Chapter 1012: Chapter 708: Communication
From Boss Sun’s mouth, Yang Xiao learned that the Ren De Mental Hospital had been closed for many years, and even the surrounding affiliated buildings had been abandoned.
With a backpack on, Yang Xiao was the first to open the car door and get out. Initially, he intended to leave Boss Sun behind to guard the car, but after experiencing the recent series of events, Boss Sun insisted on following Yang Xiao, unless he stayed behind as well.
Helpless, Yang Xiao had no choice but to bring him along. As there was only one flashlight left, everyone had to stay very close together this time.
Walking along the asphalt road under their feet, Yang Xiao soon saw the building standing in the darkness. The building was not tall, with only three floors above ground, but it was very long, with many windows on each floor. At this moment, the building was pitch black, with only a vague outline under the night sky.
Dou Jie, seemingly sensing something, took out the group photo he carried that was found in the haunted house. After comparison, the building in front of them was the same building that had been erased in the background of the photo of Yin Kun and Zheng Churou. The photo was taken here.
At the end of the asphalt road, it led to the hospital’s main gate, an old-fashioned iron gate about 7 or 8 meters wide. It had curved tracks on the ground, and it took great effort to push both sides open.
At this moment, the iron gate was closed. A thick iron chain was fastened at the opening, and due to years of exposure to the elements, the chain and the large lock on it were severely rusted, looking like they hadn’t been opened for a long time.
Beside the iron gate, a sign was hanging on a pillar, which read "Ren De Mental Hospital" in large characters.
The hospital covered a large area, surrounded by a high concrete wall, with many sharp glass shards embedded on top. In some places, the concrete had fallen off, exposing the red bricks inside, which looked like human flesh and blood.
Qu Hong, who was agile, swiftly climbed over a small iron gate next to the main gate. After confirming it was safe inside, he waved for everyone to follow.
Despite being broad and stocky, Boss Sun moved nimbly, not becoming a burden to the team. Soon, they stood in front of the hospital building.
Two warning signs stood on either side of the entrance, with "Beware of dangerous building, do not approach" written in glaring red letters.
But when Yang Xiao looked up, the building didn’t appear new, but it wasn’t old either. There were no visible cracks on the stairs, far from the image of a dangerous building that Yang Xiao had in mind. Qu Hong pried open the iron lock on the door, and everyone cautiously entered the hospital building.
Inside the building, it was eerily quiet. Their footsteps echoed in the empty hall. The glass window of the service counter was half-open. Yang Xiao shone his flashlight inside, finding the room not too messy.
A thick register book was placed on the table, and several clothes were hung on a standing coat rack at the back. The dark green iron cabinet was covered in dust.
Yang Xiao reached out and took the register book, shaking off the thick layer of dust covering it. The handwriting inside was written in dark blue ink. Flipping to the last page with writing, Yang Xiao noticed that the date for that entry was May 14th.
Continuing further in, they circled around a decorative wall, behind which was a deep corridor blocked by an iron gate.
On the wall next to the gate, several large characters were scrawled in red paint: "Do not enter, enter at your own risk!!!"
The three glaring crimson exclamation marks were quite oppressive, especially the words "enter at your own risk," which cast a shadow over Yang Xiao’s heart.
"What should we do?" Dou Jie, who was becoming increasingly restless, looked at Yang Xiao. He had subconsciously regarded Yang Xiao as their leader.
"Pick the lock," Yang Xiao ordered Qu Hong. Since they had come this far, they couldn’t leave empty-handed. Moreover, the ghost had just killed someone; they should be safe for the time being.
Qu Hong’s skills were excellent, able to open even complex combination locks. This old-fashioned lock was no challenge for him. Within a dozen seconds, he removed the lock. With a gentle push, accompanied by a slight creaking sound, the iron gate slowly opened. With the flashlight’s beam, the corridor revealed doors painted blue on either side, each with an observation window and a room number above the door frame.
These rooms were for the patients. Yang Xiao stood behind one door, looking inside through the observation window, and saw an iron bed placed in the center of the room.
As they continued along the corridor, Yang Xiao made more discoveries. Every few rooms, there was a telephone on the wall, which Yang Xiao deduced were call buttons to contact medical staff.
"What is this?" Qu Hong asked, puzzled. They had reached the end of the corridor, where there were stairs leading upstairs, but on the other side of the stairs, there was a cement wall.
The cement wall appeared very sudden and roughly constructed, as if it was hastily built. It was unpainted and stood out in stark contrast to the surrounding environment.
Yang Xiao knocked on the wall and surprisingly found it to be very thick.
"Mr. Chu, look here."
Xi Huijun’s voice broke Yang Xiao’s train of thought. He turned around and saw Xi Huijun pointing to a corner of the stairs, where an inconspicuous nail was attached with a rope that hung down, tying to a book.
Approaching, Yang Xiao took down the book and, after a brief inspection, found it to be the patrol log for the first-floor wards. Seeing the familiar form, Yang Xiao immediately thought of the paper fragment in Xiao Yaqin’s hand.
The difference was, the room number on the paper fragment started with a 3.
"Let’s go upstairs!" Yang Xiao decided to head directly to the third floor.
