The next day, Su Ming'an and Yuanyuan arrived at the hospital advertised on the flyer.
The middle-aged dean, with a Mediterranean bald spot, received them warmly alongside his wife, who possessed the features of an Oriental beauty. Behind them, a little girl resembling a Western doll hid behind the lady, her entire body except for her face tightly wrapped in bandages.
"That's great, I was worried about who would take care of our daughter."
The light from the ceiling cast a ghastly white glow, illuminating the dean's overly excited face. His wife beside him had a beautiful yet rigid face, her eyes moving stiffly.
The little girl eyed Su Ming'an and Yuanyuan warily, seated nearby. She seemed to be muttering something under her breath as if singing, with a particularly eerie tune. It was only when Su Ming'an got closer that he heard her singing the nursery rhyme "The Little Mushroom-Picking Girl."
...
[The Little Mushroom-Picking Girl
Carrying a basket of bones
Walking barefoot at night~ through graveyards and hills~]
...
Although the sound echoed repeatedly in the ward, the dean and his wife acted as though they heard nothing, incessantly thanking Su Ming'an and Yuanyuan while giving them some care instructions.
Su Ming'an had started his live stream early in the morning, and at this moment, the room's name had attracted many viewers. Witnessing such a bizarre scenario, several comments in the live stream expressed fear.
[Underworld nursery rhyme, I'm already crying from fear.]
[What the hell is this, there's something wrong with this place.]
[Streamer, please leave, I think it's too dangerous here, better save your life.]
Perhaps attracted by the eerie scene, more and more people joined the live stream, all urging the streamer to leave. After all, it's no different from reality; dying truly is painful. At this stage, murdered people tend to be kind-hearted and wouldn't maniacally send others to their deaths.
Su Ming'an ignored these comments. After the dean and his wife left, he watched the little girl who kept singing the nursery rhyme repeatedly, sinking into deep thought.
Yuanyuan glanced at him and suddenly said, "I'll take care of her."
"Hmm..." In fact, Su Ming'an really wasn't good at taking care of others.
He watched as Yuanyuan took out the half-bag of hericium biscuits, lured the little girl to the bed, and then slowly changed her bandages.
As she unrolled the bandages, Yuanyuan discovered that the girl's skin was not, as expected, burned but covered with large patches of black spots.
... Just like those who died from fungal cultivation.
Throughout, the little girl stared straight at her, her head turning to face Yuanyuan no matter which direction she moved. Then, a pair of stark black and white eyes stared flatly back at her.
After a day's care, Yuanyuan lay in the hospital room next to where Su Ming'an was munching on bread.
"I found the archives of this hospital," he said. "Once the apocalypse breaks out, we'll take the chance to check it out."
"How did you find it?"
Su Ming'an gestured outside, then a Su Ming'an lookalike pushed the door and walked in.
Yuanyuan was stunned for a moment before she realized what Su Ming'an's ability was—cloning. Such a powerful skill must come at a significant cost.
She suddenly remembered the day the game began, the figure giving a speech above the multitude of living beings. At that moment, she felt his way of speaking was very similar.
So his previous claim about SS was true.
"That day, it was you..."
"Shh—" Su Ming'an signaled with his eyes, and Yuanyuan understood.
Su Ming'an was still in the middle of a live stream.
With a gesture, Su Ming'an reabsorbed his clone, easing the dizziness and blurring of vision a little.
Because of this cloning, he had spent the entire day standing in the room waiting for Yuanyuan, otherwise even normal conversation was difficult.
Today's live stream was mainly about interacting with the eerie girl, and not many people had joined. Su Ming'an greeted briefly before directly closing the live stream.
"My skill is Mentality Control," Yuanyuan said.
"Understood."
"I can help you relieve..." she said, a hint of concern in her eyes.
"Mental relief?" Su Ming'an smiled, "Never mind."
"Oh..." Yuanyuan uttered somewhat dazedly and did not inquire further about Su Ming'an's refusal. She seemed a bit tired and walked out to wash up, leaving Su Ming'an behind.
...
The sky was enveloped in a sea of blood—at least, that was how it appeared in Yuanyuan's dream.
This was her dream.
Her hand clutched a dagger still stained with blood.
Her hand looked very small, like that of a child, and her clothes were soft and pink, a doll dress beloved by children.
She had experienced dreams since she was a child… always had.
After dreaming one day in an alley she would encounter a man wanting to undress her for no reason, she didn't pay it much mind. However, that scene actually unfolded before her eyes a few days later, and she realized something.
She pulled out the dagger she had always kept on her and threw down her backpack that she was supposed to take to elementary school.
Rushing towards the man who was still unsuspecting and laughing, aiming for his vital spot.
From that moment… she realized she possessed a premonitive dream ability, completely different from others.
...
When Yuanyuan woke up from exhaustion, her head felt somewhat swollen.
Su Ming'an was sitting at the bedside, his eyes closed, seemingly controlling his clone.
——Yuanyuan had dreamed of many things, with the future often unfolding clearly before her eyes, but there was one, just one person.
The young man before her, she couldn't see his future.
He had never appeared in her dreams, not even once.
It was as if there were endless paths before her, but each path seemed to lead to an abyss, the only light faint, making it impossible to choose the only viable path.
Today was the third morning, and Yuanyuan was going to continue taking care of that little girl.
"See you." She said, pushing the door open.
"See you." A tired voice came from behind.
...
The third day, the fourth day passed in a somewhat eerie atmosphere, and when the fifth day dawned and the morning light began to spill into the cramped room, Su Ming'an heard cries of despair coming from all around.
"The apocalypse has begun."
He glanced out the window and got out of bed.
Yuanyuan had gotten up very early, she didn't plan to change into her battle outfit, today she wore a pink fuzzy hoodie with cat ears, the soft cat ears slightly drooping on the hood, and long sleeves completely covering her hands, only revealing a pair of fingers.
She was at the table nibbling on a chocolate bar, bit by bit from top to bottom, eating the shell first, then the core, as if performing some ritual.
The ward was empty, the little girl who had always been singing, was suddenly gone today.
"Good morning." Su Ming'an waved.
He saw the previously expressionless girl become somewhat lively.
"I had a... not so good dream," she said.
"What?"
"I dreamed…" she paused momentarily.
Su Ming'an, munching on bread and putting on his coat: "Is it important?"
Yuanyuan stared at him for a while, then suddenly smiled:
"No, it's not important."
"Then let's go," Su Ming'an looked towards the door: "Let's check the archive room today."
After getting ready, the two opened the door and saw a long, dragged trail of blood in the hallway.
[Good morning to the host~]
[Good morning~ Holy shit, why is there blood?]
[Has the apocalypse started?]
[My God, the apocalypse from the novels actually happening before my eyes! I regret dying so early that I didn't get to see…]
[Cut it out, if you were really in the apocalypse, you'd be scared to death by now]
The barrage started with their usual morning greetings, but they were clearly not calm upon seeing the scene before them.
The pair followed the blood trail out of the corridor, the ground slippery and wet, the air a mix of disinfectant and the stench of blood. Along the way, they heard countless wails and cries, intense footsteps echoing from one side to the other, and the unique raspy howls of zombies.
...
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