Harry pulled out his phone and scrolled to the photo he had taken last night of the patient in the bed next to him. It wasn't particularly clear, but the fact that the image was still there proved it wasn't just a hallucination.
"This appeared last night in the bed next to yours. Can you look into this person's identity? Also, check on that guy from three months ago—the one with the crooked mouth and a five-centimeter scar on the side of his head. As for the head nurse, I didn't dare take a picture of her, but I can describe her for you."
"Hold on." Victor handed Harry a microphone, gesturing for him to start describing the head nurse's appearance.
Several minutes later, an image began forming on the screen of the laptop. Someone on the other end was sketching based on Harry's description, adjusting the details as Harry provided feedback. After about half an hour of revisions, the sketch was finally completed. The face was stern, with slightly downturned lips and a cold, detached expression.
"Yeah, that's about right."
"Alright, I'll have them run a search. Let's go over the other cases while we wait."
Victor opened a new file that had just come in and skimmed through it.
"The patient from the bed next to yours was from the Second Hospital of Serene City. He was admitted five months ago for a minor surgery. Just as he was about to be discharged, he snuck out at night to smoke in the stairwell and died of sudden cardiac arrest. His body wasn't found until the next morning, by which time livor mortis had already set in. His family caused quite a stir over it for several days."
After reviewing that, Victor's expression darkened as he read the second case. He turned the laptop towards Harry, revealing the profile of a man with a slightly crooked mouth.
The records showed that the man was otherwise unremarkable—no stable job, nothing of note, except for one detail: he had a history of staging car accidents to extort money.
The day before he died, he had been involved in one of these schemes, trying to fake an accident with a family car. But he miscalculated the distance and was only lightly grazed. He was sent to the hospital for a check-up and, after confirming that there was a slight infection, checked himself in as a patient. But, instead of resting, he snuck out again that same night to continue his work.
That evening, he managed to swindle a drunk driver out of several thousand yuan. The next morning, he was back on the streets looking for another target. This time, he tried to stage an accident with a luxury car. He wasn't so lucky this time—he was killed on the spot.
The date of his death? Three months ago.
The location? Not Serene City, nor nearby End City—but Starlight City, in the southern part of the province.
Harry thought back to the other patients he'd seen sleeping in the ward. Initially, he had assumed they were all regular patients of the hospital.
But now, it seemed like there were fewer actual patients than he had originally thought. This was much more complicated than he had anticipated.
Based on the file provided by the Blazing Sun Sect, this domain was categorized as a Class 2 domain because of the number of people it could affect. It was supposed to be manageable, not particularly dangerous.
But after experiencing last night firsthand, Harry was certain that if he had made a single noise, it would have been over for him. Even though the head nurse hadn't touched him, the creeping cold had almost overwhelmed him. He was still feeling cold now, as though the chill had seeped deep into his bones.
And the fact that this domain could engineer fatal accidents during the day, without the Blazing Sun Sect noticing, meant it was far more dangerous than originally assessed.
"I think we need to look into this more thoroughly. There's no way only one or two people have died because of this domain in the past year."
"I agree." Victor's face had grown grim.
He had his own suspicions too. A domain that could shift across different locations and remain hidden for a year after its discovery? The fact that it was only detected when it manifested for three days each year might be a distraction tactic.
A way to downplay its danger so that the sect wouldn't invest too many resources into monitoring it full-time.
The Blazing Sun Sect simply didn't have enough manpower to keep constant watch over a domain that only appeared for a few days each year. The danger rating of Class 2 may have been assigned simply because of the number of people it involved.
But there was another possibility—someone, or something, might be actively covering up the true danger of this domain.
"Do you remember how many beds there were? How many had people in them?" Victor asked.
"I didn't have time to count, but roughly half the beds had someone in them. Why?"
"If that's the case, then it's even worse than we thought," Victor said, his expression darkening further. "She's growing stronger. We had it wrong from the start—it's not the domain controlling her, she's the one controlling the domain."
"Growing stronger?"
"Yes. Not all domains are static. For domains like this, where a powerful entity is at its center, there's a progression. Some entities have a way to ascend or evolve, whether they're ghosts, monsters, or even people."
Victor paused for a moment, as if gathering his thoughts. "Based on my experience, the number of beds is tied to her progression. Once all the beds are filled, she'll reach a new level of power."
"This isn't a low-danger domain. I'll report this to the higher-ups and see if we can bring in some specialists."
Victor quickly began packing up his things, but then his earpiece crackled with an incoming message. His face immediately darkened.
"What happened?" Harry felt a sudden surge of dread.
"One of our field agents just stepped outside the hospital when he was hit by a car. He's not in any life-threatening danger, but he's got several broken bones."
"Accident? Or deliberate?"
"The driver was rushing his feverish child to the hospital. He was driving a bit too fast and couldn't stop in time. Doesn't seem intentional."
Harry instantly understood. Just like what happened with the nurse the previous night—another 'accident.' But this time, the field agent had better reflexes and a stronger constitution, which was probably the only reason he wasn't killed on the spot.
If Harry hadn't noticed the falling leaf yesterday, and if the tree hadn't been tall enough to give him a few extra seconds to react, he probably wouldn't have been so lucky.
Victor continued listening to his earpiece before speaking again.
"It seems the agent hadn't officially checked out of the hospital before leaving."
"Huh?" Harry frowned. "That was the problem?"
Victor packed up his belongings. "Let's test it."
He officially checked himself out of the hospital and walked through the exit without incident this time.
Harry stood by the window, watching as Victor got into his car and drove away. "So that's how it works."
Only patients and hospital staff seem to be unaffected within the domain. The head nurse's malevolent intent was clear, and Harry doubted she'd let anyone go if given the chance.
The rules were likely stricter than they had initially assumed.
The phone rang less than an hour later.
"You should check out too," Victor said. "Things are getting more complicated."
"What's going on?"
"I'll explain once you're out."
Harry did as instructed and checked out of the hospital. When he stepped outside, Victor was already waiting in the car. Once inside, Victor lit a cigarette and looked troubled.
"We've got a problem. Most of the specialist agents in the district are either handling higher-priority cases or unavailable. There have been too many incidents cropping up recently, and the available personnel won't be able to suppress the head nurse inside the domain."
Victor exhaled smoke slowly, his brow furrowed. "We can't expect outside help either. The major sects are all preparing for the upcoming Skyreach Grand Tournament in a few months, and anyone we'd call in would take too long to arrive."
He sighed. "Tonight is the third and final night. If we can't resolve this tonight, it's going to get a lot worse. The head nurse is getting stronger, and who knows what might happen next."
"I've already submitted a report recommending the evacuation of the hospital's entire inpatient department."
"Did you find out who she was?"
"We did. She used to be the head nurse at Starlight Mining Central Hospital. She held a deputy director position, but she died in an accident the day before her promotion."
"An accident?" Harry now had an instinctual suspicion whenever he heard that word.
"Yeah, but the day before her death, a patient from the inpatient department at her hospital was also involved in a car accident after sneaking out at night."
Victor's tone made it clear he was just as certain as Harry that this was no ordinary accident.
There wasn't time to investigate the details now. The case had already been buried under mundane explanations.
Harry knew they were running out of time, and he began to consider their options carefully.
"With just the two of us, there's no way we can fight her head-on. But I have an idea. Do you think it's worth a shot?"