Chapter 3: Blue Mountain Psychiatric Hospital (Part 3)

Chapter 3: Blue Mountain Psychiatric Hospital (Part Three)

The group rushed to the restroom Gu Shanshan had mentioned.

The restroom was unisex, equipped with two stalls. A slogan was posted above the washbasin near the entrance: "Wash your hands after using the restroom, carry cleanliness with you wherever you go."

Whether it was clean was up for debate, as the sink currently resembled a crime scene.

The white basin was stained with traces of blood-red fluid. The fingernails were nowhere to be seen, probably washed away down the drain, and several clumps of something that looked like coagulated blood adhered to the basin's sides.

Qi Chanyang approached the washbasin, dipped his finger into the residual red fluid, brought it to his nose to smell, and then turned around with a grave expression.

"It's blood."

"Holy crap!" Xue Kai couldn't help but step back.

The newcomers clustered together, resembling a group of chicks huddling together for warmth.

Qi Chanyang stared at the sink, suddenly extending his hand to turn on the faucet.

Clean water flowed out from the faucet, swiftly washing away the remaining dark red blood stains in the basin.

Qi Chanyang turned off the faucet and asked, "Who turned on the faucet when you were washing your hands just now?"

Gu Shanshan's complexion shifted as she looked towards Lu Xiaoqin.

Lu Xiaoqin seemed to be on the verge of collapse, raising her trembling hand and confessing, "It was me."

"Try turning it on again."

Saying this, Qi Chanyang stepped aside to make room.

Lu Xiaoqin approached the faucet, inhaled deeply, then reached out to gently turn the knob.

Contrary to when Qi Chanyang turned the faucet earlier and clean water flowed out immediately, this time it seemed as if something was blocking the pipe, emitting a cringe-inducing "grating" noise.

Subsequently, a clump of hair was expelled from the faucet with a "splurt" sound,

After the obstruction was expelled, small streams of dark red blood began to flow from the faucet.

A chilling silence enveloped the restroom. Lu Xiaoqin covered her mouth, tears and cold sweat falling simultaneously in fright.

Qi Chanyang quickly turned off the faucet, then turned it on again.

The water that flowed out had once again regained its transparency.

"What is going on here?" Gu Shanshan, embracing the crying Lu Xiaoqin, asked.

Qi Chanyang fixed his gaze on Gu Shanshan.

"You try turning it on as well."

Gu Shanshan paused momentarily, as if understanding something.

She stepped forward to the sink and turned the knob.

Like Lu Xiaoqin, chunks of flesh the size of a thumb were expelled along with the blood.

Gu Shanshan shut the valve, suddenly realizing, "Is this happening because both Xiaoqin and I mentioned seeing eyeballs in the cafeteria earlier?"

Qi Chanyang gravely nodded, his eyes darting around before suddenly pausing.

"Where is Jie Fangcheng?"

All eight individuals exchanged puzzled looks.

The moment Gu Shanshan and the others mentioned blood flowing from this restroom's faucet, everyone hurried over immediately, all their attention focused on the faucet, failing to notice that someone was missing.

Xue Kai hesitantly raised his hand: "I think he was chatting with the number nine NPC a while ago, could he still be on the field...?"

Qi Chanyang: "..."

"There's no need to discuss this here," Qi Chanyang remarked, walking to the bathroom door to peek outside.

On the court, the oddly dressed newcomer in a T-shirt and jeans was playing a game with the number six NPC.

Standing almost two meters tall and appearing skeletal in his thinness, the sixth NPC stood isolated in the southern half of the court, racket in hand, ready to receive the shuttlecock.

Jie Fangcheng was also holding a racket, getting ready to serve.

With a resonant "thud", the shuttlecock was served from the northern half of the court. Just as the sixth NPC slowly raised his racket to respond, the shuttlecock already touched the ground.

Number nine was acting as a referee at the side, waving a flag in an official manner.

"Jie Fangcheng wins."

Qi Chanyang: "..."

He couldn't help himself: "Hey!"

Jie Fangcheng turned his head.

Qi Chanyang noted his relaxed demeanor — the man even stretched his waist leisurely, appearing as if he was just winding down from a workout. Was he even aware that they were currently trapped in an infinite game?

Just look at the state of their team now.

Lu Xiaoqin was barely able to stand, seeking refuge in Gu Shanshan's embrace, her shoulders trembling; although Gu Shanshan maintained her composure, her face was noticeably pale; even the onlooking spectators remained silent, their eyes betraying feelings of fear and trepidation.

Qi Chanyang wasn't all that afraid; the difficulty and the terrifying degree of the initial level were limited. Being the kind-hearted person he was, he was striving hard to ensure the survival of these newcomers.

But this Jie Fangcheng! How come he seemed friendlier with the NPCs than with the actual players?? What kind of person was he??

Qi Chanyang gritted his teeth: "Come here!"

Jie Fangcheng handed the racket to number nine, even giving him an encouraging pat on the shoulder. From the movement of his lips, it seemed he might be saying, "See, badminton isn't hard. You can surely beat number six. Keep it up!"

Everyone: "..."

Arriving at the bathroom entrance, Jie Fangcheng asked with surprise, "Why is everyone here? Are you all queuing up for the restroom?"

"..." Qi Chanyang ignored him, turning instead to walk towards the sinks.

It was Gu Shanshan who quickly filled him in on the events that had just transpired.

After listening, Jie Fangcheng merely nodded, following to the sink area and nonchalantly turning on the faucet.

As expected, what flowed out when he opened it was blood.

The bathroom fell into silence once more.

Qi Chanyang harbored a bit of resentment in his heart, and without looking at him, began to analyze the situation facing the group.

"It seems that because you mentioned seeing eyeballs in the cafeteria, now when you turn the faucets, what comes out are things like blood and chunks of flesh."

The sound of rushing water filled the space...

"But since you haven't triggered any homicide rules, the NPCs won't attack you. So, if you encounter similar situations, the way to handle them is to pretend you haven't seen anything, and avoid letting the NPCs notice any anomalies."

The ambient noise persisted, a quiet mechanical humming...

"From what I've observed, there doesn't seem to be any other clues around the court area. Later, we should check the reading room next door."

The ominous gurgling continued... gurgling...

Qi Chanyang couldn't resist turning back: "…Why aren't you turning off the faucet??"

The sink resembled a gruesome dismemberment scene at present, with fingernails, hair, suspicious organ fragments, and chunks of flesh... all piled together, emitting a nauseating stench of blood.

The pipe seemed to be blocked by something large. After “gurgling” for quite a while without anything emerging, Jie Fangcheng kindly patted the pipe, dislodging half an eyeball entangled with hair. Everyone felt a chill running down their spines, as though something was crawling across their backs.

Despite bringing out this object, Jie Fangcheng's expression remained calm: "I'm a bit curious to see just how much will eventually come out."

"..."

"What's the matter?"

Lu Xiaoqin's voice trembled: "Aren't you scared?"

"Hmm?"

"Aren't you afraid... that at the end, a, a female ghost... or something will crawl out of the pipe?"

With her words, everyone looked at the faucet with horrified expressions, feeling as if a long-haired female ghost might actually crawl out at any moment.

Jie Fangcheng chuckled: "What's there to be scared of? You've already died once, haven't you, turning into a female ghost yourself? If anyone should be scared, it would be her scared of you. This pipe is so narrow. If she crawls out a bit, you chop a bit, she crawls out a bit, you chop a bit, you can certainly overcome her, can't you?"

"…?"

Jie Fangcheng noticed Lu Xiaoqin's fainting-like expression and after a thought, comforted her: "If you really can't beat her, since you've already died once, dying another time shouldn't be too hard to get used to, right?"

The crowd: "..."

Everyone looked at him, lost for words. Meanwhile, the pipe tried hard to expel the last bits of flesh with "gurgling" sounds. The forceful "rumbling" noises indicated an effort to pump out the water, and soon only a few drops of blood trickled out.

Following this, with a reluctant "hiss," normal, clear water hesitantly spurted out, washing over the basin of the sink.

Jie Fangcheng tapped the faucet again, "That's it? Barely even three minutes, right?"

Initially, the sink was laden with a layer of human tissues, fragments of flesh, and hair, along with half an eyeball conglomerating together - a truly horrifying sight to behold.

As he said this, even Lu Xiaoqin felt as though a voice inside her was echoing the sentiment: That's all?

This was the first time Qi Chanyang had encountered a newcomer with such a unique disposition, leaving him momentarily at a loss for words.

However, turning his head, he noticed that the newcomers, who had previously appeared as frightened as quails, now wore expressions of subtle disbelief.

Regardless, at the very least, everyone wasn't as scared as before.

Seizing the moment while the morale wasn't too low, Qi Chanyang clapped his hands.

"Let's head to the reading room now and see if we can find more clues."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a sinister voice emanated from the doorway of the bathroom, "What are you all doing gathered here?"

The doctor stood at the entrance, his eyeballs roving, scrutinizing each individual as if inspecting the integrity of food.

A silence fell upon the bathroom, and the slightly uplifted morale plummeted once again. Xue Kai, who was nearest to the door, mentally exclaimed, "Damn it," incessantly, just as the doctor's gaze settled on him.

"Mr. Xue, why aren't you playing ball? What are you doing here?"

Perhaps it was an illusion, but Xue Kai couldn't shake the feeling that the doctor's already enlarged eyes seemed to have grown even larger, as if on the verge of bursting from their sockets.

Xue Kai took a step back, his voice quivering with fear.

"I..."

"Using the restroom, obviously," Jie Fangcheng's voice echoed from the furthest part of the bathroom, bearing a hint of confusion, as if the doctor had posed a ridiculously foolish question, "People come to the restroom to use the facilities, not to have a communal meal, right?"

"All of you using the restroom together?" The doctor asked, his tone laden with menace.

"Oh, everyone's done using it, we're just waiting to wash our hands. But the sink is clogged. Perfect timing, maybe you can check how to clear it," Jie Fangcheng responded with a commanding tone, as if instructing a subordinate.

A savior!!

Tears welled up in Xue Kai's eyes.

The doctor fell silent, his voice grinding with gritted teeth, "Don't just stand there! Get back to what you were supposed to be doing!"

The players promptly filed out in a single line.

Jie Fangcheng trailed at the end, following the majority as they left, but at a slower pace, gradually distancing himself from the group.

At this moment, the doctor standing at the doorway directed his gaze towards the sink, his brow furrowing in disgust.

It had been mentioned many times, Doctor Han shouldn't discard the failed experiments directly into the drainage system, but he never listens.

Should he report this to the head of the institution next time? When angered, the head might just decide to devour Doctor Han.

If that were the case, all the patients from this batch would be his.

At this time, the players walked past the doctor one by one, leaving only the one named Jie Fangcheng remaining.

Just as he seemed about to pass by as well, suddenly, the doctor felt a weight upon his shoulder.

A slender, pale hand rested on his shoulder, the doctor's eyes shifted, slowly moving from the hand to the face it belonged to.

It had to be said, even as an NPC, the doctor could recognize that the player before him was exceedingly attractive.

A pair of beautiful almond eyes, a tall and slender figure, fair and delicate skin, a lean waist – resembling a fragile porcelain figurine that seemed like it could shatter at the slightest touch.

The doctor had consumed countless such porcelain figurines before; their flavor tender and fragrant, a truly delectable food.

Just as the corner of his mouth began to uncontrollably secrete some viscous fluid, he heard the voice of the porcelain figurine near his ear.

"Don't you like the things in the sink? Being so picky?"

The doctor's eyes met with those of the player called Jie Fangcheng.

The doctor widened his eyes, somewhat perplexed.

In the past, no patient had dared to make eye contact with him, but the person before him simply turned their face towards him, their dark eyes scrutinizing the “human” in front of them; those eyes resembling inorganic obsidian, seemed to look down from a superior position, as if inspecting some sort of filth.

Following that, crimson lips curved upward, revealing a chilling smile.

"Or perhaps—"

"You prefer them alive?"

Having said this, Jie Fangcheng straightened up, patting the doctor on the shoulder.

"Being picky isn't good."

The doctor's eyes swiveled.

Jie Fangcheng smiled, "I'm right, aren't I, Doctor He?"