Ambiguous Nocturne and the Mysterious Medical Record

Shen Yu nodded, patted Yu Chengyi’s arm, and then left.

Back in the room, Xie Tu hadn't returned yet, and it was unknown where he had gone. It was getting late, but Shen Yu didn't feel sleepy at all. He immediately sat down at the desk and took out a pen and paper.

Relying on his memory, he wrote down 'Chronic Empty Shell Encephalitis.' Although he didn't know exactly what kind of disease it was, if all the patients had this medical history, it was very strange.

*What symptoms would someone with this disease have...*

Shen Yu lowered his head in deep thought. There were also those titles mentioned in their conversation; every part was suspicious. But one thing was certain: the people mentioned likely didn't have a major connection to this dungeon.

The most suspicious person right now was the Director. Why did his hospital have so many patients with similar medical histories?

However, the limitations here were too great. An idea, both bold and dangerous, gradually formed in Shen Yu’s mind.

Using his memory, Shen Yu drew the layout of the second floor on the paper.

About half an hour passed, and drowsiness began to take over. Shen Yu still hadn't seen Xie Tu return. He stood up and stretched, then went to the window to close it.

"Xie Tu, I’m going to sleep." He wasn't sure if Xie Tu could hear him, but he wanted to say it anyway, partly for his own comfort. After all, as a caregiver, it was one thing for the patient to disappear, but he still wanted to sleep in peace.

After saying that, Shen Yu pulled the curtains shut.

He bent over to start tidying the items on the desk. The desk lamp cast a warm, dim light on Shen Yu’s face, coating him in a soft glow. Beneath his lashes, he looked beautiful and gentle.

His white shirt was translucent under the light. Although he was dressed neatly, the light outlined his slim, firm waist, exuding an alluring scent.

Unfortunately, he didn't realize it himself.

As he reached out to turn off the lamp, he noticed a new shadow on the floor that didn't belong to him. It was creeping toward him.

Once Shen Yu discovered it, it stopped pretending. With lightning speed, it wrapped around Shen Yu’s waist. Shen Yu reached out to touch it, only to have his wrist ensnared. It was Xie Tu’s tentacle again!

It swept everything off the desk. The lamp hit the floor with a loud crash, plunging the room into darkness. Shen Yu could no longer see.

Xie Tu pushed him down onto the desk and pinned his wrists. His knee pushed Shen Yu’s legs apart as he moved forward. The force of the tentacle on Shen Yu’s waist was expertly applied. Shen Yu couldn't help but let out a soft gasp, and his back muscles relaxed.

"Xie Tu!?" Shen Yu’s upper body was pressed against Xie Tu’s, his hands pinned behind his back. In short, Shen Yu was in a very vulnerable position.

Xie Tu let out an "Mm." "You called me."

"When did I call you?" Shen Yu looked up, his thin lips brushing against Xie Tu’s chin.

Xie Tu’s Adam's apple bobbed. "You called my name, then said you were sleeping."

Shen Yu let out a sigh. "So that's how it is?"

"Mm." Xie Tu nodded. His tentacle couldn't help but caress Shen Yu’s beautiful spine. His knee pressed against Shen Yu’s hip. For Shen Yu, this posture lacked any sense of security; it felt like being at someone else's mercy.

Shen Yu looked at Xie Tu’s lips, which were inches away. He used a bit of strength in his waist to straighten up, then pressed his lips against Xie Tu’s. Their lips met once more.

Xie Tu’s pupils contracted, his eyes widening. He saw Shen Yu close his beautiful eyes, his lashes trembling uncontrollably. Every twitch tugged at Xie Tu’s heart.

It was beating again—his heart that wasn't supposed to exist.

This time was different from the previous simple press. Shen Yu even lightly bit his lower lip. Xie Tu didn't know if the other man was moved, but the unnatural reaction of his own body made him feel he needed to be rational.

He liked the scent on Shen Yu, which was why he liked clinging to him.

But this kind of crossing the line was no longer the relationship in his memory.

Xie Tu hurriedly pulled away. He left Shen Yu’s lips and looked into his blurred, watery eyes. For a moment, Xie Tu felt regret, but when Shen Yu leaned in again, Xie Tu retreated in fear.

In an instant, all the restraints on Shen Yu vanished.

His body relaxed. Hearing Xie Tu’s uneven breathing, Shen Yu smiled. He propped one leg on the desk, rested his hands on his knee, and tilted his chin up. Looking at Xie Tu, he said, "What are you running from, Mr. Xie?"

"You, you!" Xie Tu’s ears were bright red. "You're doing it again!"

Shen Yu burst out laughing, his laughter as clear as a mountain spring. He didn't know how beautiful he looked at this moment.

Xie Tu had messed up his clothes. Two buttons on his shirt had popped off somewhere. His clothes were wrinkled, revealing half of his white waist. His lips, which were usually pale, were now moist. With just a curl of his lips, Xie Tu felt Shen Yu was doing it on purpose.

The tentacles behind Xie Tu began to move toward Shen Yu uncontrollably, but Xie Tu grabbed them and pulled them back. He turned his head away and walked to the edge of the bed in embarrassment.

Shen Yu’s legs were still a bit weak. He was slightly surprised. Both times Xie Tu had done this, he had accurately touched his sensitive spots—a certain place on the back of his neck and the small of his back. Was it a coincidence, or something else?

Unable to figure it out, Shen Yu hopped off the desk, his feet stumbling slightly.

Then, light from outside filtered in. Shen Yu could only see a blurry figure by the window. He took two steps forward, getting closer to Xie Tu.

"Weren't you the one who started it?" Shen Yu didn't intend to let Xie Tu off the hook so easily.

But Xie Tu couldn't continue the discussion. He frantically stuffed himself under the covers without saying a word.

Shen Yu was in a great mood and didn't provoke him further. He sat back on his bed and said, "Alright, alright. I’m really going to sleep. Don't smother yourself to death."

Xie Tu turned over, his back to him.

The room fell silent again. Shen Yu’s lips were still a bit numb. He tossed and turned for a long time before falling asleep.

Once steady breathing could be heard, Xie Tu finally poked his head out from under the blanket. Looking at Shen Yu’s peaceful sleeping face, Xie Tu thought of something, and his mood immediately sank.

A dreamless night.

——

The next morning, the sound of footsteps in the hallway woke Shen Yu. He opened his groggy eyes and instinctively looked toward the door.

Xie Tu’s bed was empty. Shen Yu rubbed his eyes and looked toward the window. Xie Tu had woken up at some point. The desk that had been messed up last night had been tidied by him.

He was currently sitting by the window in deep thought. His eyes peered through the glass, looking at something unknown. He looked deep and mysterious, with a dark light emanating from the corners of his eyes.

Like a painting of an ancient Greek god.

Xie Tu seemed to sense something. He turned his head and met Shen Yu’s gaze.

Those eyes were very cold, carrying a sense of passing judgment. Shen Yu felt that Xie Tu’s appeal lay exactly in this.

"You're awake?" Xie Tu asked.

Shen Yu nodded. "It's so noisy outside."

"Someone died, so it's noisy," Xie Tu said with a nod.

"?" Shen Yu was stunned for a moment. "Someone died again?"

"Mm."

Shen Yu hurriedly threw off the covers, put on his shoes, and opened the door. Having just woken up, his clothes were untidy. His neck was as white and beautiful as a swan's as he poked his head out to see the scene outside.

He saw medical staff passing by, carrying a stretcher. A person on the stretcher was howling. Shen Yu watched as they carried the stretcher past his door.

The person on the stretcher was a patient. His hands and feet were tied tightly, yet he wouldn't stop screaming.

"I’m sick! I’m sick??"

"What exactly is wrong with me! Tell me, what disease do I have?!!"

"I’m not sick, I’m clearly not sick! Let me out?!"

"I’m sick, I’m sick? I’m not sick..."

He kept repeating those few sentences over and over.

Shen Yu lowered his eyes in thought, not quite reacting to why the man had become like this.

He looked toward the room the medical staff had come from. It was the room next to Zhuang Jie’s.

He was about to go over and check the situation, but the Head Nurse suddenly appeared. She called out to everyone watching: "Stop looking, stop looking. Go back and tidy up, get ready for your meal."

"If you have time to watch the commotion, you should spend it thinking of ways to take better care of your patients." The Head Nurse glanced at them, her gaze stern and harsh.

Shen Yu could only suppress his thoughts and return to his room, closing the door. As he turned around, he saw Xie Tu standing only half a meter away. Shen Yu took half a step back and bumped into the door.

He said somewhat reproachfully, "Don't suddenly get so close."

It was just a suggestion, but because his back felt a bit numb, he didn't notice his tone. It sounded a bit like he was acting spoiled.

Xie Tu gave a snort and turned away.

Shen Yu dodged him and went to the coat rack. As he put on his white lab coat, he said, "The patient outside seems to have gone mad."

"They should have gone mad long ago," Xie Tu said dismissively.

"You're colleagues, after all. It's not nice to talk about them like that." Shen Yu assumed the patients and Xie Tu were all NPCs.

Xie Tu corrected him, "I’m not like them."

"Right, right, not the same." Shen Yu played along, though it sounded like he was being perfunctory. Xie Tu didn't get angry; he just watched Shen Yu busying himself.

When it was time to draw blood, Shen Yu saw the newcomer who had been detained yesterday. He found an opportunity to talk to him.

"Hello, my name is Shen Yu." Shen Yu took the initiative to greet him.

The newcomer quickly replied, "Hello, my name is Dan Wan."

"Hello. Can I ask you a question?" Shen Yu gave him a polite smile.

Dan Wan nodded. "Sure, go ahead."

"Weren't you held back on the first floor by someone yesterday? I wanted to ask, what were you doing on the first floor yesterday?" Shen Yu asked.

Dan Wan thought for a moment before saying, "Nothing much. They just told me to wait there while they redid a report for me."

"While you were waiting, was anyone watching you?" Shen Yu asked hurriedly.

Dan Wan shook his head. "No."

Having asked what he wanted, Shen Yu thanked him and said he had no more questions.

The fact that the patient had gone mad was no secret. When they were lining up for food, Zhuang Jie said she had hurried over to see the corpse. Shen Yu said he wanted to go too, so the four-person squad was formed again.

——

Looking at the corpse that had been hacked to death by a sharp weapon, Wang Jiaxin was so scared she covered her eyes, not daring to look further. Yu Chengyi, on the other hand, seemed to have been trained; he even dared to take a few more looks.

"It seems a hidden death condition was triggered," Zhuang Jie said with some regret.

Shen Yu nodded in agreement. "Actually, from what that mad patient said, we can guess a few things."

"For example?" Zhuang Jie was curious about Shen Yu’s opinion.

Shen Yu: "For example, do you remember him asking what disease he had? He is a patient at the Alpha De Nursing Hospital, so why wouldn't he know what disease he has?"

"If you ask me, they don't know specifically what disease they have. This newcomer probably asked him what his disease was." Shen Yu raised an eyebrow, stating his unformed idea.

Zhuang Jie agreed. "Actually, my thoughts aren't much different from yours."

At this point, Shen Yu told them what he had discovered at the Head Nurse’s place last night, though he automatically omitted the conversation between the Director and the others.

"Chronic Empty Shell Encephalitis..." Zhuang Jie rubbed her chin. "What kind of disease is that?"

Wang Jiaxin: "I’ve never heard of it."

"Me neither." Yu Chengyi had a relative who was a doctor and knew a bit about rare diseases, but he had never heard of this one. "But judging by the name, it sounds terrifying."

Shen Yu: "To find out what kind of disease it is, I have an unformed idea."