Clinic Night

Late at night, East District Clinic.

Director Guo's office.

Ash moved softly, using a specialized dagger to destroy the door lock before slipping quietly inside.

This was the very last place in the entire clinic she had not yet searched.

Last time, she had secretly overheard a conversation between Dr. Hua and the head nurse named Loop.

For some reason, the head nurse had brought up the sudden suspension of medical aid, and Dr. Hua had claimed it was upon Director Guo's orders.

Tonight, Ash wanted to find clues related to this in Director Guo's office.

Director Guo's office was noticeably larger than Dr. Hua's, almost twice the size.

Aside from the standard desk, filing cabinets, and reception table, it also connected to a small lounge at the back.

Ash was highly experienced in searching. She first turned the outer office area upside down—since the lock was already broken anyway, she planned to discharge herself and leave the hospital tomorrow.

Nothing, nothing, still nothing. As the clinic director, his filing cabinets surprisingly held no patient records; instead, they were mostly administrative documents of no value to Ash.

Just as she was about to enter the inner bedroom.

The moment she twisted open the connecting door.

Someone was standing right there inside.

A faintly glowing fist struck her directly.

Ash immediately spat out a large mouthful of blood.

"You came after all, little mouse. I have caught you." It was Director Guo's voice.

"You... didn't you already leave the clinic!"

"Leave? You have been rummaging through my territory every night, and this was the only place left. I have been waiting for you for two days."

It turned out that Director Guo had only pretended to leave over the past two days, secretly returning to the clinic to hide in his small room and wait for her to walk right into his trap.

Director Guo was also a Mystic, codenamed Shatterstone. His codename was self-explanatory; he could emit fluctuations from his hands to shatter hard objects.

Rather than developing his ability to split mountains and part seas, he had honed an exquisite micro-manipulation technique specifically used to shatter kidney and gallstones inside his patients' organs. In his youth, he had been a renowned doctor.

Even if he was not a master of destruction, a punch infused with his mysterious power had a penetrating effect. Ash immediately doubled over and collapsed to the floor.

Ash was an ordinary person, but not just any ordinary person. As an assassin, her willpower, endurance, and explosive strength were all at an exceptional level.

Her collapse to the ground was half a genuine physiological reaction and half an act.

Director Guo was getting on in years and was not a frontline combatant. He dared to put himself in danger because he assumed the nightly thief was just a powerless ordinary person. Consequently, he let his guard down just a fraction.

Seizing a brief pause during his interrogation, Ash sprang up and dashed out of the office.

"You cannot escape," Director Guo said, giving chase.

Ash had seized a perfect opportunity, but her injuries were severe. Fortunately, the punch had hit her stomach; if it had landed any higher on her vital organs, she would have suffered massive internal bleeding, if not instant death.

The heavy injury drastically reduced her mobility.

In her panic, she leaped down a flight of stairs. Stumbling and crawling back to her feet, she rushed toward the inpatient floor she was relatively familiar with.

The inpatient department was pitch black in the dead of night.

The only sounds were Ash's slightly ragged breathing and the approaching footsteps of Director Guo in pursuit.

"Director Guo, what brings you to the inpatient department personally at this late hour?" Loop's voice rang out.

Director Guo was forced to halt. "Head Nurse Loop, step aside. I have urgent business to attend to. Whatever it is, we can talk tomorrow."

In the power struggle between Director Guo and Dr. Hua, Loop had not taken a side, which caused Director Guo's attitude toward her to cool significantly compared to when she first arrived.

Moreover, he had noticed that whenever the clinic tried to catch this little thief, they always bumped into Loop and ultimately failed. He was already harboring some suspicions.

"Of course, but the esteemed patient in Room 3 has been looking for you all day, Director. Since you are here, it would be best to go take a look."

Director Guo's eyes narrowed, his suspicions deepening.

However, the patient in Room 3 was an elder of the city's municipal chief. If they found out he was here but did not visit, it could cause some trouble.

Just as Director Guo showed a hint of hesitation.

"The patient in Room 3 just fell asleep, so the Director can visit tomorrow." Nurse Zhao appeared, smiling at the two of them. "I just finished my rounds and came straight from Room 3."

Director Guo revealed a victorious smile, squeezed right past Loop, and continued his pursuit of Ash.

Left standing there, Loop looked at Nurse Zhao. "You are not on shift tonight, are you?"

Nurse Zhao smiled faintly. "I swapped shifts at the last minute. Hmm, but I seem to recall that you are not on shift tonight either, Head Nurse?"

Loop mirrored her smile. "What a coincidence, I also swapped shifts. I actually have something to discuss with you, so why do we not go sit in my office?"

"I apologize, Head Nurse, but a patient has an urgent request and I need to go buy something for them. How about I come find you when I get back?"

"Is that so? Fine."

Looking like the best of friends, the two women smiled at each other before walking away in opposite directions.

Loop's slight delay was too brief, and Ash was too heavily injured to run very far.

Director Guo was closing the distance between them.

She could not escape. Ash knew this for a fact.

She changed her strategy, trying to find a place to hide.

This was actually a terrible idea. If she did not get out, given Director Guo's familiarity with the place and the manpower he could mobilize, it was only a matter of time before she was found.

"Looks like I am done for today. It is a shame I never found any useful intelligence right up to the end." Ash ducked into an empty hospital room and leaned against the side of a bed.

Footsteps echoed outside the door.

Then came the sound of someone entering.

A pair of hands grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up.

Ash sighed softly, closed her eyes, and surrendered without a fight.

She was pushed onto the hospital bed and covered with a blanket.

Huh? What was this about?

New footsteps sounded outside the door, and Director Guo marched in aggressively.

"Why are you here?"

"Should you not look at where you are before asking questions? This is the inpatient department. I am taking care of my own patient. Where else would I be?"

Director Guo gritted his teeth. This damn bastard was treating him with increasing disrespect ever since they had a falling out.

He glanced at the human-shaped lump under the blanket on the bed. After a moment of thought, not wanting to waste time here, he immediately left the room.

Ash heard the exchange between the two. Once Director Guo left, she poked her head out from under the covers.

"Thank..." Ash's unspoken words caught in her throat.

"Dr. Hua!"