Chapter 135: Sacred Heart Hospital

"Cough, cough. Is this really Sacred Heart Hospital?" Tanya fanned away the cloud of dust rushing toward her, pushing open the long-sealed doors with marked reluctance.

Judging by its architectural style, the hospital stood in stark contrast to modern buildings, appearing almost entirely out of place in its surroundings. Yet, to Tanya, it didn't feel entirely foreign; instead, she felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

She racked her brain, trying to pinpoint the source of this sensation. It was impossible for a building of such "antiquity" to have appeared in her past life, yet that elusive, lingering sense of recognition refused to leave her mind.

Tanya wasn't surprised by the presence of such an anomalous building nearby. One of the lessons she had learned since becoming a ghost was never to judge the extraordinary by conventional standards. Haunted houses were usually modeled after ancient structures, and the older the architecture, the more powerful the spirits residing within were rumored to be.

Tanya stared silently at the building before her. Well, it was certainly a force she couldn't afford to provoke.

Inside, the hospital was draped in cobwebs, the air thick with black dust, and the floor littered with all manner of discarded debris. Patches of tiles had peeled away from the walls, leaving them looking ragged and bare—every detail conveyed the same message: this hospital had been abandoned for a long time.

"Something's not right," Tanya muttered, scanning her surroundings in confusion, searching for anything out of place. The environment was different from what she had imagined; she had visited legendary haunted houses before, and they hadn't looked like this decrepit ruin.

"Could it be that this is just a gloomy, dilapidated hospital, and there aren't actually any ghosts here at all?"

"Hey! Is there a ghost here?"

The surroundings remained deathly silent. No one stepped forward to answer her, and she let out a frustrated sigh.

She was genuinely disappointed. Not seeing any ghosts meant there was no shortcut to investigating this abandoned hospital—no NPCs to advance the plot like in a video game.

If a hideous monster had suddenly lunged at her, Tanya would have felt the trip was worth it. Unless their lives were actually at stake, who would ever choose to play adventure games in a haunted house? Moreover, the filthy, chaotic environment was enough to dampen her spirits. The prospect of having to search for the so-called "truth" here gave her absolutely no motivation to keep going.

"Damn it, not again!"

Tanya furrowed her brows, fighting the searing sensation in her mind. Ever since she had learned the contents of the contract written on the parchment, she had been plagued by intermittent, splitting headaches and sharp, burning pains.

Otherwise, it would be highly unlikely that she would ever believe the questionable contents written on a piece of paper, let alone be this diligent in searching for the clues left behind by Chu Ning.

"Truly like a persistent specter!"

The thought filled her with irritation. She kicked aside some discarded medical supplies in her path, the clattering sound echoing with jarring clarity through the silent hospital. Suddenly, with a thunderous bang, the two heavy doors of the hospital slammed shut.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Tanya turned, her heart sinking as she stared at the bolted doors. She had been talking tough, hoping for something—anything—to liven up the atmosphere, but she had only been joking!

Please, there's no need to be so accommodating!

Tanya pressed her palms together in a silent prayer. She distinctly remembered that today was clear and windless—a perfect day for an outing!

Hospitals always carried a chill, and Tanya couldn't tell if it was the result of a central air conditioning system or simply a psychological effect. But at the very least, she now understood her situation: she had truly run into a ghost.