Heartbeat - Chapter 38

“Sister, where are we going? It feels so eerie here,” Su Jianyue said, shivering involuntarily as she kept her eyes obediently closed.

“Nowhere special. Just a regular equipment room. Remember to keep your eyes closed and stay close to me,” Shen Xun replied, leading Su Jianyue inside.

The morgue was divided into two rooms: an outer office and an inner mortuary. The office contained a small desk and chair, with several logbooks spread across the desk. Apart from that, the room was eerily silent, and no strange ghosts suddenly jumped out.

Shen Xun knew this was deliberately designed by the staff. In a morgue, the silence itself was the most terrifying aspect. Once visitors grew accustomed to the quiet, the sudden appearance of ghosts would be even more shocking.

Shen Xun chuckled softly and shook her head. She casually led Su Jianyue to search the desk, flipping through the morgue’s logbooks. This time, however, there were no Heartbeat Cards inside. Undeterred, Shen Xun prepared to take Su Jianyue to thoroughly search the mortuary itself.

While Shen Xun effortlessly collected cards, the other guests were terrified by the ghost-costumed staff, fleeing wildly through the building. Their panic left them no time to search for cards; they were too busy trying to keep their souls intact to worry about the game.

Only Ren Peng and Chen Zhibin managed to find two cards each. Yu Lin and Zheng Tianming had given up early, while Zhao Qifei and Mao Ning found just one card before quitting. Both pairs were now outside, snacking on fruit and watching the live streams of the remaining three groups on a large mobile screen provided by the production team. This kept the eliminated guests entertained and informed about the ongoing competition.

Mao Ning stared at Shen Xun’s actions on the screen, his jaw dropping. “Damn, Shen Xun’s got some serious guts! Su Jianyue’s been blindfolded the whole time, offering her zero help, yet she still dared to take Su Jianyue into the morgue?”

Yu Lin chuckled. “You’ll get used to it. Shen Xun even caught the Chainsaw Doctor’s chainsaw barehanded! She even searched under the ghosts’ bodies and pulled a Heartbeat Card from beneath one of them.”

“That’s insane!” Mao Ning exclaimed, awestruck.

Although Zhao Qifei was also afraid, he could have overcome it. However, since he was paired with Mao Ning, he couldn’t muster any enthusiasm. After all, he had no desire to go on a date with Mao Ning, so he half-heartedly completed the task. When Mao Ning’s fear reached its breaking point, Zhao Qifei simply pressed the emergency alarm, and staff escorted them out.

Meanwhile, Shen Xun had thoroughly searched the small office outside the morgue, confirming there were no cards hidden there. Only then did she pull Su Jianyue toward the inner room.

Shen Xun slid open the door. The morgue remained eerily silent.

Directly opposite the entrance stood rows upon rows of compartments for storing corpses. The room seemed to be air-conditioned; Shen Xun immediately felt the temperature drop significantly upon entering.

Su Jianyue couldn’t help but shiver. “Sister, where are we? Why is it so cold here?”

“It’s just a storage room for medicine, so it’s naturally colder than outside,” Shen Xun reassured her casually. “Be good and keep your eyes closed.”

“Ao Ao,” Su Jianyue replied, relieved by Shen Xun’s explanation.

Shen Xun scanned the room. Apart from the corpse compartments, there were no other places to store anything.

Just as Shen Xun was about to start searching the compartments one by one, several of them suddenly sprang open on their own.

Shen Xun chuckled in exasperation. “This place is definitely not for people with heart conditions,” she muttered. “With these hyper-realistic props, it really feels like a real morgue.”

“If someone with a weak constitution came here and got startled like that, they might actually faint.”

Shen Xun, however, remained unfazed. Her only concern was that Little Puppy might open her eyes and get frightened.

Leading Su Jianyue forward, Shen Xun approached the rows of corpse storage cabinets that resembled drawers. One cabinet had already popped open, revealing a Heartbeat Card inside.

Shen Xun pulled open the cabinet, calmly retrieved the card, and tucked it away. Then she moved to the leftmost cabinet, preparing to systematically check each one for more cards.

The viewers in the live stream were stunned by her audacity.

“Whoa, she’s so hardcore! Sister Shen is a legend!”

“Shen Xun’s got nerves of steel! If it were me, I’d turn tail and never come back to this haunted place again!”

“Those cabinets popping open just now made my legs go weak! This horror hospital is terrifying!”

Who would disagree? Shen Xun actually dared to pull open the morgue drawers! How much courage does she have?

Thank goodness Xiao Yueliang had her eyes closed, or I’m afraid the child would have fainted on the spot.

Shen Xun, oblivious to the online chatter, had already opened and inspected seven or eight morgue drawers. Apart from the one containing the Heartbeat Card, the rest were empty.

Undeterred, she reasoned that such a large morgue couldn’t possibly contain only one card. With unwavering patience, she continued pulling open drawers, searching methodically.

Just as Shen Xun was about to open another drawer, her right hand, gripping the handle, felt a distinct resistance.

She surmised that this drawer must contain something else.

After only a brief pause, she resumed pulling. As soon as she cracked the drawer open, she met a pair of chilling eyes—eyes that didn’t seem to belong to a mannequin.

Intrigued, Shen Xun continued pulling the drawer open.

The female ghost lying inside seemed momentarily startled. After all, most people would react with terror upon finding a person in a morgue drawer, panicking like headless chickens, screaming and scrambling away in fright.

Yet the woman before her remained remarkably calm, not only meeting her gaze but continuing to pull the cabinet open. Seriously, how could anyone be this fearless?

Shen Xun had no idea what the female ghost was thinking. She simply pulled the cabinet open most of the way. With professional dedication, the ghost sat up immediately, her eyes burning with venomous hatred as she glared at Shen Xun.

Shen Xun glanced at her calmly. “I’m just looking for something. Don’t get worked up.”

Acting as if nothing were amiss, Shen Xun began rummaging through the cabinet. Sure enough, beneath the ghost’s body, she found another Heartbeat Card.

She quickly slipped the ninth card into her small bag. Noticing the ghost’s continued stare, Shen Xun said considerately, “Lie back down. I’ll push the cabinet back in for you.”

The ghost instinctively obeyed, lying back down. Only after Shen Xun pushed the cabinet closed did she realize how absurd the situation was. Seriously, how could anyone be this fearless? Daring to boss around a ghost like me?

The Live Stream chat exploded with “666” comments.

LOL, Shen Xun has the ghost completely bewildered.

Shen Xun is surprisingly polite. After taking what she needed, she even pushed the cabinet back in for the ghost.

Sister Xun is a true badass! Even the ghost has never seen someone this fearless before.

Ghost: “Do you even have any manners?!”

Shen Xun had already pulled Su Jianyue along to open more blind boxes. Su Jianyue asked curiously, “Sister, is there anyone else in here?”

“It’s okay, it’s just staff. Don’t worry. We’ve already got nine Heartbeat Cards, we’ll be out soon,” Shen Xun reassured her.

Su Jianyue felt a chill, her body shivering, but she trusted her sister. If Shen Xun said it was okay, then it must be.

Just as Shen Xun was about to pull open another storage cabinet, several of them suddenly opened simultaneously. Two of the cabinets contained bl00d-soaked ghosts who sat up abruptly.

Shen Xun calmly watched their performance, while Su Jianyue, her eyes squeezed shut in fear, trembled. “Sister, what’s that noise?”

“It’s just the staff pulling out the drawers. Keep your eyes closed, sweetie,” Shen Xun soothed gently.

Su Jianyue had been terrified, but the word “staff” calmed her considerably. It didn’t seem as scary as she’d imagined.

Shen Xun glanced around and casually grabbed the handle of a popped-open cabinet. This time, a male ghost lay inside.

Shen Xun met the Male Ghost’s gaze. “Excuse me, could you sit up for a moment? I need to find something. I’ll push you back in right after.”

The Male Ghost couldn’t contain himself. His menacing expression cracked, replaced by disbelief. Seriously? You’re ordering ghosts around now?

Seeing he didn’t move, Shen Xun continued, “Have you been lying down too long and can’t get up? I’ll give you a push from behind to help you sit up.”

With that, Shen Xun began pushing. Despite his reluctance, the Male Ghost was forced upright. Shen Xun quickly searched the spot where he had been lying and, as expected, found a Heartbeat Card.

Shen Xun smiled at the Male Ghost. “Found it. You can lie back down now.”

She even tried to push him back in, believing in finishing what she started.

The Male Ghost hurriedly stopped her. “No, no need. Don’t push me back in.”

“Alright then, we’ll be going now,” Shen Xun said, casually tucking the card into her small bag.

Turning to Su Jianyue beside her, she announced, “Great! We’ve found all ten Heartbeat Cards. Let’s go rest outside.”

“Wonderful!” Su Jianyue had been itching to leave. If her sister hadn’t been there, she would have bolted long ago.

“Let’s go,” Shen Xun said cheerfully, pulling Su Jianyue along as they headed out.

The Male Ghost in the corridor had been eagerly waiting to see Shen Xun and Su Jianyue make fools of themselves. But after waiting for ages, not a single sound came from the Morgue. He found it utterly bizarre. Normally, anyone who entered would be scared out of their wits, and many would immediately press the emergency alarm. Yet these two women had made no sound at all. It didn’t make sense!

Just as he was racking his brain for an explanation, Shen Xun emerged, pulling Su Jianyue along at a brisk jog.

Shen Xun didn’t even glance at the Male Ghost as she led Su Jianyue out, a smile still playing on her lips.

The Male Ghost involuntarily shivered. Wait, she just came out of the Morgue, and she’s still smiling? What kind of superhuman is this? She’s got nerves of steel!

Not only were the staff inside the Morgue stunned, but the Guests who had already left were equally astonished.

“Seriously, is she even human? What kind of guts does Shen Xun have?” Zheng Tianming exclaimed, dumbfounded.

Yu Lin chimed in, “Exactly! If I’d gone into the Morgue, I’d probably have burst into tears on the spot.”

“I’m convinced their team deserves first place. Sister Shen is a woman fiercer than an eagle!” Mao Ning marveled from the side.

“Seriously, even ghosts would steer clear of her,” Yu Lin added in agreement.