Enforcer Manual
Chapter 386 - : Shadows of the Past_1

Chapter 386: 386 Chapter: Shadows of the Past_1

9:14 PM, evening.

Fengling took three pills for the fifth time and walked into the security passage under the astonished gaze of the janitor.

As Fengling’s figure disappeared to the other side of the door, he rubbed his eyes vigorously and took out his phone to check the time once more.

9:15 PM.

Time was passing normally, which meant he had not fallen into the so-called "time loop" that had been trending online. It was simply that this young lady had to go down the security passage every fifteen minutes.

As Fengling descended the stairs, she muttered firmly, "Stop on the third floor, then take a breath and continue down to the fifth floor..."

Her attempt failed once again.

She had not stumbled into the dreaded "contaminated corridor." When she pushed the door open, the security guard stared at her with the same astonishment as the janitor.

Fengling also stared back at the security guard for a long moment.

Her clothes were intact, and there was no sign of contamination erosion on her face. In the lobby on the first floor, there were still quite a few patients waiting to register, some even lying directly on the benches in the waiting area, fast asleep.

This was not "Benevolent Prosthesis Hospital."

In fact, the Benevolent Prosthesis Hospital didn’t exist in this world. Whether by using search engines or asking locals, no information about this hospital could be found. Even the small website only vaguely mentioned it as a hospital that existed in the Void, which you could enter from any corner of any hospital.

The hospital was filled with contamination, and the "Adventurers" were still dedicated to investigating the source of the contamination.

"Miss..."

After seeing Fengling for the fifth time, the security guard felt he had to come forward.

To him, Fengling’s behavior seemed extremely suspicious, as if she was casing the place, and she also carried a weapon.

"May I ask what brings you here?"

"Nothing, I’m just walking around."

Fengling was gradually losing patience. "Big Radish Head’s" method was utterly useless, she had triple-checked the details, and repeated the exact same method five times, but now she was still on the first floor of the hospital, being treated as a suspect by the security guard.

Before setting out, she had made thorough preparations, bringing with her sticky notes, a pen, water, and nutrition injections sufficient for three days, ready for a prolonged struggle in the Benevolent Hospital.

But she was a persistent person.

If five times didn’t work, then ten times, and if ten times didn’t work, then twenty times.

She would repeat it until work the next day, then come back after work in the afternoon.

From now on, this prosthesis hospital would be her territory, and unless she was sent into the Void, no one else could even think about getting in!

...

"Why is this girl so stubborn?"

Medea, who had witnessed all this, showed a puzzled expression. Ordinary people usually gave up after three futile attempts, yet Fengling had already embarked on her sixth expedition after getting rid of the security guard, "She’s already taken 18 pills!"

The pills that the nurse prescribed to "Big Radish Head" were painkillers. A normal person swallowing so many pills at once would probably have been rushed to the emergency room for a stomach pump by now.

Fengling was the subject Medea was eager to study, but this encounter made Medea feel uncertain.

The other party was a genuine Six Stars candidate. If there were a conflict, it was quite possible that she would get slashed. Although physical damage wouldn’t be fatal to her, it would greatly damage the image of the Pollution Master. She was at the start-up phase and couldn’t afford to be defeated before gathering many "believers."

"Remember our strategy."

Song Lan’s voice came through the earpiece. To avoid being detected again by the Consciousness Entity residing in Fengling’s knife, he had to stay in the public rest area of the junkyard, observing the hospital’s situation through the surveillance equipment that Dr. Bai Zhu had hacked into.

"Got it."

...

For the sixth time, following the method provided by "Big Radish Head," Fengling once again arrived on the first floor of the prosthesis hospital.

The security guard got even more nervous from her actions, his hands restlessly moving to his gun and then hanging down again, as he seemed to have started viewing her as a Cyber madwoman.

Just as he was debating whether to contact the Law Enforcers, the "Cyber madwoman" suddenly showed an expression of surprise.

Almost without thinking, he drew his gun, although he knew how futile the weapon provided to security guards was against a real "Cyber madwoman."

The muzzle was pointed at Fengling, and even though it was already winter, sweat kept pouring from the palm of his gun-holding hand.

"What, what are you trying to do?"

"It’s getting foggy!"

He saw the "Cyber madwoman" pointing at his ankle and couldn’t help raising his voice with excitement.

The security guard looked down and noticed that fog, unbeknownst to him, had crept over his ankles, and the visibility outside was getting lower and lower. In less than a month, District Seventeen had experienced several days of heavy fog, a weather condition so rare it’s said to occur only once in decades, yet had become commonplace to the locals.

Some believed the fog was connected to the Void, but currently, there was no substantial evidence to support this claim.

The security guard promptly closed the doors of the prosthetic hospital.

Not long ago, all prosthetic hospitals received a warning from the Law Enforcers department to ensure the safety of patients and staff. During foggy weather, doors and windows should be kept firmly shut, prohibiting any exits.

Joy was written all over Fengling’s face, as multiple pieces of evidence suggested that the foggy days had some kind of link with activities in the Void.

And just as she was lost in thought, a white figure brushed past her.

That figure flitted by like a Ghost, slipping into the safety passage behind her.

But...

The door to the safety passage was closed and showed no signs of having been opened.

For some reason, that fleeting figure felt somewhat familiar to her, as if she had seen it somewhere before.

Fengling wanted to follow and find out the truth, but the Guardian Spirit conveyed an unprecedented resistance. It was no longer slowly leaving warning text on walls or glass but directly sealed the entrance to the stairwell with ice.

A thin layer of ice covered the entrance to the safety passage, desperately trying to prevent her from stepping into the world beyond the door.

"This is important to me."

Fengling once again disregarded the warnings of the Guardian Spirit—in the past few years, she had rarely disagreed with it.

The thin ice ultimately failed to halt her steps.

Pushing open the door, the fog had already taken over the stairwell, obscuring the path to the upper floors.

Without hesitation, Fengling followed the white figure’s trail upwards until a strong emotion suddenly surged in her heart, convincing her that something awaited her on the other side of the door.

Benevolent Prosthesis Hospital.

The internet claimed it was a death zone, riddled with pollution and teeming with various monsters. Fengling was mentally prepared—for on the other side of the door, she expected to find a corridor enveloped in contamination, blood, rotting flesh, and foul odors, but she believed that this corridor would lead her to an answer.

With that mindset, Fengling used the sheath of her knife to push the door open.

However, the next moment, she stood frozen in place.

The scene behind the door was entirely different from what she had imagined.

There were no monsters, no traces of contamination; the corridor led to a room with an ajar door.

Fengling watched as the white figure disappeared into the room with the slightly open door, realizing something.

She had been here before.

...

When?

And under what circumstances?

The place looked like a hospital room, but she had no memories of hospitals in her mind.

She never fell ill, or at least she hadn’t since October.

Fengling quickened her pace.

When she entered the room, it was already full of people, well-dressed, gathered around a bed. Each face was blurred yet seemed familiar.

The white shadow stood among the crowd, focusing intently on the person lying in the bed.

"Polick Spiritual Energy Syndrome."

Almost at the same time, a strange term popped into her mind.

"Hey, you!"

In a daze, she heard the doctor’s stern reprimand, "Who let you in here?"

She seemed to be pulled back to reality, gazing confusedly at the doctor, who was now coming into focus.

This indeed was a hospital room, but the blurred figures had vanished.

Medical staff scrutinized her sternly, while in the bed lay a patient she had never seen before.

"If you don’t leave now, I’m calling security!"