Volume 1, Chapter 19: The First Psychiatric Hospital

Lin Beiye replied with two words, calm and detached: "Don't worry."

Just then, Lin Beiye caught sight of Lu Li. He had intended to use this moment of waiting to apologize to her, but Lu Li acted like a startled kitten, immediately putting distance between them. With no other choice, Lin Beiye decided to let it go and stepped into the test entrance.

As a halo of light flashed before his eyes, Lin Beiye was teleported into the fear-testing chamber. He found himself in a pitch-black room, the only source of light being the magnetic card in his hand. A message appeared on the card:

"Map: No. 1 Psychiatric Hospital"
"Mission: Proceed to Ward 36, find a red book, and deliver it to the diagnostic room on the 4th floor."
"Note: This scenario is constructed using state-of-the-art technology, fully restoring the appearance of the No. 1 Psychiatric Hospital."
"Warning: If you encounter a ghost attack, ensure your own protection!"
"The Ghost Slayers Division wishes all testers a successful completion!"

Staring at these words, Lin Beiye lightly rubbed his chin with his fingertips. He tapped the bottom right corner of the card, and a detailed map of the psychiatric hospital unfolded before him. According to the map, the hospital had ten floors, each containing nearly a hundred wards. He was currently in a utility room on the fifth floor, meaning he had to head to the first floor to retrieve the red book to pass the test.

However, this task was far too simple for Lin Beiye; he would likely finish it in no time. But he had promised Ye Zheng he would help him pass, so finding Ye Zheng became his top priority.

Lin Beiye gently pushed the door open and stepped into the dim hallway. The gray, desolate walls were thick with the passage of time. The overhead lights flickered, alternating between brightness and gloom. The occasional stray sounds were enough to set one’s nerves on edge, but Lin Beiye remained calm and composed, showing no signs of panic.

Suddenly, a piercing scream echoed from the end of the corridor. Lin Beiye paused for a second, then sprinted toward the source of the sound. He saw a student staring blankly at a pile of severed limbs on the floor, his face as pale as paper, looking as if he had been frightened out of his wits.

Lin Beiye, thinking something major had happened, gently patted the student's shoulder to soothe him. Yet, the student reacted as if he had been electrocuted, letting out another terrified scream before collapsing to the ground in a faint.

Lin Beiye shook his head slightly. "If you're this scared, why did you even come in?"

Adhering to the principle of seeing a good deed through to the end, Lin Beiye searched the student for his magnetic card. He then used the student's hand to press the "withdraw" button on it. "Don't blame me; this is better than dying in here."

With a flicker of light, the student was teleported out and vanished. Lin Beiye looked at the broken remains on the ground—likely the bodies of students who hadn't survived the previous round.

Before he could examine them further, a crisp "Hello, hello, hello" rang out through the hallway. Lin Beiye hurried out of the room. A voice blared from the corridor’s loudspeakers: "My name is Cui Benming, a student from Tianzhou Public High School. We have gathered over a dozen people. If you want to pass the test, please assemble at the broadcast station on the sixth floor immediately! Time is limited; we will only wait here for 20 minutes!"

As the voice faded, the empty hallway fell back into silence. Lin Beiye’s expression grew grave. Increasing the group size could indeed improve the odds of survival, but it brought a serious problem: since everyone had different tasks, it was impossible for everyone to succeed. If even one person became dissatisfied or had ulterior motives, this group of strangers would collapse as quickly as a sandcastle. This was why the teachers insisted on finding one's own school team—classmates shared more trust and tacit understanding, making them less likely to act recklessly.

After a moment of thought, Lin Beiye decided to head to the sixth-floor broadcast station, hoping to find Ye Zheng quickly. If he kept searching on his own, Ye Zheng might be eliminated before he ever found him.

Lin Beiye steadied his breathing and used his teleportation ability to reach the sixth floor instantly. Once there, he didn't rush to the broadcast station but hid in the corner of the stairwell, waiting to see if Ye Zheng was among those arriving. If he was, he would intercept him and save time.

As time ticked by, a few people arrived, but none were Ye Zheng. With the deadline approaching, Lin Beiye prepared to head to the broadcast station. But just as he reached the hallway, he spotted a middle-aged man standing at the entrance!

Lin Beiye instinctively pulled back. It was a ghost—he couldn't be mistaken. He leaned out again and activated the system's scanning function:

[Name: Xu Tian]
[Type: Evil Ghost]
[Rank: Intermediate]
[Ability: Creates hallucinations to trap victims]
[Description: Xu Tian was an honest man who was often humiliated by his cheating wife while alive. He was eventually murdered by his wife and her lover, and after death, he wanders the earth as an evil ghost.]

Lin Beiye stared at the man's information, a sense of pity stirring in his heart. At that delicate moment, a familiar figure entered his line of sight: Lu Li!

Lin Beiye recognized her at once. Lu Li was slowly approaching the middle-aged man, asking, "Hello, is this the broadcast station?"

Lin Beiye’s heart tightened. Without hesitation, he activated his ability, whisking Lu Li away to a quiet ward. Lu Li looked around in confusion, and seeing the absolute darkness, she instinctively wanted to scream for help.

Lin Beiye clamped his hand over her mouth. "It's me, don't scream!"

Lu Li’s heart skipped a beat. Though still terrified, she recognized his voice. She suppressed her cry and nodded to show she understood. Lin Beiye slowly let go and said, "The person you were just talking to is a ghost."

Hearing this, Lu Li froze in shock. "That was... a ghost?"