Ethan stood motionless on the landing between the emergency staircases of Basement Level B3, his eyes fixed on the door leading down to Basement Level B4.
Overall, the design of the Field Hospital's emergency stairwell was very different from any similar structure Ethan had encountered before. The stair flights inside the Field Hospital were not connected in one continuous shaft. Instead, each level was separated by two massive fire doors.
The doors separating B1, B2, and B3 looked no different from the emergency exits found in ordinary high-rise buildings.
The door leading down to Basement Level B4, however…
…was something else entirely.
The difference was obvious from the frame alone. Its sheer thickness suggested that the B4 door itself was extraordinarily thick and unbelievably heavy compared to every other basement door Ethan had passed through.
Connecting the door to its frame were enormous steel hinges, along with a large steel handwheel. All of it only reinforced Ethan's conclusion - this was a genuine bunker door and its purpose was to keep whatever lay beneath Basement Level B4 from getting out.
"Hey, Royce! This doesn't feel like an emergency staircase anymore… It feels more like a staircase leading straight into danger."
"You got that right. There are a whole bunch of Infected being treated down there. So I suggest you head back to the surface. Right now. Before I lose my temper."
"And what are you gonna do if you lose your temper?"
Reluctantly, Ethan tore his gaze away from the door leading to Basement Level B4. He quickly pushed open the first door leading into the corridor of Basement Level B3. For some reason, he had a feeling that the person he was looking for was somewhere on this floor. There was no need to risk going all the way down to Basement Level B4.
Just as Ethan reached for the second door, he suddenly felt a strong tug at the collar of his shirt. Royce had yanked him backward and stepped in front of him, insisting on taking the lead. Ethan had thought Royce was about to get seriously angry. But if this was what Royce called losing his temper then Ethan figured he could live with it.
"Bro, I honestly thought the first thing you'd do after waking up was go looking for the love of your life. After everything that's happened… aren't you worried about her?"
Royce asked quietly as the two of them turned right, then left again, making their way through the winding, maze-like corridors of Basement Level B3.
"Autumn's been running all over the Field Hospital - from one room to another, from the fifth floor all the way down to the first - at a speed no ordinary human could match. I figured she's working. That means she's recovered… actually, more than recovered. So I don't think there's any reason to disturb her."
Ethan stopped speaking the moment he caught the teasing look on Royce's face. The heat rushed back into his cheeks.
Yeah… Royce had never actually mentioned Autumn by name. Ethan had just admitted, all by himself, that Autumn was the love of his life.
Oh…
If only he could, Ethan would dive straight down to Basement Level B4 - no matter how many Infected were waiting below - just to hide from this unbearable embarrassment. He might even stay down there forever, simply to avoid facing Royce's gaze, which always seemed capable of seeing right through him.
"Hey, Ethan, how did you even know your sweetheart was running all over the Field Hospital?"
"Oh, come on! Love this, love that. Can't you see that love only causes trouble? Kai's twisted love for Ruby nearly got me killed. And look at you - you ended up here in this hospital, missing your left arm, all because of loveeeee."
The echo of the word "loveeeee" rolled all the way down the corridor, making Ethan feel even more embarrassed.
Suddenly, he remembered The Lovers, the card Camellia had drawn for him the very first time she read his Tarot. Could that card have been foretelling everything that had happened recently?
He really couldn't underestimate that Vampire Hunter girl's gift of prophecy.
Bang!
Ethan nearly jumped out of his skin when a familiar face suddenly appeared in the round glass window of a door they had just walked past.
It was him - the landlord of the seven-story mini apartment building at No. 7 Sunflower Street, where Ethan had lived before being mercilessly thrown out by the man's plump wife.
After nearly two weeks of treatment, the man looked far more… human than before. His mouth had almost returned to normal, though faint scars still stretched from the corners of his lips toward his ears. And whatever the doctors and nurses had been feeding him during his stay at the hospital, it had clearly worked. The landlord had put on healthy weight and looked far better than he had when he was still living with his wife and their Chihuahua.
The only thing was, Ethan could still sense that there was something abnormal about the man - something unsettling that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
Royce, on the other hand, acted as though nothing was out of the ordinary. He flashed the patient a bright smile and waved cheerfully. When the man failed to wave back, Royce casually tapped on the round glass window. The only response he received was the man's empty, emotionless stare. It was as if his soul no longer inhabited his body.
"That old man's still pretty vacant. He's definitely not ready to be discharged yet. Especially with the Field Hospital getting more crowded every day…"
"Yeah. I think so too."
As Ethan spoke, he rubbed the arm that had broken out in goosebumps. That only made Royce even more curious.
"Anyway, I still want to know - how did you know your Autumn was running all over the Field Hospital?"
"What do you mean, my Autumn?"
"You're really not going to admit it, you stubborn mule? Be careful, or Felix might swoop in and steal her from you. Hehehe."
"Whateverrrrr!"
"Alright, bro. Have it your way. But it looks like you could tell that old man's condition with just one glance, couldn't you? Why? How?"
"Yeah… I know a little. But I don't know why. It's just… a feeling."
"Then you probably know exactly which room Kai's in too, don't you? I mean, you've been walking around here like you know the place."
"Yeah. Something like that."
"And how dangerous is that shorty to humans now?"
Royce pressed on, his eyes gradually lighting up like an explorer who had just uncovered buried treasure.
"I honestly don't know. It's hard to explain."
Ethan couldn't think of the right words to describe Kai's current condition. Kai no longer felt as dangerous as either a Vampire or an Infected. But he certainly wasn't as harmless as a normal human either.
The sensation Ethan got from Kai was somewhat similar to what he felt from his former landlord. Still, in the end, he'd have to see Kai in person before he could be certain.
"That's amazing, bro. Sometimes even us Vampires can't recognize one of our own. Some Vampires are incredibly good at hiding themselves. Like…"
"Like who?"
Ethan waited for Royce to give him a few names. This piece of information sparked both Ethan's curiosity and his competitive spirit at the same time.
There were Vampires who could conceal themselves so perfectly that even their own kind couldn't detect them?
If such Vampires really existed then could a Bloodbound still sense them?
Suddenly…
"Nooooo!"
A shrill scream echoed from the room Ethan and Royce were heading toward. It sounded like a woman's voice.
Without exchanging a word, both of them broke into a run. Naturally, Royce reached the room before Ethan did.