44. Pixel Haunted Hospital

“Hello? Hello?”
Dr. Xu’s voice pulled Li Nuo back to attention.
“Yeah, Uncle Xu, I’m listening.”
“Sorry, Li Nuo, I have to cancel again today. I have to attend a meeting,” Dr. Xu said with some helplessness in his tone.
“No problem. I didn’t prepare that many dishes today anyway,” Li Nuo replied.
“Then… how about tomorrow?”
“Alright, tomorrow.” Li Nuo paused, then asked, “Uncle Xu, can you get out of the hospital today?”
“Hello?”
A crackling noise came through the phone, and suddenly the call was disconnected.
Li Nuo hung up and stared at the panel that popped up before his eyes:
[Reality Scenario Task Triggered: Pixel Hospital Horror Legend]
[Type: Horror Challenge]
[Location: Cairo Game World; Participant Requirements: Frequent visitor of Cairo Hospital in K City, owns a computer and a keyboard; Number of participants: 1]
[Brief: Before the hospital was built, this place was once an ominous tomb. The hospital’s nights are chillingly silent. Elevator, wards, operating rooms, restrooms, morgue… People often think the ghost stories here are just tales, but what if there’s a chance they’re all real?]
[Description: After joining the task, you’ll control your most familiar doctor on the computer screen, opening a path to survival for him.]
[Registration Fee: 300 gold coins]
[15 minutes remaining to register]
[Do you want to participate in this task?]
Li Nuo picked up his phone and called Dr. Xu again, but it was busy. Then he called the hospital, and the operator said Dr. Xu was in a meeting. As he tried to create some disturbance to get the operator to call Dr. Xu out, the line crackled again.
“The system is interfering with me.”
Squinting at the time, Li Nuo silently recited, “Endless Corridor, Player Li Nuo, 5900.”
……
Inside the “Endless Corridor” space.
Behind the dilapidated hut stood a small room that Li Nuo had paid 100 gold coins to 2B to build recently. Though she didn’t need to relieve herself, she still had to bathe… This was a kind of physiological comfort.
Hmm… maybe it was time to change her name.
Since she was renamed “Chabai,” she had been adjusting to her new identity—adapting to a lifestyle close to that of humans.
Although Li Nuo came daily to train with her, most of the time Chabai was alone.
After a while, she came to regard the hut, surrounded by tombstones outside, as her “home.”
It brought her a sense of peace.
After finishing her bath, she stepped out of the room.
She exhaled deeply, feeling the breeze stir around her.
……
Letting the wind blow freely.
Not afraid that some mechanical life form might suddenly jump out from the bushes to threaten her life.
[Special Friend 5900 is logging in]
Chabai’s eyes narrowed. She immediately opened the panel and changed into her white novice outfit before relaxing.
At this moment, Li Nuo logged in, changed into his orange hooded jacket, removed his mask, and walked with a serious expression toward the blood pool of the Probability System.
He planned to use this reality scenario to transition the Probability System.
There were many backup options to invest in the reward pool.
But Li Nuo already had a plan.
The Poké Ball.
Not just to fleece a sheep, but if used properly, it could be extraordinarily powerful.
He put the Poké Ball in. Because it was of “common” quality, he invested 1,000 gold coins. If this reality scenario ended smoothly, he might obtain something more sinister than the “Random Value MOD Poké Ball.”
Hopefully a “Master Ball.”
After handling this, Li Nuo turned to ask, “2B… no, Chabai, I remember special friends can participate in each other’s reality scenarios. Do you have any prompts?”
Chabai skillfully opened her panel and said, “No.”
Li Nuo’s screen still showed the task bar for [Pixel Hospital Horror Legend]. Without hesitation, he clicked to accept the task and invested 300 gold coins.
Suddenly, a panel appeared on Chabai’s screen: [Your special friend has accepted a reality scenario task. You can choose to become their summoned companion and enter the scenario within the set time to help complete the task. Do you agree?]
She displayed the panel.
Li Nuo asked, “Will you help me?”
Chabai directly chose the accept option instead of replying.
[Player 5900 (Li Nuo), please return to the Cairo Game World and wait at the computer monitor for the task to begin.]
[During this time, do not approach the task area.]
Li Nuo didn’t quite understand what was happening, but he trusted the system’s prompt.
“Thanks, I’ll update you.”
After speaking, he quickly transformed into white light and vanished from the space.
Watching Li Nuo leave, Chabai lifted her collar, glanced at it, and breathed a sigh of relief.
……
Cairo Hospital.
Dr. Xu emerged from the meeting room with a group of colleagues.
His expression was somewhat gloomy.
One of his patients had prolonged hospitalization, causing his department to be penalized. What seemed like a minor issue had serious repercussions: subordinates began to question him, and superiors expressed dissatisfaction.
Dr. Xu’s full name was Xu Hai. He had once been a shrewd and capable man in his youth, regarded by the leadership as “a promising talent.”
But that was a story from twenty years ago.
Now, Dr. Xu lived like a marionette—
And a balding one at that.
“It’s still early. Maybe I should check how that kid Li Nuo is doing?” Xu Hai looked at his watch and muttered to himself. Suddenly, a colleague tapped him on the back, startling him.
He turned to see Nie Wenyuan, also an associate chief physician, and exhaled. “Why are you so quiet when you walk?”
“Old Xu, you’re getting more timid by the day.” Nie Wenyuan had known him for nearly twenty years—they knew each other well. Others joked that Xu’s baldness was from being scared out of his hair.
Nie Wenyuan pointed at the dark sky outside the window. “It’s so late. Want to grab something to eat?”
“Not today.” Xu Hai pressed the elevator button. The two entered and chatted casually.
Soon, the elevator dinged and stopped on the third floor.
“I’ll get something first. See you tomorrow.” Xu Hai stared at the open elevator doors.
Just as he was about to step out, he froze.
In the mirror facing the elevator door, he saw Nie Wenyuan inside the elevator, stunned, standing face-to-face with a girl in red with long black hair.
When did that… Xu Hai dared not turn his head. He wanted to lower his head and leave quickly, but suddenly he heard a voice:
“Not... allowed... to leave.”
In that instant, Xu Hai’s body stiffened, as if his control over it had been stripped away.
At the same time, a voice echoed in his ear: [Don’t look at her, don’t ask her. You’re strangers—hand in hand, everyone shaking together.]
Even Xu Hai, a staunch advocate of science, had to entertain a terrifying thought.
I… am seeing ghosts…
The scene shifted from the hospital to Li Nuo’s computer screen. On the black screen appeared this system prompt:
[Task Requirements: The hospital has entered a subspace. Please resolve four paranormal incidents.]
[You can control 1P character “Xu Hai” with the keyboard. This character has no combat ability; death means death in reality. Depending on the situation, revival tokens may allow resurrection.]
[You can control 2P character “Chabai” with the keyboard. This character has not fully logged into Cairo Game World, can only be controlled for 5 minutes, and only once.]
[For more information, please click “Settings” in the game.]
[Task Start]
The screen displayed the scene.
Li Nuo’s normally serious and earnest eyes gradually widened into a blank stare.
The “game” elevator scene was rendered in pixelated mosaic style.
Xu Hai (marked with a 1P icon), Nie Wenyuan, and the ghost girl were all pixelated little figures…
Not scary at all—in fact, quite adorable.
Li Nuo helplessly scratched his face.
“Why do I have this feeling… that I’m essentially just a pixelated little character too?”