Chapter 33: Elsa’s Little Secret
“Bai, you’re here?”
Elsa’s face lit up, and she quickly covered the teddy bear’s mouth to prevent it from blurting out anything inappropriate.
“Mm.”
Luo Ling nodded and sat down next to Elsa.
It was just past noon, and many members of the Patient Exchange Group were still busy with their own affairs. Even Ji Shinian, the group leader, was taking a nap.
Liu Songyi hadn’t specified a time yesterday, so to avoid being late, Luo Ling had arrived as soon as “afternoon” officially began.
As a result, when she arrived, the only people in the entire hospital, besides Ji Shinian, were Yang Meili, who was on duty, and Elsa, who always stayed on the seventh floor.
After a brief explanation from Yang Meili, Luo Ling understood that the group members usually had their own jobs and only one or two members would stay on duty to guard against Grotesquery incursions.
Yang Meili was a beauty blogger and the nominal director of the rehabilitation department. Her usual work was livestreaming, so she spent a lot of time on duty at the hospital.
As for why there had been so many people yesterday, it was because after Ji Shinian glimpsed Wu Qin’s death, he deduced that Luo Ling would follow the clues to the hospital. He had kept most of the group members around these past few days to prevent any accidents.
Fortunately, Luo Ling was more… gentle, or perhaps weaker, than he had imagined, so no real conflict had broken out.
Among all the members of the Patient Exchange Group, the loneliest was Elsa. Because of her physical condition, she couldn’t leave the hospital easily, and because of her ability, she couldn’t chat with others. As for playing on her phone… unfortunately, she couldn’t type.
Or rather, Elsa’s proficiency with electronic devices was abysmal, even worse than Luo Ling’s—at least Luo Ling could make calls with an old flip phone, while Elsa didn’t even know how to dial a number.
So, while other group members might be wary or suspicious of the mysterious Luo Ling, Elsa was undoubtedly the most welcoming.
To Elsa, Luo Ling was a rare friend, someone her own age whom she could talk to.
After Luo Ling sat down, the talkative Elsa took her hand and started chatting, the scene resembling a middle-aged women’s gossip session.
Without even asking, Luo Ling learned about most of the group members from Elsa, though only basic information… Elsa probably didn’t know the specifics herself.
Just like ordinary group chats, the Patient Exchange Group had a group leader, administrators, and members, but the roles weren’t based on strength.
Elsa, the strongest, was just a member. The three administrators, the deceased Wu Qin, Liu Songyi the criminal investigator, didn’t have overwhelming strength compared to the other members. As for the last administrator… Elsa had never met them, as they were said to be in a constant state of slumber.
Ji Shinian, the group leader, rarely took action, only using his ability to briefly glimpse the future. He was said to be over a hundred years old, so he probably wasn’t capable of fighting.
Liu Songyi, as his codename “Ancient Martial Artist” suggested, was a close-combat specialist and didn’t hide the fact that he was on the Judgment path.
Yang Meili, the heavily made-up woman, whose codename was “Phantom,” usually carried out assassination missions. Her specific abilities were unknown.
Wu Hai, the tall, skinny man—the one with the unfriendly attitude yesterday—codenamed “Flame King,” had the ability to manipulate flames—Elemental path.
“Narcissus,” who had been on duty on the first floor yesterday, was a support-type Awakened One like Luo Ling, lacking direct combat abilities.
“Cyber Girl,” whom Luo Ling hadn’t met, had almost no combat ability but was very skilled at manipulating complex machinery. Elsa admired this aspect of her, but no one knew her specific ability.
Besides these, there were a few other group members, but Elsa rarely interacted with them, so she didn’t know much about them.
As for Elsa herself, she didn’t even know her own path, but her ability was large-scale mental disruption.
At full power, it could cover an entire street, even stunning Mid-Order Awakened Ones for a few seconds and leaving them in a prolonged trance. The drawback was that it was indiscriminate.
—During a previous conflict with other Awakened Ones, Elsa had used her ability to incapacitate both sides, inadvertently resolving a potentially fatal clash.
Elsa was a bit embarrassed when mentioning this, but the teddy bear in her arms quickly revealed that she was actually quite proud of it.
Perhaps because she hadn’t spoken to anyone for so long, Elsa had a strong desire to talk. They chatted for almost the entire afternoon, with Luo Ling mostly nodding and agreeing, praising Elsa’s abilities.
When Elsa finally remembered to ask about Luo Ling, her phone suddenly rang and automatically played Ji Shinian’s voice.
“Xu Qian, Bai, come to Ward Zero. Everyone’s here.”
Ward Zero was Ji Shinian’s ward, the best-equipped ward in the entire hospital. The old man had many illnesses, compounded by the two severe injuries he had suffered because of Luo Ling…
“By the way, why don’t they call you Elsa?” Luo Ling asked curiously.
Elsa looked troubled, and the teddy bear jumped out and shrieked mockingly,
“Because they’re all idiots! They can’t hear Elsa’s name! A bunch of idiots! Hahahaha!”
“Don’t say that about my brothers and sisters!” Elsa clenched her small fists and punched the teddy bear lightly. “Bella is the idiot!”
“Can’t… hear?” Luo Ling was confused.
“Mm, I don’t know either. I introduced myself to them using my real name, but they couldn’t hear it, so they gave me a Chinese name,” Elsa nodded. “Only you can hear it, but… you don’t have to tell them. Let’s keep it our little secret.”
Elsa stuck her tongue out playfully at Luo Ling, looking very happy.
“Can’t you even write it down?” Luo Ling asked.
“Write it down… no, I can’t,” Elsa looked even more troubled. “Actually, my writing is even more terrifying than my speech. Ordinary people who see my writing will become agitated and lose their minds, so I usually don’t write.”
What kind of indiscriminate danger was this…?
Luo Ling was inwardly amazed that Qingshan Hospital would take in someone like Elsa… It seemed the Patient Exchange Group was more harmonious than she had imagined.
No wonder Ji Ying had initially suggested she seek refuge at Qingshan Hospital. It wouldn’t have been a bad option for her at the time.
“Let’s go. I also want to… meet the other new friends.”
Luo Ling walked behind Elsa and pushed her wheelchair.
“Mm-hmm.”
A smile bloomed on Elsa’s face, and she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
She should be able to convince Bai to stay…
The reason she had been chattering about the group members was because she was worried that her new friend, who could finally listen to her, would leave because of yesterday’s minor conflict.
Now it seemed that this afternoon’s chat… had been somewhat useful.
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