WTNL Chapter 138

Ping’an Asylum
Chapter 138: “Baby, where are you?”

Just then, the system’s mechanical voice rang in his ears:

[Plot Deviation: 6%. Reward Points: 1000]

Hearing the prompt, Wen Jianyan was slightly taken aback, and a look of confusion involuntarily appeared on his face.

Huh?

Plot Deviation?

Why so fast this time? And he didn’t seem to have done anything yet, right?

Beside him, Su Cheng struggled to climb down from the restraint bed. Due to the numbness in his limbs, his movements were somewhat stiff.

He looked at the dazed Wen Jianyan and asked:

“What’s wrong?”

Wen Jianyan snapped back to reality and shook his head:

“…It’s nothing.”

Anyway, this deviation wasn’t high. Logically, it shouldn’t cause any major problems, so he could put it out of his mind for now.

Moreover, in this instance, the points brought by the plot deviation could only be used to exchange for survival time and consume in the shop; they wouldn’t be accumulated into [Task Points].

Wen Jianyan took a few steps forward, pressed his body against the wall, carefully pushed open a crack in the door with his fingertips, and looked out—

The corridor was dead silent. Some of the light bulbs overhead were broken, with wires hanging from the ceiling. The few remaining lights sizzled, flickering slightly with the unstable current. The narrow and dirty corridor was divided into several sections of light and dark by the lighting, looking extraordinarily eerie.

Wen Jianyan looked in the direction he had come from.

The pitch-black corridor was extremely quiet. There were neither footsteps nor the sound of a metal axe scraping the floor.

It seemed they hadn’t chased after him.

By now, Su Cheng had basically fully recovered his mobility. He hunched over, walked over quietly, and asked in a low voice: “So, what do we do next?”

“…”

Wen Jianyan didn’t answer immediately. He just lowered his eyes, deep in thought.

Because he had to save Su Cheng, he was injected with a sedative and locked in the solitary confinement room not long after entering the instance. When he woke up, he met that pervert with the axe, leaving him almost no time to explore the instance and investigate the mechanics, resulting in him being completely in the dark. Moreover, the corridor right now was just too chaotic, completely different from when he first entered the hospital.

…The Inner and Outer Worlds?

Or something else?

Hard to say.

The information he had obtained so far was still too little to draw a conclusion immediately.

Regardless, something must have happened in the instance during the time he was injected with the sedative; he just missed it.

Now, he could only adapt to the circumstances.

“Let’s leave here first,”

Wen Jianyan concluded.

He looked up at Su Cheng and deduced: “Generally speaking, solitary confinement rooms in an asylum should have a guard room or an orderly room. If we can find it, it should help us understand the current situation.”

“Okay.”

Su Cheng nodded.

After making sure there was no one outside the door, Wen Jianyan and Su Cheng quietly left the confinement room and carefully walked towards one end of the corridor.

The confinement rooms were all located on one side of the corridor, so the two walked forward close to the other side.

Some of the doors on the side were wide open askew, while others were tightly closed. Low ravings and idiotic laughter drifted through the doors, floating in the dead air, making one’s heart run cold.

Soon, a room labeled “Guard Room” appeared before the two of them.

Wen Jianyan and Su Cheng exchanged a glance.

He took a deep breath, raised his hand, and pushed the door open.

The guard room was a complete mess.

The walls were covered with splattered bloodstains. Tables and chairs were overturned, and there were axe cut marks everywhere, but there wasn’t a single corpse.

A strong smell of blood filled their nostrils.

Wen Jianyan stood at the door of the guard room, slowly looking around, a thoughtful look appearing in his eyes.

“The map is here!”

Just then, Su Cheng’s pleasantly surprised voice came from not far away.

Wen Jianyan withdrew his thoughts, walked quickly towards Su Cheng, and looked in the direction he was pointing.

The map was made of iron and firmly welded to the wall. Almost eighty percent of the area was blacked out, leaving only a corridor marked with solitary confinement rooms.

One of the rooms was crossed out with fresh blood.

Wen Jianyan fell deep into thought.

Could it be… this was the ward of that John Doe psychopathic killer?

His gaze lingered for a moment on the taskbar next to it, where a line of small blood-red text floated in the air, looking shocking.

[Primary Task Issued: Find the ward of ???]

Although he was very reluctant, but…

This was their only clue right now.

Wen Jianyan gritted his teeth and said, “Let’s go, let’s take a look.”

They left the guard room and, following the map’s instructions, walked forward along the corridor.

Soon, the room crossed out with fresh blood appeared in their line of sight.

The door wasn’t locked, leaving a narrow gap. It was pitch black inside, and a strong smell of blood emanated from it.

Wen Jianyan carefully approached and observed through the gap.

The room was empty.

He sighed in relief without showing it, nodded at Su Cheng, then gently pushed the door open and walked in.

This was also a solitary confinement room. The layout inside was exactly the same as the one Wen Jianyan had been in initially, but it looked dilapidated. The walls were covered with traces of blood, and the messy blood-written words looked exceptionally mad and terrifying.

In the shadowy darkness, one could faintly see a large hole in the wall, exposing steel bars and brick walls, with a space just big enough for someone to pass through.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing the task: Find the ward of ???
Reward Points: 200]

It seemed… a bit too easy.

Wen Jianyan froze, unable to recover for a moment.

But now wasn’t the time to think about this question.

He frowned and walked towards the bed.

This bed seemed to have been specially customized. It was a section longer than the room he had been in. The original leather restraint straps were replaced with thick metal chains, as if the patient couldn’t be firmly tied to the bed without this.

He bent down and, by the faint light, carefully examined the hospital bed in front of him.

A small nameplate was nailed to the corner of the bed.

[Patient Name: ■■■■]
[Gender: Male]
[Disease: Paranoia, Schizophrenia, Violent Tendencies]
[Danger Level: High Risk]

Just then, a shrill scream suddenly came from the corridor outside.

The sound of the metal axe blade breaking the air as it fell, the crisp sound of bones snapping, and the sticky sound of flesh and skin being crushed mixed together, making one’s heart involuntarily twitch.

Crap!

It’s that guy!

Wen Jianyan’s breathing stopped slightly.

He stood up abruptly and walked quickly towards the door.

Su Cheng hurriedly grabbed him, shook his head silently, and mouthed, “It’s too late.”

“Ahhhhhhh—”

The originally shrill scream had become weak, and a discontinuous gurgling sound was produced, as if blood bubbles had poured into the lungs.

Wen Jianyan made a hand gesture to Su Cheng.

Su Cheng nodded.

The two took a deep breath, ready to activate their invisibility items at any time, hiding in the dark and waiting quietly.

The sound… seemed to be coming from the opposite direction of where they came from.

In the dark, Wen Jianyan narrowed his eyes slightly, a thoughtful look flashing in his amber eyes.

They hadn’t changed direction along the way, walking almost to the end of a single path, nor had they heard footsteps catching up from behind, yet the other party appeared in front of them…

There were three possibilities.

First, the other party possessed the ability to ignore space and move.

Second, the map was incomplete, and the complete corridor of the confinement rooms was circular.

Third, they were no longer in the physically significant Ping’an Asylum; this place had become an independent space with no way out.

Wen Jianyan glanced at the taskbar at the edge of his vision.

The two intermediate tasks [Rest in the Solitary Confinement Room for One Night] and [Escape from the Solitary Confinement Room] were side by side, both in progress.

The first option was unlikely. After all, if the other party could really teleport, he wouldn’t have been locked in the confinement room by him from the start.

Then, they should have to choose between the second and third.

Just then, the rustling sound of fabric rubbing came from the corridor. It seemed someone was crawling slowly on the ground.

…Here it comes.

Wen Jianyan slowly took a deep breath, pressed one hand against the door panel, and looked out cautiously.

In the narrow field of vision, a person covered in dripping blood was struggling to crawl forward. His blue and white striped hospital gown was already soaked with blood. There were several deep axe cuts on his back. Below his thighs was empty, leaving only freshly broken white bones and minced meat.

“Screech—”

The familiar sound of metal scraping rang out.

Accompanied by unhurried footsteps, a figure appeared in the line of sight.

Wen Jianyan subconsciously held his breath and looked out intently.

Male, at least 1.9 meters tall, blond hair, slender and strong body. He was also wearing the Ping’an Asylum’s hospital gown, which was spotted with bloodstains, and undried fresh blood dripped continuously from the hem of his clothes.

He held a huge, extremely ferocious-looking axe in his hand.

“Where are you going?”

He asked softly.

The heavy axe covered with fresh blood and minced meat was raised, made a sharp sound as it broke the air, and smashed down fiercely again!

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh—”

The shrill scream stopped.

The huge axe sank deep into the ground, leaving a shocking and terrifying mark.

The patient’s body convulsed on the ground, and gurgling fresh blood flowed from the broken neck bone.

The head rolled on the ground like a ball, all the way to the edge of the crack in the door. A horrified and twisted look still remained on the pale face, the dull eyes wide open, staring blankly at the young man inside the door.

“…” Wen Jianyan’s pupils shrank, and his back immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

Only to hear a “poof,” the limp corpse was turned over by the man with his foot like a broken sack.

The sharp axe blade slit the corpse’s belly open, and the steaming internal organs gurgled out, being carefully examined by the other party as he held them in his blood-stained palms.

“Ah… so it’s this color…”

He murmured.

“So pretty…”

Wen Jianyan stood motionless in the dark, his face slightly pale.

Although he had gone through four instances so far, this was the first time he had faced such a bloody scene at such a close distance, making his stomach churn and almost making him vomit.

“But, it’s not right…” The man examined the internal organs and shook his head in disappointment, “Not enough…”

He bent down, sniffing the bloody minced meat, his soft voice carrying an unconcealable madness:

“It’s not him.”

The man stood up. The internal organs he had just held in his palms like a treasure fell to the ground with a smack and were ruthlessly crushed into meat paste by his toes.

In the “Integrity First” live broadcast room:

[Holy crap, this is my first time watching the Ping’an Asylum instance. A-a-are the NPCs here always this perverted?]

[Yes, that’s right. Always have been.]

[Hahahaha, you can’t stand just this? Then what are you gonna do when you see what happens later!]

[But it feels a bit weird… What delicious or not delicious, I remember this guy’s craziness didn’t seem to go in this direction?]

[Yeah, yeah, it seems to have really changed. How can insanity mutate? Was the instance setting adjusted?]

[And who is this “him”? Is he looking for someone?]

[I don’t know! I can’t understand it either!]

Wen Jianyan stood where he was, layers upon layers of cold sweat breaking out on his back. Although he didn’t know who this guy was talking about either, for some reason…

He always had a slight sense of foreboding in his heart.

Suddenly, without warning, a pale hand reached out from the darkness and rested on Wen Jianyan’s shoulder.

“!!!”

Wen Jianyan shuddered all over, using almost all his self-control to keep himself from crying out.

His face looked extremely ugly as he turned his head abruptly to look behind him.

“Hehe, hehehehe…”

A crazy, pale face slowly leaned in close. “Peeking, bad child, peeking, bad child, peeking! Bad child!”

His voice gradually rose.

“…”

The man outside the room heard the sound from inside the door and slowly turned his head to look in this direction.

Only then did Wen Jianyan see clearly that he was wearing a bloody human skin mask on his face. The positions of the two eyes were hollowed out, revealing a pair of light blue eyes. There was an unignorable look of madness in the depths of his eyes, instinctively making one’s heart run cold.

“Screech—”

He bent down, picked up that heavy axe again, and walked in this direction.

Not good!

Wen Jianyan’s pupils shrank.

A brief image flashed through his mind—the hole in the wall.

Obviously, that madman had crawled in through this hole from next door while their attention was focused outside the room.

Damn it.

It never rains but it pours!

“Peeking!! Bad child!!!”

By the end, the other party had started screaming, his voice sharp to the point of being ear-piercing.

Wen Jianyan made a hand gesture to Su Cheng.

The next second, he fiercely pushed the door shut, which coincidentally smashed right into the face of the man who was about to push the door and come in.

Caught off guard, the man took a step back. The mask made of human skin on his face shook, and fresh blood dripped down.

He supported his body with the long axe in his hand. Beneath the bloody mask, the corners of his mouth pulled back little by little, his low voice gentle and sweet:

“Baby, you’re here, right?”

The man slowly took two steps back. That heavy axe, which could almost crush an adult, was swung up effortlessly by him like a child’s toy. The muscles on his arm bulged solidly, containing terrifying power.

“Whoosh!”

The giant axe smashed down fiercely.

Wood splinters flew everywhere, and the cold light from the corridor poured in, illuminating the dark room.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

That madman screamed, clapping his hands and starting to laugh wildly: “Hahahahahaha!”

He turned around and flexibly squeezed through the gap, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

In just a few seconds, only broken debris remained of the door panel, which was effortlessly crushed.

Accompanied by the flickering lights, the man carrying the smell of blood slowly walked into the room. He was just too tall; standing in the narrow room, he brought a strong sense of oppression.

“Baby, where are you?”

He asked in a coaxing tone.

The room was empty. Under the light from the corridor, only that gap by the wall stood out exceptionally.

Wen Jianyan and Su Cheng pressed tightly against the wall, standing still. They had already activated their invisibility items, held their breath, kept quiet, and stood pressing tightly against the wall.

According to logic, after finding no one in the room, the other party would naturally assume that the prey had squeezed through the gap and thus chased after them along that path, and they could take the opportunity to leave.

“Screech—”

The metallic sound of the axe tip scraped on the ground. The man wearing the human skin mask slowly walked to the crack and stopped.

In the dead silence, hearts pounded wildly.

Wen Jianyan’s back pressed tightly against the wall, his body completely cold.

Quiet.

Waiting.

“Hehe, hehehe…”

The man suddenly started laughing. He slowly looked around, the look of madness in his light blue eyes growing stronger.

He raised his head and took a deep breath, as if intoxicated:

“No, you’re right here.”

His eyes looked towards the dark corner, and he said with certainty: “Right?”

“!!!”

In that instant, Wen Jianyan felt his heart jump to his throat. His body produced a strong stress response, and almost instinctively, he wanted to flee for his life!

In the “Integrity First” live broadcast room:

[Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!]

[Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!]

[Help, help, help. I’m so tense. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!]

“Clang!—Clang—Clang—!”

Suddenly, an ear-piercing and loud bell rang through the darkness, echoing in the empty corridor, like a huge rest in music, or like the prelude to a carnival.

The man wearing the human skin mask stopped.

He raised his hand and slowly stroked his hair, the fluffy, bloody blond strands flowing through his fingers:

“Ah, what a pity.”

…A pity?

Wen Jianyan was taken aback.

Before he could recover, the system’s familiar metallic voice rang in his ears:

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing the task: Rest in the Solitary Confinement Room for One Night.
Reward Points: 500]

“…”

Wen Jianyan kept his eyes open, staring blankly at the white ceiling.

A weird sensation of being tightly bound came from his wrists and ankles.

He turned his head with difficulty and found himself lying on that initial restraint bed, his limbs firmly fixed in place. The room was empty, and the door to the confinement room was tightly locked.

…A dream?

The terrifying feeling of a cold chill running down his spine still lingered in his body, and his hospital gown was soaked in cold sweat, sticking tightly to him.

“Jingle, jangle.”

The sound of metal keys colliding with each other came from outside the door. The next second, the key was inserted into the keyhole and started to turn.

“!!!”

Wen Jianyan’s body jerked up in a stress response.

Crap, crap, crap!

He habitually tilted his body to one side, ready to repeat his old trick and find the mirror shard from the gap in his clothes, but that familiar spot was completely empty, leaving only soft fabric.

“Creak—”

The door was pushed open.

Two orderlies wearing familiar uniforms walked in.

Wen Jianyan’s forehead was covered in cold sweat, his chest heaving violently. His gaze fell on the newcomers, like a frightened cat with nowhere to hide.

The two bent down and untied the restraint straps on Wen Jianyan’s wrists and ankles.

Accompanied by the crisp sound of the buckles clashing, Wen Jianyan felt the restraints on his limbs loosen.

“Get down.”

The orderly said coldly, “Confinement is over.”

—

Free Activity Room.

Black crosses hung on the snow-white walls. Soft chairs were scattered around. The tables were filled with various games, chessboards, building blocks, paintbrushes, and so on…

A gramophone nearby was playing a cheerful nursery rhyme.

Babbling, it was impossible to hear exactly what was being sung.

Under rough pushing, Wen Jianyan stumbled into the free activity room.

“Clang—”

The iron grating closed behind him and was then locked dead again.

Wen Jianyan rubbed his wrist, which had red marks from being bound tight, with one hand while turning his head to look out the iron grating—the orderly who had locked the door had already turned and left, his back disappearing into the pitch-black corridor.

“Take your medicine.”

A flat-faced nurse stared emotionlessly at Wen Jianyan and handed over a small paper cup.

Wen Jianyan smiled slightly at her: “Thanks.”

He took the paper cup, poured it into his mouth, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he made a clear swallowing sound.

“Open your mouth.” The nurse said.

The young man put the paper cup back on the counter, opened his mouth, and stuck out his tongue on her command, letting her check that he hadn’t hidden anything.

Wen Jianyan walked into the free activity room and sat down on one of the sofas. A few pills of different colors were seamlessly hidden under the sofa cushion.

He looked around without leaving a trace.

Su Cheng hadn’t arrived yet.

Blond, not far away, saw Wen Jianyan, his eyes lighting up, and he subconsciously quickened his pace, walking in this direction.

“You’re okay!”

Blond had witnessed from afar the chaotic scene of Wen Jianyan being taken to the confinement room earlier.

Although he felt that with the other party’s strength, nothing major should happen, seeing Wen Jianyan injected with a sedative and carried away still made Blond’s heart jump into his throat. He was finally able to relax only after seeing the other party appear before him.

“Of course, what could possibly happen to me?”

Wen Jianyan shrugged.

He looked at Blond: “Did you take the medicine the nurse gave you?”

“I did.” Blond scratched his head: “But I used an item, put a small bag in my throat, and spat it out as soon as I came in.”

Although he was timid and not some big shot, he hadn’t survived so many instances for nothing.

“So, why did you do that earlier?”

Blond lowered his voice and asked in confusion.

“To get into the confinement room,” Wen Jianyan answered simply: “That anchor who actively attacked the orderly before me is the person I came in to find.”

Regardless, coming back safely from the confinement room this time was definitely not a bad thing.

It was even an excellent opportunity.

Since entering the free activity room, Wen Jianyan could feel many gazes, both overt and covert, falling on him.

The news of him actively entering the confinement room on the first day must have spread among the anchors. It shouldn’t be long before a team approached him—whether for cooperation or information exchange, he had now proven himself to be the best candidate.

Blond was taken aback and subconsciously straightened up, looking towards the door:

“Then where is he now?”

“Should be fine.” Wen Jianyan went through the scene after he woke up in his mind and said: “If nothing unexpected happens, he should be here soon.”

Before he finished speaking, the sound of the iron door being pulled open rang out again.

Wen Jianyan sighed in relief and stood up: “Isn’t this—”

The next second, his words got stuck in his throat.

Under the watch of three orderlies, a tall man slowly walked in. He had a proper and handsome face, light blue eyes, and fluffy blond hair.

Under the thin hospital gown, one could see solid and full muscles, carrying beast-like explosive power.

“Clang.” “Clang.”

The ear-piercing sound of metal colliding rang out.

His wrists and ankles were bound with heavy shackles.

Those light blue eyes swept across the free activity room and slowly fell on Wen Jianyan.

Wen Jianyan: “…”

A chill instantly shot up from the soles of his feet, rushing straight to the crown of his head. The strong sense of foreboding made him shudder.

The next second, the man smiled, his light red lips pulling up to reveal snow-white, sharp teeth.

“Hi.”

__

The author has something to say:

Blond: ???

This is your teammate???

Wen Jianyan: …

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