Chapter 15: Blue Mountain Psychiatric Hospital (Part 15)

Chapter 15: Blue Mountain Psychiatric Hospital (Part Fifteen)

Xie Fangcheng muttered, "Why is he cursing all of a sudden?"

It sounded somewhat aggrieved.

Completely unprovoked!!!

Qi Chanyang closed his eyes, taking several deep breaths.

He had a complex expression, "Who are you, really?"

"Hmm? Haven't I told you?"

"A retired manager from the Underworld's Finance Department??"

"Exactly!"

Qi Chanyang: "…"

He scrutinized the person before him once more.

Feigning ignorance, pretending to be dumb.

Unfathomably deep.

This person's capabilities were clearly superior to his own... No.

The infinite game has been activated for so many years, and players have evolved from being scattered at the beginning to forming a new ecosystem now.

Due to the special nature of the horror game, many people couldn't adapt to the instances, but to survive at the base, they had to exchange points for food.

However, the food from the mall had a monotonous taste, so many players simply specialized in being chefs, bartering their culinary skills for food.

Similarly, at the base, there were those selling flowers, selling artworks... These types of players were collectively referred to as life players. They adorned the infinite game like the flowers and ceramics in their hands, lending a touch of everyday warmth to the terrifying endless life.

As long as they could survive the "All-Member Instance" enforced by the system once a year, these life players could enjoy a year of peace at the base.

But these individuals harbored no aspirations of amassing enough points to return to the real world, they were merely getting by. With this mindset, even if they luckily survived the first instance, most life players would meet their end during the "All-Member Instance".

In contrast were players like Qi Chanyang, who actively entered the instances to earn points. Such players were the mainstream in the infinite game.

Although everyone had different motives for entering the instances - some wanted to accumulate enough points to return to the real world, some wanted to dominate and make a name for themselves in the game, and some were simply incapable of cooking, gardening, or any other skills... but everyone was struggling to survive in the game, creating intersections easily and naturally forming various guilds.

The guild where Qi Chanyang belonged,

Warmth

The "Cat Climbing Frame" guild, despite its humorous name, held some renown among players due to the guild leader ranking seventeenth on the points leaderboard.

Among the people Qi Chanyang knew, the guild leader was the most formidable. At this moment, he couldn't quite determine who was more powerful when comparing the individual before him with the guild leader.

Could this person possibly be a top-tier player ranking higher on the leaderboard?

With this thought, Qi Chanyang felt somewhat relieved.

Regardless, this person had saved him, and likely wasn't the kind to take pleasure in killing other players.

Even though he's a bit chuunibyou...

Having such a powerful ally by his side, Qi Chanyang decided to consult the expert's opinion first, "Should we continue to search for clues, or should we go find Gu Shanshan first?"

"Either works."

"Then let's first find Gu Shanshan and sort through the clues we currently have!"

"Alright."

Qi Chanyang couldn't help but glance at him again.

Due to the peculiar nature of the infinite game, many people tended to have bad tempers.

Despite being yelled at several times, this person had yet to lose his temper.

With a good temperament and impressive strength, it was hard not to perceive him as a towering figure, easily overlooking his minor chuunibyou flaws.

As these thoughts crossed his mind, Qi Chanyang adeptly moved closer to the wall, peeking out to inspect the situation in the corridor.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a figure flicker by his side. Turning to look, he saw Xie Fangcheng already striding boldly into the corridor, weapon in tow, casting a puzzled glance at him, "What are you doing, sneaking around so creepily?"

Damn it!!!

Was what he doing really considered sneaking around creepily??

Wasn't this just the prudence of a veteran player???

Qi Chanyang felt indignant inside but found himself at a loss for words.

After all, the person before him was someone who had managed to scare off NPCs with a mere swing of his weapon.

To avoid being labeled "creepy and sneaky", Qi Chanyang had no choice but to boldly step into the corridor alongside him.

Being meticulous, he couldn't help but caution, "The game's ultimate boss hasn't appeared yet. That director should be stronger than any NPC you've encountered."

Xie Fangcheng responded with a vague hum of agreement.

The silence in the corridor was only punctuated by their footsteps, Qi Chanyang had never been so audacious before.

On his first day in the game, he hadn't even found a way to clear the level, yet here he was, brazenly strolling down the corridor in the dead of night, as leisurely as if he were window shopping. Who among those who knew him would believe this if they heard?

This somewhat unsettled Qi Chanyang.

He coughed slightly, initiating a conversation out of nothing, "If you encounter the director, do you think you could beat him?"

This really was striking up a conversation for the sake of it.

Up until now, the presumably strongest NPC in this instance hasn't appeared yet. Nobody knows what this NPC is like. How could even a big shot like Xie Fangcheng be certain of their odds of victory?

The next second, Xie Fangcheng answered him, "Eighty percent, perhaps."

Damn!! That's way too cocky!!

Qi Chanyang cursed silently but couldn't help continuing to probe, "Eighty percent? Where does the remaining twenty percent uncertainty lie?"

Xie Fangcheng glanced at him, "In being modest…"

Qi Chanyang: "…"

In the midst of their conversation, they arrived at room number one.

After Qi Chanyang opened the door, Gu Shanshan was still seen huddled in a corner, holding a prop in her hand.

Seeing them, Gu Shanshan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Inside, Qi Chanyang was shouting: Look! This is a normal player!!!

Xie Fangcheng seemed utterly oblivious to Qi Chanyang's internal cries, casually walking into the room and settling down on the bed near the door, propping his stick up beside him before stretching his arms lazily.

The old man continued to doze off.

Qi Chanyang had to restrain himself repeatedly, continually reminding himself: This isn't a vagabond, this is a big shot. This isn't a vagabond, this is a big shot.

After repeating this mantra numerous times, he finally calmed down and began sharing the clues he had found with Gu Shanshan.

—Not that he really found them himself.

Inside Liu Hanyue's room on the first floor, while Qi Chanyang attempted to answer her questions, Liu Hanyue would correct him if he was wrong. Qi Chanyang tried his utmost to answer as many questions as he could, gradually piecing together some strategy for clearing the instance.

"Initially, this hospital only had three doctors: Director Chen Xiangyuan, chief physician Han Qi, and intern He Xin. They united for the sole purpose of researching head-transplant surgeries. From what is known, Han Qi required the surgery due to a family history of cancer, which he was also likely to contract. He Xin sought it due to congenital limb discrepancies and being short-statured. The reasons behind the director's involvement are unclear."

"Ge Juan lost her sanity due to

a divorce,

attributing the failure of her marriage to her daughter's perceived inadequacies, which led her to replace every part of Liu Hanyue, including limbs and internal organs. This drove Liu Hanyue to madness, with the sulfuric acid burn on half of Ge Juan's face being her doing."

"Furthermore," Qi Chanyang paused for a moment, "today isn't August 11th…"

Before he could finish, the midnight chimes echoed through the building.

After the twelfth chime rang out, Qi Chanyang finally spoke, "Now, it is the eleventh of August."

Gu Shanshan was stunned for a moment before reacting, "So, the newspaper you guys found, is it from today? Today's evening paper?"

"It seems so."

Gu Shanshan furrowed her brows, "How is that possible..."

If the newspaper they found was dated the eleventh of August, and today was also the eleventh of August, doesn't that mean they hold a golden ticket that can predict the events of the coming day?

"I'm not entirely certain either, but a formidable player once analyzed this with me. He said that even if some clues in the instance seem extraordinarily bizarre, even absurd, we must believe in them. Because this clue might indicate that without it, players cannot complete the instance."

In simple terms, the NPCs in the instance have a too high winning rate, and the player mortality rate is too high, forcing the system to provide the players with a slight advantage.

This also confirmed Qi Chanyang's hypothesis —

"Although 'Blue Mountain Psychiatric Hospital' is a level one instance, it could very possibly be a 'checkpoint instance', a level one instance that is on the verge of being a level two. It remains at level one because the historical highest clearance rate is relatively high, possibly because some elite players managed to clear it, bringing that instance's player survival rate up to over twenty percent, so the system classified it as a level one. However, for the average player, the mortality rate in this instance should be extremely high; otherwise, the system wouldn't readily provide an advantage to players."

What Qi Chanyang didn't mention was that for the average player, the mortality rate in this instance could very well approach one hundred percent.

Players have forums, and many who have cleared instances often share walkthroughs. Large guilds attract members partly because they offer exclusive instance guides.

Some instances with high death rates and no successful clears to date are hot topics in the forums.

With a level one instance like "Blue Mountain Psychiatric Hospital," where the system has already granted players an advantage, the death rate cannot be low.

But Qi Chanyang, who frequented forums for walkthroughs, had never seen any information about this instance.

The only explanation for this phenomenon could be: apart from the team that managed to elevate the clearance rate above twenty percent, almost all other players who entered the instance died, unable to pass on any information about it.

The danger level of this instance was incomparable to the average level one instance.

"Also, among the patient NPCs, there is one who is sane," Qi Chanyang recalled the expression Liu Hanyue had while speaking, "'Only he is special. Although sane, he will eventually be driven to insanity'. I believe this is a very crucial clue."

Gu Shanshan asked, "How should we go about finding this sole sane individual then?"

Just as Qi Chanyang was about to say something, he paused and turned around.

Xie Fangcheng was still casually leaning on his staff, and upon seeing him turn, he lifted his eyelids... but only halfway!

So careless!

Qi Chanyang closed his eyes momentarily before asking, "Do you have any thoughts?"

"No," Xie Fangcheng replied decisively without a moment's hesitation.

"..." Qi Chanyang's face was lined with vexation, "Do you even know what I'm asking?!"

"Of course, how to find the only sane individual, right!"

"Then do you have..."

"No." Xie Fangcheng looked at him, finding him really strange, "If you ask me, my idea is to just tie them all up and interrogate them one by one."

Having said that, Xie Fangcheng actually straightened up, his eyes lighting up, "Right! Why don't we tie them all up?"