41: Chapter 41 The Sound of Room Check at the Door

The old residential complex where Lin Jin lived wasn't far from the assessment grounds.

But tonight, this road felt exceptionally long.

After the taxi entered the old city district, the streetlights became noticeably sparse.

On both sides of the road were old buildings from the last century, their walls mottled, air conditioning units dripping water, and the voice-activated lights at the building entrances flickering on and off.

The driver hadn't said a word the entire way.

The car radio had been playing local news.

But as they neared the entrance to the complex, the radio suddenly crackled, turning into a faint sound of electrical static.

"...Bedside rounds..."

"...Patients, please keep quiet..."

Chen Ye, who had been leaning back in the passenger seat, straightened up instantly upon hearing this.

"Driver, is your radio broken?"

The driver frowned and reached out to twist the knob a few times.

The radio returned to normal.

"Maybe the signal is bad."

Lin Jin didn't speak.

He looked out the window.

The lights were on in the security booth at the entrance of the complex.

But there was no one inside.

At this hour, the elderly security guard would usually be sitting inside watching short videos, with the volume turned up loud enough for the whole street to hear.

Today, however, it was unnervingly quiet.

Shen Tingxue sat on the other side, her gaze sweeping over the entrance to the complex.

"There's residual pollution."

Lin Jin asked: "Is it obvious?"

"Very faint."

She raised her hand, and a wisp of frost slowly emerged from her fingertips.

As soon as the frost condensed, it was stained with a grayish-white tint at the edges.

"But the nature of it is different from the one in The Hospital."

Chen Ye immediately became nervous.

"What do you mean?"

Shen Tingxue looked at Lin Jin.

"It's more like a letter."

"The instance itself hasn't descended."

"Instead, it's some kind of rule notification that has been delivered here."

Lin Jin stared at his phone.

The screen had already gone black.

Yet, that temporary bedside rounds notification felt as if it were etched into his mind.

[Location: Lin Jin's home]

[Time: Tonight]

[Subject of Rounds: Lin Jin]

[Note: Patients must not refuse bedside rounds]

The Abandoned Hospital hadn't truly descended into reality.

Otherwise, the entire complex would have already been in chaos.

What it could do now was, in all likelihood, just use the "bedside rounds marker" left behind previously to project a small portion of its rules into his home.

Like a finger extended from The Hospital.

Not lethal.

But dangerous enough.

The car stopped at the entrance of the complex.

Lin Jin paid the fare.

After the three of them got out, the driver stepped on the gas and left, not even asking about the change.

Watching the receding taillights, Chen Ye muttered:

"Did he feel like something was wrong too?"

Lin Jin looked at the entrance of the complex.

"Normal people have some instinct for danger."

Chen Ye looked at him.

"What about you?"

Lin Jin gripped his wrench tightly.

"I'm not normal."

Chen Ye thought about it.

"Fair point."

Shen Tingxue was already walking ahead.

"Stop joking around."

"It's too quiet in the complex."

Lin Jin nodded.

The three of them didn't take the main entrance staircase but circled around first.

This was Shen Tingxue's suggestion.

If something was truly waiting at the door, going straight upstairs would mean following the other party's process.

Observing the perimeter first would at least allow them to gauge the scope of the influence.

The old complex had six buildings in total.

Lin Jin's home was in Building 3, on the fifth floor.

Looking from downstairs, the windows of his home were dark.

The lights weren't on.

But the voice-activated light in the fifth-floor corridor was on, and it stayed on.

A normal voice-activated light wouldn't stay on for this long.

Chen Ye looked up at that light, his voice lowered:

"Is it right at your door?"

Lin Jin didn't answer.

The Hand of Rules had already begun to display prompts.

[Micro Rule Field Detected]

[Range: Building 3, 5th Floor Corridor]

[Rule Source: Abandoned Hospital Bedside Rounds Marker]

[Current Status: Not Fully Expanded]

[Prompt: If the bedside rounds process is completed, the rule field will expand]

Shen Tingxue asked: "How is it?"

"The range is currently limited to the fifth floor."

Lin Jin looked up.

"We can't let it complete the bedside rounds."

Chen Ye scratched his head.

"The problem is, if it comes to do rounds on you, can't you just not open the door?"

Lin Jin shook his head.

"This isn't The Hospital."

"The fact that it can define my home as a patient room means it has already found a partial reality anchor."

"If we just hide, it might continue to expand the rules and turn the entire building into an Inpatient Department."

Chen Ye's expression changed.

"What about the people in this building then?"

Lin Jin looked toward Building 3.

Most of the people living in the building were ordinary people.

The elderly, children, office workers.

They didn't understand instance rules and had no professional protection.

Once caught in the bedside rounds process, they might not even know how they died.

"So we have to go up."

He said.

Chen Ye raised his shield.

"Alright."

"I'll say it again."

"I'll block the door."

Shen Tingxue said calmly:

"Don't just blurt things out this time."

Chen Ye nodded immediately.

"Don't worry."

"Now, even if someone asks me where my face is, I'll pretend I didn't hear it."

The three entered Building 3.

The stairwell was very dark.

The voice-activated light on the first floor had been broken for a long time; only the emergency exit sign emitted a ghostly green light.

Usually, the stairwell would smell of food, cigarette smoke, and old cement.

But tonight, there was an added scent of faint disinfectant.

It was very faint.

Yet, it instantly reminded Lin Jin of the Abandoned Hospital.

They didn't take the elevator.

Although the elevator in this old building was often broken, it was even more impossible to take it tonight.

The three went up the stairs.

Second floor.

Normal.

Third floor.

Normal.

When they reached the fourth floor, a piece of white paper suddenly appeared on the wall.

The paper was A4 size.

It was stuck on crookedly with transparent tape.

Written on it were the words:

[Inpatient Department Quiet Notice]

[Please do not make noise during nighttime bedside rounds]

Chen Ye's face darkened.

"This thing has even been posted in the stairwell?"

Lin Jin walked over.

He didn't tear it off directly.

The Hand of Rules unfolded.

[Target: Temporary Rule Notice]

[Status: Not Fixed]

[Function: Expand awareness of bedside rounds rules]

[Maintenance Suggestion: Cut the cognitive binding before removing]

Lin Jin raised his wrench, pressing the edge of the tape with the end of the wrench.

With a gentle flick.

The paper didn't tear; instead, it fell off as if it had lost its stickiness.

The moment it hit the ground, the white paper turned into a pile of ash.

"It's not fixed yet."

Lin Jin said.

"It means it just arrived."

Shen Tingxue looked upstairs.

"Then hurry."

The three continued upward.

Just as they reached the stairwell corner on the fifth floor, the voice-activated light flickered suddenly.

At the end of the corridor.

Someone was standing at Lin Jin's door.

That person had their back to them.

Their figure looked very much like Lin Shoushan.

Old jacket.

Slightly hunched shoulders.

One hand pressed against the door frame.

Exactly the same as in the photo from the text message.

Chen Ye's breath hitched, and he almost spoke up.

Shen Tingxue immediately raised her hand, frost silently sealing a small patch of ground by his feet, reminding him not to move.

Lin Jin looked at that back.

His heart still tightened inevitably.

Even knowing it might be a lure.

Even knowing his father left a message telling him not to believe it.

But for someone he hadn't seen in three years to be standing at his own door in this way, no one could remain completely indifferent.

The light in the corridor flickered on and off.

That back figure slowly raised a hand.

Knocked on the door.

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

Three times.

Exactly the same as during The Hospital bedside rounds.

Then.

A hoarse voice sounded.

"Lin Jin."

"Open the door."

Chen Ye's expression was ugly.

Shen Tingxue looked at Lin Jin.

Lin Jin didn't answer.

The Hand of Rules refreshed frantically.

[Bedside Rounds Process Detected]

[Current Stage: Knocking]

[Target is attempting to induce the patient to open the door]

[Warning: Do not respond to the "Open the door" command]

That voice sounded again.

"Brat."

"I'm back."

"Open the door and let me in."

Lin Jin's fingers tightened bit by bit.

The voice was too similar.

Even more so than the afterimage in the archives room.

It even carried a hint of exhaustion and the sound of real breathing.

But for that very reason, it was even more dangerous.

He didn't look at the person's face.

He only looked at the door.

The security door of Lin Jin's home was slightly ajar.

It was pitch black in the gap of the door.

And that hand pressed against the door frame did indeed have an old scar.

When the Hand of Rules identified it, however, it gave a completely different result.

[Target: Humanoid Rule Projection at the Door]

[Appearance Source: Lin Shoushan Memory Template]

[Real Status: Bedside Rounds Notification Carrier]

[Danger Level: C+]

[Core Fault: Real doorplate incorrectly registered as a patient room number]

Sure enough.

It wasn't Lin Shoushan.

It was a carrier for the bedside rounds notification.

It used his father's appearance to induce Lin Jin to respond.

Once Lin Jin opened the door, or admitted that "this is his home inside," the bedside rounds process would be established.

The home would be registered as a patient room.

He would be registered as a patient.

Lin Jin's eyes turned cold.

"It's not my dad."

Chen Ye let out a breath of relief, but immediately became nervous again.

"Then can we fight it?"

"Fighting the projection is useless."

Lin Jin looked at his own house number.

[502]

At this moment, the numbers on the doorplate were slowly changing.

The 5 looked as if it were being stretched.

The 0 turned into a circular hole like that on a medical record book.

The 2 was twisting little by little.

Finally, it vaguely formed a few words:

[502 Patient Room]

Lin Jin understood immediately.

The core wasn't the projection.

It was the doorplate.

As long as the doorplate finished becoming a "patient room," the bedside rounds process could enter reality.

He said in a low voice:

"Shen Tingxue, freeze the door gap."

"Don't let it continue to open."

Shen Tingxue didn't ask why.

She raised her hand.

Frost spread silently along the ground, precisely covering the gap of the security door.

The slightly ajar door was jammed by the layer of ice.

The "Lin Shoushan" at the door slowly turned his head.

But his face remained hidden in the shadows.

"Lin Jin."

"You won't let me into my own home?"

This sentence was more venomous than the last.

Even Chen Ye was furious hearing it.

"This thing is truly disgusting."

Lin Jin didn't answer.

He walked toward the doorplate step by step.

The projection suddenly turned around and blocked the doorplate.

"You don't recognize me?"

Lin Jin stopped.

"I recognize you."

The projection's movements paused.

Shen Tingxue's expression changed slightly.

Chen Ye almost shouted out.

But the next second, Lin Jin continued:

"I recognize that you are not him."

As the words fell.

The projection's shoulders shook slightly.

As if it were laughing.

"Then look at my face."

"Take one look, and you'll know whether I am or not."

The face in the shadows began to slowly lift.

The Hand of Rules flashed red.

[Warning]

[Target attempting to trigger facial template pollution]

[Do not look directly]

Lin Jin didn't look at it at all.

He suddenly turned sideways, his wrench tapping against the edge of the doorplate along the wall.

Click.

The doorplate vibrated.

[Target: 502 Doorplate]

[Fault: Doorplate number contaminated by bedside rounds rules]

[Maintenance Plan: Clear the patient room coverage and restore the residential doorplate attribute]

[Success Rate: 78%]

Lin Jin said coldly:

"My doorplate is broken."

"Fix it."

The projection's voice suddenly turned cold.

"Patients are not allowed to modify patient room numbers without authorization."

Lin Jin's wrench fell again.

"Patient your ass."

"This is my home."

Crack!

A corner of the black covering on the surface of the doorplate cracked.

The projection reached out toward Lin Jin abruptly.

Chen Ye roared, and his shield slammed across.

"Don't touch him!"

The projection was knocked back half a step by the shield, but soon condensed again like smoke.

Shen Tingxue raised her hand, and frost spread along the projection's feet, briefly nailing it to the spot.

"Hurry."

Lin Jin didn't look back.

He tapped the wrench continuously.

[Maintenance Progress: 31%]

[49%]

The words [Patient Room] on the doorplate began to twist.

The corridor lights flickered frantically.

The sound of a neighbor opening their door came from downstairs.

An elderly person's confused voice sounded:

"Who is it?"

"Why is it so noisy upstairs?"

Lin Jin's expression changed.

The rule field was starting to affect downstairs.

The projection heard it too.

It slowly laughed.

"During bedside rounds."

"All patients must register."

Shen Tingxue immediately turned around.

"I'll go block them."

She quickly went downstairs, using frost to gently seal the voice-activated light at the stairwell entrance and the range of noise propagation, preventing the neighbors from coming up further.

Chen Ye gritted his teeth and held off the projection.

"Brother Jin!"

"Hurry up!"

Lin Jin's eyes hardened.

He pressed his old Maintenance Worker badge onto the doorplate.

The badge heated up slightly.

[Maintenance Department identity fragment detected]

[Current maintenance legitimacy increased]

[Maintenance Progress: 72%]

The projection finally got anxious.

Its voice turned into Lin Shoushan's roar.

"Lin Jin!"

"I am your dad!"

"Are you going to shut your own dad out of the door?"

Lin Jin's fingers paused slightly.

The next second.

He raised his wrench and smashed it down fiercely.

"My dad wouldn't let me open the wrong door."

Bang!

The black pollution on the doorplate shattered completely.

The words [502 Patient Room] vanished instantly.

It turned back into an ordinary [502].

At the same moment.

The slightly ajar security door made a "click" sound.

It closed automatically.

The scent of disinfectant in the corridor receded rapidly.

The projection froze on the spot.

Its face finally lifted.

But that face wasn't Lin Shoushan's.

It was a blank face without features.

It stared fixedly at Lin Jin.

A black line split open where the mouth should be.

"Next bedside rounds."

"You won't be able to hide."

Lin Jin looked at it.

"Remember to register next time."

The projection dissipated in a distortion.

The corridor voice-activated light returned to normal.

The elderly person downstairs muttered a couple of times and closed their door again.

Everything was as if it had never happened.

But Lin Jin looked at his own door.

Under the door gap, a letter lay quietly.

A white envelope.

No stamp.

Only one line of text.

[Jiangcheng First Combat Academy, Rule Maintenance Special Class Admission Notice]

Lin Jin bent down and picked it up.

On the back of the envelope.

There was another line of small text written in Lin Shoushan's handwriting.

[Don't be late. Old Man Qin will really punish you by making you clean the toilets.]