"Zii.. Zii...”
“Breakfast time. All patients, please go to the cafeteria on the first floor. Breakfast is served from 7:30 to 8:00.”
“Please go to the cafeteria on the first floor. Patients from the corresponding departments must take their medication on time by 8:00.”
The dim sunlight streamed through the glass window, illuminating the bed, where a person curled up under a soft blanket, revealing a dark head of hair.
“Zii... Care for life... Actively cooperate with treatment for an early recovery and discharge...”
Hearing the announcement, Jiang Yan turned over and felt beneath him but didn’t touch the familiar soft tendrils.
He groggily opened his eyes, realizing he was alone in the bed.
“Did it leave?” Jiang Yan asked 663.
“You seem to have adjusted well to your new husband,” 663 replied. “It left before 7:00 and even left you a note on the bedside.”
“I’ve adjusted to you as my new system too,” Jiang Yan said.
Jiang Yan lazily got out of bed and changed clothes amidst the broadcasting. He hadn’t slept well last night, leaving him feeling a bit dizzy. He missed the days when he was a mere sheep.
Every day, he had to eat at designated times and move at designated times. This wasn’t being hospitalized; it was clearly imprisonment!
Jiang Yan fully understood that sometimes, it was better to be a pet than a person.
At least when he was a sheep for the “hunter,” he could sleep as long as he wanted without having to walk anywhere; someone would carry him.
At that moment, Jiang Yan thought of his “husband,” but this husband occasionally disappeared, not as considerate as the “hunter.”
After changing clothes, Jiang Yan picked up the note his husband left. It only had one line: “Don’t go to Window Nine.”
What was at Window Nine?
He remembered there were quite a few people getting food at Window Nine yesterday, and he didn’t see anyone who had eaten from that window die from poisoning.
He didn’t care too much; he had survived the first day, after all.
He had six days left; if he could make it, he would clear the game.
Following the dim, mottled hallway, he trailed behind a group of patients who moved like the living dead until he reached the cafeteria on the first floor.
He noticed that the patients coming to the cafeteria all seemed normal, or at least they looked that way.
He didn’t see any of those “plague” victims crawling in the hallway yesterday.
Could it be that the plague victims didn’t eat with them?
Jiang Yan slowly got his food. Breakfast was still boiled cabbage that smelled of disinfectant, which made him gag just looking at it, let alone having any appetite.
Just as he was about to find a place to sit, someone called out his name from behind: “Jiang Yan.”
He turned to see Li Yun.
He was wearing the same patient outfit from yesterday, but he looked very haggard, with bloodshot eyes that indicated he hadn’t slept well.
“Hmm,” Jiang Yan replied, unsure what to say.
He was naturally not very talkative, especially with his “ex-boyfriend.”
Li Yun's face was pale as he offered a polite smile. “Everyone is waiting for you over there.”
Everyone?
Jiang Yan followed Li Yun's pointing finger and saw a group of people gathered in the corner.
After making eye contact, Tao Shi waved at him.
---
Jiang Yan followed Li Yun and sat down with the others.
Everyone looked lethargic and pale, with several patients still hooked up to IV drips. A few were coughing and holding their chests.
In comparison, Jiang Yan looked quite healthy with a rosy complexion.
As he sat down, all eyes immediately focused on him, their gazes filled with disdain, wariness, and curiosity—definitely not friendly.
Jiang Yan frowned, struggling to understand where this unfriendly attitude was coming from.
“You probably don’t know you’re famous on the game forum, do you?” 663 said.
“Why?” Jiang Yan asked, confused.
“The first ‘Real Judge’ and the first person to survive without completing their personal mission. An NPC with the lowest points and mental strength being placed in an S-rank instance; you were invited to join one of the four major guilds, the Dawn Guild. How could you not attract attention?” 663 explained.
“That was just luck,” Jiang Yan replied.
“Yes, in all the years of this game, only you could have such luck,” 663 replied.
Jiang Yan raised an eyebrow.
“Where did you go last night? I didn’t see you during activity time, and no one was in the ward,” Tao Shi said, casually resting a hand on Jiang Yan's shoulder.
The others slightly shifted their gazes away, now somewhat displeased.
[Is he’s covering for this person?]
[Did Jiang Yan agree to join the Dawn Guild last night?]
[No way, is the Dawn Guild seriously going to take in this useless person with the lowest points and mental strength?]
[I remember that in the “Spirit Guard Village” instance, Shi Yin and his team, who ranked first, were not accepted.]
[Shi Yin wasn’t accepted? I recall he was quite strong among newcomers! Why take Jiang Yan instead? Tao Shi must be crazy!]
[It can’t be just Tao Shi’s decision! It must have been decided in a guild meeting.]
[A guild meeting deciding to accept a useless person? The Dawn Guild is really doomed.]
[I’ve said for years that the Dawn Guild has been declining, and some people still refuse to believe it! Now they’re taking in a useless person—what can they say?]
[Huh? Jiang Yan is useless? Your useless person managed to survive despite failing his personal mission! If you think you can do better, go ahead!]
[Really? I can understand people maintaining the guild, but does anyone really support this useless NPC? Has he never been beaten up in an instance?]
[It started back in the “Sheep’s Forest”—they think Jiang Yan is good-looking! I wonder how someone like that survives in the game.]
“Last night, two players died,” a muscular man who looked a bit fierce said.
“Three,” the gloomy Ding Wanyu added. “One was an intern doctor like me. He was called in for duty last night and never came back.”
“...”
The group fell silent.
“They didn’t break any rules,” 663 said. “But they still died. That’s why all these players are gathered around Tao Shi today.”
Jiang Yan surveyed the people in front of him.
One must admit that humanity has reached its current position by maximizing the advantages of “social living.”
In the absence of any conflicting interests, humans instinctively gravitate toward the strong for survival.
Right now, this “strong one” is Tao Shi, who is casually draping his arm over Jiang Yan's shoulder.
“If simply following the rules could help us survive in this survival game, then it should be rated an F instead of an S,” Tao Shi said, pushing the food around on his plate, clearly lacking appetite.
“Three people died in a day. With NPCs and players combined, we have... a total of eighteen. At this rate, we can finish them off in six days, not seven,” Tao Shi remarked.
“What should we do now?” a muscular man asked, slightly panicked.
“Jiang Yan.”
Jiang Yan was lost in thought, contemplating whether to eat the boiled cabbage on his plate. In group settings like this, he usually preferred to be invisible, so he was surprised when Tao Shi called out his name directly.
“Hmm?” Jiang Yan looked up, clearly out of the loop.
The eyes of the group turned impatiently toward him, and the muscular man asked, irritated, “Didn’t you hear? What are you thinking about?”
“I was wondering if I should eat breakfast,” Jiang Yan replied.
Some players in the group scoffed dismissively.
Players on the forum were equally frustrated:
[What’s going on? We’re discussing strategies, and he’s thinking about breakfast?]
[The Dawn Guild really recruited this guy? I don’t believe he’ll survive the second night!]
The muscular man’s eyes widened, and Jiang Yan met his gaze with his light blue eyes, unfazed.
He had heard what they were discussing; he wasn't deaf, after all. But he genuinely was thinking about whether to eat breakfast.
Tao Shi, however, didn’t seem bothered. He patted Jiang Yan’s shoulder and asked, “What do you think we should do?”
“Let’s escape,” Jiang Yan said.
“Ha?”
“Since staying in the hospital and following the rules can still get us killed, let’s escape,” Jiang Yan said casually.
Li Yun pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses. “There’s no exit in the main building. Everyone should have explored the hospital during the activity time yesterday, right? Nobody found an exit.”
Jiang Yan asked in confusion, “What’s behind that big door outside?”
“The auditorium on the second floor,” Li Yun replied.
“What were you doing during activity time yesterday?” the muscular man grumbled. “You weren’t just wandering the hallways, were you?”
“No,” Jiang Yan replied calmly. “I was sleeping.”
“…”
Tao Shi observed the calm expression on Jiang Yan’s face and found it quite amusing. “Aren’t you scared?”
“Of course I am,” Jiang Yan responded.
But when a person is hungry, they need to eat. When tired, they need to sleep. Isn’t that just biological instinct?
“Are you trying to pick a fight?” The muscular man suddenly stood up.
He looked like a small mountain, and despite his pale face and IV drip, he could probably lift Jiang Yan with one hand.
“Not at all,” Jiang Yan said, unfazed as he picked at his food. “You asked me a question, and I answered honestly. Why do you think I’m provoking you?”
“Are you doing this on purpose?” 663 asked.
“Not at all. I’m just speaking the truth,” Jiang Yan replied.
“What if he hits you?” 663 warned.
“I don’t think he would actually do that,” Jiang Yan said.
After all, Tao Shi was sitting right next to him, and he hadn’t said anything wrong. The muscular man didn’t have the upper hand here.
“He’s just simply annoyed with me. He wouldn’t risk angering Tao Shi over a moment of impulse.”
“If you think you can’t work with us, you can leave now, Shi Yin,” Tao Shi said in a low voice.
The muscular man glared at Jiang Yan, but in the end, he reluctantly sat back down.
[Shi Yin? So he’s Shi Yin?]
[Oh! No wonder he looks so familiar!]
[It’s no surprise he’s angry. The Dawn Guild takes Jiang Yan, this useless guy, but not him. I’d be mad too!]
Tao Shi "..."
Glanced sideways at the unfazed Jiang Yan, curious. “You don’t get upset when others get mad at you?”
“No need to,” Jiang Yan said. He had no idea why Shi Yin disliked him. “He’s just expressing his dissatisfaction; he hasn’t done anything else to upset me.”
To Jiang Yan, Shi Yin was merely voicing his frustration; it didn’t bother him at all. If Shi Yin had stood up and thrown his plate at his head, then of course, Jiang Yan would have been angry.
“Have you ever argued with anyone?” Tao Shi asked curiously.
“Yeah.”
“What happened?” Tao Shi was all ears.
Everyone else looked puzzled. What’s going on? Aren’t we supposed to be discussing how to break the deadlock? Why are we talking about whether Jiang Yan has ever argued with someone?
They didn’t care about this useless guy, thank you very much!
Jiang Yan looked around, noticing the dissatisfaction on everyone’s faces yet their hesitance to express it to Tao Shi. He couldn’t help but smirk subtly.
Then he deliberately said in a slow, nonchalant manner, “I had an argument with my ex-husband. Would you like to hear about it?”
Shi Yin glared at Jiang Yan, teeth clenched!
But Tao Shi looked genuinely interested. “Sure!”
Everyone’s expressions darkened in that instant!
Damn it! We only have half an hour for breakfast!!!
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