Abandoned Hospital

Day 7, Monday.

The dim sunlight barely penetrated the filthy windows, illuminating the dilapidated hall of the abandoned St. Mary's Hospital.

Unlike the usual deathly silence, today there was a bit more "life" here—a group of well-dressed men and women, who seemed out of place with their surroundings, arrived one after another.

They were "family members," their faces adorned with carefully rehearsed, feigned sorrow, yet their eyes concealed an undisguised indifference, even a hint of impatience.

Shi Mo and the other fourteen surviving candidates, along with their patients whose conditions had slightly improved after genuine drug treatment, gathered on one side of the hall. Hong Yuan, You Ying, and the others were on high alert, while Shi Mo stared expressionlessly at the "family members."

Soon, a powerful, chilling aura, mixed with countless resentments, descended.

A figure dressed in an old but well-made black suit, with an indistinct face that seemed to be made of shadows, appeared on the high platform at the front of the hall. He had no physical form and was more like a condensed collection of evil thoughts.

"Welcome to all family members who have come to visit." The director's voice resonated directly in everyone's minds, carrying a seductive power. "We believe that thanks to our hospital's 'meticulous care,' your loved ones have found the 'peace' they deserve."

Family members stepped forward, feigning to hold the patient's hand and offering insincere words of concern, while their eyes scanned the patient like a scanner, assessing how long they could live, or rather... when they could finally be "liberated".

When Mr. Chen's son, whom Mo was in charge of, walked forward—a middle-aged man in a suit with a large belly—he looked at his father, who was still on the verge of death on the bed, but whose eyes seemed a little clearer than before, and a trace of imperceptible anxiety and disgust flashed across his face.

He leaned down and muttered impatiently in a voice only a few people nearby could hear, "Old man... why isn't it here yet..."

This statement was like a spark that ignited a powder keg.

Shi Mo took a step forward, instantly attracting everyone's attention. His heterochromatic pupils coldly swept over the son, then looked at the dean on the high platform and all the family members in the hall.

He didn't roar, he didn't accuse; he simply spoke in a calm, chilling tone. At the same time, a miniature recording device (a system function) in his hand began playing, its clear echoes reverberating in the deathly silent hall.

[Contracting Party (Family Member): Chen XX]

[The patient being cared for: Mr. Chen]

[Reason: The patient's condition is critical, and the treatment costs are exorbitant, which the family cannot afford.]

[Terms: The family voluntarily agrees to permanently transfer the remanded patient to St. Mary's Hospital, relinquishing all rights of visitation and inquiries. The hospital promises to provide "humanitarian care" until the end of life.]

[The cost: Family members pay "custodial fees"... and voluntarily contribute a portion of their "family ties" as energy channeling.]

[Note: The visit date is the date on which the final payment is settled and the "custody" arrangement is confirmed to be complete.]

After the recording finished playing, the hall fell into a deathly silence.

The hypocritical masks on the faces of the family members shattered instantly, revealing panic, anger, and the ferocity of being exposed!

"You...you're talking nonsense!"

"Where did this madman come from! Slander!"

"Security! Arrest him!"

The dean's shadow on the platform twisted violently, letting out an angry roar: "Disruption of order! Blasphemy against the contract! You deserve to die!"

The entire hospital environment began to distort wildly! Blood seeped from the walls, the lights flickered erratically, and countless shadowy figures and monsters emerged from all directions, lunging at Shi Mo and the other candidates!

"They're just a burden! Living is painful for everyone! We have no choice!" a family member shouted hysterically amidst the chaos, expressing the "heartfelt sentiments" of some.

These words ignited a blood-red flame in Shi Mo's eyes.

He raised his head, his heterochromatic eyes icy cold, as if freezing the entire space into a blood-red glacier.

"That's not you," his voice wasn't loud, but it drowned out all the noise and the monsters' roars, carrying an absolute, verdictive coldness, "the reason that can decide their life or death."

[Warning! Host! Serious violation! Interfering with the core causality of the copy! Will cause unpredictable consequences! Stop immediately!] The system issued an extremely sharp alarm in his mind.

Shi Mo turned a deaf ear.

Faced with the surging monsters and the enraged dean, and the family members who showed fear but remained defiant, he held nothing back.

"A gift from the gods, Yama, the King of Hell."

He uttered just four simple words.

There was no earth-shattering momentum, only the arrival of an absolute "definition" authority that transcends all things.

Time seemed to freeze for a moment.

The next moment, under the horrified gazes of all the candidates, all the monsters, and even the enraged dean, the bodies of those who came with ulterior motives were crushed by an invisible force, disintegrating and annihilating from the smallest particle level!

There were no screams, no struggles, because they didn't even have time to react.

As if erased from the world by an eraser, in a fleeting instant, all the family members standing in the hall turned to dust and vanished into the air. Only the shocking marks left on the floor, as if splattered with the thickest blood, proved that they had once existed.

The hall was awash in blood.

The monsters' roars stopped abruptly, as if they had been choked.

The dean's shadow froze in mid-air, his distorted face filled with disbelief and... a hint of instinctive fear.

The surviving candidates were stunned, their minds blank.

Shi Mo stood there, his face even paler than when he had used "Yama," and his breathing was heavier. Wiping out dozens of people at once was a considerable burden for him now.

He raised his eyes, his cold gaze sweeping over the stiff shadow of the dean and the surrounding monsters who were trembling with fear.

"Now," he said calmly, his voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible weariness, yet still possessing absolute authority, "it's time to settle accounts with you."