Samsara Paradise: Dream Weaver of Connections.

Lin Yi's gaze lingered on the two heavily armed guards for less than half a second before naturally shifting away.

That brief glance was enough for him to etch many details into his mind: the gun muzzle was slightly lowered but ready to be raised and fired at any time; the posture revealed the marks of years of training, which fully demonstrated that these guards were not just for show, but had seen blood.

He tightened his grip on Gulu's shoulder slightly, indicating that it was time to go.

The two slowly walked out of the quarantine area along with the silent and sorrowful crowd.

The metal door slid shut silently behind me; outside the door lay the anxieties of the living, while inside lay the slumbering unknown.

Back in the relatively noisy main hall, the oppressive feeling had not completely dissipated.

Cries, whispers, hurried footsteps, and muffled calls from the radio... all these mundane noises combined, yet strangely, they could not dispel the gloom that shrouded everyone's hearts.

Those hidden gazes were still there, but they seemed to be less focused on the two "ordinary visitors."

Lin Yi's face once again showed a worried expression, as if he really had a close relative lying in the hospital bed inside, fast asleep.

He took Gulu's little hand and led her through the crowd to a relatively quiet corner.

There were rows of cheap white plastic chairs for people to rest on, and a few family members sat there with equally somber faces and vacant eyes, a subtle distance between them.

They sat down side by side, leaning naturally towards each other, heads close together, whispering like any other family member comforting each other and discussing solutions, without any awkwardness.

Lin Yi raised his hand and rubbed his temples with his knuckles, the movement filled with exhaustion.

"See that? That elevator." Lin Yi's voice was extremely low, the airflow rubbing against his vocal cords, almost becoming a whisper between his lips and teeth, his lips barely moving.

"Hmm, the guards are tough, not like ordinary security guards." Gulu responded in a low voice, pretending to wipe away non-existent tears with her small hand, but glancing around out of the corner of her eye. "There's only one passage, forcing our way through would be too noisy."

"We need to find a way to infiltrate," Lin Yi pondered. "Let's try the most direct method first. If we can get an access card or a suitable identity, that would be best. Disguising ourselves as medical staff or internal security personnel is the optimal solution."

Gulu pursed his lips: "Hopefully their access control system is still stuck in the RFID card and password stage, rather than iris, vein, or more troublesome neural signal binding."

They agreed on a simple plan, but did not act immediately; the hunters needed to wait for the best opportunity.

As visiting hours were about to end, more family members began returning to the lobby from the isolation area. A sense of hopeless exhaustion and numbness after a long wait filled the air.

The crying gradually subsided, replaced by a deathly silence, occasionally broken by the raised voices of one or two family members who were still anxiously asking the doctor questions.

Lin Yi stood up and walked towards a middle-aged woman who had just come out and looked rather kind.

“Excuse me, ma’am,” he began, his voice filled with genuine distress. “My cousin also…sigh, I just came from seeing her, and I feel so choked up. What’s the situation with your relative? What exactly is this ‘narcolepsy’? What did the doctor say? We just arrived from out of town, and we don’t know anything yet. We’re really worried…”

The woman's eyes were red, and upon hearing this, she sighed deeply, as if she had found an outlet for her pent-up emotions: "What else can I say? They can't find the cause. They've used all sorts of instruments—CT scans, MRIs, whole-body scans—and drawn more than a dozen tubes of blood, but the results all came back normal. The doctor just said her vital signs were stable and her brainwave activity was stable, and told her to wait and observe."

“My husband started out as a heavy sleeper. He would go to bed early and couldn’t get up in the morning. We used to joke that he must have been doing some heavy work and become lazy. Later, he was also sleepy during the day. He could fall asleep in meetings and sleep for ten hours at a time. We couldn’t wake him up no matter how much we tried to wake him. Then, he was awake for less and less time. He was drowsy and his speech was incoherent. He could even fall asleep while eating. Until a few days ago, he became completely unresponsive. He had the exact same symptoms as Old Wang’s son upstairs.”

Her voice choked up, and she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

Another man with a stubble, who was standing nearby, overheard the conversation. As if struck by a nerve, he leaned in and said in a hoarse voice, "They're all pretty much the same, cut from the same cloth. My daughter is also under a lot of pressure with her studies. At first, I thought it was just exhaustion, but then she went from being sleepy to sleeping for long periods, and now she's in a deep, unconscious state. When I asked her too many questions, they got impatient and just said it was some new type of collective psychogenic sleep disorder that needed time to be studied. Bullshit! Who sleeps like that? Sleeping without waking up, and you call it psychogenic? I think it's some kind of weird thing!"

The information revealed by these patients' families closely matched what the taxi driver said.

This "symptom" has a gradual process, as if something is slowly eroding the victim's conscious mind, eventually dragging them into an unawakenable slumber.

Lin Yi then tentatively asked a few questions about hospital security, doctors' ward rounds, and whether there were any special personnel entering or leaving the hospital, but these ordinary family members obviously had limited knowledge, and all their energy was focused on the condition of their loved ones.

Although they found the hospital's tight security and protection strange, they were more numb to the faint hope that "since the hospital is taking it so seriously, maybe there really is a way," and did not think deeply about the possible anomalies hidden behind it.

After thanking the family members, Lin Yi and Gulu exchanged a glance—they couldn't get any more useful information from these ordinary people.

The two returned to the chairs in the rest area, seemingly resting due to exhaustion and low spirits, but in reality, they began preparations for the real "hunt".

People came and went in the hall, and the tide of sorrow gradually receded, leaving only a few scattered figures who refused to leave.

The hidden surveillance gazes lingered on them for significantly less time and at a lower frequency.

Their previous behavior—from anxious inquiries to sorrowful visits, and then to conversations with family members—perfectly matched the behavioral patterns of prospective family members, successfully lowering the guard of those lurking in the shadows. They are now merely part of the background.

Time passed second by second, like fine sand in an hourglass.

Lin Yi and Gulu were like the most patient hunters, seemingly relaxed but actually with all their senses open, capturing the movement patterns of everyone in the hall, especially those staff members who could freely enter and exit the isolation area.

About an hour later, a target came into their view.

He was a male doctor in his forties, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, with a serious expression, even bearing the rigidity and indifference that comes from long-term exposure to difficult cases and heavy pressure.

He walked hurriedly, as if he always had something to do.

He had more than one pen clipped to his left breast pocket, along with a dark blue access card that clearly indicated a high level of authority, which swayed gently with his steps.

The key was not his appearance, but his behavior – in the past hour or so, Lin Yi and Gulu clearly saw him swipe the access card three times, skillfully opening the heavy isolation door, and frequently moving between the ordinary hall and the core isolation area.

This high frequency of communication suggests that he has a very high level of authority and is likely directly in charge of important matters related to the "narcolepsy" project or is a senior physician with extensive knowledge of the internal workings.

"It's him," Lin Yi said in a very low voice.

Gulu nodded almost imperceptibly.

She stretched and yawned slightly, like a little girl who had been sitting for a long time and was a bit bored and tired. She naturally stood up, stomped her feet lightly, moved her hands and feet, and then began to stroll around the hall seemingly casually.

Her movements were like those of a child finding their own fun while waiting for their family.

Gulu looked curiously at the potted plants on the triage desk, then leaned over the aquarium to watch the fish for a while. In this seemingly aimless wandering, her fingers flicked very slightly, and a few tiny trackers, smaller than grains of sand, silently adhered to the ground along the path that the target doctor was most likely to take next.

Once everything was set up, Gulu strolled back to its seat, yawned, and leaned against Lin Yi, as if it had gotten tired of playing.

The wait didn't last long; less than a minute later, the target doctor emerged from the isolation area again, looking at a tablet computer in his hand as he walked quickly toward the restroom.

His leather shoe heel rolled over one of the trackers without him noticing, and the micro-device was instantly activated. Its internal ultra-micro adsorption structure started up and firmly adhered to an extremely inconspicuous indentation on the side of his heel.

As is customary, three guards in security uniforms with bulging waistbands followed behind the doctor.

As they passed through the area where Gulu had just been, one of the guards, seemingly out of professional habit, lingered on Gulu for half a second longer. But Gulu was tilting his head, his mouth slightly open, and his breathing even, looking harmless as if he were fast asleep.

The guards noticed nothing amiss, quickly looked away, maintained their formation, and followed the doctor.

Lin Yi and Gulu took no action; the timing and location were both wrong.

The lobby is fully covered by security cameras, making any attempt to take action extremely risky.

What they needed was a more enclosed space. The two waited patiently, while the tablet in Lin Yi's hand projected a faint signal from the miniature tracker; a dot representing the target was moving on the hospital floor plan.

The light indicated that the target went to the restroom, then returned to the isolation area, stayed there for about seven or eight minutes, and then came out again. This time, instead of heading to the lobby, it turned towards an office area deep in the first-floor corridor.

The signal eventually stopped flashing steadily next to a room sign.

Lin Yi quickly retrieved and compared the hospital's public floor plan that he had just memorized in his mind.

The office was ideally located at the end of a side corridor, next to a warehouse storing medical supplies and an unused meeting room. It was relatively quiet and away from the hustle and bustle of the main hall.

There were very few people passing by at this time, and it seemed that only one surveillance camera was covering the middle section of the corridor.

"The opportunity has come," Lin Yi said in a low voice.

Gulu's eyes lit up, and he immediately perked up.

The two stood up and, like ordinary family members of patients, first went to the self-service registration machine in the corner. Lin Yi operated the machine, the screen light reflecting on his seemingly tired face. He casually registered for a regular internal medicine appointment on the first floor and received a printed receipt.

Then, seemingly looking for a consultation room, with receipts in their hands and their eyes wandering over the signs on the corridor walls, they naturally walked toward that branch corridor.

The further you go in, the fewer people there are and the quieter the environment becomes.

The fluorescent lights overhead emitted a continuous, monotonous hum, the white walls and light-colored floor tiles reflected a cold light, and the smell of disinfectant in the air seemed even stronger.

At the end of the corridor, the door to the office with the metal plaque that read "Deputy Director's Office" was tightly closed. No light shone through the crack in the door, perhaps because the lights inside were off or the blinds were drawn, making it seem somewhat private.

Lin Yi and Gulu maintained their pace, their expressions relaxed, even showing a slight confusion as if they couldn't find their way.

Just as they passed the office door, Lin Yi paused almost imperceptibly.

Without any sound or light effects, four soldiers from the Shadow Legion suddenly emerged from the shadows.

Before the three guards and the doctor could even utter a groan, their eyes had barely registered the horror when they were completely stripped of their consciousness and collapsed limply to the ground.

Lin Yi and Gulu slid into the office like fish, and the door closed and locked silently behind them.

Inside the office, four Shadow Legion ninjas quickly dragged the unconscious target to a corner of the room, avoiding any possible view from the doors or windows.

Lin Yi crouched down and quickly checked the pulses and pupils of the four people, confirming that they were only in a deep coma.

He took a metal syringe, slightly thinner than a lipstick, from Gulu's hand, popped off the protective cap to reveal an extremely fine needle tip, and precisely injected a large amount of a powerful anesthetic and muscle relaxant compound into the side vein of each person's neck.

"Make sure they get a few hours of quiet sleep."

Lin Yi stood up and glanced around the office.

There was a coat rack in the corner, with a spare white coat and a doctor's cap hanging on it.

He quickly took off his coat, put on the white coat, put on the hat, and put on a pair of non-prescription gold-rimmed glasses that he took out of the doctor's coat pocket.

Gulu then deftly stripped the unconscious guard of two sets of uniforms.

Three shadowy ninjas, similar in size to the guards on the ground, silently stepped forward, took the uniforms, and quickly changed into them.

Their bodies were slightly twisted and adjusted, becoming almost identical to the original guards, even their facial features appeared very similar in the shadows.

With everything ready, Lin Yi took a deep breath and adjusted his expression by looking at the reflection of a metal plaque in the office, making himself look as serious and slightly tired as that doctor.

He glanced at the unconscious Dr. Jin on the ground and ordered a ninja soldier, "Guard this place, clean up the traces, and make sure no one disturbs us."

A ninja soldier bowed and accepted the order, his figure disappearing into the shadows of the corner.

Lin Yi pushed open the door and walked out with Gulu and three "guards".

He didn't look to the side and walked straight toward the entrance of the quarantine area.

Gulu kept his head down, his little hands tightly gripping the hem of his white coat, playing the role of a timid little follower.

Occasionally, nurses or staff members would pass by in the corridor. When they saw Lin Yi's group of "doctor + guard + little girl", they would find it a bit strange that the little girl was there. However, when they saw the high-level access card on Lin Yi's chest and the three "familiar" guards behind him, they would just nod and greet them without asking any questions.

This hospital has very strict rules and regulations; asking too many questions or looking around too much might mean getting into trouble.

Soon, they arrived at the heavy isolation door again.

Two heavily armed guards stood like gatekeepers on either side, their eyes scanning everyone who approached.

Lin Yi remained expressionless, mimicking the doctor's habitual impatient demeanor, and took out the dark blue access card, swiping it on the sensor.

With a soft "beep," the green light turned on.

But one of the guards stepped forward and stopped him. His gaze fell on Gulu, who was tightly clutching Lin Yi's clothes, and he frowned slightly: "Director, who is this...?"

His tone carried a businesslike doubt, noting that the rules clearly stated unauthorized personnel were strictly prohibited from entering, and a little girl was clearly outside the scope of regular permission.

A hint of helplessness appeared on Lin Yi's face at just the right moment.

He sighed, stopped, and took out an electronic medical record board that he had forged by hacking into the hospital's low-security system. He swiped his fingers a few times, brought up a page, and handed it to the guard.

The screen's cold light illuminated the guard's chin, clearly displaying one of Gulu's aliases, his age, and a series of seemingly complex and lengthy examination data lists.

Most importantly, in the diagnosis section, several lines of glaring red text were clearly displayed:
[Observation subject: Suspected early stage of progressive narcolepsy infection.]

[Symptoms: Significantly prolonged sleep duration recently, accompanied by brief periods of confusion and disorientation.]

[Recommendation: Immediately implement Level 1 isolation and observation, and improve 24/7 brain wave monitoring.]

When the guard saw the words "suspected infection" and "isolation observation", his expression changed slightly, and his gaze toward Gulu instantly changed from doubt to a mixture of vigilance, sympathy and a hint of barely perceptible avoidance.

They clearly understood what it meant for the "patients" brought in here—it was almost equivalent to a life sentence of slumber.

The rules are inflexible, but when faced with a "newly infected person" brought by a senior chief physician with complete documentation, especially with this strange disease that is spreading and whose "infectiousness" is unknown, they dared not be negligent or obstruct the process.

Another guard also came over to take a look at the screen. The striking red diagnosis was like an alarm. He immediately gave his partner a wink and nodded slightly, signaling to let them through.

"I'm sorry, sir, it's my duty. Please understand." The guard who had previously stopped him immediately stepped aside, his tone becoming respectful and even somewhat urgent. "Please go in quickly. Do you need any assistance with escorting me?"

"No need, you all stay here and guard this area." Lin Yi expressionlessly put away the medical record board, gently tugging at Gulu with his fingertip, signaling her to follow him closely. (End of Chapter)