The Author Changed the Settings These Past Two Days

There had originally only been a little over five hundred players in this instance.

Everyone was entering an instance for the first time, so most of them had probably already kicked the bucket by now.

On top of that, the capable ones had already completed their tasks.

Gu Mian estimated that fewer than a hundred players remained at this point.

And among those hundred, there were even fewer who were sick.

But even so, Gu Mian had to find a few sick people among that tiny number.

No matter what, the other players would be able to leave this instance.

But he was different. If he didn't risk his life completing tasks, he might end up dying along with the instance.

Life had messed with him for so many years without killing him. He couldn't let a game kill him now, could he?

Thinking this, Gu Mian put even more effort into it.

He wandered between the various floors. Whenever he saw a ward with people inside, he fearlessly stepped forward, tossed the zombie at the door aside, then asked the stunned players inside—

"Are you sick?"

Perhaps there was something wrong with the wording. So far, Gu Mian had yet to encounter a player willing to readily admit that they were sick.

Every player who had watched Gu Mian casually throw zombies around through a door reacted the same way—they widened their eyes, their lips trembled, and they edged just a little farther away from the doorway.

Humans instinctively feared the unknown.

And Gu Mian was precisely an "unknown entity" in the eyes of normal players. Everyone else was trembling in hiding inside their rooms, terrified of being bitten, while this guy swaggered around outside and kicked aside any zombie he didn't like the look of.

Even scarier, the zombies outside actually let him strut around as he pleased. They completely ignored this doctor, as though they had all gone blind.

It would have been one thing if he were an NPC, but there was no "NPC" label above Gu Mian's head. So let alone asking him for help, there were very few players who even dared answer when he asked whether they were sick.

After all, Gu Mian was carrying a huge weapon that looked as though it had drilled through someone's head.

At the sight of him and that terrifying electric drill, most people shook even harder and couldn't squeeze out a single word.

An hour and a half had passed since the game began.

Yet Gu Mian's task progress was still stuck at (3/5).

Half the time was already gone, but his task had made no progress. Gu Mian had a headache.

He tried to give the surviving players in the wards a kindly smile, but their expressions only grew more terrified when they saw it.

A strange doctor carrying a terrifying electric drill stained with brain matter and blood, surrounded by a group of zombies, stood outside your door and smiled at you with fond indulgence.

Thinking about it, that scene really was a little deranged...

And Gu Mian had recreated that deranged scene with remarkable realism.

The bizarre atmosphere around Gu Mian hindered his task for quite some time, until he ran into a straightforward police officer while searching the second building.

A female police officer.

One of Qidian's five major supporting characters—the female police officer who arrested people without caring who was right or wrong.

All he needed was a childhood sweetheart who had grown up with him, and he would have assembled Qidian's five-person supporting cast.

But Gu Mian had no time to worry about that now.

Standing outside the door, he gave the person inside a straightforward smile. "Are you sick?"

The facts proved that a police officer's thought process really was different from that of ordinary people.

Especially a female police officer.

The female police officer inside blurted out, "How did you know?"

This was truly a moment worth commemorating. Two people with equally bizarre thought processes had finally achieved a historic meeting.

Two negatives made a positive.

Unexpectedly, the two of them were able to communicate normally.

Gu Mian began making things up. "I'm a doctor. I can tell whether you're sick just by looking at your complexion."

Of course, he wasn't about to admit that he had asked every player in an entire building whether they were sick.

The broad-shouldered, sturdy female police officer immediately looked impressed. "Doctor, you really are skilled. To be honest, I've been constipated for a long time. I was planning to go to the hospital, but before I could do anything about it, I ended up in here."

Constipation...

It counted as an illness. No need to be picky, no need to be picky. Besides, this wasn't the time to be picky.

Gu Mian maintained a gentle smile, though his face had gone a little stiff from holding the fake expression for too long.

"Could you tell me what your task is?" He looked eagerly at the female police officer inside. "My task is a little special. I have to help patients."

Helping a patient recover would work too, but this female police officer's illness just happened to be constipation. Gu Mian couldn't exactly help personally...

The two were still speaking through the door.

The zombies at the entrance had already been completely cleared out by Gu Mian. The female police officer, who had originally been cowering in the corner, boldly moved closer to the door.

She was the only player who showed no surprise at Gu Mian tossing zombies around. She was merely curious—probably because she was a little thick-headed.

"I noticed those zombies don't seem interested in you. Holding out for three hours should be pretty easy, right? You don't have to do the task, do you?"

That was exactly the problem.

The three-hour time limit applied to every player, but Gu Mian had to be excluded from that.

And if he died in the instance, he would die for real. So the only way out was to complete his task.

At that thought, Gu Mian's smile became even stiffer. "I'm idle anyway. I'm idle, and you're idle, so why don't we discuss your task?"

The female police officer looked troubled. "It's not that I don't want to cooperate with you. It's just that my task seems a little difficult..."

As she spoke, she looked into the empty air, seemingly checking her panel. Then she began reciting something.

"Player number 2245743, Strongest Female Police Officer in History, your task is—"

"Escape Room"

"Escape the ward you are currently in. The door has been locked. Clues to the key exist within the ward. The player may use the clues to find the key. Opening the door within three hours counts as task completion."

"Hint: Clues are often interconnected. One clue may inspire the next. Stay calm! Be attentive! Observe carefully, and decipher with peace of mind."

After hearing her task, Gu Mian fell silent for a moment.

There were too many things to criticize. He didn't know where to start.

First of all, this female police officer's game nickname was just so...

Second, playing Escape Room in a hospital full of zombies was genuinely outrageous.

Seeing Gu Mian's silence, the female police officer also looked embarrassed. "Sorry, Doctor. You probably can't help me..."

"I've turned this ward upside down for over an hour, and all I found was this painting—"

As she spoke, she raised the item in her hand.

Gu Mian looked up. It was the famous painting The Last Supper. Of course, this version was a shoddy counterfeit.

"I've searched everywhere I can search. There really isn't anything suspicious except this. I can't see anything special about a painting like this..."

"If only you could come in and search for clues too, there might still be some hope. But you can't get in."

"This task was already difficult enough, and now there's a door between us. I think it'll be hard for you to figure out where the key is... unless your IQ is as high as 250, Doctor."

Nothing in this world was absolute.

Gu Mian insisted, "Bring the painting closer and let me take a look."

The female police officer hurriedly held the painting up near the door, and Gu Mian carefully studied it through the long glass panel in the door.

He studied it for about a minute. Then the female police officer saw him suddenly furrow his brow, as though he had discovered something.

"Doctor," she asked hesitantly, "did you find something?"

Without answering, Gu Mian spoke solemnly. "Show me the back."

The female police officer immediately flipped the painting over.

This time, Gu Mian studied it for several minutes. He narrowed his eyes and scrutinized every corner of the painting, overlooking nothing.

A moment later, he shook his head, then nodded, before suddenly shouting, "I understand!"

Understand what? The female police officer looked up at him expectantly.

But Gu Mian didn't explain. He merely gave her one instruction. "Step back."

The female police officer obediently retreated several steps.

Then she watched with her own eyes—

The person outside suddenly switched on his electric drill, aimed it at the keyhole, bored a huge hole through it, and twisted it around a few times.

The lock snapped apart on the spot. The doctor outside boldly slapped the door open.

"There. The door's open. Your task is complete."

Female police officer: ???