"Hm?"
When Lu Ce saw the other person lean closer, he instinctively flipped his wrist, turning the card in his hand face-down, and gave him a wary look.
"Cut the crap. We're on the same side, and there's not much time. Which department are you from?"
"Me?" Lu Ce raised his head slightly and thought for a moment. "I'm from the senior high school division."
Jiu Tian:?
The hell did he mean, senior high school division?!
"What nonsense are you talking about?!"
Jiu Tian was numb. Seeing that only three minutes remained, he was starting to feel terrible.
Why was this colleague of his still acting like this? Did he really not look trustworthy?
Although they could indeed be from completely different places, they were still part of an official organization. Was there not even this much trust?
"Buddy, hurry up. I already saw your business card. My name's Jiu Tian, from K City, Jianghai Province. I didn't bring my card!"
"Besides, do we even need that? Look at my clothes!" As he spoke, he tugged at the fabric of his red outfit. "Why aren't you wearing the uniform? Did you turn it into a red mask? Your side's regulations are pretty unusual."
"Oh, right. There should be people from our organization in your livestream, right? Have them look me up."
Lu Ce knew the other party had probably misunderstood something, but he continued spouting nonsense. "You look pretty old. How could you be in the same department as me? Are you still in high school?"
"Are you the dean of discipline?"
Jiu Tian:?
He was furious!
His fists were clenched!
What was wrong with this guy? He had absolutely no sense of organization or discipline!
:Jiu Tian, according to our organization's records, there really are players who have achieved perfect clearances.
:However, there seems to be no record of anyone matching this mask. Try talking to him more.
The relevant staff reminded him through Jiu Tian's livestream feed.
Jiu Tian suppressed the urge to hit someone. With a cold expression, he lowered his voice and said:
"Comrade, I don't know what you're planning."
"But when you commented on the color of my clothes earlier and deliberately showed me your business card, you were obviously trying to draw me over."
"You... do you have something you want to say?"
Lu Ce scratched his head. "Come to think of it, I seem to be a little hungry. Strange."
Who the hell asked you?!
Jiu Tian directly turned away, tossing out a reminder for him to watch his own safety before deciding he did not want to deal with him anymore.
Goodbye, then!
He said to the staff in the livestream, "Hurry up and find out where this guy belongs. Is he sick or what?!"
"This is a Hell difficulty game. How can he treat it like a joke?"
Players are reminded to quickly leave this room before time runs out.
At that moment, the countdown had reached one minute. The room had opened, revealing a pitch-black corridor outside, as though it led into the abyss.
No one wanted to defy that voice announcement. In Hell Mode, some instant-death condition could appear at any moment.
Kolk, the foreigner, took the lead in walking out. From behind, he somehow carried an air of aloof pride.
The big man looked unhappily at his back. "What a poser." Then he walked out as well.
Jiu Tian and the woman followed close behind, leaving the room.
Lu Ce maintained his usual behavior. After stepping out of the room in the final second, he remained outside and poked his head back in, wanting to see what would happen.
Bang!
The door slammed shut, smacking Lu Ce straight out. There was even a mask-shaped imprint on the door.
Jiu Tian, who had been keeping an eye on his "colleague" from the corner of his eye, weakly turned his head away.
He felt like he was reaching his limit.
Once the door shut, a long corridor came into view. It curved away, and after roughly a hundred meters of darkness ahead, it was impossible to see any farther. The corridor bent left.
Along both sides of the corridor stood large iron doors at regular intervals, black and silent, as though they imprisoned wild beasts.
Not a single sound came from the entire corridor.
Presumably, the "patients" lived behind these doors.
Jiu Tian ran a hand over the curve of the wall, estimating the distance ahead as he strode forward.
Before getting down to serious business, he intended to first get a clear look at the terrain and the basic architectural layout.
"There are no stairs up or down. It should be a single-floor building, though hidden doors can't be ruled out."
"Judging from this curve, it might be a circular building..."
Jiu Tian's voice echoed through the silent space. He did not keep anything to himself and decisively shared his thoughts with everyone.
At that moment, the game's voice appeared once more.
Breakfast time: 30 minutes.
Mealtime is mission time. During this period, players must enter a patient's room.
If you leave, return to a room as quickly as possible. Remaining in the corridor for too long will result in unpleasant consequences.
Clang, clang.
After the announcement sounded, a tray dropped from a hidden compartment beneath every room, though no one knew where they had been delivered from.
In an instant, an unbearable, strange stench filled the space.
Under the dim strip lighting, each tray held a large can of viscous mush. If no one told you otherwise, it would have been difficult to convince yourself that it was food.
It was impossible to tell what was inside. Faintly, one could even make out bits of shattered bone and mucous membrane.
Beside the can was a small dish holding several white pills.
Written on the tray were the words: "The patient's mental state is unstable. Mix the sedative medication into the food; perhaps you may attempt communication."
"Looking at this so-called hospital, it seems mental problems are the main issue," Jiu Tian muttered.
"Fuck!" the big man cursed. "This is supposed to be food? If you fed patients this crap, who wouldn't develop mental problems?"
Was it really that bad?
Lu Ce looked at the things on the floor.
Why did they seem so delicious to him?
The Gluttony Mask maximized the effects on appetite, completely suppressing all rational judgment.
Red warning lights had begun flashing, urging the players to enter the patient rooms quickly.
There was no time to think. Lu Ce casually chose a room, picked up a tray, and walked inside.
The room's environment was clearly different from outside. It was not clean, with dirty stains all over the walls, some of them even marked with blood.
But the entire room was brightly lit! The lights never turned off, twenty-four hours a day.
In the corner crouched a gaunt man resembling an evil ghost. He wore handcuffs and shackles, and the instant Lu Ce entered, he cast him a hateful glare, staring fixedly at the tray in Lu Ce's hand.
"Time to eat. Seems like breakfast, though I don't really remember. A feast fit for heaven, my friend. Look how skinny you are—you're practically starving to death."
"Do you want to eat?"
There was no furniture in the entire room. Lu Ce looked around, then walked to the middle of the room, set down the tray, and sat directly on the floor.
"Want to eat?" A hoarse, teeth-grinding voice came from the patient.
"Of course I don't want to eat! You newcomer, delicious? If it's so delicious, why don't you eat it? Don't get too smug, I'm telling you..."
Before he could finish, Lu Ce's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Really? Thanks!"
With that, he picked up the can of who-knew-what and directly poured it into his mouth.
Patient:?
Before you continue