The red-clad flirt's mouth twitched nonstop. The other three players all turned to look at Lu Ce, their faces full of speechless disbelief.
Come on, man, your very existence completely clashed with the atmosphere, didn't it?!
In such a suffocating, cold atmosphere, in a Hell game where their lives could be in danger at any moment, he was acting like a judge.
After listening to that whole spiel from him in that atmosphere, everyone's emotions felt a little disjointed.
The red-clad flirt sighed softly and looked Lu Ce up and down, feeling too exhausted to even mock him.
You were really giving them a review from across the room?
Everyone else looked pretty normal. Only he was wearing a mask—and not just any mask, but a bright red one, with light constantly forming all kinds of patterns across it.
This was the reward he got in the game? This thing?
It could only be said that it was just as absurd as he was...
"Huh? Did I say that out loud? No way. Do you have mind-reading powers?"
Lu Ce touched his mouth in surprise, feeling the mask's icy temperature.
"You really did say it..." The red-clad flirt replied helplessly, then immediately regretted it. Why the hell was he seriously arguing with this lunatic?!
Fuck! Was that some kind of intelligence-reducing aura?
Seeing everyone's expressions, Lu Ce realized that it was probably true.
It seemed that the Gluttony Mask's mental confusion side effect had always been there. If he did not actively control it, it really could cause some minor trouble.
"Ah, well, said it or not, every game needs a narrator. It also helps you understand how others see you."
Who wanted to know how he saw them?!
"Heh. I'd only heard that old people couldn't hold in their piss and shit. Didn't expect someone here couldn't hold in his words."
The crude burly man could not help tossing out a mocking remark. It suited his character perfectly, and then the crowd fell silent once more.
Everyone was sizing each other up, just without Lu Ce's neurotic behavior.
"Ahem."
A cough broke the silence. The red-clad flirt took the initiative to speak.
"My name isn't Red-Clad Flirt. My name is Jiu Tian. That's my real name, not a nickname."
"I think that now that we're in the Hell game, we should get rid of unnecessary barriers as soon as possible."
"From the bigger picture, compared with this game, we're all human. We're on the same side."
"Looking at the immediate situation, we may need to get to know one another. I believe that will benefit the game."
"Most of you are from China, right? I'm with an official organization. You can trust me."
Jiu Tian spoke calmly, trying to connect everyone first.
This had to do with his background. In a crisis, they needed to unite every force they could unite, especially since none of them had any real grudge against one another.
"I don't think so." The foreigner spoke.
"We are not sure what the purpose of the game is yet."
"But you can call me Kirk, that's my name."
The woman, who had remained silent until then, spoke up. Looking at Jiu Tian, she said,
"Hello. Thank you for your sincerity."
"However, that tin man just said that we cooperate and compete in this game. It really is difficult to establish trust at a time like this."
"Hmph, official?" The burly man also spoke. "The game has only been around for a few days. There's already an official organization?"
"You people just meddle blindly. The greatest contribution you can make is to stop meddling. Always screwing around all day..."
The burly man clearly did not have the best temper. His attitude toward everyone was poor.
But Lu Ce knew that this was likely an expression of fear and nervousness. The pressure of the Hell game made him vent in this unfriendly way.
Seeing that the conversation was not going well, Jiu Tian sighed. He had expected this situation.
He slowly turned his head and looked at Lu Ce, waiting for him to state his position.
He had also watched his own livestream earlier. He had an organization behind him, and the staff monitoring him outside had already informed him about Lu Ce.
By all rights, Lu Ce should have been an expert...
Seeing him turn over, Lu Ce thought for a moment before replying,
"Can I really not call you Red-Clad Flirt?"
Jiu Tian: ? He felt like his head was about to explode.
"If you don't know how to address me, you can just make up a nickname."
Who asked you? Was that the point?!
Just as the scene reached a stalemate, the voice in the room sounded once again.
It was the same voice, but this time, the tin man did not appear. There was only a mechanical voice, accompanied by words appearing on the wall.
Chosen Paradise, Hell Mode, Demon Hospital.
Player Basic Mission: Survive!
As long as you stay alive before the clear condition is fulfilled, you will successfully clear the stage.
Player Objective Mission: Find the source of the disease, find the person with the most severe illness, and resolve the crisis he has caused.
Players who complete the objective will receive additional rewards, scored according to their specific performance and contribution.
Demon Hospital welcomes every patient.
Five-minute countdown. The game is about to begin.
00:05:00
After the brief explanation, the voice ended without any unnecessary dialogue.
It was as though all the unnecessary dialogue had already been handled by the tin robot earlier. Now came the serious explanation.
Seeing the mission description, everyone's expressions turned solemn.
Hell Mode. The basic mission was simply survival!
The five people present were clearly no pushovers. Otherwise, the word "survive" alone would have scared them half to death.
Jiu Tian also understood that the odds of everyone cooperating were indeed very low.
Moreover, the mission was vague. What disease? How were they supposed to determine who was the sickest?
Surviving until the end counted as clearing the stage. So if someone slacked off, waited for others to complete the mission, and merely hid to preserve his own life, would that not work just as well?
What kind of design was this...
Everyone fell silent and began quietly checking their backpacks and medicine, preparing for the unknown five minutes later.
"Oh, right." Lu Ce muttered softly to himself, but in such a tense environment, even that quiet voice drew everyone's attention.
The man in the red mask reached into his pants, and judging from where his hand went, it was an extremely suggestive spot.
What the hell did he mean?! In public?!
Did putting on the mask expose his true nature? Did he think it did not matter as long as no one could see his face?
The man in red slapped his forehead and asked the staff outside through his livestream,
"Is his information accurate? Is he really an expert?"
Before he could finish, his expression suddenly changed. His eyes locked tightly onto what Lu Ce pulled from his crotch.
—A golden business card.
Jiu Tian was all too familiar with that type of custom-made business card!
His expression immediately relaxed somewhat, as though he had seen a friend. He strode toward Lu Ce.
He leaned close to Lu Ce's ear and whispered,
"One of us? Brother, your disguise is pretty good."
"Which department are you from?"
Before you continue