Discharge Certificate

When Fat Auntie yelled at him, Xu Kai came to his senses a little.

He quickly scrambled to his feet, returned to his place, and pressed the button first.

Only after pressing the button did Xu Kai check the time. Fifteen minutes had passed since meal service began.

Although Xu Kai had plenty of time, it would not last long.

The Instance was about to reset. He had to escape before it did, or he did not know whether he would have to start over.

The Game had already given him a hint about leaving the Instance: he could leave through the first-floor lobby with a Discharge Certificate.

Speaking of which, Xu Kai took the Discharge Certificate in hand. After holding it for ten seconds, he sensed a surge of active energy and heard the Game's voice.

[Judging... judgment successful. Only one participant remains. Participant number 95201 has obtained the Weird Advancement reward. Warning: the fluctuations from this reward are too great. Please leave the Instance's range before advancing.]

[Note: the advancement location has been marked for the participant.]

Xu Kai checked the advancement location. There was only one, on the First Floor.

Xu Kai had a rough idea where it was: just outside the hospital gates. Only there would count as leaving the Instance's range.

After listening to the Game's voice, Xu Kai examined the Discharge Certificate again.

The description on the Discharge Certificate was very detailed. As long as the name field was blank, filling in a name would grant that person the right to leave the hospital.

Xu Kai carefully sensed it and discovered that there were three blank boxes in the name field.

The outlines of the boxes were exceptionally fine. Without sensing them with Weird Energy, he could not make them out at all.

The blank boxes had enough room for three people's names.

This arrangement was extremely malicious.

Getting the Discharge Certificate required going through three matches and obtaining the Chief's Gift three times.

So by the end of the Game, at most three people would still be alive.

And the three blank fields meant that even with the Discharge Certificate in your hands, it was not yet yours. At least two other people could seize it and fill in their names.

So even if you obtained the Discharge Certificate by some means, you still had to kill everyone to clear the Game. Otherwise, you could expect to be stabbed in the back.

Fortunately, Xu Kai was already the only participant, so he did not have to worry about any of that. The Game had already judged him eligible to advance.

But Xu Kai could not leave yet. He had to follow the cafeteria rules; if he broke this one, he would be forced to kneel until he died.

Dragging his injured body back to his original seat, he waited for three minutes before finally hearing Fat Auntie's voice.

"Patient Number Nine? Patient Number Nine? Hurry up! Why are you dawdling? You think being injured makes you special? It's like you're pretending the people around you aren't patients..."

It was his turn. Gritting his teeth, Xu Kai struggled forward and finally made it in front of Fat Auntie.

This time, Fat Auntie did not hurry Xu Kai along, as if her earlier impatience had been an illusion. She swiftly served his food and called out:

"Next!"

Xu Kai had no strength to argue with Fat Auntie. He dragged himself back to his place and began to eat.

He had only chewed his first mouthful when he noticed something was off about the taste.

It was not that it tasted bad. It tasted too good, just like the food he used to eat on Blue Star.

Had my sense of taste returned?

After swallowing that mouthful, Xu Kai looked up and clearly saw Fat Auntie give a slight nod in his direction.

Was that kindness from Fat Auntie? Why? Xu Kai could not understand.

"That makes no sense."

That was all Xu Kai said. He had encountered so many evil people along the way that he had almost forgotten kindness still existed in the world.

Only when the Crematorium closed the Instance had he met those old men, who were somewhat interesting.

So Xu Kai felt nothing but wariness toward Fat Auntie. He had died at her hands quite a few times in previous Save-Loads.

With those thoughts in mind, he ate according to the rules. There was nothing wrong with the food, and Xu Kai finally finished it.

By the time the meal was over, only ten minutes remained before the Instance reset.

Xu Kai took the Discharge Certificate and hurried toward the Elevator.

The Discharge Certificate gave off a faint power. Xu Kai recognized it as an old acquaintance; he had died at its hands quite a few times. It was the Game's power.

This power had no other use. Xu Kai only needed a thought to write a name on the Discharge Certificate.

Xu Kai took the Elevator to the First Floor and wrote his name on the Discharge Certificate with his mind. Then he saw Kana waiting at the Elevator entrance, covered in blood.

She held a scalpel in her left hand, her fangs clenched tight, and cut her right arm again and again. Each time she cut it, the wound healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Xu Kai, you... you finally came. I almost ate your thing. What is this thing of yours? Why does it smell so good to me?"

Kana was cradling a Weird Energy ball in her right arm. When she saw Xu Kai coming, she turned her head away, forcing down her desire, and held it out to him.

This was the Weird Energy ball Xu Kai had given her in the Patient Room earlier.

"It's nothing important. Just my heart."

"Your heart? How is your heart not important?!"

Kana nearly jumped. Clearly, she had been startled; all this time, she had been holding a heart.

"Wait, no. How can your heart be outside your body and still be alive? Is that also a mutation?"

Xu Kai did not answer Kana's question. He took the Weird Energy ball, turned his back to her, and put his heart back in place.

Only then did the pain, as though his soul were being pulled apart, completely disappear. Now, all Xu Kai could feel was the pain of his shattered body.

"..."

Kana did not say much. She simply reached out and felt Xu Kai's forehead, then continued,

"Is the mutation that severe? You even had to take your heart out. Then should I cut you a few times now... Look, I discovered this recently. After you cut yourself, the mutation slows down a lot.

With that, she slashed her own arm hard again to demonstrate for Xu Kai.

Xu Kai did not take her up on it. Instead, he pointed at the wall and said to Kana,

"Can you see it? The hospital gate is over there."

"I can't see it. Xu Kai, stop messing with me. That's just a wall."

With a thought, Xu Kai wrote Kana's name on the Discharge Certificate and asked again:

"What about now?"

"Is this fun for you? Even if it is a door, that just means my mutation is so severe that my perception is wro... holy shit!"

Kana stood up. Not only could she see the gate, but she also saw Xu Kai walk over and push it open.

"What on earth happened? You... you... how did you push the gate open? I... I... I..."

Clearly, the surprise was too much for Kana. She was completely dazed, her ears standing up and her cheeks flushed red.

"What are you standing there for? Come on, you can leave now."

Dazed, Kana listened to Xu Kai and tried to move forward. But after hesitating for a moment, she stopped again.

"Xu Kai, what's outside this gate?"

"Outside the Instance, it could be anything, right? For you, it's most likely the real world."

"What do you mean, 'for me'? Aren't you also... wait, do you mean you're not coming out with me?"

Kana seemed to have just realized something. She continued speaking to Xu Kai in disbelief,

"Y-you... you're not human!"

Hearing this, Xu Kai was at a loss for words. He looked at Kana.

His eyes had completely mutated; his pupils were entirely red.

"No, no, no, what I meant was..."

"Forget it. If you can't find the right words, don't say anything. If you're leaving, hurry up."

"I haven't even thanked you yet! Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing?"

Xu Kai walked over, picked Kana up, and tossed her outside. The world instantly felt peaceful.

If he listened to Kana any longer, he felt he would regret saving her.

Kana had saved Xu Kai before, in her own way, sparing him from mutation. One good turn deserved another, so Xu Kai had decisively written her name on the Discharge Certificate.

Xu Kai was willing to spare a little effort for such a small favor.

After Kana left, time passed quickly. Xu Kai looked at the clock upstairs. Only five minutes remained before the Instance reset.

He went straight to the designated spot, and the Game's voice rang out.

[Participant number 95201 detected at the designated location. Advancement commencing.]