Chapter 67
"Probably, anyway, take it for now, it'll come in handy someday." Yuki shrugged.
He has been consistently drawing special abilities on time, and currently has a Conceptual Craft Essence in his spare slot called 'Do You Have a Serious Illness??'
I have no idea where to use this thing; it just adds a debuff to yourself, right?
At this moment, the boy who had been rolling around with his head in his hands returned to normal. He lay on the ground panting heavily, took out a pill from his pocket, put it in his mouth, and swallowed it. His bulging eyes finally returned to normal.
"Mr. Thomas, Ms. Hiyori, I'm so sorry, I felt like I was having a seizure, so I had to go now. Luckily, I had my medication with me."
Sweat soaked his clothes, and he trembled with every word he spoke. Hiyori looked at him with pity, but dared not give him the Chaos Item she had just obtained.
This must be the unluckiest player ever; I don't know how he's survived this long.
Yuki's gaze returned to its cold intensity; ignoring his explanation, she simply asked, "What is your special ability?"
The boy hesitated for a moment, then, without opening the player panel, lowered his head and replied, "Call it Pain Transfer. After activating it, copy one of my negative status effects to someone else."
Well, combat-related traits do fit his character.
Yuki turned around and saw Hiyori nod slightly, realizing that the boy was telling the truth, so he didn't force him to open the panel.
Unless the player is willing, no one else can see the panel, and the boy doesn't seem like he can withstand torture.
Yuki turned his attention back to the dungeon and glanced at the tightly closed door behind him.
After resting for several minutes, the other two teams did not enter; they either went to the other side or used other methods to escape from the ninth floor.
"Now that you've recovered, let's continue with the strategy."
The three of them stood up and quickly walked through the corridor to the front of the ward. Just like on the ninth floor, there was a nurses' station and a lobby with an elevator.
Nurses were busy, patients and their families were walking around, and all sorts of noise filled the air.
Yuki, it was the same as before, except that the eighteen '9' floor buttons had been replaced by sixteen '8' floor buttons. He frowned.
Is the number of buttons on this floor decreasing?
Subtracting the starting floor, finding a way out from the remaining 15 floors is a task that the three of them cannot accomplish in a short time.
9-17
8-15
7-13
6-11
2-3
1-1
'Following this formula, you can just go to the first floor and leave, it's that simple?'
Yuki didn't quite understand, but he kept it in mind and glanced at the time again.
It's 9 a. m., and there are 39 hours left.
'We must find other strategies and guard against attacks from the other two teams, especially the Tyrant; nobody's watching him.'
Yuki rubbed his furrowed brow and waved his hand, saying, "Zhang Qing, you rest for a while. Hiyori, you come with me for a walk."
"Thank you, Mr. Thomas." The boy breathed a sigh of relief and found a bench to lie down on.
Yuki glanced at him, then looked at the equally exhausted Shiina Hiyori.
It's no wonder that an ordinary person would be tired after staying up all night.
"Hang in there a little longer."
"It's alright, I can manage." The girl forced a smile and followed Yuki as they explored the ward.
Because of the similar structure, the two, who had already walked around the ninth floor more than ten times, were quite familiar with the route. Their eyes swept over every ward, not missing any details, and they even took the elevator to try it out again, finding that the conventional method was still effective.
The strange staircase still existed, but neither of them had any intention of repeating the same trick. Even with their superior observation and memory, it would be too time-consuming to identify the problem across 16 floors.
So, half an hour later, they returned to the eighth-floor lobby, exchanged a glance, and basically sorted out their thoughts.
"The process of elimination is useless, at least not now. According to the rule, the number of buttons decreases by two on the first floor, and it's only worth using them around the sixth floor." Shiina Hiyori smoothed her long hair by her ear, somewhat annoyed by the lack of unity among the players.
Based on this decreasing trend, it's actually possible to clear the dungeon using conventional methods, because the lower the floor, the less time it takes.
"Don't regret it. Nobody has the patience to wait for this pattern." Yuki disliked regret and said casually, "There's more than one way to win someone over. We can just look for another one. Do you have any good ideas?"
The girl remained silent, glancing at the bustling ward and watching the medical staff coming and going.
They were very busy, but the wails in the ward never stopped, even more chaotic than those on the ninth floor. The 'angels in white' seemed used to this atmosphere, mechanically going about their tasks.
Changing the IV fluids, taking away the medication, and urging payment...
Hiyori's eyes lit up. "Mr. Yuki, I remember we entered the hospital as patients, right?"
"Yes, they can see us, but they ignore the players except in their own wards." Yuki nodded. Of course he remembered that at the beginning, a nurse had even made him take his medicine.
Thinking of this, his expression changed slightly. He recalled what his senior had reported to him: that curly-haired guy seemed to possess some kind of ability, having obtained a crucial clue about a solo operation from the doctor's office.
Then, the second one, there's also room 37 on this floor, and on the patient card, it's a capital 'L'.
"A strategy path that is completely opposite to the conventional method requires keeping the reference point unchanged, and the addition of dungeon storylines will inevitably change everything."
The two equally intelligent people exchanged a glance, found a solution, Yuki even raised his eyebrows.
That Conceptual Craft Essence seems to have a purpose now?
Chapter Fifteen: Dean Fukawa (First Update)
With a solution in mind, Yuki returned to ward 37 for treatment, where he could gather clues and recover his strength at the same time.
Coincidentally, his team was full of the "old, weak, sick and disabled". Zhang Qing was out of the question, Shiina Hiyori could also be treated with the side effects of "placebo drugs", and Yuki was even simpler.
The doctor had just examined him, and he immediately activated his Conceptual Craft Essence, startling the doctor so much that the doctor quickly convened a consultation with specialists.
'I never imagined that Conceptual Craft Essence could be used in this way. It seems there are no useless skills after all; it's all about whether they fit the current situation.'
Yuki rubbed his cheeks. This really tested his timing and intelligence. Lying on the hospital bed, he began to connect the clues.
First of all, players do enter the instance as patients, and the instance characters will interact with the players, but only regarding their medical conditions.
Secondly, when you're wandering around outside, the dungeon quests will ignore you, as if the hospital room is another space, and the story can only be advanced by triggering certain conditions.
Finally, these people had no medical ethics whatsoever; not only did they prescribe medication haphazardly, but they also insisted on paying the full amount of medical fees before they would receive treatment.
No wonder the Hint Four point is divided into two parts. Most people only notice the first part, "Don't deliberately damage the hospital," but don't understand what the "treatment funds" mean.
[Tip 4: Please do not intentionally damage the hospital building or harm patients and medical staff. Players have 18 hours of treatment funds.]
'Indeed, every word is valuable; it hinted at another path from the very beginning.'
Yuki glanced at the pills in the trash can. He wasn't stupid, of course he wouldn't take them, and as a medical student, he happened to be able to recognize the effects of these drugs.
Some medications supplement vitamins, some boost immunity, and some supplement protein, but they have little to do with 'tumor wards'. In fact, some of these medications can worsen the condition of cancer patients and cause cancer cells to spread faster.
Such a large-scale hospital turned out to be a bunch of quacks, lacking even the most basic medical knowledge. Isn't this just profiting at the expense of lives?
Wait a minute, this is murder for money.
Yuki narrowed his eyes, recalling the car accident boy he had seen before. Not only was the boy relentlessly demanding payment, but the boy's severe head injury was also being handled by an intern—this simply defied common sense.
The patient suffers, the family is heartbroken; wouldn't this only intensify their resentment and pain?
'Then those demons were attracted by resentment...'
Yuki sat up straight abruptly, suddenly realizing a blind spot—a blind spot that would be overlooked if one wasn't involved in the plot.
If players follow Hiyori's approach to the game, they won't need to interact with the patients and doctors at all. Yuki are simply out of habit; she enjoys gathering information.
Adding to the hallucinations I saw in the elevator, it's terrifying to think about. Could the Demon Hospital be fundamentally different from Bloodthirsty Red Moon?
There is no plot under the Crimson Moon, only endless pursuit. The challenge comes from the Gift of the Crimson Moon, which might eventually lead to the resurrection of the First Hokage.
But the Demon Hospital seems to Taiyi. The staff of this hospital are like the Crimson Moon, increasing the difficulty of the dungeon, and you can't intentionally attack them.
There's a problem, so how do we solve it?
Knock knock.
Yuki turned her head to look at the door of the ward. A short figure was standing there. She had pink hair, was very thin, and her face was full of marks from the pain of illness.
This is the little girl in the room next to his. Entering the ward triggers a story event where patients visit each other's rooms, and Yuki is happy to gather more information.
"Xiao Qiannai, are you hungry again?" Yuki waved to her with a friendly smile and tore off a piece of banana from the fruit basket next to him.
"Thank you, brother." The girl walked in excitedly, took the banana, and sat down on the chair next to her, gently swinging her legs.
Her pale calves were almost devoid of flesh, while her large eyes were full of innocence; she must have been an extremely cute little girl when she was healthy.
"Brother, do you think I'll get better? I really want to go to the amusement park with Mom again."
The voice was clear, yet it Yuki look away. He couldn't answer the question, and could only repeat it to himself:
This is fake, it's a scenario where the girl will never recover and will only die in the hospital, then another patient will take her place, and the cycle will continue indefinitely.
But why does it all feel so real, so infuriating?
Yuki glanced at the pills in the trash can and gave a forced smile, "You're so sensible, you can definitely do it."
"But the doctor said I've run out of money for treatment, so I can't stay in the hospital anymore tomorrow." Qian Nai wrinkled her nose and said in a daze, "My parents are crying, and I don't like seeing them cry, so I came here to hide."
"Come anytime, I welcome you." Yuki gripped the bed sheet tightly.
"Thank you, I knew you were the best!" the girl cheered, then turned her withered head slightly, ran barefoot to the door, and hugged the girl's waist.
"Sister, you've come to visit too!"
Shiina Hiyori stood in the doorway, her body stiffening for a moment before she reached out and stroked the girl's sparse hair. "Hmm, after you wake up, wander around a bit."
These patients are so real that even using [Reality Reading], there is no trace of acting.
Xiao Qiannai, who has leukemia, and Grandma Hinata, who has bone cancer...
After several hours of interaction, everyone seemed so real, suffering from illness yet full of hope.
Yuki sat on the bed, watching the girl listen to Hiyori tell stories with wide eyes. He glanced at the time and realized he had been on the eighth floor for six hours, but surprisingly, he wasn't in a hurry at all.
Despite the floor being changed, the player seamlessly integrates into the hospital environment, just like a regular patient.
Knock knock.
About ten minutes later, there was a knock on the door, and a haggard middle-aged woman stood in the doorway.
"Mommy!" The girl ran over immediately, but after a few steps she turned back, bowed respectfully, and said, "Thank you for telling me the story, sister. See you tonight, Brother L."
"I've told you so many times, don't go and cause trouble for others." The middle-aged woman also bowed, Yuki waved his hand to indicate that he didn't mind.
He watched the thin figure disappear into the distance, then suddenly opened his mouth and said, "Qian Nai, I hope you get well soon."
The girl didn't understand why her brother's expression was so serious, but she still smiled sweetly and waved, "Okay, let's do our best together!"
She left, and ward 37 returned to silence. Those few hours were negligible in the lives of Yuki and Shiina Hiyori, yet they left a deep impression.
Having witnessed the terror and cunning of demons, there is a profound sense of disconnect when interacting with normal people, even if their initial intention is to extract information.
"Mr. Yuki, did we do something wrong?" Hiyori looked in the direction the girl had left. She was very observant and was more deeply affected by what she saw.
"Now you know why the Tyrant's group doesn't join the storyline and prefers to find other methods, right?" Yuki chuckled and continued, "Players are human too. The best way to avoid being affected by dungeons is to keep your distance. So don't overthink it, just treat them as illusions."
The Reincarnation Game is ultimately absurd. Like under the Crimson Moon, if he had held back against those police officers, he would have been the one to die.
Hiyori leaned against the bedside, remained silent for a long time, and then softly replied, "Just like the novels I usually like to read, even if the plot is fabricated, it is still very moving."
Yuki's expression froze for a moment. He glanced at the gentle, cloud-like girl and slowly nodded.
He spent several hours experiencing the dungeon's storyline, and his reaction was anger. However, he didn't know whether this anger was good or bad, and he resolved to get as little involved in these causes and effects as possible.
"Tell me what you've discovered. What have you learned in these past few hours?"
Shiina Hiyori's [Reality Reading] has a short activation time but also a short cooldown time, allowing her to gather and analyze a large amount of information in various areas.
"Firstly, when I went to the doctor's office to inquire about my condition, I heard that they change shifts between 8:00 and 9:00 in the morning, and it's still the same elevator, but you need to use an employee card."
Yuki immediately recalled her senior's surveillance report and guessed that Curly must have taken this route.
"It's 1 p. m. now. We can't wait until 8 a. m. tomorrow to take action. Let's move on to the next point."
"Secondly, the hospital sends bodies to the morgue every night at midnight, and the morgue should be located on the lowest floor of the hospital."