on an act — he had not forgotten a single thing that had happened to him in that hospital.
On the surface, that hospital waved the banner of redemption and healing. In reality, it was the very institution that had been ceaselessly breeding despair and pain throughout this city.
Ordinary people who entered the hospital would, after treatment, have their worldview completely twisted. Seeds of madness would take root and sprout in their hearts, until they finally became monsters.
Even now, Chen Ge still did not understand why the hospital did these things. They seemed passionately devoted to manufacturing every imaginable kind of patient.
"Besides those three most terrifying ghosts, there are still numerous ghosts hiding in the dark corners of this city. I've looked into it — there used to be nowhere near this many bizarre entities. Just two months ago, the balance was broken, and all manner of vengeful spirits and dead people with unresolved obsessions began appearing. That timing just so happened to coincide with when you woke up in the hospital, which is why I believe the majority of ghosts in this city are connected to you." The Writer seemed to have been a mystery novelist in a past life — he possessed formidable logical thinking and powers of observation.
"How do you know when I woke up in the hospital? At the time, only the doctors and nurses were around me." Chen Ge was somewhat suspicious.
"Zhang Wenyu told me." The Writer did not look like he was lying.
"Over ten thousand of you are all named Zhang Wenyu — that's a pretty vague answer."
"Although we're all called Zhang Wenyu, there is only one true Zhang Wenyu. His abilities are on par with One-Eyed or the Curse Woman, and he may even be stronger than Crimson. It's just that he's been hiding among the crowd." A faint, barely perceptible smile flickered across the Writer's face. "When he sensed the danger, he immediately transferred his memories onto all the obsessions he carried, and that's how he survived. He hasn't forgotten his promise to you either — he simply can't appear just yet."
"Transferred his memories onto the obsessions he carried?" Chen Ge felt that this explanation alone couldn't convince him. After all, every person and ghost had lost their memories — Zhang Wenyu was the sole exception. Forget Chen Ge; even the hospital probably couldn't figure that one out.
"The people you helped will one day be the ones to save you." The Writer swept his gaze across the tenants gathered around. "You'll come to understand in time."
Chen Ge mentally organized the Writer's words. What could now be confirmed was that Zhang Wenyu was protecting him from the shadows, and the ghosts in this city could be persuaded to help through deals.
"You've chosen Peace Apartments. Misfortune will descend soon — I hope you can restrain yourself and buy as much time as possible." The Writer called the leading figures of Peace Apartments together. To Chen Ge's surprise, the person managing the building was not the seemingly steady Mr. Zhou, but rather the small child who had been trailing behind him the entire time.
"Men Nan is the smartest tenant among us, and his own abilities are truly terrifying." The Writer's words were met with nods of agreement from the surrounding tenants. Chen Ge's gaze toward Men Nan shifted as well.
Frankly, he hadn't sensed a shred of threat from this child — he'd simply assumed the kid was a brat.
Sensing the puzzlement in Chen Ge's eyes, Men Nan didn't bother defending himself. He seemed to consider the question of who was stronger or weaker beneath his notice.
"Let's discuss our plans going forward together. Since we've decided to resist, we need to go all in — only then is there even a sliver of hope." The Writer spoke with gravity. He had retained fragments of his memory, and so he understood all too well how terrifying the hospital truly was.
Compared to that colossal entity, the people of Peace Apartments were nothing at all.
"Going forward, we'll use Peace Apartments as our base and continuously seek out those companions hiding in the shadows, inviting them to join us." Despite his youthful appearance, Men Nan spoke and acted like a seasoned adult — experienced, and more than willing to employ dirty, underhanded tactics against their enemy. He had helped everyone escape danger on multiple occasions, which had earned him considerable standing in the building.
Sometimes the other tenants would wonder how this kid had learned to be so "wicked" at such a young age, and from whom.
"Besides the ghosts hiding in the city's shadows, some of the hospital's patients can also be potential recruits." Men Nan walked to the far end of the third floor and looked down at Zhang Jingjiu lying on the ground. "That hospital is holding an enormous number of patients. If we can turn even a portion of them to our side, things will become much easier. After all, even the most impenetrable fortress can be breached from within."
"Men Nan, this patient on the floor is a friend of mine from the hospital. Why is he here?" Chen Ge was concerned about Zhang Jingjiu's condition.
At the moment, Zhang Jingjiu's limbs were immobilized with wooden boards, his broken bones had been realigned, and Old Zhou had been using a saw just now to fashion splints.
"This patient called Zhang Jingjiu apparently no longer had any value to the doctors. They threw him out like garbage, and it just so happened that Zuo Han, who was hiding in the refuse chute at the time, discovered him and smuggled him out." Men Nan inspected Zhang Jingjiu's injuries. "Ever since leaving the hospital, this patient has remained unconscious. To keep him alive, we set an ambush for a doctor — unfortunately, that doctor turned out to know nothing."
Chen Ge realized he may have underestimated the capabilities of Peace Apartments. Under Men Nan's leadership, they had managed to capture a doctor alive without the hospital finding out — that was already quite impressive.
"So what do you plan to do with this doctor? If you keep him, the hospital might track you down."
"We'll use him as a test subject for now. The Curse Woman is very interested in those black threads on the doctors' bodies. If we hand this doctor over to her, we might earn a favor." Men Nan's mind was already churning with calculations — he intended to wring every last drop of value out of this unfortunate doctor.
The two sides talked at length, but even as dawn approached, Zuo Han had still not returned.
Both Old Zhou and the Writer had a bad feeling. They urged Chen Ge to leave as soon as possible, then set a meeting for after midnight the following day, on Liwan Street in Xinhai's eastern suburbs.
Under the cover of night, Chen Ge departed from Peace Apartments.
He was unaware that after he left, every ghostly silhouette on the third floor had fixed its gaze on his retreating back.
"Are we really going to stake everything on him?" Men Nan glanced at the Writer. "You're not actually on his side, are you?"
"I'll ask you the simplest question. When you appeared behind him, you had all the time and opportunity to kill him — but did that thought ever once cross your mind?" The Writer turned the question back on Men Nan, then looked at the other tenants as well.
No one spoke. Finally, Old Zhou stepped forward. "He gives me a very peculiar feeling. I can't explain it, but from the very first moment I laid eyes on him, I believed he was worth trusting."
"I've had a similar feeling," said the bespectacled female teacher. Beside her, a woman holding her own severed head also raised both hands — using her hands to nod.
"Fine, I can't argue with all of you. Let's trust him this once." Seeing that everyone felt the same way, Men Nan let out a small sigh of relief himself.
…
After leaving Peace Apartments, Chen Ge's mind was flooded with all manner of questions.
"The city really does have ghosts. Doctor Gao's answer and the Writer's answer are completely different." Chen Ge had once asked Doctor Gao about whether ghosts existed. Those people inside the hospital had been trying to construct a normal world, but deceiving Chen Ge was far too difficult a task.
For Chen Ge, the real challenge wasn't spotting the trap — it was how to spot it without letting the hospital's doctors catch on.
"Zhang Ya's dreams might actually be real. Why has she been dreaming ever since she met me? Meanwhile, I've barely dreamed at all. Did she take my ability to dream?"
Before he could find an answer to that question, the next one surfaced.
"All the tenants at Peace Apartments are ghosts, yet why do I feel more comfortable around them than around living people?"
"They should be worth trusting."
Leaving the deserted village behind, Chen Ge took a long detour and ended up back at that distinctive little restaurant.
There hadn't been a single taxi along the entire route, and rain had begun falling from the sky once more. Chen Ge had no choice but to duck under the restaurant's awning for shelter.
The small shop was dark — no lights were on. Chen Ge had no intention of bothering the owner. He'd planned to leave as soon as the rain stopped, but the moment he drew close to the restaurant door, he caught a faint whiff of blood.