"It seems like we've really entered a new world." Zi Ling turned around and, when she came to her senses, found that the stairwell she had just seen was no longer visible.
“Indeed,” Lu Shi also noticed this. They were truly standing on this street and even saw more of the scenery.
For example, at first they could only see the door at the end and the building behind it, but now they find there is another street in the distance.
It was the same street where they got off the bus, only it looked much older.
The only problem is that the door, which was just open a moment ago, is now closed.
“This must have been at least twenty years ago, right?” Cao Ran said softly, pointing to a billboard not far away. “I remember this sign went out of business when I was in elementary school.”
“Someone’s coming over there.” Lu Shi glanced at the person approaching, pretending to be casual. It was a middle-aged woman carrying a bag.
As she passed by the four of them, she stopped and glanced at them a few times.
“She can see us,” Ye Bugui said softly.
To everyone's surprise, the woman immediately turned around and responded loudly, "Young man, I'm not blind, how could I not see you! It's just that your clothes look a bit strange."
Zi Ling and Cao Ran huddled together and whispered, "How many years ago do you think her style of dress is?"
"I can't tell, I think it's similar to what my mom wears now."
Perhaps the aunt's reaction was too relatable; they almost forgot that they were only in a past memory, and even thought it was real.
The good thing is that they all calmed down and were no longer afraid at the beginning.
"Let's go," Lu Shi said, walking at the front. He had just used up the last of his spiritual energy. It seemed he could use immortal techniques here.
This also means that this place is different from the dream world.
"I'll do it." Ye Bugui grabbed the doorknob first, and nothing unusual happened.
He shook the doorknob hard and realized that the door was locked.
"It won't open." Ye Bugui turned around and said, "It seems we'll have to find another place."
Just then, a person walked towards them, trembling. It was an old man with a hunched back, but whose eyes revealed a shrewdness.
"Did you come together?"
He looked at the four people and found it a little strange when he noticed that the two men and two women were standing together.
"Yes." Lu Shi nodded: "We've discovered that we can't open this door!"
"Haha, you young people are really funny! This is the back door, how could it be open all the time!"
Hearing this, Ye Bugui immediately laughed: "This isn't our first time here. Are you nervous? Is the main entrance just ahead?"
"Ah, that's right." The old man smiled and looked the two girls over. As they were about to leave, he whispered, "This back door... you need connections to get through. We'll meet again if fate allows."
After they had walked a distance, Zi Ling couldn't help but complain, "Who is he? Why does he talk like that? It's so weird."
"I don't know," Ye Bugui squinted, "maybe they're just liars in every era."
Lu Shi glanced at the building and confirmed once again that this was the Good Family Apartment where they were currently living.
The apartment building, which now looks somewhat old, was, in my memory, the most impressive building on this street.
Upon reaching the main entrance, everyone had a sudden realization: this was the apartment entrance they had seen when they first entered the instance.
Of course, in my memory, this gate was even bigger and more magnificent.
To the surprise of the two female players, the former site of the Good Family Apartment was actually a hospital.
Ye Bugui was not surprised at all; on the contrary, he felt a sense of sudden enlightenment: "The hospital, no wonder."
Lu Shi knew what a hospital was; it was a medical clinic in the cultivation world. But he hadn't expected it to be so big, feeling it was even more impressive than the Medicine God Valley.
Upon hearing Ye Bugui's words, he immediately understood what the other party meant:
"You mean, Gao Yang and Wang Qifan's brother both died in this clinic, no, in this hospital. So their vengeful spirits remain in the apartment."
“That should be it.” Ye Bugui felt a sense of relief, as if the clouds had parted and the sun was shining. “It’s still the same old story of being haunted by vengeful spirits, just with an extra layer of packaging. I think if we want to save our roommate, all we need to do is drive away the vengeful spirits.”
“Yes, just drive them away.” Lu Shi said seriously, “They’re not wrong in themselves. They’ve probably been trapped in the mortal world for too long and forgotten the way to the underworld, so they have no choice but to become wandering ghosts.”
Now, whether it's the female players in the dungeon or the viewers in the live stream, they've all confirmed one thing: Lu Shi really is the Demon Lord.
So even Cao Ran, who was usually aloof, finally became curious:
"Demon Lord, is it true that people can be reincarnated after they die?"
“That’s certainly true in the cultivation world.” As Lu Shi followed Ye Bugui into the hospital, he explained to them, “Ghosts also have their own world. But if some ghosts stay in the human world because of their obsessions, they will forget how to go to the underworld.”
"Ordinary ones will become wandering ghosts, and if they are encountered by passing cultivators, they can be released from their suffering. There are also those with deep-seated obsessions who may even come out to harm people, and they are called evil spirits. Evil spirits cannot be released from their suffering, and their souls can only be scattered."
The air conditioning in the hospital was quite strong, and coupled with Lu Shi's deep and warm voice, it actually gave Zi Ling goosebumps.
She wasn't afraid of monsters in the dungeon, but the thought of ghosts and monsters in reality was terrifying, since her abilities couldn't be used in real life!
“I think what you encountered were evil spirits, so in the dream they tried every means to kill you.” Lu Shi analyzed as best he could: “However, for some reason, it seems that these ghosts cannot really harm us.”
“We really were unlucky.” Zi Ling was completely convinced: “I guess it’s because we’re staying in the dorm? That’s why the ghosts can’t move. Just like the Faceless Men, they can only move outside the room.”
“That’s possible.” Ye Bugui nodded. “We live on the second floor, why don’t we go upstairs and take a look now?”
One advantage of this era for them is that management in all aspects is not very strict, which allows them to ignore the people in the hospital and run around recklessly without anyone stopping them.
Perhaps in other people's eyes, their family member is seriously ill, which is why they are so anxious!
Once on the second floor, Ye Bugui quickly looked for a sign.
Since Lu Shi didn't understand anything at the moment, he simply set Ye Bugui to follow him, and followed him wherever he went.
In the end, Ye Bugui, thanks to his good looks, learned from a nurse which departments were located on this floor.
"Cardiovascular medicine, neurology..." Ye Bugui repeated them one by one, but listening to them, it seemed that none of the departments could be considered to be in opposition to their roommates.
“Don’t you guys think,” Cao Ran said, leaning against the wall, seemingly quite uncomfortable with the smell of disinfectant around her nose, “that based on your roommates’ experiences, the relevant department for us should be obstetrics and gynecology, right?”
"Obstetrics and Gynecology?" Lu Shi clearly didn't understand.
“It’s just about having children,” Ye Bugui said quickly, “It has nothing to do with you or me.”
After Ziling got to know them better, she was able to crack a joke: "How can it not matter? When you get married and have children, you'll still have to go to the OB-GYN."
“What I mean is,” Ye Bugui said awkwardly, “we can’t have children.”
Lu Shi's surprise stemmed from the fact that "there are special departments for childbirth?"
In the cultivation world, medical clinics almost never admit pregnant women. In that era, pregnancy was considered an unlucky omen.
Therefore, midwives are usually arranged to deliver babies at the pregnant woman's home. If the family is in a worse financial situation, the family members may even deliver the baby themselves.
“Yes,” Cao Ran explained, “Giving birth in our time is much safer now, and there are far fewer difficult births.”
"That's wonderful," Lu Shi said with emotion. When he traveled to the human world, he witnessed difficult childbirth and deeply understood the saying that giving birth is like passing through the gates of hell.
He grew to love this new world more and more. This time, Lu Shi decided to stay in the instance for the full 15 days.
"Shall we go to the obstetrics and gynecology department?" Ye Bugui led the group to the nurses' station.
When the nurse heard that they were going to the obstetrics and gynecology department, she smiled and looked the four of them up and down: "Are you two couples?"
"No, no," Lu Shi immediately denied.
It wasn't that he looked down on the two female players, but in Lu Shi's eyes, such words were damaging to the reputation of the two women.
"Oh, so that's an unplanned pregnancy." The nurse was quite open-minded for that era: "It's alright, let's check how many months pregnant you are first!"
Ye Bugui's eyes darted around, and he immediately agreed for them: "Okay, do we need to register? I was in such a hurry that I forgot to register!"
When they went to register, Ziling was still complaining, "What are we going to check? We don't have any babies."
"If we don't do this, we won't have a chance to get checked out at the OB-GYN." Ye Bugui clasped his hands together in a pleading gesture: "Thank you for your help. I just saw that the OB-GYN is on the third floor. Do you think there's a problem?"
Both female players were experienced, and they indeed became serious.
"Alright, then we'll make a sacrifice as a way of thanking you for dealing with so many Faceless Men all by yourself."
The obstetrics and gynecology department is at the far end of the third floor, and everyone passing by has a smile on their face.
After all, it's about welcoming new life.
"You two are wearing rather unique clothes." The nurse looked them over and keenly noticed their avant-garde style.
"I just bought it randomly," Zi Ling forced a smile. Although she had agreed to the inspection in order to get through customs, she was still afraid when she actually stood at the door.
Whether it was the clean white bed and blankets, the seemingly kind white coats and two nurses, or the smell of disinfectant in the air, everything made her feel a little uncomfortable.
"Come in." The nurse seemed used to this kind of scene, and gave Lu Shi and Ye Bugui a reproachful look: "You two aren't even going to comfort them! You men, you're all like hands-off managers, so carefree!"
Lu Shi felt somewhat ashamed after being scolded, but he didn't want to make a move, since men and women shouldn't touch each other.
"No, no," Zi Ling quickly said. "I'm just a little scared."
"What are you afraid of? You're going to be a mother soon." The nurse laughed. "Once the baby grows up, you'll definitely love what it's like to be a mother."
Cao Ran was looking around when he asked Ye Bugui, "Did you find something?"
"I don't know if I'm seeing things or what," Cao Ran suddenly realized her heart was racing. The nurse's laughter, as if replayed, echoed in her mind: "I think I saw that strange old man downstairs."
"Really?" Ye Bugui's expression changed: "Tell me a direction, and I'll go take a look over there."
After Cao Ran finished speaking, Ye Bugui walked over to Lu Shi and whispered in his ear, "I'll go check over there. Are you alright here alone?"
“Of course,” Lu Shi said immediately. “You go ahead, I’ll be fine staying here by myself.”
The nurse glanced at Lu Shi a few more times, probably wondering why the two men seemed to be getting closer.
Meanwhile, Zi Ling was already lying in bed, beginning a series of examinations.
Lu Shi and Cao Ran had no choice but to sit outside and wait.
Next door was the operating room where women were giving birth, and they could even hear the heart-wrenching screams coming from inside.
Then the two looked at each other, as if they had thought of something utterly absurd:
"It sounds a lot like how Sherry was called back then."
Ye Bugui hadn't gone far when he saw the old man again outside the men's restroom.
The old man had secretly gone to the toilet to smoke his pipe. He glanced at Ye Bugui, choked a few times, then grinned, revealing a mouthful of gold teeth:
"Oh, we meet again so soon."
"Hmm," Ye Bugui asked vaguely, "Do you know why I came to see you?"