Gu Zhan's plan was very simple.
The director was eager to deal with him. Even though he discovered that the head nurse had betrayed him, he didn’t have time to inform the others in the hospital.
The head nurse still held authority second only to the director. She could give Zhao Xiaoyue some leeway, allowing her to contact people outside and complete her personal task.
Zhao Xiaoyue's personal task resembled a collective mission; as long as the hospital was dismantled, everyone else would be released too.
However, before Zhao Xiaoyue left the hospital to meet her contact, it was essential to ensure that the director was not present. His abilities were unique, and if he were on-site, he could easily disrupt the plan.
Gu Zhan stated he would hold off the director. Naturally, Zhao Xiaoyue disagreed, insisting she wouldn't leave. In the end, it was Meng Shan who urged her, saying, "Can't you see? He has plenty of ways to survive. We are the burdens. If it weren't for saving... saving us, he might have left long ago."
Zhao Xiaoyue: "..."
Although Meng Shan's words were harsh, Zhao Xiaoyue had to admit this might be the truth.
She confirmed with Gu Zhan again, "You left yourself a way out, right?"
At this point, there was no need to hide it. Gu Zhan replied, "My personal task is to obtain the director's watch."
He raised his right hand; the watch was still on his wrist.
Zhao Xiaoyue then understood he could have left long ago.
She let out a sigh of relief and said, "Alright, I'll go find the contact... If things get urgent, you can complete your task and exit the instance. In such instances, as long as the instance is cleared, no matter where you are, you can be instantly transported away."
Many people used this feature to go to dangerous places and then teleport out.
The four of them then parted ways.
After sending Zhao Xiaoyue and the others off, Gu Zhan let out a sigh of relief.
To be honest, he didn’t know how to deal with someone like Zhao Xiaoyue, just like how firewood doesn’t know how to handle a flame.
He wasn’t actually there to save anyone.
He simply wanted to stay behind to confront the director.
Gu Zhan walked down the corridor aimlessly, just taking his time.
Strangely enough, after they decided to execute the plan, the other people in the hospital had disappeared. The corridor was empty, and the echo of footsteps could be heard. The entire hospital resembled a ruin, like a grave devoid of even a ghost.
As expected, soon the familiar figure appeared before Gu Zhan.
Perhaps because he was looking for Gu Zhan, the director’s clothes were disheveled. He was originally a refined and reserved scholar, but at this moment, his inner madness was exposed, transforming him into a complete lunatic, a shameless beast.
He had changed drastically since their first encounter.
The moment Gu Zhan saw the director, he smiled—a smile full of amusement and meaning.
The director smiled back, his expression filled with exasperation and rage.
He understood Gu Zhan's implication. Sure enough, the instant their eyes met, Gu Zhan raised his hand to touch the wall, and in the next second, he vanished from the corridor.
“…”
Sure enough, waves quickly emanated from the wall, and the director's smile grew more sinister.
He could sense the fluctuations in the wall's space, but he couldn’t find the exact location; he only had a general idea of where Gu Zhan was.
Gu Zhan... ended up on the third floor this time.
And they were currently on the first floor.
Did he think he would foolishly chase after him, only to watch him disappear?
The director gritted his teeth and headed for the stairs.
This was an old hospital with no elevators.
The director rushed from the first floor to the third floor, and sure enough, on the third floor, Gu Zhan had not left.
He stood at the far end of the corridor, waiting for him.
The director's expression was somewhat grim.
Before Gu Zhan could make a move, he spoke first: "You're stalling for time, aren't you? You can't really think that you can drag this out with such a low-quality method?"
"But you've already fallen for it, haven’t you?" Gu Zhan’s personality was very different from the director’s, yet at this moment, he subtly understood the other’s thoughts.
He stood there; regardless of what happened outside, the director would undoubtedly rush towards him first.
The director was a madman, and for him, satisfying his desires was more important than anything else.
The director didn’t expect Gu Zhan to say such a thing, as if he understood him well.
But he was right; he was a madman, and a madman only wanted what he desired.
The director felt curious again, “On what basis do you think you can escape from my hands?”
"That's my concern." After saying this, Gu Zhan pressed close to the wall and vanished from the director's sight.
“…”
The director had to admit that Gu Zhan's few words had him firmly in their grasp.
He had to get this person.
Even if the sky were to fall outside, he had to capture Gu Zhan first!
But did he think he would obediently chase after him?
Impossible!
He was only trying to lock onto Gu Zhan's position. The more times Gu Zhan entered the wall, the more sensitive he would become to the space on the other side.
The number of escapes was limited!
This time, the director didn’t chase after him. Instead, he walked to the wall where Gu Zhan had disappeared and reached out towards it!
His hand passed through the wall, and cracks began to extend outward.
At the same time, the surrounding space of the wall, shrouded in darkness, also began to crack.
Those cracks seemed to sense Gu Zhan's position and converged toward him!
However, the director was fast, but Gu Zhan was faster; he quickly switched perspectives and slipped out through another wall.
The director reached out, but grabbed nothing.
Outside the wall, the director squinted at his hand; it seemed that this hand had just brushed against the edge of Gu Zhan's clothes, but that edge slipped away like wind and clouds from his grasp.
Losing it so quickly made him even more attached to that sensation.
He must… obtain him.
He had never felt such a strong desire... towards a collection piece... a person...
He wanted to personally create a gilded cage for him, chaining his hands and feet, trapping him forever within that cage, transforming him from a vibrant collection piece into a mere skeleton.
Even if the skeleton turned to dust, it would still belong to him!
A hint of icy anger flickered across the director's face. He suddenly waved his hand at the wall, which then collapsed with a deafening crash. Amidst the flying dust, he stepped forward, chasing after the direction where Gu Zhan had disappeared.
Meanwhile, Gu Zhan had just emerged from the wall when cracks appeared behind him.
He knocked on the wall, but it didn’t respond.
Not pausing, Gu Zhan quickly ran in another direction. Before the director could grab him, he entered the wall space again. The wall space had four walls, and the right wall was already shattered, now dark and covered in a layer of shadow, turning into a lifeless gray.
Gu Zhan quickly exited through another wall, landing in a hospital room.
As soon as he landed, he ran forward. But just as he reached the door, a hand reached out from the doorframe. Gu Zhan dodged to the side and fell into the adjacent wall.
On the other side, the director once again found nothing, and his expression was quite dramatic.
This time, he didn’t retract his hand but reached out and smashed the nearby wall.
With just a few strikes, the wall space was nearly destroyed, and Gu Zhan’s plan to escape through it failed.
If he could break the wall space, he should be able to enter and exit.
He couldn’t stay in the hospital any longer! Gu Zhan swiftly ran outside.
Fortunately, the corridor was particularly clean today, with no one blocking his path, allowing him to move forward smoothly.
Behind him, the corridor continued to collapse, and the director’s laughter and murmurs seemed to echo right behind him.
“Where are you going…”
“Come back…”
“Come back…”
If Gu Zhan turned back now, he would see the director’s ghostly figure looming over him, blocking out the sun, as if it had formed a cage, tightly binding him inside.
【Holy shit! This is intense!】
【Can he outrun the director?!!】
【Hold long to support him!】
【It’s over; I really think he can make it.】
Due to the intense movement, the wounds that had been bandaged burst open again, and blood flowed continuously.
The director’s voice seemed to linger in Gu Zhan’s ear, filled with a mocking compassion: “How painful this must be. Isn’t it better to be obedient?”
No, it was definitely not better.
From excessive blood loss, Gu Zhan’s vision began to blur, and his strength was gradually fading… The system’s notifications buzzed in his ears, but he no longer had the energy to distinguish what they were saying.
Only his thoughts remained clear and resolute!
Everything happened in an instant, and soon the director caught up.
To avoid the director, Gu Zhan once again dashed into the wall space.
But the space was on the verge of collapse; upon entering, there was no response around him… he could no longer escape through this place.
Like a cat trapped in a dead end, with towering walls surrounding him, even a cat would struggle to flee.
The director paused, standing outside the wall space, looking at this pitiful collection that had wandered into a dead end.
This time, he didn’t reach out to grab Gu Zhan; instead, he stepped into the wall space himself.
He blocked the only escape route, his smile now tinged with cruelty: “Look, I’ve caught you.”
Gu Zhan leaned against the wall corner, one leg stretched out, the other curled up in a pitiful manner. His handsome face was marred with blood, his hair disheveled, and his clothing was slightly rumpled, revealing some of his fair skin beneath.
One arm was broken, half of his body stained with blood, and his back had a large tear in his clothing, the edges tattered and mingling with flesh. Additionally, he had many small wounds oozing blood, making him look utterly ruined.
Despite all this, he still had an astonishing beauty, as if a precious gem had fallen into a pool of blood, creating an overwhelming sense of fragility that stirred a desire for abuse.
The director was no exception; upon seeing Gu Zhan, his breath quickened.
Fine, he admitted it, even if this collection was incomplete, it still looked so exquisite.
Then, reluctantly, he would have to collect him, tearing him in two.
The director stepped forward, intending to drag Gu Zhan up from the ground.
But Gu Zhan suddenly raised his hand, grabbing the director’s wrist.
“?”
Gu Zhan gripped tightly, definitely not by accident.
The director tried to pull away but couldn’t.
With a strong tug, Gu Zhan embraced him.
“???”
The director was briefly stunned, but quickly realized what Gu Zhan intended.
Gu Zhan hugged him and yanked backward! The already unstable wall, damaged by the director, instantly shattered! They both fell into the depths of darkness!
This time, their destination was no longer the hospital…
But rather the side space filled with monsters.
It was the place where the director once stored his “collections.”
Now, the key to the side space was in Gu Zhan’s hands.
【……？！】
【Holy shit!】
【The director got pulled in!】
With a loud “bang,” they tumbled onto the ground.
Surrounding them were mindless monsters wandering aimlessly, searching for those carrying watches…
Gu Zhan’s severed arm was still bleeding, and the smell of blood quickly attracted the monsters’ attention.
Although these monsters were insane, they deeply etched the scent of the person who harmed them into their bones. They remembered the watch and the scent of the person who had locked them here… They had chased Gu Zhan earlier because he was the only one with a watch.
But now that the director was here too, their attention quickly shifted away from Gu Zhan.
It’s him! It’s that person!
In an instant, the slow-moving monsters seemed to ignite, charging towards Gu Zhan and the director in the center of the square.
Gu Zhan had anticipated this and rolled to the side as soon as he hit the ground, escaping the encirclement, while the director was quickly surrounded by hundreds of monsters!
In the blink of an eye, the director was overwhelmed.
But he was still the director; he soon tore a path through the monsters.
Yet he was no longer as composed as before; his clothes were torn and bloodied, looking even more disheveled than Gu Zhan.
Grinding his teeth, he crawled towards Gu Zhan with blood-red eyes. Just as he was about to reach Gu Zhan, Gu Zhan pulled out the watch.
In the split second before the director touched him, Gu Zhan completed his personal task.
Almost instantaneously, Gu Zhan transformed into a beam of light and vanished before the director's eyes.
In the gray, dimly lit branch space, only the director and a group of frenzied monsters remained.
The monsters were relentless and felt neither fatigue nor pain; they only knew that this person had turned them into what they were and locked them away. They sought revenge…
Before Gu Zhan left, he seemed to see the director, who had finally managed to break free, being pulled back by the monsters once more.
The director stretched out his hand, fingers curled like claws, desperately trying to escape… but it was all in vain.
Those "collectibles" he had personally created would not allow him to escape so easily.
At the same time, Gu Zhan heard the system's broadcast in his ear.
[Congratulations to player Gu Zhan for completing the personal task and clearing the dungeon "Changhe Psychiatric Hospital."]
[In the dungeon "Changhe Psychiatric Hospital," NPC Director has died, and the facilities will be closed after this dungeon is completed, with the reopening date to be determined.]
In the next moment, Gu Zhan's personal live stream ended.
In the pitch black, the audience was still processing what had happened.
[??? Is this really the end??]
[Damn! So this is how you clear the dungeon!]
[Quick! Check out other people's live streams! They seem to still be inside!]
| Chapter 21 | Read Chapter 21 |
| Chapter 22 | Read Chapter 22 |
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