Chapter 7: Blue Mountain Psychiatric Hospital (Part 7)

Chapter 7: Blue Mountain Psychiatric Hospital (Part Seven)

Upon entering, Xie Fangcheng surveyed the surroundings.

It was an operating room that seemed to have recently witnessed the end of a procedure. Fresh, splatter-patterned blood stains were dispersed near the operation bed, and suspicious chunks of blood lay on the floor.

"Huh?"

Xie Fangcheng approached, bending down to examine the blood on the floor.

The color hadn't changed much, indicating that a surgery had taken place here just minutes before he broke in.

Xie Fangcheng let out a sigh.

If only he had come up to the third floor earlier, he might have caught someone in the act.

— Drip, drop.

A chill swept across Xie Fangcheng's back of the hand.

He looked down to find a drop of red liquid staining the back of his hand.

Xie Fangcheng looked up, finding himself directly in the gaze of five or six pairs of eyes on the ceiling.

An "octopus" that nearly covered the entire ceiling was watching him.

Calling it an octopus wasn't entirely accurate; it had the tentacles of an octopus, but those tentacles bore the eyes, teeth, and mouths of an unknown species. The octopus head was flattened, as though halved and sewn onto a bizarre fish head.

At this moment, fresh chunks of flesh hung near its fish mouth, a pair of fish eyes fixated on Xie Fangcheng below. Suspicious liquid mingled with blood dripped again, landing on the floor before Xie Fangcheng.

"An octopus, huh..." Xie Fangcheng scratched his head.

He had no idea how to communicate with such a creature, unable to even inquire where Doctor Han might be.

Xie Fangcheng magnanimously said, "Well, I'm bound to encounter a humanoid sooner or later, right?"

He closed the door.

A minute or two later, the door reopened.

In Xie Fangcheng's right hand was a deformed steel pipe — a piece he had dismantled from a prep table in the cafeteria kitchen when passing by the first floor.

There were only four originally, and not sparing them earlier means this was the last one that still resembled a rod.

He needed to find a place to dismantle another one.

In his left hand, he held the only clean piece of cloth found in the room — a white lab coat that was stored in a cabinet. The clever Manager Xie deliberately avoided aiming towards the cabinet earlier, leaving it the only intact piece of furniture in the room, housing numerous documents.

Xie Fangcheng browsed through a few, unable to understand the various experiments documented. He promptly folded them and stuffed them into his pocket to bring to Qi Chanyang.

Clearly, this intellectual labor was not his strong suit!

Xie Fangcheng carefully wiped the steel pipe with the lab coat, soon restoring it to a gleaming state.

Being conscientious, he didn't forget to close the door when leaving, although the lock was utterly broken, making a "squeak squeak" sound in the desolate third floor.

The red lights in the corridor flickered faintly.

Xie Fangcheng stepped out of the room, the civic-minded manager did not litter indiscriminately. He located a trash bin on the third floor, ignoring the strange wriggling contents within, and stuffed the lab coat inside.

Completely deserted, not even someone to chat with.

If only there was an NPC to interact with.

Xie Fangcheng hoisted the steel pipe back onto his shoulder, humming a song in boredom.

Footsteps and the humming of a tune eerily resonated throughout the third floor.

"I am a painter, an adept one at that, I aim to paint with vigor and might, transforming bland surfaces into vibrant sights... Thud, thud, thud, hello, is anyone home?"

.

The second floor.

Qi Chanyang escorted Gu Shanshan to room number one.

The NPC in room one lay on the ground, its hair and arms had already reverted to the length observed during mealtime, and its wounds were gradually healing. It seemed it would fully recover before dawn.

They had no choice; the door to room number nine was broken, and the entire space was littered with debris, resembling a renovation site. They didn't know when Ge Juan, carrying that plastic bucket, might come knocking again.

Both NPCs in room number four lay sprawled on the floor, whether they had annihilated each other or something else had occurred was unclear; the room was a mess.

Room number one was the only exception. Qi Chanyang had been careful during his fight with the NPC, and evidently, the NPC had reciprocated, both parties trying their best to avoid damaging the room's amenities; the floor remained relatively clean.

Once they arrived in the room, Qi Chanyang moved the patient onto the bed and cleaned the space slightly.

Afterwards, he looked at Gu Shanshan apologetically.

"I need to find Xie Fangcheng, and then look for some clues."

He had promised that young man that he would find him as soon as possible. Though Qi Chanyang was unaware of his current situation, if there was a chance that he was still alive and waiting for him, Qi Chanyang didn't want him to perish in despair.

There was also that room adjacent to the cafeteria on the first floor, it was unmarked but undoubtedly hid something within.

According to the current information, every day the doctor NPCs insist the players take medicine, which neither the players nor the NPCs in the same room would consume.

Consuming the pills for three days almost certainly guarantees death.

Veteran players like Qi Chanyang naturally could survive three days in the instance without taking the medication.

But for new players, even a calm and exceptional one like Gu Shanshan, death in the room was narrowly avoided.

They absolutely needed to devise another strategy.

Today, their exploration of the first floor didn't reveal many clues, and the doctors were constantly observing them.

Only during the night, when the doctors and patients were absent, was the opportune time to search for clues.

Although they would encounter unknown NPCs, at least their number shouldn't be greater than during the day.

They couldn't delay any longer; the NPCs in this instance were even more formidable than Qi Chanyang had anticipated.

Today was only the first day, the safest day in the instance. As the number of players diminishes, the NPCs will have a wider range of activity, and the rules of killing would become even more brutal.

Gu Shanshan felt fearful deep inside, but realizing that she was currently a burden, she nodded, "Take care, Qi Ge."

Qi Chanyang rummaged through his system backpack, selecting and handing over several items to Gu Shanshan.

"If not hindered by other matters, I would come down every fifteen minutes. If danger arises, these items should suffice for a while."

Gu Shanshan did not decline.

"Rest assured, Brother Qi, if I do use up these items, I will replace them in the future."

Qi Chanyang did not mention the ninety percent mortality rate for newcomers. Instead, he smiled and said, "Alright."

With that said, Qi Chanyang once again gripped the "Gift of the Whale's Descent" tightly, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

The pitch-black corridor resembled a predatory beast, lying in wait for its prey to fall into its trap once again.

Something unknown was roaring upstairs, seemingly battering against the walls, creating loud "thud, thud" noises.

Qi Chanyang decided to investigate the third floor once it quieted down. First, he needed to check the first floor.

In times of fear, people tend to take refuge in familiar surroundings. Clearly, if Xie Fangcheng was still alive, there was a high probability that he would be hiding in the reading room or the badminton court on the first floor.

Upon reaching the stairs leading to the first floor, Qi Chanyang pulled out the master key, and looked down.

The lock on the iron gate... was gone?

He hurriedly searched and quickly spotted the discarded lock on the stairs, seemingly torn apart by some force.

A twitch tugged at Qi Chanyang's eyelid.

His body had already undergone six system enhancements, yet these locks, evidently system-produced, were sturdy and reliable, difficult to break with brute force.

What kind of terrifying entity could possess the power to rip apart such locks?

Facing such an NPC, Qi Chanyang wondered if he would even have the chance to flee?

Could it be the dean?

Qi Chanyang cast his gaze towards the first floor.

Gritting his teeth, he eventually pushed open the door and proceeded towards the first floor.