Jiang Yan woke up enveloped in a damp embrace—tight, sticky, and warm to the point of suffocation.
When he opened his eyes, all he saw was darkness. As he struggled slightly, the result was an even tighter restraint.
Jiang Yan shifted slightly, his fair skin rubbing against the black substance cocooning him, producing a jelly-like “squelch.”
“You’re awake,” came 663’s voice, tinged with an inexplicable weariness.
[Good morning, BUG Yan.]
[BUG, hello! Did you sleep well last night?]
[BUG, good morning. Your exclusive forum thread has been created.]
[Someone point me to it; I want to pay my respects.]
Jiang Yan listened to the delighted gurgles coming from his husband and recalled everything that had happened yesterday—
The “god” was agitated and needed appeasement. He was sacrificed to the deity by the players via a “vote.”
Initially, Jiang Yan just wanted to test this absurd item he had drawn, but unexpectedly, the system NPC created using Yu Xiu’s data suddenly threw Jeff Hunter into the offering ritual.
For a moment, the dungeon’s “master of ceremonies” was gone, and the cafeteria fell silent, with all the players staring at each other in shock.
But his husband had no intention of letting it go. When the monster used its tentacles to hang everyone who had written Jiang Yan’s name from the ceiling—dinner time ended abruptly.
Back in the bedroom, staring at the crudely drawn green eyes on the paper mask, Jiang Yan once again realized that this NPC was indeed created from Yu Xiu’s data.
A strange pressure filled his chest, and his head felt dizzy, as though he were drunk.
As a result, he let the dark, sticky tentacles do whatever they wanted to him.
The ocean roared under the storm, and the “god” screeched in the darkness.
In the end, Jiang Yan fell asleep in his husband’s warm, sticky embrace, utterly spent.
Jiang Yan kicked at his husband with his foot. The monster carefully extracted him from its dark body, cradling him tenderly.
“Yan Yan, you’re awake.”
Jiang Yan noticed he wasn’t in his own ward but rather in his husband’s expansive, luxurious room with a circular window.
His hospital gown was ruined beyond recognition after the chaos of the previous night, and naturally, the monster took on the responsibility of dressing him.
While obediently cooperating with the tentacles as they helped him change, Jiang Yan looked at the dim sky outside and asked, “Isn’t it breakfast time yet?”
“There’s no breakfast today,” the tentacles replied gently as they fastened his buttons.
“No breakfast?” Jiang Yan asked, puzzled.
“Today is the day of the sacrifice,” it explained while carrying Jiang Yan to the window.
The hospital garden had turned into a desolate and bleak graveyard, shrouded in a black mist that seemed to cover the entire horizon.
The beach was piled high with corpses; it seemed that the bodies and severed limbs from the storage room had all been dumped there.
The blue seawater lapped at the corpse-strewn shore, carrying the souls of the dead toward the black mist, leading them into the realm of the dead.
Even though Jiang Yan’s home had once been filled with animal corpse specimens, and he himself was indifferent to such things,
This beach, piled with human corpses like an open-air slaughterhouse for humans, still struck Jiang Yan deeply.
“This is…” Jiang Yan froze slightly.
“These are offerings, sacrifices for those defective beings,” the monster replied, its tone full of disdain.
Sacrifices? Sacrificing their own kind to appease the “god”?
Jiang Yan lowered his gaze. “What a boring game.”
“…Start… start… start…”
The familiar sound of the broadcast echoed again:
“… Will all patients… please proceed to the garden… to participate in the ritual…”
---
[Instance: "Jianshe Road Private Hospital," Instance Progress: 70%]
[Game Rules: Survive in the hospital for 7 days]
[Total Players: 14, Current Survivors: 8]
[Real NPC Count: 3, Currently Uncorrupted: 3]
It was the morning of the fourth day since arriving at the hospital.
The surviving players, looking haggard and exhausted, dragged themselves to the beach.
Faced with mountains of corpses and severed limbs, the mix of rotting stench and the salty tang of seawater churned their empty stomachs, leaving them pale and nauseous.
Meanwhile, Jiang Yan remained nestled in the embrace of his pitch-black husband, leisurely eating a soft, sweet piece of bread.
The players' gazes shifted to him. After all, the dungeon's "master of ceremonies," Jeff Hunter, had been destroyed by this system NPC yesterday. Thanks to this black monster, the dungeon's storyline now seemed to lack direction.
Noticing everyone staring at him, Jiang Yan hesitated for a moment before raising the bread in his hand.
"There's only one piece. Not enough to share."
The players: "...."
Watching Jiang Yan, so relaxed and at ease in such a tense and nauseating environment, their teeth ground with hatred.
Why?! Why?!
Why had they spent a sleepless night in fear and hunger while Jiang Yan was exempt from all the terror and starvation they endured?
[Wow! Jiang Yan is really something else. Eating in a scene like this without batting an eye?]
[Even just watching through the screen makes me want to vomit! I can’t even imagine how bad it smells in person.]
[Respect! At first, I thought Jiang Yan was heartless, but now I see it’s just confidence.]
[I’m curious! Why is he such a BUG?]
[Exactly! Can someone explain? Why is an NPC with no spiritual or combat abilities and not even a single item so overpowered?]
[Luck...? Even I don’t feel confident saying that, but every character Jiang Yan draws seems to come with an absurdly strong "husband."]
[True! This isn’t the first time. In the last instance, that “kiss the boss” mission left me dumbfounded!]
The monster brought over a cup of hot milk from who-knows-where, lifting it to Jiang Yan’s mouth with a tentacle. Only after Jiang Yan took a sip did it let out a satisfied "gurgle."
“Dear patients!” the monster exclaimed, holding a microphone and waving its black tentacles. Its voice, beastly and loud, echoed across the beach.
“Today is the day for the sacrifices my foolish father created to appease his defective creations!”
With the previous “master of ceremonies” thrown into the sacrificial ritual, it was clear that Jiang Yan’s husband had now taken over Jeff Hunter’s position.
However, its tone and attitude were so dismissive that it bordered on mockery.
As soon as it finished speaking, a deep voice belonging to a middle-aged man sounded from behind the crowd.
“Do not insult our god.”
Everyone turned in surprise. Shi Yin stammered in shock, “D-Director?!”
Among the group, Jiang Yan also turned around after taking another sip of hot milk.
A middle-aged man wearing a white lab coat, his hair streaked with white at the temples, stood at the back of the crowd, leading a group of similarly dressed individuals.
Compared to the others behind him—whose pallor resembled ashen stone, with clearly visible stitching at their joints—the director’s complexion appeared normal, and his skin was smooth.
If only his head wasn’t inverted, with his crown connected to his neck and his chin pointing skyward, he would have seemed much more approachable.
The director, accompanied by the stitched-together medical staff, walked forward. Jiang Yan could clearly see their arms, fingers, and legs were partially pieced together with plaster.
It was evident that they had already made offerings of their own bodies to the deity.
Now, their task was to "offer" the patients standing before them.
The director pushed through the crowd and approached the shoreline. Standing before the mountain of corpses, he raised his arms with pride and declared:
“The god will destroy this world!
“And we will create a new god to maintain the balance of the world! We will become our own creators!”
His inverted head twisted into a crazed, maniacal smile.
As soon as he finished speaking, the medical staff behind him began to clap mechanically, eerily reminiscent of the scene on the first day when Jiang Yan had entered the cafeteria.
The sound of applause mixed with the crashing waves, echoing across the beach as the names etched on the tombstones bore silent witness to the spectacle.
“Boom—!”
Dark clouds churned on the horizon, and the sea began to roar. In an instant, the black mist consumed the "corpse mountain," the director, and his medical staff.
“Fall back!” Tao Shi shouted.
The players stumbled backward in terror. No one wanted to find out what would happen if they were swallowed by the black mist.
Meanwhile, Jiang Yan calmly finished the last bite of his bread and downed the rest of his milk in one go.
The monster, ever-attentive, extended one tentacle to pat its mate’s back and another to gently rub his stomach.
The black mist surged toward the monster, threatening to engulf it, but as it reached the edge of the tentacles, it seemed to sense an even darker presence. Almost as if fleeing in terror, it retreated.
The players watched in stunned silence as the mist swallowed the mountain of corpses, merging sea and sky into a chaotic void.
From the chaos came the distant, piercing wail of the god.
“Boss…” Cao Youfeng glanced at Tao Shi.
“How do we deal with that thing? Should we charge in?”
“But is the mist toxic or not?”
“Damn it!” Tao Shi snapped irritably. “Don’t waste time on these NPCs. Let’s find the boss first.”
It was the fourth day, with three more remaining.
No one could predict what the final three days would hold.
Spending physical and mental energy on these useless system NPCs at this point seemed utterly unwise.
But… where was the key?
Last night, Tao Shi and Cao Youfeng had secretly turned the entire hospital upside down, but they still couldn’t find any clues related to the "Creator God."
The only information they dug up—besides the hospital and the patients' basic data—was, surprisingly, a collection of love stories about Jiang Yan and his husband?!
There was even a 400,000-character thesis written by Jiang Yan's husband during his lifetime about their love story?!
At first, they thought it was impossible for a romantic essay to be this long! There had to be some hidden connection to the game.
However, when Cao Youfeng used the Number Concealment Card to scan the thesis and found that it was purely romantic content with no hidden information, the two of them felt as though they had just swallowed a fly.
Thinking about this, Tao Shi couldn’t help but glance at the black, shadowy monster.
What kind of system NPC even writes a 400,000-character romance thesis?
Jiang Yan noticed Tao Shi's gaze and said to his husband, whose tentacles were wrapped possessively around him, “Put me down.”
“But Yan Yan doesn’t like walking,” the monster replied.
Considering Jiang Yan's tendency to spend most of his time lying in bed, he indeed preferred staying on his husband's soft, waterbed-like body.
But since the story had reached a critical moment, he figured he might as well participate.
Seeing his wife's expression turn serious, the monster carefully placed Jiang Yan on the ground.
The black mist had divided the world in two. From the devoured ocean came an ancient wail, as though something primordial was about to emerge and consume the entire sky.
Cao Youfeng tugged anxiously at the white bandage around his neck. “Boss, why don’t we just fight them?”
The "them" undoubtedly referred to Su An and Jiang Xiu of Valen Church.
“What if it’s not them?” Tao Shi’s eyes darkened. “The killer rabbit turned out to be just an ordinary newbie. Why can’t the boss be one too?”
“That’s impossible,” Cao Youfeng retorted. “These newbies have decent skills, but none of their stats are outstanding.”
“Don’t rely too much on data, and don’t underestimate newcomers,” Tao Shi warned, furrowing his brows. “Don’t forget, back in the day, Black Spade K and the Best Actor were both newbies once, too.
“In this game, looking down on anyone comes at a price. Just like Jiang Yan”
Before Tao Shi could finish, Jiang Yan’s voice came from beside him. “Just like me, what?”
Startled, Tao Shi turned around, only to find Jiang Yan standing next to them. His blue-and-white striped hospital gown blended perfectly with the players around him.
“Nothing,” Tao Shi replied.
He crossed his arms and glanced at the black monster standing not far away.
The creature stood silently, guarding Jiang Yan. Its green eyes, drawn haphazardly on its mask, fixed unwaveringly on its wife, like a dragon in the shadows protecting its most treasured possession.
Tao Shi’s expression grew grim, but he quickly masked it with a casual tone as he addressed Jiang Yan. “Your husband threw the game’s Host out yesterday. What do you suppose we do now? Just stand here and watch the ritual?”
Jiang Yan’s voice was hoarse, but his lips curled into a lazy smile. “What we need to do now, of course, is… save the copy.”
—
The black mist that devoured the ocean began to spread, tainting the gray-white sky bit by bit.
The hospital’s main entrance had somehow disappeared, and neither the doorway nor the train that brought them here could be found.
They were completely isolated in this hospital. It seemed that their only options were to either become sustenance for the gods or be torn apart by the Creator God—there was no third choice.
Jiang Yan spoke up, breaking the silence: “The so-called Creator God is among us. If—just if—we use the Creator God as an offering to the existing god, what do you think would happen?”
The players froze, exchanging wary glances.
They had always known the boss was hidden among them. But if they were to offer the Creator God as a sacrifice, who could guarantee they wouldn’t be the one thrown out?
Just like Jiang Yan, who had been cast out by vote before.
“But… we currently have almost no clues about the Creator God,” Ding Wanyu said, frowning.
Cang Rou added, “I did hear the director mention before that he is a madman.”
【Ding!】
【Key Clue from Real NPC Cang Rou: He is a madman.】
Jiang Yan followed up, “Yes, my father-in-law also told me that he’s gone mad.”
【Ding!】
【Key Clue from Real NPC Jiang Yan: He’s gone mad.】
The players' eyes lit up. Jiang Yan finally revealed his key clue?!
[No wonder Jiang Yan didn’t share his clue yesterday! Clearly, this line was meant to fit this exact moment.]
[His sense for drama is impeccable!]
[Sure, his sense of timing is great, but his ranking is still low.]
[Every pro started at the bottom. Jiang Yan just liked taking it easy before, but his performance in this round has been excellent!]
“That's borderline fraud,” Player 663 muttered.
Jiang Yan shrugged indifferently. “Isn’t that just how you like it? Weren’t you always telling me to take this game more seriously?”
For once, Jiang Yan seemed genuinely engaged in the game.
The thought made him chuckle. “After all, isn’t deception the very spirit of this game for NPCs?”
“Who’s mad?”
Jiang Xiu’s voice abruptly pulled Jiang Yan back to reality.
Although Jiang Xiu still wore his usual smile, there was an unmistakable chill in his gaze that no amount of pretense could hide.
Jiang Yan shrugged nonchalantly. “I wouldn’t know. After all, this hospital has no shortage of madmen.”
The smile on Jiang Xiu’s face turned colder. “Including you, madam?”
From deep within the black mist, an eerie wind swept across everyone, tugging at their clothes and chilling them to the bone.
When Jiang Yan met Jiang Xiu's gaze, he casually responded, "Of course."
Jiang Yan's diagnosis was tuberculosis and schizophrenia, information that could easily be found in the hospital's records.
At this point, Cao Youfeng sneered, "What's this, Jiang Xiu? Are you suggesting that our madam might be the despicable Creator God?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the other players turned their gaze to Jiang Yan, their eyes filled with mockery.
Jiang Yan, despite his cleverness and luck, how could he possibly be connected to the game’s BOSS?
Moreover, he was just an ordinary NPC.
BOSS identity cards were usually given to high-level players to increase the game difficulty.
If a low-level player received the BOSS identity card, the game would likely end right at the start.
"Who knows? Maybe it really is me. After all, I can’t even remember my own past," Jiang Yan said lazily.
Jiang Xiu smiled indifferently, "You’re quite mysterious, Madam."
"But now, it's safe to say that the person with a mental illness is probably among the players, right? Tao Shi, what's your diagnosis?" Su An asked.
"Definitely not a mental illness," Tao Shi replied with a smile.
The atmosphere between the two sides became tense.
Tao Shi smiled provocatively, clearly showing that Jiang Yan was now closer to the Dawn Guild.
The two members of the Valen Church were likely trying to smear these two, probably because they couldn't stand Jiang Yan joining the Dawn Guild and wanted to use this chance to remove Jiang Yan, this NPC, from the game.
Tao Shi thought back to what Jiang Yan had said earlier.
"I can help you save the copy but I have one condition."
"What is it?"
"I want to know about my husband."
Tao Shi understood that the "husband" Jiang Yan was referring to must be his ex husband, Yu Xiu.
"If you’re willing to join us, the guild will do everything to help you find him," Tao Shi responded.
"He’s right here," Jiang Yan said, pointing to the black creature in the distance.
Tao Shi realized Jiang Yan’s meaning—Yu Xiu was also in the game.
Jiang Yan wanted to use them to find his husband in the game.
Thinking this over, Tao Shi raised an eyebrow. So, Jiang Yan entered the game because of his ex-husband?
Jiang Xiu continued, "So, who in the group is from the psychiatric department?"
"I don’t think it’s that simple," Jiang Yan calmly replied.
"Oh?" Su An raised an eyebrow, "So what’s your take, Madam?"
"Don’t forget, it can disguise itself," Jiang Yan said, "It can blend in with us. Who can guarantee it won’t disguise itself as someone mentally stable?"
"Just like how each of us has different diseases, my father-in-law never claimed that the god don’t have tuberculosis or black disease."
"In my opinion, including myself, all nine of us remaining patients are suspects."
As soon as Jiang Yan finished speaking, a black tentacle wrapped around his waist, and in the next moment, he was pulled back into the soft embrace of his husband.
"My dear wife is so clever," the creature said excitedly.
Its body, darker than the black mist itself, enveloped the group in shadows, its massive form taking up most of the garden.
Jiang Yan was held in its embrace, like a delicate porcelain frog doll.
The creature continued, "Unfortunately, the messenger who communicated with the god has been thrown to be sacrificed. Forgive me, I despise anyone who offends my dear wife."
"However, as my dear wife said, your Creator God is hiding among you! Good luck."
Your Creator God?
Jiang Yan raised an eyebrow slightly. He felt something was off about those words, but couldn't quite place what was wrong.
He looked over at Ding Wanyu and Cao Rou, who were standing quietly to the side. Each of the real NPCs had two clues.
The clues revealed so far were four in total, with Jiang Yan and Ding Wanyu each holding one key clue.
It was likely these two had considered increasing the difficulty for the players to improve their own performance in the instance.
But at this point, all the NPCs could do was their best to help the players clear the game. After all, no one knew if the black mist would only swallow the players or if it would also engulf them, the three real NPCs.
After all, the main system had previously killed off all the NPCs in a past instance.
Jiang Yan was curious about what clue Ding Wanyu held.
Tao Shi reached up and adjusted his blue bangs, then said to the group, "Let's go back to the hospital's main building to find more clues. Standing here is pointless. The god should have already been summoned for the sacrifice, so the main building of the hospital should be relatively safe now."
The creature, cradling its beloved Jiang Yan, cheerfully reminded them, "This sacrifice will last for three days. Good luck."
The group moved toward the roaring black mist.
In three days, either they would be consumed by this dark mist or die at the hands of the Creator God who would destroy the world.
Shi Yin lowered his head, his face pale. "I told you... struggling is pointless..."
"Thud!"
A player collapsed to the ground.
"Hey! What happened to you?"
A player beside him rushed to help, but the fallen person didn't respond at all.
The main system's voice echoed:
[Instance: "Jianshe Road Private Hospital", Instance Progress: 70%]
[Game Rules: Survive for 7 days within the hospital]
[Total Players: 14, Current Players Alive: 7]
[Real NPCs: 3, Unpolluted NPCs: 3]
He... died?!
A cold wind rustled the players' clothes, and a chilling sense of inevitable doom spread among them.
Before the players could process the grief, they saw the fallen player's body begin to rapidly decay.
His skin rotted away, forming black holes, revealing the dark red muscle tissue beneath, and pale fingers began to emerge from the gaping sores, quickly spreading across his body.
"Hey..." Shi Yin stared in shock, his eyes wide.
"Get back! Quickly, get back!" Tao Shi shouted loudly.
The already dead player's mouth emitted a muffled sound, and his body began to swell continuously.
Jiang Yan quickly kicked his husband and jumped to the ground, face full of shock. "How could this happen... Why him?"
Jiang Yan looked at Tao Shi in disbelief. "So... is he the legendary Creator God?"
"Probably not," Tao Shi said with a grim expression.
The dead player's body continued to swell.
"Roar—!"
Accompanied by a loud, ethereal scream, the familiar "god" appeared before the group.
In the next moment, the god decisively launched an attack at them.
The hospital garden was small, and now it was crowded with two gods. The players had nowhere to hide.
If they couldn’t dodge, they would have to face it head-on!
Although the veteran players didn’t want to waste their stamina or mental energy at this moment, there was no other choice.
"Ding!"
[Item: Medical Bandage]
"Ding!"
[Item: Divine Staff]
"Ding!"
[Item: Feather Thread]
"..."
In an instant, the glow from the items under the black mist lit up, almost as if it could illuminate the entire beach.
[Wow, wow!! A visual feast!!]
[The divine appearance is so beautiful!!!]
[The new players’ items are not bad either!]
[It seems Jiang Yan doesn’t have any items?]
[It’s okay! The bug itself is an item.]
[Yeah, Jiang Yan has no items, but he has a husband! Look at how that god dares not approach him.]
Even though the "god" was an S-rank NPC, it couldn’t last for long in front of so many S-rank experts.
Just as the "god" fell to the ground, the group breathed a sigh of relief, only for the ground to suddenly tremble.
"What’s happening now?" White bandages fluttered beside Cao Youfeng and he said impatiently.
As soon as he finished speaking, the next moment, hands and legs began to emerge from the depths of every tomb—countless gods crawled out from the graves.
"I... I can't!" Cao Yufeng couldn’t help but take a step back.
Are you serious? Are you really serious? So many S-rank NPCs?
Not just Cao Yufeng, even Jiang Yan was a bit surprised.
No way? Are they really going this far?!
"Boss! What do we do?!" Cao Yufeng panicked.
"We can't retreat." Tao Shi gritted his teeth. "These things can enter the main building. If we pull back, the space in the main building is limited, and fighting there will be even more troublesome."
"But..."
Cao Yufeng was about to say something, but Tao Shi interrupted him directly. "There's no other way! We have to charge in head-on!"
"But these new players..."
"Let them fend for themselves!" Tao Shi interrupted bluntly.
In an instant, everyone was drawn into the chaotic battle.
Jiang Yan stood quietly to the side, watching the others. His calm and composed demeanor stood in stark contrast to the frantic, panicked state of the others.
A black tentacle moved toward him, and his husband tried to pull him back into his embrace, but Jiang Yan ruthlessly slapped him away.
Li Yun, injured in the arm, stumbled back and accidentally stepped on Jiang Yan’s foot.
He growled, irritated, looking at Jiang Yan, who remained expressionless. "Useless piece of trash! Stay out of the way and don’t cause trouble!"
Jiang Yan gave him a cold glance, eyeing the wound on his arm. "A fool would get hurt."
Seeing that Jiang Yan, the so-called "trash," couldn’t help in the fight and still dared to insult him, Li Yun's temper flared. "A useless piece of trash, with no items, no stats—how dare you lecture me?"
"Jiang Yan!" Li Yun sneered. "You don’t really think you can rely on luck to get to the end of this game, do you? See those big shots over there? Now, everyone’s looking out for themselves. No one will protect you!"
"Oh," Jiang Yan replied indifferently.
"You..."
Before Li Yun could make another move, a huge, green, slime-covered tongue lunged toward them.
Li Yun reacted quickly, rolling to the ground and narrowly dodging the "tongue" attack.
But Jiang Yan remained standing, motionless.
[Run!!!]
[Seriously! Why isn't he moving?]
[Where’s his husband?!]
[He’s done for! His husband is just a system NPC that looks a bit stronger but has nothing to do with the main storyline!]
[It’s over!!]
"Jiang Yan! Run!" Tao Shi shouted, splitting the monster in front of him with his divine staff, calling toward Jiang Yan.
The players turned to look, and the scene made everyone tense up.
Li Yun got up from the ground, a twisted, excited smile on his face.
He’s done for! Jiang Yan is finally going to die?! Haha!!
The massive, green, slime-covered tongue was about to wrap around the pale young boy entirely, and the others quickly looked away—Jiang Yan was done for.
Everyone silently waited for the system's announcement, but it didn’t respond for a long time.
[No! Something’s wrong!!]
A player in the forum shouted!
In the next second, a red light shot out from the tongue!
"He's still alive?!" Cao Yufeng said incredulously.
"How is that possible? He doesn’t have any items!" Su An said.
Tao Shi let out a breath of relief, a smirk appearing on his face. "What if he does?"
Li Yun's eyes went red, gritting his teeth. "This is impossible! How could Jiang Yan have...?"
Countless rose vines wrapped around the massive tongue, and in the next moment, the tongue turned into withered rose petals, blowing into the black mist.
Jiang Yan stood there, surrounded by a ring of thorns.
Under the black sky, the pale young man was encircled by a blood-red rose, creating an eerie and bizarre sight.
Accompanied by the sound of waves crashing against the rocks, a huge, indescribable creature seemed to be wandering in the dark sky above, something far greater than the ocean itself.
The system’s voice rang out:
"Beep!"
【Item: Lost Rose】
Jiang Yan silently looked at the data panel, where the "functions" section read: The holder is a “God’s” chosen escapee.