Chapter 478: The Terrifying Truth About the Department
Having said this, Zhang Fin couldn't help but pause.
He cleared his throat and continued:
"I don't know how to describe the way this stomach ghost grows, but if I have to find a metaphor, then I think it is like character upgrades in a game, such as big fish eating small fish.
In the initial stage, the small fish controlled by our players can only eat shrimps and some plankton that are difficult to detect with the naked eye, in order to maintain their lives, make themselves larger, and at the same time increase their strength.
This is like the initial stage of stomach ghost.
At this stage, the stomach ghost cannot cause any substantial harm to the patient. Apart from the occasional pain and bulging in the abdomen, there should be nothing noteworthy.
Patients at this time often do not notice the changes in their bodies and think that these are just normal symptoms of illness.
However, the subsequent characteristic is a substantial increase in appetite and food intake. Therefore, almost half of the food consumption in the hospital cafeteria is caused by gastroenterology patients, but these people themselves are not aware of it.
As the stomach ghost continues to eat, its size and terror level will also change. Until it evolves to a critical point, the stomach ghost will begin to sleep to prepare for its second stage.
Patients during this period often experience listlessness, physical weakness, and lethargy.
Only after the stomach ghost enters the second stage will its horror be fully revealed.
After the stomach ghost evolves to the second stage, the patient's condition will improve briefly. Most people will think that their condition has begun to alleviate, but little do they know that this is the beginning of the nightmare.
The strength of the evolved stomach ghost will be qualitatively improved.
If we compare it to a big fish eating a small fish, it means that the fish we control has evolved to a terrifying enough stage that nothing in the entire map can threaten it.
At this time, the patient's food intake will return to normal levels, because the stomach ghosts no longer need these normal foods to absorb nutrients, and they will turn their target to the patient himself.
The ghost energy and origin of the patient are their best nourishment. With the nutrition provided by such a great tonic, it only takes a few days for the stomach ghost to evolve to the final stage.
As time goes by, the patient will immediately fall into a state of confusion from that brief period of awakening, and the second stage of gastric ghosts is difficult to remove by normal means.
Unusual means may be able to do this, but at least I have done some research and haven't found any solution.
The stomach ghost during this period has been connected with the patient's origin. The result of forced removal is that the stomach ghost will suffer severe damage, but the patient's origin will directly fragment and lead to death.
The most suitable period to remove the stomach ghost is when the stomach ghost has just invaded, but patients at this period are simply unable to realize any problem, and even if they are aware of it, the hospital will kill the patient before the news is spread.
What's more, we don't even know what methods they used. There seems to be no sign of the stomach ghost's invasion, and the body won't notice it at all."
Speaking of this, Jiang Qinian immediately thought of the rat corpse found under the hospital bed.
So he organized some language, and then said to Zhang Fin:
"The invasion of stomach ghosts...may be some kind of very vicious curse."
"Curse? Why do you say that?"
Hearing this, Zhang Fin seemed a little surprised. He rubbed his cheeks and then continued to ask:
"Did you find something?"
Jiang Qinian nodded.
"Yes, I found a rat corpse under the hospital bed."
"Mouse corpse?"
"Yes, that rat corpse is very strange. Its stomach has been cut open, and the stomach inside has been turned out, wrapping the whole body.
And there is an English word carved on the stomach that was turned out.
"glutton
y" means gluttony.
What you said now corresponds to the stomach ghost.
There are spiritual remnants on the mouse corpse, but I studied it for a while and found nothing unusual. I just felt it was a bit dangerous. Since it is related to the invasion of stomach ghosts, I think it is most likely a curse."
"Hmm... that should be it.
Then did you destroy it??"
After finishing his words, Jiang Qinian shook his head blankly.
"No, since I didn't find anything, I just put the mouse carcass back."
"Put it back?!"
Hearing this, Zhang Fin stood up suddenly, then looked at Jiang Qinian with his mouth open, and for a moment couldn't help but exclaimed:
"You put it back even though you knew it was dangerous?! Has the stomach ghost started to invade you now!?!"
Jiang Qinian continued to shake his head, but in Zhang Fin's eyes, he only felt that Jiang Qinian was a little dazed.
"Hey, let me tell you, no matter what, we are still fellow villagers.
Although the initial meeting was a bit unpleasant, you also know that most evil ghosts are like this. After all, those who can stay in the deep world are not good ones.
But now that you and I have the same interests, how do you say that?
Yes, when I see my fellow villager, my eyes well up with tears. If something really happened to you, why don't you just leave me here?
If I want to go out then, I will have to wait until the Year of the Monkey???"
Seeing Zhang Fin's excited reaction, Jiang Qinian also found it a bit funny, and the distance between him and him suddenly became much closer.
I saw him waving his hands, and then explained with a smile:
"I wasn't even anxious yet, but you became excited first.
What are you afraid of? I'm not stupid. If it's really dangerous, I can still watch it.
Don't worry, that kind of curse method can't do anything to me. The reason why I am sure that the way the stomach ghost invades is a curse is because I have a method in my body to shield the curse.
Since the rat corpse had no effect on me, it means that the anti-curse method in my body worked, and the curse had no effect on me."
Jiang Qinian did not tell the truth.
Any means of shielding the curse are all fake and used to deceive Zhang Fin.
Where does he have any means to shield the curse?
What really makes the rat corpse ineffective is the Styx body.
But he was not just stupid enough to tell the other party his biggest trump card, the Styx Body.
Even the Big Nightmare didn't know about the existence of such secrets. The only people who knew about it were those who were close to him at the Meteorological Bureau, and the rest were silenced by him.
It's true that Zhang Fin is his fellow countryman, but after all, people and ghosts have different paths, so he can't trust him without reservation.
You must not have the intention of harming others, and you must have the intention of guarding against others.
Even if Lao A didn't remind him, he knew that there was no one in the deep world that he could absolutely trust. Maybe if he slowly cultivated a relationship, he could achieve absolute trust, but he and Zhang Fin had just met each other, so they would naturally hide something.
Moreover, this was just to hide his trump card, and it was not to harm the other party, so Jiang Qinian felt no burden.
After finishing speaking, Zhang Fin didn't doubt anything.
After all, there are all kinds of strange abilities in this world. Although the method of shielding curses is rare, it is not unheard of, so he just looked at Jiang Qinian curiously and said nothing more.
As for Jiang Qinian, it was obvious that he had no intention of continuing to discuss this matter, but changed the subject to something else.
"In other words... the reason why the hospital does not allow patients to come into contact with each other is because they are afraid that they will find that patients in different departments have different symptoms and guess the secret behind it.
Once all the patients unite, even if the big nightmare and the hospital executives can suppress it, they will suffer heavy losses in the end. This will outweigh the gains, so it is better to eliminate this possibility from the source."
"You're right, the source of pain in gastroenterology is a stomach ghost, as for orthopedics, the source is a parasitic worm in the bones, and the source of brain pain is a very deformed monster.
But it's useless to say this now. Time is running out. If I stay here all the time, it will inevitably arouse suspicion from others, and the first enemy you need to face now is the Department of Gastroenterology.
The rat corpse is a conjecture. You must not take it for granted that it must be the source of the stomach ghost invasion. More investigation is needed to determine the specific situation.
Also, try not to let that guy surnamed Han discover your abnormality. Although he is not a big boss, he is the most vicious of all the doctors in the Department of Gastroenterology, and he is full of bad things.
Hmm... let me think about what else...
By the way, is the thing you are looking for a person or an object?
I have no other meaning. Since you come to the hospital to look for traces of this thing, it means that it must have been to the hospital before or is still in the hospital.
After all, I’m fairly familiar with this place, so maybe I can provide you with some clues.”
Having said that, Jiang Qinian no longer concealed anything, but said directly to Zhang Fin:
"The thing I'm looking for is a person. He's not very old, about ten years old. He's not in the hospital now, but has escaped and gone to other areas.
I want to find out why he came here and in which direction he finally left."
After saying that, Zhang Fin frowned and started thinking.
After a while, he considered it and said:
"Sorry, I don't have much impression, but if I calculated the time correctly... he should have left in the morning.
Because as a canteen employee, I need to get up at six o'clock every day to prepare the ingredients for the day. However, when I was sleeping in the morning, I seemed to hear some movement outside, and the sound seemed like I was looking for someone.
This kind of thing is not common in hospitals, so I got up and took a look, but found nothing. Just when I was about to go back to bed and continue sleeping, the alarm clock I set rang.
So if this is the person you are looking for, then he should have left between five and six o'clock, and the direction of the sound seems to be north.
Of course, what I said may not be correct, and they may not be the same person at all, so don’t focus entirely on this.
Hmm... In this case, I will tell you the building layout of the hospital in a moment. If you find a chance, go to the security room to check the surveillance, and I will help you find out more."