The salty sea breeze stirred the rose petals, which danced carelessly in the sky. In front of him, Jiang Yan wore a calm expression, his brows and eyes relaxed. Yuan Xu spoke, “You really are quite surprising.”
He rotated a mirror adorned with intricate floral patterns in his hand. The mirror reflected scenes of Jiang Yan after entering the dungeon: “From the very beginning, you pretended to be innocent and fragile to divert everyone’s attention, then took the opportunity to eliminate the players who posed a threat to you, and finally tried to wipe us all out in one go?”
“After you devoured your husband and that monster earlier, your strength is now sufficient to reach S-class however... even with the advantages of the dungeon, do you really think you can take down all of us?” The mirror's image paused on the scene of Jiang Yan sleeping in the membrane, and Yuan Xu’s expression held a hint of disdain.
[Here it comes! Exciting!]
[Setting the flag, this dungeon is definitely the replay champion of the month!]
[Jiang Yan may have lost, but he’s still honorable!]
[It’s worth it! After all, he has so many big shots sending him off.]
[Upstairs, the game isn’t over yet; don’t speak too soon.]
[Hahaha… if this isn’t the last moment, then when is? The person upstairs doesn’t really think Jiang Yan has a chance to turn things around, do they?]
Seeing that Jiang Yan had no significant reaction after his lengthy speech, Yuan Xu thought he had intimidated him.
Thus, he suggested out of humanitarian spirit, “I’ll give you a chance. Do you want to directly announce the end of the game now?” This way, they could avoid a brutal battle.
When Jiang Yan still didn’t respond, Yuan Xu frowned and said, “This is your best choice. You should know that the pain of dying in the dungeon is proportional to the pain of dying in the real world.”
Jiang Yan lowered his head, seemingly pondering something. The others stayed silent, waiting for him to make a decision.
After a moment, Jiang Yan slowly asked, “Who… are you?”
Yuan Xu: “…”
Players: "..."
Jiang Yan looked curiously at the plain-looking man with a buzz cut in front of him and asked 663, “Who is he? I feel like I’ve never seen him before.”
663: “...Yuan Xu, a core member of the Dawn Guild. He made a high-profile appearance on the first day, but for the following days, he intentionally hid himself, actually observing everyone from the shadows.”
“Oh. But after observing for so long, he hasn’t discovered anything!” Jiang Yan complained.
“He’s been hiding in the shadows and hasn’t provided a single clue! Now that the dungeon is coming to an end, he pops out? Don’t his teammates have any objections?”
“It doesn’t matter who I am,” Yuan Xu said, “So, how about it? Do you want to call off the dungeon now?”
Jiang Yan seemed to ignore his question and looked at him with a hint of admiration: “Brother, you’re the first person I’ve met who can slack off better than I can.”
Players: "...."
The corners of Yuan Xu’s eyes twitched in irritation.
663, unable to hold back, reminded him, “Shut the hell up! Do you see that mirror? If you keep talking, it might just chop your head off!”
[Wow! So calm even at death’s door! Jiang Yan is a real man!]
[Impressive! I must say, this attitude deserves respect.]
[What a pity! Really such a shame! What great potential he has! With a little more refinement, he could be the next ‘Best Actor’!]
[Come on! Jiang Yan only has a good mindset; all his other stats are at the bottom.]
[Stats aren’t set in stone! Mental strength can fluctuate with the players’ and NPCs’ states, you know?]
[Too bad Jiang Yan doesn’t have the chance to fluctuate anymore! He’s destined to perish in this dungeon.]
Su An fiddled with the dagger in his hand and said with a smile, “Looks like our BOSS is rejecting Yuan Xu’s kind offer?”
Jiang Yan replied, “If not… how about we just wait here until the dungeon ends? After all, we’re all so familiar now, and I’m not good at fighting.”
Beside him, Tao Shi stared at Jiang Yan intently, as if trying to see through him. The feeling of discomfort in his heart grew stronger.
Jiang Yan shrugged and continued, “I believe you’ve all guessed it by now: this world is, after all, just a slightly unconventional love game.”
Yes, a love game.
Everyone recalled the hundreds of thousands of words written by Jiang Yan’s husband in his love thesis and couldn’t help but roll their eyes.
So, all those bizarre creatures, dismembered limbs, and killings were just their little “kinks”?
It must be said, Jiang Yan looked clean and neat, but behind the scenes, his perversion was truly remarkable!
As soon as Jiang Yan finished speaking, a black tentacle emerged from his abdomen, affectionately sliding down his waist.
Jiang Yan instantly felt a tingling sensation from his spine to his scalp. He frowned and softly scolded, “Go back.”
The tentacle, as if startled, stopped moving immediately, then circled Jiang Yan’s abdomen in a grievance before merging back into his body. Jiang Yan took a deep breath, calming the tremors brought by the tentacle, and continued, “What do you all think of my proposal?”
The others did not respond, so Jiang Yan added, “If you think waiting a day is too long, I can reduce your waiting time.”
Saying this, he snapped his fingers.
“Cough!”
Suddenly, the sky darkened, and the next moment, it brightened again. The sun visibly rose and fell among the swirling rose petals, finally settling on a splendid sunset.
The cold, mechanical voice of the main system echoed over the sea surface, shimmering with the afterglow:
〖Dungeon: "Private Hospital on JianShe Road"
Dungeon Progress: 95% 〗
〖Game Rules: Survive in the hospital for 7 days 〗
〖Total Number of Players: 14, Current Survivors: 5 〗
〖Number of Real NPCs: 3, Number Not Yet Contaminated: 3 〗
As the main system's voice fell, the players’ expressions changed instantly!
How could the number of real NPCs not yet contaminated be…?
Cang Rou was killed and her body was still buried under the ruins of the hospital office!
There had never been a precedent for the real NPCs who had been corrupted or the dead players to be revived… this…
Jiang Yan looked at Tao Shi, whose expression was serious, and smiled, “I promised you that I would try my best to keep everyone alive.”
“When I threw Shi Yin to that pile of artificial trash, I also said that I used him to exchange something with the divine,” Jiang Yan explained.
The exchanged item was Cang Rou's life.
As he spoke, he seemed a bit tired and leaned back. The rose petals on the ground seemed to sense something, quickly piling up into a soft petal chair, onto which Jiang Yan lay down.
“Are you threatening us?” Su An's gaze turned cold.
Was he trying to tell them that this was his spiritual world, and thus he had the power to decide the life and death of all beings in it?
Ha! Ridiculous!
“I didn’t mean it that way.” Jiang Yan languidly reclined in the petal chair, looking as lazy as a cat ready to nap in the evening.
[Hiss... Jiang Yan doesn’t really think he can win, does he?]
[It’s probably because of the dungeon bonus that he feels so confident.]
[Confidence has become a joke! So what if this world is his spiritual realm? Haven’t the dungeon worlds been torn apart by players before?]
[Exactly! Especially Su An! He directly tore apart that apocalyptic dungeon last time; how could he possibly be afraid of Jiang Yan’s spiritual world?]
[He’s making himself look foolish! Jiang Yan’s attitude is the legendary case of asking for trouble.]
[This will definitely become a classic scene, replayed repeatedly after Jiang Yan dies.]
[Come on! He could have had a highlight moment before he died, but he had to go and leave a clip of social death.]
“My ancestor! Can you tone it down a bit? Look at those people’s expressions—what if they really plan to kill you?!” 663 said anxiously.
“They won’t.” Looking at the young people staring at him with various expressions, Jiang Yan chuckled.
Tao Shi whispered, “I still feel like something is off; are we overlooking something?”
Cao Youfeng comforted him, “You’re overthinking it, right?”
“Really?” Tao Shi’s gaze fell on Jiang Yan again.
Am I just thinking too much?
At this moment, Su An smiled and said, “It’s good to be confident, esteemed madam! We accept your proposal.”
“That couldn’t be better.” Jiang Yan slightly turned over, seemingly wanting to take a nap during these last few hours.
However, just as he tilted his head, a shining silver dagger glided along his cheek, cutting off a lock of his hair and embedding itself into the rose chair beneath him.
Su An’s cold voice echoed in his ear: “Before the game ends, you’ll still have to endure some pain.”
With that, he pulled out the dagger and aimed it at Jiang Yan again.
Jiang Yan rolled to the side, black tentacles blossoming from his back like petals, narrowly avoiding the strike.
“He needs to be taught a lesson.” Yuan Xu spun the ghostly mirror in his hand and rushed toward Jiang Yan.
Cao Youfeng and the others followed closely behind.
Thorns from the roses surged up from the ground, charging at the players!
However, in front of a group of S-class players, these thorny vines were no different from ordinary bushes, easily dealt with in just a few moves.
Then, they all charged at the handsome man standing above.
“Be careful!” Tao Shi called out, reminding Jiang Yan that it was better to keep his life for the main system’s judgment.
Jiang Yan stood above, watching the energetic young people before him. Hearing Tao Shi’s words, he quietly said to 663, “I told you, they’re too arrogant.”
663 let out a long breath: “Just hold on! Hold on until the last moment, hoping they won’t realize it in time.”
The rose thorns could no longer stop the players' advance, and the cold gleam of their weapons continued to rush toward Jiang Yan.
Fortunately, the players didn’t genuinely want Jiang Yan dead, and with his immensely powerful husband still within him, he managed to handle the situation fairly well.
If only the tentacles inside him weren’t causing trouble.
Wrapped in the swirling rose petals, Jiang Yan dodged the players’ attacks while cursing the tentacles within him that were taking liberties.
“Stop it! You… stop!” Jiang Yan sidestepped Yuan Xu’s mirror, but his legs felt weak as he retreated.
A black tentacle extended from his abdomen again, intimately wrapping around his waist and sliding down toward his legs.
Jiang Yan stumbled and nearly got entangled in Cao Youfeng’s medical bandages.
At the critical moment, the tentacles bursting from his back quickly pushed him away, carrying Jiang Yan to a spot behind a wall.
Leaning against the wall, Jiang Yan covered his stomach, a thin layer of sweat glistening on his slightly flushed face.
He muttered through clenched teeth, “You damn… let’s see how long you can be arrogant.”
[Jiang Yan can’t handle it anymore.]
[The big shots seem to be toying with a cat.]
“If I were Jiang Yan, I’d end the game right now! Why take a beating before dying?”
[But the dungeon bonus is truly strong! Even though the big shots aren’t using lethal force, after so long, Jiang Yan hasn’t even broken skin.]
This game of “cat and mouse” continued from dusk until the moon hung high in the sky.
Until the voice of the main system echoed once more:
〖Dungeon: "Private Hospital on JianShe Road"
Dungeon Progress: 99% 〗
〖Game Rules: Survive in the hospital for 7 days 〗
〖Total Number of Players: 14, Current Survivors: 5 〗
〖Number of Real NPCs: 3, Number Not Yet Contaminated: 3 〗
The players all stopped, each showing signs of injury to varying degrees. They looked at Jiang Yan, who was slumped against the chair woven from tentacles and thorns, seemingly exhausted, pondering in their hearts—
This dungeon bonus is just too strong.
Cao Youfeng silently covered the wound on his arm with a medical bandage.
How embarrassing to be injured by such a low-level NPC like Jiang Yan.
At this moment, Jiang Yan didn’t even want to move a finger. His whole body was damp, and he couldn’t even tell which was sweat and which was the sticky residue left by the tentacles.
The tentacle in his abdomen moved slightly again, and Jiang Yan coldly scolded, “If you move again, I’ll pull you out!”
The tentacle was once again intimidated.
For him, being pulled out from his wife’s body was even more terrifying than his wife deciding to kill him.
Jiang Yan raised his hand toward the full moon hanging in the sky: “I declare the game over.”
[It’s begun! No, it’s over.]
[Ah! Goodbye, Jiang Yan.]
[Wuwuwu… Why is my Yan Yan so unlucky to have drawn an S-level dungeon? A B-level would be fine!]
[Great, Jiang Yan is about to be recorded in history.]
The entire world fell into darkness.
“Is it… over?” Cao Youfeng asked.
At that moment, a beam of light shone down on everyone, and the world brightened again.
Before them was the scene of a modern hospital room, with no strange decorations or eerie medical staff, just a simple, clean hospital room.
The room was quiet, only the beeping sound of medical equipment remaining. On the bed lay a young man with black hair, peacefully sleeping with his back to them.
“It looks like we’ve left Jiang Yan’s spiritual world,” Yuan Xu said. “Is this… the real Jiang Yan?”
Just as he was about to reach out to pull back the covers and see the person lying in bed, the main system’s voice rang out, causing him to withdraw his hand.
〖Dungeon: Private Hospital on JianShe Road, Dungeon Progress: 100%〗
〖Please choose the answer for the side quest:〗
〖If choosing a player: please state the player's real name; if choosing a real NPC: please state the identity and character name they are portraying.〗
“Is there even a choice?” Su An said without hesitation, “NPC Jiang Yan, portraying the character of Patient Jiang Yan.”
Tao Shi inexplicably felt his heart leap to his throat.
〖Game Over.〗
Upon hearing this, Tao Shi let out a long sigh of relief; it seemed he had been overthinking.
[Ah! This time it’s really over.]
[Jiang Yan must have been contaminated and left in this dungeon, right?]
[I’ll come back to check on him from time to time in this dungeon.]
However, the main system’s next announcement left everyone in shock.
〖Player main quest: Survive for seven days, task completion status: Successful〗
〖Player side quest: Identify the dungeon BOSS, task completion status: Failed〗
“It’s impossible!!” Su An shouted.
〖Real NPC Jiang Yan’s main quest: Portray the dungeon BOSS, task completion status: Successful〗
[What the hell?! What is this?!]
[Is the main system going crazy?! Even if it wants to favor Jiang Yan, it shouldn’t be this biased!]
[This has to be a bug! This is insane! How could Jiang Yan’s task succeed after being dragged out?!]
[I’m going crazy! Right now, I’m losing my mind!]
[It’s not us who are crazy, it’s this world! I don’t think Jiang Yan is the one with a mental illness; it’s the main system that’s gone mad!]
“This is fucking impossible!” Su An couldn’t help but curse.
As he spoke, he went to pull back the covers of the person lying in bed: “Jiang Yan has already been pulled out! We’ve left his spiritual world! He’s lying right here; how can he…”
The moment he pulled back the covers, his words came to an abrupt halt…
The man on the bed seemed to have been awakened by their noise and slowly sat up.
Everyone stared in disbelief, their eyes wide:
“This… it’s impossible…”
The person in front of them had the same jet-black hair and fair skin as Jiang Yan.
However, unlike Jiang Yan's clear blue eyes and delicate, unassuming features, the man before them had a pair of enchanting eyes that were like emeralds.
As the crowd stared in astonishment, the door to the hospital room was pushed open.
Cang Rou walked in, dressed in a clean and tidy nurse's uniform, holding a registration form.
She looked at the person in the bed and said slowly, “Bed 31, Yu Xiu, you can be discharged today.”
“Thank you,” the man in bed replied, a lazy smile spreading across his face.
This was the smile that Jiang Yan often wore; it was the true role Jiang Yan played in this dungeon.
The one who survived the car accident with a mental illness, who fantasized about his partner still being alive, who loved severed limbs, human bodies, and blood, was not Jiang Yan, but—
His husband, Yu Xiu.
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