"Have I contracted some kind of disease?"
Bai Wu found everything confusing. He had simply gone out to work part-time to help pay for his sick mother's medical bills. And suddenly, he found himself in this strange place.
Bai Wu thought his priority should be to leave as soon as possible and go back to check on his mother.
"Go upstairs to the operating room."
Bai Wu pretended not to hear. He just wanted to leave, turning to walk downstairs.
"There are infection patrol teams downstairs."
Hearing the voice in his mind, Bai Wu stopped in his tracks.
"Who are you? Why are you helping me?"
Bai Wu asked quietly again.
"I am you. I want to live."
"?"
A big question mark appeared in Bai Wu's mind. This statement made him question whether he had really gone crazy.
He shook his head. He couldn't possibly be mentally ill. He remembered everything from his childhood clearly, and there were no gaps in his memories.
"If you are me, then where are we now, and what happened?"
Bai Wu didn't believe this strange voice, but it didn't stop him from trying to gather information.
"This is the Island City CDC hospital. Yesterday, the hospital experienced a large-scale human epidemic infection. Most of the staff evacuated, leaving only a few patrol teams and doctors."
The strange voice began to answer Bai Wu's questions.
"Infection? What infection? Why did they leave us behind?"
Bai Wu returned to the nurse's station and quietly asked again.
"Because I hid," the strange voice replied, then remained silent no matter how many more questions he asked.
A sharp pain suddenly hit Bai Wu, and he gritted his teeth, swallowing some painkillers to ease the pain.
He felt himself growing weaker, his limbs feeling light, and a swelling sensation around his waist. It seemed as though something was growing inside him.
Tap, tap, tap...
Suddenly, footsteps echoed up the stairs from below.
Bai Wu quickly hid beneath the nurse's desk, just as the light fixture above exploded, allowing him to remain hidden in the darkness.
Bai Wu's thoughts turned to his little doll, Yangmian. The doll poked its head out, shaking as it ran out to scout ahead.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The heavy footsteps of an unknown monster approached.
Bai Wu cautiously peeked out from behind the desk, his eyes widening in shock.
He saw an enormous figure, its head almost touching the ceiling. It carried a massive serrated cleaver, with dark red stains and a severed human hand hanging from the blade.
Its bare upper body was covered with purple, snake-like veins, and there were several mouths with sharp teeth opening and closing on its back.
"Target: Night Shift Butcher.Affiliation: Island City CDC Patrol Team.Duty: Eliminate severely infected individuals.Note: Don't move. Its eyesight is poor, and it might make a wrong cut."
"Target: Severed Hand.Note: Cut-off infected tissue. Its owner will need to change their surname to Liu."
"WTF! What the hell is this thing?"
Bai Wu didn't understand but was greatly shocked.
At the same time, he noticed a warm reminder on the wall:
"Be civilized, set a good example. Please don't discard limbs casually."
As the terrifying monster's figure moved away, Bai Wu crawled out from under the desk, grabbed his doll, and immediately started running.
He ran all the way to the fourth-floor operating room door.
Taking a deep breath, Bai Wu forcefully pulled the door open.
Inside, he saw a person in a white coat, with slicked-back hair, sitting in the corner, flipping through a book dripping with blood.
"According to our agreement, you're a little late."
The person didn't even lift their head and spoke slowly.
"Target: Epidemic Doctor.Affiliation: Island City CDC Hospital, Head Surgeon.Duty: Eliminate infections.Note: This doctor is popular among humans, not like a good ghost."
In an instant, Bai Wu's wound on his waist began to move as if something wanted to emerge.
An urgent voice echoed from within the operating room.
"Quick, operate! Cut out this human epidemic!"
This voice was the same one that had guided Bai Wu earlier.
"This large-scale infection is quite tricky," the voice continued.
Bang! The book slammed shut, and a small amount of sticky blood splattered around.
The doctor tilted its head slightly, revealing half of its bloodied and skeletal face.
Its voice was low and magnetic.
At that moment, Bai Wu immediately understood—he was the damn "human epidemic!"
Without hesitation, he turned and tried to run.
"A professional doctor wouldn't let any patient escape," the man's voice remained lazy.
Suddenly, Bai Wu felt something bind him. He was thrown into the operating room.
In the blink of an eye, Bai Wu found himself lying on a blood-soaked, foul-smelling operating table. His waist was throbbing as if something terrifying was trying to break free.
Sssss!
The epidemic doctor's black surgical knife sliced through the bandage, revealing a face with no skin—just blood and flesh.
Through the reflective mirror on the operating table, Bai Wu saw the disgusting face, almost identical to his own. It, too, was named Bai Wu.
"Cut him out! He's going to eat me!"
The disgusting face's lips moved as it spoke.
This wasn't entirely unexpected for Bai Wu. He had never believed in the mysterious voice in his mind, but he hadn't expected to be controlled by the epidemic doctor as soon as they met.
"The difficulty of the surgery is quite high," the epidemic doctor said, slowly playing with the scalpel without rushing.
"I'll pay more!" Bai Wu shouted.
"Immediately serving the noble patient," the epidemic doctor responded eagerly, even bowing slightly in a graceful gesture.
"You're infected with the human epidemic too, right?"
Suddenly, Bai Wu spoke up.
The epidemic doctor froze for a moment and then put on a mask made of human skin, saying, "You're a rare case of a self-aware human epidemic."
While speaking, the surgical knife had already cut into Bai Wu's waist.
In an instant, Bai Wu's skin began to rot and emit a foul smell as the face without skin slowly spread across his body.
The epidemic doctor casually remarked, "It's a pity this patient gave so much. I'll have to cut out this disease."
Pain shot through Bai Wu's entire body.
"The monster in the groove, can't even afford anesthesia?!" Bai Wu cursed in his mind.
The pain was nearly unbearable, and he could barely keep his consciousness intact. With sheer willpower, he managed to squeeze out one word.
"Who's stronger, the patrol team or the nurses?"
The epidemic doctor paused, then looked up. His rotten, pale eyes showed some confusion.
Suddenly, the urgent sound of bells ringing filled the operating room.
The epidemic doctor turned his head slightly and saw a small doll-like creature, frantically using its head to hit a rusty bell.
The bell-ringing motions left a blur behind it.
Boom!
The operating room door crashed to the ground.
Outside the door were several twisted, damaged figures wearing bloodstained nurse uniforms and human-skin nurse caps.
Their faceless faces quickly locked onto their target. Their pale skin was covered with purple-black veins.
"Target: Bloody Nurse.Affiliation: Island City CDC Nursing Department.Duty: Control all moderately infected patients.Note: With that chest, waist, and legs, it could be considered end-of-life care. Even if chopped, it's still worth testing the waters."
While the epidemic doctor was distracted, Bai Wu quickly focused his mind.
The Yangmian doll took the medicine bottle and jumped onto Bai Wu's face.
Bai Wu opened his mouth, and one capsule after another fell into it.
The next second, the ghost face on Bai Wu's waist rapidly spread.
In a single breath, Bai Wu's skin began to peel off, emitting a foul odor.
In an instant, Bai Wu felt as if he had fallen into a freezing hell, the bone-chilling cold enveloping him.
His mind began to fog over.
At that moment, the bloodthirsty nurses rushed into the operating room.
"Hope my golden finger prompt is correct."
Before passing out, Bai Wu prayed silently, while the Yangmian doll slipped out of the operating room in the chaos.