The Fallen Merman

Translator: ThatLazyPotato

Translation Checker: Carolin 

Editor: unedited

Proofreader: babymew

The white walls of the single ward were splattered with gaudy and dirty blood. The white hospital bed was practically dyed in filthy red blood. The trash can in the corner was overturned, and the discarded ampoules and pill boxes that were inside were scattered out. And a twisted corpse was nestled together with the trash.

Everything indicated that there had been an intense fight in this locked room just now. At first glance, the fatal wound of the corpse was the bullet hole in the temple, but the white and blue striped hospital gown he was wearing had already been stained with blood until it was beyond recognition. The blood was not entirely caused by the gunshot wound on his head. 

Upon closer inspection, the skin on his body was completely festered, with the blood leaking out from beneath his skin. His face was also completely festered to the point where his original appearance couldn’t be recognized anymore. His eyes were still wide open, and the unclosed eyes had turned entirely red at this moment. His pupils were fading away, but the most terrifying thing was his mouth—the corners of his mouth were abnormally raised, almost grinning to the base of his ears, which matched with his festering and bleeding lips. It was like the smiley makeup applied by circus clowns.

This highly decomposed state makes it hard to believe that the corpse had only been dead for three minutes.

The firefly omega was gasping violently, leaning against the hospital bed, holding a pistol in his hand. He was shaking all over, his lips were a little pale, and he wiped the blood from the pistol with the bed sheet.

They were originally escorting the doctors from the Alliance Medical Association to rescue the medical staff of Enxi Hospital, but they were attacked by a large number of crazy infected patients in the middle of it, and they lost each other when they scattered. The only place where they could temporarily hide were these four unlocked wards.

“Dr. Han…don’t be scared. I will protect you.” Firefly tried his best to calm himself down. He turned around to ask the alpha in the white coat, “Did you get injured?”

Besides Firefly, there was only one other living person, which was the doctor standing in the middle of the room with one hand in his white coat pocket and carrying a small silver lockbox.

The alpha placed the lockbox lightly on the ground. He was wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, the dangling chain swayed slightly with his movements. The contour of this alpha’s face was slightly slim, the light yellow short hair was slightly curly, and his appearance was noble and attractive.

Han Xingqian didn’t answer but went straight to the corpse, put on gloves to examine the state of the corpse, and recorded the results on the notepad in his pocket. 

Although he did not answer, Firefly still felt gentle soothing pheromones in the air, and his body felt a lot more comfortable.

While Dr. Han was engrossed in examining the corpse, Firefly checked his own backpack. There was still a day’s worth of food and water inside. In addition to the pistol, he also carried a mini submachine gun on his back with 100 rounds left.

He cautiously picked up the mini SMG, silently leaned on the door, and peeked outside through the glass window above the ward door.

The lights in the depths of the corridor flickered, and a shadow slowly walked over with stiff footsteps. 

Firefly’s hands holding the SMG were trembling. He didn’t even dare swallow his saliva. He held his breath as he watched that person.

That person’s complexion was ashen, his skin a deathly pale, and he was also wearing the same blue and white hospital gown as the corpse in the ward. His right hand was grasping onto an IV pole, a swaying empty IV bag was hung onto the IV pole, and the IV needle was still stuck on the back of his left hand.

The patient walked to the door of Firefly’s ward and stopped.

Firefly desperately covered his mouth and held his breath. He tried his best to calm his heartbeat but didn’t dare close his eyes, fearing that he would miss the patient’s sudden attack. 

The patient’s eyes were filled with red but the black pupils had not entirely disappeared yet. He slowly stopped, glanced at his empty IV bag and adjusted its position, then slowly turned around and went back the way he came from.

It wasn’t until the patient disappeared from his sight that Firefly dared to take a deep breath.

After the examination, Dr. Han took off his gloves and looked back at Firefly who was shaking all over. The corners of his lips curled up in a mocking arc, “Don’t force yourself, just rest for a while.”

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However, the ward lock requires an access card, and there was basically no place to open the lock except for a card slot.

Han Xingqian was noncommittal. He went around the ward to check what was in it and found that the computer on the table was in an automatic black screen mode. The screen turned on with a slight movement of the mouse.

This was a monitor with a total of four screens.

“Come over and have a look at this.” Han Xingqian put his hands on the desk and called over Firefly. 

The upper left corner of each screen was numbered: Ward 1, Ward 2, Ward 3, and Ward 4.

What was being displayed in Ward 1 was a patient sitting on a hospital bed in a daze. His hand was holding an IV pole and he was in the middle of taking off his shoes. He also had a computer beside his bed. It can be seen that it also displayed four screens, but they were completely unable to tell what was being shown.

Firefly was startled and whispered, “He was the patient I saw just now.”

In Ward 2 were the mongoose and Nile crocodile who were also special trainees. They were protecting the doctors of Enxi Hospital. In fact, the installation position of this camera was very strange. It looked like it was installed under the bed. Because they live and eat together at the training base, they were very familiar with each other, so Firefly can identify them by their feet and the hem of their pants. 

Han Xingqian narrowed his eyes. “Wait, the bottom of the bed appears to have a picture stuck to it.

Due to the camera being installed under the bed, the picture was a bit dark. After careful identification, the two of them determined that it was an enlarged poker card. Moreover, it was the little Joker card of the Joker pair.

The screen of Ward 3 displayed Firefly and Han Xingqian gathered around the computer.

Firefly thought for a while, “So we’re in Ward 3.” 

Ward 4 had a higher viewing angle. Inside was Clownfish and a few of the Alliance Medical Association’s doctors. In front of the hospital bed was also a computer. Due to the difference in viewing angle, they could vaguely recognize that both the second and third screens were of the picture under the bed, but it wasn’t completely clear what was on the picture.

Firefly thought for a while, then lay on the ground and tried hard to see if there was anything stuck under the bed in their room.

Dr. Han asked, “Is there one?”

Firefly answered, “There is, there is! But it’s too dark under there, I can’t see what’s on it. There are iron bars welded between the legs of the bed, I can’t crawl in.” 

Han Xingqian calmly watched the four surveillance screens, then suddenly saw the doctors in Ward 4 gathered in front of the computer in their own room.

Immediately afterward, the two special trainees in Ward 2 also apparently noticed the surveillance on the computer. Their feet could be seen gathered in front of the computer desk through the crevice of the bed.

“Looks like everyone has noticed the computer surveillance.” Han Xingqian thought for a while, “Don’t move.”

Firefly froze, and his hands rummaging through the drawer stopped. 

Han Xingqian stared at the surveillance screen of Ward 4, then walked back and forth around the hospital bed.

It can be vaguely seen from the surveillance screen that although the third screen on the computer in Ward 4 showed a very blurred bottom of the bed, the feet of people walking beside the bed can be made out. Thus, Han Xingqian speculated that the four screens in each ward were arranged in accordance with the four wards 1, 2, 3, and 4, which means that the people in Ward 4 can clearly see the designs under the beds of Ward 2 and 3.

It would be reasonable to speculate that each ward can see the design under the bed of the ward number in front of it, except for the under the bed of Ward 1. This was because neither Ward 3 where they were at nor Ward 4, which was shown in the surveillance, could see the bottom of the bed in Ward 1.

However, this conjecture was of little use. 

Firefly asked cautiously, “Dr. Han, can I talk now?”

Han Xingqian looked at him. Firefly was holding a box of poker cards that had been rummaged out from the drawer of the computer desk.

“Seems like it’s empty inside.” Firefly muttered to himself and opened the card box. Inside only had two Joker clowns in it—one big Joker card and one little Joker card.

The two cards were not as thin as regular poker cards but were about as thick as an ID card. 

“Ah, it’s an access card.” Firefly took the poker card to the card slot of the door lock and compared it. The size was just right, but he didn’t know which one to insert, “Insert the big Joker or the little Joker…”

“Don’t randomly insert it.” Han Xingqian picked up the poker cards box and examined it. The decoration of the box was very simple, with a smiling clown on one side and a dead clown with two cross eyes on the other side. The clown was covered by a diamond-shaped skull logo.

As a doctor, Han Xingqian was very familiar with this symbol—it stood for “toxic gas.”

Han Xingqian put down the card box and suddenly noticed the mouse pad. 

The mouse pad was also divided into four sections, with two big devil cards and two little devil cards drawn crossed. Among them, the little devil card was exactly the same as the design on the bottom of the bed in Ward 2 as seen in the surveillance.

Han Xingqian opened his notepad and wrote two lines with his pen, “It is reasonable to infer that the design under the bed in Ward 3 where we are located is the design of the access card. Moreover, in these four wards, two of the wards have big devils under the bed, and the other two have little devils. If the wrong card is inserted, the room will release toxic gas and poison us to death.”

Firefly said weakly, “Isn’t there a 50% chance of getting it right then… What if you guessed right…”

Han Xingqian said with a sneer. “I want to record these words for your Instructor Bai to hear.” 

Not knowing the exact location of the camera, he picked up the mouse pad and poker cards box, held them up and walked around the room. He then stuck them under the bed and shook them.

It can be seen from the surveillance that the people in the other rooms were attracted by his actions. Several people in Ward 4 began to rummage through the drawers. And they could also see from the crevices of the bed that those in Ward 2 were moving and starting to search for something.

Soon people in the other wards also found these things and tried to use the camera to indicate that they had found them.

Firefly looked puzzled, “What are you doing, Dr. Han?” 

Han Xingqian: “I have to make sure that everyone knows that everyone already knows the rules.”

Firefly: “??? Stop repeating.”

Han Xingqian wasn’t in a rush, he sat on the bed and relaxed with his eyes closed. After waiting for about 15 minutes, he suddenly opened his eyes and looked at the monitor. Barely anything changed on the screen, so he said softly, “Ours is the big devil card.”

Firefly froze, held the big Joker access card, hesitating and not daring to insert it. 

“Is it really… Are you sure… I…”

The micro communicator in his ear suddenly made a weak electric sound. The communicator had stopped working since they came in, but there was finally a sign that it had regained signal. Firefly jumped up happily and then calmed down to adjust the channel.

“Hello? Is there any stupid kid, little trash, who can hear me?”

Bai Chunian’s languid voice came into his ears. Firefly’s eyes became wet all of a sudden, and he answered with a choked sob, “Instructor, I-I can hear you. I’m Firefly…” 

Bai Chunian clicked his tongue in comfort, “Don’t cry, I’m here now. I have strengthened my signal but can only contact you at the moment. How is the situation right now?”

Firefly dragged the tone of his sobbing and explained the situation to Bai Chunian, including details of the surveillance and Joker access cards.

Bai Chunian snorted. “It’s been 15 minutes. Of course you insert the big Joker, idiot.”

Firefly was stunned and looked at Dr. Han in disbelief. Han Xingqian shrugged lightly and lifted the lockbox on the ground. “Get ready to leave.” 

Firefly fully trusted the instructor’s words. He picked up the big Joker card and inserted it into the door lock. The door lock lit up green then automatically opened.

“H-how come?” Firefly asked in a daze.

“I’ll explain it to you later, first take Han-ge to the elevator exclusively used for surgery and meet me at the top of the building. Hurry, it’s raining a bit outside and I’m not wearing much.” Bai Chunian lazily joked, “Be more careful, my Han-ge‘s hands are precious, you must protect them well.”

“Dr. Han, stay close to me. Hide behind me if you are in danger.” Firefly took a deep breath, held the SMG, and opened the door. He handed over the pistol on his belt to Dr. Han, turned around and instructed, “I have already loaded it for you. Do not accidentally fire it. Just shoot at the vital point when you are in danger.” 

Dr. Han arched an eyebrow. “Okay.”

As soon as they walked out of the door, the door behind them locked automatically. Firefly tried to push it but it couldn’t be pushed open anymore.

If they want to go to the elevator specially used for surgery, they have to pass through Wards 2 and 1, but they both know that there was still a time bomb-like infected patient sitting in Ward 1.

When Firefly wanted to take a detour, the patient in Ward 1 holding the IV pole came out of the door and walked toward them slowly. 

“Why did he come again?” Firefly nervously raised the muzzle and aimed it at the patient.

“Hold on, I’m going to observe the specimen.” Hang Xingqian held on to Firefly’s shoulder. “He’s different from other infected patients. Why doesn’t he look aggressive? Furthermore, his expression didn’t turn into an exaggerated smile like a clown.”

The two stepped back a safe distance. The patient who was dragging the IV pole slowly walked to the door of Ward 3 where they had just come out, stopped, then slowly raised his head and glanced at his empty IV bag. He adjusted the position of the bag, turned around blankly, and went back the way he came.

But this time there was a bit of water seepage from the ceiling. The water droplets made a small puddle on the floor. 

When the patient returned, he stepped on the stagnant water and fell on his butt.

Firefly was stupefied.

The patient sat on the ground, then abruptly turned his head and stared at Firefly and Han Xingqian. Suddenly, his mouth grinned eerily to the base of his ears, revealing an exaggerated smile like a circus clown. His skin was clearly beginning to fester, and blood was oozing from his entire body. The last bit of black in his deep red eyeball disappeared. Then the patient let go of the IV pole, opened his mouth and rushed toward the two of them.

“Dr. Han, watch out!” Firefly’s first reaction was to push Han Xingqian far away and to face the dripping with blood infected patient by himself. The patient frantically bit on Firefly’s muzzle, not letting go even when he was being shot by bullets. 

With the sound of a pistol, the infected patient was shot in the head, and his body froze and fell to the ground.

Han Xingqian held Firefly’s shoulder indifferently, retracted the pistol, and inserted it back into the gun belt on Firefly’s waist.

Firefly walked as he rubbed his flushed face. The communicator sounded again. Han Xingqian took the communicator off of Firefly and put it in his own ear. “Hello, it’s me.”

Bai Chunian: “Oh, Mr. Handsome, you scared? You must have missed me so much ” 

Han Xingqian: “What do you know about this infectious disease?”

Bai Chunian: “Looping Virus, the J1 ability of Experimental Subject No. 408 Samael, is divided into two stages; the early stage of infection and late stage infection.”

“An infected person in the early stage of infection will repeat what they did at a certain time before their death. If no one interrupts them, they will keep doing this in a loop. But the moment when they realize that what they’re doing is different from what they just did, they will enter the late stage of infection.”

“You guys have also seen one in the late stage of infection. That is what it looks like.”