I Run Away with the Earth to Save the World [Unlimited Flow] - Chapter 105

The very next moment, as the phone signal cut out, the corridor lights went out too.

In the dim night, they couldn’t even see their hands in front of them.

Before anyone had time to pull a flashlight from their backpacks, they instinctively turned on their phones for light. In the mixed blue and purple hues of the phone screens, everyone’s face took on an eerie glow.

But no one had time to worry about that now.

Jing Qizhen quickly swept his gaze across the phone lights. Including his own, there were eight light sources but they had come in as a group of ten.

To enter an erosion area, a person must resonate with it in some way.

They already knew from past experience that not everyone successfully enters the erosion area every time.

Jing Qizhen’s gaze quickly turned to the people around him.

Manman, Si Jiayang, Grandma Fang, Wilcox, Jin Guijuan, Old Xiao, and Lu Lingxi were all still there. Even though they had experience entering the erosion area before, the sudden event still made everyone’s heart skip a beat.

As for the usually quiet Yan Hong and Gu Leshan, who had just been holding the building map, they had vanished without a trace.

Jing Qizhen let out a light breath, then ended the call on his now signal-less phone and said gravely, “The erosion area appeared earlier than expected. Yan Hong and Gu Leshan probably didn’t make it in.”

Manman glanced at her phone screen and said calmly, “22:13. Compared to the original prediction of 2 a.m., that’s a nearly four-hour deviation.”

Such a large deviation in timing basically confirmed that the newly built mathematical modeling system had completely failed in fitting the data for the erosion area.

Jing Qizhen gave a small nod.

Although the exact time of the erosion area’s appearance had some impact, it wasn’t the most critical factor.

What worried him more was the fact that from the beginning, the energy fluctuations of the erosion area had been different from the previous two. That could mean new and unknown changes had occurred inside.

He didn’t hide his concerns and voiced them all.

He wasn’t the only one who had realized it.

The group fell silent.

Lu Lingxi gently reassured, “Everyone, just stay alert. Don’t rely too heavily on past experience.”

Everyone nodded.

Anxious emotions spread silently in everyone’s hearts but they all covered it up well, except for Old Xiao, who was instinctively sweating. But Old Xiao’s sweating was pretty normal, so everyone was used to it by now.

Then, Jing Qizhen quickly walked over to the window on the third-floor landing and looked outside.

The new outpatient building of Binhai City’s Second Municipal Hospital, which had just been built in recent years, had vanished.

The night outside was pitch-dark. The courtyard was eerily silent and gloomy. The neatly trimmed shrubs and paved paths had all reverted to old-style concrete. A large tree near the guard’s room had a single, outdated bulb hanging from it, now the only source of light in the yard.

Jing Qizhen lowered his voice, “This erosion area’s time frame is set in the past but we don’t know exactly when.”

Old Xiao, now sweating all over his forehead and with goosebumps down his arms, trembled as he said, “It must be before 2010. I just noticed that the air conditioning units outside the building are all gone.”

Jin Guijuan was cautiously observing her surroundings and couldn’t help but whisper, “Why did that retired hospital director tell us not to go up to the fourth floor?”

Grandma Fang hesitated, “I feel like… someone who can be a hospital director probably isn’t the type to believe in ghosts or the supernatural.”

After all, hospitals are one of the places that see the most life, death, and human experience.

Lu Lingxi perked up his ears. His observational skills were sharp. He whispered, “It’s extremely quiet around us. Other than us, there’s no movement at all.”

Jin Guijuan asked softly, “Should we turn on all the lights in the stairwell?”

Fear of the dark is instinctual for humans. Beyond the darkness itself, what terrifies people is the unknown hiding within it.

Si Jiayang hesitated, “That might attract things, right?”

After all, the entire building was dark and they’d be the only ones with any light. But even he felt that if they insisted on not turning the lights on, it didn’t make much sense either.

Jing Qizhen surprisingly remained calm. “It’s fine. Turning them all on or none at all makes little difference.”

Manman said coolly, “Let’s turn them on then. Better visibility anyway.”

Though they had night vision gear, aside from Lu Lingxi, who had a military background, most ordinary people weren’t used to it. Turning on the lights would be better.

Jing Qizhen led by example, reaching out and pressing the stairwell light switch based on memory.

With a click, the light came on.

As expected of an old building, the stairwell had those large, vintage bulbs. The light they gave off was a sleepy yellow hue.

But it was enough for Jing Qizhen and the others to see their teammates and surroundings clearly.

Everyone unconsciously breathed a little easier.

When surrounded by companions, a brightly lit space does wonders for one’s sense of security.

While putting his phone back into his pocket, Jing Qizhen added, “Later, let’s turn on all the lights in the rooms and hallways we pass through.”

Lu Lingxi muttered under his breath, “Horror games always love using thunder and darkness to create atmosphere.”

Jing Qizhen chuckled and teased, “Right? Just imagine ghosts messing around in a brightly lit house with 400-watt floodlights. What a vibe!”

The others still had to imagine that scenario but horror game enthusiast Si Jiayang immediately visualized the scene vividly.

Si Jiayang: “…”

Honestly, his partner and Jing Qizhen had a point.

With the lights back on, Jing Qizhen’s gaze swept up the stairway and suddenly, a realization hit him.

When they had first reached the third floor, it had been too dim to notice.

But now with the lights on, they could see everything clearly. Jin Guijuan’s earlier question of why the retired director warned them not to go up to the fourth floor surfaced again in everyone’s minds.

They were standing just a few meters away from the third-floor stairwell. Above them was only the ceiling. There was no staircase leading further up.

***

Back when the sudden incident occurred and Jing Qizhen’s group vanished into thin air, Yan Hong and Gu Leshan remained behind.

When surrounded by people in the dark, it’s hard to instantly realize someone is missing.

But for Yan Hong and Gu Leshan, all the others had vanished at once while the lights were still working, leaving only the two of them.

They exchanged a glance.

Yan Hong frowned slightly. “The erosion area has formed. They’ve already entered it.”

Gu Leshan immediately pulled out his phone to call the retired hospital director who was still at the hotel, while saying to Yan Hong, “Let’s go!”

Yan Hong nodded.

The two of them quickly ran outside.

When the call had suddenly cut off earlier, the retired director had felt a jolt of worry. A few seconds later, when a new call came in, he quickly answered, “Hello?”

Gu Leshan’s voice was urgent, “What’s the deal with the fourth floor of the old hospital building?!”

The former director, who had been cut off mid-sentence before, immediately explained, “That old building originally had only three floors! Later, because of space issues, a fourth floor was added above the third. That was sometime in the ’90s. I was worried that if you went up now and the fourth floor didn’t exist yet, you’d fall down or worse, the whole roof might collapse…”

Gu Leshan and Yan Hong, running down the stairs: “=口=!??”

That reason was… something else!

Yan Hong rubbed his forehead. “We need to get this message to Little Jing and the others.”

Gu Leshan: “How? We can’t communicate with the Babyball. Unless it happens to be watching us right now, it can’t tell Little Jing!”

Before he even finished, Gu Leshan suddenly changed his tone, “Ah! I’ve got it. How about we set up a voice recorder to play it nearby?”

Yan Hong: “I think writing a bunch of notes and leaving them on the table works better. The Earth can read… or maybe we should hold them for now, then stick them on the wall.”

Gu Leshan: “Alright, let’s do that!”

They stopped at once, not even listening to the retired director’s anxious voice on the other end of the line anymore. They dug out pen and paper from their bags and quickly wrote down the critical information.

“Babyball, please note that the old building of Binhai City’s Second Municipal Hospital originally only had three floors. The current fourth floor was added later!”

Gu Leshan, chewing on his pen cap, mumbled anxiously, “Who knows when the Babyball will check in…?”

Yan Hong: “It doesn’t matter. That thing will show up eventually. Let’s head back to the hotel and keep asking about events from these past years. We’ll print everything out for Little Jing and the others.”

Gu Leshan capped the pen and shoved it back in his bag, holding the paper for the Earth in one hand. Crisp and efficient, he said, “Let’s go!”

Inside the erosion area, everyone stood at the stairwell, staring at the old building that clearly only had three floors. They looked at each other in confusion.

Grandma Fang sighed sincerely, “Isn’t this just like those classic TV drama moments, when someone’s about to reveal the truth, the real culprit, or the protagonist’s background, and they never get the chance to finish the sentence?”

Manman crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow slightly.

Jing Qizhen smiled. “It’s not that bad. Brother Yan and Leshan were left outside, so they’ll help follow up.”

Everyone thought about it and quickly calmed down.

In his mind, Jing Qizhen called out, “Babyball? Are you there?”

The silent Earth replied, “I’ve been observing the erosion area this whole time.”

Jing Qizhen perked up slightly. “Have you discovered anything new?”

The Earth answered bluntly, “Not yet.”

Jing Qizhen: “…”

After a short pause, he said, “Keep watching later. Can you go outside and check the situation for me first?”

The Earth replied casually, “Check who? Tang Song? I already looked into him. Right now, rumors are all mixed up abroad and he’s completely stirred the muddy waters until no one can see the truth. As for David’s dad, he just found out his son ran off with Caroline and somehow got Tang Song’s number. He even called him earlier! Oh, now that I think about it, maybe Tang Song gave it to him on purpose.”

Jing Qizhen: “No, I mean, go check on the retired hospital director from the Second Municipal Hospital or Gu Leshan and Yan Hong.”

The Earth suddenly understood. “Oh, got it. I’m going now!”

Jing Qizhen: “Mm-hmm.”

Less than two minutes later, the Earth returned and vividly described what Gu Leshan and Yan Hong were doing: holding a little note in their hands.

Jing Qizhen repeated it expressionlessly.

Everyone instantly fell silent: “…”

Jin Guijuan asked in surprise, “You can actually add a floor to an old building?”

Grandma Fang said, “At most one or two floors, right? If you add too many, the whole building might collapse.”

Only the Earth still seemed delighted. “Yan Hong and Gu Leshan even left me a note! They told me to check in regularly =v=!”

Jing Qizhen said sincerely, “That’s good. Go check in often.”

The Earth: “Okay, sure! 0.0”

After that, Jing Qizhen and the others carefully inspected the hospital from the third floor, turning on all the lights in the stairwells and offices along the way.

***

Having just flushed the toilet on the fourth floor, a young man was startled to find himself suddenly standing on the rooftop. He looked around in confusion at the completely unguarded roof.

Even without a fear of heights, realizing you’re suddenly standing at the edge of a rooftop is enough to make anyone go pale.

He inhaled sharply. To avoid falling off, he sat down and slowly scooted from the edge to the safer center of the rooftop, trying hard to remember how he got from the bathroom to the rooftop.

But no matter how he tried, he couldn’t recall that part of his memory.

Growing anxious, he hit himself lightly on the head and started to panic. Did he suddenly develop a sleepwalking disorder?

How the hell did he sleepwalk all the way up there!?

Even worse, after crawling around the rooftop to inspect it, he couldn’t find any way to get back down.

With difficulty, he decided to dial 119 to call for help. Once he got down, he’d just check into the ER at the hospital and schedule a psych evaluation tomorrow. No need to call 120 for that.