[Keli: I asked the nurses on the 5th floor, and they said the floors above are all high-end wards with special staff.]
[Kirigaya Kazuto: I looked around the rooms downstairs, and it's pretty much like a normal hospital. I didn't find anything unusual. I searched on my phone for the names on the visible medications and those being injected, and they are all normal prescriptions.]
[Sato Kazuma: I suspect I have a talent for lock-picking.]
[Sato Kazuma: The door opened!]
[Sato Kazuma: Keli, you pretend to be a patient who wandered in and go check it out. If something happens, we'll just commit suicide and appear next to you.]
[Keli: Coming, coming.]
Soon, Kazuma saw Keli, dressed in a patient gown, sneaking up from the stairs.
Keli couldn't help but marvel at Kazuma's talent for crime; it would truly be a waste to make such a person live an ordinary life.
The two briefly exchanged information. Keli slipped inside, while Kazuma lingered at the stairwell. If a large number of people started heading up or the elevator went up, he would report and intercept.
"If there's a problem, just say the word, and we'll commit suicide to support you."
Kazuma gave Keli a thumbs-up.
Actually, Kazuma would have been best for scouting.
However, considering that if this operation were exposed, there wouldn't be a second chance like with the Ghouls.
This was downtown Tokyo. Although they weren't too afraid even if the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department came with helicopters and rifles, it would mean they would lose the opportunity to investigate things in the city in the future.
So, it was decided that Keli, with his strongest sustained combat power, would take the lead, and they could also support him at any time and make interceptions.
"Hoo..."
Stepping alone onto the stairs leading to the upper floor, Keli softly sniffed the air.
Currently, he hadn't caught any scent.
Keli naturally wouldn't agree with the "high-end ward" explanation.
No matter how high-end, as a place with high turnover, where doctors and nurses need to enter frequently, it shouldn't be set up like this. At most, there should just be a lock on the patient room door.
Keeping his steps as light as possible, Keli looked out through the transparent glass door of the elevator hall.
The layout of the corridor was no different from downstairs, with a central information desk and circularly arranged patient rooms.
However, unlike downstairs, this floor's corridor only had green light and the red glow of strange instruments; there were no lights on at all.
Even if Japanese electricity prices were expensive, the hospital shouldn't be so stingy.
And from Keli's perspective, he could glimpse the information desk; such a design should let people know who to ask as soon as they exit the elevator, but at that moment, it was empty.
However, the water dispenser there was lit, and there were two cups on the counter.
Keli held his breath, closed his eyes, turned his head to avoid possibly being seen, and tried to gather as many sounds as possible.
From the stairwell window, he could hear the distinct calls of Tokyo's large crows outside the hospital, as well as the distant sounds of vehicles in the city.
"Click!"
A door sound came from what seemed to be the end of the corridor.
Keli hesitated for a moment, but staying in this spot wouldn't reveal anything, so he chose to directly hug the wall and enter the corridor.
His eyes immediately spotted the lit room.
Keli moved slowly along the wall, tiptoeing to minimize sound, moving towards the interior.
His gaze swept over the lights on the signs in front of the doors; those places all showed that the beds were empty.
This made Keli feel even more bizarre, because some popular departments downstairs already had their inpatient wards so full that they were adding beds in the hallway.
But just then, a sound suddenly came from the nurse's station, and Keli quickly crouched down.
However, upon hearing the content of the sound, Keli breathed a sigh of relief.
"Patient in bed 32 calling! Patient in bed 32 calling!"
But Keli suddenly felt something was wrong; bed 32, he should have passed it when he was looking at the signs.
There was no patient displayed there.
"So annoying!"
A woman's angry voice came from the lit room in the distance.
Along with that scolding, there was also the sound of an iron cabinet door closing heavily.
Immediately after, Keli heard another somewhat frivolous female voice.
"Tachibana, it's not your shift today, why are you so angry?"
"Kurokawa, don't you have any opinion? Are we prostitutes? Do we have to listen to that Nurse Chief?"
The first voice sounded again.
"Alright, alright, that's what we say, but Tachibana, you still did it, didn't you? After all, our education is like this; finding a job with such good benefits is already very rare. It's better than kindergarten teachers working hard every month to change kids' underwear for only 120,000 yen, right? Haha! I'm also ready to start work. Didn't they say that if that patient doesn't come out in three hours, he'll explode and die? Haha! Speaking of which, I remember you still have a boyfriend, right? I wonder what Boyfriend-kun's expression will be when he finds out."
"Shut up!"
The first female voice interrupted the second voice, and then footsteps followed.
Keli had already chosen to change his hiding spot before their conversation, hiding behind a damaged hospital bed parked in a corridor connecting two ends of the patient rooms.
"Thump! Thump! Thump!"
Hiding under the bed, Keli saw a long leg wearing black stockings through the faint gap. Her steps were hurried, seemingly in a bad mood. Judging by her hasty pace, she must have just gotten off work and was heading home to rest.
"Hmph! You bitch! You do such things, and yet you always put on that sour face!"
A moment later, another pair of legs appeared before Keli's eyes. These were legs wearing normal nurse's protective clothing.
This must be the person coming for the shift change.
Keli's mind quickly processed the information he had just heard, only feeling that the plot sounded increasingly familiar.
Damn it, isn't this that 'Exploitation Ward'?!
Keli suddenly remembered what this plot was about. Why was everything stitched together in this world? No wonder when he used the modifier, it replied, 'Everything you need to add is already there, to complete the last item...'
Keli's brain quickly retrieved information. Yes! He remembered that although this was a pornographic work, it was very story-driven, not only having novels, related comics, professional big-shot 3D works, but also directly debuting as an anime, and he had watched all of them!
Quick! Brain! I command you to think! Tell me its plot!
Thought process complete.
Keli gently hit his knee.
Oh! At the time, I was just focused on the thrill of battle and didn't care about the plot at all. I only found out it was a story-driven work later, when the fighting subsided and I read comments from others.
Well, no problem then!
Keli quickly reported the situation mentally and then prepared for his next move.
However, at this moment, he heard footsteps coming from the corridor behind him as well.
The nurse in front had already left, and Keli, like in Metal Gear Solid, squatted and moved to the other side of the hospital bed.
But soon, he heard the sound getting louder and louder, feeling a sense of dread. He quickly stood up, shoved his guitar bag, which could easily reveal his position, under the bed, and slipped into the still-lit, presumably empty, staff lounge.
Then he found a corner and crouched down, hiding himself in the gap between the sofa and the water dispenser.
"Thump! Thump!"
Unfortunately, Keli had only been inside for a few tens of seconds when footsteps sounded right outside the room.
-------------------------------
I've just uploaded the latest chapters on Patreon!
If you're following this story and want to read ahead, come check it out and support me there!
Here's the link: [patreon.com/Greyhounds]
Thank you all so much for always being with me!
