The white walls of the single-occupancy hospital room were splattered with glaring, filthy blood. The bed had almost been dyed from white to red by the stains. A trash can in the corner had been knocked over, and discarded ampoules and medicine boxes had spilled out. A corpse lay twisted together with the pile of garbage.
Everything suggested that a violent struggle had just taken place in this locked room. At first glance the fatal wound of the corpse appeared to be the bullet hole in the temple, but the blue-and-white hospital gown he wore had already been soaked beyond recognition with blood. That amount of bleeding could not have come entirely from the head wound.
A closer look revealed that the skin all over his body had ulcerated. Blood had seeped out from beneath the skin itself. His face had rotted to the point that his original appearance was unrecognizable. His eyes were still wide open in death, and now they had turned entirely red, the pupils gone. Most horrifying was his mouth—its corners stretched upward unnaturally, almost splitting to the base of his ears. Combined with the bleeding, decayed lips, it looked like the painted smile of a circus clown.
It was difficult to believe that a corpse in such an advanced state of decay had died only three minutes ago.
The Firefly omega was breathing heavily, leaning against the bed while holding a pistol in his hand. His entire body trembled, his lips somewhat pale as he used a bedsheet to wipe the filthy blood from the gun.
They had originally escorted doctors from the Alliance Medical Association to rescue the medical staff trapped in Enxi Hospital. But along the way they had been attacked by large numbers of crazed infected patients. In the chaos they were separated while fleeing, and the only places available to hide for the moment were these four unlocked patient rooms.
“Doctor Han… don’t be afraid. I will protect you.” Ying struggled with all his strength to calm himself down and turned back to the alpha in the white coat. “Are you hurt?”
Aside from Ying, there was only one other living person in the room—the doctor standing in the middle of the ward with one hand tucked in the pocket of his white coat and a small silver combination case in the other.
The doctor gently placed the case on the floor. He wore gold-rimmed glasses with a thin chain that swayed slightly with his movements. His face was somewhat lean, his flaxen short hair faintly curled, and the structure of his bones gave him an air of refined elegance.
Han Xingqian did not reply. Instead, he walked straight to the corpse, put on gloves, and began examining the body’s condition before recording the results in a small notebook in his pocket.
Although he did not respond, Ying still felt a gentle calming pheromone spread through the air, and his body immediately felt much more comfortable.
While Doctor Han was absorbed in examining the corpse, Ying checked his backpack. There was still enough water and food for one day. Besides the pistol, he also carried a submachine gun, though his reserve ammunition had been reduced to only one hundred rounds.
He carefully picked up the submachine gun and quietly moved toward the door, peering through the small glass window at the top to observe the situation outside.
The lights at the far end of the corridor flickered on and off. A shadow dragged stiff footsteps as it slowly approached.
Ying’s hands shook as he held the weapon. He did not even dare swallow too hard, holding his breath as he stared at the approaching figure.
The person’s complexion was ashen, covered in a layer of deathly pallor. He wore the same blue-and-white hospital gown as the corpse in the room. In his right hand he clutched an IV stand, from which an empty drip bottle swayed. The needle was still stuck in the back of his left hand.
The patient stopped in front of the door of Ying’s room.
Ying covered his mouth tightly and held his breath, trying desperately to calm his racing heart. Yet he did not dare close his eyes, afraid he might miss the patient suddenly attacking.
The patient’s eyes were filled with red veins, though the black pupils had not completely disappeared. He slowly halted, glanced at the empty drip bottle, adjusted its position, then gradually turned around and walked back the way he had come.
Only after the patient disappeared from sight did Ying dare breathe deeply again.
Doctor Han, having finished his examination, removed his gloves. Turning to look at the trembling Ying, the corner of his lips curled into a mocking arc.
“Don’t force yourself,” he said. “Take a rest for a while.”
“Our water and food are running out.” Ying anxiously tried to pry open the locked ward door with a tactical dagger. “We have to get out of here as soon as possible. When we ran in, I memorized the route. On the far east side of the hospital there’s a surgical elevator. We can try to reach the roof. The PBB forces should be conducting a carpet search over Enxi City with helicopters. As long as we get to the roof, we can leave. Once I contact headquarters, I’ll ask them to send rescue for the others.”
But the ward door required a keycard. Aside from a card slot, there was almost nothing on the lock that could be pried open.
Han Xingqian made no comment. He walked around the room inspecting the items inside and discovered that the computer on the desk had gone into automatic black screen mode. When he lightly moved the mouse, the screen lit up.
It was a monitor displaying four feeds.
“Come take a look at this,” Han Xingqian said, bracing his hands on the desk as he called Ying over.
In the upper left corner of each feed was a label: Ward 1, Ward 2, Ward 3, Ward 4.
In the feed for Ward 1, a patient sat on the bed in a daze, gripping an IV stand while taking off his shoes. There was also a computer beside the bed, and it appeared that the screen displayed the same four feeds—though it was impossible to see clearly what was shown.
Ying was startled and whispered, “That’s the patient I just saw.”
Ward 2 held Meng and Nile Crocodile, who were also trainees like him. They were protecting the doctors of Enxi Hospital. The camera’s installation position was rather strange—it seemed to be under the bed. Because they all lived and trained together at the training base and were very familiar with one another, Ying could recognize them just from their legs and pant cuffs.
Han Xingqian narrowed his eyes. “Wait. It looks like something is stuck to the underside of the bed.”
Because the camera was installed under the bed, the image was rather dim. After careful observation, the two of them confirmed that it was an enlarged playing card—and it was the Joker’s little joker.
The feed for Ward 3 showed Ying and Han Xingqian standing together in front of the computer.
Ying thought for a moment. “So we’re in Ward 3.”
The view in Ward 4 was positioned higher. Inside were Clownfish and several doctors from the Alliance Medical Association. There was also a computer in front of the hospital bed. Because of the different angle, they could vaguely make out that the second and third feeds on their screen also showed drawings under hospital beds, but it was impossible to see clearly what the drawings actually were.
Ying considered it, then lay down on the floor and tried to see whether anything was stuck beneath the bed in their own room.
“Do you see anything?” Doctor Han asked.
“Yes, yes! But it’s too dark in there—I can’t tell what’s drawn on it. There’s a metal bar welded between the bed legs, so I can’t crawl inside.”
Han Xingqian calmly watched the four surveillance screens. Suddenly he noticed that the doctors in Ward 4 had gathered around the computer in their room.
Immediately afterward, the two trainees in Ward 2 also seemed to notice the surveillance monitor. Through the gap beneath the bed, their feet could be seen gathering near the computer desk.
“Looks like everyone has noticed the monitor,” Han Xingqian said after thinking for a moment. “Don’t move.”
Ying froze, his hand stopping halfway through rummaging in the drawer.
Han Xingqian stared at the Ward 4 feed and walked a slow circle around the hospital bed.
From the monitor image it could vaguely be seen that although the third feed on Ward 4’s computer showed a very blurry view beneath a bed, the movement of someone’s feet beside the bed was still recognizable. From this, Han Xingqian deduced that the four feeds in every ward were arranged in order—Ward 1, Ward 2, Ward 3, Ward 4.
In other words, the people in Ward 4 could clearly see the patterns under the beds in Wards 2 and 3.
From this, a reasonable inference could be made: every ward could see the pattern under the bed in the ward whose number came before theirs. The only one that could not be seen was the pattern under the bed in Ward 1—because the people in their own Ward 3 and the Ward 4 shown in the monitor could not see Ward 1’s bed bottom.
However, the deduction was not very useful.
Ying asked cautiously, “Doctor Han… can I talk now?”
Han Xingqian looked over at him. Ying was holding a box of playing cards he had found in the computer desk drawer.
“It looks like it’s empty?” Ying muttered to himself as he opened the box. Inside were only two jokers—one big joker and one little joker.
The two cards were not thin like ordinary playing cards. Their thickness was about the same as an identification card.
“Oh—it’s a keycard.” Ying held the card up to the slot in the door lock. It fit perfectly, though he did not know which one to insert. “Should I use the big joker or the little joker…”
“Don’t insert anything randomly.” Han Xingqian picked up the card box and examined it.
The decoration on the box was simple. One side showed a smiling clown; the other showed a dead clown whose eyes had turned into two crossed X marks. The clown was partially covered by a diamond-shaped skull symbol.
As a doctor, Han Xingqian was very familiar with this symbol.
It meant toxic gas.
Han Xingqian set the card box down and suddenly noticed the mouse pad.
The mouse pad was also divided into four squares. Two big jokers and two little jokers were printed across the grid in a staggered pattern. One of the little jokers was exactly the same as the pattern they had seen beneath the bed in Ward 2.
Han Xingqian opened his notebook and wrote two lines:
“Reasonable deduction: the pattern under the bed in our Ward 3 corresponds to the keycard design. Among the four wards, two beds show the big joker and two show the little joker. If the wrong card is inserted, toxic gas will be released in the room and kill us.”
Ying said weakly, “But that still gives us a fifty percent chance of being right… what if we guess correctly…”
Han Xingqian laughed in exasperation. “I should record that and play it for your Instructor Bai.”
Since he did not know the exact position of the camera, he picked up the mouse pad and the card box, raised them, and walked around the room. Then he slid the items beneath the bed and waved them around.
From the surveillance feed, it was clear that the people in the other rooms had been attracted by his actions. The group in Ward 4 began searching through their drawers. In Ward 2, the movement of feet visible through the gap beneath the bed also indicated they had begun looking for something.
Soon the people in the other wards also found the same items and tried to signal through the cameras that they had discovered them.
Ying looked completely confused. “What is Doctor Han doing?”
Han Xingqian replied, “I need to make sure that everyone knows that everyone knows the rules.”
Ying stared at him. “???? No recursive loops allowed.”
Han Xingqian was in no hurry. He sat on the hospital bed and closed his eyes to rest. After waiting about fifteen minutes, he suddenly opened his eyes and glanced at the monitor. The screens had barely changed.
Then he said quietly, “We’re the big joker.”
Ying froze. Holding the big joker keycard, he hesitated, not daring to insert it.
“Really…? Are you sure…? I…”
At that moment, the miniature communicator in his ear suddenly emitted a faint electric buzz. Ever since they entered the hospital, the communicator had stopped working, but now there were finally signs that the signal had returned.
Ying jumped up in excitement, then quickly quieted down and adjusted the channel.
“Hello? Which useless little idiot can hear me talking?”
Bai Chunian’s relaxed and lazy voice came through the earpiece. Ying’s eyes immediately filled with tears.
“Instructor… I—I can hear you. It’s me, Ying…”
Bai Chunian clicked his tongue and comforted him. “Don’t cry. I’m here now. I boosted the signal, but for the moment I can only contact you. What’s the situation?”
Still choking with emotion, Ying explained their predicament to Bai Chunian, including the surveillance monitors and the joker keycards.
Bai Chunian chuckled. “You already waited fifteen minutes. Obviously you insert the big joker, idiot.”
Ying froze and stared at Doctor Han in disbelief. Han Xingqian merely gave a small shrug and picked up the silver case from the floor.
“Get ready to move.”
Ying trusted his instructor without question. He inserted the big joker card into the door lock.
The lock lit up green and opened automatically.
“W-why?” Ying asked blankly.
“Explain it later. First take Brother Han to the surgical elevator and meet me on the roof. Hurry up—it’s starting to rain out here, and I didn’t dress warmly enough.” Bai Chunian teased lazily. “Use your head a little. My Brother Han’s hands are extremely valuable—protect them carefully for me.”
“Doctor Han, stay close to me. If there’s danger, hide behind me.” Ying took a deep breath, raised his submachine gun, and opened the door. He handed the pistol from his belt to Doctor Han and turned back to instruct him. “I already chambered a round for you. Don’t fire by accident. If something happens, just aim for a vital spot.”
Han Xingqian raised an eyebrow. “All right.”
The moment they stepped out, the door behind them automatically locked again. Ying tried pushing it, but it would not open anymore.
If they wanted to reach the surgical elevator, they had to pass by Wards 2 and 1. Both of them knew there was still an infected patient in Ward 1—a ticking time bomb.
Just as Ying was thinking about taking a detour, the patient holding the IV stand stepped out of Ward 1 and slowly walked toward them.
“Why is he here again?” Ying immediately lifted his gun and aimed at the patient.
“Wait. I want to observe this specimen.” Han Xingqian pressed a hand on Ying’s shoulder. “He’s different from the other infected patients. Why does he seem less aggressive, and why hasn’t his expression turned into that exaggerated clown-like smile?”
They retreated to a safe distance. The patient dragging the IV stand slowly walked to the door of Ward 3—the room they had just exited—and stopped. He slowly raised his head, glanced at the empty drip bottle, adjusted its position, then blankly turned around and started heading back the way he came.
But this time the ceiling was leaking slightly, and drops of water had formed a small puddle on the floor.
As the patient walked back, he stepped into the puddle and slipped, landing hard on his backside.
Ying was completely stunned.
The patient sat on the ground. Suddenly he turned his head and stared at Ying and Han Xingqian. Then, his mouth split grotesquely all the way to his ears, forming the exaggerated smile of a circus clown. His skin began visibly rotting away, blood seeping out all over his body. The last trace of black disappeared from his crimson eyes. At that moment he released the IV stand, opened his blood-soaked mouth, and lunged at them.
“Doctor Han, watch out!”
Ying’s first instinct was to shove Han Xingqian away to safety. He faced the bloody infected patient alone. The patient crazily bit down on the barrel of Ying’s gun and refused to release it even as bullets struck him.
A pistol shot cracked through the corridor.
The infected patient’s head was hit. His body stiffened and collapsed.
Han Xingqian calmly rested a hand on Ying’s shoulder, withdrew the pistol, and slipped it back into the holster on Ying’s belt.
As they continued walking, Ying rubbed his flushed face. The communicator buzzed again. Han Xingqian removed the earpiece from Ying and placed it in his own ear.
“Hello. It’s me.”
Bai Chunian replied, “Oh—handsome. Scared? Bet you missed me to death.”
Han Xingqian said calmly, “Regarding this epidemic, what do you know?”
Bai Chunian answered, “A looping virus. It’s the J1 ability of experimental subject number 408, Samael. It has two stages: early infection and late infection.”
“In the early stage, infected people repeat something they once did during a certain period of their lives. If no one interrupts them, they will keep repeating that action endlessly. The moment they realize the thing they are doing is different from what they just did, they enter the late stage of infection.”
“You’ve already seen what the late stage looks like.”