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Chapter 439 Nightmare Trial, Mental Hospital

Midnight Forest Bar.

The heavy bass of the electronic dance music crashed against everyone's eardrums like a wave.

The air was thick with the strong scent of alcohol, perfume, and hormones.

Xu Hao was embracing a hot woman, his body swaying freely to the beat of the music.

The woman's breath was sweet as orchids, and her fingers traced circles on his firm pectoral muscles:
"Brother Hao, why don't you stay tonight?"

Xu Hao suddenly released her hand, gently pushing her away, a roguish smile on his face:

"No, I have to get up early tomorrow to see my mom."

"You're using your mother as an excuse again."

The young woman pouted and persisted, saying, "You're practically the busiest person in Dongdu now."

"Of course, I'm a filial son."

Xu Hao laughed and ignored her pestering, then turned and squeezed out of the crowded throng.

After passing through the bustling lobby on the first floor and returning to my own lounge upstairs, the world instantly quieted down.

He took off his shirt, which reeked of alcohol and perfume, revealing his well-defined upper body.

Stepping into the bathroom, the water was running loudly. Xu Hao hummed an off-key tune and squeezed a large dollop of face wash onto his face, rubbing it haphazardly.

His face was covered in foam. He made faces at himself in the mirror, grinned, and showed off his white teeth.

"Tsk, he's gotten even more handsome."

After washing up and drying my face with a towel, a sense of clarity, so different from the celebratory atmosphere downstairs, washed over me.

Ever since his near-death experience at Noah's Ark that night, his life has been in this strange state of division.

Station Chief Feng gave a firm order that all cadres should behave themselves and lay low for a while.

The scandal of Noah Pharmaceuticals' secret human experiments has become known throughout the country, and the special investigation team is like a mad dog, attacking people everywhere.

Those colleagues either fled or were captured.

In the past, Xu Hao would have been too nervous to sleep.

Although he was just a mole...

But now, he is as calm as a rock.

Nervous? Worried? Not at all.

Whenever I close my eyes, that rainy night comes to mind.

The shocking scene of their leader standing in mid-air, engulfed in flames, smashing the inner world and Minister Luo with his fists.

That wasn't human, that was practically a god!

With a boss like that around, what's there to be afraid of in the Special Investigations Team?
Xu Hao even thought it would be better if the stationmaster and his gang all died in the Otherworld.

Without the Noah Organization and other troublesome figures, the boss led Xu Hao to crush all the major forces in Dongdu, unify the martial arts world, and ascend to the top.

By then, I'll at least have to become a gang leader or chairman.

As for luxury cars, beautiful women, and money...

These are all minor matters.

Just thinking about it makes me so excited I can't sleep.

Draw the curtains to completely shut out the city's neon lights.

Xu Hao lay down on the bed, put his hands behind his head, and happily imagined the future.

My eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and my consciousness gradually became blurred.

The music from the bar seemed to come from another world, fading into the distance...

"what--"

A bloodcurdling scream, sharp to the extreme, pierced my mind without warning!
Xu Hao's heart skipped a beat, as if he had been struck by an electric current, and he instantly opened his eyes.

But what he saw was not the familiar bedroom ceiling.

A large patch of grayish-white, moldy, dampness filled his entire field of vision.

A nauseating smell filled the air, like formaldehyde mixed with the odor of rust and rotting flesh.

He sat up abruptly and found himself lying on an iron bed covered with a thin white cloth.

It was dark all around, as if the power had gone out.

On the bedside table, there was an old-fashioned metal flashlight.

"What the hell is this place?"

Xu Hao was a little dazed.

I was just sleeping in the bar lounge, how come I'm in a different place when I open my eyes?
Did someone kidnap me while I was asleep?
He quickly checked his body and found no signs of being bound.

But the clothes he was wearing made his heart skip a beat.

It was a blue and white striped hospital gown with a few blurry words printed on the chest: Dongdu Seventh Mental Hospital.

Mental hospital? !
Xu Hao was dumbfounded.

The first thought that popped into my head was that those bastards from the Special Investigations Team were up to something.

Do they have some new mission and deliberately stage this to scare me and give me a hard time?
"Hey, come out!"

He shouted into the empty room, "Stop playing tricks, just say what you want to say."

however.

The only response he received was the echo of his own voice reverberating in the deathly silence, which sounded particularly eerie.

Xu Hao was not giving up and reached out to press the light switch on the wall.

There was no response; the power was really out.

He turned to look to the side, where there was a filthy window.

Through the blurred glass, one could vaguely see the outside world.

In the dark courtyard, several strangely shaped statues stood alone.

Thick, opaque gray fog swirled outside the window, isolating the mental hospital from the world like a prison, preventing even a sliver of outside light from penetrating.

What's even more unsettling is that a huge black shadow seems to be slowly writhing deep in the fog, exuding an indescribable eeriness that makes people afraid to look at it for long.

An even more terrifying thought suddenly burrowed into Xu Hao's mind like a venomous snake.

Could it be that... the successful evacuation from Noah Building was just a dream?

He hadn't actually escaped at all; he was trapped in some damned alternate world once again, and only now had he truly woken up?

This thought immediately sent chills down his spine.

Xu Hao immediately rolled out of bed, grabbed the heavy metal flashlight from the bedside table, and used it as a weapon.

He then pressed the switch, and a dim beam of light pierced the darkness, barely illuminating the surrounding environment.

Fortunately, the battery still had power.

Holding a flashlight, he carefully pushed open the door and walked down the dimly lit corridor.

After walking a few steps, the space suddenly opened up before us, revealing a space resembling a hospital lobby.

This place has clearly been abandoned for a long time; the glass of the registration desk is shattered all over the floor, and several rows of benches are overturned.

The posters hanging on the wall had long since faded and yellowed, and the smiling faces of the doctors and nurses on them looked incredibly eerie in the dim light.

Just then, the beam of the flashlight swept across a load-bearing column in the center of the hall and suddenly stopped.

In the shadow of the pillar, there seemed to be a blurry human figure.

Xu Hao's heart jumped into his throat, his hand trembled, and the flashlight beam flickered.

His muscles tensed instantly, he assumed a fighting stance, and held the flashlight horizontally in front of his chest, ready to throw it at any moment.

"Who?!"

The figure did not move or make any sound.

It stood there quietly in the shadows, like a lifeless statue.

This unknown silence is more terrifying than a monster pouncing on you.

Cold sweat beaded on Xu Hao's forehead as he retreated step by step, his eyes fixed on the shadow.

Just as he was about to retreat to the corner, a soft "click" sound came from the shadowy figure.

A small cluster of orange flames suddenly lit up in the darkness.

The firelight illuminated a young face.

The face was shrouded in a thin layer of gray mist, obscuring the features, but it could be determined that it was a living person.

The man lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and slowly exhaled smoke rings, the flame flickering with his breath.

"Friend, don't be nervous."

A fairly calm-sounding voice came from the other end:

"It seems we've had similar experiences. I also woke up to find myself in this godforsaken place."

After confirming that the person was alive, Xu Hao's tense nerves relaxed, but he did not let his guard down.

The man in front of me was also wearing a hospital gown. He was tall and thin, and his every move exuded a refined air.

Although his facial features are not clearly visible, I can tell from his appearance that he is probably a pretty boy.

This pretty boy is indeed dashing.

Since the Noah Building incident, Xiao Sa has devoted all his energy to the tasks assigned to him by Chairman Fang Cheng.

They needed to find a suitable secret base and also recruit reliable financial and administrative personnel.

Aside from occasionally clocking in at Yuanchen Group, he spends his days traveling all over the streets and alleys of Dongdu, and when he gets home at night, he still has to study management on his own.

Such efforts are made to make oneself appear more like a qualified senior executive or organizational cadre within the group.

Instead of the petty thug who used to just loiter on the streets.

He firmly believed that this was a test from the president, and also his only chance to break free from the past and start anew.

The image of the president descending like a god of war that night has long become an unshakable belief in his heart.

He was willing to give everything for this belief.

Tonight, Xiao Sa had just finished organizing information on two potential sites, preparing for an in-depth investigation tomorrow. He had barely lain down and closed his eyes when he opened them again to find himself in this eerie and terrifying mental hospital.

"You're also... a fellow patient?"

Xu Hao, holding a flashlight, slowly walked over.

He nodded casually, then pulled another cigarette from his pocket and handed it to him.
"Want one? To calm your nerves."

Xu Hao did not refuse.

The two huddled together and lit cigarettes.

The taste of nicotine provides a moment of relief from tension.

"This place has an eerie feel to it."

Xu Hao took a drag of his cigarette and said in a deep voice.

"Ah."

He flicked his cigarette ash with a flourish and analyzed the situation with feigned profundity:

"Based on the information we have so far, we are very likely trapped in a supernatural... um... environment."

"The most urgent task is to identify where our 'breakthrough point' lies."

Xu Hao was stunned. Although he didn't understand everything, he felt that this pretty boy seemed quite cultured.

Just then, a pale blue light suddenly appeared.

A few lines of cold, descriptive text suddenly appeared in the air before their eyes:

Nightmare Trial: Survival in the Ward

[Mission Objective: Enter the hospital director's office on the fourth floor and obtain "Patient No. 0's file."]

[Mission Time Limit: Before Dawn.]

Complete the task to escape the nightmare.

[Ward Rules:]

[1. Please keep quiet; the "patients" here don't like noise.]

2. The hallway lights will flash periodically. When they flash, please close your eyes or go into a room.

3. Don't trust any reflections in mirrors.

4. The "nurse" will patrol the corridors. Her footsteps are very light. If you hear the sound of high heels, hide immediately.

5. If you smell a strong stench of decay, it means the "attending physician" is nearby. Don't let him see you; he'll treat you as a new "test subject."

6. Make good use of the tools at your disposal and the items in your environment; they may be key to your survival.

The two of them saw the text at the same time, and their expressions froze.

"Nightmare Trials?"

Xu Hao was stunned. What was this?
Xiao Sa quickly calmed down, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes:
“I understand now. This is not a random accident; it is a test with clear rules and objectives.”

"The key to breaking the deadlock is completing this task; there might even be some rewards, just like in popular online games these days."

"What a load of bull!"

Xu Hao's anger flared up immediately; he was still more inclined to believe that the Special Investigation Team was behind it all.

"What nightmares, what rules, all this nonsense! Damn it, I don't believe in this nonsense!"

He slammed the cigarette butt to the ground and strode toward the closed iron door of the hall.

He then raised his leg and kicked out with all his might!
"Open it for me!"

boom--

A loud crash echoed through the hall, the iron door shook violently, and rust chips fell from its edges, but it couldn't be kicked open.

"Hey, stop right now!"

Xiao Sa's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly tried to dissuade them: "Didn't you see that the first rule says to keep quiet?"

However, it was too late.

"Click...click click...click click click..."

As if in response to the commotion Xu Hao made, a series of teeth-grinding sounds came from the darkness connecting the hall to the corridor.

The sounds were dense and chaotic, as if many misaligned puppets were moving simultaneously.

Then, one, two, three...

Several figures dressed in identical hospital gowns staggered out of the darkness in an eerie manner.

Their bodies were twisted unnaturally, their limbs bent at reverse joint angles.

When walking, the sound of bones rubbing together can be clearly heard.

They all wore the same stiff smiles, their mouths stretched to an angle beyond human limits.

It seems to be the "patient" described in the ward rules just now.

"Can you finally give it up?"

Xu Hao was not afraid at all; instead, he excitedly clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking loudly.

"Perfect timing for me to stretch my muscles!"

Before he finished speaking, he charged forward like a cannonball, crashing head-on into the "patient" at the very front.

The "patient" looked fragile, but was surprisingly strong, and tried to hug Xu Hao with open arms.

However, Xu Hao's body has been enhanced, making his strength far beyond that of ordinary people.

Xu Hao didn't even use any fancy techniques; he simply delivered a brutal straight punch, hitting his opponent squarely in the chest.

With a dull thud, the "patient's" chest was dented from the blow.

He was sent flying backwards and crashed into his companion behind him.

"Vulnerable!"

Xu Hao spat, a smug look on his face.

Although it can't compare to the boss's fists, it's still a piece of cake to deal with these small fry.

However, these "patients" seemed to have no sense of pain at all.

The one that was knocked down struggled to its feet, the dent in its chest seemingly not affecting its movement.

The other "patients" were unaffected by their companion's fall and lunged at Xu Hao with bared teeth and claws.

Their target was clear: Xu Hao, who was making noise.

On the other side, a "patient" had somehow gotten behind Xiao Sa.

Xiao Sa was completely focused on observing Xu Hao's battle, trying to analyze the weaknesses of these monsters, and was completely unaware of the danger behind him.

He only realized what was happening and turned around when a gust of wind came.

A face with a strange smile was already close at hand.

"Fuck me!"

His feigned composure crumbled instantly in fright.

He let out a strange cry and dove to the side in a sorry state, barely dodging the other person's scratches.

The "patient" missed his first attack and immediately pounced on him again.

Xiaosai's physical abilities were far inferior to Xu Hao's, and he could only rely on his relatively agile skills to scramble and dodge, making him look extremely disheveled.

He grabbed a chair that had fallen over nearby and smashed it hard on the "patient's" head.

The chair shattered into pieces, but the "patient" only swayed slightly, his attack showing no sign of slowing down.

"Hey friend, are you watching a show?!"

Xiao Sa dodged while shouting at Xu Hao.

Xu Hao had already easily taken down three "patients".

He glanced at Xiaosai's predicament and pursed his lips.

I wanted to teach this pretty boy a lesson, but in the end I couldn't just stand by and watch him die.

He immediately rushed forward and delivered a flying kick from the side, accurately striking the temple of the "patient" who was attacking him with an air of nonchalance.

The immense force caused the "patient's" head to snap to the side, and his neck made a crisp "crack" sound.

He flew sideways, crashed to the ground, twitched a few times, and then lay still.

"Thanks……"

He panted heavily, straightened his disheveled clothes, and was still shaken.

"He's so tall, but he looks like a woman."

Xu Hao snorted dismissively, then finished off the remaining two "patients".

The hall returned to calm for the time being.

He walked casually to a corpse, squatted down, and examined it carefully.

These "patients" were found to have pale, bloodless skin, resembling some kind of doll or puppet.

"It seems that physical attacks are still effective, but the head must be targeted."

He stood up, drew a conclusion, then looked at Xu Hao and said with a serious expression:

"Now, do you believe this isn't a prank? You hothead, if you want to live, you have to follow the rules."

Xu Hao fell silent.

Although the battle just now was thrilling but ultimately safe, these difficult-to-kill monsters still posed a challenge for him.

If the number were several times greater, I would also perish here.

"Okay, it's up to you."

He said somewhat reluctantly, "So what do we do now, you pretty boy?"

"Find the way."

He casually pointed to the corridor deep in the hall and quickly formulated a plan:
"Our target is the fourth floor. We need to find a safe passage first. You go first, and I'll bring up the rear."

"Remember, don't shout nonsense this time."

(End of this chapter)