Chang Gu had told Wen Yu a terrifying story. That doctor hadn't lied to her, but there were two crucial pieces of information he hadn't shared.
First, the hospital had been shut down weeks ago. Nobody knew the exact reason. What confused the surrounding residents was that even after the closure, people could still be seen wandering inside the building every day, day and night, just as before.
Second, the doctor himself was the problem. He was different from ghosts in the conventional sense — he was a kind of existence that could move about in broad daylight, one not particularly afraid of sunlight.
Chang Gu hadn't gone into specifics about what the doctor actually was in his story. He only told Wen Yu that the people and objects capable of piercing her left eye mostly came from Hanjiang Private University.
The doctor's claims about the night school and the regular campus being separate zones were true. The only exception was that the method of entering the abandoned campus was not to venture deeper into Yongling Mountain.
Chang Gu seemed to be on the run from someone. He cut the story short and left in a hurry, leaving behind only a phone number, saying that if Wen Yu wanted to find Hanjiang Private University, she could call this number at night.
After the movie played to that point, the screen briefly stuttered. When it recovered, the sky inside the film had turned completely black.
"Was a section manually edited out? Or did someone in the movie not want me to see what happened in between?"
In total darkness, Wen Yu fumbled through the alley with her phone in hand and a bag slung over her shoulder. The place she finally arrived at was the same hospital she had visited during the day.
She dialed a number, spoke just three words, and immediately hung up: "I'm here."
A little over ten minutes later, a window on the left side of the hospital was opened from the inside. A tall, thin doctor in a white coat waved Wen Yu over.
After climbing into the hospital, the doctor told her to hide inside a cabinet and change into a nurse's uniform, then led her out of the room.
The scene before her was deeply unsettling, very much in Director Chang Gu's signature style.
The hospital was bustling with people — some registering at the front desk, others waiting for medication, still others moving slowly in casts. Everything looked just like a functioning hospital.
The only difference was that no lights were on. All the patients and doctors carried out their activities in total darkness.
The darkness didn't seem to bother them at all. It was as if they didn't belong to this world — those silhouettes drifting through the black were nothing more than projections from another reality.
"Come here."
The tall, thin doctor led Wen Yu into the operating room and locked the door behind them.
"Now can you tell me the real way to get into that school?" Wen Yu pulled off her mask and took a deep breath.
The male doctor also removed his mask. The tall, thin man was none other than Chang Gu.
He gripped Wen Yu's arm and walked her over to the operating table.
The operating table before them was unlike a normal one — it was impossible to tell what kind of surgery it had been designed for.
"There is only one method that can solve the problem at its root, and that is..." Chang Gu picked up the gleaming scalpel from the tray. "Remove Wen Yu's left eye and find it a new owner."
Chang Gu's voice was chilling. Wen Yu stumbled back several steps, her body bumping into the operating table. "You want to gouge out my eye?"