Chapter 73

Whether in terms of observation or intelligence, Shiina Hiyori is no better than Yuki, but as a weakling in combat, she is able to examine the dungeon from an outsider's perspective.

Furthermore, the [Reality Reading] feature allows one to even see details such as the inconsistencies in the work IDs of the Twisted Nurse and the length of their fingernails and hair.

This indirectly confirms that the demon on the fifth floor was not simply copied and pasted to make inferences, but rather a mere figment of imagination.

"There's some truth to that. No wonder these doctors and nurses are as precise as clockwork, their actions all revolving around one core principle, with absolutely no individual differences," the Tyrant muttered to himself, causing Yuki to squint and recall what he had seen and heard while entering the instance.

A professional smile, seemingly professional behavior, and a consistent value system of murder for profit and causing suffering—these are quite different from psychological suggestion.

You know, Jack patted the nurse's butt and she didn't get angry. That's hardly like a normal person.

"Like puppets, but these puppets should be finite, unlike the subspace of the abnormal floor, where demons are endless and inexhaustible." Yuki and the Tyrant exchanged a glance and spoke in unison.

They sensed the presence of the dungeon, vaguely seeing a huge and terrifying thing lurking behind it, but at the same time, a simple and direct path also appeared.

"What are you planning to do?"

"First, we need to verify our hypothesis and see if it's as Hiyori said, like Demon Possession." Yuki pondered for a moment, then pressed the button for the sixth floor.

With a feeling of weightlessness, the elevator began to move upwards.

"The demons in the subspace are endless, drawn by the resentment of the patients. There are spatial barriers between the floors, and to slaughter players in the real world, one needs a vessel."

Yuki summarized his analysis of Hiyori, and this was not unfounded; there were already many indications:

Unable to escape through the window, the demons were all blocked inside after rushing out of the abnormal floor. The most important thing was that the enemies on the fifth floor were still there.

That was definitely a normal floor, and the doctors and nurses, who were the enemy, were not coming in an endless stream.

Ding, ding, ding.

The elevator doors opened and closed, going from the fifth floor to the ninth floor, and then back to the sixth floor. Yuki and the Tyrant's expressions grew increasingly serious.

Things Taiyi as I expected; there's good news and bad news.

The good news is that Shiina Hiyori's analysis was correct: the hospital floors began to converge, and the demon could no longer appear out of thin air; these medical staff were actually dolls that were possessed.

Since there is a shift rotation mechanism, their numbers must be limited.

"But the bad news is that the enemy was prepared and took the puppets away beforehand."

The three stood at the entrance on the sixth floor. The ward in front of them looked normal, except for a faint mist. The Tyrant had slaughtered his way through the area, leaving not a single finger or mangled body in sight.

It was cleaned very well and everything was arranged very properly.

Upstairs was the same; not a single medical staff could be seen, and all the patients were fast asleep, groaning in their sleep, like a noisy cemetery.

It's definitely different from Bloodthirsty Red Moon, where the game is controlling things behind the scenes. Here, however, there's someone else, and their reaction speed is incredibly fast.

Yuki shook his head inwardly, then looked at the Tyrant seemed perfectly normal, and realized that this was the norm in the Reincarnation Game. Under the Crimson Moon, he mainly outwitted Li Dan and hadn't actually faced the dungeon boss directly.

'And there's something wrong with this elevator. Can't people below the fifth floor turn around and come back? Mai Sakurajima hasn't given us any news.'

He wasn't worried; there shouldn't be any problem with the two of them being together. Now it was just a matter of how to reunite them.

"Actually, this is good news. Now the details of the story are finally clear..." Shiina Hiyori said, but quickly shut her mouth because Yuki and the Tyrant were looking at her at the same time.

It's certainly good news, but there's been one more obstacle on the way.

Take the elevator to the fourth floor, walk through the floors, go down the stairwell to the third floor, and then take the elevator on the third floor. Repeat this process twice to leave the main hospital building.

It sounds much easier than solving riddles before, but it's actually incredibly difficult.

Yuki a fool could tell that these reclaimed dolls would be giving him a warm welcome down below, regardless of the synthesis rules; the result would be quite terrifying.

It's either a bunch of Butcher Doctor, or something even more terrifying; just thinking about it gives me a headache.

How much energy do you have left?

"Yes, but not much." The Tyrant was honest; now there was only one path ahead, so there was no need to play tricks.

"Me too." Yuki. He only had one card left. "Don't forget that the resistance increases as you go down. Even if you manage to get past the fourth floor, what about the third floor?"

"It will definitely be more difficult, but I have a question: now that we've triggered the plot, what will happen to Curly's group if they're further down?"

The Tyrant hit the nail on the head. Now, Curly and the others are either dead or down there. They're being targeted by the mastermind behind the scenes, so they can't just ignore Curly and the others.

Yuki's lips moved slightly, but he still didn't reveal Hayasaka Ai and Mai Sakurajima's identities.

"They may have reached a cooperation agreement with the hospital, so they're not afraid of Director Fukawa," Hiyori said timidly.

"Where's the evidence?"

"Uh, back on the ninth floor, I saw Mr. Curly go into the doctor's office. He might have some strange ability to deceive the characters in the instance."

Hiyori such conviction that the Tyrant fell into deep thought. His characteristics were so varied and unpredictable that no one could estimate them, and he could only gasp in surprise.

The dungeon and the player instance overlap... how are we supposed to play like this?

"Alright, whatever their situation, they're hostile now." Yuki subtly interrupted the conversation, her fingers tracing the clean nurses' station. "Hesitation won't help; don't forget, the demons are constantly expanding."

"But now it's a dead end, an insurmountable dead end!" the Tyrant emphasized.

He'd already experienced it; the enemies in this dungeon were incredibly strong. If five or six Butcher Doctor attacked together, how could they possibly win?

"On the surface, it certainly seems like a dead end, but we've figured out the core mechanism," Yuki said calmly, his expression expressionless.

"The demons are attracted by the sick; the stronger their resentment, the greater their power, and they become the energy source for those puppets."

"We are no match for these monsters in a head-on confrontation, but we can solve the problem at its root."

How to solve the problem at its root?

Both the Tyrant and Hiyori were intelligent people, and they immediately understood: if they couldn't deal with the demon that controlled the puppets, couldn't they at least blow up the power plant?

"But if this happens..." The Tyrant hesitated for a moment before raising his gun, realizing that this was going to test his limits.

Bang.

Yuki suddenly blew up the surveillance camera, beckoned to Hiyori, who paused for a moment, then took out a white medicine bottle.

Yuki held it in his hand and tossed it up and down.

"No need for that, I have a better alternative."

This path to survival was hidden by the Reincarnation Game; he had already been preparing for it when Shiina Hiyori proposed the hypothesis.

Of course, you can slaughter all the patients, regardless of any bottom line. Dean Fukawa isn't stupid enough to let you slaughter his farm.

He explained the effect of the [Comfort Pills]. Tyrant, being a veteran player, realized the importance of comforting himself when he heard about the Chaos Item's function.

The demons are attracted by the resentment of the sick, so why not reduce the resentment at its source instead of slaughtering everyone?

The best way to help patients get rid of their pain and enter a peaceful sleep is to help them.

His gaze gradually became alert, but he showed no fear like Li Dan, and raised his hand to extend his thumb.

"Major."

Chapter Twenty-Two: Dual-Line Operation (First Update)

The Tyrant was finally convinced of his defeat.

Even if it's only a temporary fix and a hundred pieces can't cover everyone, it will definitely greatly reduce resentment, which in turn weakens the demon's strength.

As for the increased side effects, as long as they don't accumulate, the maximum effective time of five hours is sufficient.

The key point is that the pill's concealment will leave Director Fukawa with a lot of questions, and it also solves the problem of Shiina Hiyori's inability to fight.

"I think we can gamble on it; maybe we can use this opportunity to get through Prompt Five," the Tyrant declared on the spot.

[Tip 5: After accumulating four instances of Deep into the Wrong Path, the player will suffer demonic punishment.]

They've accumulated three such instances, reaching a critical point, and the Tyrant and Yuki have sensed an opportunity.

Weakening—if I make the demons weak enough, wouldn't I be able to utilize the power of my Conceptual Craft Essence?

Yuki thought a little deeper and said eagerly, "Let's begin, Hiyori. Be quick, but don't go too fast, take it slow."

The girl nodded stiffly. She didn't have to fight, but the mission was still very difficult, and she also had to worry about whether the two of them would sell her out.

Mr. Yuki wouldn't do that; I believe him.

Hiyori, self-deprecating, strode into the ward, while Yuki gestured for Tyrant to enter, and together they returned to the elevator.

He didn't start the elevator; he just leaned against the wall and pretended to doze off. Because he had rested during the previous scene, he was still in good physical condition.

Neither of them spoke, a subtle hint that players couldn't possibly trust each other completely, but both were prepared to resolve the main conflict first.

"This instance seems normal, but with new players, the difficulty is a bit unusual. Do you have any clues?" The Tyrant's question came suddenly. He was convinced, but he had already realized something was wrong.

"Why do you ask that?" Yuki, opened his eyes, as if he had expected it.

"Because I misjudged your strength. I originally thought you were a veteran player who had experienced four dungeons." The Tyrant's voice was full of frustration. He had actually discovered that he could start the story a long time ago, but he made things complicated by estimating Yuki's strength based on his experience in four dungeons.

"By the way, I've completed three instances. Just how experienced are you?"

"One," Yuki said succinctly.

"Damn, fine, don't tell me then." The Tyrant didn't believe a word of it. This half-baked newbie who just finished one dungeon is so strong? Am I a complete idiot?

That's not important. He estimated that Yuki had probably gone through two or three dungeons, roughly the same level as himself. But then another question arose: if Yuuki's strength was similar to his own, how difficult were these dungeons?

Yuki glanced at him furtively and whispered, "The unusual difficulty might be because they used a contract-type item. That's the foundation of mutual trust, much stronger than that unreliable team-up function."

"That's true. It seems we've had really bad luck. The side effects of contract items don't necessarily translate into increased dungeon difficulty."

Beep beep beep.

The watch beeped, and the Tyrant stopped dwelling on the matter, slowly raising his large, thick fingers.

Are you ready?

"Let's begin, according to the plan we agreed upon."

As he pressed the button, the elevator began to hum. With a slight feeling of weightlessness, Yuki clearly felt himself falling, as if he were plunging into Abyss Grade.

My heart was racing uncontrollably, and my eyes were glued to the constantly changing numbers on the panel.

7, 6, 5.

Bite--

[We've reached the fourth floor]

The elevator doors opened to both sides, revealing two players inside who had drawn their knives and guns, ready to charge. The plan was for the battle to start with the difficult parts and then move to the easier ones, and in the early stages, they could use the elevator to employ underhanded tactics.

My gaze followed the opening elevator doors and expanded to another unfamiliar floor; it didn't look like a ward or an operating room.

There were small rooms on both sides of the corridor, and the air was thick with fog, several percentage points stronger than on the fifth floor, but there was not a single demon in sight, and everything around was quiet.

This should have been a good thing, but Yuki and the Tyrant became even more nervous, indicating that the other side had figured out their plan.

Yuki originally planned to use the game rules to take turns covering for the Tyrant and wear down the puppets in the lobby. Since the opponent couldn't get into the elevator, they could cheat as many times as they wanted.

"Inviting the enemy into the trap?"

"Yes, but we have to go in."

Can I get a refund?

"Of course not. Comfort Pills can't be replenished inside the instance, and you only have one chance to weaken the opponent."

The conversation was brief, yet it clearly explained the situation. Yuki stepped out of the elevator, into the thick fog, looked around, bent down to pick up a wrench from beside him, and smashed the security camera above the lobby.

This happened twice; even the slow-witted Tyrant would eventually realize something was wrong.

"Is someone spying on us?"

"Not necessarily. No matter how powerful Dean Fukawa is, he's just a character in a dungeon. He couldn't possibly understand the rules of the Reincarnation Game." Yuki, who was walking in front, turned his head, his red eyes filled with killing intent.

"More likely, we're being monitored by the players."

"Yes, Your Excellency, that's the right thing to do. It's best not to get near the elevator and lead them to the floor."

The man in the white coat and medical mask put down the phone. When he turned around, the surveillance camera on the fourth floor was showing only static.

They're quite clever, not as crazy as I remembered.

He raised an eyebrow, revealing a rather interested expression. Every player in the Reincarnation Realm is a master of disguise; you can't judge a book by its cover. For example, even he, the "noob" of these three dungeons, was leading the pack.

"It doesn't matter, I was almost ready anyway."