24: Chapter 24 Once Born a Human

The photo inside the picture frame was not some monster or demon, but a very normal photograph.

The background of the image was a Hospital, and there were three people in it.

They were all standing at the main entrance of the Hospital.

On the left was a beautiful woman wearing a fresh and elegant white dress.

Beside the woman was a man wearing a white coat, exactly the same as the one on Chen Mo.

The man was handsome, and although he was older, he still exuded an elegant temperament.

In front of the two stood a little boy, about 3 or 4 years old, holding a red toy car in his arms.

He was facing the camera, making a "peace" sign, revealing the innocent smile unique to a child.

It was clearly a photo of a family of three, and the man's profession was a doctor.

Chen Mo's gaze moved upward.

Although the image was focused on the three people as the core, the background had been blurred.

He could still make out some clues.

For example, at the very top of the Hospital behind them was a light box displaying the name of the Hospital.

If one looked closely at the outline on the light box, they could see it was the designation of the Hospital.

"No. 18 Hospital?"

Because the composition of the black lines was very simple, Chen Mo could tell that the background of the photo was No. 18 Hospital.

Then...

"This man in the white coat must be the Dean."

Since this was the Dean's office, the photo kept here was almost 100% a photo of him.

"Was the Dean once human too?"

"There is no dust on this photo, which means..."

Chen Mo transformed his imagination into a concrete scene in his mind.

The Dean, wrapped in bandages, took out the photo hidden behind the cosmos flowers every day, wiping it repeatedly with a cloth.

He stared wide-eyed at his former self.

He used to be so full of vigor, with a happy and fulfilled family.

Chen Mo sat directly in the Dean's office chair and placed the picture frame in a position suitable for observation.

He stood up again because only the height of him standing matched the angle of the Dean sitting.

He pushed the picture frame a few dozen centimeters further away, so it would match the Dean's arm length.

Subsequently, Chen Mo reached out and pulled open the drawer of the desk, discovering that it was filled with medical records.

He moved these medical records onto the desk, and after spreading them out, a brown notebook slid out from among them.

Chen Mo picked up this notebook and saw a line of text written in the center.

"If you have forgotten your past life, then open and take a look."

Opening the first page, it was a diary.

[January 10, 2035. I was successfully promoted to Dean. At that time, I was the youngest Dean of No. 18 Hospital. On this day, our family took a photo, and I want to record this moment forever.]

[December 31, 2035. I was plotted against and framed by the powerful child of someone from the neighboring Hospital. That Patient should have been able to be discharged in good health, but the privileged second-generation official bribed the Patient's family. I don't know what benefits he gave them to make a healthy person suddenly die of cardiac shock, and then he planted the blame on me, claiming that I intentionally caused the Patient's death.]

[December 31, 2036. I was released from prison. Because I already had some connections within the Hospital, I was still able to qualify for a doctor's job. But when I arrived at the workplace full of ambition, thinking that life was going to improve again, I realized I was wrong. The place they brought me to was a mental Hospital, and I became a Dean once again.]

[August 25, 2037. Ghost Festival. My 5-year-old son died of a sudden illness. That day, my wife and I went to sweep the graves for our ancestors, leaving my son alone in the hotel. When we returned, I saw my son spitting blood. As a doctor, I knew the child had been poisoned. There was no disinfectant in the bathroom; it was impossible for my son to have poisoned himself. However, my multiple proposals were all rejected by the police, and even on the Hospital's death list, it was only written that my son died of heart disease.]

[December 31, 2037. My wife became insane. She became my Patient.]

[January 1, 2038. My wife said there was something in her head. She said her brain was full of spiders that wanted to eat her brain, just like how our son was bitten to death by a venomous spider. I don't know how she could be sure that our son was killed by a venomous spider, but even if he was, our son's remains could no longer be examined.]

[February 1, 2038. On this day, I met a strange man. He told me that he could take me to play a game. If I could succeed, he could take me to another world where my wife would be normal and my son could come back to life.]

[March 1, 2038. I think I might not be human anymore...]

The content after this in the notebook had burn marks and was entirely fragmentary, with some pages only having blank spaces burned into jagged shapes.

"The Dean was once human? Could the game he mentioned refer to the Thriller Game?"

"In other words... besides players like us who are forced into it, there are other ways to actively enter the Thriller Game."

"That woman troubled by spiders is actually the Dean's wife."

A flash of lightning instantly crossed Chen Mo's mind.

From beginning to end, he had only encountered three interactive ghosts; the Shoe Ghost and the Vending Machine Ghost had both been harmed by the Dean.

And neither had been able to escape this Hospital.

But only the woman troubled by spiders, who was the Dean's wife.

She could leave this Hospital and had not suffered any harm from the Dean.

"The Dean once served as the dean of a mental Hospital, so... the Patients inside No. 18 Hospital are all mentally ill."

[Hidden Worldview Cracked: 1/2]

A system message notification suddenly popped up in front of Chen Mo.

[What the f*ck? This...]

[Wait, isn't this No. 18 Hospital a novice dungeon? How can there be a hidden worldview to crack? This should be a setting only for high-level dungeons.]

[Damn! Brothers, do you know what this means? We are witnessing the birth of a complete dungeon.]

[Oh my god, oh my god, I can brag to Old Wang next door for three years. I have seen something I shouldn't have seen.]

Chen Mo was not distracted by the onlookers in the Management Group.

He remained in a state of contemplation. He was the owner of a Secret Room escape shop and had mastered various methods for cracking puzzles.

It could be said that... 90% of the Secret Room escapes or murder mystery games on the market were easy for him to handle.

But now, that feeling he hadn't experienced for a long time.

The so-called pleasure of a brain-burning experience had returned.

Chen Mo enjoyed this high-difficulty puzzle-solving experience very much.

It could even be described as exciting.

"The worldview has only been half cracked."

"Which means there are still hidden secrets."

"Heh heh, just as I thought, there is another way to clear No. 18 Hospital."