Chapter 15: Dr. Xie Who Plays by His Own Rules

After smiling briefly at the view outside the window, Xie Yunxuan reached into her desk drawer and pulled out a pair of gold-rimmed glasses.

“Host, are you nearsighted? But even if you are, once you turn into a specter, wouldn’t you no longer need to wear glasses?” the system asked.

“You don’t understand this, do you?” Xie Yunxuan replied.

“I’m a doctor now, of course I need to make a good impression on my patients and new colleagues,” she said as she put on the glasses.

Wearing the gold frames, Xie Yunxuan scanned the office environment again. Unlike the eerie atmosphere at night, the office was clean and tidy in the daylight. Sunlight filtered through the window, casting a gentle warmth over her.

The most notable change was the absence of the full-length mirror, nearly her height, that used to stand in the room. Seeing her new white coat, she turned around once and nodded in satisfaction.

Adjusting her facial expression, she clicked her heels and headed toward the door. Just as she opened it, she bumped into Zhang Yurou, who was rushing in a fluster.

The smile on Xie Yunxuan’s face froze the moment she took in Zhang Yurou’s disheveled state. After appraising her from head to toe, she casually teased, “Why do you look so miserable? Has someone been bullying you downstairs?”

Though Xie Yunxuan looked almost human now, Zhang Yurou couldn’t help but take a step back after seeing the faintly sinister smile on her face. After all, in her eyes, Xie Yunxuan still wore that bloodstained white coat.

She felt uneasy around Xie Yunxuan’s unpredictable temper and regretted having wasted ten spectral coins to put “ox’s tears” in her eyes — it had no effect.

Steeling herself, Zhang Yurou took a deep breath, ready to explain her purpose. “Doctor Xie, there’s a doctor downstairs who’s been giving me and Nurse Chen trouble!”

“I told him you’re a nurse under his supervision, but that Doctor Zhao said—”

“Say what?” Xie Yunxuan interrupted with a smile as she stepped out of her office, closing the door behind her.

At 1.78 meters tall, Xie Yunxuan’s height nearly reached 1.9 meters in heels, an imposing presence. Zhang Yurou was forced to retreat a step as Xie Yunxuan advanced.

Only when Xie Yunxuan repeated her question did Zhang Yurou respond, “That… Doctor Zhao said he’s never heard your name around the hospital.”

“Is that so?” Xie Yunxuan chuckled lightly, then calmly said, “He’s right.”

Zhang Yurou, expecting anger, was stunned by Xie Yunxuan’s unexpected reaction.

Why isn’t she following the script? If she’s not angry, how am I supposed to keep talking?

Seeing Zhang Yurou’s surprised expression, Xie Yunxuan guessed what she was thinking.

“It’s normal he hasn’t heard of me—I was just newly transferred,” she explained, ignoring the look.

She started walking down the stairs, but when Zhang Yurou remained rooted in place, Xie Yunxuan stopped and asked, “Aren’t you in a hurry? Why aren’t you coming?”

Hearing this, Zhang Yurou nodded and hurried after her.

Once she entered the elevator, Xie Yunxuan smiled at her before pressing the close button and selecting the first floor.

“But that doctor is downstairs causing a scene…” Zhang Yurou began.

Before she could finish, Xie Yunxuan cut her off. “What’s the name of that troublemaking doctor?”

Zhang Yurou frowned, searching her memory for a moment before replying, “Zhao Xuanjie.”

Xie Yunxuan simply nodded and fell into a long silence.

Being in the confined space with Xie Yunxuan made Zhang Yurou increasingly nervous. Though Xie appeared human, her unnaturally pale skin and bloodstained white coat unsettled Zhang Yurou. The closeness between them even allowed Zhang Yurou to smell the strong metallic scent of blood.

Despite wanting to speak, Zhang Yurou found herself unable to utter a word.

When the elevator doors opened, Xie Yunxuan strode out immediately, Zhang Yurou trailing behind slowly. Before leaving, she glanced furtively back at the still-open elevator.

Her little paper doll warned her that another specter lurked inside.

She knew it hadn’t attacked her because Xie Yunxuan stood beside her.

Lost in thought, Zhang Yurou quickened her pace to catch up. After all, the mission would end in just three days.

In these last days, her goal was simply to avoid that elevator specter.

Before Xie Yunxuan even reached the noisy crowd, a thick stench of blood wafted toward her.

She closed her eyes briefly, then raised her voice.

“Doctor Zhao, aren’t these two humans the new nurses hired by the hospital?”

Startled, Doctor Zhao turned around to see an unfamiliar colleague approaching. The click of high heels on the tiles silenced the bustling corridor.

The specter doctor, addressed as Doctor Zhao, narrowed his eyes unhappily at the interruption.

As Xie Yunxuan drew closer, he turned his hostility on her.

“Stop fooling around! How could a human be a nurse at Chongshan Psychiatric Hospital?”

“And who exactly do you think you are to call me Doctor Zhao? I’ve never seen you before.”

Xie Yunxuan brushed aside the hand Zhao reached out to grab her, then calmly said, “I’m the newly appointed attending physician at Chongshan Psychiatric Hospital. Here’s my ID.”

She produced her work ID, though to Chen Wanchong and Wang Renheng, it appeared bloodstained and the text and photo were illegible.

In truth, all doctors and nurses around them looked like specters to the veteran players who had applied ox’s tears.

Wang Renheng and his team were simply unlucky.

They had planned to meet with Zhang Yurou and Chen Wanchong this morning to exchange information.

But before they could speak more than a few words, a doctor and nurse suddenly blocked their path.

Due to yesterday’s mishandling, most players had been registered as patients.

Only Zhang Yurou and Chen Wanchong were fortunate enough to become nurses.

This left Wang Renheng’s group in a difficult position.

Seeing that the specter doctor was unwilling to let them go, Wang gave a subtle signal, and one impulsive player charged forward.

The confrontation was about to begin.