Their usual bickering lightened the mood, easing some of the tension.
According to their plan, tonight was about scouring every corner of the hospital and gathering as much useful information as possible.
Strange noises echoed around them, yet aside from the building itself, there was nothing to see—as if it were all an illusion.
At some point, the moon had vanished from the sky, and the hallway was swallowed by darkness. Even their flashlights were useless.
Su Mo and Ye Qingyi stood back-to-back, blades drawn, ready for any danger lurking in the dark.
“Whatever this is, it seems to block vision. I can’t see anything anymore,” Su Mo said, his voice tense. Losing his sight left him feeling exposed.
“Same. And those weird sounds… they’re getting clearer in my ears.” Pressed against Su Mo, Ye Qingyi felt slightly more at ease.
Suddenly, Su Mo had an idea. With a flick of his consciousness, two fresh red fruits appeared in his hand. He handed one to Ye Qingyi. “Eat this. Might help.”
The moment the fruit touched her stomach, her energy surged, and her mind cleared—though it didn’t change their situation.
The darkness lasted about three minutes. When their vision returned, the hallway was no longer the same.
Now, it looked like any ordinary hospital: nurses bustling about, doctors with furrowed brows, and anxious family members.
The lobby’s digital screen even displayed appointment numbers, and a sweet voice over the intercom called patients in one by one.
Su Mo and Ye Qingyi exchanged bewildered glances. Neither had a clue what was happening.
Just then, an older woman approached Su Mo, holding out a slip of paper. “Young man, could you tell me where to pay? I can’t read.”
Su Mo studied her for a moment. She seemed completely real. “Go to Window 3 over there, hand this to the nurse, and you can pay.”
The woman nodded vaguely. “Oh, I see. Thank you, young man!”
“You’re wel—wait!” Su Mo stiffened, staring at her in disbelief. “What did you just call me?”
The woman hesitated. “Young… man? What’s wrong?”
Su Mo turned to Ye Qingyi, his expression stunned—and found her mirroring his shock.
“Auntie, is she a man or a woman?” Su Mo pointed at Ye Qingyi.
The woman blinked, then took a step back, looking uneasy. “Unless she’s had surgery… she’s a woman.”
“Right… thanks.” Su Mo glanced at his hands—still pale and delicate, clearly Ye Qingyi’s body.
Could this woman see through appearances?
No—this was all an illusion. There was no auntie.
Just then, a nurse’s sweet voice came over the intercom: “Patient number seven, please proceed to Neurology Room 2.”
When no one moved, the announcement repeated. Still no response.
Finally, a middle-aged doctor in a white coat stepped out of the exam room, scanning the crowd with tired eyes before locking onto Su Mo.
“Number seven! What’s the hold-up?” His voice was high-pitched, almost effeminate. “Hurry up, don’t waste everyone’s time.”
Clearly, he was number seven.
Su Mo pointed at himself, dumbfounded.
The man behind him huffed impatiently. “You going or not? If not, I’ll go first.”
“Going, going.” Su Mo grabbed Ye Qingyi’s hand and dragged her into the exam room, sitting across from the flamboyant doctor.
The doctor glanced at Ye Qingyi. “You’ve got good taste, young man. Your girlfriend’s quite pretty.”
This wasn’t the first time they’d been mistaken for a couple—though last time, Ye Qingyi had been the “boyfriend.”
Neither bothered correcting him. Arguing with an illusion was pointless.
After some small talk, the doctor asked about his symptoms.
Su Mo, knowing he wasn’t sick, made up a few complaints. To his surprise, the doctor pondered for a moment—then turned to Ye Qingyi.
“Be nicer to him from now on. Let him eat what he wants, do what he wants.”
Su Mo: “???”
What kind of diagnosis is that?!
Ye Qingyi, playing along, nodded solemnly, her face twisting into “grief.” “Doctor, just give it to me straight. How long does he have left? I need to… prepare.”
Su Mo: ←_←
Instead of offering reassurance, the doctor replied matter-of-factly, “Probably won’t make it past tomorrow night.”
“Excuse me?!” Su Mo shot to his feet, jabbing a finger at the doctor. “You’re the one who won’t make it past tomorrow night! Your whole family!“
Unfazed, the doctor calmly removed his white coat, revealing a shirt stretched taut over bulging muscles.
Su Mo smirked. Of all the ways to start a fight here, insulting a doctor’s family wasn’t what he’d expected.
“Bring it on. Who’s scared?” Su Mo leveled his blade. “Let’s see if your muscles are harder than my sword.”
The doctor’s grin widened, his laughter piercing.
Then his face melted, morphing into an elderly man’s—with thin white hair braided into tiny strands, each humming with spiritual energy.
“DIE!” the doctor screeched, lunging at Su Mo.
Su Mo was ready. His blade flashed—
—and sliced the doctor clean in half.
But instead of dying, the two halves regrew, splitting into two identical copies.
“Kehehehe…” Both doctors laughed in eerie unison.
“Oh, come on—it clones itself?!” Su Mo gritted his teeth. He and Ye Qingyi each took on one.
As their battle raged, chaos erupted outside. Shouts of “What the hell?!” and other colorful phrases filled the air.
Su Mo snorted. “Guess we’re not the only ones here.”
“Obviously. No way they’d leave a case this weird to just two rookies.”
Sure enough, others on the same mission had arrived.
Aside from its cloning trick, the doctor wasn’t much of a threat. Soon, Su Mo and Ye Qingyi had both copies restrained.
They stepped out of the exam room, each dragging a squirming doctor—and ran straight into four other members of Beidou’s Special Operations team.
Su Mo recognized one of them immediately: Sun Yuchen.
“Ye Qingyi!” Sun Yuchen’s face lit up as he spotted them.
Su Mo couldn’t help wondering: If everyone here sees our true selves… what about the others who just arrived?