Terror is resurging, but only I am.

Chapter 3 Pretending to be a ghost
The hospital is more abnormal than I imagined.

Yan Ming began to recall the entire process of entering the hospital. He felt that his memory was coherent, but many details did not make sense.

For example, message notification sounds.

Since the paranormal resurgence began, his phone has never been unsilent, so it shouldn't be possible for him to receive text message notification sounds.

The reason is simple: this often happens in horror movies. When the main characters are hiding, one of the idiots' phones will always ring, and then this sudden text message or phone call will bring danger.

Yan Ming was certain he wouldn't make such a basic mistake, but his phone had indeed rung just now, which meant he had likely unsilenced it to remind him—

Your memory has been lost for a period of time.

Yes, just a reminder.

Thinking of this, Yan Ming quickly opened the notes app on his phone, but it was completely blank. He didn't know if there were no records or if someone had deliberately deleted them.

Next, he checks the time on his phone every 15 minutes. If he still experiences amnesia, he can use the memory intervals to determine the extent of the amnesia.

"It's finally quiet."

The male doctor put the Captain America model into the drawer, walked to the bedside to check on the old woman's condition, then turned back and smiled at Yan Ming, saying:
“As you know, the elderly are more prone to extremes. Under the influence of phobia, they become suspicious, and it is normal for them to misjudge and then report. The investigators from the service center will cause inconvenience to the hospital.”

"Well, thank you."

Yan Ming wasn't sure what the male doctor was thinking, but it sounded like he was trying to make amends for his "not worshipping ghosts and gods," so he gave a simple response and started to rethink his plans for the evening.

"I'm the doctor on duty today. My surname is Zhang. Are you here to visit someone who is ill?" Dr. Zhang's gentle gaze fell on Yan Ming.

Yan Ming nodded: "I came to see Grandma. Her mental state is a bit unstable, so I'm keeping watch here tonight."

He continued speaking in the same vein as Dr. Zhang, waiting for her to leave the ward.

Perhaps it's because the old woman was snoring loudly, and it was a good opportunity to check if she had any money.

Even if you really have to leave the hospital, money is still essential.

"There aren't many young people as filial as you anymore. Remember to register for overnight care before nine o'clock. The hospital has strict rules, and we must follow them."

Dr. Zhang seemed to sigh as he said something, scribbled something briefly on a piece of paper in the folder, and then turned and left the ward.

After watching Dr. Zhang leave, Yan Ming quietly followed, peering out through the small window of the room to make sure no one had come over yet.

So he returned to the old woman's bedside, where her snoring had subsided and gradually stopped.

A snow-white sheet covered the old woman from head to toe, and the head area was completely stained red with the blood flowing from her forehead.

It looked like the old woman had kowtowed with great force, and her injuries were quite serious, but Dr. Zhang seemed oblivious to it.

Yan Ming stared silently at the hospital bed, the scene before him reminding him of the corpses in the hospital morgue.

He shook his head. Since the doctor wasn't going to intervene, he naturally didn't want to cause any more trouble, so he opened the drawer and searched for anything of value.

A Captain America model, a bunch of keys, and pills in a small transparent bag.

The pill packet had no name on it, only the simplified Chinese medical text "Twice a day, one pill each time".

Yan Ming put the key in his pocket, then checked the other drawers one by one, but they were all empty, so the old woman's money was probably still on her person.

At that moment, he vaguely sensed that someone was watching him, so he turned around alertly to look around.

The clean and tidy walls had no cracks, and the old woman on the bed still covered her face with a sheet, with faint, slightly heavy breathing coming from within.

It wasn't a spying ghost, that thing couldn't have followed them in; nor was it an old woman, she would have made a lot of noise if she lifted the blanket to peek, Yan Ming confirmed that he hadn't seen the old woman move out of the corner of his eye.

That is……

He turned his gaze to the camera in the ward, where a faint red light emanated from the corner of the ceiling.

Under normal circumstances, there shouldn't be anyone in the monitoring room constantly watching every ward, right?
Never mind, let's hurry up and find the money.

Yan Ming sat down on the edge of the hospital bed and reached out to look for the old woman's pocket, his movements subtle.

He felt a paper ticket in his pocket, so he took it out with two fingers and looked at it under the light.

It was a small stack of colorful banknotes, but they were different from real currency, both the portraits on the front and the buildings on the back were different.

A quick calculation shows that the total value is about 800 yuan. Although we are unsure about Wangcheng's purchasing power, it should be enough to solve their immediate problem.

By the way, I just noticed that the old woman's phone didn't have a lock screen password. You can bring the phone along; maybe it has other information saved on it.

Suddenly, Yan Ming felt the peeping gaze again and subconsciously looked back once more.

He still couldn't find the source of the gaze, but this time he was certain that the gaze was not coming from the camera.

He continued rummaging through the old woman's other pocket, while keeping an eye on the bed sheet and carefully observing the changes around him.

The soft sound of breathing resumed; the old woman on the bed was inhaling, and the thin blanket clung tightly to her face, outlining the contours of her entire face.

The large amount of blood seeping from his forehead completely soaked the sheet, making it almost transparent, so a pair of eyes "floated" up after he inhaled.

Through the bed sheet, the old woman's eyes, which were much larger than those of an average person, stared intently at him by the bedside, her pure black pupils extremely deep.

"Hehe, you really aren't afraid of me."

She sat up straight in bed, her expression a mixture of contemplation and enjoyment; she seemed to find the fright amusing.

Yan Ming's breathing stopped completely. At this moment, he felt his scalp tingling, and the chilling aura felt like countless needles piercing the back of his neck.

What does it mean to say "I'm not afraid of her after all"?
Ghost phobia...

She's a ghost?!

At this moment, it was as if a bolt of lightning cleaved through the curtain of thought in my mind, revealing the huge character "escape" behind it.

He didn't have time to think about why the old woman before him was so different from the ghosts he'd seen in reality; his first instinct was to rush towards the ward door, grab the handle, and try to escape. "Bang—"

A heavy footstep landed on the hospital bed, making a loud thud.

Yan Ming could feel the bright light projected from the ceiling behind him suddenly dimming and brightening, as if something had leaped high from the other end of the ward, its shadow momentarily blocking the light behind it.

In a flash, he didn't hesitate to abandon opening the door and dodged to the side.

The old woman landed by the door. She had no intention of attacking Yan Ming. She lightly placed her feet on the railing at the foot of the hospital bed, hunched over, and half-squatted down to look at Yan Ming on the other side, while counting the eight hundred yuan that had returned to her hand.

It was only at this moment that Yan Ming could see the old woman's appearance clearly. Her hair was gray and messy, her face was relatively small, covered with wrinkles that made her look old and kind, but her eyes were very large, with vertical pupils.

What's most peculiar is her mouth and nose, which bulge slightly forward, with three long whiskers on each side, and two sharp teeth visible when she opens her mouth.

Cat-faced old lady?

Looking at the old woman, Yan Ming inexplicably thought of this strange tale. The old woman's nimble movements were not like those of an old person at all; she was more like a large feline wild beast.

He knew he was in trouble, so he turned around and ran to the window at the other end of the ward, trying to jump out of the window and leave the ward.

It's only on the second floor, you definitely won't die from a fall.

However, the old woman simply locked the ward door, rubbing the bloody wound on her forehead as she continued, "Since you helped me lose my memory, I suggest you stay here until 10 o'clock. At that time, the doctors and nurses will be outside, and you won't be able to leave."

Yan Ming stopped abruptly. He knew he was no match for the old woman, and even if he jumped off the building, he might not be able to escape.

Help her lose her memory?

She thinks I'm the one who marked unread messages?
It sounds like the old woman didn't have any obvious malice; her deliberate fright was probably an attempt to test whether he suffered from phobia.

On the other hand, the old woman might simply have a quirky sense of humor, after all, cats are such creatures.

"Grandma, how did amnesia help you? How can I help you even more?" Yan Ming cautiously probed.

The cat-faced old woman glanced at him and didn't hide anything: "I had Alzheimer's before, and I was in a daze. I thought I would go to the hospital and have a little crazy. But someone actually messed with my phone. Now I've forgotten about Alzheimer's too, and I'm much more clear-headed."

Forget about Alzheimer's, and you'll be cured?
It sounds like she did it on purpose, and that everything was planned in advance.

Playing on your phone can indeed cure illnesses; that makes sense.

Yan Ming felt a sense of wonder. Looking at the old woman, he saw her quickly opening her phone and checking something, her expression thoughtful.

He cautiously glanced at the phone screen out of the corner of his eye; it was covered with dense text, likely a memo to remind himself.

"Only two days have passed..." the old woman murmured, the wound on her forehead already healed.

Yan Ming, seeing the harmonious atmosphere, wanted to gather more information: "Do I have phobia? What does that mean?"

"To be honest, it's not very useful. It's just that it's a bit strange to see a wild version of yourself in this hospital." The old woman's voice was not as hoarse as when the doctor was there. It sounded like she had been rejuvenated, and the whole ghost seemed to become full of energy.

Wild counterparts?

Yan Ming couldn't help but touch his face to make sure he didn't have a cat's face.

Therefore, the old woman was referring to "humans without phobia" as her fellow beings, but she just said "you are not afraid of me," which means that the other person can transform into a ghost.

She knew how to turn a "human" into a "ghost".

Moreover, she specifically used the word "wild," implying that there was a kind of domesticated ghost in the hospital.

The thing that was in the bathroom mirror earlier?

Could they be raised by the doctors?

Yan Ming reacted quickly, instantly obtaining a lot of information, and then solemnly declared his determination: "Grandma, teach me how to become a ghost, and I can help you fight against the other ghosts in this hospital."

This hospital is clearly more terrifying than he imagined, and he has to wait until after 10 o'clock before he can leave the ward, at which time there might be something even more terrifying in the hospital.

Yan Ming knew he had to get this method, not only for self-preservation, but also as a possibility to fight against the ghost.

He had waited so long for this possibility that his body trembled slightly with excitement.

“You just met… no, you’re just a little smarter than I thought.” The old woman realized this, so she jumped off the hospital bed and stared at Yan Ming with great interest.

She continued, "Do you know what it means to not have phobia in this city?"

Yan Ming thought for a moment and replied, "An intolerant alien."

"Pretty much." The old woman didn't deny it, but emphasized one thing: "Hiding yourself is useless. They have many rules that you can't imagine, rules that only people with phobias would know. You'll be found out sooner or later."

Yan Ming remained silent, knowing that he had likely been discovered much earlier.

So he cautiously asked, "What should I do?"

The old woman uttered only two words: "Pretending to be a ghost."

"Pretending to be a ghost?" Yan Ming was taken aback.

In a city where phobia is rampant, the only way for people without phobia to survive is to pretend to be ghosts.
“Yes, to pretend to be a ghost,” the old woman explained. “Only healthy people have the courage to recall ghost stories, imagine what ghosts look like, and dress up as ghosts.”

Yan Ming's mind raced: "Have you ever seen a ghost?"

The old woman frowned: "Of course not, there are no ghosts in this world. They're just people who pretend to be ghosts."

Yan Ming nodded without saying a word, feeling that he had obtained the most crucial information.

The people of this illusory city didn't actually come from reality. They hadn't experienced a supernatural revival, they had never seen a ghost, and their ghost-pretending was entirely based on imagination.

But he had seen it, he had seen a lot.

　The catgirl that the group members still love, loyal!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)