Chapter 54: If we're going to the safe house, then I'm going too!

Saburo Mitarai had a bold hypothesis forming in his mind.

However, as a detective, without certain intelligence to back it up, this was merely an impractical speculation.

He examined the bird's-eye view of the hospital located behind the reception desk.

There was a comprehensive building, an outpatient building, a surgical building, an internal medicine building, and an inpatient department.

Each area consisted of its own large building.

It seemed that whether in the real world or the ghost story world, hospitals were wealthy.

Aside from the bird's-eye view, there were some unmarked buildings.

Perhaps those locations were where the cafeteria was situated.

But judging by the scale, this could be considered a rather massive hospital.

It was currently three o'clock; he estimated he would be exhausted if he tried to tour the whole place within two hours.

Seeing this, Saburo Mitarai began to analyze: "The inpatient department should be the most dangerous because there are many patients there. Rule 6 mentioned that patients' emotions are very unstable and that one should not disturb them while they sleep. However, to find the specific location of the cafeteria, I will still have to visit the inpatient department. But before that, I must settle the weaker travelers in a safe house to ensure they survive until five o'clock. The comprehensive building should have office spaces; perhaps there is a so-called safe house there. I'll head there first."

Saburo Mitarai quickly determined his objectives through rule analysis. This level of deduction left the people of Sakura Country in absolute awe.

He was practically born to clear dungeons! I'm willing to call him the 'Strongest Clearer'!

Few people, small target, cautious—I can't think of a single reason why he wouldn't clear this.

While other Chosen Ones are still trying to chat and fish for information, Lord Mitarai has already fixed his targets. This is the difference.

The sooner he finds a safe house, the safer he is. Is this really his first time participating in a ghost story dungeon?

Sakura Country had already hailed Saburo Mitarai as a god, even going around issuing victory declarations, welcoming powerful people to immigrate to Sakura Country to co-create the strongest empire on Blue Star!

Saburo Mitarai was unaware of this; he was simply trying to minimize mistakes and consumption as much as possible.

Because on the way here, everyone had already traveled a long distance.

This was the attrition the ghost story world imposed on the Chosen Ones.

Don't think you're safe just because you've obtained ingredients; the key is how to get out.

To make sufficient preparations, not a single detail could be missed.

After taking a photo of the hospital's bird's-eye view with his phone, Saburo Mitarai followed the instructions of the reception nurse to find the location of the nurse station.

According to the information from the nurse, each building had exactly one nurse station.

Jones's judgment differed slightly from Saburo Mitarai's.

Saburo Mitarai played a tactic of elite forces to minimize errors. He only planned to take the female entity and his little assistant on the exploration; he considered others to be burdens that required care, so he would leave them in the safe house.

Jones felt that the group of citizens behind him was the key to his own survival. How could he leave them in a safe place while he went out to explore?

If a safe house had to be found, he would be the one to go!

I spent so much blood to bring you all out, not to have you act as human shields for me!

Besides, he felt safer with more people around.

Jones was the cautious type.

He let two travelers walk in front, with himself and his assistant in the middle, followed by a group of people.

His first destination was naturally the nurse station, and his second would be the inpatient department.

Jones judged that the most dangerous places often yielded the most information.

With the strength of numbers on his side, if he didn't go now, when would he?

Perhaps going early would allow him to get news sooner.

He was currently in the outpatient building, and the nurse station was on the 5th floor.

There were two ways to go up: the first was the elevator, and the second was the stairs.

Taking the elevator was undoubtedly a way to save physical strength.

But in the ghost story world, the elevator was undoubtedly a terrifying existence.

The moment you step into an elevator, your fate may no longer be in your own hands.

The moment the doors open, where you will go and whom you will face is all unknown.

If an accident occurs in the elevator, it would mean a total wipeout.

Jones chose the stairs instead; he had come this far, there was no need to be reckless.

He was tired and hungry, but it was still within a tolerable range. As a vagrant, he was used to fatigue and hunger.

As he climbed to the fifth floor, on the way to the nurse station, Jones felt a sudden chill.

There was clearly no wind, yet the chandeliers on the ceiling were swaying for no reason.

The passing corridors were very desolate, though the dim environment outside the windows was visible.

Even though it was daytime, the gloomy weather gave off an oppressive feeling.

In particular, the swaying chandeliers caused shadows to flicker in and out of the windows, making one feel as though something was following them.

Jones didn't even dare to look directly at the windows.

As he led the group around a corner, he discovered a patient sitting on a chair in the hallway.

He wanted to step forward and ask, but the patient kept his head bowed, seemingly unwilling to acknowledge him.

The patient had his arms crossed over his chest; upon closer inspection, one could see bits of blood-red flesh under his fingernails.

Furthermore, his eyes were bloodshot, as if he hadn't slept for a long time.

He was sitting at the entrance of the [Burn Ward].

He was muttering to himself: "I am sick, I don't want to die, I am sick, I don't want to die."

Jones found it strange; the man's skin showed no signs of burns. Why was he sitting here?

Moreover, as they passed some outpatient rooms, he could hear the sounds of saws and hammers striking from within.

He wanted to look, but the doors were marked with red text: [Do Not Disturb].

He remembered from the last dungeon that places with red text warnings were quite dangerous.

Only professional athletes and transcendents could break through them.

Considering this, Jones did not plan to enter these rooms with red text for the time being; after all, who would go looking for excitement if they weren't sick?

Other Chosen Ones also began to take action one after another, searching for useful clues.

The hospital was huge, so everyone's screens began to show various different statuses.

Many Chosen Ones regretted their timing, thinking they should have come later. If they had arrived at 4:50, wouldn't they only have to wait ten minutes to reach the cafeteria?

Now they had to survive here for two hours, and danger lurked everywhere, which was truly a headache.

On the other side, after answering the nurse's question, Zhang Yangqing received a [Freshener] gifted by the bloated nurse.

He didn't know what this thing was for yet, but the audience knew—he was the only one who had answered the question correctly.

While other Chosen Ones were frantically touring the hospital to find clues, Zhang Yangqing was in no rush.

He reached out and grabbed the departing Director, saying, "Director, it's my first time here as well. Could you give me a tour?"

Others might feel fear upon seeing this eerie, smiling Director and would want to leave him as soon as possible.

But Zhang Yangqing didn't care. Even if this choice might be dangerous, he had ways to deal with it.

His strength allowed him to play this way.

Since this man was the Director, he certainly knew more and surely possessed a certain level of authority.

If I don't ask him, who else can I ask?