Hospital 444
Chapter 73 - 14: The Mystery

Chapter 73: Chapter 14: The Mystery

"An Minglu is usually a very rigid person, so she’s fairly unpopular. But in Lu Ying’s memory..."

Dai Lin and Gao Heyann walked out of the cafe and gradually made their way to the back gate of the campus.

"What’s in the memory?" Gao Heyann pressed.

"An Minglu makes an impression on everyone as a girl with a rigid personality but outstanding abilities and looks." As he spoke, this completely contradicted the chat records between her and Dai Wei in Dai Lin’s memory, "So I think, it’s very likely that Dai Wei initiated the pursuit, and she demanded that Dai Wei should not contact her proactively at school. Their encounters must have all happened off-campus."

"The reason why Lu Ying harbors such resentment towards An Minglu is this. Her mother was a believer, so before she died, she gave Lu Ying a crucifix. The school prohibits the carrying of pendants, so Lu Ying wore it secretly to school. However, one day, An Minglu saw it."

A crucifix?

Gao Heyann thought of something.

"Could it be?"

"In the memory, at that time, An Minglu seemed to turn into a completely different person. Normally, the rigid, unsmiling her suddenly became someone else. She showed an expression of extreme hatred, and then, she rushed over, ripped off the crucifix, and threw it straight out of the window!"

Gao Heyann was alarmed upon hearing this.

Although he knew nothing of the Demons Department, the crucifix... was hard not to associate. As is well known, the emblem of Hospital 444 is a black cross, in stark contrast to the traditional red cross.

The red cross itself originated from the West.

666... the Devil’s symbol... the hatred for the crucifix...

"What’s even more bizarre is, afterward, when Lu Ying confronted An Minglu for discarding her mother’s keepsake, the latter had no memory of ever throwing away the crucifix. From Lu Ying’s perspective, she naturally thought An Minglu was blatantly lying, but I think, perhaps An Minglu wasn’t lying."

Last but not least...

Ge Lin, the only person who considered An Minglu a friend.

"Even in her memory, Dai Wei was just an upperclassman who was good at basketball, and there was no interaction between him and An Minglu. An Minglu is extremely rule-abiding, going to the point of extreme rigidity, never breaking the school rules, never arriving late or leaving early, and would not hesitate to report someone’s rule-breaking. Therefore, she naturally offended some people, but it was never to the extent of committing murder because of it. Of course, everyone more or less concealed something from the police, probably fearing suspicion and unwanted trouble."

"So... she definitely couldn’t let anyone catch her breaking the school rules regarding early romance. If she wanted to date, it couldn’t be inside the school, it had to be outside."

"My guess is that she probably told Dai Wei they must wait until after the college entrance examination to go public with their relationship, hence no interaction within the school. But that night, she said she felt like there was an extra person in her house, so panicked and fearful that she sent WeChat messages urging Dai Wei to come over and keep her company, with content so suggestive it showed just how flustered she was."

Needless to say, this was definitely no coincidence.

The Devil’s Eye had not detected signs of a curse on those girls.

Both of them now fell silent.

As time passed, there would likely be more cursed individuals emerging.

"Curses involving demons are mostly highly dangerous," Gao Heyann reminded Dai Lin, "My sister is a very good example. My personal advice is to not continue this investigation. It’s not that I’m afraid, I’m worried for your safety."

Dai Lin really wanted to tell her that even if he did nothing now, he would still face a deadly trial in half a year.

If that was the case, he might as well take a chance.

The more dangerous the curse, perhaps the faster he could gain control over this pair of Devil’s Eyes and seal the devil within his right eye.

Besides, this time he had his younger brother to save.

"Actually, I feel a bit regretful... Normally, devils should be afraid of the crucifix, right, but it seems more like hatred."

If it was fear, wearing a crucifix might give one the upper hand.

"Let me correct you, devils don’t hate the crucifix. Although we haven’t studied the treatments in the Demons Department, clinical experience tells us this. Devils are evil spirits cursed by demons, and because the prognosis of the devils’ curses differs greatly for patients and doctors, it’s hard for us to judge whether devils are more fearsome compared to fierce spirits and vengeful ghosts."

For patients, being cursed by a fierce spirit or a vengeful ghost, without medical intervention, will lead to the same outcome. Only through the comparison of a doctor’s battle with the evil curses can the hierarchy among ghosts be distinguished.

"Let’s go find Ge Lin," Dai Lin finally decided. "Just reading memories is not enough. Maybe by visiting her home, we can find more clues."

Gao Heyann sighed.

She had long anticipated that Dai Lin would insist.

"I will be taking the associate chief physician exam at the end of the year. Once I pass, I think I can help you even more."

"Are you going to take the test next year?"

"At Hospital 444, the medical title examination doesn’t consider seniority; passing the test means promotion."

"You mean... it’s not a written test, is it?"

"Of course not." Gao Heyann took out her phone, opened a webpage, and showed it to Dai Lin: "See these famous online haunted house rankings? Of course, some of them are fake, but some are real. During the exam, you have to visit one of these places and not teleport back to the hospital midway to pass."

"The Island of the Dolls in Mexico... Aokigahara Forest in Japan... Genting Skyway Hotel in Malaysia... China’s seal... no, where did you take your exam?"

"The exam location isn’t known in advance. Through the examination process, you can also obtain new cursed objects."

...

Dai Lin and Gao He Yan took the subway to Ge Lin’s home.

Having read her memories, they naturally had easy access to her address.

Human emotions, however, cannot be obtained by reading memories.

And women often have stronger intuitions than men.

"It seems that she has a pretty good relationship with An Minglu," Dai Lin was generally optimistic about this line of inquiry, "We should be able to get some clues. It’s just uncertain whether she herself has been cursed."

As for what to say after meeting her, Dai Lin had already considered a cover story.

Meanwhile, Gao He Yan was searching the name "Wei Shi Ling" on her mobile phone.

This was the name of the third victim from thirteen years ago.

She tried searching for Wei Shi Ling and Yin Wuque together, but aside from both having performed at the Yongxin Grand Theater, they didn’t seem to have much connection.

Perhaps it was just a pure coincidence. Thinking this, Gao He Yan felt slightly relieved. Although they were not married, Yin Wuque had long been considered her brother-in-law, a member of her family.

The subway arrived, and Dai Lin and Gao He Yan got off. Guided by Ge Lin’s memories, Dai Lin confidently led Gao He Yan to the neighborhood where Ge Lin’s home was located.

Her home was in an old neighborhood, located at the edge of the suburbs, making the surrounding area somewhat remote. As such, it was a bit more than a kilometer away from the subway station.

Suddenly, Dai Lin looked up and noticed the sky had become somewhat gloomy.

It looked like it could start raining at any moment.

Both instinctively quickened their pace.

But the downpour began... as sudden as spoken!

They could only run into a noodle shop to take shelter from the rain.

"What will you have?"

The proprietress came over with the menu, and just as Dai Lin was about to say they were only there to escape the rain, he suddenly began scrutinizing the proprietress and the shop more carefully.

He felt it was somehow familiar.

But he was certain he had never been here before.

This seemed to be... from Ge Lin’s memory, albeit a bit blurry.

If that were all, it would be fine, but as Dai Lin looked around, he couldn’t shake off a sense of eeriness.

It seemed the memories associated with this place had given Ge Lin some unpleasant experiences.

So, Dai Lin immediately said, "Proprietress, a bowl of ramen, please."

Gao He Yan was a little surprised, "Didn’t you have dinner already?"

"I’m not planning on dieting anyway, so might as well eat when I can."

Gao He Yan realized Dai Lin might have a motive, so she added, "Make it two bowls, and add some extra coriander to mine."

"Sure thing!"

The shop was small with just a few staff. So, it was the proprietress herself who brought over the ramen when it was ready.

As soon as the proprietress brought the noodles, Dai Lin immediately asked, "Proprietress, do you recognize these two people?"

Dai Lin picked up his phone, and on the screen were two girls!

On the left was Ge Lin, and on the right was An Minglu!

Using Ge Lin’s memories, he logged into her QQ account and found this photo in her album space.

"Hmm, I remember, this girl on the left... She came here for dinner last night."

At this, Dai Lin was taken aback.

Because... in the memories he had absorbed, Ge Lin hadn’t left her home at all last night!

"Do you remember what time it was?"

"Around eight, I think."

That timeframe...

It was just shortly before David went to An Minglu’s house!