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Ping An Asylum
Chapter 171: Master of Dog Training
The light in the ward was dim.
It was still the familiar setup—a narrow space, a nailed iron bed—so barren that there were hardly any extra items.
Two people confronted each other a few steps apart.
The air was dead silent, quiet enough to hear each other’s breath.
“…”
02 stood still, his face expressionless.
Through the dim shadows, the man with deep brown eyes stared fixedly at the young man not far away, his eyes seeming to shimmer with some deep and strange luster.
He suddenly chuckled:
“Not bad.”
It was that comment again.
Wen Jianyan didn’t respond.
“So, I’d like to ask, what are you going to do next?”
02 still had that curious tone.
He seemed completely unruffled by Wen Jianyan’s recent attitude filled with murderous intent, nor did he mind the fact that the latter was just about to kill him.
The man’s curly hair was dark and soft, his skin healthy, chocolate brown, with a pleasant smile at the corners of his lips, still that sunny and carefree appearance.
“You should have already noticed… you are in my ward now.”
But he nonchalantly took another step forward.
The distance between the two was closer now, the tall figure casting a shadow over the young man, engulfing him within.
“With me.”
Underneath that harmless facade, a thread of inhuman, madness-filled aggression leaked out, a common trait among all high-risk patients.
02 still smiled.
His gaze carried warmth, although he hadn’t touched an inch of the young man’s skin, he still managed to invade his safe distance with an undeniable presence.
“Aren’t you worried?”
The man’s words were not very clear, with a somewhat exotic, soft modulation, trailing off like lovers’ murmurs.
It didn’t sound like a threat, more like coquetry.
But that sense of danger lingered, as if inevitable.
“There is no bell.”
The young man abruptly spoke.
02 lowered his eyes, taking in the other’s face.
He remained silent.
“Whether I’m in the illusion or not, the sound of the bell can’t be blocked,” Wen Jianyan remained calm, composed, seemingly unaffected by the other’s presence.
“Let me guess, the bell doesn’t signify the transition between the surface and inner world, but an invasion.”
In other words, there were two worlds from the start.
With each bell, the overlap between the two worlds deepened. That’s why, with every bell, the time in the inner world extended a bit.
Wen Jianyan had no doubt that if the anchors couldn’t accumulate enough points to leave, then even if the instance didn’t undergo any changes, the inner world would eventually completely replace the surface world. By then, it would be a deadly situation where all high-risk patients would be released.
And the anomalies he caused in the instance seemed to change its mode, but in essence, only accelerated this process.
The inner world broke free from the constraints of the bell, starting its invasion ahead of time.
Before Wen Jianyan left the fourth floor, he already had similar, vague thoughts in his mind.
The bell rang, but the attendant didn’t disappear; quite the contrary, they appeared within the inner world. And after the second bell, the inner world was supposed to recede, returning to the surface world. However, the positions of the anchors remained unchanged. The membrane-like substances didn’t vanish with the end of the inner world, including the monsters appearing in the lobby on the first floor. These bits and pieces of evidence gradually confirmed Wen Jianyan’s speculation, shaping it little by little.
And 02’s previous performance confirmed Wen Jianyan’s speculation.
According to the instance’s settings, high-risk patients only possessed such abilities within the inner world. In the surface world, they were akin to ordinary anchors, constrained by the rules of Ping An Asylum, subjected to electric shocks, beatings, sedative injections, and even becoming experimental subjects.
However, regardless of the surface or inner world, the sound of the bell could not be isolated. This meant that the concept of “bell sound” was a more fundamental existence than the surface and inner worlds.
Wen Jianyan never heard the bell ringing throughout, theoretically indicating they were still within the “surface world.” Yet, 02 could construct illusions within the “surface world,” confirming Wen Jianyan’s speculation— the invasion of the inner world.
However, it was evident that despite bringing his abilities into the “surface world,” they were somewhat suppressed.
If the opponent had the ability to fabricate illusions at will, creating a “semi-real world” like the one just experienced would be even more mentally taxing and less efficient.
After all, the “inner world” was the embodiment of high-risk patients’ “mental worlds.”
Among the mental worlds Wen Jianyan entered, the largest one belonged to 03 with dual personality—after all, they were two people, and both the corridors and rooms inside were quite rough.
The most complete and intricate mental world came from 04, the artist Mars. His mental world was a villa filled with his own artworks, relatively secluded, not large in size but intricately designed, with rich details. Wen Jianyan speculated that this might have been created based on his true residence.
However, the world created by 02 far exceeded Wen Jianyan’s imagination.
It was vast enough to encompass the entire first underground floor and the first-floor lobby, with extremely rich details, almost perfectly mirroring reality— otherwise, it wouldn’t have fooled Wen Jianyan’s eyes and memory at the outset.
But he didn’t create any NPC in the illusion to perfect his own illusion.
There was only one possibility.
—Because he was in the surface world, he could not create illusions at will.
Reality was a necessary blueprint, and was a double-edged sword.
On the one hand, it could avoid being found loopholes to the maximum extent. Even the marks on the door and the bloodstains on the wall could be perfectly restored one by one. But on the other hand, one-to-one replication also meant that their previous paths on the first underground floor were not in vain but more like a simulation experiment.
As long as they find a way to leave, they could avoid most of the risks through experience.
That’s why Wen Jianyan chose to wait and see, waiting until confirming that he could send his teammates out of the asylum before destroying the illusion.
“…”
02 focused on staring at the young man in front of him, waiting for his next words.
“If my guess is correct, then after a few more bells, the inner world should perfectly invade the surface world. By then, you will be invincible.”
Wen Jianyan looked directly at the other person, calmly analyzing.
Not only would he have unrestricted abilities, but he would also have absolute invincibility.
By that time, the entire Ping An Asylum would become their slaughterhouse and playground, and all the anchors who couldn’t pass through in time would be wiped out.
“It’s a pity that, so far, the bell has only ring once.”
This meant that although the invasion process of the inner world had been accelerated, it still hadn’t been completed thoroughly.
This lead to the anchors being attacked even when they were in the surface world. However, the reverse was also true— even if high-risk patients could use their abilities, their bodies would still be harmed.
In other words, their body is mortal.
You should know that while it was difficult to acquire attack-type props against spirits, weapons against ordinary humans were cheap in the system store.
The young man raised his hand, and a gun appeared between his fingers once again.
The heavy, cold metal lines dropped heavily into his palm. The pale fingertips grasped the trigger, the black hole of the gun pointing straight at the other’s face.
“Click.”
The safety was disengaged.
“Wanna try?”
Wen Jianyan calmly asked in a soft voice.
Silence pervaded the narrow ward.
02 lowered his eyes, staring at the young man’s face.
Across the short distance, he could feel the coldness of the muzzle.
Based on experience, 02 had no doubt that if he nodded, the other would pull the trigger without hesitation.
The handsome face, the slender neck, the smooth lines from the jaw to the Adam’s apple, the amber eyes shimmering with a cool smile, the fair earlobes hidden under the hair.
Sharp and fragile, gentle and dangerous.
Contradictory to the extreme.
Thud, thud.
Thud, thud.
His heart beat violently under extreme excitement, hot blood rushed through the veins, the intense, almost burning sensation grew like wild grass.
His breathing became difficult.
His body temperature rose.
Ah… Is this the feeling that 01 once experienced?
What about 03 and 04? Did they feel the same way?
Did they also experience this pure, sweet pleasure, the trembling heat rising from the depths of the soul?
02’s eyes sparkled in the darkness, and he raised his hands in surrender:
“You win, I surrender.”
“So, what do you want me to do next?”
“You’re smart,” Wen Jianyan finally smiled.
02 knew this guy had a good brain. He was very clear that if it weren’t for his ulterior motives, Wen Jianyan would have definitely killed him at the outset. The reason he had been in the ward with him for so long, threatening him, wasn’t because he was soft-hearted, but because he had more value to offer.
And Wen Jianyan also understood that he was now in 02’s room, the second underground floor. Although other high-risk patients could die as well, their abilities were not as harmless as 02’s. Wen Jianyan couldn’t guarantee that he would come out unscathed in a one-against-four situation.
To get out of here, he needed help.
Yes, cooperation.
However, unlike in the illusion, this time, the initiative for cooperation was firmly in his hands.
This was Wen Jianyan’s plan.
Using 02’s illusion to show his teammates the way out, while he himself, after destroying the illusion, would have the opportunity to confront the illusionist, control him, get his assistance, and leave the asylum.
“First, tell me your name.”
Wen Jianyan said.
“Uris.”
【Ding! Congratulations to the anchor for completing the task: Learning the true name of ???】
【Reward points: 500】
As soon as the other person’s voice fell, a familiar system sound floated into Wen Jianyan’s ears.
The brown-skinned, brown-eyed man smiled, seemingly unconcerned whether Wen Jianyan would shoot. He calmly took another step forward, bent down, and delicately kissed the barrel of the gun.
Throughout all of this, he kept his gaze firmly fixed on the young man in front of him.
“Command me, my master.”
In the “Integrity First” live broadcast room:
[…]
[…]
[…]
[I would like to call him the Master of Dog Training.]
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