Chapter 31

Chapter 31

And so, Bai Fuling transformed into an unstoppable giant white rat, wrapped in a bedsheet all the way down to the fourth floor.

Originally, he had planned to start exploring from the eighth floor, but there were too many NPCs there at the moment, making it inconvenient. So, it was better to start from the lower floors first and wait for the NPCs on the eighth floor to return to their normal daily patterns.

The fourth floor was centrally located—doctors from the eighth floor wouldn't come down quickly, and security from the first floor wouldn't come up quickly. It was perfect for players to start exploring.

Bai Fuling had only managed to grab one key from an NPC, but he felt that the key in his hand should be able to open all the doors—if he had to collect them one by one, that would be too inhumane, belonging to the series of game designers out to get players. Collecting one was enough; that clue was enough.

But before he could take the key out of his backpack, he heard footsteps running down from above, and it seemed there were also security guards talking on their walkie-talkies while searching floor by floor from below.

...These NPCs are so hostile! Why aren't they welcoming the player's arrival? Ugh, could it be that he hasn't qualified to enter the mental hospital yet?

He sighed. It's all because the player is too normal. Bai Fuling reflected deeply on himself.

He stood at the corner of the fourth-floor staircase, trying to slip into a room before the two groups converged, blending in with the crowd of psychiatric patients.

Just as Bai Fuling took a step forward, he heard noises from the fourth floor—the sound of a door opening and the voices of people talking.

He listened more closely, carefully distinguishing the content of the background noise.

...It seemed like the doctors were organizing the patients for their daily outdoor break?

They actually have such activities! Bai Fuling was a bit surprised.

Probably influenced by previous horror games, he had always thought that mental hospitals in games would lock patients to their beds until they mutated or gathered as vengeful spirits for a breakout.

He never expected that here, they would actually take the patients out into the courtyard for activities—no wonder this mental hospital had such a large site and even a lake on the grounds.

However, taking psychiatric patients out in groups always felt a bit risky. Couldn't there be a risk of a collective *One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest* or a *Besieged City* scenario?

Bai Fuling's mind wandered for a few seconds before he quickly snapped back to attention.

Oh well! Maybe this was giving the player an opening. It could allow the player to continue infiltrating!

So, he quickly and smartly slipped into the fourth-floor corridor, dashing a few steps and running into the crowd of psychiatric patients gathered in the corridor.

He was now wearing the same patient gown as them, blending in seamlessly. Plus, his frame was relatively small, making it very stealthy when he slipped in.

The doctors nearby who were opening doors and organizing the patients didn't notice Bai Fuling quickly slipping in.

A few psychiatric patients seemed to notice, but they only had a small exclamation mark appear above their heads, and then nothing else. They each continued to immerse themselves in their own worlds, with mumbling thought bubbles scrolling above their heads.

"I'm a mushroom. Hehehe. Mushrooms have little caps. I won't be afraid of getting sunburnt when I go out."

"Why won't you pay me back!? Damn it, I'm asking you why you won't pay me back! Come on, come on, fortune, haha, hehehe, I'm rich again!"

"...Boo-hoo, don't come near me. So scary. Please don't eat me..."

"I'm not sick! I already said I'm not sick! Let me out! I want to leave here! How dare you lock up the future mayor here!"

The NPCs in patient gowns basically each had their own unique dialogue. They didn't care about Bai Fuling suddenly appearing beside them because they all had their own little fantasy worlds.

The friendliest ones are indeed the psychiatric patients. Standing among the patients without being driven away or questioned, Bai Fuling was touched. Look at them, not a hint of hostility, so gentle and kind.

It seems NPCs need to have a bit of mental illness to be friendly. Just like Liao Zhiqiu, who was originally very cold, but since treating the player as an animal, his attitude has gotten much better.

The doctor NPCs nearby brought the patients out of their rooms and then organized them to go downstairs together.

The patients living on the fourth floor seemed to be those who were less aggressive and relatively calm. They mumbled to themselves, falling into a long line as they followed the doctors downstairs.

Bai Fuling blended in among them. After taking two steps, he saw his character on the screen pause—someone had grabbed the hem of his gown.

Behind him was a youth in a patient gown who looked younger than Bai Fuling.

He had a very rare white-haired model. In this almost pure white background, it was easy to miss his hair if you weren't paying attention...

So, at first glance, Bai Fuling thought: Jeez, how can someone so young be bald, and with such uneven edges (?)

Upon closer inspection, he realized that the character actually had hair =o=.

"Brother, where did you come from?" The white-haired youth NPC had a dialogue box appear. His avatar was a sweet, innocent-looking kid. "I haven't seen you before."

An NPC actually noticed him? Would this NPC report him to the doctors later?

Bai Fuling glanced warily at the doctor NPCs not far away, then deflected: "I'm new here, kid. I'm the brother sleeping on the bunk above you."

White-haired Youth: "...We all have single rooms, brother."

"I mean, I'm the patient living on the floor above you," Bai Fuling replied naturally.

"The fifth floor and above are high-security wards. Patients there usually don't come out," White-haired Youth said.

Bai Fuling: "Asking too many questions will make you go bald, kid. Here, brother will treat you to some candy."

He took out the only food item in his backpack, a hamburger, and stuffed it into the kid's hands.

White-haired Youth looked down at it: "This isn't candy."

Bai Fuling was surprised for a second: "How did you recognize that?"

Logically, NPCs should just accept gifts without questioning why!

Pixel Youth: "...Brother, I'm mentally ill, not stupid."

Oh my, an NPC can actually say such a philosophical sentence! Bai Fuling couldn't help but feel a surge of respect.

It seemed this one in front of him wasn't an ordinary passerby. Could he be related to some plot clue?

Taking advantage of the patients following the doctors downstairs, with no one paying attention to their situation, Bai Fuling stuffed the hamburger into the NPC's hands to forcibly raise favorability, then asked: "Hello, I'm Fresh Cabbage, the Farmer Great Detective of the town. Is there anything I can help you with?"

When encountering a plot-related NPC, the first sentence must always be self-introduction + offer of help. This is the most common way to trigger plot interactions!

Upon hearing this, White-haired Youth blinked and smiled: "Oh, brother, I see. You're a new psychiatric patient."

Wow, what a rude NPC!! What does that mean? Why did he think Bai Fuling was a normal person infiltrating earlier, but as soon as he heard his self-introduction, he suddenly confirmed he was a psychiatric patient?!

Is he dissatisfied with the player's name or the player's title?

Is this system judgment polite? So impolite! Bai Fuling thought silently.

The white-haired kid let go of the hem of Bai Fuling's gown: "New brother, do you live on the fourth floor or below? The fourth floor and below are very safe."

What does that mean? Bai Fuling keenly picked up on the unusual implication in his words and pressed further: "What's wrong with the fifth floor and above?"

"Up there, you might get snatched away by monsters," the white-haired kid made a face. "Further up, you'll be eaten by monsters or turn into monsters yourself. Haha, crawling on the ground going 'awoo awoo' is so fun. Big brother, let's play hide-and-seek later when we go down~ I'll count to sixty, and I'll be the big cat chasing you. Don't let the big cat find you."

The child NPC's speech was a bit disjointed and sounded kind of weird.

But since he's mentally ill, it's normal for his way of talking to be a little off.

Bai Fuling didn't know what the "monster" in the white-haired child's words referred to, but since this was an NPC that allowed further interaction, these things probably weren't just figments of his episodes, right?

It couldn't be that the player puts in all this work exploring, only to find out it was all some mentally ill person's delusions—come on!

The classic plotline is usually that the mental hospital is some kind of testing ground—that's how horror and puzzle games are set up! After all, if everything were normal, there'd be nothing for the player to do.

Bai Fuling rubbed his hands together, eager to head upstairs and check it out. He was really into this kind of mildly creepy puzzle-solving.

Just then, a new dialogue box popped up on screen, from the doctor NPC up ahead: "You two at the back, keep up! It's yard time today."

But Bai Fuling wasn't about to go out. He'd only ducked in there earlier to avoid the search; in reality, he planned to continue exploring upstairs.

After finally getting inside the mental hospital, no way was he just leaving! So Bai Fuling decided to blow off the NPC, figuring it was just a basic interaction that'd fizzle if the player didn't respond.

But the doctor nearby promptly came over: "Hey, didn't you hear me? Follow along, we're going out—or do you wanna be thrown in solitary?"

He actually came over. Bai Fuling *tsked* inwardly. Seemed the patient gown had its downsides too—it made you a prime target to get roped into all sorts of mental patient activities.

He still had to figure out a way to change his identity.

What identity would keep him from getting kicked out or dragged into the patients' activities?

The answer was simple: a doctor, of course!

So now, the player needed to ditch the patient gown and swap it for a white coat.

So that was it—the approaching doctor NPC wasn't there to herd the player downstairs; he was the system delivering a new outfit!

Bai Fuling fixed his gaze on the approaching doctor NPC.

"Why are you standing here spacing out? ...Huh? Which room are you from? I haven't seen you on the fourth floor before." The doctor looked at Bai Fuling, a question mark appearing above his head.

"It's okay, I know you. I know your room number." Bai Fuling showed a smile. "You're the one with the mental illness, remember? Actually, *I'm* the doctor here, and *you're* the patient!"

Doctor: ?

Bai Fuling originally wanted to pull a wooden stick from his backpack, knock out the isolated doctor, and then change clothes.

But he suddenly remembered that he had discarded the wooden stick on the rooftop earlier to clear inventory space—at the time, he thought weapons like the sickle and axe were enough.

Knocking out enemies was indeed enough, but NPCs would bleed, and if they bled, their clothes would get dirty, making them unwearable!

So he had to knock out the NPC without drawing blood.

Without a wooden stick, what should he do?

Naturally, grab a weapon from nearby.

The narrow, empty hospital corridor had no other decorations. Bai Fuling pressed the pickup key and grabbed the only thing he could—

Bai Fuling decisively lifted the child NPC beside him with both hands and swung him as a weapon at the doctor!

Child: ??!

Doctor: ???

Author's note:

Bai Fuling: The kid's flying—!