A Loophole No One Before Had Thought Of—Aren't You Going to Ask Why?

"What did you say?"

As if he had not heard Jiu Tian clearly, Long Wu raised his head blankly and asked again.

What kind of eyes were those? Mechanical and lifeless, making Jiu Tian's hairs stand on end.

But right now, something more important—something even more terrifying—hung over his heart, keeping Jiu Tian from backing down.

"Chosen Paradise!"

He spoke those four words almost one at a time, staring fixedly into Long Wu's eyes.

Five seconds.

The air remained silent for a full five seconds. The time stretched on as though an entire century had passed, making Jiu Tian wonder whether space itself had frozen solid.

Long Wu simply stood there, staring rigidly at Jiu Tian like a statue.

The next instant, an iron chain came crashing down at Jiu Tian head-on!

The severed chain was powerful and heavy, swinging like a battle axe. No matter how quick Jiu Tian's eyes and hands were, he had no chance of dodging it!

At that moment, a pair of green boots suddenly appeared on his feet, blasting out powerful jets of air and pushing him back a meter, barely allowing him to evade the strike!

Fine-grade equipment, Boots of Agility!

The wind whipped up by the chain made Jiu Tian's eyes sting, his face instantly turning pale with shock.

If that blow had landed, he would have suffered at least broken bones and torn tendons.

"Raaaargh! Kill... kill!"

Long Wu had transformed in an instant. Red vapor pulsed from his shriveled body, as though he had entered some abnormal state.

The floor tiles were ripped apart by a massive crack, rubble scattering everywhere.

Jiu Tian ducked into a corner in horror, his heart sinking to rock bottom.

The other man... had suddenly gone mad.

He had gone mad after hearing that question. Even without answering, that was practically an answer in itself.

"Kill, kill!" Long Wu's freed hand wildly swung the chain, lashing out at random. Jiu Tian darted and weaved around the room, eventually retreating to the doorway.

The entire room had been ravaged beyond recognition, as if it had gone through an earthquake.

"What... what is this? What Chosen..."

"What are you talking about? Who are you? Who am I?!"

"Medicine, medicine... Give me medicine!"

In the end, Long Wu clutched his head with both hands and collapsed to the ground, groaning in agony as he kept muttering.

Jiu Tian stood where he was, at a complete loss.

"No! No medicine! I won't take that medicine! Take it away!"

Suddenly, Long Wu changed his mind again. He sprinted to the farthest corner and began slamming himself into the wall like mad until his head was split and bleeding. Then, breathing weakly, he turned to look at Jiu Tian.

They were the clearest eyes Jiu Tian had ever seen.

"Run, run..."

Then he returned once more to that vacant state, as if he had fallen asleep.

Jiu Tian stood there dumbly, speechless for a long while.

He could now be almost certain that his guess was probably correct.

But hadn't the Chosen Paradise game only just begun?! If these people were players too, then what was going on?

And according to their memories, they had been trapped here for who knew how many years!

Why didn't they use exit coins? Did they not have them, or were they unable to use them?

When had they entered the game? Had the game started long ago?

Or were the timelines out of sync?

Jiu Tian took a deep breath and even pulled out his own exit coin from his backpack, studying it carefully.

Only after looking at its strange, exquisite patterns did he seem to feel a little safer, and he put it away again.

There was still a way out... still a way out.

But if that was the case, then nothing made sense anymore. Could this game really be cleared?

This Long Wu... if he truly was a predecessor, then he seemed much stronger than Jiu Tian.

If the mission was the same, could Jiu Tian accomplish what all those before him had failed to do?

"Find the most severely ill person." It sounded like an incredibly simple objective.

Yet everyone before him had failed.

He had to find a loophole that none of those before him had ever thought of!

Was that even possible...?

And why had they been left here forever? What had they gone through?!

In an instant, Jiu Tian wilted like an eggplant struck by frost, his confidence plunging to rock bottom.

"Special Agent Jiu Tian, I need to remind you: this is a psychiatric hospital. You need to carefully analyze all the information you obtain."

The official personnel who had been observing the livestream spoke up to remind him.

"Also, the organization's requirement is that, at critical moments, preserving your own life takes top priority."

"Don't force yourself."

Jiu Tian nodded weakly, leaning against the wall as he calmed his chaotic thoughts.

"Any news from the other two?"

"Kolk got an answer from the patients: who says anyone is more seriously ill? We're just slaves."

Jiu Tian gave a derisive laugh. Combined with his own speculation, he felt that he could understand the information Kolk had received.

"What about Red Mask? What did he find out?"

"...Same as before. Nothing useful. He just opens door after door and takes turns tormenting the patients."

"The patients all said nobody was sicker than him. We've practically stopped watching over there—it's basically just communication between lunatics."

Jiu Tian let out a long sigh, recalling Long Wu's condition and Red Mask's current crazed appearance.

"Has he really gone insane already?"

Breakfast time is over. All players, please return to your initial rooms.

The three sat in the middle in a triangular formation. No one spoke; they were like silent statues.

Kolk wore a thoughtful expression the whole time, as if he were pondering something, while Lu Ce remained as he always was.

Only Jiu Tian, after learning this secret, had become entirely subdued.

Hello, players. I am Great Tom.

You may communicate with one another during rest periods.

If you have any discoveries, judgments, or questions related to the game, you may ask me.

The tin robot Tom delivered the statement mechanically, then rolled away on its tracks and stayed quietly to one side.

Then, after an unknown amount of time, Jiu Tian finally made up his mind to tell the other two this terrifying piece of intelligence.

Although it might lower morale, there was no time to worry about that.

"Everyone, I have some bad news that I think you need to know."

"The people deeper inside this prison who keep claiming they're innocent may very well... be players like us too!"

After saying that, Jiu Tian raised his head and watched their reactions.

Yet he found that Kolk had turned to look at him. A sharp gleam flashed through his eyes, and his expression held not only surprise, but even a hint of delight!

As for Lu Ce, it was like he hadn't heard a damn thing—there was no reaction at all!

"...Aren't you going to ask me why?"