Sunlight filtered through the beige curtains into the clean and tidy hospital room. The red roses in the vase at the head of the bed looked vibrant and dewy. Nurse Cangrou's gentle voice contrasted with the cold beeping of the medical equipment. "You must be Yu Xiu's friends, right? Once the doctor finishes his rounds, he can start the discharge process."
"Ding."
The dagger in Su An's hand dropped to the floor in shock.
At that moment, the attending physician in a white coat entered. It was a familiar face—Jason Hunt.
The Jason Hunt before them now was neither thin nor deranged; he appeared healthy and refined.
Behind him was a line of interns, with Ding Wanyu standing prominently at the front. Jason Hunt wore a gentle smile as he walked to the bed, where a person was half-reclined. "You seem to be doing well today. After your discharge, maintain a good routine, and come back if anything arises."
"I believe your wife would want you to live healthily," Jason Hunt added reassuringly.
"Thank you, doctor," Yu Xiu responded politely.
Jiang Yan internally cursed; this pervert’s existence was a mental burden on the world.
"Wha...what's going on?" Cao Youfeng asked, clearly confused.
As Cangrou flipped through Yu Xiu's records, she explained, "Aren't you here to pick him up? Two years ago, he and his same-sex partner were in a car accident. Unfortunately, his wife did not survive."
Jason Hunt added with a sigh, "After that, this poor young man began to torment himself. He tried to commit suicide many times, all of which failed."
"Eventually, he drove himself to insanity, always imagining that the one who survived was his wife while he himself had died." He created a fantasy world—a world filled with severed limbs and human specimens he found appealing, along with his beloved Yan Yan.
"This sick pervert living even one more second in this world is a mental pollution for everyone," Jiang Yan complained to 663.
663 curiously asked, "I'm really interested, when did you realize that the role you were playing wasn’t yourself, but your husband’s?"
The S-level dungeon posed a significant challenge with real NPCs, especially since Jiang Yan had obtained a BOSS identity card. If Jiang Yan didn’t realize he had this BOSS card or didn’t notice he was playing Yu Xiu, his main quest would still fail.
When did he come to this realization?
Jiang Yan replied, "It was from the moment I entered that warehouse filled with human specimens, from the moment I encountered those beings made of human limbs."
"Huh?" 663 was confused.
"You might not believe it, but that kind of being... was part of a romantic show I experienced on Valentine's Day," Jiang Yan said coldly.
663: “???”
"Think about it; if that was my spiritual world, how could I imagine myself as a doll for him to manipulate?" Jiang Yan said through gritted teeth.
The main system's dungeons and NPCs were highly simulated based on real data. So, was this idiot's ideal world to become a tentacle monster, playing with limbs in a post-apocalyptic setting? This sick pervert... he might as well die in this game world!
"I'm suddenly curious; if this is your ideal world, then... what would your husband look like?" 663 asked.
"Ex-husband," Jiang Yan corrected.
"Okay, ex-husband," 663 agreed. "If this is your spiritual world, what would your ex-husband be like?"
"A dog," Jiang Yan replied without hesitation.
663: "..."
Meanwhile, the players had not yet fully recovered from their shock.
"It's impossible... how can this be?!" Liu Xu exclaimed, nearly breaking down.
The mirror in his hand spun rapidly, showing scenes from Yu Xiu’s spiritual world, flashing one after another as he replayed them in his mind.
How could this be?
Whether it was key clues or information, everything pointed to Jiang Yan!
What went wrong?! Jiang Yan's husband shouldn’t have been something he imagined!
[This plot direction shouldn’t be like this]
“It’s obvious we were foolish,” Tao Shi said, his expression grim.
He looked at the man sitting at the head of the bed. Compared to his wife, the man was taller, with lazy, enchanting green eyes, and he looked very elegant.
Tao Shi's face was serious as he said, “From the beginning, we were too self-assured.”
To be honest, from the moment they entered this dungeon, they hadn’t focused on the mission at all.
They had experienced hundreds or thousands of dungeons and tasks like this before
But their primary goal in entering the dungeon was Jiang Yan.
Throughout the process, the strange NPCs, terrifying diseases, painful effects of the dungeon, and bizarre rules were annoying, but they believed they could destroy them through sheer force.
Just like Su An had once ripped apart an apocalyptic dungeon.
If something could be destroyed by brute force, wasn’t there nothing to worry about?
Later, when they discovered Jiang Yan's BOSS identity, they didn’t feel that Jiang Yan posed much of a threat to them at all.
Even until the end, they naively believed that a maximum C-level NPC, no matter how favored by the main system and enhanced by the dungeon’s abilities, was certainly no match for them.
As for other information and details, they completely overlooked them.
They were... too arrogant.
Tao Shi finally understood where the discomfort in his heart had come from.
The data for the main system's NPCs was all derived from real people, and they had long since thoroughly analyzed Jiang Yan's information.
They knew Jiang Yan had been married before, which was why their guild had also investigated the ex-husband.
In fact, the information they found about the two of them in the dungeon clearly outlined their preferences.
Yu Xiu’s cringeworthy “love essay” also gave hints!
The answer had been right in front of them—someone who loved specimens and had peculiar tastes, someone who loved their partner deeply, had always been Jiang Yan's husband.
With Yu Xiu's face, Jiang Yan faced the pale-faced Tao Shi standing at the bedside and said, “I promised you I would try to keep everyone alive.”
Tao Shi looked furious.
After a moment of silence, he finally said to Jiang Yan, “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it,” Jiang Yan replied.
At that moment, a black tentacle emerged from his abdomen, trying to explore down toward his thigh...
Jiang Yan calmly grabbed it and whispered, “Cold.”
The tentacle shrank back in grievance and retreated into his body.
[Dungeon: Private Hospital on Jianshe Road, Dungeon Level: S]
[Successful Players: Tao Shi, Cao Youfeng, Yuan Xu, Su An, Jiang Yan]
[Successful Real NPCs: Jiang Yan, Cangrou, Ding Wanyu]
[Game Dungeon Logout]
[...Is it over?]
[It’s over.]
[This... Jiang Yan... won??]
[What the hell—!! Jiang Yan won!!!!]
[Oh my god!! He won! He actually won?!]
[My goodness! My main god! My system! Jiang Yan won?! Am I the one going insane?!]
[BUG! This must be a BUG!! How could a C-level NPC win against a group of S-level elites in an S-level dungeon?!]
[I was right! Jiang Yan will be recorded in gaming history! Although the ending is a bit different...]
[What?! I’m still in shock! This is too sudden!]
[Did no one else notice that Jiang Yan promised Tao Shi he would try to keep everyone alive? He did it! He even saved Cangrou... boohoo.]
[Yeah! Although Jiang Yan seems cold and indifferent, he actually has some principles.]
[In this game, what’s lacking the most is principles.]
[Hey! Didn’t you see Jiang Yan's performance in the last dungeon? He was actually pretty charming?]
[Acting! This is what’s called acting! Finally, a talented performer has emerged among real NPCs!]
[I declare! This dungeon will definitely top the forum’s replay rate!]
[Hey! I wonder how much Jiang Yan's ranking has increased after the dungeon...]
After logging out of the dungeon, Jiang Yan ignored Tao Shi and the others' invitations. He didn’t linger in the game lobby but directly exited the game and returned to his home in the real world.
He quickly finished the shower he hadn’t completed before being pulled into the dungeon and then dove into his soft bed, falling fast asleep.
The final battle in the dungeon took up all of his energy from the past six months!
All he wanted was to sleep in his bed.
As for the discussions about him on the game forums, his rising rankings, he couldn’t care less!
He was completely uninterested in the countless emails sent by various guilds and the climbing ranks on game leaderboards
Even if the apocalypse was approaching, at this moment, he would never leave his bed
—
Jiang Yan slept heavily until the next evening, finally waking up to the sound of his phone ringing.
“Who is it?” Jiang Yan buried himself under the covers, revealing only the dark, soft top of his head, and asked groggily.
“Hi! My dear host! Did you sleep well?” 663’s cheeky voice came from the phone.
This guy actually has a phone in the real world?
Half-awake, Jiang Yan was a bit shocked when he glanced at the caller ID—it was a string of gibberish.
He lay back down.
After all, 663 had mentioned he hadn’t been human for many years, so how could he have a phone in the human world?
“My dear host! Your system inbox is now overflowing with invitations from various guilds! Want to pick some?”
“Did you know you’ve become the latest legend in the game forum? Everyone is saying you’ll be the successor to the ‘Best Actor’ title!”
“Guess what your total points and real NPC ranking are now?! Come on, guess!”
Jiang Yan groggily replied, “I remember my points didn’t exceed 20 before...”
“Your total points have increased tenfold! You’ve successfully entered the top fifty of the real NPC leaderboard! You’re currently the NPC with the most significant progress!!”
663’s excited voice drove away Jiang Yan’s drowsiness, and feeling hungry after a day without food, he reluctantly got out of bed.
“So now 2000 points can get you into the top fifty of real NPCs? Is your game going bankrupt?” Jiang Yan poured himself a glass of water in the kitchen, drinking as he spoke blandly.
663 replied, “The ranking for real NPCs isn’t just based on total points; it also considers your performance and potential.”
“Oh,” Jiang Yan said indifferently.
He took the water cup and flopped onto the sofa, casually turning on the TV while saying to the personal system on the phone, “Is there anything else? If not, I’m hanging up.”
“Wait! There’s one more thing!” 663 quickly replied.
“What else?” Jiang Yan asked, feeling a bit impatient.
Having slept all day, he was now hungry and desperately needed to order takeout.
663’s teasing voice continued, “I’ve ordered a bouquet of white lotuses for you.”
“Huh?”
Before Jiang Yan could respond, 663 decisively hung up.
Ding-dong.
At that moment, the doorbell rang.
“Who is it?” Jiang Yan looked up and asked.
“Is this Mr. Jiang Yan? Your friend ordered a bouquet for you; please sign for it,” the person outside answered.
Jiang Yan opened the door and saw a young man in a yellow uniform holding a beautifully wrapped bouquet of white lotuses.
Upon seeing him open the door, the young man quickly flashed a professional smile. “This flower was ordered for you by your friend.”
Jiang Yan took the flowers, astonished. “Do flower shops really sell lotuses??”
The young man grinned proudly. “In the whole city, including us, there are probably no more than two shops that sell lotuses! Your friend has great taste!”
Jiang Yan: “...Mm.”
After signing for the flowers, Jiang Yan closed the door and stood in the entrance, staring at the lotuses, troubled.
He was contemplating whether he should just throw them in the trash!
He initially thought 663 was joking when he said he ordered flowers.
He never expected that the guy actually did it!
Even more surprising was that there really was a flower shop selling lotuses?
What about the lotus roots?
However, just tossing them out seemed a bit wasteful.
At that moment, the evening news came on the TV: “According to reports, Li Yun, the president of Zhenchuang Group, was rear-ended by a small private car on the highway at 4:04 PM today and unfortunately died on the spot...”
Jiang Yan fell silent for a moment, the image of a pair of eyes resembling his own flashing in his mind.
As for sending flowers to the sick... lotuses and lilies shouldn’t be too different, right?
He looked at the flowers in front of him and thought for a moment.
Well, they only differ by one word.
At that moment, a black tentacle emerged from his abdomen, quickly wrapping around the flowers in his arms and tossing them into the trash can by the door.
“Cough.”
Jiang Yan: “...?!”
After throwing away the flowers, the tentacle disdainfully flicked at the trash can, then lovingly wrapped around Jiang Yan’s waist.
The soft suckers on the tentacle left a wet, slimy mark on his waist...
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