13: Chapter 13 The person wearing the white coat is no longer alive.

[Once recorded.]

[The Hospital will remember you.]

The moment the rule prompt appeared, the air in Ward 104 seemed to solidify.

Outside the door, the Faceless Dean was still slowly turning the doorknob.

Click. Click.

Every sound felt like it was twisting the nerves of everyone inside.

Chen Ye was the first to panic.

"You can't put that on!"

"This thing is obviously problematic!"

He abruptly blocked Lin Jin.

"Brother Jin, who knows what kind of monster you'll become after putting that on?!"

Beside them, Shen Tingxue also frowned.

Although she didn't say anything, she clearly disapproved as well.

However, the Bandaged Man on The Hospital bed suddenly chuckled softly.

"Scared now?"

"The moment you entered The Hospital..."

"You were already recorded."

The air went slightly still.

Lin Jin looked up sharply.

"What do you mean?"

The Bandaged Man slowly looked toward the door of Ward 104.

"The most terrifying thing about The Hospital has never been the monsters."

"It's that the rules assume you belong here."

"The moment you entered the instance."

"Your identities already began to change."

"Patient, nurse, Round Checker, Dean..."

"They are just different stages."

Chen Ye felt his scalp tingle as he listened.

"Isn't that just slowly turning into a ghost?!"

The Bandaged Man didn't refute this.

Because he was right.

Outside the room, the broadcast sounded again.

[Ward 104, please cooperate with the round immediately.]

[Final warning.]

Boom!

The door to Ward 104 shuddered violently!

The entire door began to deform!

It was as if something outside was slowly forcing it open.

And the two dead people who were there to "fill the quota" slowly sat up on their hospital beds.

Zhao Qi tilted his neck, emitting the sound of grinding bones.

"If you don't open the door..."

"The Dean won't be happy."

The other girl was even more eerie.

Her mouth was split almost to her ears.

Her black pupils stared fixedly at everyone.

"Why won't you accept treatment?"

"You are very sick."

The air became oppressive to the extreme.

Chen Ye cursed angrily.

"I'll treat your mother!"

Boom!

He slammed his shield forward!

But the next second, the Hand of Rules suddenly popped up a bright red warning.

[Active attacks on ward patients are prohibited]

[Current zone rule priority: C]

[Consequence of violation: Trigger "Ward Cleaning" immediately]

[Countdown: 3]

Lin Jin's expression changed drastically.

"Stop!"

Chen Ye managed to force himself to stop.

The next second, the countdown on the ward broadcast slowly vanished.

Everyone broke out in a cold sweat.

They had been so close.

The rules were about to go berserk.

"Damn it..."

Chen Ye gritted his teeth.

"This instance doesn't let anyone live at all."

Meanwhile, Lin Jin stared fixedly at that blood-stained white coat.

The Hand of Rules was constantly analyzing it.

[Target: Round Checker Uniform]

[Status: Rule Medium]

[Current Permission: Temporary Round Checker]

[Function: Can briefly evade the Dean's identification]

[Hidden Corruption: The longer it is worn, the deeper the assimilation]

[Estimated critical corruption time: 47 minutes]

47 minutes.

That meant that once he put it on, Lin Jin could only hold on for less than an hour at most.

If he exceeded that time, he would be completely recorded by The Hospital.

Thinking of this, Lin Jin suddenly asked, "How long have you been wearing it?"

The Bandaged Man was silent for a long time before slowly speaking.

"Three years."

The air suddenly went quiet.

Chen Ye's pupils constricted.

"Three years?!"

"You've been here for three years?!"

The Bandaged Man chuckled softly.

"How much time has passed outside..."

"I can no longer remember."

"But time inside The Hospital..."

"Is different from reality."

Lin Jin's heart sank suddenly.

Time rules.

The instance actually involved time corruption?

This was no longer the level of an ordinary novice instance.

Just then, footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door of Ward 104 again.

Not just one.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

It sounded like many people were pacing back and forth outside.

Immediately after, a strange woman's voice suddenly rang out.

"Patient in Ward 104 is abnormal."

"Requesting a joint round."

In the broadcast, a mechanical voice responded slowly.

[Application approved.]

The next second, the sound of fingernails scratching the door suddenly came from outside Ward 104.

Creak— Creak—

It was like someone was slowly scratching the door with their fingers from the outside.

Everyone's hair stood on end.

For the first time, there was panic in the Bandaged Man's voice.

"Oh no..."

"The nurse has come too."

Lin Jin's pupils constricted slightly.

A nurse?

The next second, the Hand of Rules refreshed its prompt.

[Rule unit detected approaching]

[Target: On-duty Nurse]

[Danger Level: C-]

[Current Status: Joint round in progress]

[Warning: When the nurse and Dean appear simultaneously, the ward rule priority will increase]

Immediately after, a new prompt appeared.

[Ward 104 safe time remaining: 4 minutes 12 seconds]

Lin Jin's breathing grew slightly heavy.

The safe time was about to run out.

Furthermore, they still hadn't found a real solution.

Outside, the broadcast sounded again.

[Ward 104.]

[Please open the door and accept treatment.]

The moment the voice fell, that "Zhao Qi" sitting on The Hospital bed suddenly stood up stiffly.

Then, step by step, he walked toward the door of Ward 104.

Chen Ye's expression changed drastically.

"Stop him!"

Boom!

He slammed his shield into him!

But eerily, Zhao Qi didn't attack at all.

He just walked forward mechanically, and his strength was shockingly great.

Chen Ye actually couldn't hold him back!

"Damn it!"

"Why is this dead guy so heavy?!"

At the same time, the other "female patient" slowly got out of bed as well.

Her split mouth stretched wider and wider.

"It's time for rounds..."

"Why won't you cooperate?"

The lights in Ward 104 began to flicker wildly.

The Bandaged Man's expression finally changed completely.

"The Hospital has started to correct the ward."

"They want to turn you into real patients!"

Lin Jin looked up sharply.

"What happens to real patients?"

The Bandaged Man's voice trembled.

"They will be sent to Basement Level 2."

Basement Level 2.

That rule flashed through Lin Jin's mind instantly.

[The dead please proceed to Basement Level 2]

His heart sank suddenly.

In other words, Basement Level 2 was likely the real "morgue area."

And those sent down there... were probably never coming back.

Just then, a cold woman's voice suddenly rang out outside the door.

"The Head Nurse has arrived."

The air suddenly went deathly still.

The next second, the temperature in the entire ward plummeted, and even the walls began to frost over.

And from under the door of Ward 104, a large amount of black liquid slowly seeped in.

It looked like blood, or perhaps hair.

It spread continuously along the floor.

Finally, it slowly formed a line of text.

[Those who refuse treatment.]

[Forced admission is permitted.]

Chen Ye's scalp instantly went numb.

"They're going to break the door down!!"

Boom!!!

The door to Ward 104 bulged inward violently!

In the center of the door panel, a blurred human face had even appeared!

It was like someone was squeezing in from outside!

Shen Tingxue finally took action.

Boom!

Extreme frost instantly covered the entire door.

But the next second, a woman's low chuckle sounded from outside.

"Patient."

"Locking the door is prohibited, oh."

Crack.

The layer of ice actually began to shatter on its own.

For the first time, Shen Tingxue's expression truly changed.

Because she realized that her ability was being suppressed by the rules.

And Lin Jin finally hesitated no more.

He grabbed the blood-stained white coat.

The next second, the Hand of Rules vibrated frantically.

[Confirm inheriting the identity of "Round Checker"?]

[Upon confirmation:]

[You will gain ward permission]

[Simultaneously enter The Hospital's records]

[Corruption will become irreversible]

The air was silent for a moment.

Chen Ye turned back abruptly.

"Brother Jin!"

Shen Tingxue also spoke directly for the first time.

"Don't put it on."

Lin Jin was silent for two seconds.

Then he suddenly smiled.

"No choice."

"Others enter instances to fight monsters."

"I enter instances to fix rules."

"Someone has to go into the maintenance area."

The next second, he draped the white coat over himself.

Boom!

The lights in Ward 104 went out instantly!

The broadcast gave a piercing screech!

[New Round Checker detected—]

[Identity recording in progress—]

[Name: Lin Jin]

[Permission confirmed—]

And at the same time, a line of blood-red text slowly appeared before Lin Jin's eyes.

[Welcome to the job.]