Qingshan Mental Hospital.
The sky was pitch-dark.
The hospital's perimeter wall had long been enclosed by a tall wire fence. The main gate was wrapped in several coils of chain and secured with four or five locks.
This place had long been cut off from the outside world. Outsiders couldn't get in, and the people inside couldn't get out.
Five men and women stood in the courtyard, their faces tense.
It was their first time taking part in a game instance. Although they had read guides to the newbie instances many times beforehand, actually taking part was different.
The atmosphere here was so oppressive that it felt as though their chests might burst.
After all, this was different from a game. If you failed a game, you could start over, but there were no second chances here.
A man in his thirties was the first to speak, his voice breaking through the dark cloud hanging over everyone's hearts.
"My name is Chen Shan. This is my second newbie instance.
"Don't worry, everyone. This instance isn't difficult at all. It's the easiest of the five newbie instances in our area, and it mainly tests our ability to work as a team."
Chen Shan had a sturdy build. Although he wore fairly loose sportswear, the outlines of the muscles beneath his clothes were still visible.
"My name is Zhao Zhicheng. This is my first time entering an instance."
Zhao Zhicheng looked to be in his thirties. He was short and thin, and he hadn't shaved for several days, giving him a somewhat unkempt appearance.
"Zhang Yunxi. It's my first time too," said a woman of about thirty. She had a pretty face, but her skin was no longer as smooth and delicate as a young girl's, and she had to apply a thick layer of foundation to cover the blemishes on her face.
Her face was still filled with fear. She was wearing a dress and high heels, clearly unprepared for being suddenly pulled into this game.
She looked at Chen Shan and forced a faint smile. "Please look after me, big brother."
Chen Shan said, "Since we all appeared here together, we're a team. Of course we'll look after each other."
Zhang Yunxi gave him a grateful look.
"My name is Yang Yi. I'm a second-year university student. It's nice to meet everyone. This is my first time too."
Yang Yi didn't look particularly flustered. If anything, there was a hint of excitement on his face.
"I've been looking forward to this game for a long time. I started preparing when I was sixteen. I read tons of instance guides, took part in all kinds of simulated newbie instance training, exercised every day, and learned various fighting techniques. I'm twenty-one this year. It's been a whole five years, and the wait is finally over.
"I believe we can definitely clear this instance."
The last person was a teenage girl. She said timidly, "My name is... Xu Xiaonan. I'm in my final year of high school."
"Are you eighteen yet?" Yang Yi couldn't help asking.
The girl had a delicate doll-like face and was short. Her clothes were printed with cartoon designs, making her look a little like a middle school student.
Xu Xiaonan said with a glum face, "I just turned eighteen yesterday."
"I don't know whether to call you lucky or unlucky," Yang Yi said.
Once everyone had introduced themselves, Chen Shan said, "Now that we all know each other, let's discuss our plan."
Chen Shan glanced over the group and continued,
"You probably all know that this instance is Qingshan Hospital. The mission is to kill the monster roaming the hospital, the Horse-Faced Butcher. I don't know if you've read the guides for this instance."
Zhang Yunxi said, "I have. The guides said this was a newbie benefits instance, but now that I'm actually here, I'm still scared."
"Yeah, I'm a little scared too," Xu Xiaonan agreed.
Yang Yi said disdainfully, "It's just a newbie benefits instance. What's there to be scared of?"
Chen Shan smiled and said, "It's perfectly normal to be scared the first time you enter an instance, especially since these two are women.
"But you two really don't need to be afraid. Qingshan Hospital used to be a newbie nightmare, but now it should be the easiest of the five newbie instances in Zhongzhou City.
"First of all, the name 'newbie benefits instance' is entirely accurate. This instance has a 95 percent clear rate, ranking among the top ten highest clear rates in the country."
His words reassured the two women considerably. With such a high clear rate, they really had no reason to worry.
Yang Yi asked, "Brother Shan, there are lots of different guides for this instance. Which one are we using? I want to try the one that's been really popular lately, the one where you mess with the Horse-Faced Butcher. It looks like so much fun."
Chen Shan immediately shook his head. "No, that's too dangerous. That method requires perfect teamwork. We've only just met, so we can't coordinate that well. We should use the safest approach.
"We'll steal his heart. Once we have it, the mission is as good as complete."
This was the safest method out of all the guides. As long as they did it reasonably well, everyone could clear the instance without getting hurt.
Everyone agreed with Chen Shan, so Yang Yi had to put aside his playful thoughts. This was a horror instance, after all, and staying alive was what mattered most.
Yang Yi said, "All right, we'll do it your way. How should we divide things up?"
"The Horse-Faced Butcher is afraid of fire, but he also hates it. This strategy takes advantage of that trait. You could call it exploiting a bug.
"Some of us will use fire to attract the Horse-Faced Butcher's attention and lure him out of the hospital's main building. The others will immediately sneak into the basement and steal his heart. Once we burn his heart with fire, we'll have won."
Chen Shan was very confident, and as everyone watched him, their unease gradually faded.
On closer thought, aside from the oppressive surroundings and the Horse-Faced Butcher's somewhat frightening appearance, there wasn't much difficulty to this instance.
After being nerfed, the Horse-Faced Butcher's behavior could only be described as idiotic, leaving him at the mercy of anyone who wanted to toy with him. Players' experiences clearing the Qingshan Hospital instance could easily be made into a comedy compilation.
They really had no reason to be afraid.
Seeing that everyone had gotten themselves ready, Chen Shan said, "Next, let's decide on the teams. Yang Yi and I will steal the heart, and the three of you will lure the monster. How does that sound?"
"No problem. I'm on your team, Brother Shan," Yang Yi said immediately.
Of the five of them, he thought only Chen Shan was a decent teammate. He looked down on the others.
"Brother Shan, how about I go with you to steal the heart?" Zhang Yunxi forced a seductive smile and walked toward Chen Shan, swaying her hips.
"Stealing the heart is an important task. Yang Yi and I had better go together."
Chen Shan refused outright. In such a dangerous situation, this woman was still wearing a dress and high heels. She was far too unreliable.
If their lives weren't at stake, he would have been more than willing to team up with her. But now that they were, he wanted to stay farther away from her.
Zhang Yunxi rolled her eyes at him and gritted her teeth, cursing inwardly. Men are all good-for-nothings! Normally, they're like flies you can't drive away, but when it matters, you can't count on them.
Once the five had divided into teams, Chen Shan said, "Let's look for supplies first. There are a few storage rooms on the left where we can find things like medical alcohol and gauze. We can make a few torches. You'll need them to attract the boss's attention."
While they were talking, the game's preparation time ended, and the instance officially began.
At the sound of the system notification, all five grew tense. They could encounter the Horse-Faced Butcher at any moment now, so they had to proceed carefully.
The five tiptoed to the door of a storage room and carefully peered inside. There was no danger in there, just as the game guides had said.
After entering the storage room, they followed the guides they had memorized and quickly found the supplies they wanted.
Alcohol, gauze, a kerosene lighter, several wooden sticks, and an iron basin.
The five got to work and soon made three torches. Chen Shan used the lighter to light two of them, then put it away.
"You three take these two torches. Don't let them go out, whatever you do. I'll keep the lighter because we'll need it to burn the heart. The other torch goes to Yang Yi. If you fail to draw the boss away, that torch will be our lifeline."
Chen Shan went over their plan again, and everyone committed each step to memory.
The plan began. Chen Shan and Yang Yi carefully made their way to the side of the hospital's main building. Then the other three appeared directly in front of it. Zhang Yunxi and Xu Xiaonan held up the torches, while Zhao Zhicheng struck an iron basin with a wooden stick.
According to the guides, the Horse-Faced Butcher stayed in the basement of the main building for the first thirty minutes of the game. As long as they made a commotion at the entrance, he would come out.
Sure enough, the guides were right. A clatter of chains striking one another came from inside the building, followed by the ear-piercing scrape of metal against the floor.
The sound was like a drumstick pounding against their hearts again and again. The three felt their hearts rise into their throats.
The Horse-Faced Butcher appeared!