The director quickly got up, as if everything that just happened was merely Gu Zhan's illusion.
He began rummaging through the room.
Gu Zhan had a premonition that today he would definitely make some progress.
He didn’t want to leave and said to Xiaoling, “Just hold on a little longer.”
Xiaoling nodded slightly. After a while, the director took a book from the cabinet and returned to his desk to read.
It was hard to tell how much time had passed when he suddenly yawned.
It should be getting late; this director might be about to rest.
He didn’t leave the hospital but got up and pushed open the small door beside the office.
After the director went in, he closed the door.
Gu Zhan asked, “Can we move to that room?”
Xiaoling nodded gently.
The scene in front of them changed, and they quickly arrived inside the room.
The furnishings in the room were simple, with a small bed in the corner against the wall, and a cabinet beside it.
There was also a washroom, and the director was currently inside.
The door was closed, and the sound of running water could be heard.
Gu Zhan didn’t let Xiaoling go in and waited outside.
【LOL, why isn’t 707 going inside?】
【Is this even allowed to be streamed?】
After a while, the director came out, wearing a bathrobe with the collar open, revealing surprisingly well-defined muscles.
Unexpectedly, this director had a great physique.
He hadn’t wiped off the water droplets from his body; his hair was still wet and clinging to his face, and the gleaming water droplets rolled down his cheeks and fell into the open V-neck of his bathrobe.
【To be honest, that’s a pretty sick body】
【This is absurd! Watching a creep in a bathrobe】
【You guys need to wake up! This is the pervert】
But oddly enough, even after taking a shower, the watch was still securely fastened to his wrist.
Water droplets had even flowed onto the watch strap.
Gu Zhan: “……”
【LOL, what kind of person wears a watch while showering?】
【How the hell is he supposed to complete this task?】
Moreover, after taking a shower, he didn’t sleep; instead, he somehow pulled out a book and sat down on the bed to read.
The bed was against the wall, and the hand with the watch was resting on the bed, very close to the wall.
Gu Zhan didn’t want to take that risk, but after waiting for a while, the director showed no signs of sleeping.
In situations like this, the longer it drags on, the more likely something unexpected will happen.
What’s more, Xiaoling had been trembling ever since the scene switched to the director’s office and couldn’t hold out for much longer.
Gu Zhan decided to give it a shot.
He turned to Xiaoling and asked, “Can we adjust the angle of the wall? Just shift it to the wall next to the bed.”
“Uh... sure.” Xiaoling looked scared but still helped him change the angle.
With this change, their distance from the director decreased.
It felt like entering a giant cinema.
The director was now within arm's reach, and the wall seemed to transform into a thin sheet of paper, every breath audible.
Even the viewers in the live broadcast became tense.
Gu Zhan leaned closer to the wall, and even though he knew the director couldn’t see him, he still felt nervous, his heart racing.
The sound of his heartbeat was so loud that even those beside him could hear it. Gu Zhan had to cover his chest, forcing himself to calm down.
【Ah, I see what he wants to do; he plans to steal the watch and run】
【That’s a clever idea】
【If you want to steal the director's watch, this is probably the only way, right?】
【Will he succeed? I have a feeling something's off about this director today...】
Gu Zhan carefully observed the watch; there was a clasp on the side of the strap. He didn’t need to completely leave the wall space; as long as he acted quickly, he could unfasten the clasp and snatch the watch before the director noticed.
Gu Zhan extended his finger.
Great, the director didn’t seem to notice. His hand was still resting on the bed, easily reachable.
That hand was also quite good-looking, but Gu Zhan had no time to appreciate it.
He used his fingertip to hook the watch strap, carefully unfastening the clasp without touching the strap… The director was engrossed in his book, not even casting a glance at Gu Zhan… Perfect, it was unfastened…
All he needed to do was hook it with his fingertip and retract it before the director reacted… Oh no, he touched it!
The director’s wrist was unexpectedly warm, just like a living person…
Quick!
Gu Zhan swiftly pressed down the clasp of the strap, grabbing the watch and attempting to pull back.
However, at that moment, the director suddenly raised his hand and caught Gu Zhan's hand from behind.
His movements were swift and practiced, as if he had simulated this in his mind many times.
Not good!
Gu Zhan suddenly realized that something was wrong; the director might have discovered him long ago!
But he had been staying still to keep himself relaxed.
Gu Zhan’s hand was captured by the director.
The director gripped it tightly, and in the blink of an eye, Gu Zhan’s wrist turned red…
The director didn’t rush to take the watch but instead looked at the mysterious hand’s source.
The hand disappeared into the wall, where there was a faint black light spot, as if something was... stirring behind it.
“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow, the smile in his eyes becoming more intriguing.
Oh, he was discovered.
This is interesting.
The director tightened his grip on Gu Zhan's hand and looked at the black light spot in the wall.
In the wall space, Xiaoling huddled in the corner, suddenly letting out a low cry.
Not good, if this continued, even this space would be discovered.
This time it was Gu Zhan’s mistake.
It turned out that the watch was not so easy to get.
He strained to pull back, but the director was surprisingly strong, and he couldn’t budge.
Moreover, the pain radiating from his wrist indicated that the director’s grip was too close, as if he intended to break his wrist.
This won’t do…
In a moment of desperation, Gu Zhan suddenly had a brainwave; instead of pulling back, he extended his other hand, which hadn’t been caught yet.
This time the director didn’t expect what he was about to do. In that moment of daze, Gu Zhan swung his hand hard at the director’s face.
With a loud “slap,” the director was left stunned by the slap…
His grip loosened, and Gu Zhan was quick enough to retract his hand.
However, the watch still fell onto the bed.
But the black spot on the wall also vanished.
By the time the director reacted and looked again, it was already a normal wall.
“……”
Interesting, very interesting.
He had never seen such beautiful hands, with well-defined joints and slender fingers, and on the inside of the little finger, there was a very small, inconspicuous red mole.
Everything felt so aligned with his desires, as if it were all born for his aesthetic.
"Hehe..." The director chuckled lightly as he gazed at the white walls.
He remembered those hands.
[Oh no, this pervert is excited.]
[He’s definitely set his sights on 707.]
[It’s just a pair of hands; how could he know that 707 is behind the wall?]
[Don’t underestimate the pervert! He can recognize a pair of hands!]
Inside the wall, Xiaoling clutched her chest, looking like she had just survived a catastrophe.
Gu Zhan held his wrist, which had been pinched until it turned red, the lingering sensation still on his fingers.
To free himself, he had used all his strength.
His palm was now numb from the shock.
Gu Zhan first touched his red wrist, then rubbed his tingling palm.
He felt that this matter hadn’t ended so simply.
He turned to Xiaoling, “Are you okay?”
After a moment, Xiaoling seemed to have recovered, though she was still somewhat frightened, curled up in a ball, and softly said, “I’m fine… that man is so scary.”
“Yeah…” Gu Zhan replied absently.
At the moment the director had seized his wrist, his heart had indeed raced a bit.
He had also heard the sound of his sanity decreasing.
It was said that in this game, when one felt fear, their sanity would drop.
But he knew very well that he hadn’t felt fear; he had felt excitement.
He had always been like this: when faced with things others found terrifying and avoided, he not only wouldn’t be afraid, but would actually be excited.
The adults told him he was “abnormal” and had forced him to be a “normal child” since he was very young.
As he grew older, he hadn’t felt so “abnormal” for a long time.
He had thought he had escaped this “abnormality,” but it turned out… he was fundamentally just an abnormal person?
He quite liked this world.
Here, no one cared whether he was normal or abnormal.
There were so many abnormal things here that he seemed so ordinary.
“Thank you for today.” Gu Zhan quickly shook off his thoughts and turned to Xiaoling to say goodbye, “I’ve finished what I needed to do, so you can take me back now.”
Xiaoling looked up at him, her eyes filled with hope: “That man… did he kill my mom?”
“...Yes.” Gu Zhan did not lie.
Xiaoling said, “You will help me kill him, right?”
【Congratulations, player has triggered side quest:】
【Quest Description: The little girl looks at you with hopeful eyes; you will be her only hope. Please help her. If you can't help her eliminate her enemy, you will have to stay here with her.】
【Do you want to accept the side quest?】
“…”
【Wow, this is quite an extraordinary quest!】
【Will he accept it or not?】
【Looking at this quest description, if he can’t complete it, there will surely be a penalty, right?】
Gu Zhan’s task had already become complicated. At the moment Xiaoling made her request for help, he suddenly felt enlightened.
There’s a saying that goes well.
If you can’t solve the problem, then eliminate the one creating the problem.
If he couldn’t steal the director’s watch, he would just take out the director directly.
Gu Zhan said, “Okay, I’ll help you, but I also need your help.”
Xiaoling immediately smiled when she heard that, her innocent little face still carrying the same maliciousness as the BOSS in the instance.
She smiled sweetly yet wickedly: “Alright, I’ll help you. As long as you help me kill him, I’ll do anything for you.”
The little girl’s sweet voice was like honey laced with poison.
It was hard to refuse.
---
Gu Zhan had stayed behind the wall long enough; if he didn’t show up soon, it might raise suspicion.
Moreover, it was nearly time for bed.
He left the wall space, and just as he landed, he bumped into Zhao Xiaoyue, who rushed in from outside.
Seeing Gu Zhan in the room, Zhao Xiaoyue froze for a moment and quickly pulled him into the restroom.
“I’ve received a personal task.”
Once inside, Zhao Xiaoyue immediately dove into her explanation: “I’ve unlocked my personal task! I’m an undercover agent… The outside world has started paying attention to this illegal hospital, and they sent me in to find evidence. As long as I can contact my superior, we can all leave here!”
“…” Gu Zhan was silent for a moment. “So how can you contact your superior?”
Zhao Xiaoyue: “…”
Just moments ago, she had been very excited, but Zhao Xiaoyue suddenly fell silent.
After stammering for a while, she said, “I… I don’t know…”
With a downcast face, she explained, “When I arrived, I was injected with drugs and fell unconscious. I lost everything… even the locator buried under my skin was taken away. We’re trapped here and can’t get out at all.”
At this point, Zhao Xiaoyue finally realized the seriousness of the situation.
She had been given a personal task, and theoretically, as long as she completed it, she could leave.
But the problem was… it couldn’t be completed.
She despaired again, “What should I do? I thought I finally found the way to clear the game.”
Gu Zhan, however, saw it as progress; at least there was another option.
Now, he had three ways to clear the game: complete his personal task and get the director’s watch; help Xiaoling with her revenge and kill the director, which would cause the instance to naturally dissipate; or assist Zhao Xiaoyue in completing her personal task and break into the hospital from the outside.
Looking at it, the latter two were far more advantageous than the first.
Mainly because he had already alerted the director; he was a person who even wore his watch while taking a shower. There was no way he would unlock his watch now.
“That’s still a gain,” Gu Zhan interrupted Zhao Xiaoyue’s gloom and reminded her, “Have you checked the perimeter of the hospital? Is there really a map outside?”
“Ah…” Zhao Xiaoyue was taken aback, realizing her oversight, “I’ll go check right away.”
Just as she finished speaking, the restroom door was pushed open.
The door wasn’t locked; it was just a regular door. With someone inside, no one would push the door open.
Zhao Xiaoyue’s hair stood on end, and she immediately turned around, only to see Brother Wen standing at the door with a surprised expression.
“You guys are in here…” Wen Ge’s tone was oddly inquisitive, “What are you doing?”
“…” Zhao Xiaoyue didn’t know how much he had heard, and she felt like she could explode.
But at that moment, Gu Zhan pressed down on her shoulder and said calmly, “It’s nothing.”
“Oh?” Wen Ge’s tone became even more peculiar, his gaze shifting back and forth between the two of them, the smile at the corner of his mouth gradually turning into mockery, “I didn’t expect you two to have the leisure to chat in here…”
His words were suggestive, quickly provoking discomfort in the comments.
【As expected of Wen Ge, he can make people feel nauseous just by speaking.】
【Isn’t he just hinting that 707 and this girl have an improper relationship? Even if it were true, so what?】
【No way, that’s impossible. In the current situation, Zhao Xiaoyue would only see 707 as a father figure.】
【LOL, an unprecedented possibility! How can an improper relationship not be father-daughter?】
【Someone saved me from the side quest space and shared clues with me, I’d be willing to call him dad too!】
“What leisure? Can’t we chat?” Zhao Xiaoyue exploded at the sight of Wen Ge.
Previously, Wen Ge had isolated all the players from Gu Zhan. She didn’t know what Gu Zhan had done and didn’t want to be the odd one out, so she had held her tongue.
But now that Gu Zhan had saved her, she couldn’t stand by Brother Wen anymore.
Whoever targeted Gu Zhan was her enemy.
“Chatting?” Wen Ge repeated her words, a smirk creeping onto his lips, “Who knows what you two are discussing behind closed doors, maybe something inappropriate?”
“What do you mean inappropriate? A guy and a girl in a restroom can’t talk about how good the cafeteria food is? You’re just dirty-minded; don’t project your filth onto others!”
Zhao Xiaoyue was clearly getting agitated and started to speak without thinking.
Gu Zhan looked on in horror.
He tapped Zhao Xiaoyue’s shoulder, signaling her to mind her words.
Zhao Xiaoyue: “…”
Sorry, my mouth ran ahead of my brain.
She suddenly realized she had said something embarrassing, feeling utterly humiliated.
Wen Ge also looked incredulous, gazing at Zhao Xiaoyue as if she had lost her mind.
“Well, it’s none of your business.” Zhao Xiaoyue grabbed Gu Zhan’s sleeve and squeezed past Wen Ge.
Gu Zhan didn’t care at all, and as he exited, he didn’t even spare a glance at Wen Ge.
Wen Ge: “…”
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