Chapter 96

Fang Ye, as a department manager of a company, had a good habit: whenever his subordinates proposed suggestions, no matter how absurd or unfeasible they were, he would listen carefully and then point out the flaws to explain why they wouldn't work.

By persisting in this approach, Fang Ye's department not only had the highest cohesion but also the most frequent emergence of creative ideas.

Even though he found Chen Yang and Luo Rui's words absurd, Fang Ye remained silent for a moment before asking, "What game is this 'Outlast' you mentioned?"

Luo Rui wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, glanced at Chen Yang, and, seeing that the older man was staring silently at the dark sky, explained shakily, "Outlast is a horror game released last year. It involves the player taking on the role of a journalist investigating a mental hospital to uncover the truth behind a series of terrifying events."

"Terrifying events? What kind of terrifying events?"

Feng Li asked, puzzled.

Luo Rui paused, then said with difficulty, "The mental hospital in the game appears to be an abandoned facility, but in reality, it's a multinational company called Murkoff, which conducts inhumane experiments under the guise of research and charity."

Luo Rui's eyes were filled with deep fear as he continued, "These experiments involve using live humans to test the soul, in search of some eternal existence."

"Soul? Eternal existence?"

The others were truly confused by these words.

Luo Rui said bitterly, "That's not the hardest part. Do you know what's inside that mental hospital?"

"It's full of failed experimental subjects, serial killers, and madmen!"

"If we go in, we'll definitely be killed."

Luo Rui looked up at the administrative building of the mental hospital in the distance, his voice trembling with fear, "Whether this is a game or not, it looks too much like the game. We, we mustn't go in..."

The mention of souls and such by the high school student sounded too mystical, but the idea of serial killers and madmen inside the hospital made everyone uneasy. Compared to the vague concept of ghosts, a madman killer was far more terrifying.

"It might not be a game..."

He Ting, looking pale, interjected softly, "I think we should go back. Don't you find this place eerie? There are lights on over there, but no one has come out. There's no one in the security room either."

This was exactly what Fang Ye was most worried about. In such a large building, the security room had a computer screen lit up, but no security guard was in sight. The distant building, with many lit windows, was eerily quiet.

With so many abnormal phenomena, Fang Ye felt a cold sweat on his palms.

Should they follow the instructions in the text message and go in, or retreat and wait for rescue, which might never come?

Fang Ye quickly made his decision.

"We're going in!"

Fang Ye said firmly, "There might be a landline inside. If we find it, we can contact the outside world or call for help. Otherwise, going back means waiting to die."

"No, no, it's too dangerous inside. We can't go in."

The high school student, who was already deeply convinced that this was the mental hospital from Outlast, was absolutely terrified of going in.

"Brat, why are you so cowardly?"

Zhang Meng, dissatisfied, said, "If you don't want to go in, go back by yourself."

What?

Go back by himself?

Luo Rui shivered at the thought of the dark environment outside. Regardless of whether he could drive, even if he could drive the bus, would he dare to go back alone?

The men were more in favor of investigating, and the women were even more reluctant to oppose. Zhang Meng, holding a flashlight, led the way, followed by Fang Ye and Feng Li, then the two women, and finally Chen Yang, who lagged behind.

As for Luo Rui, seeing that everyone was really going in, his eyes widened in fear. No matter what, his courage wasn't strong enough to stay behind. Even though he knew the mental hospital was full of killers, he could only comfort himself that there was safety in numbers and hurried to follow.

The vehicle entrance was blocked by a metal gate, but a small side gate was open, allowing everyone to enter smoothly.

Once inside, the weak light from the building revealed the desolate front yard, with withered trees, broken branches, and scattered leaves, clearly showing that it hadn't been cleaned for a long time.

"Don't go through the main entrance!"

Luo Rui suddenly moved to the front, pointing to the left side of the front yard, "The main entrance is sealed, we can't get in. We have to go around to the left."

"Ha, weren't you scared? Why are you following us?"

Zhang Meng, looking disdainful, waved his hand, "Move aside, kids shouldn't get in the way of adults."

"I'm telling the truth."

Luo Rui tried to remain calm, "In the game, the main entrance is locked, and we can't get in. We have to go around."

"Game, game, game, what nonsense! This is reality!"

Zhang Meng, in his mid-thirties, had never played the modern games that kids play, and he didn't believe Luo Rui. If it weren't for the man named Luo Yanfeng saying the same thing, he would have thought Luo Rui was having a delusion.

"Move aside."

Zhang Meng pushed Luo Rui aside and walked to the main entrance. Through the door crack and the curtains on the side, anyone who wasn't blind could see the light inside.

"Hey, is anyone there?"

Zhang Meng knocked on the door and found, as Luo Rui had said, that the main entrance was indeed locked.

"What's the situation?"

Fang Ye and Feng Li walked over, asking knowingly.

"Damn it, the door is really locked."

Zhang Meng kicked the door hard, feeling somewhat frustrated, and added, "It's probably just a coincidence. How could the door not be locked at night?"

Fang Ye and Feng Li weren't as optimistic. In such a large building with bright lights, how could there be no one on duty? Moreover, their noise was quite loud, and anyone would have come to check.

"I told you, we can't get in through the main entrance."

Luo Rui's face was pale, "Go to the left. There's a dog hole we can use to get in."

"Dog hole?"

When they reached the small side gate, they found that the "dog hole" Luo Rui mentioned was actually a large gap in the lower left corner of the gate.

Once again, Luo Rui's words were proven true, and everyone's faces showed a mix of surprise and uncertainty.

"Mr. Luo, are you saying this is all real?"

Fang Ye couldn't help but ask.

"You can choose not to believe it... the choice is yours."

Chen Yang squatted down and was the first to crawl through the gap in the gate.

As the only one who believed Luo Rui, Chen Yang felt a bit of goodwill towards him and quickly followed. At least in the game, the early stages were safe. With each of Luo Rui's predictions being confirmed, he was becoming more and more convinced that this was indeed a game.

"What should we do?"

"Let's follow them and see."

The bizarre events of the day were unprecedented for Fang Ye, and his mind was a bit sluggish.

Once inside, Chen Yang headed straight for the temporary construction scaffolding, and Luo Rui explained, "The door with the light is locked, we can't get in. We have to go through the scaffolding."

Sure enough, there was a ladder on the scaffolding, and this premonition-like scene made everyone break out in cold sweat.

If what these two said was true, and they were in a horror game, what kind of person could make this happen? It seemed beyond human capability.

Recalling the earlier inexplicable phenomena, the group, who had just started to calm down, now felt their hearts racing and were uneasy again.

The seven of them climbed the ladder in order, walking along the wooden planks with their heads down. Just as they turned a corner, a piece of the plank was missing!

"We have to jump over this gap."

Luo Rui's words were immediately refuted by Chen Yang, "Idiot, do you think you're the game's protagonist? Try jumping and see what happens."

Indeed, as Luo Rui slowly approached the gap, he realized that the screen and reality were different.