After completing the bizarre game, the world experienced a global resurgence of strange occurrences.

Ruan Ning hadn't expected Chen Zhuo to give her the strange artifact, and for a moment she couldn't believe it.

That's a treacherous weapon!

Even the most useless artifact is priceless in the circle!

He just generously gave me the artifact?

Ruan Ning was overjoyed and even more certain that Chen Zhuo's identity was not simple, and such a strange weapon had no appeal to him at all!

As for Chen Zhuo asking about her purpose, she wasn't too surprised.

Given Chen Zhuo's demonstrated wisdom and strength, he would surely have realized this.

So from beginning to end, she never intended to keep it a secret.

She leaped down, retrieved the eerie rope from the ceiling, put it in her pocket, and thanked Chen Zhuo.

"Since Mr. Chen has spoken, I have no choice but to respectfully comply!"

As for why I came here, it is actually related to this strange rope.

To be more precise, I need to offer a mysterious artifact as a token of my loyalty.

Ruan Ning kicked aside the middle-aged woman's corpse in the corridor and walked up to Chen Zhuo.

"You and I are both people who opened the door, so you must know that there is an official organization in Dachang City."

In addition to official organizations, there are also some non-governmental organizations in Dachang City.

Some people in the industry who cannot join official organizations or dislike constraints will join non-governmental organizations.

The basic conditions for joining these civilian organizations are to hand over a mysterious artifact or some important intelligence.

I dislike being constrained, so I chose to join a non-governmental organization called the Ironthorn Guild.

Non-governmental organizations rarely have door-to-door agents, and under normal circumstances, they do not need to pledge allegiance.

Unfortunately, my ability is a tricky one, and its power is simply not enough, so I can only follow the others.

At this point, Ruan Ning felt rather helpless, but also somewhat fortunate.

The stronger the ability of the person who pushes the door, the greater the cost of each use of that ability, which can easily lead to a loss of control over their mind, eventually resulting in their body being possessed by something strange and completely losing themselves.

"A few days ago, while I was looking for strange events, I discovered that government officials had entered this hospital."

I figured that the involvement of officials meant something strange must have happened, so I followed them in.

Who would have thought this place was so dangerous? If I hadn't met you, I don't know how long I would have been stuck here.

Ruan Ning thanked Chen Zhuo a few more times.

Then, as if he had just thought of something, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

"Mr. Chen, do you belong to any organization? If not, I can recommend you to the chairman."

With your abilities, Mr. Chen, you don't need any pledge of allegiance. You'll even be treated as an honored guest by the chairman!

The Iron Thorn Union is considered a top-tier non-governmental organization in Dachang City, primarily serving high-ranking officials and dignitaries.

So, in terms of monetary benefits alone, it's hundreds of thousands, sometimes even millions, every month. Mr. Chen might want to consider it.

"Let me think about it."

Chen Zhuo originally intended to refuse, but when he heard that it would cost hundreds of thousands of yuan per month, he changed his mind.

He had a cooperative relationship with the Dachang City branch, but he was not a member of the branch.

I can try to replicate this method and see if I can cooperate with the Ironthorn Guild.

Seeing this, Ruan Ning did not press the matter: "Indeed, we should think about it carefully. After we leave here, I will take Mr. Chen to the union so that he can talk to the chairman and the others in person."

"Chen Zhuo, is it safe outside? Can we go out now?"

Seeing the two chatting idly in the corridor, Dr. Xiao couldn't help but knock on the window to ask how they were doing.

Ruan Ning then remembered that there were still many people in the ward, and quickly waved to them.

"Come out, it's safe outside!"

"Wait a minute, it's not completely safe yet."

Chen Zhuo interrupted Ruan Ning and pointed to a ward door at the end of the corridor.

"The man who hanged himself is dead. Before long, the Ghost Gate will release another strange entity. Only by completely eliminating the Ghost Gate can this level be considered safe."

"I almost forgot about this." Ruan Ning slapped her forehead, looking at the strange gate with a sense of worry.

"I don't have any sealing artifacts on me, so I'm afraid I'll need Mr. Chen's help."

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhuo walked to the doorway of the hanged man.

Ruan Ning was taken aback. She thought Chen Zhuo would go to the ward and take down the strange artifact on the bathroom door to temporarily seal the strange door.

Now it seems that I underestimated Chen Zhuo.

"Chen Zhuo's resources are truly profound; he actually plans to use another sealing artifact to seal the Ghost Gate—"

Just as Ruan Ning was feeling envious, she saw Chen Zhuo raise his white cane and thrust it straight at the Ghost Gate!

"That shouldn't be the case. With his strength, he should know that the Ghost Gate can only be sealed, not destroyed, right?"

Just as Ruan Ning was racking her brains trying to figure it out, a crisp sound reached her ears.

She suddenly looked up in the direction from which the sound came, staring incredulously at the white bone cane in Chen Zhuo's hand, which was pierced into the Ghost Gate, and the fragments of the Ghost Gate on the ground.

Now, the problem that had been puzzling her for so long has been completely solved, but at a cost of something else, something even more unbelievable!

The mysterious gate has shattered!

Ruan Ning couldn't help but pinch herself hard, and the sharp pain made her scream.

Although it hurt, it proved that she wasn't dreaming.

"The Ghost Gate was really... shattered?!"

Ruan Ning stood there in a daze, and even after the others left the ward, she still couldn't react.

"Miss Ruan, where shall we go next?"

An elderly surviving man spoke, pulling Ruan Ning back to reality.

Forcing herself to compose herself, Ruan Ning looked at the stairs at the other end of the corridor and spoke to the people behind her.

"Currently, we have two choices in front of us."

The first thing is to follow me and continue upstairs. I will continue to protect everyone, but it will be very dangerous.

The second option is to stay here. There's not much danger on the second floor right now, but I can't guarantee that the patients upstairs won't come down and attack you.

I hope you will carefully consider your choices and take responsibility for them so that you won't regret them.

After explaining the two options, Ruan Ning waited quietly for everyone present to make their next decision.

Needless to say, Dr. Xiao chose to follow Chen Zhuo forward.

As for the people Ruan Ning saved, they had different ideas.

Ultimately, the vast majority of people believed that it would be safer to follow Chen Zhuo and his companion, and chose to go with them.

As for the remaining few people, they went back into the ward, barricaded the door shut with something, and waited for Chen Zhuo and the others to resolve the incident before returning to rescue them.

After everyone made their decision, Ruan Ning led the group to meet up with Chen Zhuo, who had been waiting at the stairwell for a long time.

"Mr. Chen, that's enough, let's go to the third floor!"

Chen Zhuo nodded upon hearing this and walked to the front to go up to the third floor.

Dr. Xiao followed closely behind, followed by the survivors who had chosen to follow.

As for Ruan Ning, she walked at the very back to prevent the strange creature from launching a sneak attack from behind.

A moment later, the group arrived at the stairwell on the third floor.

Like the stairwell on the second floor, there is no staircase leading to the fourth floor. To continue upwards, one must pass through the third floor.

"Let's go." Chen Zhuo took the lead and entered the third-floor corridor, the strong smell of blood hitting his nose.

Fortunately, he was already used to it, so he didn't choke.

The situation was worse for the people who followed closely behind. Before they even stepped into the corridor, they were choked by the stench of blood and started coughing.

A minute or two later, they finally managed to stop and followed Chen Zhuo into the corridor.

"Um... is it too late for me to go downstairs now?"

When they saw the scene in the corridor, some of the people who had been hesitant began to back down.