Yu Hanjiang's words sent a chill down the spines of his teammates, but then they thought about it again. This escape room was a collaboration between Hearts, Spade, Diamonds, and Plum Blossom. Hearts was mainly about solving mysteries and crimes. Since everyone had been forced into the " Hospital " environment, a case was bound to happen in the Hospital.
Thinking of CEO Shao still in the ICU, Ye Qi was extremely anxious: " Will something happen to CEO Shao? He's right under Zhao Sen's nose, and I still can't relax! Zhao Sen is a murderer! Could the cases in the hospital be related to Zhao Sen?!"
Upon hearing the name " Zhao Sen," his teammates didn't immediately recognize him, until Liu Qiao said expressionlessly, " Zhao Sen? Is he the murderer who killed two people in the Rose Funeral locked room?"
Liu Qiao also obtained the story card for a perfect completion in Red Heart 2 Secret Room.
However, Qu Wanyue, Long Sen, and Lao Mo did not achieve a perfect completion of Red Heart 2 Secret Room, so they had some impression of the name " Zhao Sen " but did not know that Zhao Sen had killed two people.
Long Sen was puzzled: "Killed two people? Didn't Zhao Sen only kill his wife?" Old Mo said: "I also remember that he placed his wife on a bed covered with roses."
Seeing the confused looks on his teammates' faces, Yu Hanjiang simply activated the [ Rose Funeral Story Card] and gave everyone a replay.
The complete murder scene was projected onto the large screen.
As Zhao Sen slowly chopped up his cousin's corpse on screen, his teammates' expressions grew increasingly grim.
Qu Wanyue felt a wave of nausea. Suppressing the urge to vomit, she said palely, "So there was such a hidden plot... Xiao Ye just said that Zhao Sen is in the hospital right now? What does it mean that CEO Shao is right under his nose?"
" CEO Shao is in a coma and is in the intensive care unit of the Cardiovascular Surgery Department. Zhao Sen is his attending physician." Ye Qi clenched his fist tightly, his heart feeling like it was being strangled and hanging in mid-air. Thinking that Shao Qingge was lying on Dr. Zhao Sen's hospital bed at this moment, he really wished he could immediately jump out the window and teleport CEO Shao away.
Upon hearing Ye Qi's words, the teammates all looked tense. Qu Wanyue anxiously looked at Yu Hanjiang: " CEO Shao is in the intensive care unit, doesn't that mean he's completely powerless to fight back?!"
"Besides, he's unconscious. Even if he has the Bug King Card, he can't use it now, right?" Long Sen said worriedly.
"Don't panic." Yu Hanjiang interrupted everyone's wild thoughts and said calmly, " Although Zhao Sen is the murderer in the Red Heart 2 Secret Room, he may not be the murderer in this secret room. Don't forget, he killed his wife and cousin in Red Heart 2, and the crime was very meticulous, leaving no evidence. It's not like him to rashly kill someone in the hospital."
" Captain Yu means that Zhao Sen is a distraction? Deliberately trying to cause us panic?" Long Sen asked nervously.
"That's very likely the case." Yu Hanjiang handed the summarized case materials to his teammates for quick review. "Take a look, everyone."
"The deceased is Cheng Shaoyu, but the body hasn't been fully recovered yet. His younger brother, Cheng Shaofeng, the prime suspect, is currently missing?" Liu Qiao frowned. " Captain Yu believes the cases the police were investigating earlier are related to the hospital?"
"Yes." Yu Hanjiang said with certainty, "I was brought to the hospital emergency room because of this case. If the Guardian just wanted me to be admitted to the hospital, they could have used an accident like a car crash or a fall to get me in, or arranged for me to be hospitalized for a specific illness like you have done, instead of giving me such detailed case information and having me shot."
"This world should have gun control, right? Ordinary people wouldn't have guns, would they?" Old Mo stroked his chin thoughtfully, and said in his old, hoarse voice, " Since Captain Yu was hospitalized with a gunshot wound and we obtained detailed case files, this case must be connected to the hospital. If it's a dismemberment case, could the hospital... be hiding the victim's body?"
"Are we supposed to go to the hospital's Morgue to find a corpse?" Ye Qi, who was standing next to them, suddenly interjected. Since he had turned into a child and only reached everyone's waist, it was easy for the group to overlook his presence when they were discussing things.
Upon hearing what Xiao Ye Qi said, everyone's expression changed again.
"Go to Morgue to find a corpse?" Qu Wanyue's stomach churned. Pregnancy often brings nausea and vomiting, and the topic of "dismemberment" discussed today was particularly unfriendly to pregnant women. Her face turned pale and then red.
"Maybe Morgue is haunted?" Ye Qi guessed.
"..." Ye Qi's excessive imagination made Yu Hanjiang frown and look back at him. "Don't talk nonsense. Why are you even talking about the haunted Morgue? This isn't the supernatural world."
"Ahem." Ye Qi lowered his head sheepishly. "I was just guessing."
"It's not entirely a wild guess." Yu Hanjiang's calm gaze swept over his teammates as he said, " Ye Qi is right about at least one thing— Morgue is the place most closely connected to the body. Since we're in the Hospital, and the case I'm investigating is a dismemberment case, and the body parts haven't been fully recovered yet, perhaps we can go to Morgue to look for clues."
A nighttime visit to Morgue sounds exciting.
Such stimulating activities are not suitable for children, pregnant women, people with disabilities, or the elderly.
Liu Qiao glanced at her teammates and said, "I'll go." She only had a blood disease, so her movements were not restricted. Moreover, she had a medical background and had seen corpses, so she wasn't afraid of an environment like " Morgue."
Yu Hanjiang had always known that Xiao Liu was very brave and calm in the face of trouble. Seeing that she had volunteered, Yu Hanjiang felt relieved and said, "Okay. Xiao Liu, go back and get some sleep."
"Get plenty of rest, I'll go to Morgue with Xiao Lou tomorrow to investigate some clues..."
As they were talking, they heard a familiar, gentle voice.
"No need for tomorrow, let's go tonight."
Everyone turned around and saw Xiao Lou wearing black trousers and a white shirt. Although he was thin, he was tall and well-proportioned. Compared to his teammates, who were all elderly, young, sick, disabled, or pregnant, he was the only normal person.
However, he looked exhausted, with obvious dark circles under his eyes, and didn't seem to be in good spirits.
Upon seeing him appear, Yu Hanjiang immediately strode up to him and asked softly, "Why are you awake?"
Xiao Lou looked at the other person in confusion: "I also want to ask you, why didn't you call me for the assembly?"
Yu Hanjiang explained, "You haven't rested for 30 hours straight, and your body is working beyond its limits. I wanted you to get some sleep, so I didn't wake you. Anyway, you've already reviewed the case materials, so it's the same if I assign tasks to everyone."
Xiao Lou felt a warmth in her heart and said softly, "It's okay to be a little tired, at least I can move around freely. Compared to you, everyone else has all sorts of illnesses and is actually having a harder time. You don't need to give me special treatment."
Yu Hanjiang understood Xiao Lou's meaning and nodded, saying, "Okay, I'll definitely call you for future meetings."
The teammates couldn't hear what the two were saying.
However, everyone breathed a sigh of relief when Xiao Lou showed up. After experiencing so many escape rooms, everyone felt that Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou were the perfect team, and their presence would greatly increase their chances of winning.
Xiao Lou walked up to his teammates and asked with concern, "Are you all feeling alright? If you're sick, see a doctor immediately if you feel unwell."
Old Mo smiled wryly and said, "Although I've become an old man, I feel alright. It's just that my surgical wound is a bit painful. I can't eat for the past few days and can only rely on IV fluids to keep me alive."
Long Sen said, " Professor Xiao, don't worry. Apart from having to use a wheelchair and having difficulty moving around, I'm not feeling unwell."
Qu Wanyue, Liu Qiao, and Ye Qi also said that there was nothing seriously wrong.
Xiao Lou was relieved and looked at Yu Hanjiang, asking, "Do you think Morgue might have a clue?"
Yu Hanjiang nodded: "The body of the deceased Cheng Shaoyu has not yet been found, and the most suspicious Cheng Shaofeng has disappeared. When I went to Cheng Shaofeng's villa to investigate, I was inexplicably shot. The person who shot me was not Cheng Shaofeng."
He paused for a moment, then carefully explained his deduction to his teammates: "The Cheng family's property has not yet been assigned an heir. Cheng Shaoyu and Cheng Shaofeng are half-brothers, and there is a direct conflict of interest between them. So when we discovered that the deceased was Cheng Shaoyu, we immediately listed the younger brother as a suspect and went to investigate."
"My brother is already dead. If Cheng Shaofeng really did kill him, after Old Master Cheng retires, he will become the sole heir of the Cheng family. The smartest thing for him to do is to clear his name, retain his inheritance rights, and distance himself from the case of his brother's murder, rather than shooting at the police who come to investigate. Besides, our investigation has always been confidential, and no one knew in advance that I would go to see Cheng Shaofeng."
Xiao Lou recalled the harrowing moment when he rescued Yu Hanjiang, and his palms broke out in a cold sweat. "You mean, it wasn't Cheng Shaofeng who shot you, but someone who intended to kill Cheng Shaofeng, happened to run into you, and so they just took care of you too?"
Yu Hanjiang nodded: "Yes, Cheng Shaofeng shouldn't have fired when he saw the police. We didn't have any evidence at the time; we were just listing him as a suspect for a preliminary investigation. Firing a gun would have been digging his own grave, and it didn't fit his motive for murder. So, I'm more inclined to believe that Cheng Shaofeng wasn't the murderer of his brother, nor was he the one who shot me."
Yu Hanjiang took out Cheng Shaofeng's resume and handed it to everyone, saying in a low voice, "I want to check the Hospital's Morgue for another reason—this Cheng Shaofeng studied at Medical School and obtained his master's degree at the age of 24. He only gave up medicine to go into business after graduation."
"He gave up medicine for business?" Ye Qi's eyes widened. "He used to study medicine. Does that mean many of his classmates work at this hospital now? Maybe Zhao Sen knows him too... Could it be that Zhao Sen isn't the murderer in this case, but rather a witness?"
While such a change of identity is absurd, Ye Qi's speculation is not entirely unfounded. After all, Zhao Sen's murder is the second stage, and it's already at the tenth stage. Arranging for Zhao Sen to appear before everyone to create panic, only for him to become a witness instead?
It seems that the Hearts case is inextricably linked to the Hospital.
With that in mind, Xiao Lou immediately made a decision: "Everyone go back to your wards first, Liu Qiao and I will go to Morgue together."
Ye Qi raised his hand and said, "I want to go too. I don't have any mobility issues."
Xiao Lou calmly stopped him: "Your pneumonia hasn't fully healed, and your cough will be hard to control. Besides, it would be hard to explain if a little kid like you were spotted in Morgue. Let Liu Qiao and I go instead."
Yu Hanjiang had planned it this way before. He glanced at Xiao Lou and said, "Everyone, listen to Xiao Lou's instructions. You have other tasks. It's 0:30 AM now, everyone in the ward is resting. Go back and get a good night's sleep to recharge. When you wake up tomorrow morning, try to memorize the information of all the medical staff and patients in the ward, especially those critically ill patients, who need close monitoring." A cold glint flashed in Yu Hanjiang's eyes as he said in a deep voice, "If anyone in your ward dies, immediately inform Xiao Lou."
Everyone nodded to indicate that they understood.
Xiao Lou asked Yu Hanjiang to guide everyone through Peach Blossom Spring.
The entrance to Peach Blossom Spring is located in the VIP Ward on the 7th floor. Therefore, when people come out of Peach Blossom Spring, they all gather at the entrance, which is also the ward where Yu Hanjiang is located.
This card can summon or teleport everyone together, but its drawback is that it cannot send everyone back to their original positions before the summoning.
At this time, all wards were sealed off. Ye Qi and Qu Wanyue could use their cards to climb back into their wards through the windows, but Long Sen and Lao Mo, who had difficulty moving around, had a hard time going back alone. Regarding this, Tao Yuanming was frequently mentioned. Xiao Lou of Card had already planned his escape route.
He went to the duty room to find a clean nursery gown for Liu Qiao to wear, then put on his white coat. He then pushed a spare hospital bed over and laid Lao Mo on it. The two of them calmly escorted Lao Mo back to the endocrinology ward, with Long Sen following behind in a wheelchair.
Since Xiao Lou is the chief resident, he has unimpeded access to the hospital. It is normal for doctors and nurses to take patients to the hospital late at night. When the on-duty nurse in the ward is suspicious, Xiao Lou says that he is the chief resident of surgery and takes the patient to register some information.
The chief resident status certainly provides many benefits to teammates.
After settling Lao Mo and Long Sen in, Xiao Lou and Liu Qiao took the elevator downstairs and went to Morgue together.
The Morgue at the hospital is quite far from the inpatient ward.
It was already one in the morning, and the streets were deserted. Even when they occasionally encountered medical staff rushing by, no one suspected the two of their whereabouts when they saw Xiao Lou's white coat and Liu Qiao's nursery rash.
The two walked quickly and soon arrived at the entrance of Morgue.
A silver metal door separated them from another world; inside the door lay only corpses.
Xiao Lou asked Liu Qiao softly, "Aren't you scared?"
Liu Qiao remained calm: "What's so scary about dead people? It's the psychopaths in the living who are truly frightening."
Xiao Lou: "..."
This girl is indeed a good candidate for medical school; she was able to speak so calmly at the entrance of Morgue.
Xiao Lou chuckled and gave Liu Qiao a thumbs up, then stepped forward and opened the door to Morgue.
A blast of cold air rushed down their necks, causing both of them to shiver.
Liu Qiao followed Xiao Lou inside without changing her expression. Xiao Lou lowered her voice and said, "Separately search."