High Energy QR Code

Chapter 95: Examination

Nurse Lin said, "If I'm dying in six days, what about that pregnant woman and her child? Even if they survive, don't you think giving birth to a child formed in two months is scary? It must be so painful for the mother."

"Yeah, that's why we need to go to the gynecology department and check the mother and child. We'll decide whether to take the medicine or not after that." Xing Ye said.

Earlier, Cao Qian and the others mentioned that true endings could only be obtained by using the world's QR codes. The test cabin could test three people in three minutes. Following the plot, the pregnant woman and her child should be two of the three they're supposed to test.

Right now, it was six in the afternoon. It was already almost dark, so there weren't many people in the gynecology department at this time. Xing Ye pondered and said, "At 2 am, take us to the gynecology department. I'll run a test on that pregnant lady and her baby. We'll decide whether to take the medicine or not based on its result."

He wanted to give his future self tomorrow some time to recover his memories.

"Alright." Nurse Lin appeared much calmer under Xing Ye's guidance.

There was something about Xing Ye that made it seem like nothing could stop him. No matter what happened, Xing Ye could resolve it. Even if he was poor, sick, amnesic, or a crossdresser obsessed with chopping that part off.

Nurse Lin came here weeping and left calmly, no longer seeming so afraid of what laid ahead. She promised she wouldn't tell their meeting to her teammates, but neither did she tell Xing Ye about her teammates' starting abilities and QR codes. She wanted Xing Ye's help but didn't want to harm her teammates. Xing Ye liked her style.

"There are still eight hours until 2, we should use that time." Xing Ye said to Guan Ling, "Tell me everything you encountered in the department head's office in detail, focusing on what you think is important."

Guan Ling thought back before saying, "Boss, the department head was watching me through the video monitoring systems. Do you think he could've already caught onto us?"

"Possibly," Xing Ye said, "Last night's incident was unexpected, so he might've not been able to react immediately. In the daytime, the hospital's filled with people, so unless the department head's invincible, he can't do anything in broad daylight. If he wants to do something, he'll definitely choose to do it tonight. We have to be careful."

"Tonight..." Yan Hebi immediately spoke up, "Yiyi, I'll stay in your ward tonight and protect you!"

Xing Ye said ruthlessly, "We don't have time to rest tonight. This is a fight against time. We must finish this world tomorrow, I'll only allow myself to lose my memories one more time. Besides, all of us are infected and we have no idea when the parasite will break out. The risk increases with every day we drag out."

When Xing Ye first used his starting ability to check the QR code's ability, he used Test Cabin on himself. He concluded the following from the test results: his physical condition was normal, his hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory, was abnormal, and there was a thin membrane around his heart. It's unknown what that thin membrane was, but for now, it didn't affect him.

"I'll make a few more copies of Clear Test Cabin so we can all get tested." Xing Ye said.

With that, he used Redrawing Pen three times, producing three more test cabins.

Guan Ling's condition was healthy, but like Xing Ye, there was a membrane around his heart. Yan Hebi had recently undergone surgery for hemorrhoids and had a membrane around his heart. Cao Qian's condition was healthy, with a membrane around her heart.

Upon receiving these test results, Guan Ling sighed and said, "It's just as the boss predicted, Cao Qian has also been parasitized. It seems that my healing abilities have no effect on this type of parasite."

Xing Ye replied, "Your 'A Shattered Mirror Put Together' ability is meant for repairing damaged objects, but it doesn't specify what is being repaired. For example, if a mirror is shattered and then glued back together, that's considered 'A Shattered Mirror Put Together.' But what if there's a piece of chewing gum stuck on the mirror's surface? Would removing the gum be considered putting a shattered mirror back together? Definitely not. That would be removing a stain."

This analogy...

Cao Qian looked at the bag where the cosmetic mirror was. Nowadays, whenever Xing Ye did something, he would think of the mirror.

She sighed. She knew a little too much.

Even though they were all parasitized, including Yan Hebi, everybody remained surprisingly calm. This was because they knew Xing Ye was leading them to the true ending, step by step, steadily and resolutely. The calm atmosphere in their team came from the belief that Xing Ye would lead them to the true ending before they succumbed to the parasite.

Xing Ye stated, "I have reason to believe that, apart from a few who know what's going on, everyone else in the entire hospital has been parasitized. It seems the director discovered that contagious diseases like measles can accelerate the speed at which parasitic creatures take over human bodies. That's why they attempted to infect healthy individuals with such diseases. Director Wang's true intentions will depend on the test results tomorrow morning regarding the condition of the pregnant woman and the baby. It will determine whether Director Wang is here to help us or harm us."

He took out the CD and said, "The director kept this CD in a safe. Opening it requires a password, it has a tracking program installed, and its contents are encrypted. With so many layers of protection, I believe that the CD contains crucial information. We must find the cipher key to translate its content."

At that moment, Guan Ling suddenly recalled a detail. "Boss, I was in the department head's office, and he took out a bottle of blue liquid from the safe. At that time, there were a few more bottles of liquid in the safe, as well as a document. Could that document be the cipher key?"

Xing Ye shook his head, "I doubt it. I have a feeling that he might already know you and Ge Kuangyi worked together to get the CD. He opened the safe to show it to you on purpose, guiding you to steal something from his office."

"Huh?" Guan Ling said, "You did mention earlier that this bottle of medicine's different from Nurse Lin's. The department head must not have trusted me. I failed."

"Who said you failed?" Xing Ye said, "I never intended for you to infiltrate the enemy's ranks. They wouldn't be foolish enough to trust you based on just a few words. Trying to do so would be the same as beating the grass to startle the snake; it would only alert them and make them suspicious. I had you say those things to the director to maintain his trust, making him believe that you're solely motivated by self-interest, someone he could temporarily bribe for our benefit and buy us some time. Besides, you haven't come away empty-handed. At least you obtained this bottle of medicine."

Just as he finished speaking, a knock sounded at the door. Xing Ye let them in: it was a deliveryman with takeout and a new laptop.

Everyone: "..."

Yan Hebi said, "Since we confirmed we've long been parasitized, we don't need to order takeout anymore, right? We can just eat the hospital's food."

Xing Ye shook his head, "But if we have the option, why not eat something tastier?"

Xing Ye had chosen another high-end restaurant again. Everybody ate happily and Xing Ye joined them as he pondered.

When Xing Ye noticed the measles patient's abnormal state was captured by the surveillance camera, he guessed that the department head and the others were already aware of their existence. Yet, they allowed them to wander around the hospital for a whole day without taking any action. He sent Guan Ling to talk to the department head to probe him and observe his attitude. Xing Ye already knew Guan Ling's self-interest-guided arguments didn't deceive the department head, yet strangely, the department head didn't try anything and just comforted Guan Ling.

But why?

After eating, Yan Hebi set up the new laptop and used his starting abilities to hack into the monitoring system. He turned to Xing Ye, "Yiyi, I adjusted the cameras in several critical areas to replay footage from seven days ago. This way, our movements outside at night won't be captured. They won't be able to track us through the surveillance."

Xing Ye gave him an approving look and turned his attention to the monitor. Suddenly, something struck him. The measles patients developed a fever and fell into a coma on the first night, then became parasitized on the second night. It was also at night when Director Wang performed surgery on that pregnant woman...

"Could it be that the parasites only appear at night?" Xing Ye frowned. "Guan Ling, did the department head ask you to rest in the infectious disease department's staff room tonight?"

"Yes." Guan Ling said, "Obviously, I'm not going."

"No. Tonight, we'll rest in your staff room together." Xing Ye said.

Cao Qian asked, "You think Guan Ling will be attacked at night?"

"Yes," Xing Ye nodded, "From the system's setup, there were two parasites at the start. Two nights have passed, so if we include the measles patient, there should be at least four parasites by now. However, we've only encountered one so far. We haven't even found the initial two parasites, nor do we know whether the department head is a parasitic monster or not. I feel like there's something crucial we're missing."

The group didn't speak, quietly waiting for Xing Ye to organize his thoughts.

Xing Ye made one hypothesis after another: the department head was evil, Director Wang was good, they were both good, they were both evil, and so on, analyzing how each situation would play out if the condition held true.

He scribbled and drew plots on paper like a madman, ripping off each sheet as rejected each hypothesis.

Yan Hebi sat beside Guan Ling, watching Xing Ye with a foolish expression on his face. He said, "It feels like I'm watching myself writing the college entrance exam, writing the wrong answer and tearing it off, again and again."

Guan Ling shook his head, "I think the boss is getting anxious. He wants to figure out the truth before he loses his memory again. He's worried that unexpected problems might crop up after losing his memories."

When Xing Ye heard Guan Ling's words, he realized Guan Ling was right. His thoughts had long reached a mental block and he was just rushing about aimlessly, like a headless fly trying to find a way out.

"I'm going to wash my face." Xing Ye set down his pen and went to the washroom. He looked at himself in the bathroom mirror and sighed.

The whole time, the mirror had been shaking like crazy in his bag. Xing Ye took him out and placed him on the vanity stand.

The mirror burst out, "What are you waiting for, just take the initiative and steal the cipher key from the department head's office! Why are you hesitating like this? The floor where the department head's office is on is empty at night and people rarely go there. The emergency exits and elevators are sealed off. No matter how much of a mess you make on the 18th floor, it doesn't matter. Why are you being so indecisive? This isn't like you at all!