Chapter 16

“Huh?”

“Do I smell like something?”

Shi Yu was confused at first, then slowly raised his sleeve and sniffed it.

He had just changed into a clean sweatshirt that morning, and it only had a faint smell of laundry detergent. Was that what Fu Nanyao was talking about?

Could it be that when this team captain was having a breakdown, he couldn’t even stand the smell of detergent?

Shi Yu took a step back, not daring to say he thought it was normal. He just said,

“Then should I stay a bit farther from you?”

But Fu Nanyao closed his eyes and kept breathing in that faint, sweet milk-like scent. His body, leaning against the side of the elevator, was tense like a stretched bowstring.

“No need.”

“I mean, don’t go more than one meter away from me.”

Worried that Shi Yu didn’t understand, Fu Nanyao repeated himself.

Shi Yu looked confused and hesitated to say anything.

He’s the one who said I smell weird, but now he says I can’t go far. What does he even want?

But he thought it was best to just put up with it. Only three more floors — once they arrived, he could leave.

The elevator kept going up, and Shi Yu kept an eye on Fu Nanyao from the corner of his eye, ready to call for help if something went wrong. Luckily, the next minute passed without anything strange happening.

Except for the fact that this quiet and serious team captain insisted he stay within a meter, nothing else happened.

When Shi Yu saw his floor number appear on the screen, he finally felt relieved.

“Captain Fu, this is my stop. I’m getting off now,” he said, turning to speak as the elevator doors opened.

But after stepping out, he paused and looked back.

“Do you want me to call someone to help you?”

He still had contact numbers for Wang Shan and Dr. Shen from the Ability Users Association. If needed, he could ask for help.

Fu Nanyao heard the hesitant question, and after a moment, looked deeply at Shi Yu.

Shi Yu: ???

Why is he staring at me like that? Did I say something wrong?

But the man quickly looked away. Fu Nanyao pressed the elevator button and shook his head.

“No need.”

Really no need?
Shi Yu wasn’t sure, thinking about how strange Fu Nanyao looked just now. But he didn’t say anything more. Since Fu Nanyao had already left, Shi Yu put it out of his mind.

Because he didn’t know what the issue was exactly, Shi Yu just picked a general clinic number, planning to talk to the doctor once he got there.

The lobby on the fifth floor had even fewer people than downstairs. Before coming, Shi Yu didn’t expect Beishan Hospital — even though it was in the city center — to be so empty. It wasn’t crowded at all. There were no lines to get a number or see a doctor.
Maybe it was because this hospital wasn’t very well known. It also didn’t have as many doctors as the Seventh Hospital just a block away.

After talking to the nurse at the front, Shi Yu quickly found his consultation room. He waited a few minutes at the door and then heard his number called.

“Hello, Dr. Wang.”

A middle-aged doctor in his 40s looked up when Shi Yu came in.

“Shi Yu?”

Shi Yu nodded and instinctively touched his mask.

“Are you feeling unwell?”

Shi Yu thought about it and said,

“Doctor, I feel like I’ve been getting weaker these past few days. Also, after I took a shower last night, I felt a bit dizzy.”

The doctor started typing on the computer and explained,

“It’s springtime now. Many people are catching colds. Even after recovery, your immune system can still be weak.”

“Did you have a fever recently?”

Fever?

Shi Yu shook his head.

Dr. Wang looked a bit more relaxed.

“Then let’s do some tests first. I’ll prescribe medicine after I see the results.”

“Okay, thank you, doctor.”
As the test sheet was printed, Shi Yu reached out to take it, but Dr. Wang added,
“Oh right, the blood test room is on the east side of the third floor. Don’t go the wrong way.”

“Be careful not to go to the west side.”

Lately, for some reason, people kept reporting strange sounds coming from the hospital’s west wing. Dr. Wang shook his head.

The testing room was on the east side — how did those people end up on the west side?

Do I really need to be told this?
Shi Yu was confused. As he walked downstairs, he thought: Third floor, east side, blood test room. Why would I go to the west side?

Was the doctor being too cautious?

Still, because he’d been warned, Shi Yu carefully checked the test paper and followed the arrows in the hallway.

He nodded when he saw the “Third Floor – East” sign next to a bathroom.

“This should be the right place.”

He kept walking forward. But strangely, unlike on the fifth floor, there was no front desk on this floor. And for some reason, he hadn’t seen a single person.

The long hallway was lit by flickering white lights.

Just as Shi Yu looked up, a loud BOOM of thunder echoed outside. The lights above flickered again.

Huh?

Wasn’t it just cloudy earlier? Why was it suddenly storming?

In just a few minutes, thunder roared nonstop outside. The crashes were so loud they shook the building, even on the third floor.

Shi Yu had never experienced thunder so strong before.

It quickly became completely dark outside. The hallway lights weren’t great either. As he got closer to the test room, the lights grew dimmer. Right at the door, Shi Yu suddenly stopped.

A thought flashed through his mind.

Wait… When he looked at his phone earlier, didn’t it show no signal?

Then how did he receive an updated weather warning?

Also, could the weather really change that fast?

He felt something wasn’t right.

The test room was just behind one door, but Shi Yu couldn’t bring himself to go in.

He tightened his grip on his phone and stepped back.

Forget it. I’ll go back to the fifth floor and ask again. If it’s nothing, then I just wasted a bit of time.

But if something’s wrong… going in might be too late.

Shi Yu turned and started walking back toward where he saw the restroom sign earlier. This time, he looked carefully at his phone and made note of the time.

But even after walking for almost ten minutes, he still couldn’t find the restroom.

Something’s wrong.

There’s no way the hallway should be this long in a hospital!

Shi Yu stopped. His chest felt tight from walking so far. But worse than the physical discomfort was the strange change in his surroundings.

At this point, Shi Yu knew — if he still didn’t realize something was off, he’d be a fool.

He was caught in a supernatural event again.

He didn’t waste time. He had clearly seen the “East” sign — there was no reason for him to make such a basic mistake.

He bent slightly to catch his breath, then quickly turned to go in the opposite direction.

But in the very next second… he froze.

He heard slow, heavy footsteps.

It was the sound of high heels — very far away, but still clear. Even through the loud thunder outside, the sound echoed sharply.

It got closer and closer.

Shi Yu’s skin crawled.

Because he knew that sound way too well.

It was the terrifying SSS-level monster from the novel — the one readers called a nightmare:

“The Man in High Heels.”

Click, click. Click, click.
It sounded like a man walking in ill-fitting high heels, sharp and eerie.

Shi Yu held his breath. His whole body went numb.

Could it really be that ghost?

He took a slow step back, then suddenly turned and ran in the opposite direction. His chest hurt, but he didn’t care anymore.

The footsteps paused at the corner — then clicked twice, slowly turning toward the place Shi Yu had just been.

Each step landed exactly on the cracks between tiles, making sharp scraping noises — like a predator toying with its prey.

Worse, with each step, it seemed to get closer.

Shi Yu clenched his teeth, running as fast as he could, thoughts racing.

I should’ve figured this out back when I met Fu Nanyao.

The Man in High Heels had a grudge with Fu Nanyao. It wouldn’t let him go if he was alone.

Years ago, Fu Nanyao’s special-ability team tried to kill the new S-rank monster “The Man in High Heels.” But they underestimated its power. The whole team got trapped in the monster’s nightmare realm. Every member except Fu Nanyao died.

Although Fu Nanyao survived, the damage was permanent.

Since then, he had been tracking and hunting it. But now that it had become an SSS-level threat, it was even harder to kill.

This time, Fu Nanyao was in bad shape. The monster must’ve sensed it and came to kill everything around him.

The whole hospital might be affected now!

Shi Yu bit his lip. His ears rang. His head throbbed from running.

The sound of heels was getting closer.

Shi Yu looked ahead — only to find a wall.

A dead end.

What do I do now?

No phone signal. The hallway was trapped in this nightmare realm.

He looked back — and saw the faint shape of a large, blood-red shoe.

His stomach suddenly felt warm.

No choice!

He pressed himself tightly into the corner and slowed his breathing.

It would be hard not to be seen…
But Shi Yu closed his eyes and held still.

The hallway went completely silent.

Just 50 meters away, the red high heels stopped.

The shoes pointed right at him — as if they knew he was there.

Shi Yu was so nervous he couldn’t speak.

Time seemed frozen. But the terrifying scenes of being torn apart didn’t come.

He opened his eyes — and saw the monster wandering for a bit…

Then it slowly turned away and left.

It… didn’t see him?

Shi Yu froze in shock. He didn’t understand why.

He didn’t notice the warm feeling in his stomach had faded the moment the monster walked away.

Like… something had been protecting him.