Chapter 206: Yongsheng Pharmaceutical Foundation (12)

Chapter 206: Yongsheng Pharmaceutical Foundation (Part Twelve)

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The stethoscope fell to the ground, and Dr. Fu stood frozen in place, wanting to go mad and flee at the same time.

Zhu Ning could guess what his reaction meant. Dr. Fu was very interested in contaminants and had previously wanted to open Zhu Ning’s brain to examine it.

He was a slightly fanatical doctor, with a probable obsession with cleanliness that made him afraid of cockroaches. He wasn’t particularly afraid of the mutants on Zhu Ning’s body.

But his current reaction was one of sheer terror, his mental state plummeting to a critical point, likely to go insane soon.

Zhu Ning said nothing. She picked up the stethoscope from the ground. This device was easy to operate; even non-doctors knew how to use it.

Unlike the stethoscopes from Zhu Ning’s era, one end connected to an interface on the protective suit, while the other end connected to her abdomen.

Thus, any movement in Zhu Ning’s abdomen could be transmitted through the stethoscope.

In Zhu Ning’s time, many children played a game called "cup telephone" when they were young, using cotton thread to connect two paper cups, creating a simple sound transmitter.

Two children could hide and hear each other's responses from different corners.

This game was innocent, provided you were playing with another human, not a ghost.

Now, Zhu Ning was playing this game with a ghost. Without experience, she moved the stethoscope around her abdomen for a long time before finding the exact source of the sound.

Thump—

It was too clear.

The stethoscope transmitted the heartbeat, through a thin layer of skin and the protective suit, something was inside her.

Zhu Ning asked, “Is it a heartbeat?”

She remained calm, needing to confirm with Dr. Fu whether this was an illusion.

Dr. Fu first froze, then nodded vigorously.

Zhu Ning put down the stethoscope. After visiting so many contaminated areas, this was the first time such a situation had occurred—contamination starting from within the body.

But when? Why did it breach the protective suit?

Was the suit ineffective against this? What were the transmission patterns? Why only Zhu Ning?

One step Zhu Ning took differently from them was entering the meeting room first and sitting in the wrong seat, where a pair of ghostly hands had embraced her waist.

Her questions remained unanswered.

Zhu Ning lowered her head. Her abdomen was flat, showing no bulge, but there was something alive inside.

Were they the ghostly hands? A Cockroach Man? Or some other more terrifying creature?

Zhu Ning closed her eyes, directing the black slime to move downward. This substance, which clung to her bone crevices year-round, tried to perceive the situation.

However, the black slime enveloped her abdomen without reacting, offering no insight into the internal condition.

Dr. Fu was trembling, looking at Zhu Ning on the bed as if she were a potential demon, fearing she might suddenly mutate.

Xu Meng felt the same way, standing behind Dr. Fu after overhearing their conversation.

Their dynamics had changed. Previously, they were a tightly-knit team, but now the atmosphere had become subtly strange.

Zhu Ning sensed this and spoke frankly, “Are you worried I’ll turn into a contaminant?”

Zhu Ning was always direct, addressing issues head-on. Xu Meng silently nodded, while Dr. Fu nodded vigorously.

Zhu Ning remembered that in the Mechanical Oceanarium, she had also been at risk of infection, and Xu Meng had come to her aid.

The current situation was more complex than a simple breach of the protective suit.

This time, Xu Meng spoke up, “We won’t abandon you.”

Xu Meng’s statement clarified her stance, and Dr. Fu nodded, “Yes, I need more precise instruments to examine you. It might just be a form of mental contamination.”

Xu Meng sighed, “Don’t be afraid.”

Dr. Fu echoed, “Right, right, don’t be afraid.” Only now did he realize that Zhu Ning herself was likely more terrified than he was.

“We’ll complete our mission and return. Once we’re back, I have ways to treat you,” Dr. Fu said, sweating profusely, yet still trying to reassure Zhu Ning.

Zhu Ning was not comforted by these words and said, “If I’m contaminated, I suggest you kill me early.”

She directed this to Xu Meng, whose hand tightened at her side. Zhu Ning continued, “It must be before I’m truly contaminated, or I might become an S-class contaminant, making it much harder to eliminate me then.”

Through their helmets, none of them could see each other’s expressions, but Xu Meng felt the weight of Zhu Ning’s gaze pressing down on her.

Dr. Fu finally realized what Zhu Ning was doing—she was arranging her own death.

Zhu Ning, with the highest mental value in Zone 103, would face a severe outcome if contaminated. Therefore, she had chosen an executioner—Xu Meng.

An experienced demon hunter who could analyze the situation and make the best decision.

In other words, Zhu Ning was prepared to die. The five of them had entered the hotel to uncover the secrets of Divine Descent, all with this resolve.

“Can you do it?” Zhu Ning asked, “Captain?”

Xu Meng was taken aback; Zhu Ning called her captain.

Every word Zhu Ning spoke was clear, her tone calm throughout. Xu Meng clenched her fists, taking a long time to force out a single word, “Okay.”

She agreed; if anything happened to Zhu Ning, Xu Meng would become her executioner.

Zhu Ning asked, "Have you found any clues?"

Xu Meng took a deep breath, processing the emotions from before, and then said, "This is an observation pavilion. Inside, there’s only a visitor registration book, and I don’t recognize any of the names."

It was as if they had explored a security booth, but the information about visitors was of no use to them.

Xu Meng said, "The only thing of value is this."

Xu Meng picked up a piece of paper from the table. It might have originally been used for entertainment, with a chessboard drawn on it for playing Go.

Now it was covered in a mess of lines that Zhu Ning couldn’t understand.

Xu Meng said, "It’s in the language of the Demon Hunters, indicating danger ahead, and advising us to leave quickly."

Demon Hunters were entirely different from Cleaners; they received more professional training, and some symbols and gestures were universally recognized among them.

Zhu Ning, being a Cleaner, couldn’t understand them, but Xu Meng could.

Xu Meng added, "The second line is a second warning, urging immediate return."

These symbols were hidden within the game of Go, appearing to outsiders like mere doodles.

Zhu Ning asked, "That’s all?"

Xu Meng shook her head: "Just those two sentences, both warnings."

Zhu Ning asked, "Left by Chu Ling?"

Xu Meng replied, "I don’t know. It could be from any Demon Hunter; there’s no way to tell when it was left."

Xu Meng’s response was intriguing. Any Demon Hunter could have left it, and she must have already seen the content in Cheng Mofei’s bracelet, so this signal could have been left by Cheng Mofei back then.

Anyone who wanted to enter the underground would start here, and someone was warning future arrivals.

Zhu Ning felt her stomach pain intensify. Whatever was inside her, time was running out.

"Let’s keep going," Zhu Ning said.

Finding no more clues in the observation pavilion, they decided to continue forward.

This time, Xu Meng led the way, while Zhu Ning followed silently at the end of the group. Her mobility was severely compromised, and whatever was in her stomach seemed to be consuming her vitality.

After walking about a kilometer, they encountered another observation pavilion.

Another kilometer later, they came across a third one. If not for the differences inside, they might have thought they were trapped in a loop.

There was no additional information in the observation pavilions, and the journey was eerily quiet, a silence of death.

After passing twelve observation pavilions, they suddenly saw a massive building, so unexpected that they hesitated to believe their eyes.

The three of them felt like sailors adrift at sea, suddenly seeing a ghost ship through the fog. Their first reaction wasn’t joy but fear, knowing that what lay ahead was certainly not human.

A building appeared before them, emitting a faint green glow.

They scrutinized it, unsure whether it was an illusion or real. The building was surrounded by iron fences.

Zhu Ning felt the muscles in her stomach tighten to the extreme. It was a hospital, or perhaps a sanatorium.

Beneath the hotel was a deep cave, and below the cave was a hospital—nothing could be more bizarre.

Defective specimens chosen as test subjects, where did they go next? Now they had an answer.

The lights in the hospital were on, but there was no one inside, emitting a ghostly green light, as if luring the unwary forward.

Considering Zhu Ning’s current physical condition, Xu Meng offered to scout ahead. Zhu Ning watched as Xu Meng turned into a black shadow and quickly disappeared.

Zhu Ning closed her eyes and used God’s Eye to look, but the view was not very clear, only allowing her to see the outline.

Beside her, Dr. Fu injected himself with a dose of mental healing agent. He clearly saw the most familiar place of his life, yet felt the greatest fear he had ever known.

After a while, Xu Meng returned, saying, "I took a quick look; there doesn’t seem to be any danger, and I didn’t see anyone."

Zhu Ning also opened her eyes; she hadn’t seen anyone either.

Empty?

Could such a large building really be empty? Could the only contaminants in this polluted area be cockroaches?

They cautiously pushed open the door to the underground hospital. The place looked less like a hospital and more like an eighteen-story hell.

Compared to modern hospitals, this one wasn’t particularly large, but its underground location made it seem vast.

They entered the building, and the floor was damp. They now had a phobia of wet places, recognizing immediately that this environment was ideal for cockroaches.

There was a bloodstain on the wall, left at an unknown time.

Each room had a small window, allowing a clear view inside, typical of ordinary patient rooms.

The doors bore some information. One door read:

Subject: No. 087

Phase: First

Condition: Docile

Docile? Why use such a term? It sounded like a description for a pet.

Xu Meng was searching for clues while Dr. Fu was looking for equipment. After Xu Meng said there was no one inside, Dr. Fu became much braver.

He found an examination room with some old equipment. He wiped off the dirt and tried to turn it on.

As long as he could get it working, he could perform a proper examination on Zhu Ning and find out what was in her belly.

Dr. Fu pressed the button and heard a crackling sound; the machine actually worked!

Dr. Fu was extremely excited; this would be the greatest discovery of his career.

On the other side, Xu Meng entered the nurse's station, flipping through the staff records. Such a place must have work logs that recorded what had happened.

Xu Meng's movements were urgent because Zhu Ning's infection left them little time; they had to finish and leave as soon as possible.

The nurse's station was in disarray after Xu Meng's search, with many paper documents waterlogged.

Xu Meng's eyes showed a touch of madness, tormented by a long-lasting pain. She desperately wanted to know the truth.

Meanwhile, Zhu Ning walked down the corridor, which had railings specifically for patients with mobility issues.

The pain in Zhu Ning's abdomen was almost beyond her tolerance, and she moved slowly, holding onto the railings.

She checked each ward, suddenly stopping at one door that was open.

Among the many closed doors, only this one was open, like a trap with its mouth wide open.

And yet, Zhu Ning walked toward this door. The information posted on the door was completely different from the others.

To Be Occupied: Liu Liu.

Liu Liu?

Zhu Ning blinked, feeling the name familiar. Her thinking slowed, and she finally remembered—it was the file she had taken from the meeting room.

The only empty seat in the meeting room, in the corner, had a defective personal file. Her name was Liu Liu, only fifteen years old. Zhu Ning had encountered the Cockroach Man in her room.

Could she be the source of contamination?

Zhu Ning stepped forward and entered the room. Her stomach hurt so much that she just wanted to find a place to sit down.

She sat on the yellowed bed, her face pale, looking down at her abdomen and her palms.

Zhu Ning thought to herself, oh, so my role is that of an experiment.