Chapter 676: Again?

Chapter 676: Chapter 676: Again?

The group walked toward the stairwell, trembling with fear.

They were terrified that another strange old man would leap out from some corner and force them to take medicine.

They didn’t dare take the elevator, afraid of being wiped out all at once in the enclosed space, so they opted for the stairs.

They cautiously made their way to the second floor.

Thankfully, all was quiet.

The group felt a little more at ease.

The administration office was on the top floor, so they kept climbing.

After another half-flight, they rounded a corner in the stairwell.

Suddenly, the smell of smoke wafted toward them.

The group looked up to see a middle-aged doctor in a white coat, hiding by the window on the landing between floors, smoking a cigarette.

Hospitals were completely smoke-free zones now, so any doctor who wanted a cigarette had to do it furtively, like a thief.

As luck would have it, this group of youngsters had just stumbled upon someone in the middle of the "act."

Initially, the kids had been excited to see people in white coats, eager to experience the prestige of the City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

But after that incident with Gao Yuan, they were all paranoid. The mere sight of a white coat made their knees go weak.

"Shh—"

Guo Weilin signaled for everyone to be quiet.

The kids all tactfully pressed themselves against the wall, inching their way up from the corner, terrified of disturbing the middle-aged man puffing away.

However, just as they were about to sneak past him.

"What are you doing here?"

The man didn’t even turn his head. He kept his gaze fixed outside the window as he asked the question out of the blue.

His voice wasn’t loud, but it held an air of authority.

The students froze on the spot, their expressions stiffening as if they’d been hit by a paralysis spell.

All eyes snapped to Guo Weilin.

’He was their leader, after all. If he didn’t step up now, who would?’

Guo Weilin’s face was a mask of bitterness. ’There’s no getting out of this.’

He could only bite the bullet and answer honestly, "Hello, Doctor. We... We’re students from the affiliated medical school. We just arrived today for our internship."

The man turned around.

He was in his forties and seemed rather friendly.

"Oh, so you’re Professor Xue’s students?"

The man blew out a smoke ring and asked casually.

Guo Weilin was surprised. "You know our Professor Xue?"

"Yep, we’re well acquainted."

The man nodded, then asked, "Who’s your student advisor?"

Guo Weilin answered in a daze, "Liu Hao. You know him, too?"

"Never heard of him."

The man shook his head.

Before Guo Weilin could even sigh in relief, the man added with a grin, "But that’s no problem. We can just set up a time to meet, can’t we?"

"Huh?" Guo Weilin froze. ’What’s going on? This guy is way too friendly.’

The man stubbed out his cigarette on the windowsill, tossed it into a nearby trash can, then dusted off his hands. He walked over and grabbed Guo Weilin by the arm.

"You’re the one in charge?"

Guo Weilin nodded. "I... I’m the temporary group leader."

"If you’re in charge, that makes things simple."

The man familiarly started pulling Guo Weilin downstairs. "Come on, come on, let’s go to my office for a bit. I want to hear about what’s been going on at your school lately and ask you about a few things."

Guo Weilin grew frantic. He struggled, saying, "Wait... Doctor, I have to take them to the administration office to check in. Professor Xue is still on his way..."

But the man wouldn’t take no for an answer and kept dragging him. "Checking in is no big deal. You just have to show your face and sign a form. Professor Xue isn’t here yet, is he? Then there’s no rush at all. Come on, let’s go have some tea first. We can take our time and chat."

"But, Doctor..."

Guo Weilin was being dragged away and was powerless to resist.

"Hey, why are you calling me ’Doctor’? It’s so formal. My surname is Lin. You can call me Teacher Lin, or even Brother Lin would be fine."

...

Wang Yue and the others stood on the stairs, completely dumbfounded.

’They hadn’t even reached the third floor, and their leader was gone. Again.’

’The last one was dragged off to be a test subject.’

’And this one was dragged off... for tea?’

’Weren’t they here to check in for their internship?’

’How did this turn into some kind of video game, fighting one boss after another?’

’This is... This is just too hard!’

"What... what kind of hospital *is* this?"

Someone asked timidly, "So what do we do now? Where are we supposed to go? Do we... keep going up?"

Wang Yue was just as stunned.

She watched Guo Weilin’s retreating figure disappear, then glanced back at the bewildered classmates behind her. In that moment, she felt like they were a group of abandoned orphans.

"Maybe... we should just keep going up?"

Wang Yue suggested tentatively. "The administration office has to be up there. Once we get there, we’ll be safe."

Their steps grew heavy as they climbed the stairs. All their initial excitement had been completely worn away, replaced by a profound sense of dread.

’Who could have imagined that this seemingly unremarkable little City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine was a den of crouching tigers and hidden dragons—so full of weirdos.’

Seeing their group leader get dragged away, Wang Yue, who had a naturally feisty personality, felt a competitive spark. She looked ready to take charge.

She took a deep breath and encouraged the others. "Don’t be scared, everyone. What just happened has to be an isolated incident. We can’t let it get to us. We have to have a little faith in the City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. It’s a top-tier hospital, after all. The doctors here have to be the most professional and skilled people around. There are probably normal people upstairs."

Her encouragement lifted everyone’s spirits a little.

"Yeah, let’s go! I refuse to believe everyone here is a weirdo."

Bolstering each other’s courage, the group continued their ascent.

Just as they stepped onto the third-floor landing, a figure shot out from a corner in the hallway with a WHOOSH, nearly slamming right into Wang Yue at the head of the group.

"Whoa!"

The whole group jumped in fright. They reflexively scrambled back several steps until their backs were pressed against the wall, their wary eyes darting about like a pack of startled rabbits.

’This whole journey has been harder than the pilgrimage to the West. They were on the verge of a nervous breakdown.’

The newcomer steadied himself and stared at the group of terrified-looking young people with their backpacks. He paused for a second, then asked, "What are you... doing here?"

"We... We’re..."

They all stammered, no one daring to be the first to speak.

’They were terrified of hearing another "Here, drink this" or "Come have tea with me."’

The man looked them up and down. When he saw their familiar-looking backpacks, realization dawned. "Oh! You must be the new interns, right?"

Now that they’d been identified, they had no choice but to nod and confirm who they were.

But every one of them remained on high alert, warily eyeing the young doctor, afraid he might suddenly "transform" at any second.

"You’re here pretty early. Have you checked in yet?"

the man asked with a smile, his tone friendly and relaxed.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. Hello, everyone. My name is Hu Qiming. I’m a doctor here in Internal Medicine. I also graduated from the affiliated medical school, which makes me your senior."

As he finished, Hu Qiming flashed an exceptionally warm and friendly smile.

Hearing that he was a senior—and a normal, friendly-looking one at that—the students’ frayed nerves finally began to unwind.

"Phew..."

Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.

Wang Yue patted her chest and thought, ’Third time’s the charm! We finally met a normal person! It seems those other encounters really were just a fluke.’