“Young lady, I’m getting off the bus.”
Chu Ci stood up and gracefully walked to the exit door. The ghosts around him huddled together, afraid to come into contact with this terrifying presence.
“Is this what Dr. Chu meant by ‘restocking supplies’?” Qing Li suddenly asked with interest.
Chu Ci smiled faintly and said, “There are many corpses here, convenient as materials for my experiments.”
Hearing this, Qing Li rubbed her thumb against the steering wheel. If she let Chu Ci leave and continued driving forward on her own, there would likely be many unknown troubles ahead.
It might be better to get off the bus with Chu Ci and see what exactly was hiding in this tunnel.
Having made up her mind, Qing Li smiled slightly. “So Dr. Chu is making a contribution to our hospital. As the hospital owner, how could I stand idly by?”
She pressed the brake pedal, bringing the bus to a stop.
The tunnel instantly fell into a dead silence.
Chu Ci did not refuse. He tossed a flashlight to Qing Li and stepped off the bus first.
Qing Li followed behind him. Before stepping off, she stuck a talisman on the bus to prevent the things outside from getting in.
Although her three teammates were of little help, she wasn’t one to disregard human life.
Of course, if they woke up from their unconscious state and decided to leave the bus, whatever happened to them would be their own fate!
Jumping off the bus, the tunnel’s damp and rancid smell became even more overwhelming. The flashlight beam swept across the ground, revealing some pill bugs scurrying across the aged asphalt road, quickly hiding in cracks before vanishing.
Click—
A crisp sound echoed through the dim tunnel.
Qing Li aimed her flashlight in the direction of the sound and found that she had stepped on a blood-soaked bone.
The bone still had bits of flesh attached to it. When the light moved closer, she could see many small bite marks on it. Judging by the size of the bone, it was the leg bone of an adult male. Based on the level of decay of the flesh, the person had likely died about two days ago.
Qing Li continued walking forward, finding a hand bone, a rib, and finally, a bloodied, mutilated human head.
The head was crawling with countless bugs, burrowing in and out as they devoured the flesh.
[This man looks familiar!]
A comment in the livestream caught Qing Li’s attention.
[This man seems to be one of the players from the livestream too. Although his face has been chewed beyond recognition, the remaining skin can still be identified. I think his name was Huang Jun, ranked number 18.]
[Holy crap, a player ranked 18 died such a horrible death. Be careful, little village girl!]
[Huang Jun went missing during his last mission. Viewers didn’t know what happened to him, but it turns out his body ended up here.]
“Be careful; some of the bugs here are venomous,” Chu Ci said as he noticed Qing Li’s gaze lingering on the severed head.
He walked over and casually plucked a small flying insect crawling on Qing Li’s clothes.
With a slight press of his fingers, the insect was crushed. Its powdery scales stained his pale hand. Chu Ci then pulled out a handkerchief, meticulously wiping his hand before casually tossing the cloth onto the ground.
The pristine handkerchief landed on the bloodstained road. Chu Ci stepped on it as he continued walking forward.
Qing Li glanced again at the bloodied, mutilated head, shrugged, and followed behind Chu Ci.
Whoosh—
A black shadow flashed by swiftly. Qing Li gripped her flashlight tightly and aimed it in the direction, but saw nothing.
The eerie atmosphere and oppressive darkness were the perfect breeding ground for fear.
As the two continued deeper into the tunnel, the number of bones on the ground increased—some were human, others belonged to animals.
“Shh—”
Chu Ci suddenly stopped, pressing his index finger to his lips. His narrow, almond-shaped eyes carried an unfathomable trace of amusement. Standing beside him, Qing Li faintly caught the scent of disinfectant alcohol on him, a far more pleasant aroma than the rancid stench permeating the tunnel.
The flashlight’s beam landed on the inner wall of the tunnel, revealing a gap over two meters wide. Around the opening, scattered rubble lay in disarray.
Qing Li pinched her nose with slight disdain. The stench emanating from the gap was revolting—like a corpse left to rot in a cesspit, combining into a biochemical weapon with a double dose of putrescence.
Instinctively, she moved closer to Chu Ci, inhaling the smell of disinfectant to alleviate the nausea. Her expression improved slightly.
Seeing Chu Ci remain completely unfazed, Qing Li couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Dr. Chu, doesn’t this stench bother you?”
Chu Ci smiled faintly and replied, “I preemptively severed my olfactory nerves. I can no longer smell anything.”
The stray hair on Qing Li’s head stiffened in surprise. She hadn’t expected Chu Ci to be so ruthless as to sever his sense of smell.
This was practically giving himself a cheat code.
“If the smell is too unbearable for you, I can help you sever your olfactory nerves too,” Chu Ci offered, pulling out a scalpel in his other hand. The blade glinted coldly under the dim light.
Knowing Qing Li’s personality, he added, “Free of charge.”
Qing Li rolled her eyes. Did he think she was the type to take advantage of anything as long as it was free?
“Dr. Chu, I think you have some misunderstandings about my character,” Qing Li said with dissatisfaction.
[Surprising! The village girl actually claims to have character?!]
[A misunderstanding? Isn’t she just a greedy miser?]
[What a huge misunderstanding. Dr. Chu shouldn’t have said ‘free of charge.’ He should’ve said, ‘I’ll waive the fee and give you an additional ten million.’ Now that would truly show his understanding of the village girl.]
[The comment above speaks the truth!]
[As we all know, the village girl isn’t human, so she doesn’t have things like character.]
The livestream’s comment section buzzed with activity, but suddenly, the screen flickered. The flashlight in Qing Li’s hand appeared to malfunction, its beam flashing on and off intermittently.
Whoosh—
There was that sound again.
The previously still air in the tunnel stirred, and Qing Li sensed a shift in the wind. Without hesitation, she threw several talismans forward.
The talismans ignited, their crimson flames soaring into the air and dispelling the surrounding darkness. It was only then that the viewers in the livestream caught sight of the scene:
At the top of the tunnel, countless human bodies hung densely, their crimson eyes reflecting the flickering firelight as they stared fixedly at Qing Li and Chu Ci.
Outnumbered and surrounded, Qing Li silently stepped back and stood beside Chu Ci.
“Dr. Chu, aren’t you here to restock? Go ahead! I’ll cheer you on from behind!” She smiled, her expression pure and innocent as she fixed her gaze on Chu Ci.
Chu Ci returned the smile and said faintly, “Didn’t Boss Qing Li just say I’m contributing to the hospital? As the owner, how could you stand idly by?”
“Of course, I wouldn’t stand idly by. That’s why… I’m standing right here now, aren’t I?” Qing Li replied with a cheerful smile.
Chu Ci: “…”
[As the saying goes, people need dignity, and trees need bark. Without dignity, one is invincible.]
[I thought the village girl was just thick-skinned, but now I realize she’s completely shameless.]
[Great achievements require ignoring minor details. So what if she’s shameless?]
[Standing by isn’t right, so I choose to stand here instead.]