Chapter 129: The Eerie Barbed Wire

Upon entering the nursing home, the sky turned unusually gloomy. Massive, dark clouds hung low, pressing down like a crumbling wall ready to collapse at any moment. A biting cold wind blew from all directions, sending shivers down Li Tianque’s spine. Gazing at the dilapidated structure before them, one could not help but feel an involuntary sense of dread.

"Damn, they call this a nursing home? I think even a healthy person would go insane living in a dump like this. Tell me, do you think all the doctors here eventually went crazy too?" Fatty Bi remarked.

"Conditions were very backward at the time. To be able to build a nursing home like this back then was actually quite an achievement," Ling Chi replied.

Li Tianque didn’t respond, though he wondered to himself: given the economic conditions of that era, would they really have used such significant funds to build a facility like this? It didn't seem reasonable.

As the three continued forward, they reached a large arched iron gate in the perimeter wall. Fatty Bi cursed, "A nursing home? Does this look like a nursing home to you? If you put some barbed wire on these walls, it would be exactly like a prison!"

Barbed wire?

At the mention of that word, something clicked for Li Tianque. He took another look at the nearby collapsed wall, and sure enough, there were remnants of rusted metal wire still clinging to it. Apparently, after this nursing home was abandoned, the original barbed wire had likely been scavenged by local herdsmen. In those times of scarcity, such wire had many uses and could even be sold for money.

However, the traces atop the wall confirmed that it had once been fitted with barbed wire. Even more unsettling, there were several clumps of something resembling rotting meat caught on it. The flesh was severely decayed, with maggots burrowing in and out, spilling droplets of green fluid with every movement.

A path paved with blue bricks led directly to the abandoned building ahead. As the three stepped onto it, they used their magnifying instruments to track the faint traces of radionuclides, which extended all the way toward the nursing home. Beyond that, there were some marks on the grass that looked like footprints, though they were too soaked by stagnant water to be clearly identified.

Continuing to follow the trace, they reached the main entrance. The crooked iron gate had evidently been secured by a chain, but it was now broken, lying scattered across the ground. The gate panels themselves had been smashed by some force, with debris strewn everywhere. Clearly, the large yellow sphere had entered the ruins from this direction.

Strangely, however, the radionuclide trail did not continue inside; it vanished completely near the entrance, with no further traces to be found. Ling Chi observed the surroundings for a moment and said, "Let's split up. You two go in through the main entrance, and I’ll check the perimeter before entering from another direction. Keep in touch!"

"Understood," Li Tianque replied.

Ling Chi walked away with his magnifying instrument, slowly disappearing into the sea of grass. Though Li Tianque and Fatty Bi felt uneasy, they hurried into the nursing home one after the other.

As soon as they stepped inside, a pungent, skull-rattling stench of medicine flooded their noses and throats. This intense odor was mixed with a complex, musty decay that made their skin crawl. Fatty Bi fanned his fat hand in front of his face, complaining, "They haul around all this useless gear, but don't even provide us with masks? They’re trying to suffocate us! If I walk through this place, I’ll lose ten years of my life."

"This smell..." Li Tianque frowned. It felt familiar, as if he had encountered it somewhere before.

The nursing home was riddled with holes, and while occasional beams of light filtered in from outside, they were weak—especially with the overcast weather, making it difficult to discern their surroundings. The cracked marble floor creaked underfoot, and the plaster on the walls was crumbling and falling in sheets. Black mold, moss, and tangled spiderwebs were everywhere. As they entered, the stagnant water on the floor rippled as insects scurried away, and the faint, scuttling sounds of rats echoed through the corridor.

Li Tianque unclipped a high-intensity flashlight from his gear to illuminate the area. The windows were of an old, carved wooden style, now rotted and mangled, leaning precariously against the tilted staircases. While the steel framework of the building remained sturdy, the walls had completely buckled toward the south. The entire main building resembled a hunched old man. Even though it was midday, the leaning structure completely blocked out the sunlight.

The two scanned the area with their magnifying instruments, but found no traces of radionuclides at the entrance or within a ten-meter radius. It seemed the creature hadn't entered through here. Had it not come inside at all, or had it perhaps leaped into the air and rolled in from a higher vantage point? Li Tianque felt a surge of doubt as he continued to observe with his light.

The beam swept across the walls. The interior was completely hollow; aside from the steel and concrete, there was nothing left—not even a single piece of furniture. It was like a merchant traveler who had been thoroughly ransacked.

"Damn, what a waste of a trip. Looks like there’s nothing here..." Fatty Bi said, sounding disappointed.

Li Tianque continued to sweep the light around, murmuring, "Heh, that would be for the best. I truly hope there is nothing here at all."