As Alexander stepped through the portal of light, he found himself in the familiar hospital ward hall. He noticed that Carmen and Eric had arrived before him. Eric, in particular, was waving at him.

"Good to see you here!"

Carmen, looking more unkempt than ever, seemed even more worn down.

"Yeah," Alexander nodded to both of them and asked, "Do we have new companions for this mission?"

"Newcomers don't arrive so quickly," Carmen explained. The ward had an emergency light that, once illuminated, indicated that the new "patients" had arrived downstairs. Without intervention from the veterans, these newcomers were unlikely to survive their first encounter.

"Are the monsters in the lower ward very powerful?" Alexander inquired, knowing that both Yulin and Carmen were quite capable—that even they couldn’t always rescue the newcomers was concerning.

"They're dangerous, but your Sacrificial Blade should be able to fend them off, though not kill them. It’s basically a trial for the newcomers."

"I see, that makes sense," Alexander nodded in understanding.

"Alexander, what's your Sacrificial Blade and Fragmented Magic like? If it’s convenient, could you tell us in advance? That way, we can allocate tasks after entering the script world."

"Sure," Alexander replied. With a gesture, he summoned his Sacrificial Blade from the void—three gleaming short daggers.

"These were forged from three of my ribs and take the form of short blades. They're exceptionally sharp, almost unbreakable."

He held the blades between his fingers, showing them to Carmen and Eric. The blades were slender, nearly transparent, and extraordinarily sharp. Alexander had seen the legendary Iron Dagger from "The Deer and the Cauldron" slice through iron like mud; his daggers were similarly formidable. Once, he accidentally dropped one, and it cut straight into the floor as if it were butter. His old house, built in the last century, was not a shoddy construction, with solid cement floors, but the dagger pierced it effortlessly.

The daggers were just under seven inches long, lacking guards, with a Gothic design—cold and eerie, etched with Latin inscriptions that read:

"God created man from a rib, I forge blades from the same."

Seeing these daggers, Carmen and Eric looked contemplative.

"So this is a Sacrificial Blade, not quite what I imagined," Eric scratched his head, unsure of what to say.

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"True, since they appear as daggers or short blades, they might not seem impressive. But ultimately, a weapon's power lies with its wielder."

Alexander didn't elaborate further. His daggers indeed seemed less formidable than Yulin's chain hammer, but he had chosen bones from his rib cage for a reason. Yulin had warned him that the Sacrificial Blade came with a cost, but compared to the Shadow Beast, which could lead to the user's death if killed, the Sacrificial Blade seemed to have no inherent drawback.

If Yulin's warning was accurate, any issues with the Sacrificial Blade would likely relate to the part of himself he sacrificed. Therefore, Alexander chose ribs—since biologically, people can function normally without a few ribs, ensuring no impact on his health.

That's why Alexander used his ribs to craft his Sacrificial Blade.

As Alexander stored his blades away, the emergency light flickered red, indicating that newcomers had arrived downstairs.

"Alexander, you head down the left staircase, I'll take the right. Eric, stay here to assist us…" Carmen spoke with familiarity, then sprinted towards the right stairwell. Alexander, knowing time was of the essence, also dashed down the left stairwell.

His months of training had significantly enhanced his physical abilities, allowing him to sprint effortlessly down the stairs. He moved swiftly and gracefully, like a darting swallow, his pace quickening.

Upon entering the hallway, he immediately heard a woman scream.

"Head towards the sound—that's where I'll find them."

This floor was larger than the upper one, with numerous corridors and twists. Alexander moved quickly, heading toward the source of the scream.

The scream was closer to him than to Carmen, suggesting he'd reach the newcomers first.

Moving swiftly, he found a man and a woman in blue hospital gowns rushing past him in panic.

"Run behind me, head back upstairs. Avoid the shadows; seek out lit areas."

Alexander merely pointed the way, stepping aside. He needed to save more newcomers.

After they dashed past, Alexander continued toward the scream, soon encountering a bloody corpse and a creature feasting upon it.

In that moment, he drew two pistols: an M1911 and a Glock 18, one brought from the script world and the other purchased at the free shop, along with 6,000 rounds of ammunition.

Bang, bang, bang—he fired relentlessly, causing the creature to stagger but not die.

"Trouble, how do I deal with them?"

Alexander found it vexing. Just then, unexpectedly, the creature growled lowly and leapt to the ceiling, retreating swiftly.

"It ran away in fear, good!"

He sighed in relief, holstering his pistols, and proceeded down the corridor, where he found another newcomer.

This was a woman, quite attractive, with wavy hair hanging over her shoulders. She sat pale and terrified on the floor, seemingly frozen.

"Get up."

Alexander understood talking wouldn't help; he pointed a gun at her directly.

"Don't, don't shoot, don't kill me," the woman shakily stood, trembling.

"Still afraid? Good. Run behind me, avoid the shadows, head upstairs. The light is your exit."

He gestured with his gun, letting the frightened woman pass. Then, a young man with golden glasses, looking hesitant, peeked from a doorway.

"Excuse me…"

"No time for explanations, head upstairs now. I'll explain later…"

Alexander instructed the man. As he spoke, shadows emerged from the dark corridor.

"They're coming, wait, how are there so many?"

He glanced over, realizing the "monsters" had returned stronger. The one he'd shot at earlier came back with five or six companions.

"Damn, they've brought reinforcements."

Alexander found it both amusing and frustrating. The creature hadn't fled in fear but had gone to gather more.