Chapter 41: Return to St Elizabeth |
Yu Xiao’s finger hovered over her contacts list, but then she decided against it. She had a better idea. If she could go back to Saint Elizabeth, why not ask George directly?
“I’m going to ask him face-to-face.” Yu Xiao declared, her curiosity overriding everything else. “He claimed he had something that would let me return to Saint Elizabeth whenever I wanted. I’m dying to know what it is. Maybe it could even work in the treatment instance.”
“Is there such a thing as that?” Zhou Xiao Zhen’s eyes widened with envy. “George has all the good stuff. Smiley, you’re his boss, right? Can’t you take all his stuff?”
Yu Xiao stroked her chin thoughtfully. “Well…”
Zhao Lan interrupted them with a sudden announcement. “I’ve posted it.”
Just like that? Yu Xiao hurriedly opened the Sixth Hospital forum. As expected, under the announcement post, there was a fresh thread with a single line.
【My nickname is ‘Nickname Hassle’, this is my first post.】
“That’s too plain.” Zhou Xiao Zhen complained. “Misty, you’re one of the top three on the leaderboard. Your first post should be more impressive. That’s not cool at all.”
“Misty has a point.” Yu Xiao realised she had been overthinking. “Being among the first ones to post on the forum, isn’t that cool enough? Check this out, I posted something.”
【’Deaf Descendant”s Talisman Shop】
【To help everyone breeze through the healing instances, the ‘Deaf Descendant”s Talisman Shop is officially open. Special offer at a loss: each talisman only costs 3 points. Limit two purchases per nickname per day. First come, first served!】
“Blimey,” Zhou Xiao Zhen gasped, her eyes bulging. “Smiley, you’re amazing. The rest of us can barely post, and you’re already running a business. That’s a huge leap, for sure.”
“The shop charges 10 points for each one, but Smiley sells them for 3 points a piece. It’s a steal. I just hope people can afford it,” Zhao Lan said, sounding worried. “Some of them haven’t even entered treatment instances yet.”
Yu Xiao had originally intended to go lower, selling them for 1 point each. But then she realised the problem. If she priced them too low, they would sell out too fast. She still had a box of yellow talisman paper that she bought on Taobao, but with so many patients, it wouldn’t last long. She would have to buy more from the mall later.
Yellow talisman paper in the mall was expensive. If she sold them for 1 point each, she would barely break even, or even lose money. So, she settled on 3 points each. Not too high, and she would stay in the green.
After posting on the forum, she opened a small talisman shop in the mall, offering two kinds: 【The Thunder Striking Ghost Repelling Talisman】 and 【Healing Crisis Talisman】.
Zhou Xiao Zhen squealed, grabbing Yu Xiao’s sleeve and giving it a gentle tug. “Smiley! You’ve got replies! Six Hospital’s patient replied to you!”
Yu Xiao tapped on the conversation and saw a new reply.
【What talismans are you selling? How do I buy them?】
Zhou Xiao Zhen, too excited to wait for Yu Xiao, answered for her.
【We’ve got 【The Thunder Striking Ghost Repelling Talisman】 and 【Healing Crisis Talisman】 in the mall. They’re only 3 points each, a bargain, right? Have you been through two harrowing dungeon runs too? Who are you? I’m ‘Braised Egg Girl 438’. Wasn’t your dungeon adventure exhilarating…】
Zhou Xiao Zhen rambled on with her responses, but the other person didn’t bother to read them, as Yu Xiao noticed that they had already placed an order in the background.
On the phone screen, a tiny skeleton head bobbed while clutching an envelope in its mouth.
【You have a new order, please check it promptly~】
Yu Xiao opened it and saw that the nickname ‘Give me your heart’ had bought two 【The Thunder Striking Ghost Repelling Talisman】. She remembered this nickname; after the first night in the Sixth Hospital, ‘Give me your heart’ was second on the points leaderboard. But then Precious and Misty overtook them, and now they were fourth on the leaderboard.
Yu Xiao admired this chap. They didn’t have a cheat like account in the Fourth Hospital Forum or scribble talismans, yet they breezed through two instances at breakneck speed. They were a real pro, no doubt.
Yu Xiao took out two 【The Thunder Striking Ghost Repelling Talisman】 and, on second thought, threw in a 【Healing Crisis Talisman】, tucking a note inside that said, “Stay strong!”
Knock, knock, knock!
A familiar thundering voice resounded from the entrance, “Delivery!”
She was accustomed to getting packages, not sending them. Today’s unexpected role reversal felt strange to Yu Xiao. She opened the door slightly, handing out the three talismans.
No hands reached out to grab them, and the voice outside became annoyed, “What’s your problem? Handing them to me like this, are you trying to kill me?!”
“…” She forgot that the delivery guy was a ghost; he couldn’t touch talismans directly.
“I don’t have packaging,” Yu Xiao snapped, “Don’t delivery guys like you have plastic bags?”
“Ten points for a packaging bag.”
“Are you kidding me?” Yu Xiao shouted, “You’re practically robbing me!”
“Three points will get you a monthly membership, and you can use packaging bags as much as you want during the subscription period.”
“That’s ridiculous!” Yu Xiao protested, “Do you realise that the basic points for a treatment run are only 3? You want 3 points from me every month? That’s absurd. Do you have any idea who I am? I’ll have you know, I’m the dean of Saint Elizabeth!”
After the outburst, silence reigned outside. Then, the voice spoke again, “Are you finished? Are you sending the package or not? If not, I’m out of here.”
“Send!” Yu Xiao snapped.
“Are you getting the monthly membership too?”
“…Yes.”
After sending away the delivery guy, Yu Xiao spun around, hands clutching her chest, “It hurts here.”
“Calm down,” Zhao Lan attempted to soothe her, “It’s only three points, not a big deal for you.”
“No,” Yu Xiao grabbed the fabric of her clothes over her chest firmly, “My points are my life. Taking my points is like taking my life! He stole my three HP!”
“…”
Zhou Xiao Zhen blinked. Did Smiley really care about this stuff? She stuttered, “That person on the forum asked how will they get the talismans?”
Yu Xiao said, “Tell him to brace himself for a delivery.”
Yu Xiao sat on the bed, laying out a piece of paper, and started calculating the costs. She hadn’t anticipated that sending a delivery would cost points, adding to the expenses. With the talismans’ selling price staying the same, her profits would shrink.
As she was crunching the numbers, a phone call came in.
An annoyed Yu Xiao answered, “What?”
On the other end, Luo Jin paused for a moment, puzzled by why the person on the other side had turned so cranky in just half a day. He said, “We’ve discussed it. One prop for thirty talismans.”
Yu Xiao countered, “Ten talismans!”
Lu Xun couldn’t resist butting in, “Ten is too little!”
“There are different kinds of props, some helpful, some worthless. You can’t trade thirty talismans for any prop. It’s not a fair deal,” Yu Xiao declared, sticking to her offer, “Only ten talismans.”
Lu Xun protested, “But ten talismans are too few.” He bargained, “Twenty-five talismans!”
Yu Xiao insisted, “Ten talismans!”
Lu Xun haggled, “Twenty talismans!”
Yu Xiao persisted, “Ten talismans!”
“Ah, bloody hell… Old Luo, I’m itching to slap her!”
Luo Jin, in a cool and composed voice, said, “You can’t reach her.”
“Alright then.” Luo Jin said, “We’ll swap twenty talismans, ten Thunder Strikes Evil talismans, and ten Healing Peril talismans for an item that can harm both ghosts and humans. Deal?”
“Deal!”
“Fine.” Luo Jin said, “I’ll send the item over by express delivery soon.”
“Hold on.” Yu Xiao stopped him.
Luo Jin’s finger froze as he hung up, “What is it?”
Yu Xiao asked, “You must have a special delivery subscription, right?”
“…Yeah.” He hung up the phone quickly.
“Living large,” Zhou Xiao Zhen remarked. “That’s how you boost the economy. Those who work in production never make as much as those in business. I bet we’ll be earning points faster than any of the six hospitals. Smiley, you don’t have to work so hard anymore.” She leaped off the bed. “From today on, I’ll help you with packaging and shipping.”
Zhao Lan: “Then can I help you… take orders? Manage the accounts?”
“Very good, we need this kind of enthusiasm…” Yu Xiao was about to say more when a knock on the door cut her off.
Knock, knock, knock!
“Delivery!”
“That was quick.” Yu Xiao was impressed. “Is the delivery guy from the Fourth Hospital always this speedy?”
“Smiley, stay put.” Zhou Xiao Zhen walked towards the door. “I’ll take care of the receiving.”
She came back with a large, flat box. “Smiley, the packaging is quite fancy.”
As soon as Yu Xiao caught sight of the parcel, wrapped in elegant paper and tied with a ribbon, she wondered, “How much did this cost?”
She was about to ask when Zhou Xiao Zhen exclaimed, “Hey, look! It’s from St. Elizabeth’s.”
Yu Xiao remembered that George had promised to send her a special item that would let her go back there whenever she wanted. So he had used a courier service to deliver it.
The three of them crowded around the parcel, their curiosity piqued. They ripped off the wrapping paper with gusto, exposing the box underneath.
Zhao Lan gave a nod of approval and commented, “The packaging is quite impressive. George has a refined sense of style for a ghost.”
Yu Xiao felt a surge of excitement as she lifted the lid of the box, revealing the white lab coat inside.
That’s right, the contents of such a fancy package was nothing but a white lab/doctor coat, and not even a new one?
“Um, what’s this…” Zhou Xiao Zhen grabbed the shoulder of the coat, pulling it out of the box. It was so long that it reached her feet. “This is way too big for anyone.”
Yu Xiao ran her fingers over the fabric, finding it plain and ordinary. Then she spotted the logo of St. Elizabeth’s Psychiatric Hospital on the chest of the coat, and a small tag pinned to it with the words “Dean Yu.”
“This is the dean’s coat,” Yu Xiao realised. “No wonder George was willing to give me something; it turns out, this belonged to me in the first place.”
Zhou Xiao Zhen inched closer and gave the collar a sniff, “Is this the worn coat of the former dean? It doesn’t have any scent to it.”
Zhao Lan urged her, “Come on, Smiley, try it on. Maybe it will take you back to St. Elizabeth’s if you wear it?”
The two of them helped Yu Xiao slip into the white coat. It looked like it really had been the property of the previous director. It was so oversized that the hem dragged on the floor, and the sleeves hung loosely over her hands.
“What’s the trick to using it?” Zhao Lan wondered.
Yu Xiao pondered for a second, then shut her eyes and repeated in her mind, “I want to go back to St. Elizabeth’s, I want to go back to St. Elizabeth’s…”
Suddenly, she felt a weird sensation, as if she was levitating.
Yu Xiao opened her eyes, and saw an old, dilapidated wall in front of her. She glanced to the side, and recognized the corridor.
She heard footsteps behind her, and spun around.
Qiao Qiao, with a finger in her mouth, tripped and fell on the floor. She gaped at the sight of the devil in the white coat.