civilwarnovels Chapter 101: Predecessors
Chapter 101: Predecessors
“We have another survivor.”
Zhao Lan’s heart leaped at the sound. She recognized it instantly and sprinted towards it, hoping against hope. There they were, Yu Xiao and Zhou Xiao Zhen, her only friends in this hellhole. They looked as shocked as she felt.
“Smiley! Precious!” Zhao Lan shouted, her voice cracking with emotion. She had given up on ever seeing them again, having said goodbye in her head over and over. But they were alive, and so was she, and that was enough to make her want to hug them until they broke.
“Misty!” Zhou Xiao Zhen squealed, her eyes shining.
“Yep.” Yu Xiao confirmed, but she moved out of the way as Zhao Lan threw herself at them, leaving Zhou Xiao Zhen to bear the full force of Zhao Lan’s embrace.
“Oof…” Zhou Xiao Zhen gasped, losing her breath. Zhao Lan squeezed her like a python, rocking her back and forth, then turned to glare at Yu Xiao. “What’s your problem?”
“Uh…” Yu Xiao coughed, avoiding eye contact, and gave Zhao Lan a once-over. “Misty, did you… slaughter a whole army on your way out?”
Zhao Lan blinked, then followed Yu Xiao’s gaze. Blood. So much blood. It coated Zhao Lan’s clothes like a second skin, leaving no trace of the white fabric underneath. She had no idea how it got there, only that something had dragged her through the dark, leaving a trail of gore behind. She had grown used to the metallic stench, the sticky sensation. But now, as she stepped into the light, she felt a wave of nausea wash over her.
“Misty… what’s that on your face and neck? Why’s it so sticky?” Zhou Xiao Zhen whimpered, gagging on the stench.
Zhao Lan: “…”
It was saliva.
She remembered then, all the times she had felt something wet and warm on her skin, something that licked and nibbled and drooled. Just the thought made her want to puke.
“Wuu wuu wuu…” Zhou Xiao Zhen whimpered, clutching her ruined clothes. After being hugged by Zhao Lan, her clothes were beyond saving. “Misty, what the hell happened to you?”
Zhao Lan sighed. “It’s complicated,” she said, sounding world-weary. She scanned the room,
Liu Yu slapped a talisman on her stump, hoping it would slow down the blood loss. She had tried one before, but it didn’t do much for a severed hand. Talismans were good for minor cuts and bruises, not for missing limbs.
Yu Xiao counted the talismans left in her stash, a wicked grin on her face.
Liu Yu eyed her suspiciously. “What’s with the lab coat?”
Yu Xiao gasped, realising she still had it on. She had forgotten to take it off after shuttling back and forth to Saint Elizabeth. She quickly hid the logo with her hand, hoping no one had seen it. She shrugged it off, laughing nervously. “Oh, this? It’s just a prop, you know. For protection.”
Hospitals had all kinds of props, from syringes to enemas. A lab coat was nothing special. The others looked at her with a mix of curiosity and jealousy. Props like that were hard to come by.
As she tossed the coat aside, Yu Xiao felt something in the pocket. It was hard and smooth, about the size of her palm. She squeezed it through the fabric, wondering what it was.
She was sure there was nothing in her pocket except the talismans. She glanced at the others, keeping quiet for now.
Zhao Lan was covered in blood and grime, feeling miserable. She asked, “Qing Shi said we have to find the sage in the city after we get out of here. Do we have everyone?”
They looked around, unsure. No one knew the answer, except maybe Qing Shi. He was the only one who knew how many people had come along, and where they had gone.
The sun was sinking fast, painting the sky in bloody hues. None of them wanted to spend a night in the hospital. Zhao Lan scribbled her number on a piece of paper and taped it to the door, just in case someone else made it out alive and needed a friendly voice.
They left the hospital behind, a looming shadow of concrete and glass. The moment they stepped outside, they felt a blast of hot air, as if they had opened an oven. The contrast was jarring. The streets were alive with people, cars, and noise. It was like stepping into another world.
They stopped at the gates, staring in disbelief. They looked like refugees, clutching their wounds and bags, covered in dirt and blood.
“Fuck me sideways,” Fang Yu swore. “Is this for real? I haven’t seen this much life in ages.”
Liu Yu blinked back tears. She had taken these sights for granted, once. Now they seemed precious, almost unreal.
Zheng Hong (郑鸿: “a solemn swan” or “a serious greatness”), the last one to join them, gaped at the scene. “This is insane,” he said. “How can a hospital create such a huge instance? And what about these people? Are they real or just NPCs?”
Yu Xiao tilted her head, studying the faces of the pedestrians. They looked so normal, so human. But were they? She remembered the world outside the Lolita Amusement Park, where everything was bright and colourful, but nothing was real.
Zhao Lan also wondered if this city was a trap like the one before, but they had a mission to complete, and it seemed harmless enough for now.
“Come on,” she said, “let’s find somewhere to crash and get out of these bloody rags.”
The city looked just like the one they had left behind, with shops and people and cars. Zhao Lan got some dirty looks from the salespeople as she picked out new clothes, but she didn’t care. She paid with her phone, scanning QR codes like it was nothing.
Fang Yu crouched on the sidewalk, lighting up a cigarette he had just bought. “Do you think we made it back?” he asked Zheng Hong, who was squatting next to him. “Is this the real world?”
Zheng Hong gazed at the traffic, feeling numb. “My brain says no, but my heart says yes.”
“Shit,” Fang Yu said, rubbing his head. “Maybe we should just forget about that damn sage and stay here.”
Zheng Hong had no answer for that, because he wanted to know too.
Zhao Lan and Zhou Xiao Zhen didn’t give a damn. They were having fun in the clothing store, trying on different outfits. Yu Xiao saw Liu Yu sitting in a corner, lost in her own thoughts.
Yu Xiao slipped something out of her white coat pocket.
It was a phone, but not like hers. It was old and simple, like something from a museum. Even her grandma had a better phone than this.
A mobile phone with a screen too small for its body, buttons too big for her fingers, and an antenna too long for its era. She gaped at the Nokia logo on the back, barely visible under the peeling paint. This thing belonged in a museum, not in her pocket. She had seen her parents use flip phones when she was a kid, but this was even older than that.
Who gave her this antique? She racked her brain, trying to remember. The only person who had touched her since she came to this hellhole was… the ghost. The creepy ghost who had saved her life. For a price, of course. Nothing was free in this place.
But why would it give her a phone? And such a crappy one at that?
She recalled what Qing Shi had said. The ones in the wards were her predecessors. The ones who had played this twisted game before her.
Yu Xiao felt a chill run down her spine. She had forgotten something important. This game had been going on for a long time. Since the First Hospital. The Sixth, Fifth, Fourth, Third… They all had smartphones. They all came from the same decade as her.
But what about the ones before them?
The ones from the First and Second Hospital? They didn’t have smartphones back then.
A flash of insight hit her. The ghost who had taken her offerings, saved her skin, and maybe sniffed her when she wasn’t looking… had it been human once? Had it been a patient from the First or Second Hospital, trapped in this nightmare for who knows how long, until it died and became a ghost, haunting the dark ward?
How long had it been since it last been human? It still clung to a shred of its old consciousness, even as it faded into the shadows. As it bid farewell to her, it slipped its phone into Yu Xiao’s pocket with a stealthy touch.
Yu Xiao tried to turn on the phone, but nothing happened. The screen remained dark and silent.
She couldn’t tell if it was dead or just broken.
“Smiley~” Zhou Xiao Zhen burst out of the dressing room, spinning like a ballerina on crack. “How do I look in this dress?”
Yu Xiao’s thoughts were elsewhere. She barely looked at her and nodded. “You look great.”
“Hehehe~” Zhou Xiao Zhen posed in front of the mirror, admiring her reflection. “Do you think I’m getting fat? My waist seems thicker. Yu Xiao, am I fat?”
Yu Xiao muttered some vague compliments and got out of the store.
She couldn’t shake off the nagging feeling that the ghost had a reason for giving her its phone. Did it want something from her? And why be so sneaky about it?
The more she pondered, the more confused she got. She lifted her head and saw a mobile repair shop nearby. On a whim, Yu Xiao walked in. The shop was small and dingy, with only one guy behind the desk, fiddling with a bunch of parts and a screwdriver.
Yu Xiao walked up to him and showed him the phone. “Do you have a charger for this thing?”
The shopkeeper glanced up, snatched the phone, and gaped. “What century is this? Where did you dig up this fossil?”
Yu Xiao snapped. “None of your business. Got a charger or not?”
“Nope.” The shopkeeper tossed the phone back to her, shaking his head. “What century is this? How would I have a charger for this relic?”
Yu Xiao pressed. “Any idea where I can find one?”
“Nowhere.” The shopkeeper shrugged. “Why bother with this thing? It’s probably toast. And even if it’s not, good luck fixing it. No one sells parts for these anymore.”
Yu Xiao knew he was right, but he also annoyed her. He talked too much.
She had a nagging feeling in her gut. The ghosts in the hospital room, they used to be human, but not anymore. They were monsters. They ate people, fought over brains and hearts, hunted the living like prey.
But the ghost who gave her the phone was different. It still had some awareness. Yu Xiao didn’t know how much, but she wanted to know why it gave her the phone.
She sighed, tapping the phone with her finger. The shopkeeper noticed her sad expression and asked, “Is this phone special to you? Did your grandparents leave it to you?”
Yu Xiao ignored him, staring at the phone.
The phone’s original owner would have been an uncle by now, if they were still alive.
Yu Xiao stuffed the phone in her pocket, breathed deeply, and asked, “Boss, ever heard of the Sage?”
“Sure have,” the shopkeeper said. “Are you going for the challenge too?”
**
Zhao Lan and Zhou Xiao Zhen came out in new outfits, only to find Yu Xiao gone. Liu Yu was in a daze, while Zheng Hong and Fang Yu squatted on the curb, watching the traffic.
“Where’s Smiley?” Zhou Xiao Zhen scanned the area.
Just then, Yu Xiao popped out of the phone repair shop, waving at them. “I’ve got a clue!”
They gathered in a teahouse, Yu Xiao sipping a milk tea. “I just asked around, and the Sage is in the tallest building in this city.”
She said that, and everyone turned to the window. They saw a skyscraper that soared above the rest, at least a hundred and fifty stories high.
“Wow,” Zhou Xiao Zhen gasped, “Why would the Sage live up there? Does he think he’s closer to God?”
“Because he owns the place,” Yu Xiao said.
“Huh?” Zheng Hong frowned. “What do you mean?”
“The Sage is the boss of that building. He has a company there, so he lives there,” Yu Xiao said, adding a snarky comment. “Qing Shi acted like finding the Sage was some big mystery, but everyone in the city knows where he is.”
“Too easy, right?” Zhao Lan smelled a rat. “Finding the Sage doesn’t mean we’ll get to see him.”
“Misty, you’ve got a point,” Yu Xiao whispered. “The city is full of rumors about the Sage. They say he’s a prodigy, born with all the answers. Everyone wants a piece of him, to learn the future, or make a fortune. The story goes that he started a tech company when he was a kid, a big one.”
“That explains it,” Zhou Xiao Zhen said, gawking at the skyscraper. “That building is loaded with gadgets.”
Liu Yu groaned. “Do we have to talk nerdy in a haunted hellhole?”
“Ahem,” Yu Xiao coughed, getting their attention. “So, he built that tower, and never left it since. He made a rule that anyone who wants to meet him has to beat his challenges. Only the best of the best can see him.”
“Yawn,” Fang Yu said. “So lame and boring.”
“Right?” Zhao Lan agreed, looking at Yu Xiao. “How hard are the challenges? Has anyone ever seen him?”
“Not a soul. I bet those challenges are brutal,” Yu Xiao said.
“Now what?” Zhou Xiao Zhen scowled. “Are we supposed to be smarter and stronger than the whole city?”
“Brains don’t always win,” Yu Xiao smirked. “But we’ll see what we can do.” She smiled at the others. “Why waste time on these puzzles? Let’s storm the Sage’s office.”
“You mean break in?” Liu Yu looked nervous. “Isn’t that too much? Although we might be a bit stronger than ordinary folks, isn’t this still breaking the law?”
“It’s not real, it’s a simulation. Scared of the law?” Zhou Xiao Zhen said. “Smiley, I’m with you. Let’s crash the party.”
That settled it. They had their plan to find the Sage. They didn’t stick around, heading for the tallest building in the city as soon as they ate.
The Sage Tower was even more impressive up close.
“I just realised something,” Zhao Lan said. “What if they cut off the elevators when we try to get in?”
That was a problem. Yu Xiao said, “Then we’ll have to keep them running.”
They got the hint. They climbed the stairs together, marching towards the entrance of the Sage Tower.
They hit a snag at the entrance. A security guard blocked their way. “What do you want?” he asked.
“We want the challenge,” Fang Yu said.
“Then go that way,” the guard pointed somewhere else, “and sign up first.”
Zhou Xiao Zhen asked, “Sign up with our names?”
“And more,” the guard said, “We need your age, job, gender, address, and your IDs for safekeeping.”
“…”
They were screwed; none of them had their IDs.
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