Chapter 180: Special Building

Chapter 180: Chapter 180: Special Building

’So this is the setup, right?’

Seraphina Sinclair thought to herself. She lifted her lantern and inspected it carefully. Seeing nothing amiss, she pushed open the wooden door of her mobile cabin.

The so-called special building was, as expected, right outside the door.

Just like the special regions, an island was connected to her mobile cabin. The islet was completely shrouded in black fog. The lantern in her hand seemed to disperse some of the mist, but not all of it.

The remaining haze hung over the building, adding a layer of strangeness to its already dark shadow, making it look like a menacing, predatory monster.

Expressionless, like a robot devoid of fear, Seraphina Sinclair stepped onto the island with her lantern.

As she drew closer, the fog grew thinner.

Before she even reached the building, she saw the words written on it—Central Hospital.

A hospital...

Another classic horror movie setting.

Seraphina Sinclair couldn’t help but feel a shiver of apprehension. She stood in place and thought for a moment, then retrieved her longsword from the Silver Moon Earrings. After a couple of practice swings in the air, she regained her courage and walked forward.

Seraphina Sinclair paused briefly at the entrance. The lantern’s light pierced into the hospital’s interior, dispelling some of the darkness near the lobby and revealing a dust-covered reception desk and overturned chairs.

The air was thick with the pungent smell of disinfectant mixed with mold. Deeper inside, an unsettling silence reigned.

She took a deep breath and stepped inside.

A fine layer of dust stirred beneath her feet.

The light was steady, not flickering.

She relaxed slightly but remained cautious, scanning her surroundings. Once she confirmed there was no immediate danger, she began to move slowly down the corridor to her right.

The corridor was lined with consultation rooms, the lettering on their signs mostly faded and illegible.

She tried pushing open a door that was ajar. The hinges let out a piercing CREAK, exceptionally clear in the dead silence.

Inside the room was only a dilapidated examination chair and an empty filing cabinet, nothing else.

She frowned slightly, retreated back into the corridor, and continued onward.

The lantern’s light cast her swaying shadow on the walls, making it seem as if something unseen was following her.

She forced herself to ignore the discomfort and focus on observing her environment.

BANG!

The door burst open, kicking up a huge cloud of dust. Seraphina Sinclair covered her mouth and nose, waiting for the dust to settle slightly before raising her lantern and entering.

After passing a few more empty rooms, Seraphina Sinclair found herself before a locked room.

The door read: Pharmacy.

Although the door was locked, the lock was severely rusted.

Seraphina Sinclair thought for a moment, took a step back, then violently kicked the door near the lock.

BANG!

The door flew open, raising a huge cloud of dust.

Seraphina Sinclair covered her mouth and nose, waiting for the dust to settle slightly before raising her lantern and entering.

The shelves in the pharmacy were mostly empty, but under a table, she found an unopened box.

[Obtained: Healing Potion x1 (E-level), Healing Potion x1 (F-level)]

’Two Healing Potions. Not bad.’

Seraphina Sinclair straightened up. Just as she was about to continue exploring, the lantern in her hand suddenly flickered slightly!

Seraphina Sinclair froze instantly, her muscles tensing. Not caring whether the place was clean or not, she immediately pressed her body against the wall, her gaze darting sharply toward the doorway and the interior of the room.

The light only flickered that one time before becoming steady again.

But the warning had been given, and Seraphina Sinclair couldn’t just pretend it hadn’t happened.

She held her breath and listened intently.

Aside from her own slightly accelerated heartbeat due to nervousness, there seemed to be no other sound in the room.

But in this kind of situation, the quieter the environment, the more it frayed one’s nerves.

’And these monsters,’ she thought. ’Instead of this subtle, maybe-it’s-there-maybe-it’s-not approach, they should just jump out and get it over with for both of us!’

Seraphina Sinclair glanced at the ceiling. After confirming that it looked the same as before, she began to move cautiously.

’I only have ten minutes. I need to hurry.’

She slowly moved the lantern, its light carefully sweeping over every corner. After confirming there was nothing else unusual in the pharmacy, she turned and walked toward the door.

Just as she raised her hand to open the door, it silently creaked open a crack.

Immediately after, a pale, bloated hand covered in filthy slime between its fingers shot out from the crack and gripped the doorframe!

Seraphina Sinclair’s pupils contracted. Without a second thought, her body reacted before her mind could, leaping diagonally backward as she simultaneously brought her longsword up in a defensive stance.

"GURGLE..."

A low growl, like a throat clogged with phlegm, came from behind the door.

Then, the door was shoved open with greater force, and a "thing" in a tattered nurse’s uniform—bloated and with a rotting face—stumbled out.

Its eyes were a bizarre red, like two small lanterns floating in the dark. Its mouth was unnaturally agape, and the nails on its hands were sharp and black!

It was already lunging straight for Seraphina Sinclair!

The lantern began to flicker rapidly again, the frequency increasing!

’But flickering now is a bit pointless, isn’t it? The monster is right in front of me; I don’t need a reminder.’

Seraphina Sinclair tossed the lantern onto a shelf. While backing away to create distance from the monster, she mentally activated Insight!

The panel immediately popped up. The moment she saw the monster’s level, Seraphina Sinclair let out a cold laugh.

Heh.

’An F-level monster dares to cause trouble for me?’

’It might look a little scarier than a Rotting Corpse, but how scary can it really be?’

In the blink of an eye, with a single fluid motion of her blade, the monster’s head crashed to the floor.

Seraphina Sinclair tilted her head back slightly, her expression proud. After a quick wipe of her longsword, she turned back to pick up the lantern. Just as she was about to leave, the lantern suddenly began to flicker wildly.

"Is it another one of those monsters?"

Seraphina Sinclair was disdainful. Without even putting down the lantern, she casually pulled the door open, longsword in hand.

The instant she saw the situation in the corridor outside, she reflexively slammed the door shut.

The door slammed shut heavily behind Seraphina Sinclair, the dull THUD shaking dust from the frame.

She leaned back against the cold wood, her heart pounding violently in her chest. The sight she had just glimpsed made her scalp tingle.

Outside the door, the corridor was no longer empty and silent.

The lantern in her hand flickered madly, its light almost merging into a single, heart-stopping halo that illuminated the peeling paint on the door and her own suddenly pale face in strobing flashes.

In the last moment before her narrow field of vision was completely cut off by the door, she saw it—

Outside, packed shoulder to shoulder, was a dense crowd of twisted figures.

Pair after pair of red eyes stared fixedly in her direction. And behind all those eyes, two particularly terrifying, massive eyes glowed!

"GURGLE... URRGH..."

The low, guttural, phlegm-filled snarls merged into a suffocating chorus that drilled clearly into Seraphina Sinclair’s ears through the less-than-sturdy door.

Accompanying this sound was the SCRAPING of countless nails against the walls and floor, and the heavy, dragging sound of shuffling feet.