Chapter 48: The Doctor’s Treatment Method
As night quietly descended, it struck midnight—11:30 PM to be exact. Thick, heavy clouds blanketed the sky, with no stars or moonlight to be found. It was dark—spooky dark.
Today was Friday, and that meant Zhao Mingyue would have a holiday the next day, so staying up a bit later tonight wouldn’t be a big deal. She had barely returned home from work before setting off again, having only grabbed a quick dinner and packed her gear.
Her oversized backpack held a magic wand, some snacks, and bottled water. If only she could get her hands on the wind chime from the convenience store—it would be a magical artifact at her task location! Just imagine, it’d ring whenever any ghosts got too close!
Unfortunately, that was property of the convenience store, and she was just a lowly employee.
“Ugh, this place is really hard to find.”
They called it the eastern outskirts of the city, but it was really the outskirts of nowhere. Not only were there no roads, but the sides of the road were overgrown with weeds. Beyond that was just fields and villages, making this little spot seem like a ghost town in comparison.
Standing on the dirt road with one hand resting on her bicycle, Zhao Mingyue squinted into the thick darkness. Through the inky black, the silhouette of a school flickered into view.
When it came to a creepy atmosphere, Dongcheng No. 13 Middle School was far scarier than Sunshine Apartments.
At Sunshine Apartments, there were people living nearby, which made it feel a bit more lively, and she used to live there too. But at Dongcheng No. 13 Middle School, the nearest village was over five kilometers away.
Since it wasn’t right off the road, even a taxi was nowhere to be seen.
“Sister Yu, we’re here. Should we go in?”
After pedaling for over forty minutes, Zhao Mingyue’s chest rose and fell as she wiped the sweat from her forehead.
“Let’s check the mission first,” Sister Yu replied.
“Okay.”
Parking her bike in the weeds, Zhao Mingyue fished her black phone from her pocket.
[You have accepted the mission: Dongcheng No. 13 Middle School]
[Mission requirement: Arrive at Dongcheng No. 13 Middle School before midnight and survive until dawn]
[Dongcheng No. 13 Middle School]
[Did you know? It used to be a privately-run orphanage, housing up to 103 children aged 3 to 12.]
[Some were disabled, some were orphaned, and some had mental illnesses. If you were to tally up the reasons these kids were brought to the orphanage, there would be about twelve categories, with the leading cause being orphanhood.]
[As for the elderly principal, who has continued to adopt orphans even in his sixties, people seem to have nothing but praise for him. So it’s quite baffling why he insists on converting the orphanage into a school.]
[They’re all gone. A specific class composed entirely of orphans was wiped out.]
[Shh, don’t talk, don’t make a sound. You must hide well; never let her discover you, or you will join us.]
[Well, look what we’ve got here—a cute little thing! Why do you stare at me like that, scared? Come on, get a little closer. I have something to tell you.]
[Back in the day, I hid better than you.]
The task description for Dongcheng No. 13 Middle School was long—scarily long—especially compared to the short blurb for Sunshine Apartments.
Zhao Mingyue read through it several times but could only conclude that Dongcheng No. 13 Middle School used to be an orphanage, it had been transformed into a school for some reason, the old principal was a good guy, and a class of orphans had been wiped out.
As for the culprit? It seemed they had a bone to pick with those orphans and weren’t exactly playing with a full deck. Now they were back and looking for revenge.
“Did you understand any of that, Sister Yu?” Zhao Mingyue even held the Rabbit Plush Toy up in front of the phone for better visibility.
“That ghost inside? Definitely a problem.” Bai Yu replied succinctly.
“Problem? Care to elaborate?”
“You’ll find out once we go in.”
As for specifics, Bai Yu couldn’t pinpoint any, but one thing was for sure: that old principal was certainly up to no good.
“Alright then, I’ll check the sub-tasks.”
Zhao Mingyue swiped the screen, revealing details on her tasks.
[Task Content: Headless statue, smells of meat from the Midnight Canteen, eyes under bed, front and back of the door, eyes in the toilet stalls, red dancing shoes]
[Note: You only need to complete one of “eyes under bed” or “eyes in the toilet stalls”.]
After digesting all that info, Zhao Mingyue couldn’t help but feel a chill.
Her main task was straightforward: just hang out in the school until dawn—but that didn’t really offer any rewards. The true crux was in those “sub-tasks” she had to complete to gain extra rewards.
But let’s be real: those sub-tasks were no picnic. Take the task about the “smells of meat from the Midnight Canteen.”
The details were as follows:
[Task Requirement: After midnight, enter Dongcheng No. 13’s canteen.]
[Ah, it smells so good! Hey there, student, you must be hungry, right? With this delicious meat soup, are you sure you don’t want a bowl? It’s the taste of love!]
Midnight in a canteen still smelling of meat? What kind of meat were we talking about? And what was the deal with the cooking? Zhao Mingyue dared not dwell on it.
Taking deep breaths, she initially felt a bit scared. But as she hugged her Rabbit Plush Toy, her fear dissipated significantly—it was a noticeable difference.
But the courage the Rabbit Plush Toy provided wasn’t just from itself, but from Bai Yu.
Yes, Bai Yu.
Once she held the plush toy tight, an inexplicable burst of courage flowed from Bai Yu. Whenever terrifying thoughts crept into her mind, they were pushed down by the reassurance that Bai Yu was right behind her—there was nothing to fear with her sister around.
That sense of trust! It left Zhao Mingyue in awe.
Isn’t that how that little girl named Bai Sisi felt about her sister?
At that moment, Bai Yu was unaware of Zhao Mingyue’s feelings. Just a moment ago, through her perspective, the black phone had displayed some changes.
She was sure Zhao Mingyue couldn’t see the new message.
[Task: Delicate Girl]
[Your nickname is “Doctor,” and your method of healing patients often involves severing their heads or piercing their throats and hearts.]
[Doctor, everyone has their own past and memories. The “madman” you speak of has feelings too; it’s just that their fragile, sensitive side won’t easily reveal itself.]
[Tonight, your task is to help Subject 652 regain her memory.]
[Task reward: ???]
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Tonight’s update is yet another solo chapter, but starting tomorrow, I’m finally free!
I’ll catch up on what I owe from today, then throw in an extra chapter for my sponsor. That means four updates tomorrow.
Yep, four updates!
