Feral Dog

Translator: CinderTL

The elevator ran smoothly until it stopped on the second floor.

When the doors opened, no one dared to move.

It was hard to say why, but it seemed like everyone just wanted to minimize their presence, avoiding the attention of those behind them.

What made Yu Yu feel utterly defeated was that since they didn't move, the figures behind them didn't move either.

The two groups were at a standstill.

The elevator doors remained open, revealing the empty lobby of the second floor.

"Let's go," Jiang Cheng finally spoke.

Although it was Jiang Cheng who spoke, he didn't move. The people on either side of him pressed close, and the icy chill felt like a thin blade of ice grazing his skin.

Holding his breath, Yu Yu was the first to step out.

Then came Cao Yang.

Neither of them dared to look back.

Jiang Cheng was the last to leave.

Only after Jiang Cheng stepped out did everyone notice a cold aura emanating from the elevator behind them.

A few seconds later, a creaking sound came from not far away.

Following the sound, Yu Yu couldn't help but gasp at the sight before him.

In the corridor to the right, the doors of more than a dozen hospital rooms opened simultaneously. In front of each door, a figure stood with their back turned, only to vanish in an instant.

Then, the doors closed.

A breeze swept by, and everything nearby returned to normal.

As if nothing had happened.

"Don't look," Jiang Cheng said, withdrawing his gaze. "They're not here for us."

"What's going on?" Yu Yu turned around, looking behind him.

The elevator doors slowly closed, and the elevator descended, finally stopping at the basement level in everyone's sight.

"Is it Wang Changguo?" Cao Yang asked in surprise.

He had thought Wang Changguo was done for.

Jiang Cheng looked at the elevator's position. "I don't know, but whether it's him or not, we shouldn't wait here. Let's go upstairs and find the others."

"Alright."

Not long before, Huai Yi had brought Lin Wan'er to the ninth floor, heading straight for Room 916.

It seemed like no one had been here for a long time.

The door was closed, and when he pushed it, it was locked. Due to the era it was built in, the decor was quite old-fashioned. Above the door frame was a large transparent glass panel, likely for lighting purposes.

Since they hadn't seen anyone on their way here, Huai Yi slowly stepped back, seemingly planning to force the door open.

A wooden door wasn't much of a challenge for him.

But just as he was about to accelerate, Lin Wan'er stepped forward, took the hairpin from the back of her head, and in less than ten seconds, a crisp click of the latch was heard.

The door opened.

"Wait!" Huai Yi stopped her just as Lin Wan'er was about to push the door open. "Let me do it."

Lin Wan'er glanced back at him and stepped aside.

Huai Yi approached the door, first pressing his ear against it to listen. Detecting nothing unusual, he slowly pushed the door open.

Because it was nighttime, the room was pitch black.

But with the faint light from the corridor, they could see that the space inside was quite large, and the air carried a damp, musty smell.

It seemed no one had been here for a long time.

Turning on his phone's flashlight, Huai Yi stepped inside, sweeping the light around. He realized the room was even bigger than he had expected.

It was set up like an office, with a long black table directly ahead.

The table was reflective, and upon closer inspection, he noticed it was covered with a glass panel the same size as the tabletop.

Lin Wan'er followed Huai Yi inside and looked around. "What is this place?"

Huai Yi looked at the photo pressed under the glass on the desk and said, "Zhang Zhaowei's office."

No surprise, Lin Wan'er had guessed as much.

It was just a confirmation.

Unlike Huai Yi, who was rummaging around the desk, Lin Wan'er was using her phone to look around.

Zhang Zhaowei seemed to be a person who loved reading. In his office, there were several bookshelves placed against the wall, filled with professional books.

Behind the desk, there was also a tall and wide iron cabinet.

It was dark green, with some paint peeling off in places.

It had many iron compartments, each with a number and an embedded, anchor-shaped handle.

Lin Wan'er had only seen something similar 20 years ago.

Such iron cabinets were usually used in large archives to store documents.

Seemingly uninterested in the iron cabinet, Lin Wan'er walked around it to the back of the room, where there was a single bed.

It wasn't anything special, just the most ordinary iron bed found in hospitals.

Just like the ones in their ward.

The iron cabinet separated the workspace from the private space, suggesting that Dean Zhang Zhaowei would lie on this bed to rest after work.

Before long, Huai Yi walked over with a frown, apparently not finding what he wanted near the desk. He then turned his gaze to the bed.

"What exactly are you looking for?" Lin Wan'er asked, staring at Huai Yi's back.

"I don't know," Huai Yi, squatting down, shook his head and said, "But I think the dean must have left some clues before he died."

"Could they have already been taken away?" Lin Wan'er used her phone to light up the area for him.

After a moment of silence, Huai Yi's search still yielded no results. He slowly stood up and sighed, "Maybe."

If they had been taken, then based on the existing clues, Director Qi and Zhao Ru were the most suspicious.

The former was to cover up the truth, the latter... for revenge.

"Let's go," Huai Yi said in a low voice, "We should leave here first."

Back in the corridor, after closing the door, Huai Yi's tense nerves slightly relaxed. The corridor light shone on his face, making it appear even paler.

"Did you find any clues?" Lin Wan'er asked.

It was obvious that Huai Yi had come back with a specific purpose to search the office of the former dean, Zhang Zhaowei, and must have found some clues.

Leaning his back against the wall, Huai Yi looked very tired, but he rubbed his face and forced himself to stay alert.

"I found out about Xiang Nan's background," Huai Yi said in a low voice, "It's not quite what we initially thought."

"Before marrying Yin Zhenliang, Xiang Nan had been married once," Huai Yi looked at Lin Wan'er, "and had a child."

"But not long after, Xiang Nan's child died, and then her first husband couldn't bear the loss and committed suicide."

"Committed suicide..." Lin Wan'er said.

"That's right," Huai Yi licked his dry lips, "He jumped from the 27th floor and died instantly."

"How did the child die?"

"Killed by a feral dog," Huai Yi explained. "I saw the scene photos. It was gruesome—pieces of flesh everywhere, shreds of clothing, and the neck was almost completely severed, hanging by just a thin layer of skin."

After speaking, Huai Yi seemed to transform into a different person, staring at Lin Wan'er with a strange gaze. After a long pause, he asked, "Do you remember the child of Xiang Nan and Yin Zhenliang?"

At these words, Lin Wan'er's expression changed.

Huai Yi paused, then continued, "The report said that child was also killed by a feral dog."

(End of the Chapter)

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