WTNL Chapter 161

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Ping An Asylum
Chapter 161: I like your card

Wen Jianyan felt unease in his heart and subconsciously turned his head to glance behind.

The pitch-black corridor seemed endless at a glance, like a gaping void that could devour any hint of light, silently exuding an ominous aura.

A deathly silence prevailed in the darkness.

Wen Jianyan withdrew his gaze.

Under the faint light of a flashlight, the other two supporting Su Cheng were cautiously making their way downstairs.

Regardless, there were more urgent matters at hand.

Wen Jianyan steadied himself, took a deep breath, and quickened his pace to catch up.

Though Su Cheng was unconscious, at least he had two useful assistants who were still available to handle the two anchors below in their compromised state—especially when one of them was pinned under a metal frame, unable to move.

They found a clean spot within the iron gate to lay down the still-conscious Su Cheng. Quickly dividing the tasks, they subdued Luce and his other teammate. Wen Jianyan injected the antidote into them, and the entire process took less than three minutes.

As the murky liquid entered their bodies, the almost uncontrollable struggles and muffled screams, forcibly suppressed in their throats, gradually came to a halt. A bit of clarity returned to their eyes.

Luce struggled to crawl out from under the metal frame, his face displaying signs of pain. The injuries from being struck by the metal frame seemed severe.

The other teammate had a distorted expression, evidently recalling his own symptoms and actions during the “outbreak.” A nearly desperate expression slowly appeared on his face.

In any case, both of them walked with peculiar postures.

As their teammate, Shao Yao took on the responsibility of explaining everything that happened before and the current situation. 

While they conversed, Wen Jianyan sensibly stepped aside.

After a brief exchange of words, Luce and his group walked over. They had taken painkillers, and though their faces were still pale, they seemed to have mostly recovered.

Wen Jianyan lowered his head and glanced at the time.

Less than five minutes remained until the instance alienation.

Watching Luce approach, Wen Jianyan lowered his voice and quickened his pace. “I know you have questions, but now is not the time. We have little time left, and the priority is to leave this place.”

Luce was momentarily stunned. 

Squinting his eyes, he scrutinized the young man in front of him and quickly realized that the other person probably knew something they were unaware of.

As a seasoned anchor, he understood what was most urgent.

“…”

Luce took a deep breath, nodded, and turned to his two teammates. “Let’s go; we need to leave this place.”

Despite harboring dissatisfaction with Su Cheng’s betrayal earlier, they reluctantly dragged the unconscious Su Cheng along, given Wen Jianyan’s efforts to salvage the situation.

The group moved quickly toward the laboratory’s entrance.

They deliberately lightened their footsteps, trying not to make any noise. Soon, the partially opened iron door of the laboratory appeared not far away, and a faint light seeped through the gap, inexplicably giving a sense of hope.

However, Wen Jianyan did not relax like the others.

He mentally counted the time, ticking off the seconds, growing increasingly anxious. With barely any time left from the ten-minute countdown, the fact that they couldn’t make any noise in the lab significantly limited their escape time. Despite their current maximum speed, Wen Jianyan was unsure if they could leave before the instance was alienated.

The iron door drew nearer.

Luce had just placed his hand on the door handle when, in the next second, a “ding” sound echoed in Wen Jianyan’s ears.

【Alienation Countdown: 00:00:01】

【Alienation Completed】

“Dang—dang—dang—”

Without warning, a clear bell sounded in their ears, one after another, like funeral bells symbolizing death, echoing coldly.

Wen Jianyan: “.”

This was what people call a leak in the house after continuous rain.

At the moment they heard the bell, everyone involuntarily froze in place.

Strange sounds vaguely echoed from behind.

It was as if something wet and sticky was rolling in the empty darkness, rushing toward them at a terrifying speed—

Wen Jianyan and Luce exchanged glances, almost simultaneously seeing the fear in each other’s eyes.

“Run!”

Someone shouted.

The voice seemed to have been squeezed out of their throat—weak, suppressed, urgent—igniting the blood of everyone in an instant.

Now, with no time to worry about whether the iron door would make noise, Wen Jianyan kicked it open, and together with Luce, each grabbing an arm of the unconscious Su Cheng, and others, they sprinted with all their might!

While running, he turned his head and glanced back.

In the narrow darkness of the corridor, neural tissue formed a crimson membrane, seeming to possess life, extending out from the iron door at an unimaginable speed along the floor, walls, and ceiling, probing forward.

These tentacle-like extensions, as if from some alien entity, climbed up from all directions, surging forward like a tidal wave.

As if it possessed its own consciousness, yet driven entirely by instinct, it reached forward, groping, greedily seeking the scent of prey.

Just a brief glance and Wen Jianyan couldn’t help but feel his scalp go numb.

Obviously, everyone else felt the same.

Each person instinctively accelerated their pace, fearing being engulfed in that seemingly tentacle-like swamp vortex.

Were they now in the mental world of a certain mentally ill patient?

Dr. Reese’s? After all, theoretically, he should be the nearest NPC in this layer to them. Though he was not mentally ill, Wen Jianyan had no doubt that he occupied a corner of this strange and mad world.

If so, why hadn’t the layout of the corridor changed? Why did these crimson, tentacle-like things chase them out of the laboratory?

Countless questions filled their minds, but none received answers.

The only thing they could do now was sprint forward as fast as they could.

Nearby, at the stairwell, a person in attendant attire approached. Upon seeing the figure, Wen Jianyan’s pupils involuntarily contracted—what’s going on?

After the bell rings, NPCs shouldn’t appear in the inner world, right?

The attendant’s gaze fell upon the crimson tentacles chasing behind Wen Jianyan, and his face turned pale. His lips trembled for a moment as he slowly took two steps back, extending his hand to the side—

“!!”

Wen Jianyan instantly realized what he intended to do and couldn’t help but shout, “Wait, wait a moment!”

Perhaps concerned about a riot in the asylum, each entrance on every floor had a massive iron door for separation and control.

To make matters worse, the lock was on the outside, and opening it required fumbling around. Even for Wen Jianyan, opening it would take more time. In the current life-or-death situation, every wasted second diminishes their survival hope.

However, Wen Jianyan was a step too late.

Accompanied by the clattering sound of the metal collision, the iron door at the stairwell was pulled shut, emitting a “clang.”

Locked.

The panicked attendant turned around and hastily descended the stairs.

“Damn it!”

Luce was furious, his vision darkening. He gritted his teeth and cursed fiercely.

Shao Yao rushed to the elevator, forcefully pressing the up button. In the silent corridor, it made a “click-click” sound.

The elevator was ascending slowly, but based on its past performance, even if it arrived in time, it would be challenging to leave promptly. It could result in them being trapped in a confined space, facing an even more dangerous situation.

“What do we do, what do we do, what do we do?”

Blond looked utterly lost, muttering to himself as he ran.

They quickly reached the end of the corridor. On one side was the firmly locked staircase, and in front of them was the director’s office, which required a key card for entry.

Behind them, the crimson membrane surged like ocean waves, rapidly approaching.

Despair filled the faces of the group.

“Shut up.”

Wen Jianyan threw Su Cheng on Blond’s shoulder, making him say “ouch” as he staggered a few steps before barely avoiding being pulled down.

Blond turned in astonishment to look at Wen Jianyan, unexpectedly finding that the other person didn’t seem as panicked as himself.

The young man fumbled in his pocket, quickly pulling out a thin card. He briskly approached and swiped the card on the door of the dean’s office.

A “beep” sound was heard as the iron door slowly opened in front of them.

“?!”

The shock was evident on everyone’s faces. Clearly, they hadn’t expected the other person to have such a crucial item at a critical moment.

In the “Integrity First” live broadcast room:

[???]

[Woah, when did he find the access card? I don’t remember!]

[I don’t know! I need to go back and watch the replay!]

“What are you standing there for? Go in!”

Wen Jianyan roughly grabbed Su Cheng’s collar, as if carrying a bag of flour, and urgently rushed toward the open door.

The others quickly snapped out of their daze and followed.

Behind them, the crimson membrane undulated, accelerating in their direction. Countless tentacles reached out along the walls, floor, and ceiling—

The slowly closing iron door narrowly blocked their pursuit.

“Thud, thud—”

The muffled sound of a sticky, heavy object hitting metal resonated from outside the door.

Inside the iron door, the group stood, panting heavily, exchanging relieved glances. Cold sweat covered them.

Wen Jianyan heaved a long sigh, releasing the grip on Su Cheng. Su Cheng landed with a clatter on the floor.

He lifted his eyes and surveyed the surroundings.

Before them lay a corridor almost identical to the one opposite, shrouded in darkness and silence. Faint labels for the “Dean’s Office” and “Data Room” could be seen.

Despite the iron door between them, the eerie, sticky sound could still be faintly heard, as if probing for gaps to seep through.

Blond caught his breath and turned to Wen Jianyan, asking in disbelief:

“You…what was that just now?”

“You mean this?” Wen Jianyan lifted his hand, waving the card in front of the other.

On the card was a familiar profile.

A green-eyed man with glasses perched on his nose, dressed in a neat white coat.

“I just gave it a try to see if it could open it.” 

After all, this guy was a doctor, and with his privileges, he might be able to unlock the iron door on this side. With that thought in mind, Wen Jianyan took the card from the other.

In the “Integrity First” live broadcast room:

[Damn, this is Dr. Reese’s ID card!]

[Friends, I checked the replay.]

[?!?]

[Do you all remember in the treatment room when the anchor was hugged by that creepy doctor?]

With the guidance, the viewers hurriedly went back to watch, slowing down the playback, changing camera angles, and frame-by-frame searching.

The upper body of the disheveled young man sat on the iron bed, a white gauze tightly bound around his shoulders and neck, with crimson blood seeping through, creating a glaring color.

The neatly dressed doctor leaned down, firmly restraining the other in his arms, one hand gripping around the waist and lowering his head to smell the warm breath at the young man’s neck.

The young man smiled, raising his hand to touch the doctor’s shoulder: “Doctor, what are you talking about?”

This gentle touch.

[Wow, impressive… Awesome.]

[Laughing so hard, hahaha! Opposite: Who do you like? Anchor: I like your card.]

[Help, this is amazing!]

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