Chapter 178: The Vanishing Psychiatric Hospital

Words : 1392 Updated : Sep 30th, 2025

Chapter 178: Chapter 178: The Vanishing Psychiatric HospitalXu Huo left home in a bit of an unpleasant state that year, and his grandfather didn’t open the door to his study for him, instead telling him through the door to go clean his brother’s grave. "I understand," Xu Huo replied through the door, then asked, "How have you been feeling lately?" "I’m not dead yet," the voice inside the door sounded slightly impatient, "Stop fussing around like an old woman. Are you even a man? Just leave!" Xu Huo turned and walked downstairs, directly asking his father, "Grandpa is sick?" Father Xu was somewhat surprised, but then said, "He’s been ill for half a year, his legs are weak, and he can’t walk. He didn’t let me tell you." Xu Huo paused briefly, "What did the doctor say?" "It’s just that, old age." At this moment, a familiar figure in a suit and leather shoes walked in from outside. "Chief Wu." Chief Wu said cheerfully, "I didn’t expect us to meet again in Jing City. I’ve come to deliver something to you this time." "You were injured in Sea City, and the higher-ups are very concerned about you." "I found a potion in the game that healed my injuries." In fact, the toxin from the Alien in his body had already been neutralized. "How is my friend doing now?" "You mean Wang Chaoqing?" Chief Wu chuckled, "That kid is really cunning as a rat. After we gave him the suppressant, he just laid there refusing to leave, demanding that the state provide him with an Antitoxin. However, the Antitoxin is still being researched and hasn’t been perfected yet, so we can’t just give it out to anyone." "Let’s talk somewhere else," Xu Huo suggested. The two moved to the small study on the second floor, where Chief Wu first made his intentions clear, "The state values talent, of course we hope you’ll join the newly established security department, but the state also respects your will. As long as your heart is with the state, it doesn’t matter where you are." Xu Huo smiled, "You haven’t found any records from my past?" Xu Huo’s records had, of course, been studied closely, and in the end, the higher-ups unanimously decided that if he was willing to join, they would fully support his development. If he disagreed, the state would still be able to provide a certain level of support, since he had also made contributions. "That’s all in the past. If you were sick and got better, that’s all that matters, right?" Chief Wu had been assigned to this case because of their previous interactions. Xu Huo leisurely lit a cigarette, "If you’ve looked up my information, then you should know that I received treatment at a psychiatric hospital during my childhood." "A couple of years ago, on a whim, I decided to look for that hospital, but it was gone, no building remnants left. I couldn’t find any record of that hospital in any official archives." "Later, I looked for some institutions and hospitals that should have had dealings with that hospital back then. There were no records about that hospital in their files, yet people did remember that there had indeed been patients transferred to that psychiatric hospital, it was just that the written records and procedures that should have been preserved were all gone." Chief Wu’s expression slowly turned grave, "I’ll look into this matter." Xu Huo nodded slightly, "I don’t plan to join any organizations for now, but I brought some potions back from the game this time. You can take them to complete your task." Chief Wu looked somewhat regretful, but didn’t insist, "If you face any difficulties, just say the word. The state will help you with anything that can be resolved." "I’ll mention it if something comes up," Xu Huo added, "Did we lose a lot of players this time?" On the way back, he had seen screens everywhere calling for ordinary people to sign up to become players, but the response was lukewarm. When the topic turned to this, Chief Wu couldn’t help but sigh, "Due to the nature of the incident, aside from the innocent casualties among civilians, the most sacrifices were made by the players." Whether it was Jing City’s elite players, the defensive players from various cities, or the Pioneer Players supporting Sea City, more than two-thirds of them had died. The development of players hadn’t even properly started, and it was almost cut in half. "Increase the number of players as soon as possible," Xu Huo said, "I’ve heard some bad news in the game. If a new game zone loses its potential during the initial evolution stage, there’s a high possibility that it will be abandoned by the game." "What does that mean?" Chief Wu’s expression became stern. "It means the same events as those in Country B will occur all over the world. A large number of Aliens will invade Zone 014, ordinary people won’t become Evolvers naturally, and eventually the entire world will become a grazing ground for the Aliens." "This information is crucial!" Chief Wu wiped the cold sweat from his brow, "You might not be aware, but just this noon, the internal rules for the lockdown of foreign area players were released." "Lockdown?" Xu Huo raised an eyebrow. "Yes, through a large number of surveillance videos, we noticed that the players from outside the area seem to rely on props to reach Zone 014, and apparently, they also need to obtain the Zone 014 replica Tickets. We infer that there might be limits on both the Tickets and the use of props to invade the real world, so even high-level players can’t just come and go as they please," Chief Wu explained, "And we believe that the events in Country B were also caused by players." "If foreign area players have to rely on Tickets to enter the real world of Zone 014, then each player’s maximum stay is less than two months," Xu Huo said. "That’s right, every player has to experience a replica once a natural month, as dictated by the game rules; no player can defy that." With this limitation, players cannot stay in Zone 014 for too long. Therefore, if foreign area players are found in the future, the main response should be a lockdown. Now it seems that this discovery made them complacent, but the real danger comes from the game, not the few players! "I need to rush back and report this immediately," Chief Wu said, getting ready to leave. On his way out, he added, "By the way, a disease is spreading in Country Y. Until we clarify when this outbreak started, try to limit your contact with the outside world as much as possible." After seeing him out, Xu Huo returned to his own room and checked the rewards from this replica. Besides the "Tooth" Granny Bai gave him, there was only one additional item: [Adult Fairy Tale Book: As soon as you open this book, it will automatically tell a disturbing fairy tale. It’s advised not to use it for children under eighteen.] Xu Huo took out the book to inspect it: a hard, red-leather-bound volume three inches thick. As soon as he opened it, mysteriously blood-drop-like patterns appeared on the originally snow-white pages, and then lines of text surfaced, as a dry, eerie voice began to narrate the words on the page. "It’s a book of horror stories," he said, setting the book aside. He casually searched for some horror music to play, listening to the stories as it played. However, the narration quieted down after less than two minutes. Once the text and bloody patterns faded, the cover automatically flipped closed. seaʀᴄh thё Nôvel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Initially thinking the time was up, Xu Huo opened the book from the middle. This time, the blood-drop marks turned into rippling wave patterns, and he continued listening with the music on, but this time the book closed even before he finished half a page. When he opened it again, a bloody sentence appeared on the page: "As an Adult Fairy Tale Book, it has lost its dignity and plans to engage in passive resistance."

Chapter 178: The Vanishing Psychiatric Hospital

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