[Instance Progress: 5%]
[Game Rules: Survive for 7 days within the hospital]
[Total Players: 14, Remaining Active Players: 14]
[Real NPCs: 3, Uncontaminated NPCs: 3]
[First Night]
The first rays of the morning sun shone into the garden outside the hospital's front door, which resembled a graveyard, bringing a small glimmer of life to the desolate area.
Last night, several new players couldn’t sleep, their minds filled with the strange rules from the hospital broadcast, the eerie nurses, and the monster at the tower’s peak that swallowed its wife.
Being transported directly into an S-level instance right at the start of the game was bad luck for them, but what was worse was that there were no abnormalities in the instance yet. What they had to do wasn’t escape the place, but simply survive.
As the day began to cool, nothing strange occurred, and Li Yun dared to close his eyes.
The hospital’s beds were made from rusty iron frames, covered with thin, faded sheets, cold and uncomfortable. The sheets and thin blankets had been washed so many times that they were threadbare, and beneath the heavy disinfectant smell, there was a faint metallic scent.
Li Yun didn’t want to think about what it was, nor did he dare to. He drifted into a half-conscious sleep.
Soon, the hospital’s broadcast woke him up.
"Zii... Zii... All patients, please proceed to the cafeteria on the first floor."
Despite feeling extremely tired, he didn’t dare disobey the hospital’s orders. Although he had heard from a veteran player the day before that this was not a rules-based instance, he didn’t want to find out what would happen if he disobeyed. He had no intention of testing it.
Thus, he dragged his exhausted body off the bed, but as soon as his feet hit the floor, he collapsed.
He tried to stand but couldn’t summon any strength. His chest felt heavy, like a large stone was pressing on it, making it hard to breathe, and his head began to spin.
“System... I... cough cough cough... cough cough cough cough!”
Li Yun lay on the cold, mottled floor, curling up and coughing violently, desperately calling for his personal system.
In the empty room, the sound of his coughing seemed as if it would expel all of his organs from his chest.
Of course, in the end, he did vomit something from his mouth.
A mouthful of bright red blood.
The blood that had coughed up landed on the pillow, sticky and thick.
Li Yun felt helpless, his face pale, his chest aching terribly, and a choking sensation in his throat. Breathing became increasingly difficult.
The sudden pain in his body caused Li Yun to panic: "System... cough cough cough cough...
From childhood, he had the best material conditions. Even after inheriting the family business and staying busy, he always maintained a habit of exercising, keeping his body in excellent condition.
Now, the sudden shortness of breath and pain made him extremely frightened.
"Dear player, please do not panic. You are currently in the late stage of tuberculosis. This is a debuff added by the instance. As long as you complete the instance challenge, you will be healed," his personal system kindly explained.
Late-stage tuberculosis??
Li Yun stared at the blood in his palm, not knowing how to respond.
The cold, eerie voice with a hint of a smile once again echoed through the hospital's broadcast system:
"Zii... Zii... All patients, please proceed to the cafeteria on the first floor for breakfast. Latecomers will bear the consequences."
---
In the room at the top of the tower, the pale youth was curled up in the corner of the bed. On the mottled wall in front of him was a massive, pitch-black elongated creature.
The creature's fist was pressed against the wall, almost sprawling across it, making the entire room feel even more cramped. Its dark robe enveloped its whole body, with only an inch of skin exposed. The head, with a paper doll mask, turned swiftly.
It stared at Jiang Yan as if it were a poisonous spider hiding in the dark, watching a beautiful butterfly become trapped in its web.
Jiang Yan lay asleep on the soft bed, his back exposed to the air, showing the delicate curve of his butterfly bones. His pale skin looked as though it were made of white plaster.
The bed was piled with all kinds of stuffed animal dolls, and a colorful crystal chandelier hung from the half-dome ceiling. At this moment, Jiang Yan, lying in bed, seemed like Alice who had fallen into a wonderland.
But this wonderland was created by a demon.
The sharp, irritating sound of the hospital's broadcast woke Jiang Yan from his sleep.
"Yan Yan."
When Jiang Yan opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the massive, pitch-black creature occupying most of the room, like oil, with its paper doll mask and green doodled eyes. The eyes curved up in excitement.
Jiang Yan was startled. This creature looked far more eerie than the hunter in the "Sheep's Forest."
And the worst part was that this time, Jiang Yan’s role wasn’t that of a "pet," but a wife.
---
Instance Background:
1. This hospital is located at 48 Jiashan Road, Shanyang District, Zhoutai City, established before WWII with over 100 years of history. Its psychiatry and infectious disease departments are industry leaders.
2. Recently, a large-scale plague and tuberculosis outbreak occurred in Zhoutai City. The hospital has been treating a large number of related patients and has implemented strict controls over the various departments.
---
NPC Character Script:
Name: Jiang Yan
Age: 25
Role: Psychiatric patient and tuberculosis sufferer at this hospital.
Character Background:
Your husband was the son of the hospital director and passed away four years ago in an accident. After his death, you could not cope with the loss and fell into mental instability. However, he still frequently returns to your side.
---
"Yan Yan, it's time to go to the cafeteria for breakfast."
When the monster saw Jiang Yan wake up, its entire massive black form seemed to slump, turning into a shapeless, sticky mass, bubbling with delight.
The green doodled eyes on the paper doll mask glared at Jiang Yan with eerie energy.
"Got it. Are you coming with me?" Jiang Yan's voice was neither cold nor warm, as he tried to remain composed.
As the "wife," one should not be overly surprised by her husband's appearance, but this thing was...
Jiang Yan turned his face away slightly in mild distaste.
Being the wife, sometimes it was perfectly normal to feel a little repulsed by one's husband.
“Of course!” the monster exclaimed excitedly.
In the next moment, a black tentacle wrapped around Jiang Yan’s pale waist. Before Jiang Yan could react, he was pulled into the monster's pitch-black, soft body.
---
The players followed the hospital broadcast's orders and arrived at the first-floor dining hall.
Li Yun noticed that not only was his own body deteriorating, but other players also looked vastly different from their healthy selves the night before.
Some had pale, haggard faces, coughing incessantly; others had IV drips or casts, while some were covered in dark, blotchy rashes. The whole dining hall was eerily silent, except for the sound of coughing, the rustling of clothes, and the shuffle of feet. There was no sign of life.
Surviving for seven days—could a group of critically ill patients, who received no treatment, really make it?
Li Yun coughed twice, a metallic, sweet taste rising in his throat.
In addition to the 14 players, there were also three or four previous "patients," the three eerily beautiful nurses from last night, and four doctors dressed in white robes with black crow masks.
The dining hall contained only one long table. The patients, dressed in blue and white striped hospital gowns, were seated like figures from the famous painting "The Last Supper."
The new players, nervous and unsure, dared not move, their eyes carefully observing the veterans.
The veterans, however, showed varied responses. Some, like Tao Shi, had already slumped over the table to sleep, while others, like Su An, cautiously studied the surroundings and gathered information. A few exchanged quiet whispers.
Cao Youfeng sat next to Jiang Xiu. Though they didn’t belong to the same guild and their guilds, “Dawn Guild” and “Valen Church,” were rivals, in non-restricted-number dungeons like this, experienced players typically chose to cooperate to some extent.
After all, most of humanity's achievements stemmed from working together.
“Did you find anything last night?” Cao Youfeng asked.
“About the dungeon?” Jiang Xiu replied.
Cao Youfeng raised an eyebrow. “Oh? So you found out something?”
“Jiang Yan,” Jiang Xiu answered.
“Oh? That NPC is here too?” Cao Youfeng's face was half-covered with white bandages, but his fish-like eyes widened in surprise.
Jiang Xiu gave him a brief glance. “Stop pretending. You knew he was in this dungeon, didn’t you?”
[What are the big players discussing? Jiang Yan?]
[Jiang Yan? I just came out of the last dungeon, Who is that.]
[What? You don’t know who Jiang Yan is?? I recommend you check out The Sheep’s Forest. It’s a low-level dungeon, but there are some surprises!]
[It’s not that impressive, I think he just got lucky, maybe a system bug, and got a good character design.[
[Sometimes in this game, luck is also part of strength.]
Suddenly, Jiang Xiu spat out a mouthful of blood and wiped it off expressionlessly.
"Are you also infected with tuberculosis?" Cao Youfeng asked, noticing the bloodstains on Jiang Xiu’s blue and white patient gown.
"You don’t look like you have tuberculosis." Jiang Xiu observed the calm-breathing young man beside him.
Cao Youfeng rolled up his sleeve, unwrapping the bandages around his arm. Underneath, his pale skin was covered in blood blisters, some of which had ruptured, leaving black, empty holes.
"I have the Black Plague," Cao Youfeng said with a smile.
Jiang Xiu: "...".
He silently shifted his seat, trying to move away from Cao Youfeng.
"Nurse! Are we not eating yet?" Su An raised his hand and asked.
"The patients haven’t all arrived yet. Please be patient," the head nurse said with a professional smile on her face.
Thud!
A player’s head slammed onto the long table, dark blood pouring from his mouth and nose, the smell of blood mixed with a bitter medicinal odor.
"Ah!"
The player sitting next to him was terrified, their chair tipping backward, sending them crashing to the ground.
The players in the dining hall started to stir.
"Quiet!"
A doctor, wearing a dark crow mask, barked at them.
Three nurses immediately stepped forward, dragging two of the patients away. Blood was pouring from their eyes and mouths, their eyeballs having burst for some unknown reason, and a gooey, black-and-white liquid was smeared across their faces.
It was clear they had no vital signs anymore.
Thud.
Without hesitation, the nurses threw the bodies onto the floor and quickly turned toward the player who had collapsed.
Seeing this, the doctors took out notebooks and pens from their pockets and began documenting the decaying body in front of them.
Then, the leading doctor pointed at the body, and the two doctors behind him stepped forward. One pulled out a chainsaw, and the other grabbed a soul summoning banner.
[Props: Soul Summoning Banner]
[Props: G-32 Type Light Electric Chainsaw]
In an instant, the wails of souls, screams, and the grinding sound of bones and flesh being shredded by the chainsaw echoed loudly in the quiet cafeteria.
During the chainsaw's process of cutting through the body, blood and meat splattered onto the dining table.
The veteran players wore solemn expressions, the new players were trembling in fear, while the two NPCs handling the corpse were skilled, showing no hesitation or trembling at all.
If it weren't for the "prop hint" provided by the main system, one would have thought these were just system NPCs.
[The "Corpse Driver Ding Wanyu" and the "Corpse Thrower Cang Rou" are indeed a very coordinated duo.]
[In essence, the relationship between the real NPCs and players is different.]
[What’s the difference? They're both trying to survive, it's just a lesson for the new players.]
Actually, in lower-tier scenarios, real NPCs usually have a higher degree of autonomy. But unfortunately, this is an S-level instance.
Soon, the dismembered body of the player was carried away by the nurses.
The main system's voice echoed in the cafeteria:
[Instance: “Private Hospital on Jianshe Road,” Instance Progress: 10%]
[Game Rule: Survive in the hospital for 7 days]
[Total Players: 14, Current Survivors: 13]
[Real NPCs: 3, Uncontaminated NPCs: 3]
The cafeteria fell into silence. The cafeteria staff, dressed in white uniforms, began distributing the patients' meals—one bowl of boiled cabbage, one bowl of rice, and a bowl of plain water.
The clear broth was so simple that even Italian POWs from war camps would call it abuse.
However, the earlier scene had left a deep impact on the players. No one was in the mood to care about the food quality now.
Without any orders from the medical staff, they dared not move on their own, silently sitting in place.
"Ah"
At that moment, the old radio suddenly played the song Ode to Joy.
"Zhi... The joyful goddess is pure and beautiful... Zhi... Her radiant light shines upon the earth..."
The cheerful and holy music echoed throughout the cafeteria, which still reeked of blood.
Under the solemn and shaken expressions of the players, the medical staff members broke into bright, sweet smiles and began dancing in an eerie, stiff manner, moving along with the music.
Even the two NPCs holding props couldn't help but freeze in their positions at this strange scene.
But soon, they started moving along, mimicking the other medical staff. As real NPCs, the most important task was to play their roles.
The bloodstained meat on the table still emitted a foul, rancid odor, while the music on the broadcast was hoarse and distorted. The medical staff’s movements resembled a group of humans imitating monkeys.
Not just the new players, even the veteran players were momentarily confused.
"What's... what kind of performance is this?" Cao Youfeng said, slightly dazed.
Jiang Xiu's expression darkened: "This seems like... some kind of ritual."
"Is it a sacrifice?" Cao Youfeng asked, his tone turning serious.
"Someone just died. Are they now offering that person's soul as a sacrifice to some kind of species in this world... a Boss?" Cao Youfeng speculated.
"I'm not sure, but maybe it has something to do with the black creature we saw last night?" Jiang Xiu speculated, his reaction quick as always.
"What's so quick about it? Anyone could tell this is some kind of ritual!" Cao Youfeng replied.
Their guess turned out to be correct. This was indeed some kind of ritual.
The head nurse, who was still dancing in a comically distorted manner, excitedly shouted, "Patients! Everyone, please stand up!"
The players followed the command and stood from their seats.
[Is it starting?!]
[Sacrifice? Is the Boss coming out now?!]
[Does the Boss of this S-class dungeon come out on its own? Well, that's pretty player-friendly for the newcomers.]
All the players held their breath, waiting for the ritual to summon the "evil spirit," which should be the Boss of this dungeon, right?
Soon, a few crisp footsteps sounded at the entrance of the cafeteria, and everyone took a deep breath.
"Zhi... the Goddess of Joy, pure and beautiful..."
Zhi...
Accompanied by the hoarse music and the eerie dance of the medical staff, a pair of fluffy white bunny slippers appeared at the door.
Cao Youfeng’s mouth trembled slightly: "This Boss... actually likes to wear such cute slippers?"
But Jiang Xiu did not dare let down his guard: "The BOSS in this game has used these kinds of tactics more than once to lower its threat level. This is an S-class dungeon; we should still stay cautious."
[Cao Youfeng is still younger, and tends to act impulsively when things happen.]
[This Boss should be the 'handsome' type from 'Ju-on,' right?"]
[Yeah! Maybe it’s like a child who died in the hospital or something.]
[Wait, the size of these slippers clearly shows it's an adult!]
The chat started to argue over the type of "Boss" they were about to face. The players were also curious about the appearance of the "evil spirit" summoned by this bizarre "ritual."
At this moment, the head nurse excitedly addressed the crowd, "Let’s give the warmest welcome ceremony"
[Huh? A welcome ceremony?]
[They’re calling the sacrifice for the Boss a welcome ceremony? The main system sure knows how to play!]
"Let’s welcome this year's best patient at our hospital—Jiang Yan!"
All the players: "????"
"What's going on?" Cao Youfeng was even more confused.
"Uh... plot! The more bizarre it is, the more suspicious it becomes! This must be a very important plot point for the dungeon!" Jiang Xiu tried to stay calm.
"Come on! Let’s all clap and welcome him!" The head nurse’s excited and sweet voice echoed throughout the cafeteria.
The players froze for a moment, and then awkwardly started clapping.
Accompanied by cheerful music and the applause, the owner of the fluffy bunny slippers slowly walked into the cafeteria—Jiang Yan, wearing a soft cotton blue and white striped patient uniform, and the bunny slippers his "husband" had put on him, appeared before the crowd.
In this dilapidated and dimly lit cafeteria, standing at the entrance, he looked like a piece of white cheese, sweet and delightful, completely out of place in the cafeteria.
Jiang Yan walked into the cafeteria and saw a group of patients standing stiffly by the dining table, clapping awkwardly, and a group of medical staff humorously twisting their bodies.
He knew that this hospital had a psychiatric department, but... why did these medical staff seem even more mentally unstable?
Seeing this, Jiang Yan didn’t dare to move forward any longer. He stopped at the door of the cafeteria and awkwardly asked, "Excuse me... did I walk into the wrong place? Is this the cafeteria specifically for the psychiatric department?"
"Of course not!" The head nurse smiled warmly. "This is a welcome ceremony specially prepared for you!"
With that, she and the other medical staff bowed toward Jiang Yan. "Welcome to the cafeteria! We are honored that you’ve come to eat here!"
Jiang Yan: "...Oh, You are welcome"
The players at the table: "...."
[Is this an important plot point...?]
[This dungeon’s storyline seems to have some big issues.]