Between several large buildings in the hospital, there were various pathways. Some floors were not interconnected, while others were. The design was somewhat complex.
If you’re not familiar with the hospital, you would likely
get lost.
However, Ruan Qing took note of the general structure of the
buildings during the last visit, so it didn’t pose much of an obstacle for him.
The group of players and Wen Li should be somewhere inside
the hospital buildings, but it’s hard to pinpoint their exact location.
Ruan Qing checked the time: 11:47, thirteen minutes away from
the agreed-upon time.
Thirteen minutes, it’s really too little...
Ruan Qing took a deep breath. He should find the group of
players first.
The hospital buildings seemed to be quiet, indicating that no
fight had broken out. The players must be hiding in some corner of the
hospital.
He wanted to find the players first, ensuring that he
wouldn’t encounter Wen Li and the group of hunters.
But Wen Li could see the live broadcast; he must know that
Ruan Qing had already arrived at the hospital.
Ruan Qing reached into his slanted bag, took out his phone,
and without even looking, he quickly typed a few words and sent them.
[Delay the doctor, I’ll come find you.]
***
On the other side, someone hiding in a corner of the stairs
saw his phone light up. Concealing it with their clothes, he glanced at the
message.
Delay the doctor?
Have them delayed that monster?
Damn, the boy sure think highly of themselves. He should know
that the doctor was stronger than the other hunters.
The person looked at the other three, gesturing discreetly
and conveying the message. Then, in a low voice, he asked, “What should we do?”
Another person chuckled bitterly, “What else can we do? Do
you have the ability to kill a hunter?”
They knew they were done for when they drew this scenario.
They were undoubtedly doomed.
In the horror game, there were numerous instances or
scenarios. Most players found it difficult to encounter instances with
information they were aware of. However, the instance called “Horror Livestream
Room” was quite well known, and many players had knowledge about this
particular instance.
Usually, on the second day of entering this instance, the
players would be selected as the target for the hunters. The hunters could only
see the livestream during the last two days.
It’s not particularly difficult to clear this instance, but
it’s also not easy. As long as your strength was greater than that of the
hunter targeting you, you could easily clear it.
The difficulty lay in having the strength to surpass the
hunter. Hunters were typically in an invincible state unless you find their
weakness.
Even if you discover the hunter’s weakness, it didn’t
necessarily mean you have the strength to kill them.
Moreover, the hunters assigned to each player were random,
and many hunters’ weaknesses were unknown.
Most of the people who knew their weaknesses had already
died.
Although the survival rate in this instance seemed relatively
high, in reality, it’s a genuine intermediate advancement instance, meaning it
was about to become an advanced instance.
Instances like this were extremely rare, with a difficulty
level between intermediate and advanced. Most players who entered were
intermediate-level players, while there were hardly any beginners or newcomers.
Intermediate-level players had experienced at least five
games and had a considerable number of items.
Yet, even under these circumstances, the survival rate was
only about 15%.
And they were still just a group of beginner players.
Clearly, according to their level, they shouldn’t have drawn
such a difficult instance, but unfortunately, they did.
They didn’t possess as many items as intermediate-level
players, nor did they have a strong power. It was nothing but wishful thinking
to survive and leave this instance.
Apart from trying their best, as suggested by the information
they possessed, they had no other options.
At least, because of that young boy, they learned for the
first time that the hospital was the key to this instance.
Initially, they didn’t think much of the paper they received
from the young boy, believing he was genuinely reminding them of Su Xiaozhen’s
situation.
They accidentally discovered astonishing hidden information.
The information indicated that the hospital was the key to
the instance, prompting them to find an opportunity to blow up the fourth floor
of the hospital.
Initially, they didn’t believe it, considering it was just
something an NPC said. However, when they attempted to reach the hospital and
tried to blow up the fourth floor as a last-ditch effort, the hunters...
arrived.
They no longer followed the rule of only killing their
designated targets; instead, they directly attacked anyone they encountered,
regardless of whose target they were.
It became apparent that they couldn’t allow the hospital to
be destroyed, which indirectly confirmed that the hospital was indeed the key
to this instance.
Under the assault of this group of hunters, they suffered heavy
losses. In less than an hour, their group of eight was reduced to just four.
It was impossible for them to survive by engaging in a direct
confrontation with this group of hunters, so they had no choice but to utilize
the hospital’s layout to hide.
The explosives were already in place.
The hospital consisted of several buildings, and they didn’t
know which building the boy was referring to as the fourth floor—whether it was
a specific building or all of them.
Furthermore, the hunters were constantly pursuing them,
making it impossible for them to install the bombs smoothly.
Therefore, they discreetly planted explosives in all
locations near the fourth floor or where explosives could be placed.
However, they themselves were trapped in the building, so once
the explosion was triggered, they might not escape unscathed.
Moreover, no one could guarantee that blowing up the hospital
would lead to successfully clearing the game, and no one dared to take that
risk.
The only option now was to meet the boy and try to obtain
more information.
Because they suspected that the boy... was highly likely to
be a player as well.
When they initially entered the instance, they were puzzled
because there should have been ten players, but there were only nine.
Now it seemed that the boy was probably the tenth player.
Having come this far, the four players gritted their teeth
and finally decided to follow the boy’s instructions.
They knew that one person alone wouldn’t be able to hold the
doctor back, as there were not only doctors but also several hunters on the
hospital’s side. Therefore, they decided that the three of them would work
together to find a way to stall this group of people.
Only one person was left to meet the young boy.
But the speed had to be faster, otherwise it wouldn’t be a
matter of delaying someone, but a matter of dying.
***
Ruan Qing also knew that it was difficult to ask the players
to hold back Wen Li, but once he was taken away by Wen Li, it would be
difficult for him to contact the players.
Wen Li might not kill him, but he didn’t want to become a
puppet confined by the master, assuming the postures the master liked.
Even if he could survive until the end of the game, he didn’t
think it was any better than death.
He didn’t like anyone, and he didn’t belong to anyone.
He only belonged to himself.
However, his body and mind were overloaded, and he was almost
unable to hold on. Success or failure would be decided tonight.
So, he would do his best to cause a big commotion.
Ruan Qing rushed directly to the location mentioned in the
message he had just received.
However, after he took a few steps, all the lights in the
building suddenly went out, plunging into darkness in an instant.
Ruan Qing didn’t panic. This was probably done by the
players, most likely to delay Wen Li.
He had to find the players quickly because no matter who was
sent to delay, it would probably be difficult to hold on for too long against
Wen Li.
Five minutes was probably the limit.
However, just as Ruan Qing took his first step, someone
grabbed his hand from behind. He turned around to see Su Xiaozhen holding his
hand.
Su Xiaozhen bit her lip, tears in her eyes, and hesitantly
and softly spoke, “I... I can’t see very well. Can you hold my hand and lead
me?”
Perhaps Su Xiaozhen also knew that she was slowing them down,
so she immediately let go of Ruan Qing’s hand and said, “I’m sorry, I’m just
useless. Maybe... I’ll wait for you here...”
If at the beginning Su Xiaozhen hadn’t entered the hospital
building, the level of safety would probably be much higher. But now that she’s
already inside, leaving her alone here, if she encountered a hunter, there’s no
doubt she would be doomed.
Ruan Qing didn’t say anything, directly taking Su Xiaozhen’s
hand and quickly moving forward in the darkness.
During the day, the hospital building was filled with many
patients, but at night, it was eerily silent. There were no doctors, nurses, or
patients in sight.
It’s as if it was an abandoned medical building, yet
strangely, no one seemed to notice anything amiss.
Just like this world, it’s eerie and filled with pathology.
It’s pathological to the point that even livestreaming
murders didn’t strike anyone as odd.
Originally, Ruan Qing thought that the audience in the
livestream room were not ordinary people or perhaps not even from this world.
However, during the completion of a side quest earlier, he realized he was
wrong.
Whether it’s the chosen prey in the livestream room or the
audience themselves, they were all humans from this world. Yet, they seemed
unaware of how shocking and perverse livestreamed murders were, and they even
became obsessed with them.
Indeed, if one owed a debt, it should be repaid, but it
should be determined by the law, not by someone’s personal will, secretly
sentencing others to death.
No one had the right to arbitrarily deprive others of their
lives.
If one callously trampled upon life under the guise of
justice, it would eventually evolve into the greatest evil.
This world had long been distorted.
And the main cause of all this was most likely that eerie,
giant eye.
That eye released black mist, and the mist seemed to corrupt
the entire world or hypnotize the entire world.
It’s just like how Wen Li hypnotized him, making it
impossible to resist.
Ruan Qing had two main reasons for thinking this way.
Firstly, due to his physical constitution, he had always been
highly sensitive to things like camera lenses. This instance was called the
“Horror Livestream Room,” so it was bound to involve filming.
But he didn’t notice any cameras from start to finish, as if
there were no recordings at all.
However, in the first two clips that played, it was obvious
that the footage was captured by following the subject from various angles.
Therefore, the filming method was likely not scientific but
supernatural in nature.
Disregarding any hiding or interference in the filming
process, Ruan Qing couldn’t imagine it, nor could he fathom it.
But when Ruan Qing saw that enormous eye, he felt that they
were too fitting.
When he intruded into the laboratory, even if the eye was
closed, Ruan Qing could still sense the intense gaze, as if the gigantic eye
could see through everything in the world, leaving nothing hidden in its
presence.
Of course, it would be too hasty to conclude that this was
the key to the horror livestream solely based on this point. Ruan Qing actually
believed it because of the black mist.
The black mist appeared not only around the enormous eye but
also at the beginning of the first video, at Jiang Sinian’s wound, and even on
Wen Li’s body.
Ruan Qing speculated that the reason they suffered severe
injuries but didn’t die was due to the black mist.
Or perhaps their peculiar powers originated from the black
mist itself.
That’s why he determined that the enormous eye was the key to
this instance.
Maybe destroying that eye could destroy this instance and
restore this abnormal world to normalcy.
That’s why he subtly hinted to the player to detonate the
fourth floor, in order to destroy the enormous eye.
Darkness didn’t affect Ruan Qing’s speed as he quickly
approached the destination in the hospital with Su Xiaozhen.
Ruan Qing’s speed wasn’t particularly fast, considering he
still needed to be wary of Wen Li and the group of hunters.
Fortunately, they encountered no obstacles along the way and
didn’t come across anyone.
However, when Ruan Qing reached the location mentioned in the
information, there was no one there anymore.
Perhaps they had already been forced to leave.
Ruan Qing’s heart sank slightly. The hospital building was
huge, and without a specific location, it would be difficult to find someone.
And the worst part was...
“Are you looking for him?” A gentle voice sounded from above
Ruan Qing’s head on the staircase, appearing quite abrupt in this dark corner.
Ruan Qing’s body stiffened as he heard the voice slowly
lifting his head.
This was the dim corner of the staircase, a perfect hiding
place.
And there, standing on the stairs, was Doctor Wen Li. He had
a person’s hair gripped in his hand, looking at Ruan Qing with a gentle smile,
his expression still tender.
However, the man in his hand was covered in blood, his right
arm already broken. Wen Li was dragging him by the hair. Whether he was dead or
alive was uncertain. Coupled with Wen Li’s gentle smile, it sent shivers down
one’s spine.
