Grim visages and hooked ghost claws... the ghosts emitted eerie wails as they swarmed toward Feng Bujue.

Even if these weren't ghosts in the corridor, but dozens of ordinary residents from the Monster Kingdom, Feng Bujue would probably be unable to withstand them. What's more... black mist was pursuing him from behind. Once he was obstructed, he would soon be swallowed by the headmaster's evil spirit.

Seeing the scene ahead, Jue-ge couldn't help but curse inwardly, "Crap... am I going to kick the bucket here..." The next second, he deluded himself into thinking, "Hmm... there must be some way... if I'm not mistaken, Lester was actually a terrific running back in high school, so he could easily weave through this small scene with a few swift moves... and he also has the potential to unlock his genetic code in a crisis. Now is the perfect time to explode with power!"

While he was fantasizing, the horde of ghosts was already within reach...

"Well..." Jue-ge swallowed. "I guess there's no way that's possible!"

That's right, expecting Lester to solve the problem himself was out of the question, but...

"Goblin Whirlwind Kick!"

"Nightmare Flight!"

Suddenly, two strange figures flashed out of the wall. One had a high-pitched voice, the other a low, sonorous one. Each used their unique monster techniques to knock down the ghosts in front of Feng Bujue.

"Run! Buddy," the Count shouted, "We'll hold them off here!"

"I'm still going to file a complaint against you! You scoundrel!" Victor yelled.

The intrusion of these two uninvited guests instantly cleared a path for Jue-ge.

"Thanks!" Feng Bujue responded as he brushed past the two.

The black mist followed closely behind, howling as it came. The headmaster's voice echoed from within: "Don't block my way!"

But... the two figures, one tall and one short, remained rooted to the spot in the corridor.

Victor sneered, "Fake nobleman, where did you copy that technique name from?"

The Count also laughed, "Unscrupulous merchant, you call that a whirlwind kick?"

Until the moment they were swallowed by the black mist, they continued to trade barbs and refused to yield...

...

On the other side, Jue-ge had successfully passed through the one-way passage. Taking advantage of the changing gravity, he leaped down to the first floor.

"Ah!" He let out a cry as soon as he landed.

It wasn't that Jue-ge had carelessly twisted his ankle, but something had suddenly bitten him on the ankle.

Feng Bujue looked down and saw a ghastly green ghost infant with protruding fangs wrapped around his calf.

"Hmph..." Jue-ge's expression turned cold at the sight. "Looks like you're not satisfied with your diet!" He showed no mercy, kicking out with all his might, sending the monster flying.

However, just as he got rid of one, he turned around and discovered... an entire corridor filled with such monsters behind him.

"Cha..." Dozens of ghost infants simultaneously emitted eerie screams at Feng Bujue, sounding like both weeping and roaring, chilling to the bone.

"Hahahaha... you can't escape!" The headmaster, transformed into black mist, once again closed in, "I told you... as your consciousness changes, everything here will change. There are countless ji fu ling (earthbound spirits) in this land, and they won't let you escape back to the world of the living!" Before his voice faded, the black mist poured down from the passage, engulfing Feng Bujue's head.

In that split second...

A white smoke ring, like a solid cannonball, blasted through the air, scattering the falling black mist.

"Phew--" A soul-stirring puff of smoke was blown.

A black infant with horns on his head appeared at the other end of the corridor. He spoke with a rhythmic tone, using a distinct accent as he cursed: "You motherf***er!" He raised his short right hand and pointed towards the ceiling, "Get him!"

With Martin's order, all the ghost infants in the corridor changed their target, scurrying up the walls like cockroaches and swarming towards the passage above.

Seeing that the road ahead was clear, Feng Bujue ran without thinking.

The scattered black mist reformed in seconds, constantly pouring out from above: "Old smoker! You're biting off more than you can chew!"

Martin snorted at these words, rapping like a hip-hop artist as he cursed the headmaster with a string of English slang and profanities, so nasty that Jue-ge even learned a few new words.

"Thanks for the smoke, buddy," Martin said as Feng Bujue passed by.

"You're welcome," Feng Bujue replied, continuing onward.

At this moment, Jue-ge finally understood: the side quests in this script had another layer of meaning... that is: the number of completed quests determined the difficulty of this final escape scenario. If he had only completed the two most basic quests, then the number of NPCs helping him now would definitely be much fewer.

"In that case... Mr. Harper should also come out to help somewhere..." Feng Bujue thought to himself as he ran towards the lobby, "Jennie, Frank, and the little girl's storylines don't count as quests, so those three may not appear. And the white wolf chef from the kitchen... has already been killed, and I didn't have any interaction with him. Hmm... it seems that if Oink hadn't interfered, I might have had an extra helper..."

Even at this moment, he was still thinking about the previous situations, analyzing all the missed and upcoming possibilities... This was definitely a sign of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Of course, it was also possible... that he was just troubled by the fact that he hadn't been able to use the [Meal Card] and [Little Black Rabbit Candy] he had worked so hard to obtain.

"Hi, young man." Sure enough, near the hospital lobby, Mr. Harper's figure appeared.

The old man was wearing a hospital gown, standing in the middle of the corridor. His body was still covered with horrifying needle holes, but there were no IV tubes inserted.

"You seem to be in trouble," Mr. Harper greeted Jue-ge before asking.

Feng Bujue was shocked inwardly upon hearing this, "No way? Did he catch up to me so quickly?" He turned his head to look and, indeed, the black mist was coming...

"Yes... big trouble," Jue-ge replied, quickening his pace.

He had slowed down his running speed earlier, partly due to physical exhaustion and partly due to the injury on his ankle... The wound from the ghost infant's bite was much more serious than he had imagined.

"That's the headmaster, isn't it..." Mr. Harper's pierced eyeballs stared straight at the approaching black mist, "I understand... leave this to me, young man."

"Ah... thank you," Feng Bujue said as he ran past the old man, turning his head back to say it.

"Harper! You old geezer..." the headmaster's roar came from the black mist, "Get out of my way!"

Mr. Harper wouldn't pay him any mind. The old man stood firm in the middle of the corridor, spreading his arms, "I told you a long time ago... you bastard..." As he said this, black liquid began to ooze from the needle holes on his body, "I hate Dr. Pepper the most!"

Bang! A loud noise came, sounding as if a can the size of a water tank had been opened after being shaken violently. Feng Bujue, who had run a distance away, thought Harper had self-destructed, and couldn't help but turn around.

He saw... massive amounts of black liquid gushing out from the needle holes on Mr. Harper's body, meeting the headmaster's black mist.

For a moment, the two black substances collided in the corridor; one was like a whirlwind, the other like towering waves... Harper and the headmaster were evenly matched.

At this time, Feng Bujue finally reached the last corner before the lobby.

"Almost... reaching my limit..." Jue-ge knew that Lester was about to officially kick the bucket. Because the "sock" in his pocket could no longer suppress the encroaching cold; this was a sign of "consciousness" collapsing.

In addition, the pain from the foot injury, the soreness throughout his body after running, and the immense pressure on his heart and lungs all indicated that the "player's" condition had reached the end of its rope.

"Haah... haah..." Jue-ge's speed was now at most a "brisk walk." He leaned against the wall, staggering around the last corner.

The hospital lobby was right in front of him, and the door was twenty meters away. He could even see... a faint ray of sunlight shining in from outside.

However, the two hundred-square-meter hospital lobby was already filled with ghosts.

In "Lester's" eyes, they were just like living people, all with physical bodies. In short... the road ahead was completely blocked.

"Heh... hahaha..." Feng Bujue laughed at this sight. He took a breath and shouted loudly at the front, "Everyone... how about making a way for me?" As he spoke, he moved forward. But the ghosts just stood there staring at him, not showing any intention of moving aside.

"I'm warning you..." Jue-ge refused to give up, even though he was out of options. He still said with a confident look, "My rage bar has been full for a long time, don't force me to go berserk and charge through." He said it as if it were true, but... it didn't work.

"Let him go." Suddenly, the little girl's voice came from behind Jue-ge.

Feng Bujue was stunned to hear this and quickly turned his face around. Then, he saw a flash of scarlet.

The visitor was undoubtedly the little girl from room 125. At this moment, she had actually given herself a twin-tails hairstyle, and her terrifying eight-eyed face was also revealed. However, in this environment where ghosts were gathered and no one looked human, it was debatable what kind of appearance could be considered "terrifying"...

The little girl glanced at Feng Bujue with her eight eyes, then said to the large group of ghosts, "He... can save us all."

These short two sentences, spoken in a calm tone, seemed to have a magical power, driving the earthbound spirits into action. In less than two seconds, the ghosts neatly retreated to both sides. A path leading to the door was left open in the ghost crowd.

"Why are you helping me?" Feng Bujue turned around and asked, "You are also an earthbound spirit here. Even if you are not controlled by the instincts of the spirit, there is no reason..."

"No, I'm not," the little girl interrupted Jue-ge, "I am not a living being, I never have been." She continued, "This place was originally a 'spirit-gathering ground', and I am its guardian spirit. Until one day, a higher-ranking deity came to this place and maliciously left a curse." She paused, "Actually... it's not this land that is cursed, but the 'me' trapped here." She raised one hand and pointed towards the door, "Hurry, traveler from another world, Lester, whoever you are... your departure is the end. By completing this salvation, I and all the souls here will be liberated."

"Don't even think about it!" A roar thundered, and the black mist surged forth, "I want you to be buried with me!"

Feng Bujue turned and ran as soon as he saw the approaching dark tide.

He limped and stumbled towards the door. The black mist pursued him relentlessly, and even the little girl and the ghosts in the lobby were unable to resist, all being swallowed up.

"You can't escape! All the power here has been absorbed by me, no one can stop me!" The headmaster's voice was almost in Feng Bujue's ear, "You can't escape my grasp... Lester, never!"

At this moment, every inch of space in the entire hospital was filled with the black mist transformed from the headmaster's evil spirit, with only the few inches of space near the door yet to be devoured.

And that only exit was within reach!

"Just a little bit more... just a little bit more..." Feng Bujue simply rolled and crawled, creeping to the door.

But... two meters from the door, his injured leg was grabbed by the black mist.

"Hahahaha... hahahaha..." The headmaster laughed maniacally, and a fat face covered with copper coins, reeking of money, emerged from the surging black mist, "Game over..."

He was right. When his leg was entangled by the black mist, Feng Bujue's entire body was unable to move. An unprecedented sensation struck... If "death" was a feeling, then at this moment, Feng Bujue was experiencing death.

His body was dyed gray, shrouded in deathly aura. His five senses were still there, but they were vague and distant.

This was the feeling of a ghost... Everything from life seemed like an illusion, and the "death" of this moment was real. If they didn't accept this reality, they would disappear. And because they were afraid of forgetting that "illusion", they craved - devouring life.

"You feel it, right? Heh... this is death!" The headmaster's face moved closer, "This... is your destination, and the destination of all living beings. Ha... even in the underworld, I will trample you scum under my feet!"

"Death... is just a part of chaos," Feng Bujue replied weakly, "All things begin in chaos and return to chaos. What is life, what is death... it doesn't matter at all. Knowing life and death is to understand life and death, not knowing is neither life nor death; what is reality, what is illusion, boundless and limitless, everything is just a thought." He muttered, and his body... actually began to move again, slowly crawling towards the door.

"What's going on?" The headmaster looked horrified, "This is impossible!" He controlled the black mist to continue pouncing on Feng Bujue on the ground, but the few faint rays of sunlight at the door seemed like an unbreakable barrier, blocking it outside the light "line".

"I have to thank you..." Feng Bujue said as he crawled, "Part of the knowledge that Zero taught me... I could never understand. At this moment, thanks to this feeling of 'death', I seem to have figured some things out."

As soon as he finished speaking, Jue-ge took advantage of the situation to roll over and out the door.

"No!" A thunderous roar came from the black mist, as if it could shatter people's souls.

But this roar was quickly replaced by another sound.

"Oh, my God! Look, is that clothing?"

"Hey! Come over here! I think we dug something up!"

"Quick, pull him out!"

"Be careful! He's already frozen stiff, don't break his limbs."

Some conversations entered Feng Bujue's ears, and the temperature of his whole body dropped to freezing point in an instant; a dazzling light suddenly flashed in front of his eyes, making him realize... that his eyes were actually closed. Then, he gradually lost consciousness...

...

When Feng Bujue came to his senses, he immediately heard a voice prompt: [Current quest completed, all main quests completed] [Automatic teleportation upon viewing the ending]

At this time, he also lost control of his body and turned into a CG viewing state from a God's perspective.

In the picture, many newspaper and magazine covers flashed first...

[Night Shift Security Guard Miraculously Survives] [Escapes After Being Buried for Nearly Thirty Hours] [Rescue Team's Persistent Efforts Lead to a Miracle]

Similar headlines flashed in succession, followed by several clips of television news, with various monster hosts broadcasting in front of the camera with microphones:

"The Cedar County Public Hospital accident has led to a shocking corruption case, and local officials have fallen one after another. The Kingdom's spokesperson said that the case will be thoroughly investigated and hopes that all current officials in the country will take this as a warning."

"A special plan for building inspection standards for public institutions has been launched and is expected to be implemented within the year."

"Is the curse rumor true or false? Is it the evil of the hospital director? Or a loophole in the system?"

"Today, the sole survivor of the Cedar County Public Hospital accident was discharged from the hospital. During his hospitalization, this gentleman refused all media interviews..."

After a series of disjointed editing shots, the picture in front of Feng Bujue finally came to a standstill.

Spring was in the air, and the ice and snow were melting.

On a green hill, a figure walked slowly.

It was Lester, dressed in casual clothes, walking towards a stone tablet at the top of the hill.

In front of the stone tablet was a marble brick, roughly hewn with a slanted face outward, on which was engraved the following line: In memory of the 125 people who died in the Cedar County Public Hospital accident.

Lester stood silently in front of the stele... He closed his eyes, seemingly recalling something, but there were some things he could never remember...

After standing for a long time, he opened his eyes and offered the bouquet of flowers in his hand.

In the end, he was still relieved.

He breathed a sigh of relief, turned around, and strode away. His eyes were no longer frivolous, but had... a newfound appreciation for life.