Ghosts in Medical School Horror Files

Chapter 3

It was too quiet, a deathly silence.

"You think you can scare me? Not so easy." After encouraging herself, Luo Shimin strode down the corridor without looking back. Room 104 was in the middle of the corridor; she had passed it many times but had never gone in. Legend had it that a girl, unable to bear the immense pressure of studying, had hanged herself in this room.

The door was open. Luo Shimin gently pushed it, and the old wooden door creaked open, like a heavy sigh.

The room was dimly lit, revealing neatly arranged tables and chairs. A man sat in the center, gazing intently at the chandelier overhead, seemingly admiring a finely crafted medical artifact. He didn't even hear the door open. Luo Shimin stood at the doorway, her eyes wide, and only entered after confirming it was Xia Chen.

Luo Shimin quietly walked to Xia Chen's side; he was still looking up. Following his gaze, Luo Shimin realized he wasn't looking at the chandelier above him, but at something in mid-air that didn't exist. He was motionless like a statue; if Luo Shimin hadn't heard his soft breathing, she would have thought he was already dead.

"What do you want from me?" Luo Shimin asked softly.

Xia Chen did not react, still staring up at the air.

"What do you want from me?" Luo Shimin repeated loudly.

There was still no response, but Luo Shimin noticed glistening tears welling up in Xia Chen's eyes.

What made him so sad?

Several minutes passed, and Xia Chen showed no sign of stopping. Luo Shimin lost her patience and shoved Xia Chen rudely, "What did you call me here for? I don't have time to play with you."

Xia Chen slowly lowered his head, saw Luo Shimin, and said calmly, "You've arrived, an hour and a half earlier than I expected."

Normally, Luo Shimin would cherish the opportunity to chat with handsome men, but the current situation didn't allow it, so she went straight to the point, asking, "What exactly happened in the infirmary last night? Who killed them?"

Xia Chen shrugged helplessly. "You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask? If I knew, would I still be sitting here waiting for you? Last night, I passed by the infirmary and heard a scream. As soon as I opened the door, you rushed out, bumped into me, and fainted. After I took you back to your dorm, I called the police. That's what happened."

Luo Shimin was skeptical and asked doubtfully, "Director Wang said that Qi Xiaoke and Hu Rongrong asked for leave to go home. What's going on?"

"You don't suspect that Director Wang and I are the murderers, do you?" Xia Chen's face showed a meaningful smile. He reached for a chair and gestured for Luo Shimin to sit down.

"No, no." Luo Shimin hurriedly waved her hands. "How could you be the murderers? I just want to find out what happened. I can't let my good friend Rongrong die without knowing why."

"Hu Rongrong is not dead." Xia Chen's words struck Luo Shimin like a bolt of lightning, leaving her feeling dizzy.

"What did you say? Say it again!" Luo Shimin could hardly believe her ears.

“I said Hu Rongrong is not dead,” Xia Chen explained. “She was just strangled unconscious by the murderer and has passed the critical period, but she is still in a coma. The others were not as lucky as her. Except for Qi Xiaoke, all the other victims were strangled to death. The reason why Director Wang said that Qi Xiaoke and Hu Rongrong took leave to go home was entirely arranged by the police. You must keep this a secret and not tell anyone what I told you.”

Luo Shimin frowned deeply. "How could you know such a secret so clearly?"

"Just trust what I say." Xia Chen didn't intend to reveal his source of information to Luo Shimin.

"It's good that Rongrong is alright." Luo Shimin breathed a sigh of relief. "You called me here just to tell me that Rongrong is alright?"

"No, I brought you here to see this." Xia Chen took out a stack of photos from a notebook under his arm. Luo Shimin noticed that the cover of the notebook was black, eerily black, like a pool of stagnant water. Once a person's eyes were on it, it was hard to look away. Their soul was pulled out of their body by a strange suction force and burrowed into the notebook.

"Look at the photos."

"Xia Chen put the notebook in the desk drawer before Luo Shimin returned to normal. She told herself that it was definitely not an ordinary notebook. "Look at the photos," Xia Chen repeated.

Luo Shimin took the photos and glanced at them, immediately feeling a wave of horrific bloodshed wash over her. The photos depicted none other than the bloody scene in the infirmary from the previous night. Even more gruesome than what she had actually seen, because what she had seen was only a part of it, while the photos showed every detail of the infirmary, clearly the work of a professional. The photos rekindled Luo Shimin's fear, and she forced herself to look at every single one.

Xia Chen's eyes showed approval. "You're not bad. What did you figure out?"

Luo Shimin shook her head, trying hard not to vomit, and left a good impression on Xia Chen. "Where did you get these photos? Did you take them? They're so professional."

"It was taken by the police." Xia Chen's answer surprised Luo Shimin again.

"How did you get it?" As soon as the words left her mouth, she immediately realized that she had asked an inappropriate question.

"Keep it a secret for now!" Xia Chen took the photos and asked, "You really didn't see anything?" He picked out a few photos and placed them in front of Luo Shimin.

The photo shows a close-up of a middle-aged man's face. He is wearing a doctor's coat. When he died, his face was black and distorted, and his eyes were almost bulging out of their sockets, with dark blood flowing from the corners of his eyes.

Luo Shimin turned her head to the other side; she simply couldn't bear to watch any longer.

Xia Chen was somewhat disappointed. "Didn't you notice?"

Luo Shimin shifted her gaze back to the photos, staring at them for a long time before a sudden realization dawned on her. "This isn't Dr. Wu, it's another doctor from the infirmary, Dr. Zuo." She looked through all the photos from beginning to end but couldn't find Dr. Wu. "Where did Dr. Wu go?" she exclaimed.

“Good question.” Xia Chen patted her shoulder. “This is what I need to investigate. Where did Dr. Wu go? I called you here to ask if you noticed anything unusual when you walked into the infirmary.”

“Something’s wrong?” Luo Shimin recalled carefully. “I was terrified at the time and didn’t notice anything unusual.”

"Think about it again carefully," Xia Chen guided her. "Anything you see, smell, or even hear is fine."

Inspired by Xia Chen, Luo Shimin remembered, "That's right, I heard a hissing sound, like the sound of a snake."

"Snakes?" Xia Chen frowned. "How could there be snakes in Yishi Academy?" Xia Chen thought for a long time without any result, then suddenly stood up, put the black notebook into his backpack, and walked towards the door.

Luo Shimin asked, "Where are you going?"

Xia Chen said truthfully, "I need to go to the scene to take a look. If there really is a snake, it will leave traces."

Luo Shimin blurted out, "Can I come with you?"

"you?"

"I will find the person who hurt my friend." Luo Shimin's eyes were filled with determination.

Xia Chen hesitated for a moment, then agreed, "Alright, you can come with me, but you have to listen to me. Any objections?"

Luo Shimin naturally had no objections.

As the two left the room, Xia Chen whispered into the empty space, "Sister, I'm leaving. Take care of yourself. I'll come see you again in a few days."

006 The Secret Chamber in the Sewers

Xia Chen's words to the empty room reached Luo Shimin's ears without missing a single one. She struggled to suppress her strong urge to ask further questions.

Everyone has a secret in their heart that no one else can touch. After all, a girl like Luo Shimin, whose mind and heart are blank, whose IQ and EQ are frighteningly low, and who is always single-minded, is a rare find. It would be hard to find another person like her out of ten thousand.

The two walked silently towards the infirmary. The sun peeked over the horizon, the fog gradually dissipated, and some early-rising students were studying diligently, while others were exercising. Those who recognized Luo Shimin witnessed an unbelievable scene: she was walking side-by-side with a handsome young man. The shock of this news was no less than that of a comet about to collide with Earth.

Luo Shimin secretly observed Xia Chen's angular face out of the corner of her eye. The fiery sunlight shone on his face, gilding his charming features with a layer of gold.

Luo Shimin started swooning again. He was so charming; how blissful it would be to look at that face forever. Xia Chen sneezed. If he knew what Luo Shimin was thinking, he would definitely run away as fast as he could, he wouldn't look back even if you killed him. Luo Shimin unexpectedly noticed a faint red mark on Xia Chen's left cheek, like a handprint. Connecting it to the sound of a slap she heard in the old building, she was certain someone had slapped Xia Chen. Xia Chen had only transferred to Yishi Academy yesterday; who could have hit him?

As they spoke, the two arrived at the door of the infirmary. Xia Chen grabbed the absent-minded Luo Shimin and said, "Where are you going? We're here."

"Oh." Luo Shimin shook her head, clearing away all the whimsical ideas in her mind, making herself look very professional.

The police finished their investigation and body disposal last night, but there wasn't enough time to restore the scene to its original state. They could only hang a "Closed Today" sign at the entrance and put a huge padlock on the door.

Xia Chen looked around to make sure no one was watching, then took out two iron bars and poked them into the keyhole. He didn't forget to tell Luo Shimin, "Keep an eye on things, and let me know if anyone comes." Seeing Luo Shimin nod in agreement, Xia Chen focused on unlocking the door.

At the end of the road, a teacher who was doing her morning exercise was running towards the infirmary. Luo Shimin saw her and immediately made a sound. Xia Chen was focused on unlocking the door and didn't see her at all. Just as the teacher was getting closer, Luo Shimin grabbed Xia Chen, and the two pretended to be having a romantic conversation. The teacher glanced at them, shook her head, and continued running.

Watching the teacher run away, Xia Chen lowered his voice and asked, "I told you to say something when you saw someone coming, why didn't you react? Don't tell me you didn't see such a big person."

Luo Shimin said innocently, "I squeaked, I squeaked several times, but you didn't hear me."

Xia Chen was speechless. He regretted agreeing to bring her along to investigate the case. He stopped thinking about it and continued unlocking the door.

When no one else appeared, Luo Shimin suggested, "If all else fails, let's smash it open with a rock."

"Shh!" Xia Chen gestured for silence, then twisted the iron bar forcefully. With a click, the lock opened. Luo Shimin exclaimed, "You're really amazing! You can even pick locks." Not wanting to waste words, Xia Chen pulled Luo Shimin inside. After glancing around to make sure no one was paying attention, Xia Chen quietly closed the infirmary door.

The infirmary was a mess, with a faint smell of blood still lingering in the air. Everything remained exactly as it had been after the crime. Cabinets and IV stands lay overturned on the floor, and shards of glass were scattered everywhere—the result of Luo Shimin knocking them over while fleeing. The body had already been removed by the police, replaced by a human figure drawn with white chalk. The bloodstains on the floor hadn't been cleaned up yet, congealing into a dark reddish-black mass.

Just as Luo Shimin was about to take a step forward, Xia Chen said to her, "Don't move, just stand there. Move only when I tell you to." "Okay." No one had ever dared to order her around before, and what was even stranger was that she actually agreed.

Xia Chen cautiously walked to the center of the infirmary, his eyes scanning the four white circles representing Qi Xiaoke, Dr. Zuo, Nurse Luo, and Hu Rongrong. He deduced that Qi Xiaoke, lying in her hospital bed, was the first victim, as her death was the most gruesome. The killer then strangled Dr. Zuo, who was closest to him, and finally Nurse Luo, who was trying to escape. Turning back, the killer then strangled Hu Rongrong, who was likely unconscious from fright. Having killed two people, the killer was too weak to strangle Hu Rongrong completely. However, according to his analysis, if the killer broke in from the outside, Nurse Luo, who was near the door, would have been the first victim. Could there have been a fifth person in the room? But the police found no trace of a fifth person. How did the killer manage that?

Luo Shimin stood there bored. She saw the light switch by the door, pressed it, and the light in the room came on. She said in surprise, "That's strange. Why didn't it turn on last night when I pressed it?"

Xia Chen, who was deep in thought, didn't hear clearly, "Say what you just said again."

"I was wondering why this light wouldn't turn on when I pressed it last night."

Xia Chen rushed over and carefully examined the switch, then looked at the electrical box on the wall inside. It was covered in dust, but the switch handle was spotless. He muttered to himself, "Sure enough, someone tampered with it. He turned off the power when the incident happened, but when did the murderer turn it back on? If it was after the police left the scene, how did the murderer get into the house? There were no signs of forced entry on the door or windows."

Luo Shimin yawned. The series of questions Xia Chen had asked gave her a headache. Her gaze swept around the room, unable to focus; if she concentrated on one point, she would fall asleep quickly. Inadvertently, she noticed a bloodstain on the floor under the hospital bed, as if something had crawled out of the blood. Looking closer at the bodies of Nurse Luo and Dr. Zuo, she saw the same mark, only much fainter, easily overlooked if not carefully examined.

Luo Shimin waved to Xia Chen, trying to get his attention.

"What is it now?" Xia Chen asked, annoyed that his train of thought had been interrupted.

Luo Shimin pointed to the floor under the hospital bed, "Did you notice that mark?"

Traces? Xia Chen saw the traces Luo Shimin mentioned. He quickly found the same traces in many corners of the room, and finally, the traces disappeared next to the sewer. There was a manhole cover in the room that could be opened to go down into the sewer. He found that there was no dust or dirt in the gaps of the manhole cover, indicating that the manhole cover had been opened recently.

Xia Chen pulled hard on the manhole cover, but it didn't budge.

"Come and help me!" he shouted to Luo Shimin, who was still standing dumbfounded at the door.

Luo Shimin said "Oh," and inserted one end of an IV stand into the hole in the manhole cover. The two of them pried it open with force. Xia Chen praised, "You have a lot of ideas and good eyesight."

"Luo Shimin blushed instantly upon being praised, her face turning as red as a ripe apple."

A foul stench emanated from the well, making Xia Chen's eyes water. Luo Shimin felt a churning in her stomach and vomited, but thankfully she hadn't eaten anything since the previous night, so her stomach was empty and she only dry-heaved a few times. Xia Chen took a mask and flashlight from the cabinet in the infirmary and was about to go down when Luo Shimin stopped him. "What are you doing?"

Xia Chen shone his flashlight into the dark bottom of the well. "I'll go down and take a look. Maybe there will be some clues down there."

"I want to go with you."

Xia Chen made up a random excuse, saying, "It's very dirty down there, girls shouldn't go down."

"I want to go down." Luo Shimin became stubborn. "If you can go down, then I can go down. If you don't let me go down, then I won't let you go down."

Xia Chen reluctantly handed her a mask and a flashlight. "Okay, you have to listen to me down there. I'll go down first."

Xia Chen descended the ladder along the well wall to the bottom, finding nothing amiss. Luo Shimin followed. The stench in the sewer was even stronger; a mask was insufficient to block it, and the two covered their mouths and noses as they walked forward. A bone-chilling cold blew out from ahead, and the pitch-black space sent shivers down their spines. For a fleeting moment, Luo Shimin had a hallucination. In an instant, the flashlight suddenly went out, and the previously brightly lit space plunged into a bottomless darkness, leaving only a dazzling red light ahead, and bright red blood gushed forth like a tide.

"What's wrong with you?" Xia Chen noticed Luo Shimin's unusual behavior; her body was trembling slightly.

Luo Shimin gritted her teeth and said, "I'm fine."

Xia Chen didn't say anything, but gently took her hand.

The silence in the darkness was the most heartbreaking. Luo Shimin clung to Xia Chen's hand like a drowning person grasping at a straw, as if she were holding onto a beautiful spring. This feeling didn't last long. After walking only ten meters or so, Luo Shimin felt a hot breath on her back, brushing against her neck. She turned around sharply, but saw nothing. Goosebumps rose on her neck.

Her heart pounded harder and harder. Luo Shimin had a strong feeling of being watched, as if countless eyes were observing her in the darkness, making her skin crawl. Xia Chen seemed to have discovered something and suddenly started running, rushing forward through the sewers. The black pipes receded behind them, the sewers seemed endless, and the sounds of their running in the darkness were so rapid that everything seemed to be distorted and overlapping. The surrounding air became heavy, the air pressure seemed to increase by several Pascals, pressing down on her chest and making her feel suffocated. Luo Shimin took a deep breath, touched her chest, and looked at Xia Chen. Fine beads of sweat were gradually forming on his forehead; he was also starting to feel exhausted.

Xia Chen stopped, and suddenly a large, rusty door appeared in front of them, at the end of the sewer.

Xia Chen nodded, and the two approached the iron gate quietly, their footsteps rustling on the sewer floor. As they drew near, a pungent smell of blood assaulted their nostrils, and the flashlight beam dimmed, flickering unpredictably. A chilling wind blew in through the cracks in the gate, and Luo Shimin gripped Xia Chen's hand tightly, unwilling to let go for even a moment.

Luo Shimin asked in a barely audible voice, "What's on the other side of the door?"

Xia Chen shook his head, his heavy breathing sounding somewhat rapid in the whistling wind.

He placed his hand on the iron gate and pushed it, but the gate did not open. Luo Shimin noticed that Xia Chen's hand was also trembling slightly.