Another World

At midnight, the hospital's night-shift nurses inspected the wards one by one. But when they reached Cheng Xiaoyu's room, something unexpected happened.

"Huh?"

One nurse opened the ward door, saw that there was no one inside, and froze on the spot.

"What's wrong?"

Hearing the noise, another nurse walked over, puzzled. She, too, found the ward empty.

She glanced at the patient information posted by the door and frowned slightly. She often cared for the boy's mother, so she knew Cheng Xiaoyu. And now, in the middle of the night, a whole person had vanished!

"Sister Tian, the patient in this room..."

The two nurses exchanged a look, both seeing the alarm and worry in the other's eyes.

Oh no, my job!

In Another World, Cheng Xiaoyu warily studied the shabby ward, then glanced at the game screen before him. He realized that this had to be the system's doing again.

Leaving the filthy hospital bed behind, he walked to the door. He put his hand on the doorknob, took a deep breath, then opened the door and stepped outside.

The hospital was pitch-black, so dark he couldn't see his hand in front of him. But for a Shadow Element Mage, that was hardly a problem.

The hallway was a mess. Hospital beds, medical equipment, and supplies lay scattered everywhere. It was clear they hadn't been used in years.

Suddenly, Cheng Xiaoyu's gaze fell on something. A white coat lay on the nurses' station. Even beneath the thick layer of dust, he could make out a vivid smear of blood!

That's... blood?!

He froze for a moment, then his pupils contracted. He immediately opened the system's profile and saw the bright red word [Alive]. At once, he understood.

This hospital was definitely dangerous. The system's punishment had spawned him here for four hours, and there was blood, too. There had to be some hidden threat.

Whatever the case, he should get back to his room first. After all...

Cheng Xiaoyu had just turned around when he stopped dead. Cold sweat soaked through his hospital gown, and his eyes trembled as he stared ahead.

In the empty, dim hallway, a patch of crimson had appeared in the distance. When he looked closer, he realized it was a huge eye, staring right at him!

One glance was all it took for Cheng Xiaoyu to recognize the Demon Beast.

A Giant-Eyed Stinky Rat, a Servant-level Demon of the rat family. They often appeared in sewers or other filthy, dark places, and their enormous blood-red eyes could fire beams of light.

The man and the Demon Beast stared at each other from opposite ends of the hallway. Seconds passed, until Cheng Xiaoyu finally broke the awkward silence.

"B-Brother Rat, good evening. I won't interrupt your rounds."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Giant-Eyed Stinky Rat let out a low squeak. Its enormous eyeball began glowing crimson, as if it were about to unleash a beam.

Without a moment's hesitation, Cheng Xiaoyu spun around and sprinted away, darting around a corner at the end of the hallway.

The next second, a crimson beam filled the entire corridor and slammed into the wall at the far end. A massive hole appeared through the dust.

If that beam had hit a person, they would probably have been reduced to ash!

When it saw that it had missed, the Giant-Eyed Stinky Rat let out an angry shriek and charged on all fours, smashing into the hospital beds and equipment in its path and sending them toppling to the floor.

Seeing the Giant-Eyed Stinky Rat hot on his heels, Cheng Xiaoyu swiftly connected his Shadow Element stars. His body turned into a shadow and disappeared from where he stood.

He was a Hunter Magician who had been through life and death, after all. He wasn't like those high school students; he wouldn't be unable to cast magic in a situation like this.

With his Shadow Element abilities and the hospital's complicated layout, surviving for four hours shouldn't be a problem!

"How's it going? Did you find him?"

"Not yet... Sister Tian, what should we do?"

"Don't panic. Let me think..."

Nurse Tian thought for a moment, then suddenly remembered a certain ward and hurried over.

She opened Ye Chang's ward door and, sure enough, Cheng Xiaoyu was sitting beside the bed. With a sigh, she said,

"Xiao Yu, why did you suddenly leave your room? We've been looking for you for ages."

"Sorry for the trouble, Sister Tian. I just wanted to see my mom. I'll be back in a little while."

Seeing how calm the boy looked, Nurse Tian sighed sympathetically. After giving him a few reminders, she left the ward.

After the nurse left, Cheng Xiaoyu breathed a sigh of relief. He looked at the screen showing that the punishment was complete, surprised by how slowly time had passed.

It seemed that although he'd spent four hours in Another World, only four minutes had passed in the Real World. Otherwise, something would have happened at the hospital by now.

He looked at Ye Chang on the bed, then got up and left the ward.

Starting the next day, Cheng Xiaoyu did a hundred push-ups, sit-ups, and squats as soon as he got up, then changed into fresh clothes and went for a ten-kilometer run.

The training was brutal, but he was in decent shape. He really didn't want to be punished again.

His attending physician was baffled. Cheng Xiaoyu had asked to be discharged, but the doctor had refused. He'd been admitted with several internal injuries, and even though he seemed full of energy now, the doctor's sense of responsibility made him insist that Cheng Xiaoyu stay in the hospital for another two or three days of observation.

On the fourth day, Xiao Ke came to visit him at the hospital with a basket of fruit. She had taken care of a few odds and ends over the past several days, and when she learned that Cheng Xiaoyu still hadn't been discharged, she decided to pay him a visit.

"Look, he's running again!"

"Honestly... he's been like this every day since he woke up."

"Magicians do recover faster than ordinary people, but... he said he wanted to get back in shape. We told him not to push himself, but he won't listen."

Hearing the two nurses talking, Xiao Ke watched the boy running in the courtyard below. A complicated look flashed across her eyes. She lowered her head, lost in thought.

After completing today's [Preparation to Become Strong], Cheng Xiaoyu sat down on a bench to rest and claimed the day's quest rewards.

[Quest Rewards]

[1. Status Recovery]

[2. Ability Points +3]

[3. Random Treasure Chest]

Using Status Recovery, Cheng Xiaoyu felt his fatigue vanish in an instant. Without this special reward, he wouldn't have been able to keep it up every day.

A screen unfolded before him. This had to be something like a Personal Panel. It clearly listed his level, HP, and Mana, along with five attributes—Strength, Agility, Stamina, Intelligence, and Perception—that he could increase with ability points.

As usual, he put all three ability points into [Strength]. His Strength was now 22, while the other four attributes were all at 10.

As for the [Random Treasure Chest], it usually contained everyday necessities or other items. He hadn't gotten lucky yet.

There were also other interfaces, including skills and an item Shop, waiting to be explored.

"Man, this really is like being a gamer..."