Ethan heard footsteps outside the hospital room. He sat up quickly, got off the bed, and carefully put the metal cage with the calico cat under the bed.

After that, he moved silently toward the door.

He heard people shouting outside in a panic: "Come here, quick!"

"Someone has kidnapped a child!"

"They're..."

With a soft "creak," Ethan opened the door a little and peeked outside.

Kidnapping a child?

Why would anyone do that in a hospital?

Ethan looked outside, trying to figure out what was going on. He saw the blonde nurse who took care of him running quickly toward the noise.

Before Ethan could see what was happening, he heard the nurse suddenly collapse with a soft "thud."

At that moment, a man with a rough voice said: "Damn it, didn't I tell you to watch the elevator?"

Another man replied: "It was midnight. I thought no one would use the elevator."

"Enough talk. We need to go. The girl might be waking up. Can you use your power again to keep her asleep?"

The man with the rough voice said quickly: "No, I can't use it on the same target again so soon."

The other man cursed: "Damn it. If the door in the stairwell wasn't locked, we'd already be gone."

At that moment, their voices suddenly disappeared.

Ethan's pupils narrowed slightly. He saw the two men walking quickly toward his room.

His fancy single room was close to another stairwell. If the two men wanted to go down the stairs, they had to pass by here.

He had just heard something about a power that made people fall asleep.

Ethan had already met [Grinning Ghost] before. And now, with the blonde nurse suddenly collapsing, he immediately thought of the man with the rough voice. He must have some kind of power that could make people fall asleep suddenly.

Why would they go to all the trouble of kidnapping a little girl in a hospital?

Ethan was full of questions, but he didn't have time to think. He tried to slowly close the door.

But something went wrong.

The door made a slight noise when it opened or closed, probably because it had been used for a long time.

Normally, that wouldn't be a problem.

But now, the sound of the door closing caught the attention of the two men.

Ethan looked up and saw the two men wearing clown masks, staring straight at him.

He instantly felt relieved. Because of the masks, he couldn't see their faces.

That meant even if they saw him, they wouldn't recognize him. He'd be safe.

But just then, the little girl in one man's arms suddenly opened her eyes. She struggled and shouted:

"Who are you? I'm waiting for my dad here!"

"Let me go! Let me go!"

As the girl kept fighting, one of the men's clown masks was knocked off by her hand.

At the moment the mask hit the ground, Ethan's eyes met the eyes of the two men.

Everything seemed to stop for a moment.

Then, in a flash, Ethan quickly tried to close the door.

But suddenly, he felt an overwhelming tiredness, like he hadn't slept for days.

The man with the sleep power put his mask back on and said: "Quick, kill him! He saw my face!"

The other man didn't hesitate. He pulled out a gun and pointed it at Ethan.

Ethan's hair stood on end. His heart pounded, and he tried hard to control his body and close the door.

But that strange tiredness made his body weak. He felt like falling to the floor and falling asleep right there.

Just as the gun was about to be pulled, the man with the rough voice shouted: "Idiot! Don't use the gun, use the knife!"

"He can't run away now. Just cut his throat. A gunshot would make too much noise!"

The man with the gun quickly took out a sharp knife and ran toward Ethan.

Ethan was leaning against the door, blinking his eyes in and out. He knew clearly—if he fell asleep, he would never wake up.

That damn power! It was like a total unfair fight for normal people.

Right now, Ethan felt like a helpless Bianca mouse, completely unable to fight back. He was just a normal person in the real world.

If the two men fought him in a real fight, even if he was weak, he might have had a chance.

But now, all he could do was watch the man with the knife getting closer and closer.

Ethan tried to move his body and take out the blue medicine from his pocket, but he couldn't even move a finger.

The hallway lights shone on the sharp knife, making it look bright and scary.

Just as the knife was about to fall, a loud voice rang out in the hallway. Someone shouted: "Stop! I'll shoot if you don't stop!"

The hospital security finally arrived. This was the best cancer hospital in Dolren City, and their security team was pretty professional. They came quickly.

The man holding the little girl cursed: "Damn it! We have to go, or we won't make it!"

Before he finished speaking, one security guard suddenly collapsed on the floor, completely out of control. The other guards didn't understand what was happening.

When the second guard also fell down strangely, someone in panic pulled the trigger.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" A bunch of bullets shot out of the gun and flew toward the man with the knife.

Ethan saw the man close his eyes instinctively. Then, to his surprise, his body became as strong as steel. He managed to bounce the bullets back off the wall.

The man quickly moved in front of the one holding the girl, like a strong shield.

All the security guards were completely shocked. They stared in disbelief, as if they couldn't believe what they were seeing.

The two men took advantage of the moment and ran quickly toward the stairs, disappearing from the scene.

As the man who had kidnapped the girl left, none of the remaining guards followed.

The guns no longer made them feel safe. Faced with something unknown, most people just wanted to protect themselves.

Ethan could no longer resist the strong feeling of sleep. He closed his eyes.

A few minutes later.

Ethan slowly opened his eyes and looked at the familiar ceiling.

The blonde nurse was standing by the bed, looking worried. When she saw Ethan open his eyes, she let out a sigh of relief and whispered:

"Mr. Ethan, are you okay?"

Ethan instinctively reached into his pocket and felt the bottle of blue medicine was still there. Then he answered,

"What just happened?"

Before the nurse could answer, a set of footsteps came from outside the room. Ethan turned his head.

A young man in a police uniform was walking quickly toward him.

The blonde nurse said: "Mr. Ethan, this is a police officer from nearby. He's been waiting for you to wake up. He wants to ask you some questions."

Ethan's eyes moved a bit and he asked: "He's been waiting for me this whole time?"

The nurse nodded.

Ethan looked at the young police officer who had already reached the side of his bed, then said to the nurse:

"I want some fruit. Can you peel some for me, please?"

The nurse nodded and got up. She went to a cabinet in the room, found a fruit knife, then took the apple from Ethan's bedside and started peeling it.

The young officer frowned and said: "Ma'am, I need to ask him a few questions. If you don't mind, could you step out for a moment?"

The nurse looked at Ethan. Ethan nodded and said: "Give it to me. I'll peel the apple myself."

Then the nurse handed the knife and the apple to Ethan and left the room.

Now, it was just the young officer and Ethan in the room.

Suddenly, a soft creaking sound came from under the bed.

The officer looked down at the floor instinctively. Ethan quickly said: "Hello, is there something wrong?"

The officer looked at the fruit knife in Ethan's hand, then asked: "Sir, there was a kidnapping at the hospital just now. Did you see the two kidnappers?"

Ethan shook his head. "No, I was too scared. I didn't even notice what they looked like."

The officer was surprised for a moment and asked: "You really didn't see them?"

Ethan looked at him and said: "Why do you think I should have?"

The officer didn't answer, but sighed and said: "Well, okay. I won't bother you then."

He turned to leave. As he reached the door, a creaking sound was heard, and the door shut and locked.

Ethan stopped peeling the apple. He slowly looked up at the young officer, and stayed quiet.

The officer slowly turned around, looked at the fruit knife in Ethan's hand, and said with a slight sneer:

"How did you know?"