Hospital 444
Chapter 276 - 12 Shen Lisheng

Chapter 276: Chapter 12 Shen Lisheng

Just then, a team member lunged forward and violently pushed Dai Wei to the ground.

And it was at this very moment that Dai Wei completely let go, causing... the bamboo pole to be fully pulled into the White Mist!

"Are you crazy! Why were you so close!" The team member grabbed Dai Wei’s collar, barely able to contain his anger, "Do you have a death wish?"

At this point, Dai Wei was also stunned, but the worst part now... was that both the bamboo pole and the porcelain doll were gone!

Without the bamboo pole and porcelain doll, it was like asking an infectious disease doctor to interact with Ebola patients without any protection!

In the village, there was always a legend that once chosen by the draw, one must complete the entire course, or else they would suffer divine punishment from the temple! Although the village chief was noncommittal about this, to the villagers, it was an open secret that nobody talked about.

"I heard someone calling for help inside the mist, so I wanted to use the bamboo pole to rescue them, and I felt their voice was very familiar..."

Lin, the team leader, walked over and looked at the fog in front of him, "Fortunately, sacrificing a porcelain doll managed to prevent the fog from spreading."

He then looked at Dai Wei and said, "You’ve got guts, kid, like a calf not fearing a tiger, huh? Don’t you know how terrifying this mist is? Do you know how many people have entered this mist and never come back! If you’re tired of living, don’t drag us down! The nine-person patrol team now has a big vacancy, and if the mist spreads our way, we’ll have to clean up your mess! If we’re too late to contain it, the fog that surrounds the village could take a big leap forward by tomorrow!"

As he spoke, Lin Tai’s voice turned into a roar.

He never could have imagined! Dai, his son, was so daring!

Within a month of his appointment as the team leader, with reduced team numbers and spreading White Mist, he couldn’t obtain the food and supplies originally allocated to him by the temple and had to provide for Dai’s family from his own pocket!

"Someone calling for help inside the mist? What kind of joke is that? For ten years, when has a patrol team ever heard voices coming from within the mist?"

"But I... I really heard it..." Dai Wei still wanted to defend himself: "When I got close to the mist, I heard it very clearly! There really is someone calling for help! There are people alive inside the mist!"

Dai Wei was sure that the cry for help was very familiar, but he just couldn’t remember it.

It seemed as if it was a voice he had heard long ago, with a distinctive magnetism.

"Maybe it was a villager who had entered the mist before!"

The certainty in Dai Wei’s words gave some of the other team members pause.

"Captain, if what he is saying is true..."

"Then it might mean that those who enter the mist may not be dead, just unable to return to the village?"

"Right!" Dai Wei immediately proposed his hypothesis at this time: "Is it possible... I mean, is there a chance that the people who enter the White Mist aren’t dead, they just can’t come back! With things like the temple in existence, maybe there’s something similar within the mist that enables people to survive!"

Lin Tai continued to probe: "So you put the bamboo pole in there for him to grasp and come out?"

"Yes! I swear, I heard it very clearly, someone in the mist was saying ’save me’, it was definitely a person! Not some monster!"

Lin Tai began to ponder.

"Keep moving for now; the patrol can’t be delayed. You’re without a porcelain doll now, you stay close, I’ll have your team members in front help you out immediately."

"Okay... okay..."

The team resumed their advance.

But because of Dai Wei’s words just now, the patrol team clearly began to grapple with all sorts of thoughts.

Rather than saying they believed Dai Wei’s words, it’s more like... they wanted to believe.

For ten years, more than one person had wanted to venture into the White Mist to seek a chance at life. For example, elderly villagers with diabetes, coronary heart disease for whom the temple couldn’t provide insulin, quick-acting heart-saving pills, and other such medications, which used to be sent back by children who worked in the city. Now, without being able to leave the White Mist, the consequences of not receiving treatment were unimaginable. Thus, they would grit their teeth and enter the White Mist, yet no one ever came back.

But what if the loved ones who entered the White Mist were still alive? If they are alive, then perhaps there’s a hope they could leave!

In the end, the village’s resources were too limited. If there were automated drones or other wireless mobile surveillance equipment, at least there could be some exploration to discover what truly lies within the mist!

"Did you really hear it, Dai Wei?"

The man in front of Dai Wei suddenly asked, "You’re not lying, are you?"

"Yes!" Dai Wei nodded vigorously, "I swear, if I tell even half a lie, may thunder strike me from the heavens!"

"But at that time, the bamboo pole was pulled in by someone inside... assuming it really was a person..."

"Maybe the fog has some kind of magic, preventing the people inside from ever coming out."

"Then why did you dare to stick the bamboo pole into it? Now you don’t have your porcelain doll anymore!"

As he spoke, the teammate’s voice began to choke up.

"It’s been ten years, I want to leave this village... I really don’t want to spend my whole life in this damned place!"

Dai Wei let out a sigh.

Who among the villagers of Nanmian Village didn’t feel this way?

Everyone detested this everlasting fog.

Now, everyone was pinning their hopes on the temple. Many villagers started praying day and night at the temple, hoping it would disperse the fog. Later, the headman, fearing that this would hinder the management of the villagers, laid down a village rule forbidding the worship of the temple. But in secret, it was impossible to stop.

"It seems you also said the voice sounded familiar? It was someone from the village, right?"

"It should be, but I can’t remember right now..."

"A young or old person? A man or a woman?"

"A man, definitely young, with a rather magnetic voice, quite distinctive..."

"Magnetic voice? A man... young... could it be?"

"Who do you think it is?"

"Could it be Li Sheng?"

Li Sheng!

Hearing this name, Dai Wei suddenly felt as though he was struck by a revelation, as if waking from a dream!

"Yes! Li Sheng! It’s Li Sheng!"

Dai Wei’s loud shout immediately drew the attention of the teammate ahead.

"What? Li Sheng?"

"Is he joking?"

"I remember now, it’s Brother Li Sheng! Uncle Shen’s son!"

The Li Sheng family was well-regarded in the village, as their ancestors had served in the military and fought against the enemy. Li Sheng’s father, Shen Zhian, had once competed against the current headman Ge for the village head election.

Five years ago... Li Sheng, who was part of the patrol team, died in the White Mist!

But...

Could he actually not be dead?

Could he have been living in this fog all along?