Chapter 34: The Other Side

"Call the other wardens and tell them what happened," Xia Shou said to Wang Long.

In this incident, the initial anomalous patient did not actually pose much of a threat. As long as it was handled properly, the danger could be contained within a minimal range. However, once one of their kind died, the mobility of the remaining anomalous patients would skyrocket. Once their mobility reached that of a normal person, their lethality would be virtually indistinguishable from the biochemical weapons of an army.

The anomalous patient whose limbs Xia Shou had just crippled was now lying motionless on the ground, seemingly dead. The anomalies elsewhere in the hospital had likely grown stronger. Although Xia Shou had instructed Wang Long to notify the other wardens, he knew it was highly probable that they had already been wiped out.

"I can't get through... no one is answering," Wang Long said, hanging up the phone.

Xia Shou was not surprised; this situation was entirely within his expectations.

"Tell everyone here to hide in their rooms, lock the doors and windows, and don't let anyone in." He did not intend to take civilians to the other side of the closed domain. The other side was not necessarily safer than this one. Before Liu Dong died, he kept muttering that there was one more left. This seemed to imply that there was something on the other side hunting the civilians in the hospital as prey, suggesting that the space on the other side might be even more terrifying and dangerous than this one.

"Doctor Wang, take Liu Guangyao and come with me," Xia Shou said. This place might be related to the Blood God, and in the subsequent exploration, Liu Guangyao might be able to recall more critical information. Although Wang Long was a civilian, his medical knowledge could be useful; if they encountered another situation requiring surgery, Xia Shou would need him there to direct the process.

"Alright, I'll go inform them immediately. Give me three minutes," Wang Long nodded wearily. In truth, Wang Long already considered himself half-dead. As an internal staff member of the Control Bureau, while he lacked the professional ability to handle anomalies, he possessed basic common sense. The term "Closed Domain" was called a "Death Domain" for a reason; their current struggle to survive might only be delaying their deaths by a few hours.

While Wang Long went to find Liu Guangyao, Xia Shou released his shadow to consume the lifeless anomalous patient. As the body gradually sank into the shadow, the progress bar before Xia Shou's eyes advanced rapidly.

As he expected, this type of anomaly was not difficult to digest, and the increase in the consumption rate went very smoothly.

[Consumption Rate: 100%]
[Consumption complete. You have gained the incomplete skill—"Misery Loves Company"]
[Description: The baseness of humanity lies in the fact that when one is in pain, one hopes others will feel the same pain.]
[Effect: Through physical contact, you can transmit your own negative physical sensations to the person you are touching. This effect remains active during contact and persists for 30 seconds after contact is broken. (Only effective on humanoid creatures of similar size)]
[Cost: While the effect is active, your own discomfort will be doubled.]
[Note: This skill is in an incomplete state. If the complete skill is acquired, both the effect and the cost will be further optimized.]

"Fine, it's a self-masochistic skill, but it's better than nothing," Xia Shou consoled himself. He suspected that the skill was incomplete because he had only consumed one anomaly. Since these anomalous patients were connected, they were likely considered a single entity. To obtain the complete skill, he would have to consume all of them. However, he currently lacked the energy for such a task. After all, they were fighting to stay alive, not farming monsters in a dungeon.

Just as the consumption ended, Wang Long arrived with Liu Guangyao. Liu Guangyao was much calmer now, though he still looked somewhat vacant.

"I will take good care of him. You focus on what you need to do," Wang Long said. He knew that Xia Shou was their only hope of leaving this place alive, and the only thing he could do was not be a distraction.

"Then... let's move out." Xia Shou went to the window at the end of the hallway, grabbed the sill, and climbed to the other side. The others followed suit, climbing through the window one by one.

"Is this also a hospital? I smell antiseptic," Su Weiyu sniffed.

"It seems so, but also not quite. But such a long corridor shouldn't be a private residence; it looks like a public building," Xia Shou said, looking at the dozens-of-meters-long hallway ahead. The walls and floor of the hallway were covered in overlapping circles, complex geometric patterns, artistic depictions of internal organs, and countless unknown characters, resembling a ritual array. The entire corridor was filled with a religious atmosphere.

"I feel like... I've seen this somewhere before," Liu Guangyao muttered, staring at the patterns.

"Have you seen this place in your dreams?" Xia Shou asked cautiously.

Liu Guangyao quickly shook his head. "No, I haven't seen this place, but these patterns... they look familiar. But I can't remember... are we really not in a dream?"

"Correct, we are not in a dream. Think carefully, and tell me if you remember anything."

Xia Shou was now fairly certain that this anomalous domain was related to the Blood Demon. He took a few more steps forward when a hazy mist suddenly appeared out of thin air before them. The four of them stopped in their tracks, staring fixedly at the mist.

The mist coalesced into the image of a little girl. She trotted to the corner at the end of the hallway, pointed in a direction, and turned back to look at them.

"She seems to be waiting for us," Su Weiyu said.

Xia Shou said skeptically, "Could anything good come out of this hellhole?"

"It is indeed suspicious, but at least she isn't the doctor Liu Dong mentioned," Su Weiyu said. "Since she isn't the doctor, perhaps we can trust her."

"Let's follow her and see," Xia Shou checked the cooldown of his "Seeking Death" ability. Twelve hours remained—an eternity.

Following the ghostly little girl, they turned the corner and wound through the building, eventually exiting the structure and arriving at an open outdoor area. Once outside, they finally confirmed that this was indeed another hospital. They were standing in what appeared to be the hospital garden, but the layout was different from a typical hospital. In the center of the garden stood a strange, fortress-like building.

The exterior of the fortress was a regular octagonal prism with eight windows on eight sides and only one door at the base. Surrounding the fortress, many doctors in white coats wandered the lawn along fixed paths, holding various weapons as if guarding against any intruders.