Chapter 128: Preparing to Enter

The abandoned nursing home was not far in a straight line from their position, but since the building sat uphill, making their way there was quite challenging. Wu Miaoran decided to have Ling Chi lead Li Tianque and Bi Pangzi over, while she and Brother Tartar stayed behind.

Brother Tartar was very agreeable to this plan; he seemed particularly wary of the gloomy building in the distance and had no desire to follow. Wu Miaoran went to the trunk of the car and pulled out three garments, handing them to the three men.

The fabric resembled a kind of woolen cloth but was smoothed to a glossy finish. The color looked somewhat like workshop uniforms, but oddly enough, each bore a logo resembling an archosaur, with the letters below spelling “Shian” in pinyin.

As the clothes were pulled from the trunk, they clattered with a metallic sound, clearly laden with various tools. "Put these on. These protective suits come with many tools; you might find them useful," Wu said.

Li Tianque took a closer look and immediately realized these were not ordinary work clothes. They were rat suits!

Having watched many tomb-raiding shows in high school, Li Tianque knew this kind of suit was indispensable gear for grave robbers. Rat suits were one-piece garments, connecting top and bottom, worn much like slipping into a sleeping bag, requiring unzipping the front and stepping inside.

They had no collars, and wearing one meant also donning the attached hood, making the wearer resemble a rat—hence the name. Seeing such a suit outside of fiction was somewhat surreal.

“Is this really protective clothing? This is a rat suit, right? Like in Tomb Notes?” Li Tianque asked.

Bi Pangzi shook it by the collar. “You’d think a company like New Boy wouldn’t have trouble providing a decent-fitting suit. Tsk tsk... They say small temples attract strong demons, but you guys have a big temple and small clothes…”

“Cut it out. These suits developed by Xiaoyu are truly one-size-fits-all. Even if you gain a hundred pounds, you can still wear it!” Ling Chi said.

One by one, the three changed into the suits. Li Tianque’s was a bit loose, and coupled with his low-rise jogging shoes, the look was somewhat mismatched. Bi Pangzi wore Martin boots, perfect for tucking his pants inside; his outfit was almost identical to a professional grave robber’s, except for the two conspicuous bulges on his chest.

With everything ready, the trio skirted the edge of a marsh, making their way uphill.

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The wilderness was eerily silent even during the day, with only the occasional whisper of wind from afar. Gusts of yellow sand were caught by whirlwinds and lifted high, swirling like smoke rising from the flatlands, racing over distant dunes.

The marsh emitted a lingering scent of decay. Though shallow, walking along its edge was treacherous; occasionally, they would sink unexpectedly into what seemed like safe sand, triggering bubbling mud beneath their feet.

When the bubbles vanished, sticky mud clung to their shoes, eliciting a nauseating feeling.

The roughly 800-meter journey took them at least half an hour to navigate.

Li Tianque was surprised to see that many poplar trees and other plants once surrounded the building. Now, most were gone, with only a few sturdy poplars barely clinging on. Their trunks grew taller, but leaves were sparse.

From the outside, the abandoned nursing home was a three-story structure. Its original architectural layout was nearly unrecognizable. All the windows were empty, their frames warped and glass shattered. Inside, darkness swallowed any view.

Li Tianque could hardly fathom why such a desolate wilderness would house a nursing home of this scale—it was even larger than most township hospitals, complete with two pavilions and a dilapidated fountain.

It gave him the impression of a research institute. From the exterior, it appeared the home had never displayed a sign or plaque before abandonment.

The building was surrounded by a wall, now reduced to crumbling ruins so fragile it seemed one kick could topple the entire thing.

Despite the ruin, moss still clung thickly to the walls in this dry environment. In the courtyard stood a flat-topped golden acacia tree, though it was gravely ill, leaning half-dead against the wall.

“Indeed, traces of radionuclides extend inside,” Ling Chi said, holding up a magnifying glass to confirm carefully.

“Let’s go in together, then!” Bi Pangzi said.

Ling Chi nodded and pulled out two medal-like devices from his pocket, affixing them to Li Tianque's and Bi Pangzi’s chests.

“What are these you’re giving us?” Li Tianque asked in surprise.

“They’re miniature night-vision cameras. We’ll split up later, and Miaoran wants to record the process for future video material. Plus, you two will pair up, and I can monitor your status through these cameras and communicate with you in real time,” Ling Chi explained.

He pressed a small button on one camera and opened an app on his phone. The fields of view from the two cameras immediately appeared on his screen.

“All right, let’s move out!” Ling Chi extended his fist.

The three bumped fists and strode boldly into the ruins of the nursing home...