virus

Chapter 9 January [-]th

According to the address given by Ye Xiao, I found the mental hospital.Passing through a passage made up of tall and thick brick walls and iron railings, under the guidance of a strong male nurse, I entered a white single ward. There was a strong fragrance in the ward. I noticed the vase beside the bed a bouquet of flowers.

A girl was sitting on the edge of the bed with her back to me.

"Qian Xiaoqing." The nurse called out.

The girl didn't move and didn't respond.

"That's what she looks like."

"Is it because I was too stimulated when I committed suicide and lost my hearing?"

"No, her hearing is fine." Then the orderly backed out.It was just me and her in the ward.

I moved closer to her, but she didn't seem to notice.I walked around the hospital bed and came to her, my body blocking the recent sunlight projected through the iron railing.

She finally looked up at me.She was not very pretty, but had large eyes and a pale complexion.She stared at me for a long time, then lowered her head again.

"Why kill yourself?" I know people have asked her hundreds of times.

no answer.

"What have you seen?" I continued.

Still no answer.

"Do you surf the Internet often?"

This time she looked at me and nodded.Thinking I could break her silence, I continued to ask, "What's your screen name?"

no answer.

"Do you go to OICQ? What kind of network do you often use? What kind of games do you like to play?" I asked her many irrelevant questions, but she didn't respond.I was a little at a loss, I squatted down, stared into her eyes, and looked at her.But she tried her best to avoid my sight and looked around.

"Look at me." I said loudly.

She was finally facing my eyes, and so close that I could even see her dark pupils clearly.After a while, her pupils suddenly dilated, which made me a little scared, the pupils were getting bigger and bigger, it was ridiculously big, no, her life might be in danger.I was about to call for someone, but she finally spoke: "She—is—in—the—underground—palace."

I was taken aback.Her voice was very low, almost breathless, and it sounded muffled, like a voice coming from the ground.And every single word made my back feel a little chilly.

"She's in the dungeon," I repeated. Who is "she" and what does "underground palace" represent? It seems to be in the tomb.I looked into her eyes again and her pupils were back to normal.

"What do you mean?"

She closed her eyes.I don't think I can stimulate her anymore, her dilated pupils are really worrying.

"Sorry." I left the ward.

There was silence in the mental hospital.When I walked out of the gate, those words were all in my mind - "she is in the underground palace".

(End of this chapter)