The blood on the ground dripped intermittently to the wall, with some smudged marks left by someone brushing against it.
Clearly, the owner of the blood was not in a good condition.
Yet he still insisted on leaving this secret room, escaping to another place.
The director closed his eyes, feeling the fluctuations coming from the wall space... It was strange; there was no one in the wall space.
How could this be?
The director's gaze fell on the table beside him; the watch he had placed there was gone.
As expected.
But how did he break free from the chains? Looking at the blood on the ground... the director smirked.
His collection seemed to be a bit more ruthless than he had imagined.
---
On the other side, Gu Zhan was indeed not in a good condition.
If the iron bed and shackles couldn't be removed, the only way out was to sever his arm to survive.
Fortunately, this was in a dungeon; otherwise, such a nonsensical thing would be impossible to do.
Blood flowed from the wound, and excruciating pain occupied half of his body, making Gu Zhan doubt whether he had only severed one hand or if half his body had been crushed.
He had actually been to the wall space but knew that he would be detected by the director, so he only entered for a very short time before immediately taking Xiao Ling through the wall space to the branch space.
Thanks to that arrogant and deranged director, he got the watch.
Just as he had thought, the watch was the key to opening the branch space. With it, anyone could enter and exit the branch space.
Xiao Ling, born in the dungeon and mutated by its energy, had lived in the crevice between the two spaces.
She became one with this crevice space, and over time, she gained the power to control it.
She had always been able to freely shuttle between the two worlds, but previously, the branch space was in the director’s hands, so she didn’t dare to come here.
Gu Zhan was losing too much blood and needed immediate attention. He directly brought Xiao Ling to the branch space, asking her to help him find medical supplies.
Xiao Ling stayed close to him, glancing up with worry every couple of steps.
“I don’t understand this place. Let’s go find Mom. I can feel her here... she should know this place very well.”
After learning about her background, Xiao Ling’s feelings for her mother were no longer pure; she was uncertain if her mother would accept her.
Some unsettling noises echoed in the empty square, and the branch space was different from the calmness during her last visit. Gu Zhan felt a subtle sense of urgency; they couldn't stay outside for long. He had dealt with Sun Jingqiu before, and Xiao Ling's suggestion was reasonable—at least better than lingering outside.
He nodded in agreement. With Xiao Ling there, they quickly found Sun Jingqiu across from the fountain.
Sun Jingqiu lay on the ground, her expression indescribable.
She was clearly a female ghost; why didn’t these people see her as a monster? Why did they keep coming to find her?!
Wasn't she scary enough to make them fear for their lives?! And that little girl... she said she hated her! She wasn’t even her mother!
“What are you doing here?”
Xiao Ling supported Gu Zhan, speaking timidly to Sun Jingqiu, “Mom... he, he’s injured. Is there any medicine here to stop the bleeding?”
Sun Jingqiu: “…”
She didn’t understand her words, right?!
Sun Jingqiu despaired, “So annoying! There might be bandages and medicine in the inpatient building.”
As soon as she finished speaking, rustling noises came from the flowerbed beside them.
Sun Jingqiu stiffened: “They’re coming... Forget about bandages and medicine; you’ll be torn to pieces soon!”
Gu Zhan asked, “Who?”
Sun Jingqiu’s expression twisted: “There are lunatics everywhere! Who do you think?”
Gu Zhan understood; it should be the players sent in by the director to become his “collections.”
“Why do they want to kill us?”
Sun Jingqiu said hatefully, “The ones wearing watches are the ones who brought them in; they hate those with watches.”
Gu Zhan replied, “But I’m not the one who sent them in.”
“They’ve all gone mad; how could they differentiate? Do you think everyone here is like me? Why are you still standing there? Hurry up and leave!” After angrily saying this, Sun Jingqiu turned and crawled toward the inpatient building.
She had no lower body, yet her speed was not slow.
Sun Jingqiu was not a player.
Gu Zhan had sensed this before, and Sun Jingqiu's words confirmed his suspicion.
Sun Jingqiu was too deeply intertwined with the dungeon itself.
Players could not have such deep connections, and Xiao Ling’s existence seemed to be permitted by the dungeon.
It appeared that this number 01 dungeon was indeed special.
She was very likely an NPC of the dungeon rather than a monster.
Gu Zhan was fully convinced that the D-rank dungeon “Changhe Psychiatric Hospital” itself had no monsters; only players who had gone mad would turn into monsters. Apart from that, the only one who could harm players was the director... oh, if the head nurse was included, then that would make two.
With Sun Jingqiu leading the way, they quickly reached the inpatient building.
In the familiar punishment room, Sun Jingqiu impatiently directed Xiao Ling to search for medical supplies.
“Up there, lift your head a bit. Why are you so stupid?”
“Has no one taught you how to open a cabinet? That packaging has to be opened first…”
Xiao Ling felt wronged, looking timidly at her mother, wanting to speak but hesitating.
Massive blood loss made Gu Zhan’s head spin, leaving him weak. He sat in a corner, pondering his current situation.
The pain, however, helped him think clearly, and his thoughts were clearer than ever.
He seemed to have entered a predicament, yet the previously vague plans became increasingly clear in his mind.
Actually... after getting the watch, he could complete his personal task and leave, but now, all he could think about was whether his plan would succeed.
Gu Zhan found this version of himself very unfamiliar. In the first twenty years of his life, he had abandoned many things. People told him that a “normal person” is ordinary, mediocre, and just like everyone else; those special, outstanding things should be discarded, otherwise, one would seem “abnormal.”
As the discarded items increased, he gradually felt that nothing in this world was essential to possess, and nothing was irreplaceable. Eventually, he lost interest in many things.
This was a thought he hadn’t had in a long time, a passionate desire to do something... Yes, a passionate desire.
At this moment, leaning against the wall, with one hand lost and not worrying about his precarious situation, all he thought about was whether the plan would succeed. If those people found out, they would surely say he was “mad.”
But it doesn’t matter; there are crazies everywhere here, so one more won’t make a difference.
Thinking about this, Gu Zhan felt even more excited.
He wanted to try it out.
He was curious to see the expression on the director's face after discovering he had escaped.
It would definitely be spectacular.
"I found it!" Finally, Sun Jingqiu's voice, sounding as if she had shouldered a heavy burden, came through.
She and Xiaoling brought the bandages and medicine to Gu Zhan’s side.
Although they couldn’t completely heal the wound, it felt much better after the bandaging.
At least it didn't hurt as much, there was no more bleeding, and his arm could move again.
It was truly a novel experience. If he were to become a one-armed person from now on, it seemed there wouldn’t be much of a problem.
The crazed players outside didn’t give them much time; soon, the chaotic sounds from the corridor grew louder.
Sun Jingqiu went to the door to take a look and said anxiously, "They’re coming."
Gu Zhan moved his already bandaged arm and asked, "Xiaoling, do you want to come with me or stay here?"
Xiaoling had been afraid to come over before because this was the director’s space, and she could be discovered by him. But now the watch was in Gu Zhan's hands; if the plan went smoothly, the director probably wouldn’t have any chance to use the watch.
Xiaoling looked at Gu Zhan and then at Sun Jingqiu, softly saying, "I want to stay here, with Mama."
Sun Jingqiu frowned, not wanting to acknowledge this daughter, but she didn’t say anything.
"Then fine, you stay here," Gu Zhan said.
Xiaoling thought for a moment and handed over the doll in her hands, "Brother, this is for you. With Xiaohong, it can help you get home."
"Home?" Gu Zhan was puzzled.
Xiaoling explained, "It’s the house where Xiaoling used to live. It’s just like Xiaoling."
Gu Zhan understood; with Xiaohong, he could still use Xiaoling’s wall space.
This was a great help to him.
Gu Zhan took Xiaohong and said, "Thank you."
After that, he touched the wall with his arm, and in an instant, he disappeared from the room.
Xiaoling felt very scared and instinctively curled up into a ball.
Sun Jingqiu watched for a moment, ultimately compromising, and crawled over to pull the little girl into her arms.
After Gu Zhan left, the monsters outside, searching for him, suddenly stopped for a moment, then wandered aimlessly back to their original positions.
Meanwhile, the director, who had been tracking Gu Zhan, seemed to sense something as well.
He ceased his aimless wandering in the hospital and headed in a certain direction...
---
Gu Zhan had two things to do, and he needed to finish them before the director discovered him.
During the chase with the head nurse, he realized that although the director controlled the side space, he was very reliant on the watch. He knew everything about the wall space, but once he left it, it was as if he lost his eyesight and couldn’t perceive where he was.
So as long as he moved quickly enough, the director wouldn’t be able to pinpoint his location accurately.
The time the director spent searching was enough for him to complete what he needed to do.
First, he went to find Zhao Xiaoyue.
Zhao Xiaoyue and Meng Shan had just gathered information about the hospital’s perimeter and returned to the inpatient building, only to find that Gu Zhan was missing.
Zhao Xiaoyue was going insane. Gu Zhan's disappearance had to be related to Wen Ge!
He must have done something to Gu Zhan.
Wen Ge’s original target was her... In other words, Gu Zhan was putting himself in danger to save her.
It was always about her!
Meng Shan, who was nearby, kept asking questions: "Why are you always looking for him? Maybe he has his own things to deal with, so he..."
Before he could finish, Zhao Xiaoyue shot back, "Are you really this dumb?! Wen Ge is the murderer! Can’t you see that?!"
Meng Shan was assigned the task of finding the murderer and had gone through every possible suspect in the instance.
While he wasn’t entirely sure Gu Zhan was the murderer, Wen Ge didn’t seem like one at all!
Zhao Xiaoyue sounded so confident and even called him dumb, which made Meng Shan unable to bear it: "How do you know! What evidence do you have?"
Zhao Xiaoyue was incredibly annoyed. Here we go again! Didn’t they already debate this enough in the hospital room?
At that time, things had happened so suddenly that she hadn’t figured it out. After all this time, she realized Meng Shan was still being so clueless. Zhao Xiaoyue was exasperated: "I’ll ask you, in the two-person group, who benefits more?"
"Of course... it benefits both of us," Meng Shan, still oblivious to the crux of the issue, said stupidly, "Isn’t this to prevent the murderer from killing again...?"
"I see you're really foolish," Zhao Xiaoyue said, completely exasperated. "Have you thought about what would happen if I were the murderer and we acted together?"
"……" Meng Shan fell silent.
Zhao Xiaoyue continued, "The so-called prevention of the murderer killing someone is based on the assumption that the murderer still has more than one target... But have you considered, what if they only have one target left? Who do you think this grouping proposal actually benefits?"
"The... murderer?" It finally dawned on Meng Shan that this wasn't some game of "Werewolf."
Their focus wasn't on proving their innocence; it was about avoiding being alone with the murderer and preventing themselves from becoming the next target.
Yet this two-person grouping plan only favored the murderer.
Seeing that Meng Shan finally understood, Zhao Xiaoyue wanted to facepalm.
So foolish, why are you so foolish?
She felt equally foolish for only realizing this now.
Zhao Xiaoyue said, "As for who proposed this plan and who it benefits, you already know, right?"
Meng Shan's face went pale: "Wen Ge..."
He finally understood. Zhao Xiaoyue sighed.
Meng Shan felt utterly crushed.
He couldn't accept it! Wen Ge had been leading everyone since the beginning of the mission... He had never doubted him! But if Wen Ge was indeed the murderer, then from the very start, he had been deliberately guiding everyone... dismantling their defenses and earning their trust!
He panicked: "Then... what do we do now?"
Zhao Xiaoyue was exasperated with this man; he was so weak-willed that he just went along with whatever others said without any opinions of his own. Even in such a situation, he was still asking what to do.
She snapped, "I don't know! What does it have to do with me? Isn't your task completed? Go turn in your mission and leave!"
"And you?" Meng Shan asked.
Zhao Xiaoyue replied, "I need to find Gu Zhan."
Meng Shan said anxiously, "But... Gu Zhan might already be dead! This place is so dangerous; you..."
"I was dead anyway when you all tossed me into the side quest space," Zhao Xiaoyue said. "Besides, didn't you reach a consensus with them and label me a murderer and a monster? This dungeon's monsters are quite nice. If I can't find Gu Zhan, I'll just stay behind and work with them."
Who knows, maybe she could even discuss terrifying stories with Sun Jingqiu later!
Hearing this, Meng Shan hesitated.
He had already misunderstood Gu Zhan before, and if he left Zhao Xiaoyue alone again...
Meng Shan said, "How about I go with you..."
Zhao Xiaoyue looked at him disdainfully: "What use are you to me? You should hurry up and vote out that dog Wen."
Meng Shan felt helpless: "But my vote won't be until the day after tomorrow..."
This meant he couldn't leave the dungeon at all and had to ensure he didn't get killed in the meantime.
Zhao Xiaoyue retorted, "Well, I don't care; it has nothing to do with me."
Even though Zhao Xiaoyue said she wanted to find Gu Zhan, she couldn't figure out where he was at all.
They wandered in circles but didn't see Gu Zhan.
Wen Ge was nowhere to be found, and the other two guys had also vanished.
Even the nurse and the head nurse were missing... It seemed like only the two of them were left in the entire dungeon!
This was the first time Meng Shan had experienced a dungeon like this, and he felt a terrifying sense that the exit had been closed, trapping them completely inside.
Zhao Xiaoyue was also falling into despair... Gu Zhan... Could something really have happened to him?
Meng Shan wanted to persuade Zhao Xiaoyue to give up, but seeing her expression, he knew that if he spoke up, he'd only receive a scolding in return.
He could only say, "Maybe he went back to the ward. Let's go check there."
Zhao Xiaoyue glanced at him, said nothing, and reluctantly agreed to the suggestion.
Neither of them spoke on the way; they both knew it was almost impossible for Gu Zhan to be in the ward. Going back was just a way to make themselves feel resigned...
However, when they opened the door, Zhao Xiaoyue was surprised to see Gu Zhan standing right in the ward!
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