Absolute Gate

Chapter 9 Irreparable
Wu Zhong and the many patients who were chasing him looked at each other through the door.

After catching his breath, he picked up his phone and called the police.

"Hey? Someone's chasing me, lots of people, they're all like madmen..."

"In the hospital, yes, the First Municipal Hospital... Holy crap!"

Wu was calling the police when he suddenly saw smoke billowing through the crowd.

Immediately afterwards, a lot of mist escaped from the door cracks and the gaps in the shattered glass.

These vapors seeped from the mouths and noses of the patients who were hunting him, swirling like ghosts.

At this moment, a human-shaped thick fog formed in front of Wu Zhong through the crack in the door.

His face was wretched, his body was thin, and he was shirtless, resembling a withered old man.

Wu was stunned; a chill ran from the soles of his feet down his spine.

"It's a ghost!"

"Heavens! It's really haunted!"

Wu finally remembered his grandfather's words and immediately understood.

It must have been that ghostly, smoky figure that had drifted in through the window earlier, which Grandpa saw, which is why he said a ghost was harming him.

Later, this ghost must have possessed the patient and manipulated them to hunt him down.

But this ghost is powerful; it can possess and control so many people at the same time.

But why doesn't he control himself?
"run!"

Wu couldn't care less about anything else. Seeing the other person fly through the door, he turned and ran, leaping down the stairwell.

He'd dare fight back if a person went mad and tried to kill him, but what's the point of fighting back if it's a ghost or monster seeking his life?

He never imagined that ghosts really existed, and at this moment, his worldview began to crumble.

Superpowers may have other explanations, but the existence of ghosts implies that some myths, legends, and supernatural tales may not be true.
"Who are you? We have no grudge against you, why are you trying to harm me?" Wu Zhong shouted as he ran.

Thinking that since he was a ghost, he should have a grievance and a debtor, and since he had never harmed anyone in his life, why was he being hunted down by a ghost?

The ghost actually spoke: "I don't want to harm you, but you... must die."

Its sound is ethereal, fleeting like the sound of wind and rain.

Wu Zhong was completely bewildered. What's wrong with this guy? He's so polite!

He called himself a minor god, addressed him with respect, yet insisted that he must die.

"Wow!"

Just as Wu Zhong had run down one floor, the ghostly cloud-like body had already caught up with him, enveloped his entire body, and lifted him into the air!
Wu Zhong's feet barely touched the ground; he was enveloped by a wisp of steam and was about to float out the window.

Is this ghost trying to kill him by throwing him?

Wu Zhong reacted quickly and slammed the window shut.

The ghost was taken aback, then without even trying to break open the window, it changed its methods, wrapping its lower body around Wu Zhong and carrying a large amount of water vapor into Wu Zhong's mouth and nose.

In an instant, Wu Zhong's nasal cavity was filled with water vapor, and his lungs were also filled with water, causing a feeling of suffocation to rush to his brain.

It even caused excruciating headaches, and my brain felt like it was swollen with water.

"Ugh! Cough cough cough!"

Wu struggled painfully, but his feet didn't touch the ground, and his opponent was shrouded in mist, so he didn't know how to counterattack.

He didn't want to die; his eyes were bloodshot.

At the critical moment of life and death, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

The clouds and mist are ever-changing and unpredictable.

Although his hands and feet passed through it, he could still sense that it was not nothingness, but rather a cloud of water vapor.

That being the case...

"Eat my punch!"

Wu Zhong unleashed a vicious punch, tearing through a cloud of mist like a tidal wave, and blasting a cloud gate into the opponent's chest.

The gate to the sky was wide open, its edges blurred and swirling with thick fog, but the opening could not be closed again!

"laugh……"

The old ghost looked down at the large hole in his chest, from which Wu Zhongtou emerged, panting heavily in the empty space.

Wu coughed up saliva from his mouth and nose, and was struck again with a palm.

This time, the blow hit the old ghost squarely in the face, smashing a hole through his head.

His face was wide open!

"Ha! What bullshit ghosts and gods? Do you think I'm afraid of you if you have a physical form!"

I'll kick you to death!

Wu finally broke free, and when he looked again, the old ghost's face was completely gone, his face gaping open and impossible to mend!

This obviously had a significant impact on him. After all, if he could move purely as a cloud of mist, why would the other party need to condense into a human form after passing through the crack in the door?
Why not just send a cloud of mist to hunt him down?
Clearly, the other party can only act conveniently after they have formed a clear self-image.

Wu Zhong, with a punch and a palm strike, ripped open the opponent's body.

No matter how the clouds and mist swirl and surge, the doorway remains unchanged, unable to shrink.

At the critical moment of life and death, Wu finally realized an alternative way to use his abilities.

It's really a matter of idealism; he carved a hole in the other person's body, thinking that this was opening a door.

As it turned out, it really was a door, directly triggering the 'welded door' effect, which even ghosts couldn't mend the door formed by their own bodies.

This is equivalent to forcibly locking the wound's condition, making it impossible to heal.

Of course, Wu was just trying anything as a last resort.

He had never imagined that his abilities could be judged so subjectively, since he had previously created holes, but none of them had been triggered passively.

In other words, he has to take the initiative to create this unusual door.

It's truly amazing, bizarre, idealistic, and beyond the natural world.

Wu Zhong even felt that he was more like a ghost than the guy in front of him...

On the other hand, this old ghost in front of me seems quite materialistic...

At first, he was genuinely panicked and scared when he saw the ghost, but after the other party spoke, Wu Zhong felt his composure crumble.

With the physical entity formed by clouds and mist, his fear of ghosts vanished instantly, and he then thought of opening the door to break through the body.

"Come on then! I'll crush you!"

Having survived the ordeal, he didn't run away, but bravely stepped forward and kicked out.

"Oh!"

Using your feet is the same; you can smash a huge hole right through the opponent's body.

The old ghost was quite large, but very light.

It's not that impressive, otherwise there would be no need to try to roll him down to his death or suffocate him... such a low-level move.

Now Wu's attacks are all 'real injuries,' each punch leaving a hole; even a ghost couldn't withstand that.

He beat and kicked them, chased and pounded them until they were riddled with holes.

It really looks like a hornet's nest, full of holes, like a dense array of small doorways.

The old ghost's remaining body tore through the water vapor and mist, and the gecko, having lost its tail, fled at top speed.

"You coward! Don't run away if you dare!"

Wu Zhong got carried away with the fight and gave chase. He was no longer afraid; he was filled with excitement.

But when he chased the ghost to the next floor, it was gone. Instead, he saw another group of patients and nurses in the corridor, holding all sorts of weapons and looking at him with murderous intent.

The female nurse held a large syringe and thrust it straight in, like a knight charging into battle.

"Crack!"

Wu Zhong hurriedly stopped. There were more than a dozen people in front of him, all of whom were elderly, weak, women and children. He was no match for them.

Moreover, he didn't have any suitable tools on hand. Seeing the needle coming at him, Wu Zhong grabbed it casually and swung it wildly from mid-air.

The clouds and mist were too soft, like an inflatable hammer; when they hit the other side, they only made a dull, thudding sound.

But that's enough. Wu Zhong doesn't want to hurt these people who are being manipulated. Right now, he just wants a weapon to defend himself.

These irreconcilable, multi-layered rings of clouds and mist are just right.

"Puff puff!"

Wu stood on the stairs, taking advantage of the terrain, and smashed one by one.

With this object in hand, combined with his strength, he could knock someone down without hurting them.

They fought and retreated, eventually returning to the previous floor.

Immediately afterward, he heard the police arriving. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a group of people rushing upstairs from below. Wu then dispersed the ring in his hand and casually closed the doors and windows.

He then pushed through the crowd and ran down, shouting, "Help! It's haunted!"

Two police officers arrived, the rest were security guards. Wu managed to hide behind the newcomer, but the possessed person had already caught up with him.

"Stop it! Stop fighting!"

A square-faced policeman shouted, glaring at the elderly couple who were chasing after him, and grabbed an IV stand that was being thrown at him with his bare hands.

"It's no use, they're all..."

Wu was about to say something when he saw the murderous intent in the eyes of these people suddenly disappear, their fierce expressions quickly softening into blankness and pain.

"Ouch!"

"I can't take it anymore..."

"Help...help..."

They staggered and fell in an instant; some managed to stand up and lean against the stair railing, while others collapsed, clutching their bodies.

The stairwell was filled with cries of anguish and groans.

The police were completely bewildered by this situation, wondering if they were being extorted.

The security guard, however, knew the situation better: "They were really like madmen just now, chasing after this kid and hitting him. I saw it on the security camera."

Wu Zhong's lips twitched as he said, "Then why don't you come up and help me?"

The security guards remained silent, except for one young man who said, "How can we help you if this is haunted? I've already seen ghostly figures."

Upon hearing this, the security guards shuddered.

The two policemen scoffed: "What ghost story? Help the patient up first."

Everyone, including the nurses, helped carry the patients back to their wards, and Wu Zhong also went up to help.

Soon, more and more people came to this floor, including nurses from other floors and even staff on duty from other buildings.

After everyone had settled the patient in, tragedy struck.

"Someone is dying..."

Cries were heard, and when the police went over, they found several patients with particularly severe cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases who had already lost their heartbeats.

The nurses are performing emergency CPR on him and arranging for him to be taken to the emergency room.

The two young police officers realized that this was a serious matter and immediately notified their superiors. More and more people arrived at the scene and brought the situation under control; even the fire department came.

After confirming that his grandfather was alright, Wu was placed in a lounge where a square-faced policeman chatted with him.

The others went to check the surveillance footage to find out what happened.

But there was nothing particularly special about what happened. The surveillance footage showed that Wu was dragging the caregiver and being chased out of the ward by two old men... Then the nurse on duty ran over and smashed a bottle over his head, causing glass shards to fly everywhere.

After that, one by one, the patients began to chase Wu Zhong, all the way to the stairwell.

The door was probably blocked from the outside by Wu Zhong, so it wasn't clear, but in any case, the patients were crowding the corridor.

Police even saw mist spreading out of the patient's body, but they didn't know what was happening outside the door because there were no security cameras in the stairwell.

But even from these few shots, the situation is quite clear: it's truly haunted!
"It's true, I saw it with my own eyes. The cloud of mist condensed into a human shape, a withered little old man, shirtless..."

Wu then recounted everything that happened after his grandfather woke him up.

Of course, the details of his battles with ghosts and monsters, including how he punched open the gates of hell, were omitted.

It was only said that the ghost had a physical form, was made of clouds and mist, and escaped by struggling desperately.

The police compared the surveillance footage with his account, and their lips turned white.

They looked at each other, and Wu could see that they were also afraid, because this matter was beyond their comprehension.

One of the firefighters who was listening in suddenly asked, "Did the ghost say anything to you?"

Wu Zhong was taken aback and said, "He claims to be a god and says he must kill me."

The firefighter's eyes flickered slightly as he picked up a drawing board: "Describe his appearance, the more detailed the better..."

Wu looked at him strangely, and the policeman was also puzzled.

"Dude, what are you doing..."

Sketching suspects—isn't that the police's job? Why is the fire department doing it too?
"I'm pretty good at drawing portraits, let me give it a try," the firefighter said with a smile.

The police didn't stop him, and Wu described everything in detail.

The firefighter kept drawing, swish, swish, swish, and soon a sketch was finished.

Upon turning it over, Wu Zhong exclaimed in surprise: "This is it!"

Like, so similar.

The figure of the old ghost, formed by smoke, was already somewhat blurry and lacked resolution, so when drawn, it looked almost identical.

The firefighter nodded and went out for a while.

After a while, a leader walked in.

Several police officers stood up and called out, "Captain Tang!"

Captain Tang said with a serious expression, "Four victims have already lost their lives in this case. Whether the killer is a ghost or a human, we must do everything we can to solve it!"

"Mr. Wu, we have a lot of information to share with you. Please come with us."

Wu Zhong exclaimed in surprise, "Someone is dead?"

Team Leader Tang nodded solemnly: "Four patients have died despite all efforts to save them..."

Wu Zhong jumped up anxiously: "Where's my grandfather? How is he?"

The firefighter interjected, "Your grandfather is still in good health."

“In this incident, all the victims had some degree of hydrocephalus, including your grandfather. But he has surgery tomorrow, so we can help him get rid of the hydrocephalus.”

"Both of these surgeries have a high success rate, so you don't need to worry too much."

Wu finally breathed a sigh of relief, but the thought of the four patients who had been killed by that old ghost filled him with lingering fear.

Hydrocephalus? That old ghost was a being of mist and vapor, full of water vapor. It's normal that he would leave some hydrocephalus as a side effect after possessing and controlling others...

However, Wu finally looked up at the firefighter.

A group of police officers were still dumbfounded, not knowing how to deal with this paranormal event, and how the firefighter could be so calm.
Moreover, in a short period of time, he had already gathered and understood all kinds of information, including knowing that his maternal grandfather was having surgery the next day.

If a police officer were to be so organized, he wouldn't be surprised, but the other party is a firefighter, and this case isn't even part of his job duties.

"Okay, of course I'll cooperate with you."

Wu finally stood up and followed them.

After leaving the hospital, we rode in Captain Tang's police car and had a smooth journey.

Upon arriving at the Municipal Bureau, he was shown to a conference room to rest, and Captain Tang poured him a cup of tea.

Wu repeated his answers to the same questions.

“I’m telling the truth. You’ve seen the surveillance footage. That’s all I know. I’m completely confused myself. I don’t know how I got involved with any ghosts.”

"I'm still shocked that ghosts really exist in this world."

After listening, Captain Tang sighed: "Whether it's a ghost or something else, since it exists, we must face the objective facts and view it rationally."

"You said it yourself that it was a physical entity, made of water vapor. Since it's material, there's nothing to be shocked about. Maybe it's some kind of strange life form. There are many unknown things in the world."

Wu Zhong said, "So I wasn't afraid anymore. I fought wildly and broke free. That ghost wasn't very strong; it just couldn't be killed."

"Hmm..." Captain Tang was preoccupied and simply responded with a sound of agreement.

Seeing this, Wu Zhong asked, "Um... is there anything else you want to ask? May I leave now?"

Just as Captain Tang was about to answer, a group of people suddenly walked into the conference room.

The leader was dressed in administrative attire, next to him was a Taoist priest, and the rest were all dressed in firefighter uniforms.

Wu finally recognized one of them as the firefighter from before.

“Mr. Wu, of course you can leave… if you’re not afraid of being haunted by more ghosts and having more accidents.” A middle-aged man in business attire sat opposite Wu Zhong with an air of superiority.

Wu Zhong glanced at him, then stared blankly at the Taoist priest beside him: "What does this mean? Is this... an exorcism ritual for me?"

The Taoist priest was young and handsome, with his hair tied in a bun, wearing a blue Taoist robe and cloth shoes. He had no magical implements, only a box in his hand.

He laughed upon hearing this, opened the box, and found it full of guns!

It's shiny and gleaming, with a unique design, and feels solid, hard, and heavy – it's clearly a hardcore machine.

"I don't know how to perform rituals, but if any ghosts dare to come here again, I do know a little about spear techniques."

……

　P.S.: Sorry.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)