Thriller Zone: From the Mental Hospital to the Ghostly World

The third floor of Tianhai City Third Mental Hospital.

In a dimly lit room.

"Look closely, this man is called Xiao Shuai. What happens to him next will definitely surprise you..."

Xiao Chang slumped in his chair, scrolling through short videos out of boredom, occasionally taking a bite of the braised pork trotter rice in front of him.

He was wearing a gray uniform with a badge on his chest bearing the three large characters "Security Department," below which his name was sewn in a crooked manner.

"I'm so fed up. They all skipped work, leaving me here to keep an eye on them."

Xiao Chang glanced at the large screen in front of him, where a black and white image was enlarged, showing an empty hospital room.

Three days ago, he and two other colleagues were assigned to the monitoring room by the institute.

The monitoring area includes the corridor of Zone C on the 2nd floor, the elevator entrance on the 2nd floor, and ward 2C01.

Xiao Chang took a sip of the iced tea delivered by the food delivery service, rummaged through the messy table next to him, and took out a photo.

In the photo, an eighteen or nineteen-year-old boy is wearing a hospital gown with an orange vest over it, looking very much like a criminal being interviewed on television.

The difference was that the boy was expressionless, showing no fear or guilt on his face, and his eyes were dark and hollow, as if they could suck people's gaze into them.

The boy was also holding a name tag with his name on it.

Chen Ji.

The hospital issued instructions to monitor Zone C on the second floor 24 hours a day, and to immediately report to the superior doctor if Chen Ji's figure is seen on the monitor.

The document states that Chen Ji, a schizophrenic patient, is highly dangerous and has escaped from the hospital.

Looking at the boy's dark eyes in the photo, Xiao Chang felt a chill run down her spine.

Almost everyone knows that a few weeks ago, Chen Ji brutally murdered his mother and spent two whole days at home with her corpse.

"A madman..."

Xiao Chang muttered to himself, tossed the photo aside, and looked back at the screen.

His assigned position was relatively easy. Unlike his two colleagues, who had to identify faces among the people coming and going every day, Xiao Chang only needed to monitor ward 2C01.

The second floor of the hospital was not completely sealed off; only the iron gate leading to Zone C was locked, while doctors and patients could still pass through the other areas.

Ward 2C01 is located at the very back of Zone C. The previous patients have long been moved out, and there are currently no patients in the ward.

Xiao Chang's daily task is to look after this empty ward, which is only a dozen square meters in size.

"He's already escaped, how could he possibly come back?" A colleague who monitors the elevator entrance complained privately, saying that his job was the most demanding: "In my opinion, it's just formalism, just putting on a show for the higher-ups."

Xiao Chang smiled without saying a word. He was more senior than the other two and had never stopped slacking off since the first day of the surveillance.

There was no one in 2C01, and the doors and windows were tightly closed. Could Chen Ji really appear out of thin air?

Gradually, the other two also began to slack off, and today they even skipped work early to go out and meet their girlfriends.

After finishing the last bite of his meal, Xiao Chang glanced at the time on his phone; it was almost seven o'clock.

He stretched and decided to play on his phone for another half hour before heading home early.

The video gradually became eerie and terrifying. The male protagonist, Xiao Shuai, got up in the middle of the night, only to find a dark shadow on the stairs.

Xiao Chang's breathing became increasingly rapid as he watched the lights flicker on and off in the video, and the shadowy figure getting closer and closer to the main character.

The next second, a pale, ghostly face suddenly filled the phone screen.

"Holy crap, this doesn't even include a face-jumping animation!"

Xiao Chang was startled and quickly tried to swipe away from the video, but then noticed that the light in the room flickered twice.

In an instant, goosebumps appeared all over his arms. He looked up abruptly and realized that the footage on the surveillance camera was fluctuating wildly.

There was a problem with the circuit. The originally clear black and white screen suddenly developed messy lines, making it impossible to see the image inside.

Xiao Chang was a little nervous. He picked up the landline phone next to him, about to call the maintenance department, when suddenly his eyes widened.

The footage on the surveillance camera returned to calm.

A boy dressed in a hospital gown emerged from the void, his movements natural and fluid.

"Snapped!"

The microphone was thrown to the ground. Xiao Chang opened his mouth, unable to speak for a moment, only managing to utter a few frightened syllables.

"This... Chen, Chen Ji!"

On the screen directly in front of him, the boy looked up, his gaze fixed on the center of the monitor, as if he could see Xiao Chang's face.

The next second, he raised his hand, and the image on the monitor instantly distorted, turning into a snow-like noise.

Xiao Chang took a few deep breaths, and after a few seconds, he came to his senses, quickly picked up the receiver, and dialed the number he had always thought was just for show.

"Dudu..."

"Hello, this is Tang Qin."

Xiao Chang clutched the microphone, her voice urgent and fearful: "Dr. Tang, in ward 2C01, Chen... Chen Ji has suddenly appeared!"

He took a deep breath and quickly added, "It suddenly popped out of the air!"

"Chen Ji is back?"

The woman's voice on the other end of the phone suddenly became very serious: "Turn off all elevators. You need to get there immediately and meet up with the doctor on duty. Stand guard outside 2C01!"

"If Chen Ji has already come out, grab him immediately. We absolutely cannot let him escape from this floor."

"I will be there in 5 minutes."

Xiao Chang's hand trembled slightly, and he stammered, "Dr. Tang, the hospital elevator can't stop, in case the patient has a sudden attack..."

"Also, Chen Ji's appearance was too strange. Could it be... could it be that he's already become a ghost? I'm all alone here, I'm afraid..."

Xiao Chang's words clearly implied a desire to avoid the issue.

He was just an employee. Chen Ji's sudden appearance was too bizarre, not to mention that this person was a mad murderer. He had no reason to take such a risk for a few thousand yuan in wages.

The person on the other end of the phone sighed impatiently, and when they spoke again, their voice suddenly became hoarse and sexy, as if a completely different person had answered the phone.

"Close the elevator immediately."

"Chen Ji is not a ghost."

"You will be at the door of 2C01 within one minute."

Xiao Chang was somewhat annoyed by her blunt and rude command. Just as he was about to say something, a look of confusion flashed in his eyes, and he unconsciously murmured to himself.

"Yes."

He immediately got up, pressed the button to force stop the elevator, and then grabbed the stun gun next to him.

Xiao Chang's originally mechanical movements gradually became smooth, as if it were his natural duty to do so.

In less than half a minute, Xiao Chang had reached the second floor through the emergency exit.

He cautiously slipped into the corridor, pushed the emergency door shut, and the door, which could only be opened with an employee card, closed perfectly without making a sound.

Patients in areas A and B on the second floor should be eating in the cafeteria downstairs at this time.

The corridor was deserted and extremely quiet, with only the cold white fluorescent lights on the ceiling providing illumination.

Xiao Chang walked quietly down the corridor and suddenly saw the doctor on duty in the C section, which was blocked by iron bars. He was lying on the ground, completely motionless.

Through the iron bars, you could see a deep ligature mark on the doctor's neck.

he died?

Xiao Chang felt a chill run down his spine, and cold sweat broke out on his back.

The doctor was killed by Chen Ji!