With a cold, sharp frown, Xiaoyu fixed his piercing gaze on the madman who claimed to be Mingmei. The lunatic, whose mouth was now a mess of blood from a resounding slap, flopped onto the ground, throwing a tantrum: "Murder! Someone's murdering people! This is terrible! This world is no longer habitable, everyone run for your lives!"

At the sound of the word "everyone," both of them froze momentarily. Just as they were about to question him further, the madman suddenly spat out a mouthful of material, rolled his eyes, and instantly fell unconscious.

Xiaoyu, closest to the madman, peered intently at what had been expelled. It was a writhing mass of man-eating Ghoul Worms. He immediately sprang off the man, positioning the oblivious Xiaoshu behind him, and declared, "His entire body is filled with those Ghoul Worms."

Indeed, in less than half a minute, small holes began to burst open across the skin of the skeletal body, and one by one, the wriggling insects drilled their way out. Within two minutes, the corpse was devoured down to a pile of bare bones.

"Did any touch you?" Xiaoshu suddenly realized—this madman was clearly a deliberate lure, set to kill both her and Xiaoyu.

Xiaoyu quickly surveyed himself and shook his head. Then a thought struck him, and he asked Xiaoshu, "Has Li Bingyu always worn that skin-tight suit?" Xiaoshu nodded. A sudden understanding dawned on both of them: the suit was protection against the Ghoul Worms. Everything had been premeditated. If Li Bingyu wasn't the only one wearing such gear, then perhaps not just this hospital, but the entire city was the enemy's target.

Xiaoshu shuddered involuntarily. "To be honest, I still don't quite grasp what's happening here."

"I do," Xiaoyu said, scanning the environment of the parking garage. "The Undying and the spirits are at war. Didn't you see how ruthlessly Li Bingyu targeted you? Remember the scene in the prison when Bai Huaqian and Li Bingyu were competing to kill people? Those killed by Bai Huaqian become zombies, but Li Bingyu gains the Undying status automatically once she kills ninety-nine people. Both sides are fighting over usable living resources."

"To expand their own ranks." Before Xiaoyu could finish, Xiaoshu picked up, thinking that by this logic, the doctors and nurses in the hospital were likely doomed, and the person Xiaoyu sought was probably already dead. Yet, she couldn't tell him this outright. Nothing was more agonizing than being separated by death. As long as there was a sliver of hope, helping her friend find his beloved was a task she wouldn't shy away from.

Xiaoshu doused the remaining alcohol onto a bedsheet, hurled it onto the pile of Ghoul Worms, and tossed a lit match onto it. With a loud whoosh, the madman’s white bones, along with the worms, were engulfed in raging flames, punctuated by the popping and crackling sounds, much like beans roasting in oil.

"Let's go." Xiaoyu looked around, noting the entire parking garage was eerily empty—not a single vehicle remained. There was only a small door on the east end, leading up to the main hall—the only area left to search. Xiaoshu said nothing, moving in sync with Xiaoyu toward that small door.

Upon reaching it, they discovered the door was bolted shut. No matter how hard they pulled the handle, the door didn't budge an inch. About three to five meters away from the door was a fire escape window. Xiaoshu walked over, turned the latch, pulled out the high-pressure water cannon inside, and handed it to Xiaoyu. After he aimed the nozzle directly at the lock, Xiaoshu strained with all her might, wrenching the pressure valve open until her hands bled, before finally seeing a jet of water shoot out along the flexible barrel.

The high-momentum jet struck the lock, making the once-impenetrable iron fixture begin to look precarious and unstable.