Chapter 119
Chapter 119: Three Flowers Converge at the Crown (Part 1)
Seattle Mercy Hospital, 1st floor.
"Wuaaaah!"
A baby's wail rang out.
"Ow ow ow!"
"What is that?! It's so piercing!"
Guan Ming clutched his head and screamed.
The crying cut straight to the soul—there was simply no way to resist it.
Silk-Stocking Desperado silently reached into her windbreaker pocket, pulled out another stocking, and pulled it over her ears, tying it in a knot.
"My, my, this truly is dangerous. I never expected to end up back in this place."
She looked around, her gaze slightly dazed.
The Joker stood there as if nothing were wrong.
"It seems they've already sensed our intentions, Miss Silk-Stocking."
The 3 of them had crept down from the 7th floor.
Led by the Joker, they had finally reached the depths of the 1st floor of Seattle Mercy Hospital.
Staring at the dark corridor ahead, Guan Ming forced back the throbbing pain in his head and asked in a trembling voice.
"They… aren't they…?"
"That's right, little brother."
"For a hospital, having babies is perfectly normal, isn't it?"
"These just happen to be Infant Ghosts absolutely brimming with resentment!"
Silk-Stocking Desperado finished the thought.
"I ran into them when I first arrived here. Nearly didn't make it out. Had the hardest time escaping."
"But… shouldn't babies be in the nursery ward of the inpatient wing?"
"Why have they been placed somewhere like the 1st floor?"
Guan Ming was puzzled.
"Hahaha! Don't generalize, dear audience!"
The Joker spread his hands wide and launched into a hellish joke.
"Healthcare systems vary from country to country!"
"Take this very Seattle Mercy Hospital before us—it comes from Eagle Nation."
"Floor designations there aren't nearly as strict."
"For the lower classes over there, giving birth down in the 1st-floor emergency room is far more cost-effective than being admitted in advance!"
Guan Ming turned his head. "Why?"
"Because the astronomical hospitalization fees are simply beyond what they can bear!"
"And yet the laws in many states strictly prohibit abortion!"
"But hilariously, abandoning a child isn't illegal! Hahaha!"
The Joker doubled over with laughter.
"So, many people who can't afford to raise a child have no choice but to quietly leave their newborns in the baby drop boxes on the 1st floor."
"Over time, the baby drop boxes on the 1st floor…"
"Have become a nursery in every sense of the word! Hahaha!"
Guan Ming's mouth twitched as he listened.
He had indeed heard that in Eagle Nation, without buying astronomical health insurance, the cost of having a child was enough to bankrupt a person.
But the core information buried in the Joker's words sent a chill down his spine.
Every single one of these was an abandoned infant!
The resentment radiating from such beings would be absolutely terrifying beyond compare!
They would attack without discrimination any living creature that drew near.
No wonder they'd been stationed here—serving as the first line of defense guarding the underground Morgue!
"So, what do we do now?"
Guan Ming turned to look at Silk-Stocking Desperado.
Silk-Stocking Desperado spread her hands, expressing helplessness.
"There's no way around it. The crying from those little brats deals real spiritual-level damage."
"From a distance you can just barely block it by covering your ears, but if you actually get close, covering your ears won't do a thing—your brain matter will be shaken to mush."
"We'd better hear what ideas Mr. Joker has."
"Hahaha, Miss Silk-Stocking, you are quite mistaken on that point!"
"The star of this magnificent drama should rightfully be you!"
The Joker gave a bow.
"After all… only you can bring these poor children who were so heartlessly abandoned the long-absent 'motherly love' they deserve~"
The Joker's tone turned eerie. "Otherwise, their soul-piercing wails will absolutely take all 3 of us out on the spot!"
"Ah, but of course—not counting this disposable false Stand-In of mine."
Silk-Stocking Desperado's eyebrow shot up, and she let out a cold laugh. "Ha? Motherly love? What kind of international joke are you telling!"
"I have never been a mother, and I have absolutely no desire to love anyone!"
"No, Miss Silk-Stocking, there are things you might be able to hide from the rest of the world, but never from these eyes of mine that see straight through the heart."
The Joker pressed both hands together over his chest.
"As an accomplished actor, I can see it plainly—you have never truly let go of the 'love' inside your heart!"
"Because, just like me, you have always kept one crucial person hidden within you!"
"Otherwise… why would either of us be here, risking our lives?"
Guan Ming stood there with a completely baffled expression.
He felt like an ordinary person who had been forcibly wedged between 2 cryptic lunatics.
Silk-Stocking Desperado stared at the Joker for a few seconds, then ultimately let out a helpless sigh.
"You really are something else."
"Stop beating around the bush."
"Tell me—exactly what do we need to do to pass through this area and enter the Morgue?"
"Simple!"
The Joker snapped his fingers.
"In a moment I'll send you through. All you need to do is be ready to activate your ability!"
Silk-Stocking Desperado immediately understood the Joker's intention.
"Fine! Trust is earned in action—big sister will go crazy with you today!"
The moment the words left her mouth, Silk-Stocking Desperado had barely finished stretching when she felt the scene before her eyes shift.
She was stunned to discover she had been directly teleported by the Joker to the very depths of the corridor.
She was face-to-face with something that resembled a large commercial freezer!
"Waaaah!!"
At point-blank range, the box erupted with a horrifying shriek!
The sonic wave slammed directly into Silk-Stocking Desperado's mind, nearly making her skull burst on the spot!
"Hiss… did you have to do it that fast?!"
Silk-Stocking Desperado forced back the searing agony of blood pouring from every orifice—there was not half a second to hesitate!
"Plunder!!"
With her furious cry, an invisible force of rules struck the Infant Drop Box!
Hummm!
The instant her ability activated, the absolute ownership of the Infant Drop Box was forcibly stripped and transferred!
It now belonged entirely to her!
And the wailing from inside the box ceased the very instant ownership changed hands.
Then, wave after wave of infant laughter drifted out from the box.
"Hehe hehe…"
Only at this moment did Silk-Stocking Desperado fully grasp what on earth the Joker had meant by motherly love!
This had nothing to do with radiating maternal affection!
He had simply used the coercive force of Plunder to make her the owner of this Cursed Object outright!
The Infant Drop Box itself was a powerful Cursed Object that stored the souls of Ghost Infants!
The moment the Cursed Object was forcibly seized and bonded to her!
Those Ghost Infants inside, stripped of all reason, would naturally recognize her as their master under the binding of the rules.
Wasn't that just becoming a mother in a rather unorthodox sense?!
"Hahaha! I knew it—I was absolutely right about you, Miss Silk-Stocking!"
The Joker walked up from behind, clapping his hands in admiration.
"After all, those of us chosen by the divine—us Divine Chosen—have souls of a strength no ordinary person can compare to."
"The power you just displayed was truly magnificent!"
Silk-Stocking Desperado shot him an exasperated glance.
That close-range ghost wail just moments ago had nearly sent her off for good.
She raised a hand and wiped the blood trickling from her nostril. Her gaze was still slightly dazed.
But she forced her fury down and, feigning composure, pointed ahead.
"Stop wasting words."
"Ahead… that should be the path leading to the Morgue, correct?"
"Mm-hm~"
The Joker smiled and nodded, gesturing toward the staircase that extended downward ahead.
"That is… the final path to Basement Level 1."
"The place where this hospital's deepest secrets lie buried."
At the same time, he dropped his smile.
"We need to pick up the pace, however~"
"After all, once the old father upstairs realizes we've stolen his most beloved toy…"
"He is going to be absolutely furious~"
……
Meanwhile.
19th floor, 5 minutes earlier.
The Thousand-Face Demon Lord, who had just arrived on this floor, was watching the few individuals in the corridor locked in battle with the Chief of Orthopedics.
'An S-Grade ability capable of accumulating the force of years?'
'Excellent… that is precisely what I need for the next piece of my puzzle.'
He then turned his gaze toward Guo Shuai and Quanquan.
'A young man with half his face disfigured—seems to possess a Danger Perception ability, and carries 2 Cursed Objects of decent quality.'
However, when his gaze swept over Quanquan, who had just knocked the Chief of Orthopedics flat with a single punch—
Both the Thousand-Face Demon Lord and Tiffany's eyes were simultaneously struck with shock!
"A… a Divine Fetus?!"
The Thousand-Face Demon Lord's heart erupted with wild elation.
'An untamed wild Divine Fetus!'
'I never imagined that on top of Chen Daozi, there would be such a heaven-defying windfall!'
'Truly, the heavens are on my side! Hahaha!'
He was so excited his entire body was trembling faintly.
But as a cunning old fox who had lived for untold years—
Amid his ecstasy, he also instantly sensed a wave of threat.
Because…
A Divine Fetus was absolutely not a soft target that could be dealt with easily!
More importantly, he understood perfectly the true nature of a Divine Fetus.
Such a creature, nurtured by the World Tree, could not be killed in any conventional sense!
But the definitive intelligence was this:
The Arashin-kai's Divine Fetus, Lord Wu Wo, had undeniably fallen!
Which meant—the being capable of slaying a Divine Fetus…
Was absolutely somewhere inside this very Seattle Mercy Hospital right now!
The Thousand-Face Demon Lord's gaze lingered on Guo Shuai for 1 second, then immediately dismissed that suspicion in his mind.
'Absolutely not him.'
'Although this kid just demonstrated excellent combat instincts and an uncanny movement style.'
'He absolutely does not possess the absolute power needed to annihilate a Divine Fetus.'
The Thousand-Face Demon Lord narrowed his eyes slightly.
Eliminate the impossible, and whatever remains, however improbable, is the only truth.
'Then… there is only one man it could be!'
In the Thousand-Face Demon Lord's mind, the image from the Fate Casino instantly surfaced—
That lunatic with a blank expression, holding a revolver, pulling the trigger at his own head over and over!
'It can only be him!'
In that single second, the Thousand-Face Demon Lord made an instant decision.
'Forgive me, Charlotte—your uncle, I'm afraid…'
'…will have to break his promise this time.'
The Thousand-Face Demon Lord had decided: not only would he devour everyone before him, he would personally go and eliminate that man!
He would seize the Divine Fetus—along with every Divine Chosen in this hospital—round them all up, and fuse them entirely into his own body!
Once that ultimate fusion was complete, he would surpass even a wicked god in power!
At that point, even if Nightmare, the 2nd Seat of Arashin-kai, came personally to settle the score with him, that person could only become his nourishment!
'Of course… with 1 exception.'
The Thousand-Face Demon Lord snorted coldly in his mind.
'That would be the Joker.'
'A performer who deceives all living beings, yet dares to usurp my title and ability to roam about running schemes.'
'Sooner or later, I will tear off that false mask of yours and make you the most wretched fragment inside my body!'
And yet, just as he was ambitiously mapping out his path to godhood…
Hummm!
Suddenly, the Thousand-Face Demon Lord's heart gave a violent lurch!
He was horrified to discover that the soul connection between himself and the Infant Drop Box on the 1st floor…
Had been severed!
The Thousand-Face Demon Lord's pupils contracted sharply.
'No good! My Nursery Box!'
'Someone is heading toward the Morgue! This kind of forcible rule-defying seizure…'
'It can only be that woman with the Plunder ability!'
The Thousand-Face Demon Lord's whole body began to tremble.
The reason he hadn't made a move on Silk-Stocking Desperado immediately before was precisely because her Plunder ability countered his masks on a rule level!
And now, that woman had raided his lair and was heading straight for the greatest secret inside the Morgue!
He turned his head and roared at the cluster of Ghost Doctors behind him.
"You useless lot! Right now! Get down to Basement Level 1 and the Morgue this instant!"
"No matter what it costs—even if you die doing it—pin those intruders down for me!"
"Are we clear?!"
The Ghost Doctors all shuddered in fright, then scrambled and tumbled over one another charging toward the stairwell.
The Thousand-Face Demon Lord turned his head, spared a glance at the Chief of Orthopedics lying flat on the ground and no longer capable of rising.
Then, both heads simultaneously locked onto Guo Shuai and Chen Daozi.
"Now then… let me end this swiftly and fuse you all!"
The moment the words fell, the Thousand-Face Demon Lord charged straight at the 3 of them!
At the same time, the head of Tiffany on his left shoulder snapped its eyes open and unleashed the trump card without hesitation!
Ten Thousand Blades!
Swoosh!
Invisible sword energy swept toward Guo Shuai!
At this moment, Guo Shuai's physical strength and mental energy had both reached their absolute limit.
He stood there rigid as a post, unable to move so much as a single finger!
'Legs! Move! Move for me!!'
Guo Shuai roared in his mind, but his body simply refused to obey!
He was moments away from being sliced apart by Ten Thousand Blades!
"Daddy, watch out!"
At the critical moment, Quanquan lunged forward.
It threw both arms around Guo Shuai's legs and physically dragged him out of the sword energy's central kill zone!
Shick shick shick!
Nearby, Chen Daozi barely dodged a fatal blow—and only barely, thanks to the lingering effect of the Acceleration Shoes—yet his left arm was still pierced through by several of the peripheral sword energy strikes.
Chen Daozi clutched his left arm as blood poured freely, his expression troubled as he looked toward Guo Shuai.
"Friend, this guy is a little ridiculous! What do we do?"
"Nothing we can do!"
Guo Shuai bellowed with absolute decisiveness.
"This old monster is obviously the final Boss. In the state we're in now, we absolutely can't fight him!"
"Every man for himself! Split up and run!"
"Got it!"
Chen Daozi didn't hesitate for a single moment, sprinting away down the western corridor.
And Quanquan hoisted the immobilized Guo Shuai onto its back, pumped its stubby little legs, and bolted madly down the eastern corridor in a frantic escape!
The Thousand-Face Demon Lord halted his steps, watching the 2 of them flee in opposite directions with a cold smile.
'Run? In the king's domain, where exactly can you run?'
He raised his right hand, and the Dead-Energy Revolver manifested in his palm.
The cylinder spun—5 rounds remaining inside.
The head of Tiffany on the Thousand-Face Demon Lord's left shoulder spoke again.
"In the name of the king!"
"Within 100 meters! No one—absolutely no one—can evade the pursuit of the bullet!!!"
The 2nd domain rule activated instantly!
The Thousand-Face Demon Lord didn't even bother to aim at the 2 fleeing figures.
He casually raised the revolver and pulled the trigger directly at the ceiling!
Bang!
The gunshot cracked!
The dead-energy bullet, the instant it left the barrel, bent at a sharp angle in midair!
Then it shot toward the eastern corridor!
And at the far end of that direction—there was Quanquan, sprinting desperately with Guo Shuai on its back!
The Thousand-Face Demon Lord knew perfectly well that among these people, Chen Daozi was merely a moderately troublesome insect.
But the Divine Fetus was the true threat to be eliminated!
It had to be dealt with first!
Even if killing the Divine Fetus invited retribution from the World Tree, he could not care less!
'Let them come after me—so be it!'
'As long as I fuse enough abilities, however many times they come, I'll kill them however many times it takes!'
'At worst, I'll go to the Twilight Forest myself someday, chop down that wretched World Tree, and remove the problem at the root!'
The Thousand-Face Demon Lord's thoughts roared with arrogance.
At this moment, Guo Shuai, slung across Quanquan's back, felt Danger Perception screaming its alarm!
That bullet, carrying an absolute-hit rule, was bearing straight down on him and Quanquan!
'It's over…'
Despair rose in Guo Shuai's heart.
He still could not move, not even enough to turn his head for one last look.
But right at this final moment between life and death, Albert let out a strange laugh.
"Heh heh… here it comes!"
What happened next—
The sprinting Quanquan suddenly stopped dead in its tracks, spun around sharply, and shielded Guo Shuai behind itself.
That face, which had originally been painted with a 'target' pattern, underwent a transformation at this very moment!
The bullseye lines that had been there began to spin wildly, and in an instant transformed into a vortex!
Hummm!
A powerful suction force erupted from the vortex-shaped face!
That dead-energy bullet carrying absolute aim, the instant it made contact with the vortex, was actually…
Swallowed!
"Hic~"
After swallowing the bullet, Quanquan's vortex face reverted back to its target face.
It even let out a satisfied burp.
"Daddy, that little black bean just now… I'm so full~"