WTNL Chapter 37

Fukang Hospital
Chapter 37: Run, run, run!

Ten minutes ago.

Fukang Private General Hospital, fourth floor.

“Cheng Mei” disappeared without warning.

Everyone stood in place with horrified expressions, taking a full five seconds to realize what had just happened.

“Oh no, from the sound of it, that ghost thing was probably going after the big shot.”

The Mohawk guy was startled and lowered his voice, “Where is the big shot?”

Su Cheng was taken aback. He quickly turned his head to look, only to find that Wen Jianyan, who had been following the group the whole time, had disappeared at some unknown point.

“What, what should we do?”

Without their backbone, the Mohawk guy immediately panicked.

Su Cheng: “…”

Although he hadn’t been teamed up with Wen Jianyan for long, given the other party’s style of offending everyone in the previous instance before calling it quits, being targeted by that ghost thing just now was simply…

Not surprising at all!

However, even so, a strong sense of frustration welled up in his heart.

Compared to that scammer Wen Jianyan, their group was way too useless.

Just then, Su Cheng heard a familiar mechanical voice in his ear: [Ding, your novice gift package is ready]

What?

Su Cheng was stunned.

His novice gift package was a deck of tarot cards that couldn’t be opened, shuffled, or used.

Because he hadn’t figured out how it worked, he had simply tossed it to the back of his mind. He didn’t expect it to pop up now.

[Shuffling complete]

[Do you want to draw a card?]

“Yes.” Su Cheng steadied himself and answered in his mind.

The next second, a deck of tarot cards with a star and moon background appeared in the void, spreading out evenly in a line.

[Please repeat your question in your mind and draw a card]

Su Cheng pondered for two seconds, took a slow, deep breath, and then pointed at one of the tarot cards.

The Star and Moon Tarot slowly turned over.

It was a sword deeply plunged into a crown.

Ace of Swords.

Upright.

Su Cheng knew almost nothing about tarot, having only played with it occasionally during his chuunibyou phase. The card in front of him wasn’t one of the well-known major arcana cards either. Looking at the strange card face, he couldn’t help but feel utterly confused.

Seeing Su Cheng remain silent for a long time, the Mohawk guy leaned in and asked in confusion:

“What’s wrong?”

Su Cheng snapped back to reality and recounted what he had just seen and done.

“You don’t know what this is?” The Mohawk guy widened his eyes in shock, “Bro, this, this is actually your first time activating your Talent?”

Isn’t this guy a big shot? Why is he only activating his Talent now?

Su Cheng panicked inwardly.

Oh right, he forgot, he was currently acting as a big shot alongside the “high-level streamer” Wen Jianyan.

He quickly thought on his feet: “After all, our guild has a lot of big shots, so in instances, I rarely need to do anything, so…”

The Mohawk guy gasped.

Good heavens, they actually had a guild, and there was more than one “high-level streamer” in it!

That was too awesome!

He looked at Su Cheng enviously: “Bro, you really have too much luck!”

The muscles on Su Cheng’s face twitched: “Y-yeah.”

Inside Su Cheng’s live broadcast room:

[It’s heartbreaking, the streamer has started spinning lies too!]

[Hahahahahahahaha I’m dying of laughter! He’s gradually being Wen Jianyan-ized.]

[Make friends with a scammer, and sooner or later you’ll become one too!]

The Mohawk guy, however, wasn’t suspicious. He exclaimed in admiration, “Bro, your Talent is probably a precognition type, the rarity is very high! If Oracle finds out, they’ll definitely try to poach you. But since your guild is so strong, they’ll probably hit a wall this time.”

He chuckled twice, seemingly taking pleasure in their misfortune.

Su Cheng pulled the derailed topic back: “Ace of Swords, do you know what it means?”

The Mohawk guy pondered for two seconds: “Although I’m not very familiar with tarot meanings either, if it’s upright… it should be a good card? If I remember correctly, it should mean that the road ahead is full of difficulties, but the reward will be rich upon success?”

Su Cheng: “That’s good.”

His gaze became resolute, and he turned around: “Let’s go.”

“Hey hey hey, bro, where are we going?” The Mohawk guy was a bit lost.

Right now, the captain was gone, the legendary hidden item wasn’t in their hands, and the Red team was chasing and intercepting them everywhere.

Was there anything left for them to do…

Su Cheng: “We still have a little time before the instance determines the end. Since that’s the case, let’s trust our Black team captain for now and find something else to do before it ends.”

He took a deep breath: “At least we can be of some use, right?”

Fukang Private General Hospital, second basement floor.

The shackles on Wen Jianyan’s wrists had long since fallen off, but the bindings on his feet remained. His upper body leaned slightly forward, his muscles showing beautiful, tight lines due to tension.

He violently yanked the scalpel out of the director’s stomach, crimson blood splattering onto his cheek.

The director’s neck and stomach were mercilessly torn open. His body, originally pieced together from corpses, collapsed in pieces, scattering large and small chunks all over the floor.

The other two monsters sewn together from corpses nearby seemed to sense the danger and began to move, their twisted limbs turning as they tried to walk in his direction.

The young man tilted his head slightly. Beneath his long, thick eyelashes, his eyes took on a pale golden hue under the bright light as he silently looked over.

His upper body was fair and firm, blood tracing the lines of his muscles, making him look elegant yet brutal.

He didn’t say anything.

However, under Wen Jianyan’s gaze, the bodies of the two monsters in front of him bizarrely stopped moving. Their entire bodies trembled, and then, as if controlled by some invisible force, they slowly moved their pale arms, forming their fingers into claws, and viciously thrust them into their own chests!

Greasy, bloody hearts were forcefully ripped out, falling to the floor with a “splat”.

Like puppets with their strings cut, their bodies lost the power controlling them and slowly slumped to the floor.

[Countdown: 3, 2, 1]

The one-minute [Mother of the World] trial period was over.

In an instant, as if all his strength had been drained, Wen Jianyan fell backward weakly, lying on the delivery bed panting heavily.

Tired, too tired.

It was as exhausting as running five kilometers in one minute. Every joint and muscle in his body screamed in pain, and he couldn’t even lift a finger an inch.

The “Integrity First” live broadcast room fell into dead silence, and only after a long while did comments slowly emerge.

[Holy shit… who, who the fuck could have predicted this development…]

[Too strong, too strong… I’m speechless. What did I do to deserve watching such an amazing stream!]

[Ahhhh the streamer is so awesome, ahhh!!]

The Black team is awesome! The Black team will win! [Tipped 100 points]]

[Wuwuwuwu the streamer is too amazing; from now on, I’m your hardcore fan!]

[Even his collapse at the end from exhaustion was so sexy, I can’t take it! Is this the charm of a mature mommy? Help!]

The room returned to dead silence.

Wen Jianyan propped himself up from the operating table with difficulty, then leaned over—

“Blergh!”

He dry-heaved agonizingly, his empty stomach twisting in pain, as if he wanted to vomit out all his internal organs.

The last time he vomited this severely was when he had just entered the instance.

Perhaps because he had turned back into a human, the mechanical voice that had been silent for the entire instance began to chime in Wen Jianyan’s ears:

[Ding! Detected that the streamer’s abnormal status has been cleared; live broadcast point settlement unfreezes!]

“In E-rank live broadcast room [Integrity First], the average hourly viewership is 60,000, exchangeable for 6,000 points!”

[Congratulations to the streamer for achieving the milestone: Center of Attention!]

[Ding! Your points have met the upgrade criteria; the live broadcast room is upgraded to D-rank!]

“Your live broadcast room is 50,000 points away from the next upgrade. Please keep up the good work and create more glory, streamer!”

“During your live broadcast, you received tips from 8,876 people, totaling 510,000 points.

Detected that the streamer is a D-rank streamer. The system will take a 10% cut from this live broadcast. Deducting the points used before settlement, the points settled to your account are: 110,000.”

Unlike the points rewarded based on the number of viewers, points tipped by viewers are credited to the backend in real-time. So even before the streamer’s points are settled, this portion of points can be used in advance. Wen Jianyan originally had over 500,000 tip points, but he spent a lot early on, and a large portion went to feeding the apple seedling. So what remained to be settled into his account now was only 110,000.

[Instance Exploration Rate: 96%. Reward Points: 20,000
Current Plot Modification Rate: 100%. Reward Points: 80,000]

[Your remaining account balance is: 124,000 points]

“Fukang Private General Hospital Instance Ultimate Main Quest: ??? has been triggered!”
“Completion Time Limit: Two hours”
“Note: Failure to complete the quest will result in the deduction of all survival time and points, and the streamer’s live broadcast room will be closed immediately.”

Wen Jianyan vomited until he was dizzy, and only with great difficulty did he finally stop. His face deathly pale, he straightened up weakly and looked down at the “Holy Infant” he was still holding tightly.

Since the one-minute [Mother of the World] trial card expired, the “Holy Infant,” which was the size of a human baby, began to dehydrate and shrink again. Its weight also gradually decreased, and now it had shrunk back to its original size of only a thumb’s length, but its appearance was vastly different from before.

The infant’s body color had changed from cyan-purple to pure white, and its body was no longer deformed and shriveled. Its tiny pink fists were clenched in front of its chest, its body curled up, eyes tightly closed, its expression peaceful and serene, as if lying in a mother’s embrace.

A system prompt sounded in his ear:

[Ding! Instance hidden item (Epic) property changed!]
[Holy Infant (Sleeping) permanently bound to streamer Wen Jianyan]
[Cannot be traded]

Wen Jianyan’s expression froze slightly, and he lowered his eyes to look at the tiny infant in his palm.

It had its eyes closed, sleeping with a smile, appearing very happy.

Permanently bound.

That meant… together forever?

To think their wish was fulfilled in this way.

A hint of softness flashed in Wen Jianyan’s eyes. He reached out and picked up the small jar from the surgical tray nearby, and carefully placed the Holy Infant, formed from the fusion of 110 ghost infants, inside.

Perhaps because it had already been bound, even though the instance wasn’t over yet, the jar still faded away bit by bit and was stored in his backpack by the live broadcast room system.

Inside the [Integrity First] live broadcast room:

[Good heavens… then the Black team has definitely secured the win this time. The legendary hidden item is bound to the captain; how can they lose now!]

[The Black team is awesome!]

[Wait, that’s not right. Usually, when the plot reaches this point and the outcome is decided, there’s no reason to continue. Why hasn’t the instance ended yet?]

[Did the Red team do something?]

[I’ll go check the other side. I get the feeling they might still have a trump card.]

[Keep investigating and report back!]

Just then, the air beside Wen Jianyan rippled slightly, and a faint white shadow emerged.

Although the woman’s facial features were very blurry, the familiar outline could still be vaguely discerned.

Lin Qing.

She was a rebel and also a protector.

Whether it was risking her life to gather evidence despite being in danger while she was alive or the hairpin she secretly slipped into his palm just now…

In life, and in death.

Staring at the white shadow before him, the fear from their first meeting had vanished into thin air.

Wen Jianyan took a deep breath and said slowly and solemnly:

“Dr. Lin, thank you.”

Lin Qing smiled. Unlike the agonized, mournful state she was in on the hidden route before, she now looked exceptionally calm and peaceful. She shook her head, her voice somewhat ethereal:

“Thank you for protecting my brother.”

She leaned down and placed a kiss on the young man’s forehead: “Thank you for being my ex-boyfriend.”

Her voice drifted faintly to Wen Jianyan’s ear:

“Watch out under the bed.”

Wen Jianyan’s mind reeled, and he abruptly raised his eyes to look at the woman in front of him.

The moment the words faded, the white shadow disappeared.

Not far away, the shriveled corpse of Lin Qing tightly bound to the delivery bed also began to perish, disintegrating into smoke and dust, finally scattering into a room full of dust.

A gust of wind swept past, and a scalpel glinting with a cold light thrust straight toward Wen Jianyan!

Already on high alert, Wen Jianyan swiftly dodged to the side. Although his movements were fast, his ankles were still firmly tied to the bed, restricting his mobility.

The sharp blade grazed his neck and buried itself deep into the operating bed. A shallow cut was drawn across the young man’s neck, and blood flowed down his skin like a small crimson snake.

Wen Jianyan barely dodged the attack and looked towards the edge of the bed.

The director crawled out from under the bed holding the blade, a crazed smile on his face.

His head and neck had been sliced open, leaving only a small layer of skin at the back barely connecting them. Although his body was broken into pieces, it was clear that, in a sense, he was still “alive.”

“Did you think you could really kill me?”

“Where is the Holy Infant? Where did you hide the Holy Infant!”

The director seemed delirious.

“Don’t worry, I won’t kill you until I figure everything out.” A gurgling laugh came from his throat, and he stared fixedly at Wen Jianyan with his asymmetrical eyeballs:

“You have very beautiful eyes… and a very strong body. Once I transplant parts of them onto myself, I’m sure I can use them for a long time.”

Wen Jianyan also smiled: “Great, you’re not dead. I just felt like I hadn’t vented my anger enough.”

He wasn’t afraid of this guy even when he was in a desperate situation just now, let alone now when his hands were free and his account had plenty of points. Wasn’t this a perfect opportunity to vent his anger delivered right to his door!

However, the next second, the director in front of him suddenly froze.

His eyes widened, as if he wanted to glare his eyeballs out. His broken body stiffened, locked in place. The scalpel in his hand clattered to the floor, and his entire body started twitching uncontrollably as if he had been struck hard. His crazed, terrifying appearance was chilling.

Wen Jianyan was taken aback. His movements involuntarily paused, and he looked over in confusion.

…What’s going on?

He clearly hadn’t done anything. Could it be… did something just happen?

For some unknown reason, a strange, ominous premonition slowly spread, making his hair stand on end and sending chills down his spine.

Although the other party losing the ability to resist was a good thing for him.

But…

He had a feeling something had gone out of control.

“Bzz”—”Bzz”—

The lights overhead flickered violently, even more intensely than when he summoned the Holy Infant earlier. The temperature in the air plummeted rapidly, bringing a stinging sensation as if ice blades were slicing across his skin.

A nameless darkness descended silently.

It seeped out from within the director’s body like a harmless shadow, inching out from the stitching gaps little by little. Slowly, silently, it swallowed the light and shadow in the room bit by bit.

That power was so peaceful, yet so icy, overwhelming, and omnipresent.

As if unable to bear it, the director’s body began to crumble.

Literally crumble.

From his fingers to his arms to his head and then his torso, as if made of a sandcastle, vulnerable to the erosion of flowing water, rapidly turning into flying ash.

The remaining body parts could no longer make a sound. The remaining eyeball on the head rolled madly, as if still unable to believe what was happening, silently letting out a mournful scream.

Darkness, more darkness, darkness that seemed capable of devouring everything descended.

Wen Jianyan’s pupils contracted, and a layer of fine cold sweat immediately broke out on his back.

A sense of terror, seemingly stemming from biological instinct, was born and brewed deep within his body. Every nerve in his mind screamed in overwhelmed agony—

Run, run!

This feeling was so familiar, making Wen Jianyan feel as if he had returned to the mirror world in Decai Middle School.

No way?

No way, no way, no way?

Wen Jianyan was frightened by his own imagination until his scalp went numb. He violently lunged toward the surgical tray beside him. Metal instruments clattered to the floor, making a harsh, panic-inducing sound.

He found the hairpin he had just tossed inside. His slender, slightly trembling fingers bent the hairpin into an easy-to-manipulate shape. Then he straightened up and began picking the locks on his ankles at top speed.

Hurry, hurry, hurry!

“Clack!” The lock on his left ankle sprang open. Wen Jianyan, his face pale and fingers numb with cold, anxiously started picking the lock on his other foot.

The light overhead grew dimmer and dimmer, as if being completely devoured by a tangible black shadow.

The shadow coalesced where the director had just stood, slowly forming into a human shape.

“Snap.”

After picking the lock three times, the overly thin and fragile hairpin finally reached its limit and broke inside the keyhole.

…

Dropping the ball at a time like this?

No way?

NO WAY!!!

Wen Jianyan froze entirely, the blood in his body seemingly freezing in an instant, unable to flow.

The shadow loomed over him from above, making him almost forget to breathe.

“…”

Wen Jianyan maintained his awkward posture, one leg propped up and tied to the rack. Slowly, inch by inch, he turned his head, his pale face looking up. Half in horror, half in disbelief, he looked toward the “man” standing beside his bed.

At some unknown point, “his” figure had completely solidified.

The man stood in the darkness that enveloped and swallowed the entire room. Over his pale, firm body hung a black cloak formed of shadows. Beneath his jet-black long hair, on his bloodless skin, bizarre black runes snaked like incantations, resembling some ominous curse, giving an oppressive feeling.

His eyelashes fluttered slightly, then slowly opened.

Revealing a pair of golden, almost inhuman, beast-like pupils.

A familiar scene from the past flooded his mind, and the events at the end of the previous instance became so clear, as if they happened only yesterday.

Including that sentence…

“You love me to death, so much so that you wish you could be my dog.”

The next second, those pupils shifted, slowly looking in his direction.

Wen Jianyan: “……………………”

His pupils quaked, and he abruptly gasped.

Ahhhh, help me!!!!

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