Chapter 69
She admitted that the killings were satisfying, but the consequences were unpredictable.
Yuki seemed not to hear, bending down to wipe the blade on his white coat, the thick blood immediately staining it red.
"Hint Four? They had no reason to harm me, so this doesn't count as a premeditated attack, but rather—" He turned his head and flashed a dazzling knife twirl.
"Self-defense counterattack"
Chapter Seventeen: Mutual Schemes (First Update)
Self-defense counterattack?
Hiyori paused for a moment, then understood; Yuki was analyzing every single word of the hint repeatedly.
Unlike himself and Zhang Qing, Yuki's illness was an effect of the Conceptual Craft Essence when it was activated, and it has long since passed. He was never sick in the first place and did not need treatment.
He noticed the plot hole and paid attention to the word 'deliberate'!
The girl was quick-witted. According to the plot, the Demon Hospital would exaggerate the player's symptoms and take unnecessary treatment measures, but Yuki didn't have that condition at all. These medical staff were just harming him for no reason.
This would certainly be considered self-defense, but without precedent, it would be very risky; who knows how the Reincarnation Game determines this?
His purple eyes narrowed slightly as he realized he had a significant difference from Yuki—
They share similar intelligence, but he dares to venture into the unknown and take that step without hesitation!
There is no such thing as absolute certainty. Just like the leap into the sea of corpses under the Crimson Moon, Yuki knows when to play it safe and when to go all in.
"Let's go." Yuki walked out with his sword in one hand, Hiyori quickly followed.
Which way to go?
Those few slashes made her clap her hands in delight, but they also severed the two paths they had taken so far.
How can you compare this to conventional methods? They're giving you a few corpses piled up on the abnormal floor, right? The plot is completely cut off; how can you move forward after killing medical staff?
"I don't know, but there must be a way. Do you think I'm some kind of reckless brute who acts on impulse?"
Hiyori moved her lips, but dared not speak, nor did she think it was true.
Yuki walked quickly down the empty corridor. He was confident and justified in his strike, based on his limited experience that players in dungeons had character identities.
In Bloodthirsty Red Moon, players are thugs and food; in the Demon Hospital, they become patients. The correct approach is to use this identity to gradually advance, while the reverse approach...
The raised blade sliced the doctor, who was rushing around the corner, in two, and the Heat blood splattered onto his face.
"Then let's tear off this facade, use the knife as a whip, and lash the plot forward!"
With Yuki, Yuuki took one down, striding forward to slay those fearless enemies one by one, experiencing the sensation of the blade cutting into flesh while maintaining an extremely calm mind.
Without Transcendental Grade abilities or security personnel, yet they act with reckless abandon, truly believing that Hint Four will solve everything?
Impossible. Whether it's special skills or self-defense like I did, the Reincarnation Game definitely knows that players might flip the table, especially given the absurd storyline of the hospital.
"Hiyori, do you think this hospital is just ripping people off and killing them, simply to disgust the players?"
The killing and questioning proceeded simultaneously. Even with blood on her hands, Shiina Hiyori was no longer as afraid as she had been at first, and immediately answered:
"No, if we compare the instance to a novel, the players are the outsiders. The fact that we've been given roles proves that this book has its own logic."
"Murder for money is merely a means; its purpose is to create more suffering and resentment, which in turn attracts demons, forming a logical loop."
Yuki nodded slightly, leaving behind a trail of severed limbs in the corridor. He found himself more lucid in the midst of the carnage.
Now that we know how to do it, what are the other two elements of a novel?
The three elements of a novel: Who? Why do they do it? How do they do it?
The methods have now been analyzed, and the key lies in the other two issues. This kind of reasoning is second nature to Shiina Hiyori, and more importantly, she has used her special abilities to gain a wealth of information.
Ask the dean, submit the plan to the dean for review, and you'll need his signature.
One or two times might go unnoticed, but Shiina Hiyori heard it far too many times within five minutes of activating [Reality Reading].
"The reason is unknown, but the arranger is obvious--" The girl suddenly stopped and saw a blood-red figure holding two guns at the other end of the corridor, pushing open the door of the stairwell and entering.
"Dean Fukawa!"
Third floor, equipment floor.
The young man with slightly curly hair lay comfortably in the swivel chair, watching several monitors with flashing images in front of him.
All wards were functioning normally; the hospital was like a factory, with all medical staff completing their tasks in an orderly manner. However, based on the camera numbers, he could only see images of the third floor and above.
Upon closer inspection, each camera only showed one view, specifically the one behind the nurses' station.
It wasn't just Yuki was observing the details; Curly also noticed the camera behind the nurses' station. Now, using their employee cards to get to the third floor during shift changes, it's easy to draw the following conclusion:
"I can't see any unusual floors, which means that in the real world, this hospital only has nine floors, and the other areas are like separate spaces."
He rubbed his chin. These cameras were immobile and uncontrollable, yet they were enough to give him a godlike perspective on intelligence.
"That Thomas is pretty clever. He actually came up with a way to get back into the storyline. He pretended to be sick and went from the 8th floor to the 5th floor. He caught up with the progress so quickly."
Curly has already completed three instances, knowing from the beginning that this path existed, but his special abilities are better, and he didn't intend for too many players to follow.
Revealing our strength too early. If I use this method, everyone will simply copy it exactly. How will we proceed with our plans then? Who knows if there are any hypocrites among us?
When his gaze shifted to the fifth-floor lobby, he grinned, revealing a menacing white smile.
"You only remembered to add this to the plot after nine hours? Isn't that a bit too late?"
The game only provided 18 hours of treatment fees, and the options became fewer as time went on. He glanced at the bright red blood flowing down the floor, and his smile became even brighter.
"Look, you've already hit a dead end so quickly. Your intelligence and observation skills aren't up to par. But I still have to thank you guys for tearing the plot to shreds, which gave me a chance."
"With these two areas of improvement secured, we can now proceed with the follow-up work."
Humming an unknown tune, Curly took a slip of paper from his white coat pocket, then picked up the phone on the table and slowly pressed the buttons.
Beep--beep--
After a busy tone, a click signaled the connection, finally breaking the silence.
Who are you looking for?
His voice was cold, hoarse, and dry, like an old man on his deathbed speaking with his last breath.
"Dean Fukawa, there's been a riot among the patients in the hospital." Curly's voice was soft, even slightly obsequious.
There was no sound from the receiver, not even a breathing sound. Curly sat up slightly and gripped the receiver so tightly it made a 'click-clack' noise.
"What do you want to do about something that happens often?"
When the voice came, Curly breathed a sigh of relief, only to find that his vest was soaked with sweat. He didn't know if his special ability could fool the mastermind behind the scenes, but it seemed he was very lucky.
But what does it mean if it's 'a common occurrence'? Could it be that other patients rioted before us? Given the hospital's practices, it's not entirely unreasonable.
The other party was waiting for a reply, and Curly didn't have time to think it through, so he quickly said, "Director, I want to help you get rid of these bedbugs and restore normal order to the hospital."
"I don't need your help; order will be restored soon."
"But these patients Taiyi. As your staff, maintaining order in the hospital is also our responsibility."
Curly held his breath, but received no response. Just as he began to consider his backup plan—
"Okay, do it your way."
The old man finally answered, followed by a busy signal, as if he didn't care about others' help and was capable of solving the problem himself.
Clatter
Curly slammed the receiver back onto the table, lay back in his swivel chair, and gasped for breath. After a while, he clenched his fist tightly.
It worked! My special ability is indeed invincible in this kind of dungeon!
A surge of excitement crept onto my face. So what if you're the mastermind? You can still fool me. I'll face you head-on once I've completed my plan. In the end, the winner takes all.
He looked at the screen in front of him; the surveillance cameras on the fifth floor had begun to show static-like interference, as if something extremely terrifying was crossing the barrier between reality and illusion.
"You'd better hold on a little longer. I still need time to set up the alchemy array. Two powerful veteran players should be enough to hold their own against this Dean Fukawa. At least we should make this old guy furious."
"If I get desperate, I can find a way to bypass Hint Four."
At that moment, Curly turned his head slightly and looked at another screen, where the elevator doors had just opened and two girls whose faces he couldn't see walked out.
And these two, because the contract prevents them from harming their squad, but that's alright--
When I fight him to the death, I won't lose anything.
Chapter 18: A Dawn Breaks Through! (4K)
Bite--
Hayasaka Ai and Mai Sakurajima returned to the third floor. Following Curly's instructions, they searched for a way out and, like Shiina Hiyori, discovered the decreasing pattern of the floor buttons.
Once on the third floor, you have to find your way out by selecting from five floor buttons. This is a hundred times better than on the ninth floor, and theoretically, it should only take two or three hours to determine the location.
But the Reincarnation Game seems to have a grudge against the players; it opens a window but welds a door shut.
The third floor was the equipment floor. There were no patients or medical staff, only a dense array of various machines. The two of them went back and forth several times but did not find anything unusual. Finally, Mai Sakurajima noticed that the cable connection of a certain computer was inconsistent and quickly went back.
Isn't this ridiculous? It's a spot-the-difference game, yet the difficulty levels are worlds apart. The top one has too many choices, while the bottom one has barely any discrepancies.
Moreover, it's still the same elevator, but there's no button to go back upstairs. That's normal, otherwise, if faster players kept opening the elevator, the slower players would get trapped.
"Without skills or traits like super-speed memory, how could we possibly find a way out?" Hayasaka Ai couldn't help but complain, turning her head to see the silent black-haired girl. "What, are you worried about him?"
"Yes, I'm very worried." Mai Sakurajima nodded readily.
Completely out of contact, they had no idea Yuki was alive or dead, or which floor he was on.
"We've tried everything, but we can't get back, let alone send a message." Hayasaka Ai sighed, patting Mai Sakurajima on the shoulder. "Don't worry, that guy's smart; he might have already gotten ahead of us."
It was an obvious comfort, but that was all Mai Sakurajima could think. The two of them didn't sit idle either, constantly searching for solutions and uncovering many clues.
For example, all players are in the hospital database; they didn't appear out of thin air, it's just that no one paid attention to them before.
For example, why do you have to go up from the third floor when changing shifts, instead of just going up to the first floor?
Also, why was that curly-haired guy able to get from the ninth floor to the third floor so easily, and then suddenly stop trying to conquer the area? I wonder what he's planning.
The entire instance is permeated with an eerie atmosphere, with players and the storyline influencing each other in a tangled mess.
"There's definitely something wrong with Curly's characteristics. There are certain areas that only he can enter, as if he's become an insider at the hospital." Mai Sakurajima secretly followed him during the gaps in exploring the floors, but there were some places she couldn't follow him into.
"That's why I didn't rush into action and decisively signed the contract." Hayasaka Ai found a chair and sat down, lost in thought in the dimly lit corridor. "It should be some kind of mind manipulation or identity swapping skill. It's a pity there are no medical staff here, so my special ability is useless."
"What if they use hacking skills to break into the server, like turning us into employees?"
"That's impossible. All the authority is in the hands of that Dean Fukawa, and he's not even on the third floor."
The two exchanged a glance, their apprehension towards the name growing stronger. This was an instinctive reaction to something unfamiliar; in Bloodthirsty Red Moon, no single individual could influence the course of the dungeon.
Crimson Moon is merely constantly strengthening the Living Corpse; they cannot communicate with each other, let alone be used.
However, they did have an extra gain: using Curly Hair to get from the 9th floor to the 3rd floor, which was obviously a huge achievement, but also contained huge risks.
But with the one she had already accumulated, she now had a total of three enhancement points. Hayasaka Ai in on the Death Knell Revolver, which was the simplest way to boost her combat power in a short time.
[Chaos Item: Death Knell Revolver (Transcendental Grade), 2-time Forging]
[A powerful single-soldier weapon. Standard mode: Unlimited ammo (1 forging), power increased (2 forgings); Special mode: Six powerful bullets, increasing in damage with each forging; Powerful firing mode: All six bullets are fired simultaneously, maximizing damage.]
[Side effect: Luck value decreases with each bullet consumed]
[Description: Destruction is exciting, but everything comes at a price.]
"Transcendental Grade- grade (level 4) item. This is the most powerful weapon we have." Mai Sakurajima had already checked the stats, but couldn't help worrying. "Just as he said, the higher the item's level, the more powerful it is, but the more severe the side effects will also be."
The Transcendental Grade level added a powerful shooting mode. She couldn't imagine how powerful the six bullets combined would be, nor could she imagine how unlucky Hayasaka Ai would be after this shot.
The memory of Li Dan firing six bullets in a short time and being turned into mincemeat by a headless Giant from hundreds of meters away is still fresh in everyone's mind; what was once an extremely low probability event has now become the norm.
"I originally wanted to play it safe, but there was no way around it, he was risking his life." Hayasaka Ai shook her head slightly. Her skillful handling of firearms, combined with the Death Knell Revolver, was at its peak. She asked curiously:
"I guess I'm really going after the Chaos Item. Mai Sakurajima- kun, how's your skill?"
Mai Sakurajima looked puzzled. She also used her enhancement points to unlock a skill, then used two more enhancement points to level it up to proficiency.
[Light-Covering Prayer Rite (Master Level)]
[Designates one player other than yourself, reducing their item and skill cooldowns by 20%. This effect stacks. Your own cooldown is 10 minutes.]