40: Chapter 40 The Eve of School Enrollment: A Letter from the Hospital

The contamination test lasted for a full three hours.

When Lin Jin came out of the testing room, it was already dark.

The warning lights outside the assessment grounds were still flashing.

The black rift left behind after the collapse of the Abandoned Hospital instance was pinned in mid-air by over a dozen containment arrays from the Abyss Processing Bureau.

From a distance, it looked like a pinned scar.

Many examinees had not yet left.

They stood in the distance, whispering to each other.

When Lin Jin walked out, the previously noisy crowd suddenly fell silent for a moment.

The feeling was very subtle.

The previous silence had been a pause before ridicule.

The current silence was because no one knew how to look at him.

F-rank Repairman.

Number one contribution in the Abandoned Hospital.

Candidate for the Rule Maintenance Special Class.

With these labels stacked together, Lin Jin was already on a different wavelength than them.

Chen Ye followed beside him, carrying his shield on his shoulder, and deliberately straightened his back.

"See that?"

"Now everyone is behaving themselves."

Lin Jin glanced at him.

"Can you walk without looking like you're going to receive an award?"

"No."

Chen Ye replied righteously.

"This is the first time in my life I've walked with the top student."

"There must be a sense of ceremony."

Shen Tingxue walked on the other side, her expression much calmer than theirs.

But her face was still somewhat pale.

Although the Ice Phoenix Core was not seriously damaged, the contamination suppression in the Abandoned Hospital was not an ordinary drain, and it was impossible to fully recover in a short time.

Lin Jin noticed a wisp of grayish-white cold air occasionally flickering from her fingertips.

"You should also go to the medical room for a recheck."

Shen Tingxue looked at him.

"Take care of yourself first."

"My contamination level has dropped to 38."

"But the ward round mark is still there."

Lin Jin was silent.

That was indeed impossible to refute.

The treatment plan provided by Gu Changye was to temporarily seal the mark's activity without forcibly removing it.

The reason was simple.

The Abandoned Hospital ward round mark was not ordinary contamination.

It was linked to The Hospital records, Lin Jin's identity as a Maintenance Worker, and the face template on Basement Level 2.

Removing it rashly might trigger a reverse activation.

Therefore, the Abyss Processing Bureau only applied an outer seal for him.

To truly solve it, he would have to wait until he entered the Jiangcheng First Combat Academy and use the equipment and old data of the Rule Maintenance Special Class to handle it slowly.

In other words.

He was now like someone carrying a bomb that hadn't been fully dismantled.

It wouldn't explode for now.

But it was still there.

Chen Ye suddenly lowered his voice.

"Brother Jin, do you think that Forbidden Building test tomorrow will involve some more shady tricks?"

Lin Jin thought for a moment.

"Dean Qin said we won't enter The Hospital."

Chen Ye just breathed a sigh of relief.

Lin Jin added:

"But he didn't say we wouldn't enter other things."

Chen Ye's face fell.

"Can you not be so honest?"

Shen Tingxue said indifferently:

"The mortality rate of the Rule Maintenance Special Class is so high, the entrance test won't be simple."

Chen Ye felt even worse.

"Listening to you two talk really shortens my lifespan."

When the three of them reached the exit of the assessment grounds, Liu Hang and the Short-haired Girl were waiting there too.

Liu Hang had a layer of light-colored repair film on his face.

His features had recovered, but his expression was still a bit unnatural.

Seeing Lin Jin, he immediately walked over.

"Lin Jin."

"Thank you for today."

His voice was very serious.

"If it weren't for you, I would have been gone in the elevator."

The Short-haired Girl also said with red eyes:

"And Basement Level 2."

"I almost answered that thing."

"Thank you."

Lin Jin waved his hand.

"As long as you're alive, it's fine."

Liu Hang hesitated for a moment, then added:

"I just heard that the Department of Education might want to talk to us separately."

"Don't worry."

"We won't say anything reckless."

Chen Ye immediately patted Liu Hang's shoulder.

"Not bad, you have a conscience."

Liu Hang gave a bitter smile.

"It's not about conscience."

"I know that if I let them pin the blame on you, the next ones to die might be other examinees."

This sentence made everyone quiet for a moment.

This time at the Abandoned Hospital, on the surface, it was an assessment accident.

But there must be people behind the scenes trying to suppress it.

The copy of the 105 original maintenance record is the most crucial evidence currently in Lin Jin's hands.

But the more crucial the evidence, the more people are watching it.

Shen Tingxue looked at Lin Jin.

"Don't go back alone tonight."

Lin Jin smiled slightly.

"My home isn't far from here."

"This is not a matter of distance."

Her voice was very calm.

"You are currently carrying the files, the badge, the ward round mark, and the clue to the second wrench."

"If anyone wants to make a move, tonight is the best opportunity."

Chen Ye immediately nodded.

"Right."

"Why don't you sleep at my place?"

Lin Jin glanced at him.

"How many beds do you have at your place?"

"One."

"You're quite brave."

Chen Ye froze for two seconds, then realized and scolded:

"Get lost!"

Shen Tingxue did not follow up on this topic.

"I can have my family arrange a car to take you."

Lin Jin shook his head.

"Too high-profile."

Shen Tingxue frowned.

"You are already high-profile enough as it is."

That was also true.

Just as Lin Jin was about to say something, his phone suddenly vibrated.

He took it out and looked.

It was a text message from an unknown number.

The content was only one line.

[Don't go home.]

Lin Jin's eyes instantly turned cold.

Chen Ye leaned over.

"Who sent it?"

Lin Jin did not answer.

Almost at the same time, the Hand of Rules popped up a notification.

[Abnormal information detected]

[Source: Unknown]

[Attached with weak rule residue]

[Nature of residue: Hospital records]

Hospital records.

Chen Ye's expression changed.

"The Abandoned Hospital?"

Shen Tingxue also saw that line of text.

"It can send you text messages?"

Lin Jin stared at the phone screen.

The next second.

A second text message popped up.

[Someone is waiting for you at home.]

Immediately after.

A third one.

[Don't open the door.]

When the last four words appeared, a chill suddenly ran down Lin Jin's back.

Don't open the door.

This was a rule that had repeatedly appeared in the Abandoned Hospital.

And now, it appeared in a text message in the real world.

Chen Ye couldn't help but curse.

"No way?"

"The instance has already collapsed, can it still chase into reality?"

Lin Jin did not speak.

He immediately dialed his home landline.

No one answered.

He dialed the neighbor's number.

Still no answer.

His expression sank bit by bit.

After his father went missing, he had been living alone in the old residential complex.

There was no one else at home.

If someone was waiting for him, that person could not possibly be a normal visitor.

Shen Tingxue immediately said:

"Notify Gu Changye."

Lin Jin nodded, just about to contact Gu Changye.

But the phone screen suddenly lit up on its own.

A photo popped up.

The photo was of his doorstep.

The old security door was half-open.

There was no light in the crack of the door.

Only one hand reached out from inside, pressing against the door frame.

On the back of that hand.

There was a familiar old scar.

Lin Jin's breathing suddenly hitched.

That was Lin Shoushan's hand.

He had seen it countless times when he was a child.

The scar caused by a metal sheet when his father was repairing machines.

Chen Ye also saw it, and his face instantly turned pale.

"This..."

Shen Tingxue's voice lowered.

"It might be bait."

Lin Jin closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, his gaze had calmed down.

"I know."

"But I have to go see."

Shen Tingxue did not stop him.

She just said:

"We will go together."

Chen Ye immediately raised his shield.

"No kidding."

"Whoever wants to open this door can open it, but you definitely cannot open it alone."

Lin Jin looked at the two of them.

He suddenly remembered the sentence in his father's message.

If there are people around you who can be trusted, trust them once.

A Repairman doesn't have to work alone.

A moment later, he nodded.

"Okay."

He had just finished speaking.

The phone screen flickered again.

This time, it wasn't a text message that popped up.

It was a line of pale text.

[Temporary Ward Round Notification]

[Location: Lin Jin's home]

[Time: Tonight]

[Subject of ward round: Lin Jin]

[Note: Patients must not refuse ward rounds]

Chen Ye's expression was extremely ugly.

"It really came."

Cold air silently condensed in Shen Tingxue's palms.

Lin Jin gripped his rusty wrench tightly.

In the distance, the city night was brightly lit.

But in Lin Jin's eyes, in the direction of the familiar old district, it was as if an invisible hospital door had suddenly appeared.

And behind the door.

Someone was waiting for him.

He said in a low voice:

"Let's go."

"Go home."