Just then, a sudden, unexpected commotion shattered the peace of the ward.
Bai Ci felt the ring on her middle finger instantly grow scorching hot, like boiling water, causing her to hiss in pain.
Hugo, who had been leaning against the headboard slowly eating his porridge, suddenly seemed to be controlled by something. His eyes went blank, his face became completely expressionless, and he stood straight up from the bed.
The spoon in his hand clattered to the floor, and the insulated lunchbox was knocked over. The remaining porridge spilled all over the bed, making a sticky mess that soiled the sheets.
Startled, Bai Ci quickly reached out to support him. “Hugo, what's wrong?”
But Hugo acted as if he hadn't heard her. With blank eyes and a stiff body, he walked toward the ward door at a brisk pace.
It wasn't just Hugo. The other plague patients lying in the ward seemed to be affected by the same contagion. One by one, they climbed out of bed with blank, expressionless stares, and shuffled toward the door.
Their movements were stiff yet swift, driven by an eerie strength, showing none of the weakness of their illness.
“Oh no! What's happening to them?” Old Tom was also startled by the scene. His face turned deathly pale as he quickly stood up to block the patients. “Stop them! Where are they going?”
As he spoke, he rushed toward the door to stop the patient in the lead, but the sheer force of the patient pushed him right out the door instead.
Old Tom's shout snapped the other patients' family members out of their daze.
Some chased after them in a panic, others huddled in the ward shivering with fear, and a few brave ones tried to stop them, wrapping their arms around their loved ones' legs.
But grabbing their legs was futile, as were their weeping pleas. Instead, they were simply dragged along.
“Let go first! Don't get hurt! Make way—” Bai Ci shouted to the person being dragged. She had been standing at the innermost part of the ward, furthest from the door.
She heard Old Tom cry out in pain outside. By the time Bai Ci finally managed to squeeze out of the ward, she saw him sprawled on the floor. The patients didn't even look where they were going, trampling right over him without a second thought.
Bai Ci rushed over and shoved aside a patient who was about to step on Old Tom.
The patient was thin and frail, but though the collision made him stagger, his forward march didn't stop.
Bai Ci took the opportunity to help Old Tom up. “Are you alright? It looks like they aren't coming back to the ward. Let me help you inside first.”
Old Tom stood up with her support. “I can walk on my own, don't worry about me. Go...”
The words caught in Old Tom's throat. Looking at Bai Ci's young, beautiful face, he suddenly couldn't bring himself to say it.
This situation was clearly bizarre. What could a pampered young lady like her do by following them? She might put herself in danger, and then how would he explain it to Hugo?
Driven by their single-minded march, the third-floor corridor quickly emptied as the main crowd of patients headed downstairs.
“It sounds like the doctors are trying to stop them. I'll go down and check on the situation. I won't do anything reckless.”
Hearing shouts from below about carriages, following them, and keeping back, Bai Ci called out to Old Tom and sprinted downstairs.
As she ran, she quickly opened her Rain's Message panel and scanned Hugo's current status.
What on earth?
【Rain's Message NPC: Hugo Durom
Appearance: Brown hair, freckles, grayish-blue eyes
Identity: Mail carrier at Withered Wood Post Office in Aether Town
Relationship with Player: Fiancé by family arrangement. He initially intended to reject the engagement due to his family's decline, but it was forced upon them by both sets of parents. He is currently living with Lora Chaos to cultivate their relationship.
Skill Levels: Strength 7, Mind 8, Agility 9 (Mail Carrier class bonus), No special skills
Health Status: Plague infection, rapid depletion of life force, nourishing the Host】
The rapid depletion of life force meant that Hugo's life was quickly draining away.
Host?
Isabella?
Could these plague patients all be supplying energy to Isabella?
Bai Ci ran downstairs and followed the patients out of the hospital, watching as they headed toward the outskirts of town.
She knew that Chen Mo and the other two, who had bought weapons, were heading to the country house Postmaster Byrne had purchased to investigate. The reaction of these patients now undoubtedly meant that Isabella was either in danger or facing some other emergency.
Which meant... Chen Mo and the others had entered the boss fight?
After running a few more paces, Bai Ci stopped to catch her breath, unable to keep up.
These plague patients, who had been so weak they could barely walk, now seemed to be infused with boundless energy. They ran at an astonishing speed over a long distance without showing the slightest sign of fatigue.
This was likely the result of consuming their own life force.
Just then, Bai Ci spotted a few coachmen waiting with their carriages nearby, likely there to transport the patients' families.
She hurried over and said urgently, “I need to catch up with those people ahead.”
“No way, no way. Those people are too terrifying. I don't dare go.”
“What if they hurt us? I don't want to catch the plague!”
The coachmen shook their heads repeatedly. The scene was too bizarre for them to dare follow, though one of them showed a hint of hesitation on his face.
This coachman had also witnessed the patients running in that bizarre manner. His face was full of dread, and he shook his head in panic.
“I'll pay you double! No, triple!” Catching his hesitation, Bai Ci pulled out a stack of banknotes from her pocket and shoved them into the coachman's hand. “Take this first. When we get back, I'll give you the same amount again! You don't have to get too close, just keep them in sight.”
Looking at the thick stack of bills in his hand and hearing her promise, the coachman relented. After all, the reins were in his hands; if things went south, he could always flee. Such a large sum of money would normally take him countless trips to earn.
With that thought, greed triumphed over fear. He gritted his teeth and nodded. “Alright, I'll take the job. Get in.”
Bai Ci quickly climbed into the carriage, and the coachman cracked his whip, sending the carriage speeding after the running patients.
The carriage moved swiftly, gradually closing the distance before slowing down to maintain a safe gap behind them.
The patients ran all the way toward the edge of town without ever slowing down, as if guided by an unseen force.
The carriage trailed behind them at a gallop, quickly leaving the town behind and entering the rural roads.
Fields and woods stretched out on both sides of the path. Though the scenery was beautiful, it was enveloped in an eerie silence, devoid of even a single bird's chirp.
Boom—
A violent explosion suddenly echoed from the distance.
Rate on N.U.
