They All Thought They'd Won

[An unusual intrusion has been detected]

[Warning Intruders]

Intruders will be severely punished!

If someone in a desperate situation can negotiate with the system and obtain some conveniences under its control, then when they bypass the system and forcibly interfere with things within the simulation, the system won't be so accommodating.

For any intelligent being, overstepping boundaries is intolerable; having one's authority disregarded and established rules broken is something that infuriates and unsettles them.

This time, the system truly focused its attention on the small room on the fourth floor, sensing that the Lingren's presence was hidden within Han Yan's body.

But its warning came too late. In a dizzying moment, Han Yan's neck was suddenly snapped by an unseen hand, and his life force vanished instantly. The aura of despair and certain special abilities he possessed had no effect whatsoever. The unseen person killed Han Yan as easily as killing an ant.

A soft laugh vanished amidst the system's fury.

The gun in Yu Xing's hand instantly turned to ashes, and the ghostly energy in his heart also vanished. Then, he heard a familiar, gentle voice ring in his ears.

"Young Master has learned to use things, even those he hates. I'm glad about that... You finally have the courage to ask me for help."

Yes, if it were the old Yu Xing, he would probably rather die than let that filthy fellow, Lingren, and his filthy, twisted emotions become his help. Once this matter is started, it means that he is "accepting" the existence of this person.

But that obsession has vanished with time. Yu Xing had long since come to terms with it. The Lingren knew that his past experiences disgusted him, and they used that time to constantly poke at his sore spots, hoping to tear him apart and make him fall into Fallen Path as soon as possible, becoming one of their kind.

He's not a good person either, so why not use that against him, making the Lingren trap himself and pay the price for his obsessive possessiveness? Perhaps that wouldn't make the Lingren feel the pain, but at least it would allow Yu Xing to get what he wanted. After using him, they could still fight or kill each other when they met again. Trying to drag him down wouldn't be so easy.

Perhaps, just as Han Xinyi said, once a person crosses a certain line, they can easily obtain what others cannot.

Yu Xing knew very well that if he gave in and agreed to join Single Prism, the Lingren would make him the most lawless person in the organization. Perhaps he could even disobey the Lingren, provided that he didn't leave and didn't interfere with the Lingren's real plan.

For example, why was he arrested for experiments? The source behind that laboratory is something Yu Xing can't touch. But apart from that, he'll gain the biggest backer in the Absurdity System. So, it seems like a fair trade.

But that's impossible. If someone did that, they couldn't be called "Yu Xing." They could use any name, but not Yu Xing.

Humans begin to rot from the soul, trying to blend in and grow in the Mud Swamp. This is the way of survival for the fallen. He, judged as someone on the Mutation Path, can come into contact with filth and darkness, can walk a tightrope on the edge of hell, but in the end he will set fire to the Mud Swamp and scream in despair as he looks at the filth.

"You're finally willing to understand my kindness, aren't you?" The Lingren's voice floated in Yu Xing's ears, as if he were delighted to see his prey grow from a kitten into a tiger, because the premise of exploitation is understanding.

Yu Xing must first accept and understand his possessiveness before she can use him in return; she must first acknowledge his cruelty and bloodlust before she can threaten him into killing Han Yan.

In this game, no one lost; they all believed they had won.

[Begin the expulsion! The punishment will be carried out in reality.]

The system's warning tone, tinged with anger, sounded so pleasant to Yu Xing. He didn't want to listen to the Lingren's Lingren, nor did he want to delve into the unfavorable implications they contained. The Lingren had managed to hide inside Han Yan's body and hadn't completely entered the deduction process; at least he could intervene when necessary.

Therefore, even if Yu Xing used the Lingren to kill Han Yan, he was not at fault. The system could not punish him, nor could it punish the already deceased "cheater carrier." It could only target the Lingren.

"Get out of here and face your punishment." Yu Xing's smile vanished, and he approached Han Yan's corpse like a normal person, taking the fragment from Han Yan's hand.

He even touched a fragment of the Persona Mask next to the corpse, but was stopped by the vigilant system.

[The intrusion may be related to offerings made to this personality; related items cannot be redeemed.]

"Tsk." Yu Xing knew that the system was also targeting him within the scope of "fairness." Last time, it didn't really want him to take Han Xinyi's rule-level offering. This time, it had a good excuse to eliminate the possibility of him obtaining a rule-level offering.

Just then, Qu Xuanqing, who had reached the fourth floor through another room window, also arrived here following the blood trail. Without saying much, she kicked the door open and first saw a blue-clad ghost floating above, its expression suggesting it had everything under control. The ghost was in its manifested state and showed no malice. It was unknown how long it had been quietly observing.

Then, her gaze fell on Han Yan lying on the ground, and quickly shifted to Yu Xing squatting beside the corpse. Out of the corner of her eye, she also caught a glimpse of Zhao Yijiu, whose demeanor had changed back and who was frowning and deep in thought.

It seems like it's already over?

But what is this red light?

Qu Xuanqing carefully stepped aside from Yiqing and asked softly, "Yu Xing, are you alright?"

Yu Xing looked up and saw Qu Xuanqing. She instinctively gave a perfectly normal smile, "Still..."

The word was still in his throat when it suddenly stopped. His vocal cords were choked. Despite the unknown punishment from the system, the Lingren uttered his last words in this simulation.

"Here's a gift for you, it's a reward."

Suddenly, Yu Xing lost control of his body. Under Qu Xuanqing's gaze, he reached out, chuckled, and roughly twisted Han Yan's limbs. Then, he raised the Sheqing Dreamscape and stabbed it fiercely into Han Yan's heart.

Yu Xing is dead!

Qu Xuanqing was unaware of the situation, but Zhao Yijiu had witnessed the entire event. He believed that Yu Xing's mind, or even his personality, had been affected by the Lingren, leading him to engage in the act of desecrating a corpse. He immediately stepped forward to stop Yu Xing from doing this.

Yu Xing seemed not to hear, and after drawing her dagger, she murmured, "I promised to take Han Yan to see Han Xinyi."

"Han Xinyi should be happy now, right?"

"As long as she's happy."

Qu Xuanqing sensed something was amiss, but these words sounded even more jarring. She had personally witnessed how much Han Xinyi Yu Xing. Could it be that Yu Xing, in her current state, had also fallen for Han Xinyi, and that killing her with her own hands had planted a seed of madness in her heart long ago?

Yu Xing shoved Zhao Yijiu aside, grabbed Han Yan by the collar, and threw him toward the window.

Han Yan's body suddenly fell to the ground.

Only then did Yu Xing regain control of his body. He immediately cursed and exchanged bewildered glances with Qu Xuanqing and Zhao Yijiu.

"Don't worry." Yu Xing a little nauseous. He was actually being controlled by the Lingren. The Lingren really knew how to make him uncomfortable.

"Just now... it was the Lingren warning me." He could only say this to Qu Xuanqing and Zhao Yijiu, "I used him this time. He was warning me that with his abilities, finding an opportunity in the deduction and controlling me would be a piece of cake."

This is the true strength of the Lingren, not the one in Death Parallel Line who is divided into nine parts, unable to use sacrificial abilities, and suppressed to the level that fits the NPC Master template.

Although that infinitely weakened state was enough to manipulate Zhao Yijiu at that time, and even completely suppress him.

The intruders have been driven away.

Since the affected people are concentrated in this room, and for some reason the system doesn't want this matter to become public knowledge, the expulsion notifications have only appeared for Yu Xing and Zhao Yijiu since just now.

Now, the Lingren calmly gave Yu Xing a "surprise" before the system finally threw Lingren out. This efficiency made Yu Xing wonder how the system usually handled the operation of such a vast and complex array of simulation worlds.

It wasn't a complaint or a sign of disdain, but something genuinely felt off, as if the system was being held back by something. Yu Xing had felt this way back in the tomb palace.

Upon learning that Yu Xing's personality had not been distorted, Zhao Yijiu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and then saw Yu Xing's body suddenly become illusory.

What kind of moths are there?

"Yu Xing!" Qu Xuanqing also reminded him.

Yu Xing looked down and immediately understood. The fragment in his hand was gone, and together with several other fragments that he had been keeping in his pocket, they had formed a reporter's ID.

"My mission is complete, and I will leave here ahead of schedule." Yu Xing felt that after being in contact with the Lingren, his temporary madness symptoms were no longer obvious. Perhaps, he was just mentally exhausted, too exhausted to go crazy.

"I've already spoken to Zhao Mou about the details beforehand, so don't worry."

"Okay." Zhao Yijiu stared at him quietly, watching his figure become more and more transparent. As she relaxed, all the memories of the past twenty minutes suddenly flooded back.

He suddenly froze.

He not only spoke to Zhao Mou in that tone, but also... and to the siren... By the way, how is the siren?

To be honest, he didn't quite understand why he threw the siren onto the rooftop to mutate her. The plan he had when he Ghostification had become somewhat obscured after he returned to normal. He didn't know what he was thinking when he was Ghostification. He couldn't see certain memories that belonged only to vengeful ghosts.

Once Yu Xing had completely disappeared, Qu Xuanqing sighed.

With less than a minute remaining, the outcome was already decided.

She was probably the person who understood Lingren the most among these people, besides Yu Xing. It seemed that Lingren was in a good mood. Not only did she help Yu Xing kill Han Yan, but she also killed most of the Shadow Ghost as a bonus. The entire fourth and third floors were as empty as this room, with only the bloodstains on the ground still bearing the afterglow of the battle.

Given the current size of the Shadow Ghost, they are no longer able to muster enough power to overwhelm the guests before the game ends. In short, it's already over.

"Let's go." Qu Xuanqing had no complaints about making a wasted trip. She just wanted to think about what Yu Xing's true mental state was like. Sometimes Yu Xing could be stubborn, like a twenty-three-year-old who was unwilling to face the mental problems left to him by the Lingren. At this time, she or Zhu Yan would still need to remind him.

Zhao Yijiu didn't move; he was somewhat reluctant to go out now.

Qu Xuanqing couldn't get him to move, so she turned around for no apparent reason and found Zhao Yijiu with his lips tightly pressed together, his face full of gloom, and the tips of his ears suspiciously red, probably because of shame.

"I didn't notice just now, but you've turned back." Qu Xuanqing's smile now had an even more ambiguous, half-smile, and Zhao Yijiu turned her head away from her.

"Speaking of which, do you remember when you said on the lawn that this little sister of mine was very curious about you?" Qu Xuanqing's lips twitched into a genuine smile.

"Stop talking, I don't remember." Zhao Yijiu is two years older than Qu Xuanqing, so calling her "little sister" isn't a big deal. But the problem is that Qu Xuanqing is so much more accomplished than him, and he... shamelessly claims she's curious about him.

Alright, the more reckless you are in your Ghostification, the more you'll die now.

Yu Xing remained silent in the darkness for a while before hearing the system's settlement notification.

He used his reporter's ID to end the simulation early and was deemed to have successfully "escaped the Fear Hospital." In addition to the basic settlement information, he received an extra reward.

[You have collected all the reporter's ID fragments and completed the mission "Escape from the Fear Hospital". The reporter's ID will be transformed into a suitable sacrifice.]

[Converting]

[Conversion Complete]

[Offerings: Role-Playing Permit]

[Appearance: A black leather ID that looks very elegant]

[This offering can be fused with "Persona Mask? Sachi". The fusion ability is: ① Active (Core): Plays a character that fits the current deduced world view, making the character less incongruous in the eyes of surrounding NPCs, distorting the memories of those involved, lasting for half an hour.]

[②Proactive: By showing this document, you will gain the approval of the person being shown it to and receive their assistance.]

[③ Passive (Core): Carrying this document will rationalize your successful fraudulent behavior, creating a logical loop. When you deceive a king by saying you are a prince, he will have a child who was lost in his childhood.]

[Description: You can make it whatever certificate you want it to be.]

[Note: Well, this is indeed a perfect offering for you. I hope you make good use of it and don't disappoint me.]

A thoughtful look appeared in Yu Xing's eyes. Playing the role of a license... The sacrifices given to him by the system, such as the rose mask and this license, did not seem to directly enhance his attack or defense capabilities. On the contrary, they were ridiculously strong in other aspects.

The abilities to act as a licensee ① and ③ clearly fall into the category of rules.

[Congratulations on completing the live simulation - Fear Hospital]

[The following is an evaluation of this simulation (open to the audience)]

[Case truth restoration accuracy: 100% (based solely on personal exploration of the main plot)]

[Increase in Personality Assimilation Degree: 0%]

[Rating: S]

[Deduction points earned: 1500]

[The following is the total points awarded as a reward: 14016]

[The reward points will be split 50/50 with the system, resulting in a total of 8508 points.]

[Because your team uncovered the truth about the Fear Hospital, the following data is a special evaluation (not available to the audience)]