Chapter 184: Gripped by Pa.s.sion
Translator: Lonelytree Editor: Millman97
Chen Ge still had many questions, but the boy did not give him any chance and started the countdown. He could see that the boy was also struggling. His body had not fully recovered, and the blood on his clothes was fading. “Stop wasting my time, go!”
When he walked closer, Chen Ge realized that the door was filled with small cracks, and there were plenty of blood vessels weaving through it to fix the wounds. He was reminded of the loud bang that accompanied Zhang Ya’s appearance. He thought about it. “After being sent out by the old man, Zhang Ya burst through the door again. Looks like the door can be broken, but it’ll repair itself.”
Pus.h.i.+ng the door open, the world that greeted him was no longer in shades of red, and Chen Ge found the darkened corridor to be quite comforting.
“Meow?” A white cat squatted beside the door. It turned to look at Chen Ge, its multi-colored eyes s.h.i.+ning with intrigue. After exiting the door, Chen Ge wanted to turn to thank the boy, but the boy slammed the door shut in his face.
I have a feeling the boy is hiding something, but what is it? Is he afraid of Zhang Ya?The red school uniform that fluttered in the wind appeared in Chen Ge’s mind, and he s.h.i.+vered. This three-star Trial Mission had given him a new understanding of Zhang Ya. The Red Specter Zhang Ya was a complete opposite of the person she had been when she was alive. She was cruel and unforgiving. She shattered the door and would attack anyone who dared stand in her way.
Zhang Ya should have exited the door with me, right? Chen Ge turned to look, and Zhang Ya was standing one foot away from him. The red on her uniform was brighter than before.
Chen Ge’s fingers twitched like they were spasming, and Chen Ge let out an awkward laugh to hide how panicked he was. “Just look at how funny this whole thing is. I went inside the door because I was worried about you, but in the end, it was you who saved me.”
Zhang Ya was silent as she studied Chen Ge’s face carefully. Chen Ge was frozen solid under her scrutiny. He was trying to figure out a way to lighten the mood when he realized that, in the twenty or so years he had been alive, his experience of talking with girls was zero.
What have I been doing for the past twenty years‽ Finally, Chen Ge squeezed out the following. “The things here have been dealt with. Let’s go home.”
Zhang Ya did not answer but took a step forward. When her face was almost touching Chen Ge’s, she suddenly increased in speed to phase through Chen Ge’s body before entering his shadow.
The black phone in his pocket vibrated, and Chen Ge leaned against the wall before sliding down it. His forehead was already covered in cold sweat. The pressure Zhang Ya gave him was too high.
“Is that an alert that the mission has been completed?” After taking a deep breath, Chen Ge took out the phone and opened the alert.
“Zhang Ya’s affection level increased slightly! Soon, it will break through to the next level—Gripped by Pa.s.sion!”
The alert that appeared on screen made Chen Ge suck in a deep breath. Gripped by pa.s.sion, why does it sound so dangerous? Will Zhang Ya accidentally tear me apart when she is in the throes of pa.s.sion?
Chen Ge hugged his head and groaned painfully from the terror. The white cat jumped onto his backpack and lay down lazily. It seemed like it had gotten used to the various weird antics of its owner.
In any case, there’s no need to worry about that yet. Chen Ge stood up, and after taking a look at his phone, he saw that all signals had been cut off after he entered the door. Then, he remembered his livestream. He entered the platform and saw that his own livestream had been temporarily banned, but his account was not frozen. He could still comment like normal.
What’s going on?
He glanced at the viewer count. With this one livestream, his number of followers had shot up to 150,000. Click into any bigger livestream, and they would be talking about Chen Ge and Qin Guang’s stories. Chen Ge calmed himself down and went searching for Qin Guang’s livestream. The man’s stream was blocked as well.
What’s happening? Chen Ge called Liu Dao, and it was picked up after seven rings. “Liu Dao? Why are my livestream and Qin Guang’s livestream both blocked? Is it because of the overly long black screen?”
After a few seconds, an unknown male voice replied, “This is the city’s investigation team. Give me your location immediately. Stay where you are, and don’t move around.”
The police? When did they get here, and how did they know I’m at the Third Sick Hall? Chen Ge glanced at the time. It was already 3:50 am. He had only been inside the door for a short time, but time had pa.s.sed by so fast in the real world. After his livestream was cancelled when he entered the door, Liu Dao’s team had probably called the police. Unlike those online viewers, Liu Dao understood how dangerous things could be and knew Chen Ge’s exact location.
“I’m at the mental hospital’s third building first floor. There are two victims trapped inside the second building’s laundry room, and I’ve collected evidence of the suspects.”
“The two victims have been rescued. Don’t ruin the crime scene. We’ll be there in a minute; keep the line open.”
“My phone is dying, so I’m afraid it won’t hold out for long.” Chen Ge then hung up. He immediately hid the hammer and cleaver.
I have to take the thing inside the director’s dresser too.
He raced to the second-floor office. When he grabbed the letters inside the dresser, Chen Ge accidentally found the dresser’s secret. The part.i.tion at the back of the dresser could be opened, and it led to a hidden pa.s.sageway. At the end of the pa.s.sageway was a steel door.
The door’s lock fitted the key Chen Ge had. After unlocking it and pus.h.i.+ng the door open, Chen Ge was surprised to find himself back in Room 3.
This should be the secret tunnel mentioned by w.a.n.g Haiming in Room 3. This pa.s.sageway is connected to the director’s office, so the old man definitely knew about it.
Looking at the patient’s bed, which faced the hidden pa.s.sageway, Chen Ge was reminded of Men Nan’s mother who stayed in this room, and he had a rough idea of why the boy tormented the old director.
w.a.n.g Haiming was once a resident of Room 3, and this key was probably stolen from the director with the cooperation of the mirror ghost.
The police were coming soon, so Chen Ge pocketed the key, returned everything back to how it had been, and sat quietly inside the room, waiting for the police to arrive.
At 4 am, the Third Sick Hall was pried opened, and Chen Ge, who had been waiting for so long, rushed forward, carrying his backpack, a c.o.c.k in his hand and a white cat slumbering on his shoulder.
Before Chen Ge got near, the police surrounded him. Chen Ge had not seen any of these faces before.
“I’m a friend! I’ve found these things left behind by the suspects.”
After a short interrogation, Chen Ge explained why he was at the Third Sick Hall. He removed the things related to ghosts and said that he was chased by the twisted face and ended up being locked by the crazy people inside the Third Sick Hall.
“The suspects’ fingerprints were left on the fourth floor’s steel door. They are three of them; they were all once patients at this Third Sick Hall.”
He struggled to stay awake until dawn, and after receiving the mission success alert on the black phone, Chen Ge left the mental hospital with the police.