“...Where are you... I’ve come to find you... Hehe...”
The hoarse and eerie voice feigned a sweet tone, with a malicious undertone hidden in the rising intonation.
The sky was dark and overcast, with heavy clouds pressing down overhead.
The hospital, once bustling, was now utterly silent; patients had vanished, and so had the nurses.
Zhao Xiaoyue crouched behind a thicket, trembling all over.
Two hours ago, she and her teammate had been searching for clues in the corridor on the second floor when they were pulled into a side game.
Now, it was her turn to be a "civilian," tasked with finding a suitable hiding spot and waiting for the "ghost" to catch her.
This was not a particularly good hiding place; both her side and front were open fields. Anyone coming from behind could easily spot her.
But there were no other options.
The hospital building was filled with various "monsters" with mutilated bodies, and she didn’t dare go inside. There weren't many places to hide outside, and after four rounds of the game, all the good spots had already been used.
The person playing as the “ghost” in the last round was also a player.
As long as he didn’t target the players... as long as he didn’t come after her...
Zhao Xiaoyue didn’t dare to look up or even peek outside the thicket.
She was afraid of being discovered and couldn't bear the thought of her heart racing in panic.
She curled herself into a ball, counting seconds in her mind, praying for time to pass quickly.
“785, 786, 787...”
“...”
Seconds turned into minutes, and finally, Zhao Xiaoyue counted past eight hundred.
The ghost had fifteen minutes to catch her, and that time was almost up!
“894, 895, 896... 900!” In those last few counts, Zhao Xiaoyue couldn’t help but speed up... It was fine; there were only a few seconds left. It should be okay...
Had the game ended? Why hadn’t she heard the system announcement?
Just a few more seconds, and unable to resist, Zhao Xiaoyue reached out her head to see what was happening outside.
Suddenly, she heard someone say behind her, “I caught you.”
Zhao Xiaoyue whipped around and saw a former “teammate” standing behind her.
He was probably panicking too, sweat pouring down his face, his features twisted, and his expression towards Zhao Xiaoyue was almost grotesque.
He was afraid she would run away and grabbed her wrist with such force that it almost crushed her bone.
Zhao Xiaoyue quickly reacted and desperately tried to pull her hand free. “Jiang Weichen, we agreed not to harm our own people!”
Jiang Weichen held on tightly, his eyes glued to her. His mental state was unstable; throughout the game, his sanity had dropped significantly.
Four dark blue marks were clearly visible on his arm.
Breathing heavily, he saw Zhao Xiaoyue as his last hope. “I... I have no choice... You will forgive me, right? You will forgive me... right?!”
As he spoke, his voice suddenly grew louder as he yelled at Zhao Xiaoyue, forcibly dragging her out from behind the thicket.
At the same time, the system’s game-ending announcement sounded.
[Hide and Seek game time is up!]
[Congratulations to our Ghost King for finding his prey. The Ghost King can transfer the marks to the prey~]
[All five rounds of Hide and Seek have concluded. Players with four or more marks will be permanently trapped here!]
[You will become the director's collection. Of course, there’s still a chance to survive. As long as you find a substitute before the director “uses” you and transfer your mark to them, you can take their spot and leave here.]
[Until then, wait for the next round of Hide and Seek to begin!]
“...”
The fourth mark appeared clearly on Zhao Xiaoyue’s arm.
In that instant, she thought of many things.
She recalled Gu Zhan’s warning to avoid answering questions, but she had been skeptical about it and still took the answer sheet, answering the questions correctly.
They already had two marks on their arms, and tonight there could be one more.
In the previous game, Zhao Xiaoyue had accidentally been caught by a monster and gained an extra mark.
Back then, she managed to stay strong, telling herself that at least she could still leave this game... There should be other ways before dark!
But unexpectedly, she didn’t even get the chance to wait for nightfall before being completely abandoned here by her “teammate”!
Soon after the system announcement, Jiang Weichen, who had been holding her tightly, suddenly vanished into thin air.
Zhao Xiaoyue was left alone in the desolate hospital.
No one was there, not even a ghost, just an maddening silence...
From that moment on, she was no longer just one person.
She had become a “collectible” waiting to be used.
...
[Oh, the livestream has gone black]
[Four marks mean she has transitioned from “player” to “the director’s collectible”]
[“The director’s collectible” in this instance is no longer considered human; if we must classify it, it should be termed a monster]
[In a certain sense, she is already “dead,” hence the livestream is naturally shut off]
In Zhao Xiaoyue’s personal livestream chat, viewers were discussing her “death.”
Jiang Weichen, the one responsible for Zhao Xiaoyue’s demise, had already returned to the crowd, anxiously rubbing his arms, under his sleeves were three neatly arranged blue marks.
Zhao Xiaoyue didn’t come back, and everyone knew what had happened; they tacitly avoided mentioning it.
It didn’t matter... Who died or who lived was unimportant.
What mattered was that they needed to escape this cursed place!
[Tsk, tsk, Jiang Weichen is going too far. If he had given the marks to someone else, at least he could survive. But with three marks on him, he’ll only last until the night shift. What’s he after?]
[Oh, it doesn’t matter. Zhao Xiaoyue also has three marks. Isn’t that just half a day more? It’s just giving him her half day.]
[It’s easy for you to say; would you be willing to give yours if you were in his place?]
[What does it have to do with me? I wasn’t the one who triggered the mini-game.]
[I remember when the four of them were walking in the corridor at the beginning, Jiang Weichen was the first to agree to the ghost’s words.]
[In that case, Zhao Xiaoyue was completely implicated.]
[It’s a bit tragic, but there’s nothing to be done; after all, this is a side quest.]
[707 still needs to find someone. Since Zhao Xiaoyue has turned into a monster, what’s the point of looking for her?]
[Not necessarily... what if he could transfer the marks back?]
[Hey, no one will be lucky enough to survive once from a monster and think they can keep winning against them, right?]
[He’s a rookie player without any awakened talent skills. What can he do?]
[Exactl even Wen Ge couldn’t save them. What can a rookie do?]
[Ugh how annoying! Why are the Wen Dog people back again?]
[Don’t you guys from Wen Dog have your own livestream?]
On the other side, Gu Zhan was gripping the female ghost, urging her to take him to the side space.
However, after just a few steps, the female ghost suddenly stopped and said, “Their game has ended. It’s pointless for you to go now.”
Gu Zhan remained unfazed. “It’s fine I just want to take a look.”
The female ghost exclaimed, “...Are you going for a vacation?! Why speak in such a tone?”
Damn it!! Who exactly is the monster here?
Why could he strut around this dangerous place as if he were at home?
The female ghost asked, “Aren’t you afraid I’ll stamp you with a mark, trapping you here forever?”
Gu Zhan replied, “Aren’t your marks based on ability? If you can stamp, you can also remove.”
If they stamp him, couldn’t he just catch a ghost and have it stamped back?
The female ghost was speechless.
This damned human! This damned player!!!
Feeling somewhat resigned, the female ghost led Gu Zhan to the end of the corridor.
There was just a wall that appeared unremarkable, but Gu Zhan could sense the oppressive aura emanating from it. He held onto the female ghost and walked towards the side space... The female ghost struggled desperately in his grasp.
What on earth is wrong with this guy?! Just going in himself was enough; must he drag her along?
If the “things” inside knew she brought back such a nuisance, how would she survive in the future!
Crossing that wall felt similar to using Xiaoling’s ability. Beyond the wall was a space identical to the Changhe Psychiatric Hospital.
But the atmosphere was entirely different from a real hospital.
There was not a single person in the corridor, and the lighting was dim, as if filtered through a layer of dusty mist.
As soon as she crossed the wall, the ghost girl broke free from Gu Zhan's grasp and vanished into the darkness like a wisp of smoke. Gu Zhan had only intended to use her to get over, and since he had already crossed the wall, there was no need to chase after her.
He walked alone through the slightly unfamiliar hospital, glancing into the punishment room as he passed by.
Sure enough, this was the place where Sun Jingqiu had tried to stamp him.
Unlike the punishment room in the instance, the facilities here were newer, and there were no skulls around.
He wandered through the inpatient building but found no one.
He then headed outside.
Just as he exited the inpatient building, he heard a faint, familiar sound of crying.
Following the sound, he found Zhao Xiaoyue sitting on a swing with her head lowered.
She probably thought she was alone, crying freely.
"Woo woo woo..."
"Woo wa wa..."
Occasionally, she let out a few melodious whimpers.
The scene was tragically comical.
After watching her for a while, Gu Zhan felt that she might not stop crying anytime soon, so he called out, "Zhao Xiaoyue."
Zhao Xiaoyue paused but didn’t lift her head, still choking back sobs as she said, "Don't scare me! Anyway, I'm already dead, just like you... It’s useless to scare me! Woo woo woo… I can't go home anymore, I can't eat grandma's sweet and sour pork…"
Gu Zhan: "..."
"Zhao Xiaoyue."
"Don't shout! It's annoying!!" Zhao Xiaoyue didn't even know where her courage came from; perhaps it was because she thought she had "died" and was now like those monsters here.
When Gu Zhan persistently called her name, it finally annoyed her enough that she raised her head in anger, exclaiming, "What do you want?! Are you trying to fight me?!"
But when she looked up, she saw a figure that definitely shouldn’t be here.
"Gu Zhan?!"
Zhao Xiaoyue suddenly jumped up, "Why are you here?!"
Could it be that he also died?!
Oh no… not that!
Before Zhao Xiaoyue could burst into tears again, Gu Zhan said, "I came to find you. Where are the others?"
Zhao Xiaoyue was stunned. "Find… find me?"
Looking back at Gu Zhan, he was standing perfectly fine, with only two stamps on his rolled-up sleeves.
Zhao Xiaoyue was dazed. "The game is over; they all left."
At that moment, Gu Zhan noticed the four stamps on her arm. He frowned, "You got caught during hide-and-seek?"
"I..." Zhao Xiaoyue instinctively wanted to cover her arm, as if trying to hide a failing test paper from a teacher's inspection.
But Gu Zhan didn’t give her that chance. He directly grabbed her wrist and pulled her up from the swing.
As he turned to leave, Zhao Xiaoyue was dumbfounded. "What are you doing?!"
Gu Zhan replied, "Going to remove the stamps."
"???"