"Are you the night guard?" The raspy voice from inside the room sounded like dry straw being torn apart. From the tone, it was clear that the speaker was male, though his throat seemed badly damaged.
"So, you do know how to talk, huh? Yes, I'm the guard. What's the matter? Are you going to file a complaint with the hospital about me?" Chen Shang sneered.
"I'm in pain... help me," the man said, completely ignoring Chen Shang's sarcasm, as though he were reciting a rehearsed line.
"Of course you're in pain. If I applied a little more pressure, it could get even worse," Chen Shang quipped. Despite the mockery, he withdrew his knife, and the man pulled his hand back inside.
[Are these even human things to say?]
[Madman: You're really making me look bad.]
[Madman: I may not be human, but you're a real dog.]
[A true master at work, I'm following this streamer for sure.]
"I'm in pain... help me..." The raspy voice continued, as if the man were stuck on repeat.
"And how exactly am I supposed to help you?" Chen Shang, now understanding that this man was just like Nurse Zhang—spouting pre-programmed lines—decided to play along and ask.
Sure enough, the man responded with a new line: "Let me out... let me out..."
Chen Shang's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Now you're just pushing your luck. I'm trying to have a civil conversation here, so maybe open your eyes and talk to me, instead of babbling in your sleep."
There was silence from inside the room. Then the raspy voice spoke again: "Give me... some cigarettes... give me cigarettes..."
Satisfied, Chen Shang nodded approvingly.
"Smoking's a terrible habit. Just listen to this guy, he's ruined his throat," Chen Shang muttered as he pulled the half-empty pack of cheap cigarettes from his inventory, along with the plastic lighter.
"So, what are you offering in exchange for these luxurious cigarettes?" he asked.
There was some shuffling from inside the room, and soon, a notebook—looking like it had been scribbled in by a child—was passed through the window.
Chen Shang took the notebook, tossed the cigarettes and lighter inside, and then ignored the man.
As expected, A-wing was mostly a place to gather clues, and this guy was simply part of that process, not a combat threat.
"I wonder, though—if I hadn't brought these seemingly useless cigarettes with me, what would have happened? Would he have made another request, or would I have had to go back and fetch some?"
As he mused, Chen Shang flipped open the notebook.
What he saw wasn't the crude, disturbing drawings he had expected. Instead, it was full of crooked, childish handwriting, riddled with spelling mistakes. Every entry was dated and included a note about the weather, indicating it was a diary kept by a child.
The diary, written from a first-person perspective, described life in the asylum. The writer, likely no older than twelve, appeared to suffer from delusions, often believing themselves to be a bird, longing to fly out of the windows.
However, a few entries in the diary contained information that could be critical to Chen Shang. Notably, the child had visited the fourth floor of B-wing and made a friend there.
This was an important clue regarding the dangers of B-wing's fourth floor.
The entries about B-wing and its fourth floor were toward the back of the diary. Chen Shang skimmed a few:
September 3rd, sunny. Dad had something to do today, so he wasn't at the hospital. I went to the back building. Dad and the nurses usually don't let me go there, so I went by myself today.
September 4th, cloudy. I wasn't caught last time, so I went to the back building again. It's more fun there than here.
September 5th, sunny. I went to the back building again today. I met lots of friends my age. They all believe I'm a bird. I'm so happy to have met them.
September 8th, sunny. I don't know why, but nobody wants to go to the fourth floor. Someone said there's a giant spider there. That's scary, so I won't go.
September 13th, cloudy. My favorite ball bounced up to the fourth floor today. I was scared, but it's my favorite ball, so I went to get it. The fourth floor was really dark, but I didn't see a giant spider. Were they lying to me?
September 17th, sunny. I told everyone I went to the fourth floor and didn't see anything. They didn't believe me. They said I'm lying. I want to prove it, but today the nurse caught me and brought me back.
September 18th, sunny. Yesterday, after the nurse caught me and brought me back, Dad found out and scolded me. He said I couldn't go there anymore.
September 20th, sunny. I'm so bored. I really want to go back to the building in the back. There are kids there who understand me. The adults here just say I'm sick. Nobody believes what I say.
Chen Shang closed the notebook, now armed with a better understanding of the asylum's eerie backstory.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。