Working Records in a Weird World - 41

 

| WRIAWW | Boss, Why Are You Back? | 41

Using logical reasoning to eliminate the threat of the 'psychiatric department boss,' the survivors steadied their nerves and refocused on how to enter the archives room.

"Speaking of which, what if Number Two refuses to help us?"

"If it comes to that, we might have to reconsider using force. But as you know, this method has too many drawbacks. It's best not to resort to it unless absolutely necessary."

Although some survivors assigned to the psychiatric department had lock-picking skills, using brute force to break in wouldn't be too difficult. However, the main mission required obtaining the director's signature.

If they were to forcefully open the archives room, it would certainly affect the progress of the main mission and could even lead to failure. That's why they wanted to persuade Number Two.

This time, however, their luck was on their side.

After completing the first round of inspections, Qin Ye instructed An Tao to deliver the forms to the break room, and she nodded in compliance.

A moment later, Qin Ye opened his phone.

【An Tao】: Just as Miss Si suspected, Director Deng is dozing off on the recliner. According to the schedule, we should have about half an hour of free time.

It was currently the chaotic shift change period at the hospital.

A large number of staff were leaving with lunchboxes, heading to the cafeteria downstairs, leaving only a few people scattered in the hallway.

"Let's begin the operation."

At the signal from the 2nd, the survivors dispersed silently and efficiently to various corners of the hallway, seemingly occupied with their own tasks, but in reality, they were keeping a vigilant eye on their surroundings, ready to act at any moment.

Qin Ye then picked up the keys and unlocked the door to the ward he had just inspected.

As soon as he entered, he noticed the dark shadow by the door. Number Two had somehow already unlocked the restraints and was squatting on the floor, drawing circles.

Qin Ye lowered his voice: "Have you made up your mind, Number Two?"

Startled, Number Two jumped up from the ground.

"Don't worry, it's just me and my companions here, there's no one else."

"That's good, that's good." Number Two sighed in relief, patting his chest to calm himself.

He thought for a moment, his expression conflicted: "Are you sure that if I help you open the door, you'll give me a knife?"

"Of course." To make his words more convincing, Qin Ye pulled out a scalpel from his pocket. The pale light from the hallway outside reflected off the sharp blade, making it gleam brightly: "See, I can even give you a bottle of disinfectant and some anesthetic, so it won't hurt as much when you cut yourself."

"No! I can't have disinfectant or anesthetic, it would ruin the original flavor and authenticity of the meat!"

Qin Ye: "...Fine, I'll give you the scalpel, and you can do whatever you want with it."

It was a bit strange, but he figured he was being generous enough by providing the tools. If Number Two ended up harming himself, it wasn't his problem.

"Alright then." Number Two bit his nails again, finally making up his mind: "But we have to be quick."

"Don't worry." Qin Ye was overjoyed: "With your lock-picking skills, it'll only take a few minutes."

The two of them tiptoed out of the ward. Fortunately, Number Five didn't come out to say anything this time.

With the survivors keeping watch, avoiding the few NPC staff in the hallway wasn't difficult. They moved cautiously, until they finally reached the door of the archive room.

Number Two magically produced a piece of wire from his pocket and began picking the lock.

Qin Ye knew that the night vision abilities of weirds were similar to those of felines, so he didn’t provide lighting but instead stood guard nearby.

At the same time, he felt somewhat uncertain.

The lock on the archive room door appeared to be much more advanced than those on ordinary hospital rooms. If it weren’t for their earlier observations, which led them to deduce that Number Two’s ability was lock-picking, the others wouldn’t have dared to take such a risk.

Fortunately, Number Two proved to be quite capable. After fiddling with a wire for a few moments—though it was unclear exactly how, the high-tech artificial composite lock on the archive room clicked open with a soft "clack."

"Good job. Here’s your reward."

Qin Ye casually handed over a scalpel and then signaled to his subordinate: "Take Number Two back to his room and maintain watch."

"Yes, sir!"

Taking advantage of the dim lighting, Qin Ye slipped into the archive room.

As soon as he entered, he was hit by a musty, damp smell, reminiscent of the ink odor emitted by old documents stored for too long.

With time pressing, he didn’t linger and immediately headed for the shelves, searching for his objective.

It was strange. Most hospitals would have a medical records room for patients to request copies of their files. However, the archive room at Taikang Yongle Hospital was tightly locked, with no intention of allowing patients to take their records.

‘Perhaps it’s because all the patients here died, so there’s no need to bother with such formalities.’

With that thought, Qin Ye skimmed past the shelves labeled [Death Records]. The chilling words occupied half of the archive room’s shelves, each layer packed to the brim, with even the gaps exuding a stale, bloody stench. 

He pulled out one file—a thin death certificate that felt almost weightless in his hand, yet carried the weight of countless abruptly ended lives.

‘...’

The next series of shelves was labeled [Organ Records], which was no less extensive than the death records. Given the potential value of this series, Qin Ye paused to pull out a few documents, examining them under the faint light of his phone screen.

"Date: xx/xx/20xx, deceased: [Redacted]."

"Date: xx/xx/20xx, deceased: Zhang Ye."

The names and information were sparse, likely because those whose organs were harvested were ordinary people, they were unwilling to leave their names behind.

However, there was still some information to be found.

Qin Ye noticed that some red folders were labeled "Sales." He opened one and quickly scanned its contents, finding documents from other organizations in Guiyi City, complete with official seals.

It seemed to be evidence of Taikang Yongle Hospital systematically supplying organs to these groups. Beyond that, he even found logos of several restaurants. Most of these establishments were located underground, explicitly advertising the need for fresh human livers or hearts.

The idea of cannibalism, such an inhuman act, made Qin Ye frown in disgust.

Although he had spent many years in the infinite space and had witnessed countless atrocities committed by weird beings, encountering something like this still struck a chord with Qin Ye, who was a soldier at heart.

Who wouldn’t want to live in a world governed by laws and order?

This was also why the survivors dreamed of returning to the real world because that was their true home.

Qin Ye collected these files into his spatial storage device and turned to the next bookshelf.

[Body Retrieval Application Form]

The information here was more comprehensive than the previous shelf, revealing the names of more organizations. For example, "Guiyi City Church," "Taikang Yongle Biotech Company," "Taikang Yongle Research Institute," and "Guiyi City Matchmaking Agency."

Wait, isn’t it a bit strange for a matchmaking agency to appear here?

While struggling to stuff these folders into the gaps of his storage space, Qin Ye took a moment to glance at them.

"..."

Oh, it’s for arranging ghost marriages.

Well, it’s a bit unexpected, but it fits perfectly with Guiyi City’s nature of squeezing every last bit of value out of people.

The archive room contained too much information. Half an hour had already been wasted on unlocking locks, and with limited time, Qin Ye couldn’t afford to be picky. He could only roughly throw everything into his storage device.

After clearing out the files on this shelf, Qin Ye hurried to the next battlefield.

Next were the medical records from various departments.

Normally, Qin Ye should have ignored these shelves to save time, but recalling a conversation he had overheard recently, he stopped and abruptly walked toward the shelf labeled [Psychiatry].

It was mentioned from Number Five that the boss had once been hospitalized in the psychiatry department.

So, the boss’s records must also be stored here. As long as he took them back and went through them carefully, he could find some clues. If they encountered him in a future mission, they could prepare in advance.

The psychiatric records were much fewer compared to other departments, but they were concise and to the point.

Taking advantage of the ample space in his storage device, Qin Ye simply swept everything clean. Every file he touched disappeared, leaving behind empty shelves.

Unexpectedly, at that moment, the phone in his other hand began to vibrate.

Qin Ye’s eyes darkened, and he immediately crouched down to check the screen.

[An Tao]: Boss! Get out of the archive room now!

[An Tao]: Damn it, the hospital’s medical department is here for an inspection!

On the other end of the phone, An Tao was frantic.

She had been guarding outside Director Deng’s lounge, keeping an eye on whether the director would wake up.

But no one expected that after just fifteen minutes of sleep, the phone inside the lounge suddenly rang.

Director Deng, squinting his eyes, casually picked it up. As soon as he heard the voice on the other end, he shot up and stormed out. 

An Tao, standing guard at the door, immediately sensed trouble and tried to stop him, only to be met with the director’s furious rebuke: "The medical department is here for an inspection! They’re already at the entrance of the department. What are you still doing here?!"

At the start of the mission, Director Deng had warned them.

The hospital had a medical department, a trusted group deployed by the hospital administration, which could appear in any department at any time to conduct inspections and check the work of medical staff.

Anyone caught neglecting their duties, leaving their post without permission, or violating departmental regulations would be recorded and penalized. These penalties would affect the entire department’s performance and even their salary settlements.

Back then, Director Deng had made it clear.

Anyone who caused the psychiatry department to lose points would face the electric chair.

As expected, the medical department in white coats had arrived at the department entrance like ghosts.

Their sudden appearance caught everyone off guard.

At the critical moment, Qin Ye demonstrated why he was hailed as the strongest individual in the Infinite Space. The instant the alarm sounded, he transformed into a blur, narrowly escaping the heavily secured archives room just before its mechanisms fully activated.

Once outside, he stood still, his chest heaving heavily.

"Shouldn’t you all be finishing rounds and preparing medications by now?" The head of the medical department narrowed his eyes, his fingers lightly tapping on the medical chart beneath his white coat. "Why are you all standing here like door gods?"

"We’re going, we’re going," the group hastily replied, cold sweat already breaking out on their backs.

Just as everyone thought the danger had passed, the head of the medical department suddenly turned back.

"By the way, why is the motion-activated light in the archives room on?"

In an instant, the hearts of the survivors leapt to their throats. Before they could even think of an excuse, the man strode purposefully through the crowd. As a trusted confidant personally appointed by the hospital dean, this department head was renowned for his hawk-like perceptiveness.

With just a glance, he keenly noticed the abnormality in the archives room.

"What’s going on? Why is the archives room unlocked?"

It’s over. The survivors’ hearts sank.

Meanwhile, Number Two clutched a scalpel, humming a tune as he skipped down the hallway.

He wasn’t foolish enough to return to his ward. Instead, he sneakily slipped into the fire escape, eagerly rolling up his pant leg and preparing to carve into his pale thigh for a self-inflicted feast.

Just then, the elevator beside him dinged.

The person inside strode out, and upon seeing the scene before him, asked in confusion.

"Number Two, why are you here alone?"

The voice was as crisp as a clear spring, but to Number Two, it felt like a call from hell.

He mechanically turned his head, and upon seeing the person speaking, the scalpel clattered to the ground.

"B... Boss," Number Two had a sad face, as he forced a smile that looked uglier than crying. "Why are you back?"

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