The players gnashed their teeth at him, but Tao Shi found it amusing and listened intently.
A group of people was anxious and angry, while the two of them remained calm. This piqued Jiang Yan's interest in Tao Shi.
After breakfast, on the way back to the hospital room, the players shot angry and disdainful glances at Jiang Yan.
Jiang Yan leisurely climbed the stairs, feeling quite pleased.
“You really aren’t afraid of provoking public outrage,” Tao Shi said softly, walking beside Jiang Yan with a smile.
Jiang Yan looked at Shi Yin, who was surrounded by a crowd, occasionally turning to glare at him while muttering something under his breath.
Then, 663 explained to Jiang Yan, “Shi Yin is a strong contender among this group of newcomers, rapidly climbing the leaderboard in points. However, the Dawn Guild didn’t choose him but invited you, who is at the bottom of the rankings. That’s why he targets you like this.”
Tao Shi also glanced at Shi Yin, who was walking ahead, and said to Jiang Yan, “Now you know why the guild wouldn’t take him.”
[Why? I don’t understand.]
[I don’t get it either.]
[It can't be because Shi Yin is too outstanding.]
[But it’s clear that the boss really likes Jiang Yan.]
[Why? I don’t understand.]
[I’ll stand in line; I also like Jiang Yan more.]
[I can’t figure it out; what’s so great about a pretty face!]
[Heh, I just like pretty faces.]
Jiang Yan looked unfazed and said, “I can understand why they won’t take him, but why did they take me?”
In the dim corridor, sunlight streamed through the narrow, iron-barred window high on the wall. The “patients” in faded blue and white striped hospital gowns walked slowly in the graffiti-covered, mottled corridor.
They moved like a tide, as if they were a group of undead slowly heading toward the gates of immortality.
As Jiang Yan walked among them, his aquamarine eyes looked even more luminous in the dim corridor, and his pale skin appeared even whiter against the graffiti-covered walls.
He seemed like an angel sent by the gods to supervise the undead, yet he stood out starkly among the crowd of lifeless beings.
“Shi Yin is too impulsive. Someone overly reckless won’t survive in this game,” Tao Shi said, looking at the sturdy man ahead, who resembled a small mountain.
He was a good seed, but such a fearless person was also a battlefield; in this game, recklessness alone won’t keep you alive.
“You, on the other hand, are different,” Tao Shi said with a light chuckle, gazing at the pale and beautiful Jiang Yan. “You’re a bit too calm.”
Three players died last night, and the entire dungeon made no progress. Everyone was panicking, yet this person could still casually chat about gossip regarding his ex-husband.
Such mental resilience isn’t something everyone possesses.
“Three players died last night, and none of them broke the rules. What do you think?” Tao Shi asked Jiang Yan nonchalantly.
Jiang Yan lazily yawned, his eyes slightly moist at the corners. “Since following the rules can get you killed, why not break them?”
[Is he crazy??]
[If you can’t survive by following the rules! Why not break them?]
[Heh! This game has never lacked people seeking death!]
[I think it makes sense! Since following the rules leads to death, why not violate them?]
[You can’t survive by following the rules, and violating them will...
Keep you alive? What kind of logic is that?]
After saying this, Jiang Yan didn’t bother to see if Tao Shi was taking it in and returned to his “husband’s” room to take a nap.
---
Jiang Yan woke up from hunger; he hadn’t eaten much of the boiled cabbage with hot water for breakfast. Eventually, he lay in bed and, before noon, was awakened by hunger.
He turned over in bed, lazily looking out at the blue sky through the glass window.
This was the only window he had seen in this hospital, and he recalled the dream he had last night.
After thinking for a moment, Jiang Yan finally got out of bed and walked barefoot toward the window.
Dressed in a blue and white striped hospital gown, he stood before the large glass window.
Outside was a cemetery, and in the center of the cemetery stood a lighthouse. In the distance, there was an endless sea, its blue water reflecting the shimmering sunlight, giving an inexplicable sense of hope.
As expected, it was exactly the same as the scene in his dream, except for the absence of the group of priests and the soldiers who suddenly intruded into the cemetery.
“663,” Jiang Yan called. “Did you know I had a strange dream last night?”
“I saw it,” the personal system replied.
“So, why was my dream accurate? Does that mean I’m making my fantasies come true?” Jiang Yan said, puzzled.
“Perhaps it’s not a fantasy coming true, but what you dreamed about has actually happened in the past,” 663 replied.
Things that have already happened?
Jiang Yan thought of the elderly patient who was dragged away in front of him, and the person who had frantically knocked on his door when he first arrived in this dungeon.
They had all said “69” to him, as if they recognized him.
But what did this “69” refer to?
Thinking this, Jiang Yan took a step back, and at that moment, he felt something under his feet.
He bent down to pick it up and saw it was a photo, identical to the one he took with Yu Xiu in his dream—the only difference was that Yu Xiu's face had been blacked out with a pen.
His brow furrowed, and just then, a knock came from outside the door.
Jiang Yan tucked the photo into his pocket and asked, “Who is it?”
“It’s me,” came Li Yun's voice.
Jiang Yan thought for a moment and eventually opened the door.
Li Yun stood at the doorway, peeking into the room. Upon seeing the bright glass window, he froze for a moment, seemingly because it had been a long time since he had seen such a large area of sunlight. He squinted his eyes, feeling a bit dazzled.
“Do you need something?” Jiang Yan asked. “It doesn’t seem to be activity time for the infection department right now.”
“I didn’t return to the ward; I came directly to see you,” Li Yun hesitated.
“How did you know I was here?” Jiang Yan assessed the person in front of him with indifference.
“Ding Wanyu told me. He’s an intern doctor and knows where the director’s son is staying,” Li Yun answered honestly.
Upon hearing that Li Yun hadn’t returned to the ward and had directly sought him out, and that he had asked Ding Wanyu for directions, Jiang Yan guessed it was something related to the guild.
He stepped aside to let Li Yun in, not wanting to witness the scene of him being dragged away in front of Li Yun.
After Li Yun entered the room, he curiously examined everything inside. He looked at the circular ceiling covered with drawings...
The ceiling, the monkey dolls piled up everywhere in the room, and the huge glass window.
This place seemed like a forgotten church situated within the hospital, a stark contrast to the dim, damp wards outside.
Li Yun adjusted his glasses on his nose. “Is… is your husband not home?”
Jiang Yan turned and looked at him with surprise. “Are you here to have an affair with me?”
Li Yun: “…”
“This is the first time I’ve heard you say something so heavy,” Li Yun said, smiling slightly as he looked at the pale and slender Jiang Yan, who sat on the bed in a blue and white striped hospital gown.
Jiang Yan felt puzzled and asked 663, “Did I say something heavy?”
663 replied, “No, not at all.”
“Did Tao Shi ask you to bring me any message?” Jiang Yan asked directly.
“He asked me to give you this photo about your husband.” Li Yun said, handing over the photo he had found in front of the director’s office yesterday.
Jiang Yan looked at the photo in his hand; it was identical to the one he had seen by the window, though the person beside him had their face blacked out. Still, he could recognize it— it was Yu Xiu.
At that moment, Li Yun took out a piece of note paper from his pocket and handed it to Jiang Yan. “By the way, this beautiful man with green eyes asked me to pass it on to you.”
As soon as Jiang Yan heard “green eyes,” he immediately took the note paper from Li Yun's hand, where a phrase was written—“The words of a snail on a leaf tray?”
Sunlight streamed through the glass window onto Jiang Yan, and his butterfly-like long eyelashes fluttered slightly.
Li Yun watched the beautiful youth in front of him, observing the aquamarine eyes glistening like gems under the sunlight, and felt his heart soften more and more.
“What’s wrong? Do you know who he is?” he asked gently.
He wanted to lean closer to the person in front of him but felt conflicted and frustrated by his own thoughts.
[Why does it feel like Li Yun's gaze toward Jiang Yan is off?]
[I remember these two are exes, right?]
[Oh! It looks like their relationship is still pretty good; why did they break up?]
[Who knows?]
[How can Li Yun be so ungrateful? Jiang Yan is so beautiful!]
[Who’s ungrateful here? Do you even know who Li Yun is? Do you know how much assets he has? How dare you say he’s ungrateful?]
[Who cares who he is? Isn’t he just like us, trading points for lives in this game? How much assets does he have? Why haven’t we seen him use money to buy points?]
[When he enters the game, his total points are already higher than Jiang Yan’s.]
[Exactly! Jiang Yan is ranked dead last in points, and his mental strength is... huh? Why has Jiang Yan’s mental strength ranking increased?]
Jiang Yan suppressed the surging emotions in his eyes, expressionless as he tucked the note and the photo into the pocket of his patient gown.
He then stood up and walked toward the door.
Li Yun, puzzled, asked, “Where are you going?”
“Looking for Tao Shi.” Jiang Yan’s expression was calm.
“What do you want to see Mr. Tao for?”
“This note is from him to you.” Jiang Yan stated matter-of-factly.
Li Yun was somewhat surprised: “How do you know?”
Jiang Yan didn’t want to say much to him and walked to the door, opening it.
“It’s not the time for the infection department or the psychiatric department to be active,” Li Yun quickly stood up to block him, looking at Jiang Yan, who looked as pale as a plaster statue, and said, “You’re risking your life!”
Jiang Yan stood at the doorway, half of his body bathed in sunlight from the room and the other half hidden in the dim corridor. “It’s eight o’clock. I haven’t taken my medication.”
Then, he smiled slightly: “If I’m going to die while following the rules, I might as well break the rules.”
With that, he stepped out of the room.
“Jiang Yan!”
“Oh, by the way,” Jiang Yan turned back to Li Yun in the room and said, “You shouldn’t stay too long either, or my husband will get angry when he comes back.”
Saying this, he left the room lightly, leaving Li Yun stunned.
“You’ve lost your mind!” 663 exclaimed in Jiang Yan's mind.
Jiang Yan walked slowly down the mottled corridor, quietly saying, “I’m not dead yet, and there doesn’t seem to be anything coming to catch me.”
The corridor was empty, and the boy in the blue-and-white patient gown, looking beautiful like a fallen Greek statue, walked at a leisurely pace.
“I suddenly became interested in this game,” Jiang Yan said to 663.
[What the hell? Jiang Yan’s mental strength is increasing???]
[He has mental strength?]
[Why? Why did his mental strength suddenly start to rise?]
[Could it be anger sparked by seeing his ex?]
[He didn’t just see Li Yun today; he saw him yesterday, didn’t he?]
[What? Is the system bugging out again?]
[Go for it, Yan Yan!!]
[I can’t believe I’m seeing someone’s mental strength rise from double digits to four digits in one minute!]
[Is four digits high? Four digits is normal, okay? Double digits aren’t even human.]
Jiang Yan stepped down the stairs, which led to the dimly lit lower level, as if heading towards the gates of hell.
“Do you know when I last found something interesting?” Jiang Yan yawned.
“When was it?” 663 asked curiously.
At that moment, a nurse in a tattered pink outfit, stained with blood and dirt, silently followed Jiang Yan from behind, holding a steel needle.
“It was on the first Valentine’s Day after we got married. My ex said he was preparing a cosplay surprise for me that night,” Jiang Yan chatted with 663 as he walked. “I waited all day for that. Do you know what I saw the moment I opened the door when I got home?”
[I can’t believe this!! Turn back!!]
[Oh my god!!! Turn back!!]
[What is he doing?!]
“Did your husband cosplay a maid? Sailor Moon? A bunny?”
Jiang Yan shook his head and stepped down another stair.
A pair of baby hands reached out from between the cement walls, trying to grab the ankles of the violator but ultimately grasped at nothing.
[Yan Yan!! Turn back!!]
[Your mental strength is finally rising; stay calm! I’m coming to marry you!!]
“What character did your husband cosplay?” 663 was confused. “What else could it be, aside from these, for couple play on Valentine’s Day?”
Jiang Yan stepped down another stair, and an old face floated on the steps he had just passed, a face of human skin filled with terror.
At the same time, a woman in a red dress crawled silently behind him, her limbs twisted as if she had been tossed in a washing machine and pulled out afterward.
Her long hair covered her face as she struggled to crawl after Jiang Yan, leaving bloody stains behind her.
[Oh no!!!]
[There’s no hope…]
[Don’t! Don’t turn back!!!]
Yet Jiang Yan seemed completely unaware, casually chatting with 663: “That was a scene I never imagined.”
Jiang Yan walked along the fourth-floor corridor, his expression calm yet gentle, while two nurses and three doctors wielding surgical knives had gathered behind him without his notice.
The woman in the red dress crawled behind them, and from a distance, it appeared that Jiang Yan was dragging along a trail of white and red.
Just like the nurses, the doctors had bloodstains on their white coats, and their half-decayed faces seemed marked with cement and paint. They followed Jiang Yan closely, murmuring:
“He’s insane, he’s insane, he’s insane…”
“He’s a madman, he’s a madman…”
“He needs treatment… he needs treatment…”
[I can’t look anymore…]
[Mom… my beautiful one.]
[This is insane! Why are there rules that he doesn’t follow!!!]
“Zhi… zhi… Hospital rules… zhi…”
Jiang Yan walked in the dimly lit corridor of the fourth floor, listening to the announcement of hospital rules echoing above him in the empty hallway.
He continued unhurriedly towards Tao Shi’s ward, slowly replying, “When I pushed the door open, I found a mass made of countless human arms lying on the bed. Each of those stitched arms was covered in eyes.”
Jiang Yan smiled slightly: “He told me that was an angel.”
“But perhaps afraid I’d be scared by the angel’s true appearance, he left me a line of poetry, the first half being—‘A snail’s words on a leaf tray?’”
Suddenly, the sound of a child’s cheerful laughter came from the hospital broadcast, echoing in the empty corridor and making one’s hair stand on end.
Jiang Yan stopped in his tracks, and as he looked up, he saw a baby with a huge belly, covered in bruises, with its umbilical cord wrapped around its neck, lying on the broadcast device.
[Shit!! Don’t stop!!]
[Don’t turn back!!!!]
[Run! Keep running forward!!!]
It was uncertain whether it was because he hadn’t taken his medication, but Jiang Yan felt a little unclear in his mind, as if he was genuinely losing it.
He gazed at the baby lying on the broadcast device and calmly replied, “The next line of that poetry is—‘That’s not mine, don’t accept him.’”
“But I know that was him, the angel made up of human arms, covered in eyes.”
“Do you think… that’s an angel?” 663 felt that this was the most hellish joke he had ever heard in three thousand years.
“Why can’t it be?” Jiang Yan chuckled lightly. “Don’t you think it’s cute?”
A half-decayed hand clung to Jiang Yan’s shoulder, and at the same time, a rusty surgical knife pressed against his throat.
[!!!!!!]
[Don’t—!!]
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