WTNL Chapter 29

Fukang Hospital
Chapter 29: Madonna of the Child

With his previous experience, Wen Jianyan had actually guessed that the instance would definitely target him next.

After all, this time he had exploited a rule loophole to become the mother of the ghost infant, causing the remaining survival time on his ID card to become incalculable.

Although this meant he no longer needed to spend points to exchange for survival time, nor did he need to complete main missions to survive, and all the points earned through the live stream could be used to purchase items, but…

Such a powerful advantage also signified that this action had inevitably far exceeded the scope permitted by the instance.

However, Wen Jianyan truly didn’t expect that the instance would ultimately activate this “brand-new team battle mode”…

Upon seeing the number ratio between the Red and Black factions, he immediately understood the terrible predicament he was currently facing.

With such a stark disparity in strength between the factions, only an idiot would join the clearly disadvantaged Black faction, which would moreover be heavily targeted by the instance next. Thus, if things continued to develop like this, it would definitely evolve into an all-out, one-against-many encirclement and pursuit.

Coupled with the fact that the instance’s difficulty had now increased, if he continued to be targeted, his every step going forward would definitely become even more difficult.

Too malicious.

Truly too malicious.

Wen Jianyan sighed and opened the Nightmare backstage.

At some unknown point, his main missions in the backstage had refreshed.

[Main Live Stream Mission 1: Escape the Red faction’s pursuit before the instance ends (7:00 AM)]
[Main Live Stream Mission 2: Prevent the mission from being completed]

Based on his own main missions, he could roughly deduce the missions on the Red faction’s side: it was nothing more than eliminating the Black faction and completing the mission.

Wen Jianyan narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.

However… there was a very important variable that had to be considered.

That was the instance itself.

“Complete the mission,” “Prevent the mission from being completed”—what exactly was the mission here?

According to Wen Jianyan’s speculation, this should be related to why Fukang Private General Hospital cultivated so many ghost infants, and why Lin Qing lost her life.

But the problem was… the Red faction was absolutely unclear about this.

They had just been dropped into the instance. Their level of understanding of the instance could absolutely not compare to the Black faction, which had already been struggling here for nearly four hours. Therefore, in order to maintain a certain degree of balance in knowledge between the two sides, the instance would definitely reveal some information to the Red faction that the Black faction didn’t know.

Wen Jianyan didn’t think the instance would directly spill all its secrets.

After all, although the Red faction bore the responsibility of eliminating the Black faction and maintaining the instance’s balance, they were ultimately still streamers—living people who would be attacked by the ghosts and monsters within the instance. For the sake of a better viewing experience for the audience, the instance wouldn’t give them such a massive green light.

Wen Jianyan stood at the door of the delivery room, his eyes lowered as he pondered carefully.

If he were a member of the opposing side, the wisest approach for the Red faction right now would be to split into two groups. One team would follow the instance’s hints to find clues, making up for the information gap between them and the Black faction. The other team would be responsible for searching the entire hospital for traces of other streamers. If they found the Black faction, naturally that would be best; if they found other streamers, they would recruit them into the Red faction, isolating the Black faction.

The mohawk guy stared at the young man not far away, who had been silent for a long time, not knowing what he was thinking, and spoke up cautiously:

“Um… Boss, what do we do next?”

Hearing his voice, the young man raised his eyes and looked over.

“How about we go back to the first floor first?”

The mohawk guy suggested.

He knew very well that the first floor was extremely dangerous right now and had highly likely already been guarded by the Red faction. However, his remaining points were no longer enough. At most, he could only make one more purchase of a life-saving item. Without enough points to buy survival time, he would still be killed by the instance. It would be better to take advantage of the fact that the Red faction might not have completely controlled the first floor yet, go to the duty room on the first floor to hand in the main mission, and then leave quickly after earning the points.

The mohawk guy explained his thoughts in detail.

His logic was clear, his reasoning solid; no one would reject such a proposal.

“No need.”

Wen Jianyan interrupted him lightly.

“…” The mohawk guy choked, looking up at the other party in bewilderment.

Ah? No need? Why no need?

It’s clearly very necessary, okay!

Wen Jianyan asked: “How many points do you have left?”

The mohawk guy froze, subconsciously answering: “Eighteen thousand…”

The young man lowered his head and simply tapped a few times on his phone. The next second, the mohawk guy heard his own phone let out a “ding”—

[Your Black faction teammate has transferred points to you: 20000]

The mohawk guy: “?”

?

???

He blinked sluggishly, taking a full five seconds to realize that such a massive amount of points was actually real!

…Oh my god.

The mohawk guy’s eyes widened in disbelief, almost unable to believe his eyes.

Just how high-level of a streamer did one have to be to be so generous, transferring twenty thousand points without even blinking! How high must his initial points brought into the instance be?!

No wonder he completely looked down on the eighteen thousand points transaction he proposed just now!

Wen Jianyan, an E-rank streamer whose initial points were only one thousand, said without changing his expression: “Is it enough now?”

“E-enough, it’s enough.”

The mohawk guy clutched his phone, speaking somewhat dazedly.

Wen Jianyan was no great philanthropist. Since he was willing to give the other party more than a quarter of his points all at once, he naturally had other motives.

The first step was to further reinforce his identity as a “big boss.”

Although the other party was currently forced to be tied to the same boat as him, if his side’s disadvantage was too obvious, and the opposing Red faction streamers could come up with some way to resolve the contract, then their little boat of friendship would be in grave danger.

And in Wen Jianyan’s upcoming plan, the other party was absolutely indispensable.

How could he make the other party completely obey his commands?

First, it was to deceive the other party, making him not feel like he was at a disadvantage.

The identity of an “advanced streamer” was the best guise. Plentiful instance-clearing experience, countless items in the inventory, and an abundant stock of points were all irresistible temptations.

There were two methods to obtain a perfect alliance: first was profit, second was fear.

According to the information Wen Jianyan had gathered in the Streamer Square a while ago, most advanced streamers were the core backbone of guilds. They represented not only themselves but also a massive faction behind them.

Thus, the identity of an “advanced streamer” carried another layer of meaning:

If you betray me, my guild and I will take revenge on you.

Wen Jianyan now had the ghost infant by his side and didn’t need to purchase survival time, which was why he could steel his heart and bring out such a large sum of points—but the mohawk guy didn’t know this. He would only think:

This is a big boss.

Sure enough, after receiving such a massive point transfer, the way the mohawk guy looked at Wen Jianyan completely changed:

“Boss, tell me, what should I do next?”

Wen Jianyan took the mohawk guy back to Lin Qing’s office. He took a pen and paper out of the drawer, dashed off a few sentences on the paper with flourishing strokes, then folded the paper, pulled his own phone out of his pocket, and handed them both to the mohawk guy.

“…?”

Holding the piece of paper and the phone, an expression of utter bewilderment appeared on the mohawk guy’s face: “This… what do you want me to do with this?”

Wen Jianyan unhurriedly capped the pen, lifted his eyelids, and said with the demeanor of a big boss whose face wouldn’t change even if Mount Tai collapsed before his eyes:

“Next, you go to the second floor and hand these things to a streamer named Su Cheng.”

He thought for a moment and added, “He’s highly likely in the archives room right now. You can look for him there first.”

After all, before the two of them separated, Wen Jianyan had entrusted Su Cheng with taking Qi Shen to the archives room to search for documents. If nothing unexpected happened, there was a high probability he was still in the archives room right now.

It seemed this streamer named Su Cheng should be this big boss’s teammate.

The mohawk guy couldn’t help but feel a surge of deep respect.

To be able to cling to such a thick thigh, this Su Cheng was probably no simple character either.

But…

He looked down at the other party’s phone in his hand, a hesitant expression appearing on his face: “This phone…”

Phones were assigned by the system, and no one besides the streamer themselves could unlock it. Even if given to a teammate, the teammate couldn’t use the phone to purchase items from the system shop or use items in the inventory.

Simply put, in another streamer’s hands, this item was just a brick.

Moreover, if one didn’t use the phone, they could only open the live stream backstage to shop. Although other NPCs couldn’t see the live stream panel, the sight of a person tapping away at thin air was simply too bizarre and easily arousing suspicion. And fellow streamers could see each other’s live stream panels. Opening the backstage during a team battle would mean being pinpointed almost instantly.

The mohawk guy couldn’t understand why the other party would make the move of letting him take the phone away.

After all, phones had no signal within the instance. Unless they relied on items purchased with points, streamers couldn’t communicate with each other. As the team battle progressed, the situation within the instance would surely become increasingly complex. Who knew when or under what circumstances they would meet next time.

In other words, it would probably be doubly difficult for the other party to get his phone back.

“You don’t need to worry about this.”

Wen Jianyan’s expression was calm, his tone soft and indifferent: “Just do as I say.”

The bright lights in the doctor’s office illuminated the young man’s face in stark detail. His skin carried a sickly pallor, which made his dark eyes stand out even more, like a bottomless whirlpool capable of sucking people in.

The mohawk guy was awed.

There was an unapproachable authority and oppressive feeling in the other party’s attitude, making one subconsciously want to obey, almost unable to muster any thoughts of questioning it.

Since the big boss had already said so, he definitely had his own considerations.

He himself was just a D-rank streamer who had only cleared four instances. Speaking up to question an advanced streamer would just make him look too ignorant and shallow!

Just then, Wen Jianyan lightly added: “Don’t worry. Even though we don’t have many people on our side, as long as you do exactly as I say, it’s entirely possible to turn the current situation around.”

The young man’s expression was calm, his clear voice carrying a convincing, powerful confidence.

“O-okay.”

The mohawk guy’s gaze grew firm. He stuffed the things Wen Jianyan had given him into his pocket. After asking for detailed information regarding Su Cheng’s appearance, he turned around and left.

With the opening of the team battle instance, the number of online viewers in the “Integrity First” live broadcast room rose rapidly, doubling and redoubling. The newly incoming viewers soon far outnumbered the old viewers in the room.

[??? Did I enter the wrong live broadcast room? This is the Captain of the Black faction?]

[Ah this, an E-rank. Doesn’t that mean he’s doomed? The other side is at least D-rank, and there’s even a C+ rank seeded player from Oracle. There’s no suspense in this wave anymore. Sigh, I hope the hunting instance doesn’t end this early, I haven’t watched a hunting instance in a long time!]

[Speaking of which, doesn’t anyone find it strange? The other streamer in the Black faction is a D-rank, right? Why is he so obedient to an E-rank, even putting on a look of blind admiration and worship? So weird…]

[Right?! You guys think it’s weird too!]

[And the name of this live broadcast room… what the hell kind of name is “Integrity First”?]

Watching the other party’s back disappear from his line of sight, Wen Jianyan let out a small breath of relief.

The unfathomable big boss persona from earlier vanished completely. The young man seemed to have his bones instantly pulled out, his entire body relaxing as he slumped lazily into the chair in Lin Qing’s office.

Whether his next plan could succeed largely depended on whether the mohawk guy could find Su Cheng safely.

The reason Wen Jianyan was so generous as to give away twenty thousand of his points was exactly for this.

The difficulty of the second floor was highly likely not high. All the streamers who patrolled the second floor in the previous round had survived. Plus, the mohawk guy was a D-rank streamer who had experienced four live streams. Combined with the twenty thousand points he transferred over, finding Su Cheng shouldn’t be too difficult.

All he had to do next was wait.

In the void, small, livid, purplish-blue infant hands slowly emerged, silently approaching—

The viewers in the barrage who had seen this instance before were immediately startled:

[Holy crap, ghost infants!]

[Why are ghost infants here!]

[Fuck fuck fuck, I got scared!]

[No way, no way? The team battle hasn’t even had time to start, and the Captain of the Black faction is going to be finished right here!]

The next second, the small livid hands secretly grabbed the young man’s slender pinky finger hanging by his side.

Wen Jianyan lazily lifted his eyelids. He seemed completely unstartled, showing no signs of struggling or running away. He merely said one word lightly:

“Good boy.”

In the live broadcast room: […]

[?]

[??]

[?????]

Seemingly sensing that the young man was not repulsed by this, soon, more and more small livid hands emerged from the void, wrapping around the young man’s body one after another. Some grabbed the hem of his clothes, some hugged his calves, some hugged his waist, and some even directly leaned against the young man’s chest. Their postures were intimate and dependent.

The pale-skinned, handsome young man allowed them to move on his body. Soon, his slender, upright figure was covered with small livid arms and massive heads.

He supported the ghost infant on his chest, letting it lie more comfortably.

His long, pitch-black eyelashes drooped. The corners of his bloodless lips curled up slightly. His expression was gentle and indulgent, almost doting.

The human’s overly handsome, pale appearance combined with the terrifying infants entwined around his body formed an extremely sharp visual impact, possessing an almost heretical, terrifying beauty.

In the live broadcast room: 

[……………………]

[…Are you sure my screen isn’t glitching?]

[Sorry, my apologies for disturbing.]

[Fam, I’ve really started to doubt life. I’m begging some big boss to tell me what the hell is going on?]

[What the fuck kind of thing is this Black faction Captain!]

A small fraction of comments, completely out of tune with the other viewers, popped up:

[Ahhhhhhhhhhhh it’s my destined beautiful wife and our one hundred and ten crystals of love!]

[Pants on fire!]

[Madonna of the Child! Is this the Madonna of the Child!]

Fukang Private General Hospital, second floor, archives room.

“What’s wrong?” Qi Shen looked at Su Cheng, asking somewhat in confusion: “Our patrol mission on this floor should be over, right? Shouldn’t we go back to the first floor to report now?”

“…”

Su Cheng remained silent, not answering.

He took his phone out of his pocket, the faint light from the screen illuminating his face.

Su Cheng had also received the system notifications just now about the instance mutation, the difficulty increase, and the start of the team battle. The moment he heard the contents, Su Cheng had an inexplicable premonition…

This probably had everything to do with his unreliable scammer friend.

The live stream backstage was quietly waiting for him to make a choice.

Red faction or Black faction?

The Red faction had now become nine people, while the Black faction still only had two.

Su Cheng gritted his teeth and turned off the screen.

Before seeing Wen Jianyan, he couldn’t make a rash decision. Being separated into two different factions where they had to slaughter each other to survive was a situation he did not want to see.

Just then, a string of rapid footsteps echoed from the corridor, seemingly coming down from the direction of the third floor.

Su Cheng perked up. He tiptoed to the door of the archives room, pushed the door open just a tiny crack, and looked outside—

He saw a sneaky-looking mohawk guy walk down from the third floor and then head in this direction.

Su Cheng subconsciously held his breath, his body tensing slightly.

He wasn’t sure if the newcomer was friend or foe, so the best approach right now was to minimize his presence as much as possible and wait and see what happened.

To his surprise, the mohawk guy stopped at the door of the archives room. He tapped his knuckles against the door very softly three times and lowered his voice:

“Su Cheng?”

“?!”

Su Cheng was startled.

Since entering this instance, he had never told anyone his name. Wen Jianyan should be the only one who knew his real name.

But Su Cheng still didn’t lower his guard.

After all, Nightmare’s system shop sold numerous items with bizarre effects. He couldn’t be absolutely certain that the other party had been sent by Wen Jianyan to find him.

He also lowered his voice, responding cautiously:

“Who sent you?”

“Your teammate.”

The mohawk guy answered confidently.

Seeing no movement from inside the door, the mohawk guy got a bit anxious: “It’s that advanced streamer! He should be the only big boss in the entire instance!”

“…”

The door to the archives room opened from the inside, revealing Su Cheng’s expressionless face: “Oh, come in.”

If the other party had directly stated Wen Jianyan’s name, he absolutely wouldn’t have believed it. After all, that dog scammer would never reveal his real name so easily. In the last instance, he had only blown his cover because he was forced to.

But with the mohawk guy saying it like this…

Then it was absolutely Wen Jianyan, without a doubt.

After all, he didn’t have a fucking advanced streamer teammate. His only teammate was an E-rank scammer.

—The kind who would tell a mouth full of lies without changing expression, act all mysterious and mystifying, and play people for fools.

A “ding” sounded by Wen Jianyan’s ear.

[Ding! Congratulations, Black faction members have reached three!]

He perked up and jumped up from his seat.

The ghost infants hanging on his body quickly disappeared with his movements. Soon, his body was completely bare, no different from usual.

—It seemed the mohawk guy had already made contact with Su Cheng.

Wen Jianyan opened his live stream interface. Sure enough, the familiar live broadcast room appeared under his faction list. He tapped a few times in the void, leaving only five thousand points for himself as a guarantee, and then transferred all the remaining points in his account to Su Cheng.

Five thousand points couldn’t buy any items in the shop; it was just in case the ghost infants disappeared and he had to continue exchanging points for survival time.

As for Su Cheng, the pressure over there would be extremely heavy next. They had to have enough points as a guarantee to ensure they all survived.

But it was different on Wen Jianyan’s side.

He closed the live stream interface and took a slow, deep breath. His eyes sparkled playfully, carrying a hint of irrepressible excitement and delight.

He didn’t leave himself any points to buy items because Wen Jianyan didn’t plan to, nor would he have the means to, make any form of item purchase next.

Fukang Private General Hospital, fourth floor, operating room.

“Ding—”

The elevator arrived.

The old, rusted iron doors slowly opened, and the figures of four Red faction streamers appeared inside the elevator. They lowered their voices, quietly discussing their next strategies and tactics.

Suddenly, Liu Yuze from Dark Fire abruptly raised his head, his falcon-like gaze shooting sharply toward a pitch-black blind spot not far away:

“Who’s there?”

Instantly, all the streamers grew tense immediately, looking in that direction with wary and grave expressions.

“Tap, tap, tap.”

Even footsteps came from the darkness, and a slender figure unhurriedly appeared before everyone’s eyes.

A young man draped in a white lab coat slowly walked out.

His features were handsome, with thin gold-rimmed glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. Under the dim lighting, his skin took on a sickly pallor. A pair of pitch-black, lightless eyes narrowed slightly, like an unfathomable, dark abyss. Carrying a sinister, ghostly aura, he stared over unblinkingly.

His gaze was indifferent, as if gazing at lifeless dead objects. It was practically as cold and sharp as a scalpel, making everyone locked on by his gaze involuntarily shudder and feel fear.

The four Red faction streamers stood at the elevator doors, looking at the doctor not far away in shock and bewilderment. Uneasy speculation flickered in their eyes as they silently scrutinized the other party.

“Too slow.” The young man said coldly: “Do you not know that time is of the essence?”

Pinned to his chest was a name tag—Obstetrics and Gynecology Doctor: Lin Qing.

When targeted by the instance, encircled and hunted by the Red faction which outnumbered the Black faction several times over, and even about to lose the advantage of understanding the instance, what should one do?

Very simple.

—Just join the Red faction, right?

In the depths of the young man’s pitch-black eyes, a hint of a smile flashed past, fleeting as a ripple.

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