Ash Civilization

Thinking of this, Zhou Zhen stood up quickly. Before leaving the monitoring room, he glanced at all the monitors. When Jin Qingfeng was nowhere to be seen, he pressed the button next to the door, opened the two portals, and walked out.

After leaving the monitoring hall, Zhou Zhen strode toward the elevator hall.

The corridor was quiet. Under the bright lights, the only footsteps seemed particularly lonely at night. The security guards on both sides, as well as the security guards in the lounge, were all fast asleep as before.

Standing in front of the silver-white frosted metal door, Zhou Zhen pressed the down button. The elevator arrived quickly. He walked in and pressed the button for the first floor.

The elevator ran very smoothly and reached the first floor in an instant.

He quickly walked out of the car. Outside was a bright and spacious but unusually quiet hall. The artificial windows that were bustling during the day were closed. The workstations were empty. The accompanying robot was sleeping in the corner. Above the general service desk set up against the wall, the screen There were still photos and names of the nurses on duty tonight, and Ma Xinxin with a single ponytail and Wu Xu with a mole on her chin were also lying on the desk sleeping.

On the bench opposite the service desk, nurse Qi Ling, who had just disappeared inexplicably, was sitting and sleeping, hugging a sealed sheet, as he and Jin Qingfeng had seen when they came in.

Everything is exactly the same as before.

Zhou Zhen frowned and quickly walked out of the door without stopping.

At the door, the blue-green painted flying car's roof warning lights flashed. Although the siren was not sounded, the several cars parked on the side had now moved to the main passage, blocking the passage of passing vehicles.

Warning tapes were drawn all around, and fluorescent No Passage signs were waving in the night wind, blocking all the main and side entrances of the inpatient department. In the distant night, there were more LIMIT signs blocking various intersections to initially isolate them. Has been completed.

Uniformed security officers were patrolling the area, checking for omissions. From time to time, they picked up their walkie-talkies to communicate, urging support from the Public Security Department to arrive as soon as possible...

However, the middle-aged female doctor was very emotional at the moment: ...No! This is impossible!

Human life matters!

There are other doctors, but they are my patients! They are still critically ill patients. Only I know their situation best... If there are other doctors, who will be responsible if a medical malpractice occurs? You? Or me?

The hospital has very limited doctors on duty at night. If the patients in my ward call other doctors over, what will happen to the patients in the wards that other doctors are responsible for?!

I must go back immediately!

You just said that your colleague will be out soon...How many minutes has it been already?!

“Do you know that the unit of resuscitation time for critically ill patients is ‘seconds’!!”

The security guard who blocked the doctor felt his scalp numb. He did not dare to argue with the middle-aged female doctor, but he could not let him go. When he was at a loss what to do, the colleague next to him suddenly shouted: Someone is coming out!

All the security guards around him immediately looked towards the door of the inpatient department and saw a figure walking out of the door quickly. He was about eighteen or nineteen years old, with long hair hanging down on his forehead. His complexion was a little pale, and there was an inconspicuous mark on the corner of his left eye. Scar had a large-caliber pistol on his waist, a rifle in his hand, bullet belts all over his body, and several energy grenades on his waist.

It's the colleague from the special operations brigade who just entered!

The next moment, the two security guards closest to the door of the inpatient department quickly stepped forward, held down the weapons on their waists, and shouted from a distance: Don't move!

The inpatient department has been sealed off. Anyone entering or leaving must verify their identity and undergo a virus test!

Comrades of the special operations brigade, please cooperate!

Zhou Zhen frowned. In the surveillance video just now, all the security officers, including the callers, doctors, and nurses, were lying on the ground sleeping at the door. Police cars also gathered in corners that did not hinder traffic, and the cordons were even more intense. It wasn't taken out at all, but now...

Just like the inpatient department, the same place exists in different time and space?

Thinking of this, he nodded, quickly took out his ID, stood close to the cordon, and said, This is my ID. There is no problem with my mental state.

At this time, Fan Hang came over with the instrument. After starting it, he scanned Zhou Zhen.

Soon, the instrument showed not infected.

Fan Hang was obviously relieved, and while raising the cordon to signal Zhou Zhen to come out, he said, It's been three minutes just now. We called you and Lao Jin, but you never responded.

I thought something happened to you.

So we added a test.

Hearing this, Zhou Zhen was not surprised. The call he just received in the inpatient department was fake, and the call his colleagues outside just made must also be fake!

Thinking quickly in his mind, he did not explain, but asked directly: Have you called the ghost team?

Fan Hang immediately replied: The fight has been launched. Don't worry, the ghost team will arrive soon!

Zhou Zhen nodded. He had called the ghost team, and his colleagues outside had also called the ghost team. Not surprisingly, Jin Qingfeng's side must have been the same.

Three emergency calls in a row from the same place... If the ghost team really received the message, they would probably have arrived at the scene by now!

But the actual situation is that the ghost team has not arrived! The anti-riot mecha hasn't arrived! Bombers, various flying vehicles, and other heavy firepower have not arrived!

Three phone calls, but none of them were actually made!

Zhou Zhen did not hesitate and immediately said: Continue to seal off the inpatient department. I will go to other places to investigate.

Fan Hang quickly responded: Understood!

By the way, where is Lao Jin? Why didn't he come out?

Zhou Zhen said briefly: The team leader got separated from me, but it should be fine for the time being.

As he spoke, he had already walked near the middle-aged female doctor.

The female doctor who was isolated outside the inpatient department immediately shouted to Zhou Zhen: Security officer, I must return to the ward where I am on duty immediately!

“My patients need me!!!”

Before he finished speaking, Lu Cong, the reporter, also asked loudly: Brother, have you seen the ghost I mentioned?

Is the victim's body still in Area E?

Can you arrest this doctor and nurse immediately? I think they are getting more and more abnormal!

Zhou Zhen originally planned to leave directly, but after thinking about it, he suddenly turned around and walked towards the middle-aged female doctor.

Seeing Zhou Zhen walking towards her, the middle-aged female doctor immediately said: Comrade, those critical patients in Area E need my rescue anytime and anywhere!

If you didn't find the 'digital virus' in the inpatient building, but you stopped me from entering, it would be no different from murder!

Zhou Zhen came to a stop in front of her, looked into her eyes calmly, and asked very seriously: When you just came out of the inpatient department, did you notice anything special?

The middle-aged female doctor was startled for a moment, then quickly said: No, we were just trying to appease Lu Cong who suddenly made a big fuss, and we didn't pay much attention to others. However, in my impression, everyone was doing their own thing, and there was nothing special about it. , no different from usual.”

Zhou Zhen looked at the two male nurses next to him. The two male nurses nodded and said, Like Dr. Liang, we didn't find anything special.

Yes, except for Lu Cong who is quite noisy, everyone else is normal... In fact, Lu Cong was quite normal before. I don't know what happened to him today...

Zhou Zhen didn't say anything, then looked at Lu Cong and asked: When you called the police, where did you call the police? What time was the police call approximately?

Lu Cong immediately said: Report the police right here!

I made several calls to the police at the following times...

He seemed to be unable to remember the specific time. He immediately took out his mobile phone, looked at the call history, and then said, The first call was made at 20:08, then 20:10; 20:11; 20:12...

Zhou Zhen's expression remained unchanged. From 20:08 to 20:12, the call was able to be made during this time period, which meant that the hospital was still normal at that time.

The time when he and Jin Qingfeng received the call from the landline at the security center was 20:25.

When we rushed to the hospital, the time was 20:30.

The abnormality in this hospital should have started after 20:25!

Knowing this information, Zhou Zhen did not hesitate and immediately said to the doctor: Sorry, there is indeed a case of 'digital virus' in the inpatient department, so you still have to stay here!

If possible, I would actually like to move all of you outside the hospital. That would be safer.

However, the place where the 'digital virus' is occurring now may not only be in the inpatient department!

With that said, he ignored the middle-aged female doctor's questioning and walked quickly outside the hospital.

The inpatient department building is located in the southwest corner of Binhai Central Hospital, just on the side of the building. Walking along the driveway, there is a gravel paved sidewalk in the middle of the neatly trimmed lawn, which leads to a side entrance of the hospital.

Outside the side door, there were scattered lights, and it seemed to be a relatively narrow street. At this point, all the shops along the street were closed and it was quiet.

Zhou Zhen walked quickly to the side door. There were no security guards here, only the face-scanning gate. It was originally open 24 hours a day to facilitate the entry and exit of the family members of hospitalized patients. At this moment, it was cordoned off and two uniformed security guards stood guard.

Seeing Zhou Zhen coming, one of the security guards immediately raised the cordon to let him pass.

Without any delay, Zhou Zhen immediately crossed the cordon and walked out of the door.

In an instant, the noise of cars speeding past in the distance, the on-site instructions and persuasion of security guards, and the sounds of movement from time to time all disappeared in his ears...

※※※

Inpatient department, fire stairwell.

Step, step, step...

The sound of high-heeled footsteps came from the front. The sound was brisk and crisp. Just listening to the sound seemed to outline in my mind a fashionable, young and beautiful girl, walking energetically on the hard ground... The sound of kicking footsteps The tap tap echoed slowly in the stairwell in harmony with a certain rhythm.

Jin Qingfeng immediately stopped and looked cautiously at the stairs above.

As soon as he stopped, the sound of high heels disappeared immediately, and the stairwell fell into a dead silence. It seemed that the movement just now was an illusion caused by mental stress.

Jin Qingfeng did not hesitate, quickly loaded the gun, and at the same time used his Digital Domain, [Energy Tracking]!

In his field of vision, although there was a little dust on the stairs in front, the dust was very complete and there were no footprints. The stairs he walked behind had a line of footsteps outlined by pale white flames. The flames of about 30 centimeters burned steadily, just like real fire, but without any intention of spreading. This was the trace of energy he left behind.

Apart from this line of footprints, no other target's footprints were seen. Jin Qingfeng immediately understood that the source of the high-heeled sound just now was not an infected person!

He held the gun and continued walking up.

As soon as he took a step, the sound of high heels sounded again.

tread!

A crisp and loud sound echoed throughout the stairwell.

Realizing something was wrong, Jin Qingfeng stopped again. Just like before, as soon as he stopped, the sound of high heels stopped abruptly.

The stairwell fell into silence again, except for the sound of Jin Qingfeng's deliberately slowed breathing.

He held his breath and waited for a few seconds, then suddenly moved. His whole body was like an arrow leaving the string, his body was low, his legs burst out with strength, and he ran up the stairs violently.

Tap, tap, tap, tap... the sound of high heels sounded again, and the frequency suddenly became faster.

Jin Qingfeng kept walking, crossing five or six steps at a time, and in the blink of an eye, he jumped up two steps. The sound of high heels became faster and closer, as if he could catch up with him at any time.

The well-lit stairwell has an atmosphere like an ice cellar.

Jin Qingfeng is highly concentrated and always pays attention to the surrounding situation. His sharp eyes swept over the stairs above, then quickly passed through the handrails beside him, and looked at the stairs below. However, in his sight, these places were empty, with nothing except his own footprints!

Gradually, dark and messy hair appeared above his head, one strand after another... slowly falling down like a spider web.

Suddenly, a slender black hair fluttered and fell on Jin Qingfeng's shoulder, touching his cheek as if by accident.

Jin Qingfeng stopped immediately and looked above his head.

I saw a young girl wearing high heels standing at the bottom of the stairs on the upper floor against gravity. She stepped forward with one foot, and the toe of the other foot was pointed on the concrete surface on the back of the stairs, maintaining a walking posture. , also raised his head and looked down. His long hair was hanging upside down, with a few messy strands clinging to his cheeks. On his ferocious face covered with corpse spots, a pair of bloodshot eyes were looking through the hair. During the gap, she looked at him coldly.

The thick black hair was like a waterfall in the dark night, pouring down silently and covering Jin Qingfeng's shoulders.

Jin Qingfeng's pupils shrank, and he had no time to react. The long black hair of the female corpse rose up like a snake and instantly wrapped around his neck!

Tap tap tap...

The female corpse continued to run forward. Her long hair was like a rope. As it tightened rapidly, there was a huge pulling force. Jin Qingfeng's body was suddenly out of control and was moved forward by the opponent.

The sound of high heels hitting the concrete could be heard very clearly this time!

The female corpse ran faster and faster, seemingly never stopping.

As she ran, her hair became tighter and tighter, Jin Qingfeng's face turned purple and he could no longer breathe!

A biting chill spread throughout Jin Qingfeng's body along his flowing black hair.

At the critical moment of life and death crisis, he threw out the energy grenade from his waist...

boom! ! !

※※※

Ding!

With a soft sound, the elevator stopped on the ninth floor, and the car doors slid open to both sides, revealing the empty elevator hall outside.

Opposite is a row of silver-white frosted elevator doors that are locked at night, and a huge 9 is hung on the wall to remind arrivals of the specific floor.

Zhou Zhen, who was sitting alone in the car, suddenly woke up!

what happened?

Did you just fall asleep?

Zhou Zhen frowned and looked at the familiar things around him. He suddenly realized that he just... seemed to have forgotten something!

He immediately began to reminisce, and soon remembered that he had just tested the fourth digital domain, and the side effect was peeping and filming...

Candid photos... candid photos...

Next…

What's next...

It's Chu Jingyan!

And then there’s the classroom…

Door……

Candid photos...

photo……

Zhou Zhen suddenly thought of the key!

【Split Personality】!

Those private photos of the girls’ dormitory of Binhai Art Institute on his mobile phone were taken by Chu Jingyan!

In an instant, Zhou Zhen's head felt as if it had exploded, and the cramping pain felt like a steel knife piercing it was like a flood that burst a dam, surging suddenly and surging instantly!

Zhou Zhen immediately held his head in his hands and fell to the ground in pain.

He wanted to continue thinking and analyzing his problems, but the ever-increasing headache made it difficult for him to concentrate.

Several similar experiences made him understand that as long as he gave up now, his headache would get better immediately!

However, he will also lose this part of his memory in an instant, and his brain will avoid all related questions for a long time!

He will think that he is normal, but he will become more and more abnormal!

Then one day, he will be like Luo Yuchen and Huang Xurong!

Ah ah ah ah ah!!!!

Zhou Zhen let out bursts of extremely painful screams. Veins popped up all over his body. His hands holding his head were spasmodic. The blood vessels on the backs of his hands and arms were as high as earthworms.

Cold sweat poured down like rain, soaking all his clothes in an instant.

Thump thump thump…

A burst of chaotic footsteps soon came from outside the elevator, and soon after, there were all kinds of chattering...

Young man, what's wrong with you?

Is it epilepsy? But I don't seem to be frothing?

He has a gun on him. I wonder if it's the security guards downstairs...

Don't get close to him! He has a headache. I don't know if he is infected with the 'digital virus'...

Call the doctor! Call the doctor quickly!

Call the security guard downstairs!

※※※

Inpatient department, fire stairwell.

boom! ! !

There was a deafening bang, and the entire staircase trembled slightly. Dark green smoke filled the air with the impact of the explosion, and billowing smoke roared upwards.

Amid the sounds of concrete debris, lime residue, and glass shards falling, a thin figure rolled several times in succession and rushed out of the thick smoke.

Cough cough cough...

As soon as his body stood firm, Jin Qingfeng started coughing violently. The injury he had suppressed with medicine just now was not healed yet, and new injuries were added to the old injury.

The originally worn uniform was now full of tears and looked as tattered as a beggar's uniform.

The blood once again soaked into the fabric, and the originally dark uniform could no longer reveal its underlying color.

The wound on the broken arm started to bleed again due to the violent impact.

Feeling the severe pain and weakness all over his body, Jin Qingfeng did not hesitate, immediately took out the syringe from his lower back and gave himself a shot.

After the potion entered his body, the pain and chill subsided like an ebbing tide. His complexion also recovered a lot, and he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The explosion of the energy grenade has little damage to buildings and life forms. In the entire stairwell, except for a few nearby glass shatters, even the surface concrete is basically intact, with only a few debris falling.

However, the thick smoke produced by the grenade contains highly polluting digital energy, which is very attractive to infected people, but for ordinary people and digital compatible people, serious problems will occur if they inhale too much...

Thinking rapidly in his heart, Jin Qingfeng alerted his surroundings, always on guard against possible attacks.

But his eyes wandered over and over again, but the female body wearing high heels did not appear again.

Jin Qingfeng didn't stop for too long and immediately continued walking upward.

Now there is a problem in the entire inpatient department. The digital energy after the energy grenade explodes will be quickly absorbed by the inpatient department building and does not need to be processed...

While he was thinking, his footsteps echoed quietly in the stairwell, and everything was quiet. There was no more sound of high heels, as if the female body wearing high heels just now had been eliminated by an energy grenade...

Soon, Jin Qingfeng came to the 9th floor.

At this level, he hesitated for a moment in front of the fire door, then changed direction, stepped forward and tried to press the door handle.

The fire door on the 9th floor was unlocked and opened when pushed. There was a short corridor outside.

There is a desk at the end of the corridor. Behind the desk, two uniformed security guards are sleeping. There are water glasses and leftover lunch boxes in front of them... A section of the wall on the side is opened and inlaid with glass to create a lounge.

There were also a group of security guards sleeping in the lounge, and the security guard's sleeping position blocked the glass door.

At this moment, the whole space was filled with the sound of snoring one after another.

Jin Qingfeng was about to walk over and take a closer look when he suddenly stopped. He looked at the seemingly ordinary floor tiles in front of him. Under the influence of the digital domain [Energy Tracking], a row of light green flames outlined clear footprints and appeared in front of him. in sight.

This is Zhou Zhen’s energy footprint!

Zhou Zhen also came to the monitoring room!

Jin Qingfeng didn't hesitate and immediately followed the energy footprints.

He quickly came to the control room. The two doors seemed to be closed in the distance, but in fact they were only ajar. It seemed that the person who left here just now did not close the door on purpose.

Jin Qingfeng listened carefully outside the door for a moment, but did not hear any movement behind the door. Then he cautiously pushed the door open with the barrel of a gun and stepped in.

Behind the door is a spacious hall, surrounded by suspended surveillance images. Several security guards fell into swivel chairs, sleeping unconsciously.

Jin Qingfeng followed the energy footprints and came to the seat in front of the main monitoring station. He looked at the direction of his toes and did not sit down. Instead, he quickly looked at the main screen in front of him.

At this moment, among the densely packed small windows on the main screen, a picture was enlarged and suspended above other windows. This picture showed the camera shooting at the entrance of the inpatient department.

Under high-definition pixels, outside the gate of the inpatient department, several blue-green painted security vehicles were parked next to them. The police lights on the roofs were still flashing. Fan Hang and other ordinary Group D security officers, the reporter Lu Cong, a middle-aged female doctor, The two male nurses were lying on the ground next to them, sleeping soundly.

Jin Qingfeng frowned slightly. The dream of the patient on the 72nd floor had spread beyond the inpatient department!

In addition, this is [Multiple Dreams]!

He is in a dream now. The sleeping security guards on the surveillance floor and the people who are also asleep under the surveillance cameras should be in a deeper dream!

Thinking of this, Jin Qingfeng stood up quickly. He did not find Zhou Zhen in the surveillance. As expected, Zhou Zhen should not be in the same dream as him now.

Following the other party's energy footprints, you should be able to find some clues about the other party...

Jin Qingfeng didn't delay anymore and immediately left the control room. When he went out, he paid attention and did not lock the door, but kept it ajar.

Outside the door, footprints outlined by light green flames walked along the corridor toward the elevator hall.

Jin Qingfeng followed Zhou Zhen's footsteps and also walked into the elevator hall.

As soon as he entered the elevator hall, he suddenly frowned.

This line of footprints traced by light green flames finally entered the elevator!

The elevator in the dream will crash...

And Zhou Zhen entered the elevator...

However, just as he was thinking, an elevator door facing him suddenly opened silently. Standing in the elevator was a doctor wearing a green doctor's hat. He was about forty or fifty years old, with a Chinese character face. He has thick eyebrows and long eyes, the stubble on his chin is not cleanly shaved, he is of medium build, a little fat, and wears a nameplate on his chest.

Jin Qingfeng immediately recognized the doctor's identity. When he and Zhou Zhen took the elevator for the first time, they met two doctors, one was Shi Xinhong and the other was Cheng Siyuan.

When he got into an accident in the elevator just now, he met the doctor named Shi Xinhong.

And the doctor in front of me is Cheng Siyuan!

At this time, Cheng Siyuan obviously recognized Jin Qingfeng and immediately asked: Want to take the elevator?

※※※

Inpatient department, 9th floor, elevator hall.

An elevator stopped at this floor. The elevator door had been opened. Zhou Zhen was curled up on the ground with a twisted expression. His upper body was outside the elevator, but his lower body was still in the elevator. His body just blocked the automatically closing car door, keeping the car from moving. open state.

The severe pain was as if the tide was rising and swallowing him completely!

There seemed to be an almost instinctive urging urging him to stop thinking! Advise him to give up! Advise him to stop here!

Zhou Zhen seemed to hear the voice of a security guard outside the elevator, but the extreme pain made his muscles twitch all over and he could not answer a word.

He kept breathing heavily, feeling the load on his body getting heavier and heavier! The brain's thinking becomes slower and slower! The digital energy in the body also began to run wild and became more and more out of control!

This is a sign that your body is about to collapse!

Knowing that he could not continue, Zhou Zhen endured the severe pain and tried to release his right hand from holding his head. With great difficulty, he reached into his pocket and took out the scalpel he had always carried with him.

Brushing, brushing, brushing...

Zhou Zhen used a scalpel as a pen to quickly carve words on his two thighs!

The scalpel was extremely sharp, and his strong trousers were as brittle as paper in front of it. Wherever the blade touched, it quickly cut his trousers open, leaving a series of cuts on his skin.

From time to time, blood splashed with the blade, and slowly flowed out along the tear in his trousers, forming a small pool of blood under his body.

Until the last stroke was made, Zhou Zhen finally relaxed and stopped thinking about anything.

The next moment, the severe cramping pain in the brain was like a tsunami, like the waves receding, it quickly weakened and quickly returned to normal.

Zhou Zhen lay on the ground and opened his eyes in a daze. He felt as if he had forgotten something, and then he felt that those were all trivial matters.

The most important thing now is the problem of the inpatient department!

Just as I was thinking about it, a trembling voice suddenly came from not far away...

He, he didn't move...

do you died?

I don't know, when will the doctor arrive?

Whether he's dead or not, the doctor must take a look before deciding where to send him...

First unlock a bed and come over...

Hearing this, Zhou Zhen came to his senses immediately. He quickly stood up from the ground without caring about rest, and looked up outside the elevator.

There is a huge 9 hanging on the wall opposite. This is the 9th floor.

Outside the elevator, there were several security guards standing with their heads peeping out. The leading security guard held a walkie-talkie in his hand and a stun baton in his waist, looking at him warily.

These security guards were the same ones he saw sleeping on the ninth floor just now.

Looking at this scene, Zhou Zhen immediately understood that these security guards were not sleeping and woke up, but that the time and space he was in now was different from just now!

No……

Not time and space!

It should be a dream!

When he left the hospital just now, he suddenly fell asleep!

He is in a dream now!

The anomaly in this hospital is a dream that invades reality!

This is not like an infected person, it should be a digital forest!

Or, Number Domain for high-bit digit compatibles!

Thinking of this, Zhou Zhen looked at the security guards, walked towards the door of the elevator hall, and said, I am security guard Zhou Zhen, and this is my ID.

I want to check the monitor in the inpatient department...

Before he finished speaking, the screen showing the floor on the side of the elevator suddenly turned into snowflakes, and a harsh electric noise came from the speakers. At the same time, the lights of all the buttons began to beat irregularly, and a shower of sparks exploded in the blink of an eye!

The next moment, the entire elevator shook violently and fell rapidly.

At this time, Zhou Zhen's left foot had just stepped out of the elevator, and his right foot was still in the elevator.

The elevator fell extremely fast, and the powerful inertia roared, as if a heavy guillotine was slashing down. It seemed that the next moment, it could directly smash Zhou Zhen's body into two!

At this critical moment, Zhou Zhen reacted instantly, and the [Geometric Barrier] appeared above his head in an instant!

clang! ! !

The car hit the [Geometric Barrier] with gravity acceleration and was firmly blocked by the [Geometric Barrier].

Zhou Zhen's left leg was slightly bent, and he only used the strength of one leg to support the entire elevator's sudden fall.

At the same time, under the influence of [hidden eavesdropping] in the digital domain, clear voices also sounded in his ears...

Want to take the elevator?

No, I like climbing stairs.

Remember to vote after reading this!