DIM Chapter 6

Translator: Abo Dammen

The hospital was in chaos.

The piercing laughter was so loud they seemed to lift the roof off the building.

Not just the old man, but about a few more others were also showing symptoms, their laughter rising and falLin in waves. Crowds of people gathered to watch the commotion, forcing emergency medical personnel to first disperse the onlookers, delaying critical rescue efforts.

When Lin Lin entered, this was the scene that greeted him. His brow furrowed, and his gaze immediately locked onto the old man surrounded by medical staff.

Through the gaps in the crowd, he could see the old man’s limbs had already stiffened, his skin taking on a pale, bluish hue.

—Too old. He couldn’t hold on any longer.

Spotting someone who still had a chance, Lin Lin quickened his pace. “Move aside!”

The woman’s face was cyanotic, veins bulging from asphyxiation, and her skin was dotted with burst capillaries, like a moldy cake on display, waiting to be cut open.

The medical staff didn’t know who he was. Seeing his white hair, they instinctively shouted, “Stay back! This is no place for bystanders!”

But the young man’s strength was astonishing. He effortlessly pulled aside two slender doctors.

With a swift motion, he tapped the woman’s forehead. A faint black light flashed, and her head tilted to the side as the horrifying laughter abruptly stopped.

Did he just kill her?

The onlookers stared at him in shock.

As Lin Lin moved to the next patient, the doctors exchanged uneasy glances before shouting, “What are you doing?!”

A concerned bystander chimed in, “Don’t interfere with the doctors!”

Someone even tried to grab Lin Lin, attempting to restrain him.

Lin Lin easily dodged the reaching hands. “Can’t you see I’m saving lives?”

Someone noticed that the people he had touched were indeed breathing normally again.

“Turn off your phones. No recording,” Lin Lin said, pulLin out his credentials from his pocket.

The crowd saw it was a security officer’s badge.

Most people obediently put their phones away.

With a few words, Lin Lin effortlessly took control of the situation. The lobby quieted down, and people began cooperating with the hospital’s arrangements.

The hospital’s director hurried over, bowing respectfully to Lin Lin. “Officer—”

Lin Lin pulled out his phone, typing a message while giving orders. “Listen carefully.”

The director was momentarily taken aback, a flicker of displeasure crossing his face. But when he noticed the triangular emblem on Lin Lin’s uniform, his expression changed. “Please, go ahead.”

After giving his instructions, Lin Lin made a phone call.

Ten minutes later.

“What are you doing?!” A middle-aged woman shoved a security guard. “Let me out! Why won’t you let me go home?”

The crowd suddenly realized that, at some point, the hospital had stopped allowing people to leave. Only critically ill patients were being attended to, while everyone else was told to stay put.

Being without internet was bearable, but restricting their freedom? That was too much.

The crowd grew restless again.

The hospital director stepped forward to calm them. “Everyone, please remain calm. A new virus has been detected in the hospital. Everyone must undergo disinfection before leaving.”

“I don’t have any virus! Let me out!” the woman insisted.

The director replied, “Ma’am, we must take responsibility for everyone. You wouldn’t want to bring the virus home to your family, would you?”

The woman stiffened, about to retort, but when she saw a team of people in white uniforms entering the hospital, she changed her tune. “Fine, I won’t leave, but let me see the doctor first!”

This sparked an uproar. Someone shouted, “We’re all waiting here! Why should you go first?”

“You cowards! When I wanted to leave, none of you spoke up. Now you’re brave enough to stand up to me? Making an old lady fight your battles for you, how noble of you lot!”

“What are you talking about?!”

The woman was a one-woman army, her words firing like a machine gun.

“Isn’t what I’m saying true? Either let me leave so I can go to another hospital, or get me a doctor right now, or I’ll die here!”

“You old hag, there are people older than you who aren’t causing trouble!”

“Yeah, stop acting entitled!”

When Fei Shilan entered, the hospital sounded more like a marketplace, with the woman at the center of the chaos, her area practically a vacuum.

Lu Ying, behind him, tilted her head. “Is she the anomaly? Such strong combat power!”

A security officer quickly clarified, “No, no, she’s just a civilian. Captain Lin is on the top floor.”

Hearing the commotion, the woman turned her attention to Fei Shilan and Lu Ying. “Why can those two women move around freely?”

Fei Shilan: ???

He was gonna get angry!

Lu Ying held him back. “The captain is calling us!”

Inside the elevator, Fei Shilan took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

The last time he had seen Lin Lin was during his training at the Anomaly Investigation Bureau headquarters, when Lin Lin had led their batch of recruits to take down an A-level anomaly.

That was five years ago.

Lin Ling looked exactly the same as he did in Fei Shilan’s memories. He was wearing a black shirt, leaning against the sofa, arms crossed as he observed something on the table.

Lu Ying’s glasses gleamed. “Captain, what are you doing?”

“Thinking,” Lin Lin replied without looking up.

Fei Shilan peeked over and saw a floppy beret on the table.

It was old and worn, with black stains and a greasy sheen.

Fei Shilan took a step back. “What’s this?”

Lu Ying stamped her fist on her palm. “I bet it’s D172!”

Fei Shilan realized it was the hat that could replace identities.

“Captain Lin, why is the hat here?”

Lu Ying adjusted her glasses, her eyes shining. “The captain must have defeated it in a glorious battle.”

“I found it in this half-dead state,” Lin Lin said, straightening up before leaning against the other side of the sofa, his chin resting on his hand.

Lu Ying stepped forward, staring at the hat. “Strange. D172 hasn’t been destroyed, but it’s lost its consciousness. It seems… empty.”

“I’ve verified the situation with the person D172 possessed. It matches the report—he has no memories. The person was brought here from a motel. I plan to check it out. By the way, this hospital has more than one anomaly. You probably saw it on your way in. Lu Ying, you’ll handle the aftermath for those people.”

Lu Ying: “Got it~”

Fei Shilan couldn’t help but ask, “We cut off the internet on our way here and disabled all social media permissions. Why is it still spreading?”

Information pollution had existed since the advent of the internet.

Cutting off the network was a common and effective measure, but this anomaly seemed unaffected.

Lin Lin raised an eyebrow. “The phones were already contaminated before the network was cut.”

His arm relaxed slightly, a black ring on his left index finger catching the light as he held a freshly lit cigarette.

Smoke curled upward. “But it’s not all bad. At least there are survivors in this incident.”

Song Jiayang was taken to the doctor’s office. His situation was explained.

“I think… I was attacked by something. It felt like I was cursed,” he said earnestly. “Have you ever encountered something like this, doctor?”

The doctor nodded. “I know. A concussion.”

Song Jiayang insisted it wasn’t, but the doctor asked him to extend his arm.

He obediently did so.

Before he could react, the doctor rolled up Song Jiayang’s sleeve, revealing clear bruises.

“Aren’t you going to treat these?” the doctor asked.

“Did Ruan Zhou tell you?” Song Jiayang couldn’t help but ask.

Though they had no contact information, he had learned the young man’s name.

“Yes,” the doctor said, examining the wounds. “Do you want me to report this to the security bureau?”

Song Jiayang’s expression darkened. “The security officers told us before to handle it ourselves.”

“Your parents?”

“Dead.”

The doctor’s fingers paused on the keyboard before continuing as if nothing had happened. “I’ll cover the medical fees. Go to the psychiatry department first—I’ve already made an appointment for you. After that, pick up your medication in the lobby.”

“Thank you, doctor!”

Song Jiayang pushed open the door to the psychiatry department.

To his surprise, someone was already waiting for him, but it wasn’t a doctor.

A young man with white hair and a face straight out of a manga, a high-ponytailed woman wearing gloves, arms crossed, and a cute girl with black-framed glasses greeted him enthusiastically, “You’re here!”

Song Jiayang immediately realized these people weren’t ordinary people, nor were they ordinary security officers.

The tallest, the white-haired man, spoke first. “I’m Lin Lin from the Anomaly Investigation Bureau.”

He showed an ID, and it wasn’t the security officer’s badge he’d shown earlier. Song Jiayang saw it read: Anomaly Investigation Bureau.

He had heard of this organization—someone had mentioned it on a website.

“You seem to know about us,” Lin Lin said, instantly picking up on his recognition.

“Don’t worry. We won’t do anything to ordinary citizens. We just want to understand your situation.”

Song Jiayang touched his arm. “What situation?”

Lin Lin glanced at his small movement. “Your daily routine over the past few days. Please tell me everything in detail.”

Song Jiayang lowered his head, thinking. Lu Ying quietly circled behind him, staring at the back of his head, her eyes unfocused, her black pupils dilating and turning a pale gray.

“These past few days, I’ve been going to school as usual. After school, I’d go to an internet cafe to play games for a bit…” Song Jiayang began recounting.

As he spoke, the anomalies in his story became apparent.

According to the Xinhai City Anomaly Investigation Bureau’s findings, most people’s contamination started with receiving a video from a contact. But for Song Jiayang, it began with a friend request.

Song Jiayang continued, “After finishing my homework, I was about to click on it, but then I realized we hadn’t exchanged contact information. So I got scared.”

He glanced at Lin Lin, who showed no reaction.

Song Jiayang went on, “There have been news reports about ‘romance scams,’ where people are lured out and killed after falling in love. I was worried…”

“I heard several wealthy people died,” he added.

Lin Lin smirked. “You’re quite cautious.”

“Impulsiveness is the devil. I only acted on impulse once. Right after adding that friend, I ended up in the hospital,” Song Jiayang said with a bitter smile.

Lu Ying’s eyes cleared, and she nodded at Lin Lin.

Lin Lin extended his hand. “Thank you for your cooperation.”

Song Jiayang sighed in relief, shaking his hand. “You’re welcome. It’s my duty.”

But before he could fully relax, the petite girl sprayed him with an unknown mist.

Overwhelming drowsiness hit him, and Song Jiayang swayed before collapsing into a chair in the examination room, his vision blurring.

“Level I Memory Wipe,” Lu Ying said, adjusting her glasses, the reflective lenses hiding her eyes.