The door was kicked open from the outside, slamming against the wall. On the rebound, it seemed to hit something before striking the wall again, finally swinging shut with a heavy thud.
In the darkness, only the sound of irregular dragging and strange, rhythmic thumping echoed through the room.
Que Tang huddled tightly in the locker, clutching her discarded clothes and her phone. The static in her right ear grew increasingly sharp. She was past the point of showing outward fear; her entire body was frozen, curled into a rigid ball.
*Clang—*
The first locker was wrenched open. The screech of rusted iron, unused for years, was particularly piercing in the silence. Finding nothing, the intruder shuffled unsteadily toward the second one.
Listening to the approaching sound of opening doors, Que Tang couldn't help but communicate with Xiao Xianggu through her mind. *“Hey, is wearing this really going to work?”*
“Meow~ It works. This game has a special mechanic called ‘Disguise.’ As long as you dress like the monsters, you gain the ‘Ally’ title. These monsters will simply perceive you as one of their own.”
*“R-really? You better not be lying to me. Do you know how lewd this nurse outfit feels? And I even had to put on the cap. Besides, what is up with the skirts in this hospital being so short? And why is it so form-fitting?”* Que Tang tugged uncomfortably at the hem of her skirt.
“Meow~ It’s fine. It’s not like it’s tight across the chest for you, Host.”
*“You looking for a fight?!”* Que Tang wanted to keep bickering with Xiao Xianggu, but the sound of the locker next to hers being opened snapped her back to reality.
Her teeth chattered involuntarily as she waited for her own locker to be opened.
*Creeeeeak—*
As the locker door swung open, a draft of air carrying the stench of decay rushed toward her nose. In the impenetrable darkness, Que Tang felt something slowly lean in from the outside. It stopped right in front of her just as she was about to scream in terror.
*Thump, thump, thump, thump…*
The violent pounding of her heart drowned out the static in her earpiece, booming in her ears. She suppressed the urge to gasp for air, watching for the thing’s next move while her left hand slowly shifted toward the iron bar resting at her side.
Just as she was about to strike, the creature retreated. Que Tang was about to breathe a sigh of relief when a beam of light suddenly cut through the darkness.
She saw the creature clearly—it was the same faceless nurse monster that had chased her earlier. The nurse, who had been about to leave, turned its featureless face back toward her.
Que Tang looked down at the iPhone 6 in her right hand. She hadn't touched it, yet it had lit up on its own. The screen displayed: *Download Update Package? Yes / No.*
She silently turned off the screen and hid the phone behind her back. As soon as the light vanished, the nurse monster continued to the next locker. After opening every single one and failing to find what it was looking for, it finally shuffled out the door.
Only when the static faded from her earpiece did Que Tang collapse onto the floor in total relief.
*“…This phone actually updates? Are you kidding me? There’s no Wi-Fi here.”* With lingering fear, she tapped the screen and hit ‘Yes.’ It actually began to update.
“Our Meow Star technology mastered isotopic transmission long ago. Outdated junk like Wi-Fi was phased out two hundred years ago. Meow~”
Que Tang ignored the cat and watched the update finish. A new function appeared: *Monster Radar.*
“Ah… the Central System is so good to you, Host, actually giving you the Monster Radar. With this, you can detect any monsters within a hundred-meter radius of yourself. Of course, it’s a huge battery drain. Meow~”
*“…Then why give me something that drains the battery?”* Que Tang checked her stamina bar; it was down to a heart and a half. An hour had already passed, and she hadn't found a single thing. *“I’m not going to make it.”* Despite her complaints, she resigned herself to her fate and stood up to continue searching the lockers.
Without the immediate threat of monsters, she moved quickly, finding two cans of Red Bull, a medical kit, a functional flashlight, an oil lamp, and a box of matches.
She wanted to complain about the flashlight still working, but remembering how absurd the game’s settings were, she swallowed her words. She opened the Red Bulls and downed both in one go.
Feeling her stamina gradually recover, Que Tang felt a sense of wonder. However, the thought of having to continue her exploration in a nurse’s uniform killed any desire to praise Xiao Xianggu.
She turned on the flashlight and walked to the door, finding a hospital directory on the wall. To her surprise, there was a charger at the base of the wall. She immediately plugged her phone in. While waiting, she used the flashlight to study the map.
“The way I came from… there’s a staircase ten meters from the locker room. The third floor is… the Pediatric Ward?” she muttered, pointing at the label. “Alright.” She picked up her phone, checked the Monster Radar to confirm no monsters were within a hundred meters, and then turned it off. Since the nurse outfit had no pockets, she had to shamefully tuck the phone into her cleavage.
“Host… if you tuck it there, be careful it doesn't fall out. Meow…” Xiao Xianggu stared at her flat chest and offered a kind reminder.
*“…Are you implying something? Don't worry, I’ve always used breast pads in my bras.”* Que Tang retorted, her sense of modesty long gone.
“I never realized you used pads… Meow…” Xiao Xianggu turned its head away.
Que Tang kicked at the cat in a fit of embarrassment. Yet, she couldn't deny that despite its bluntness, the cat’s presence dispelled much of her fear. Gripping the flashlight and her iron bar, she took a deep breath and stepped out the door.
She encountered no monsters along the way and successfully reached the third floor. There, the phantoms she had seen on the first floor reappeared. The nurses pushed the gurney past her, heading toward the right wing. She hurried after them.
They pushed the bed into Room 332. Que Tang stood at the door and glanced at the room number.
She stepped forward, passing through the phantoms busy intubating the patient, and checked the chart at the head of the bed.
“Third-degree burns. Name…” She reached out to wipe away the dust. “Ai… ti?” As she spoke the name, she suddenly felt as if she were being watched. She instinctively looked back and saw that the once-busy phantoms had all stopped, staring directly at her. Que Tang held her breath. Just as she tried to back away, her right hand was suddenly seized. She looked down; Aiti, who had been motionless on the bed, had her eyes wide open. The bandages covering her mouth were writhing as if she were trying to say something.
Que Tang recoiled in terror, but the girl’s grip was so tight that Que Tang was pulled down with her as she fell from the bed.
Suddenly, a powerful blast of static erupted in her earpiece, accompanied by a piercing headache that forced her to shut her eyes. When she finally adjusted and opened them again… Aiti and the phantoms were gone. The dim, dark hospital had transformed into an orange-hued space.
The walls, the ceiling, and even the floor she stood upon were covered in a layer of pulsating, flesh-like matter that seemed to breathe.
*“WTF… the Otherworld. Did you really have to make this game so realistic?”* Stepping on the fleshy masses made her want to vomit.
“Host, that’s not important. You have to defeat the Boss of the Otherworld before you can return to the Fog World. Meow.”
She stowed the flashlight, gripped her iron bar, and pulled the phone from her chest to check the radar. There was a red dot to her right. She slowly walked out the door and headed toward it, the grotesque scenery of the Otherworld making her dizzy with nausea.
As the static in her ear became deafening, she finally saw it at the end of the hall: a massive black entity devouring a hospital monster alive.
It had a pointed head, its body covered in rotting meat and contracting, breathing tumors.
Que Tang stared at the monster and finally said with a martyr’s resolve: “I’m going to save Ruan Mianmian.”
Hearing her voice, the monster stopped and turned around, revealing its front. The main body was a mass of charred, putrid flesh, but in the very center was a man’s face, a severed leg still clamped in its teeth.
*“That is way too gross.”* She shoved her phone securely back into her bra padding. Gripping the iron bar, she charged forward, bashing the creature with all her might. But even when she reduced it to a pulp, the Otherworld remained. Suddenly, Que Tang saw the face trying to escape. Remembering that monsters only die when their weak point is hit, she realized the face was the core. She raised the iron bar and struck it ruthlessly—[Bleep—Too bloody to display].
The next moment, the hospital returned to its dim, dark state. The static in her earpiece vanished.
She quickly pulled out her phone, selected the oil lamp and matches, and lit the lamp to survey her surroundings.
On the floor where the monster had died lay a key and a yellowed newspaper clipping.
She knelt to pick them up. The moment she touched the key, a notification chimed: *Player has obtained Aiti’s Treasure Box Key.*
*“Treasure box?”* She picked up the clipping. It detailed an incident where a girl named Aiti was tragically burned while playing with fire. At the very bottom was a photo of Aiti.
*“This… really is another version of Ruan Mianmian.”* Que Tang frowned. But unlike the photo of the nine-year-old Ruan Mianmian, Aiti looked gloomy and dark.
“Host, I suggest you escape the hospital quickly. Once the Otherworld is cleared, the scene will collapse. Meow.” Xiao Xianggu had barely finished its warning when the building began to shudder.
*“…Could you have said that sooner?!”* She quickly stowed the clipping, grabbed her lamp and iron bar, and sprinted down the stairs, dodging falling debris. Xiao Xianggu, finally acting like a proper guide, navigated her back toward the main lobby. Though she heard noises along the way, she miraculously encountered nothing.
However, as she stepped out of the corridor, the lamplight revealed the entire lobby was packed with monsters. Sensing the light, they all turned to look at her.
*“WTF!”* Que Tang’s eye twitched. Without hesitation, she hurled the oil lamp into a different corridor.
Instantly, the silent monsters in the lobby swarmed toward the light.
She sprinted for the exit, raising her iron bar to smash through the glass doors.
Que Tang collapsed onto the grass outside, watching as the hospital crumbled into ruins the moment she stepped out.
Exhausted beyond words, she could only pant for breath.
She checked the remaining time on her phone: 5:32:41.
*“Only five and a half hours left.”* She struggled to push herself up using the iron bar when a bell suddenly tolled in the distance, echoing through the entire town.
The thick fog began to dissipate as if being sucked away, and the grey-white sky was stained a deep orange. Que Tang stood frozen, unsure of what to do.
“Why aren't you hiding? What are you standing there for? If you don't hide now, it’ll be too late.” A weary woman’s voice came from behind her. Before Que Tang could react, the middle-aged woman grabbed her and pulled her into a nearby house.
Once inside, Que Tang gripped her iron bar warily, watching the woman.
The woman didn't seem to care. She drew all the curtains, ensuring not a sliver of light could be seen from the outside, and lit an oil lamp. “Whenever the town bell rings, *He* comes out. If He sees you, you’ll be sacrificed,” she explained, her face etched with exhaustion.
*“He?”* Que Tang asked, leaning against the door.
“Yes. The monster summoned by those who call themselves Saints.” The woman’s eyes were full of sorrow. “Ever since the people from the church tricked me and sacrificed my daughter by fire, Silent Hill has become this twisted place. Everyone is gone. Only I remain…”
“Are you… Aiti’s mother?” Que Tang listened quietly before hesitatingly asking the question.
***
