"Let go!"
"But Yan Yan..."
The pitch-black monster used its tentacles to restrain the wheat trying to escape. Even though it was the one in absolute dominance, it made pitiful sounds, like a stray cat or dog abandoned and helpless.
It seemed as though it was the wheat bullying him.
Of course for it, the beloved wife had unexpectedly deprived him of the right to help him take a bath?!
By rounding up, this was domestic abuse.
Jiang Yan's hands were bound above his head by the monster's tentacles. His loose hospital gown barely covered his hips, and his long, fair legs were futilely struggling in the air.
The pants of the gown were thrown beside the bed, freshly removed by his husband.
Another black tentacle from the monster, with an oily, body-like texture, reached out and wrapped around Jiang Yan’s pale ankle.
At this moment, Jiang Yan resembled a butterfly that had mistakenly entered a spider’s web, struggling in vain, and the outcome seemed already decided.
[Hiss! Does this game have such a big scale now?]
[I suddenly understand Jiang Yan's appeal! A beautiful little white-skinned beauty! So sweet!!]
[Calm down upstairs, the guy who called Jiang Yan his wife in the last dungeon was severely criticized by the entire server.]
[What does that mean? Does this only allow NPCs to touch Jiang Yan, but we can’t even casually comment?]
[Wait! Jiang Yan and this monster are a couple, but does it really want to... this... If Jiang Yan refuses, then it’s still a couple, but it breaks the character setup, doesn’t it? But we can’t actually... with this monster...]
No way! The main system can’t do this, right? This NPC sacrifice is too much.]
I swear... I was envying Jiang Yan for getting this character setup earlier, but now I just feel sympathy.]
The black tentacles lightly wrapped around Jiang Yan’s white ankle, moving in circles.
Jiang Yan was bound and forced to raise his head, his blue eyes becoming wet with tears.
When he thought he had really gone too far, really going to do something with this monster, the monster suddenly lowered its body and wrapped its soft, pitch-black form around him entirely, embracing him.
Jiang Yan instantly fell into a warm, dark embrace.
At this moment, he felt a warm breath close to his ear. The monster's voice, warm and gentle, echoed in his ear: “How could I enjoy Yan Yan in this situation?”
“Yan Yan.”
The familiar tone made Jiang Yan's pupils contract sharply!
He then heard the voice continue: “Yan Yan, are you done playing? When are we going home?”
The voice was indeed unique to the monster, an inhuman sound, but the warm breath against his ear and the familiar tone made Jiang Yan’s body go tense with goosebumps!
"You..."
Before Jiang Yan could even finish his question, the monster quickly released him. Then, it wrapped its tentacles around the stunned Jiang Yan, gently rocking him in its embrace: "If Yan Yan doesn't want to take a bath, then we won't take a bath today."
While softly soothing the little wheat in its arms, it picked up the pants from the bedside and helped Jiang Yan put them on.
Jiang Yan blinked, and the physiological tears caused by his earlier tension slid down from the corner of his eyes. He looked at the monster, whose tone was normal, as though the momentary event had been just a fleeting illusion in the dark.
"663," Jiang Yan called.
"I'm here," 663 replied.
"Did you hear... what it just said to me?" Jiang Yan asked.
"I heard! It asked when you’re done playing and when you're going home. What’s wrong with that?" 663 sounded confused.
Jiang Yan remained silent.
663 continued, "There’s nothing special about that line, right? This is a hospital, you’re a couple, and this definitely isn’t your home."
Jiang Yan’s long eyelashes trembled slightly as he allowed the monster to handle his body, like a well-behaved, delicate doll.
That's right, they were "a couple." There was nothing wrong with those words.
Even though the monster’s identity was “the director's son,” the hospital could never be "home."
There was nothing unreasonable about that line.
But the tone it used just now... was it wrong?
Jiang Yan frowned slightly. Or perhaps more perverse things preferred speaking like that?
Just as Jiang Yan was troubled by the warmth the monster’s words had left him with, the door to the ward was knocked.
Knock knock!
"Excuse me, is Jiang Yan here?" Tao Shi's voice sounded from outside.
The scene just now had been quite intense. Originally, both he and Cao Youfeng had planned to leave, but upon hearing some noise from the ward, they stopped and, with a "let's try" attitude, knocked on the door.
"We’d like to talk to him. Are we disturbing you?" Tao Shi’s voice was very polite.
Jiang Yan lay on the monster's body, slightly gasping for air. The monster, holding him, heard the voices outside the door and, feeling quite pleased, said, "Yan Yan has good friends, doesn’t he? Be sure to come back before dinner."
As it spoke, it quickly put socks on Jiang Yan, carefully slipping a pair of cotton slippers on his feet, then gently set him down on the floor.
Jiang Yan took a deep breath, calming himself from the emotional turmoil. His blue eyes returned to their usual calm, as still as the surface of a calm sea.
"Come pick me up later," he said to the monster naturally.
It was obvious that a conversation couldn’t take place standing at the door. He had no idea where the blue-haired player outside would take him.
This hospital was frustratingly large, and he couldn’t be bothered to walk back himself.
Taking advantage of this moment, he decided to leak a key clue to the players. After all, he wouldn’t be involved much longer in this game.
It was the third day. If he could last four more days, his shift would be over.
[Once again, I admire Jiang Yan’s mental strength!]
[Yeah, he was clearly startled just now, but he quickly regained his composure! That’s impressive!]
[He seems to be very career-oriented. He should be a bit more proactive; his popularity is pretty high right now.]
[His total score isn’t great, mental strength is average, and his overall rank is near the bottom.]
[Mental strength is low, but the rest is decent! His popularity is probably because he’s so handsome.]
[The big players didn’t have such high mental strength at the start either! Yan Yan will improve!]
Jiang Yan opened the ward door and saw that standing outside were the blue-haired player, referred to as a "big shot" by 663 and the other players, and the "chuunibyou" wrapped in bandages.
Clearly, they were high-level players, actively triggering NPC interactions!
Unlike the lower-level players, who were too scared to move, these players tried to find ways to engage with NPCs.
Thinking this, Jiang Yan’s attitude toward the two in front of him softened. A faint smile tugged at his lips as he spoke, "Is there something I can help you with?"
"Can we talk downstairs in the garden?" Tao Shi asked with a smile.
"Sure," Jiang Yan replied.
After that, the three of them headed towards the stairs.
At this moment, Li Yun, who had been hiding by the staircase, quietly adjusted his glasses before turning and leaving.
Jiang Yan.
What did this have to do with him?
Thinking about it, Li Yun’s lips curled into a mocking smile as he watched Tao Shi and Cao Youfeng leave the ward together. He thought they must have found some hidden clue but didn’t want to share it with others, so he had secretly followed.
But it turned out they were only looking for Jiang Yan
He knew that real NPCs could have [key clues], but what key clue could Jiang Yan have?
Wasn’t Jiang Yan’s character just a dumb one?
He didn’t understand why everyone thought Jiang Yan was special.
What was special about Jiang Yan, other than his looks? All that so-called "specialness" was just pure luck.
These so-called "big shots" kept pursuing Jiang Yan. To be honest, they were just too young and didn’t understand people clearly.
As Jiang Yan’s group reached the stairs, Cao Youfeng peeked out and said with a smile, "The rat’s gone."
Tao Shi chuckled and then said to the confused Jiang Yan, "He’s an old friend of yours!"
---
"So, you don’t remember how the car accident happened, do you?"
The three of them slowly walked down the hallway, and Tao Shi asked Jiang Yan about his character’s background.
"I don’t remember," Jiang Yan replied. "I don’t even know why he turned like this."
Jiang Yan struggled to play the role of the director's son’s wife.
"After I woke up, my husband had already become like this. Because of my condition, I had to stay in the hospital for continuous treatment," Jiang Yan answered while looking at the rapidly scrolling background information on the 663 interface.
"Has anything strange like this happened before in the hospital? Like people dying mysteriously?" Cao Youfeng asked.
Jiang Yan stared silently at the more than a thousand words of related explanation that popped up from 663.
"...."
"Hmm? What’s wrong?" Tao Shi asked, noticing Jiang Yan's slightly furrowed brows.
Jiang Yan replied coldly, "Oh, I’m not sure. My mental state isn’t very good."
Tao Shi responded, "Oh... is that so?"
"The hospital's issues are probably more familiar to the medical staff," Jiang Yan said, shutting off the lengthy explanation from 663 without changing his expression. "After all, I’m just a patient, and a mentally unstable one at that."
663: "...Can you please follow the script!"
"With such long lines, are you trying to kill me?" Jiang Yan retorted.
"Are you going to reveal your key clues or not? Wake up! This is an S-level side mission!" 663 said, somewhat frustrated.
"Your long speech didn’t even mention any key clues!" Jiang Yan responded confidently.
663: "...Fine, you're the boss."
At that moment, Jiang Yan felt a slight tremor in the stairs beneath him.
It wasn’t just him; Tao Shi and Cao Youfeng also felt it. The three of them simultaneously stopped in their tracks.
"What’s going on? Is there an earthquake?" Jiang Yan furrowed his brows, feeling the slight vibration under his feet.
"Seems like... something huge is coming towards us," Cao Youfeng replied with a raised eyebrow and a smile.
The tremors on the floor grew more pronounced, and it was clear that whatever was coming was no small thing.
As expected of high-level players—they didn’t even flinch.
Looking at the two boys in front of him, Jiang Yan blinked and thought faintly.
At that moment, Jiang Yan saw a massive, pale-blue object emerge from the shadows at the end of the hallway.
"What... what is that?" Jiang Yan couldn’t make it out clearly.
"Not sure, but it's definitely not something good," Cao Youfeng replied, still smiling, though his eyes had turned serious.
"Ding!"
[Item: Medical Bandage]
Instantly, the bandages on Cao Youfeng’s body unraveled, floating around him like jellyfish tendrils in the deep sea.
The pale white object grew closer, and with it came the nauseating, stomach-churning stench.
Jiang Yan squinted and took a closer look—was that... a giant flower?
The sky outside had completely darkened, and the dim incandescent lights in the hallway emitted a dull glow. The giant, flower-like creature was writhing towards them, its "flower petals" moving closer.
Cao Youfeng's eyes widened instantly: "Holy sht?!"
Jiang Yan took a closer look, and the delicate petals, resembling autumn leaves in bloom, were clearly human fingers!
"Roar!!"
Accompanied by an eerie, high-pitched screech, the stench in the air grew stronger, and the entire hospital fell into a deathly silence.
Countless fingers slithered forward—some were short and tender, others old and gnarled, while some were decayed with a red polish of bright nail paint still on their tips.
The wind in the hallway began to howl wildly, like the howling and wailing of countless people, urging the massive, human-finger-formed "body" forward.
It came to devour anything it could touch.
"Boss!" Cao Youfeng’s voice tightened with tension.
This "monster" had S-level mental power!
"Wow, this thing is pretty good!" Tao Shi calmly complimented.
Jiang Yan was somewhat stunned as he looked at Tao Shi. The kid wasn’t old, but his courage was certainly not small!
Seeing the creature getting closer, Jiang Yan’s heart raced. He silently glanced at his item bar.
Perhaps this was an opportunity.
As the creature’s "flower" was about to reach Jiang Yan’s forehead, Cao Youfeng swiftly deployed a bandage from his side.
Jiang Yan closed his eyes, silently reciting in his mind: "Item..."
"Ding!"
[Item: Adam's Ring.]
At that critical moment, Tao Shi casually drew a circle in front of him—a silver ring became the only light source in the dim and mottled hallway.
Before Jiang Yan could react, Tao Shi grabbed the collar of his shirt and, like wringing a small cat, tossed him into the circle!
The creature’s finger finally only snagged a white bandage that was blocking Jiang Yan’s face.
---
With a "thud," Jiang Yan fell out of the [Adam's Ring], landing in a daze.
He snapped back to reality and found himself in what looked like a warehouse.
The ceiling was covered with broken glass pipes, and an unknown green liquid flowed slowly within them. The walls were lined with glass tanks of various sizes, where fluorescent green liquid bubbled up in the transparent containers. Inside, human organs twisted and churned. The entire room resembled a massive human organ museum.
The "warehouse" seemed endless, with the only source of light being the faint glow reflecting off the fluorescent green liquid in the glass tanks. Jiang Yan sat at the center, looking particularly small.
"Congratulations, you've unlocked a side map, thanks to the big shots for leading you here," 663’s voice was excited.
Finally, the ancestor’s dungeon score was going to increase?!
Jiang Yan rubbed his sore backside from the fall, furrowing his brows as he looked around and asked, "Where are the blue-haired guys?"
"Not sure. They probably fell into some other corner of the specimen room," 663 replied. "It’s just a shame that you missed your chance to unlock the item."
Just as Jiang Yan was about to say something, his attention was suddenly drawn to something.
In the glass tank directly in front of him, a human head was spinning in the fluorescent green liquid.
What... is this?
Jiang Yan jumped to his feet and rushed over to the glass tank, nearly tripping over his own feet in the process.
He stared wide-eyed at the human head spinning inside the tank.
It was a very beautiful head—smooth skin, delicate features—it exuded a kind of dangerous, seductive beauty.
[Wow! This head is so beautiful!]
[Is this an item? The main system’s craftsmanship is impressive! How could they create such a beautiful head?!]
[I’ve never seen Jiang Yan’s expression change so obviously!]
[Hmm? So Jiang Yan likes this type?]
The appearance of the head sparked a small discussion among the players watching the live broadcast.
After all, in a life-or-death game like this, the tension could be momentarily relaxed by a beautiful face.
But Jiang Yan wasn’t interested in admiring the beauty of the head.
He stared silently at the head in the broken glass tank, the green eyes half-open, dull and lifeless, emitting an aura of death.
"Heh." Jiang Yan let out a shocked yet mocking laugh.
He had often imagined what it would be like if they met again, even entertaining the clichéd thought that their reunion might happen at the other’s second wedding.
But he never imagined it would be in formalin.