Hospital 444
Chapter 118 - 31 Executive Vice President

Chapter 118: Chapter 31 Executive Vice President

Lu Yuqing saw Luo Ren visiting her newly acquired coffee shop for the fifth time.

He seemed to be Dai Lin’s old classmate, but unfortunately, Dai Lin had recently been hospitalized, and obviously, he couldn’t meet him. Even so, he often came by.

Back when they knew each other in high school, they seemed to often come to this shop together, enjoying the air conditioning, ordering two coffees and two slices of cake, working on practice exams, and teaching each other topics they didn’t understand.

Such is the life of top students, too competitive.

Lu Yuqing thought so.

She was behind the coffee bar at the moment, having taken over the shop, she didn’t lay off any of the original staff, leaving everything to the original manager to handle. She didn’t interfere with the business, as long as he could ensure profitability.

When not working at the hospital, Lu Yuqing would come here.

Seeing Luo Ren here again, she was still a bit surprised.

It seemed this person had a good relationship with Dai Lin, he kept coming to the coffee shop even though he couldn’t meet or even contact Dai Lin now. But this coffee shop is right by the neighborhood where Dai Lin’s parents lived, why didn’t he go directly to find Dai Lin’s parents?

Luo Ren came this time, still bringing his laptop.

Noticing that the coffee in the cup beside him was finished, he signaled to the waiter for a refill.

Although the shop had changed owners, just like before, after accumulating points, the coffee could be enjoyed for free refills.

At this point, he suddenly noticed that the person coming to refill his cup was Lu Yuqing.

"I’ve mentioned you to Dr. Dai," Lu Yuqing said to Luo Ren, "he’s been quite busy recently. Due to work reasons, I’m not really in a position to give you his phone number."

"I just came to drink coffee, not to look for Dai Lin," although Luo Ren said this, Lu Yuqing could still sense a hint of disappointment on his face.

"Okay, I understand."

After finishing her sentence, Lu Yuqing suddenly sat down.

"May I disturb you for a few minutes?"

Luo Ren looked at Lu Yuqing, slightly closed his laptop, and said, "Go ahead."

"What kind of person is Doctor Dai Lin?"

"Aren’t you colleagues?"

"He’s been at our hospital for a short time, and he’s not in the same department as me."

Lu Yuqing felt that Dai Lin had changed after he had escaped back from the Dusk Building. He became unusually silent and distant, and when he looked at every doctor, his eyes were filled with bewilderment.

She had a vague feeling that it wasn’t just because of the fear brought about by retrieving the Devil’s Cursed Object.

He must have encountered something very strange within the Dusk Building.

"He..." When Dai Lin was mentioned, Luo Ren fell into thought for a moment, then said, "We haven’t really seen each other since high school graduation. He’s very assertive and proud, but also a very principled person."

Lu Yuqing thought to herself: A principled person won’t have an easy time at Hospital 444.

...

For Lu Yuqing, entering Hospital 444 was like stepping into a pure nightmare.

She had been implanted with a cursed object, and after finally escaping the apparition of a hanging ghost that always appeared before her, she found herself in Hospital 444.

Like other interns, she received a contract.

And then, she discovered in that contract a first paragraph that only she could see.

"Report this matter to the Executive Vice President, but other than that, do not tell anyone that you can see the first paragraph of this contract."

Strangely enough, the second paragraph mentioned that if there was a printing error and this is not actually the first paragraph, a report should be made to the Administrative Vice President.

Self-contradictory and completely inconsistent content presented Lu Yuqing with a cruel choice.

Which one to believe?

Later, she found out that Yin Wuque, the Administrative Vice President, and Han Ming, the Executive Vice President, belonged to two different factions that were always covertly battling each other.

Although Yin Wuque was less experienced than Han Ming, Wuque’s late mentor, Lu Yuan, as the former Administrative Vice President, had been highly regarded in the hospital, and Wuque, as his most accomplished student, could be said to have inherited Yuan’s connections. In comparison, Han Ming’s reputation in the hospital was generally considered less favorable than Yin Wuque’s.

Lu Yuqing was certain... that she was the only one who could see, or rather, remembered seeing the existence of the first paragraph. Among the interns who entered the hospital with her, no one knew of this paragraph’s content, or perhaps they knew but did not dare to speak of it. This included Gao Heyann as well.

During her internship, every day when she woke up, she would look in the mirror to assure herself that there was no inverted cross on her forehead.

During that time, her relationship with Gao Heyann had always been good, and they both stood out among the interns. Moreover, Gao Heyann’s sister, Gao Menghua, was in a romantic relationship with Yin Wuque, the Administrative Vice President. Therefore, she had considered seeking out Yin Wuque to inform him of this matter.

But then, she realized that she had already signed the contract with the "printing error". Now, to say that there had been a printing error, could she expect to be excused?

By not declaring the "printing error" in the contract right away, she had already aligned herself with the faction of the Executive Vice President.

After much deliberation, she sought out Han Ming, the Executive Vice President, and told him that she could see the contract’s true first paragraph.

"It says that if I didn’t forget the contents of the first paragraph, I should come to you," Lu Yuqing said to Han Ming, "I also check daily to confirm there’s no inverted cross on my forehead. The first paragraph states that if an inverted cross appears on a doctor’s forehead, they should stay far away from the Demonic Department Doctors. This is completely opposite to the rule set by the Dean; according to the publicly known rules, doctors should seek treatment from the Demonic Department if an inverted cross appears on their forehead."

Han Ming nodded and said, "Since you have come to me, then you must have an idea of which one to believe, right?"

"I do not trust the people in the Demonic Department," Lu Yuqing spoke frankly to Han Ming, "The Demonic Department is too mysterious. We don’t even know how many of the patients who enter the Demonic Department come out alive! Also... the first paragraph also mentions that Hospital 444 is not a hospital, what does that mean?"

"I’m sorry, I do not know."

Han Ming checked several times that the door to the Vice President’s office was locked, then he said to Lu Yuqing, "Firstly, your decision to come to me was the right one."

"Now that I’ve come to you, from this day forth, I shall naturally revere you above all else," Lu Yuqing replied.

"Secondly... beyond myself, do not tell anyone else about this, remember, from now on, in front of anyone, the first paragraph you saw in the contract is always a reminder to check for printing errors. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"I know you have many questions now. I’ll give you a simple explanation. When I first joined the hospital, like you, I saw and didn’t forget the first paragraph, and then I sought out the Executive Vice President at that time. What is certain is that in this hospital, only doctors who have not forgotten the content of the first paragraph can take up the position of Executive Vice President."

"Is that... really how it is?"

"Many people say that certain departments belong to my faction, Han Ming. That is just a smokescreen. Only people like you are my real ’faction’. Everything else is just a diversion. So, for now, continue to work in the Wraith Surgery Department, keep studying and improving, and at the appropriate time, I will transfer you to the Ghost Surgery Department."

"Vice President Han, you mentioned ’you all’ just now, right? There are others like me, aren’t there?"

"Yes. But I will not tell you their identities, and don’t you try to find out. All I can tell you is that you automatically become potential Executive Vice Presidents of this hospital the moment you came to me. After my death, the highest-ranking among you will automatically be appointed as the Executive Vice President."

"I’m definitely the one with the lowest position, aren’t I?"

"Only in one scenario will I reveal the identities of the others to you," said Han Ming unexpectedly shifting topics, "and that is if that person has ’disappeared’ or died."

"’Disappeared’?"

"Just remember this. That’s all you need to know. When you return, continue to comfortably perform your duties as a Wraith Surgery Department doctor."

"One more question... If one day, an inverted cross does appear on my forehead, what should I do? Just avoid the Demonic Department Doctors? If someone discovers it, won’t they report it to the Curse Affairs Deputy Dean?"

"If that day comes... you only have two paths. Either endure and make the inverted cross disappear, or... turn into ’something else’. But never seek treatment from the Demonic Department!"