My Family Has Someone in the Police Station! Does the Hospital Have Someone Too?

"No! Could you at least pay a little attention to how this looks?"

Lu Ce looked at Xie Antong, whose eyes were already gleaming as she started taking advantage of him, and hurriedly pulled his leg back.

He had only wanted to test her. After all, his condition in the game had been rather horrifying, and that leg had been amputated.

But judging by her reaction, the girl before him probably had not coincidentally seen him in the initial game.

"What people are best at is projecting themselves onto others. You said I was Chosen and merely chose to hide it. Were you actually talking about yourself?"

Lu Ce did not continue dwelling on his own situation, instead steering the conversation toward her.

But to his surprise, Xie Antong stared into his eyes for a while, then actually nodded seriously.

"Yes."

Lu Ce:?!

Wait, you were just telling me that?

Xie Antong looked around. Their classmates were all chatting among themselves, and no one was paying attention to the two of them. She turned away, avoiding Lu Ce's gaze, and continued in a low voice.

"In a completely unknown world, it's perfectly normal for the 'minority' not to stand out too much and to observe the situation first."

Suddenly, Xie Antong changed the subject. "So, are you going to participate in the second game two days from now?"

Lu Ce's mouth immediately twitched.

So you're just assuming I'm a Chosen One too? I don't think I ever admitted it!

When she received no response, Xie Antong took the initiative to say, "No matter what you think, my advice is not to participate. Wait first!"

"The temptation of changing your fate is too great. I know that if you had the chance, you wouldn't let it slip away."

"But our country's internet controls are very strong. To maintain stability during such major turmoil, a lot of information and news hasn't been released."

"I was among the first batch of 'viewers.' After the initial shock last night, I made a complete record of everything."

"I watched no fewer than a hundred game livestreams. There were all kinds of people in them, facing different or similar scenarios."

"Some of the scenes were cruel—things that never appeared online. Those trials had none of the moral or legal standards of modern society."

As she spoke, Xie Antong's face turned slightly pale, as though she had recalled some unpleasant memories.

"I even saw a player truly die in that game!"

"If the game is another world, if time is connected to the real world and space is connected too, if players are essentially transported directly into it..."

"Then can they still survive?"

Lu Ce: ...

Xie Antong quietly stared at Lu Ce's profile as she spoke in earnest, making him feel inexplicably a little guilty.

Because Lu Ce knew better than anyone in this world that what she said was true. He was someone who had experienced it firsthand!

And what he had gone through was the cruelest and most bizarre trial in the world. He understood its dangers and bloodshed better than anyone.

"...Thank you."

In truth, Lu Ce could roughly guess why his wealthy deskmate had approached him.

It was nothing more than a pampered young lady discovering, after arriving in a new environment, that some poor kid was different from the sycophants who used to surround her. He did not flatter her, nor did he care about her, so naturally she became curious.

What else could it be? Adolescent girls were always concerned with that sort of thing.

But he still thanked her.

A gentleman judged deeds, not motives.

"Sigh, I hope you'll think it over carefully." Xie Antong did not know whether Lu Ce had taken her words to heart. She could only sigh, then began scrolling through videos on her phone and watching the latest news.

All sorts of people came and went outside in the corridor. Every now and then, individual students left, and Lu Ce even spotted police officers.

The internet was full of every kind of claim, but as time passed, the credibility of much of the information became highly questionable.

Quite a few traffic-chasing media accounts had gone insane, daring to say anything that could grab attention. Some even claimed that people in the games had gained superpowers, and that the strongest person could already make nuclear bombs by hand.

Lu Ce: Since when was I that awesome?

His assessment of himself was that ordinary people were no longer his match in a bare-handed fight, but against firearms... he would still only have one outcome: death.

He was still too weak. He was nowhere near the point where personal strength could give him a sense of security...

The first day of the world's upheaval passed just like that. On his way home alone, Lu Ce found a deserted spot and quietly stared at a wall.

He raised the knuckles of his right fist toward an exposed corner of the wall and slammed it down hard.

With a dull bang, a corner of the bricks shattered, and several fragments fell to the ground.

Lu Ce had put a great deal of force into that punch, so much that a red bloody mark instantly appeared across his entire fist.

Even the edges of his knuckles had been scraped raw, with a little blood seeping out.

Looking at his fist, Lu Ce frowned slightly. He could not feel pain, nor did he know what level of pain this should have caused, but the Chosen of Suffering's point-allocation mechanism did not appear.

"Is the level of pain not high enough, or is there some kind of restriction..."

The Chosen of Suffering's point allocation was currently his greatest support. It had allowed him to clear the initial game and temporarily claim first place in the world.

He needed to figure out that thing's mechanics as soon as possible. Having a cheat and not knowing how to use it would be a joke.

He tried punching the wall a few more times, but the sound of pain points being added still did not come. Instead, an irritating voice sounded behind him.

"What? Depressed now? Taking it out on the wall?"

"Do you have to do every single thing a brainless villain would do before you can prove how stupid you are?" Lu Ce punched the wall hard again, sending several chunks of rubble flying as he turned to look at Zhang Tao.

Zhang Tao had thoroughly enjoyed a whole day of special treatment. He was already floating on cloud nine, fantasizing about his future life above everyone else, and had come out intending to casually belittle the guy who had once humiliated him.

But Lu Ce's punch cooled his blazing confidence a little. Zhang Tao mocked him with forced bravado.

"You even showed up late on purpose this morning. Were you trying to make everyone think you'd been Chosen?"

"How many Chosen people are there in the entire world? Chosen Paradise? You're an orphan. Even your parents didn't choose you, and you think a god would?"

Lu Ce had no intention of responding. With his bare hand, he pried half a brick from the shattered wall and silently walked toward him.

"Did you forget what I told you when I beat you up before?"

"What are you doing?" Zhang Tao abruptly took a step back and fearfully grabbed a bicycle lock from nearby.

He had spent the entire day immersed in thoughts of the world changing, becoming heaven's favored son overnight, gaining superpowers, and all that.

He had forgotten that he did not have any superpowers yet! He could not beat the man in front of him.

"I'm telling you, our statuses are different now. Even if I killed you, I wouldn't bear any responsibility."

"Don't come any closer! I'm telling you, my family has someone in the police station!"

"What? Your dad got arrested for soliciting prostitutes?" Lu Ce shot back expressionlessly as he reached Zhang Tao.

The hell was that supposed to mean, arrested for soliciting prostitutes?! Zhang Tao went numb.

The two stared at each other. All of Zhang Tao's previous confidence vanished, leaving only fear.

Ever since he had been beaten up when they first started high school, he had not dared to provoke Lu Ce again. But he had never been as afraid as he was today.

Looking into Lu Ce's eyes, he felt his legs go weak. The gaze of someone who had killed was different.

"Fuck your mother!" Overcome by terror, Zhang Tao cursed loudly to bolster his courage and began wildly swinging the bicycle lock in his hand.

Lu Ce had been in plenty of fights since childhood. With a casual block, he knocked the bicycle lock flying away with his wrist.

Chosen of Suffering! Pain Points +1!

"Hm?"

Lu Ce froze for a moment as he heard the long-absent voice in his mind. It seemed he had realized something, and his smile gradually turned unsettling.

"I think I understand a little now. Thanks."

"Also, you said your family has someone in the police station. Does the hospital have someone too?"

"It's fine if it doesn't. It will soon~"