Everyone's gaze was drawn to the monkey doll.
In this hospital hall filled with the smell of blood and disinfectant, amidst the tense atmosphere of corpses and firearms, the monkey doll looked incredibly out of place, as if it were a joke played by the gods on humanity.
The short man with the goat beard at the corner of his mouth curled his lips up in a complicated manner as he frowned and looked up at the ceiling.
There was nothing on the ceiling, but Jiang Yan, who stood opposite him, smiled at the empty ceiling.
In that instant, the short man was infuriated. He snatched the gun from a nearby soldier and plunged the bayonet violently into the monkey doll on the ground, viciously saying in awkward Chinese, “Die!”
---
Within just one day, this hospital became their stronghold, with the remaining four survivors—Jiang Yan, Tao Shi, Cao Youfeng, and the old director.
In the following days, they became the doctors and nurses of the hospital, strangely enough, the old director still retained his position; they did not strip him of his title.
Meanwhile, Jiang Yan was confined to the room he shared with his “husband.” They did not mistreat him and provided him with decent meals three times a day.
However, their attitude towards Jiang Yan was very peculiar; it was more of a form of captivity than imprisonment.
They kept Jiang Yan confined in that room, and whenever they brought him meals, a few people in protective suits would come to observe and record data about him, as if conducting some sort of experiment on him.
Jiang Yan did not feel particularly affected by this; he initially thought about asking to go out and meet Tao Shi and the others, but a remark from 663 woke him up.
“You are an NPC.”
In the previous instances, Jiang Yan could somewhat control his character within his willing range; after all, if an NPC behaved contrary to their established character, they would be turned into a meat bun by the BOSS.
Perhaps due to the clearly defined BOSS in the previous instances, which posed enough danger to make Jiang Yan cautious.
However, this S-level instance so far had not indicated clearly which NPC was the BOSS; the only non-human present in this instance was Jiang Yan's inexplicable cheap “husband.”
The other monsters, while frightening, did not seem as bizarre, and it was evident that the “god” worshiped by this group was likely Jiang Yan’s cheap “husband.”
Yet, if his “husband” was the BOSS, up to this point in the instance, his “husband” had not shown any hostility toward humans.
Aside from beating Jiang Yan’s “ex” Li Yun on the first day, he had not displayed any aggression.
Thus, Jiang Yan did not fear his current “husband” as he did the “hunter” in the previous instance.
As a result, he did not pay as much attention to controlling his “character” as he had in earlier instances; while he had to put on an act before, in this instance, he mostly acted according to his own will.
A qualified NPC should act according to the “character’s” intentions, not their own.
Fortunately, due to Jiang Yan's “mental illness” character trait, the instance had a certain impact on his psyche, allowing him to navigate the “mentally ill” role relatively well.
However, as an NPC, he should, at the right moment, hand over the initiative of the game to the players—like now.
Tao Shi and Cao Youfeng had not been executed, imprisoned, or sent for human experimentation; they remained in the hospital as “patients.”
The doctors performed a full-body examination on them and concluded that they were all sick, even requiring the physically healthy Tao Shi to take medication.
After several days of taking the medicine, Tao Shi did not exhibit any discomfort physically or mentally and even suspected it might be a form of slow poison.
Moreover, the “medical staff” not only required the two of them to take medicine but also insisted they wear patient uniforms and stroll around downstairs.
At first, Tao Shi and Cao Youfeng were completely puzzled; they did not believe that these butchers who had caused the horrific slaughter would merely want to treat them and keep them in the hospital.
“They can’t possibly be fattening us up to eat us, right? I heard the Japanese eat people,” Cao Youfeng remarked as he wandered around the cemetery downstairs, occasionally picking up fallen leaves in front of the tombstones.
“Who knows?” Tao Shi replied, chewing on a blade of grass as he looked up at the room with floor-to-ceiling glass windows at the top of the building. “I saw that short guy enter the director’s room last night and talk for a long time about ‘gods.’”
“Probably scared by those three who suddenly died in front of Jiang Yan that day,” Tao Shi scoffed.
“I must say, if this incident was orchestrated by Jiang Yan, and he could control it, he’d be like a ‘nuclear weapon’ right now!” Cao Youfeng said, looking pale as he fiddled with a bandage in his hands.
“Are you sure that incident has nothing to do with Jiang Yan?” Tao Shi asked Cao Youfeng again.
“The data indicates no direct correlation with him,” Cao Youfeng replied.
“According to the data.” Tao Shi looked toward Jiang Yan's room, the glass reflecting the sunlight and the distant sea, dazzling his eyes.
At that moment, a woman dressed in a red qipao, holding a child, walked up to them. “Excuse me... Is this hospital free for treatment?”
Tao Shi and Cao Youfeng paused for a moment, as the woman seemed familiar; they felt like they had seen her in a tattered state before.
“No, this hospital is a scam! We spent all our money on a cold, and now we’re stuck here watching graves. You should leave quickly,” Tao Shi said flatly.
Upon hearing this, the woman’s tears immediately fell. She looked at the child in her arms, whose face was flushed and seemed a bit uncomfortable, murmuring, “I have to look... What else can I do?”
Saying this, she ignored what Tao Shi and Cao Youfeng said and continued mumbling to herself as she walked toward the hospital building.
“Hey!” Cao Youfeng tried to stop her.
But Tao Shi held his outstretched hand and shook his head.
They often forgot that these people were already dead.
They had seen her decayed form; she had died eighty years ago, destined to enter this hospital, meet “Jiang Yan,” and die here, only to be trapped, waiting for “Jiang Yan” to return and bring them back to today, eighty years ago.
This is a cycle, and the key to the cycle is that tuberculosis patient who married the director’s "son"—Jiang Yan.
...
That afternoon, Tao Shi and Cao Youfeng sat downstairs, watching one person after another walk into the hospital. Their clothes were not refined, and their dark faces and hunched, emaciated bodies made them look so helpless.
"Is this hospital run by the Japanese?" An elderly man, upon hearing Tao Shi and Cao Youfeng's response, had despair in his cloudy eyes.
In front of him was a wheelbarrow, the kind often used to transport goods at the harbor. On it was a frail man curled up, uncertain if alive or dead.
"Is this your..." Tao Shi asked.
"My son," the old man answered.
"What happened to him?" Tao Shi asked again.
"Opium. We smoked through all the land in the house. Recently, we ran out of it, and yesterday he was writhing on the kang bed. Today, he's not doing well." The old man responded.
After saying this, he mumbled as he turned to push his son toward the hospital building. "What else can I do? I heard the Japanese eat people. Even if I, this bag of old bones, were to be stewed, there wouldn't be much meat left. Let them stew me then."
That afternoon, more people trickled into the hospital, dressed in rags and looking dazed. After exchanging a few words with Tao Shi and Cao Youfeng, they walked into the hospital building. But as they sat there until dusk, they saw many people go in, yet none came out.
The last person they saw was the old director.
The old director in front of them was completely different from the elegant old man they remembered. His hair had turned much whiter, with barely any black strands left. His face was more wrinkled, and his hunched body made him look like an elderly man in his seventies or eighties.
The moment he saw the two of them, the old director showed a kindly smile. "You're still here?"
The director walked a few steps toward the sea, his steps faltering, his mental state clearly not well. "My son hasn’t come back recently. He just came home a few days ago, took a quick look at his wife, and left in a hurry without even glancing at me."
As he spoke, he laughed bitterly, "What’s the point of raising children? In the end, they grow up, start families, and all they think about is their wives."
Tao Shi and Cao Youfeng exchanged glances. It seemed that the current director had completely mistaken the "god" as his son and Jiang Yan as his daughter-in-law.
The sun was setting on the horizon, casting a shimmering light over the sea. A thin mist began to rise in the cemetery, and the air grew damp.
"They're still letting you be the director," Tao Shi said.
"Yes, they're still letting me be the director. They still want to get my son, take away my daughter-in-law." A mocking smile appeared on the old director’s face. "Who do they think they are? My son is now the messenger of the 'god.' What do they think they can do?"
"Anyway, I’m already old." The sunset turned the old director's gray hair golden. "Once you live past fifty, every extra day is a bonus. I’ve lived to today, which is already not bad. So, if they want to kill or cut me up, let them!"
Saying this, he turned to Tao Shi and Cao Youfeng. "You two shouldn’t be here."
"Huh?" Cao Youfeng was a bit confused. "Then where should we be?"
"You should go to the front line!" the old director said with a pained expression. "There aren't many people left in this city now. Those who could run have run, and those who could fight have gone to the front line. The ones left behind are like me, too old to run."
Just then...
A scream pierced through the air of the cemetery.
The scream was so filled with despair that even Tao Shi and Cao Youfeng, who were used to seeing life and death, felt a chill.
The old director looked toward the hospital building, his face full of shock. Then, as if he had realized something, the shock on his face gradually turned to fear, and finally to extreme anger.
"Beasts! A bunch of beasts!" The old director cursed as he hobbled back.
Tao Shi and Cao Youfeng stood downstairs, watching the shadows of many people moving along the stairwell upstairs.
After the scream, the entire hospital became chaotic.
Curses, sobs, and cries...
Finally, the sun set, and the sea fell into darkness. The lighthouse in the cemetery lit up with colorful lights, casting a surreal glow over the graves.
---
Jiang Yan lay on the bed, woken up by the noise outside. After the noise came an eerie silence.
He had gotten used to this routine of eating and sleeping these past few days. He had to admit, this lifestyle suited him best.
But just like in the previous scenario, when he had enjoyed five days of peace before the "hunter" carried him into the basement, his current "peaceful" life also ended on the fifth day.
A black tentacle wrapped around his exposed shoulder, sliding down his chest through the opening in his shirt.
Jiang Yan grabbed the tentacle that had reached into his chest, his face expressionless. "When did you come back?"
The black tentacle affectionately coiled around Jiang Yan's fair wrist. The golden light of the sunset reflected off the sea and illuminated the room. On the large bed, the black figure of the monster gradually emerged.
Its pitch-black body occupied the entire bed, enveloping the small wife in its embrace.
"Yan Yan, did you start missing me?" The cold paper mask rubbed against Jiang Yan’s cheek before resting on his bare shoulder.
Jiang Yan didn’t answer. At that moment, there was a knock on the door.
"Jiang Yan!" It was Tao Shi.
Just as Jiang Yan was about to respond, a black tentacle covered his mouth.
The monster’s low voice was filled with anger at being interrupted, "It’s impolite to disturb a married couple’s private time, sir."
Previous Chapter 33 | Next Chapter 35
Comments