Darling, you can't leave

He walked up to the BOSS and took out the knife with the haphazard name.

[Streamer Yu Qing has equipped the weapon "I'll Cut You Down"]

By the time the mechanical announcement ended, Yu Qing had already pinpointed the tentacle that had ** him in the Detention Room. He took hold of it and stroked it twice, soothingly, as though smoothing a little animal's fur.

Then the young man raised his knife and brought it down. Swish-

"Ngh..." The BOSS abruptly clenched his teeth. A section of the dangerous tentacle was sliced off, and a few drops of black blood dripped from it.

Watching him put the severed tentacle into his system inventory, the BOSS lifted his crimson eyes, looking somewhat puzzled.

Seemingly noticing his confusion, Yu Qing lowered his gaze and explained, "We probably won't see each other again. After all, we're... I'm keeping a little memento."

With that, the young man stood up. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly heard a voice behind him. "Dar...ling...?"

The BOSS was calling him!

Yu Qing paused without turning around, but that voice sent a chill deep through him.

Behind him, the BOSS sounded utterly certain. Once again, the sounds released by the tentacles and the surrounding cold enveloped him.

Clearly, his mark wouldn't hold out much longer!

But... the BOSS still let him go.

The perpetually indifferent monster had developed a keen interest in him. That beastlike gaze fixed on him, as though the monster had cast a long fishing line and was toying with him at will, treating him as a fish that could be reeled in at any moment.

Back in the Sanatorium's lobby, Yu Qing's fingertips trembled. The man's final words still echoed in his ears like a prophecy.

"You can't leave."

He... couldn't leave?

Could no one... really get out of the Sanatorium alive?

After a whole night of turmoil, dawn was almost here.

A hazy light appeared outside the windows. The horrors inside the Sanatorium began to fall asleep, and the Angel Statue, which had been endlessly shedding tears of blood, gradually returned to normal.

Its cracks disappeared, and its face returned to its original appearance.

Yu Qing stayed where he was, continuing to look up at it. The longer he stared, the more he felt that face looked a little... familiar.

As though he'd seen it somewhere before.

It looked so much like... like...

The director?!

Something clicked in Yu Qing's mind. As though he had connected the dots, he immediately ran upstairs!

Inside the Director's Office, the wall he had blown up had long since been restored. A huge framed photograph hung on it, showing the director in his younger days with his mother.

The director's mother looked exactly like the Angel Statue!

So...

Yu Qing's fingertips trembled slightly, and a chill crept up his back as he reached an almost unbelievable conclusion: that madman of a director had flayed his own mother, sealed her inside the Angel Statue, and worshipped her every day!

[Ding-]

[Congratulations to streamer Yu Qing for discovering the key clue "The Sealed Mother." Story exploration progress: 91%]

91%!!!

Yu Qing barely reacted when the announcement ended, but the Livestream Room erupted with excitement.

Because across the entire game, not just the "Sanatorium" dungeon, exploration progress above 90% was rarely achieved even in other dungeons!

And regardless of the dungeon, reaching 100% story exploration progress earned a chance at a "top-tier prize draw."

Supposedly, every draw guaranteed a prize. At best, a player could even win a "Wish Card," bypassing all the suffering of clearing stages and saving up points to make a wish directly to the Deity.

Normally, only the streamer ranked first in points each year was eligible to make that wish!

The rewards were incredibly generous. Watching the excited Livestream Room, Yu Qing swallowed, feeling a little tempted. But... after he had beaten and slashed the BOSS, the monster surely wanted to kill him now. Every extra day he stayed meant another day of danger.

Besides, reassuring comments were scrolling through the Livestream Room one after another.

[But getting 100% is so hard. Since the game started, I've only seen two streamers achieve it. Qingqing's still a newcomer. It's normal if he can't do it.]

[It's fine! 90% is already amazing. Your clear video will be turned into an "outstanding example" and played on a loop in the livestream lobby~]

Yu Qing gradually lowered his gaze, his brows drawing together slightly.

He didn't care about his video being played on a loop. Right now, he only wanted to know where the key was. Could it be... inside the Angel Statue?

No! Yu Qing's gaze abruptly sharpened. That photograph in front of him was strange. Why were the director's mother's eyes moving?

He stared silently at the photograph, watching her eyes blink softly. Before long, bloody tears spilled out, and the corners of her mouth lifted. "Heehee."

The uncanny valley effect was right before his eyes, enough to make his skin crawl.

Just then, something wound tightly around Yu Qing's feet. He looked down and saw two red masses of flesh!

The flesh made chittering, gurgling noises as it engulfed his feet and continued spreading upward!

A second later, the flayed mother stepped out of the photograph with a scream and lunged straight at him!

But Yu Qing had no way to run!

His feet were completely stuck, as though submerged in a swamp. He couldn't pull them free at all.

There were no phones here, and the system had no communication function. He couldn't notify Qian Lai.

What should he do? What should he do? What should he do?

Yu Qing really was rather expressionless. Even now, as layer after layer of cold sweat coated his palms, his expression didn't change in the slightest. He even stared at the bloody figure before him with a hint of sincerity, his gaze innocent.

Dawn was approaching outside, and the bloody figure moved far more slowly than she did at night. But if this dragged on, he would still die sooner or later!

The Livestream Room remained tense. After a long moment, Yu Qing slowly drew his hands back into his sleeves.

Before him, the bloody figure crept closer and closer. Her mouth opened wide, her festering tongue trembling. "Don't hurt... son..."

"...Don't... hurt my... son..."

Drip, drip.

The bloody scene frightened even the Livestream Room, and some impatient viewers urged Yu Qing to hurry and use an item.

[But in a situation like this, there's no good item to buy!]

[Couldn't he buy sulfuric acid? Corrode that lump of flesh. That's what I'd do.]

[??? Is the person above blind? Can't you see the streamer's feet are inside that flesh too? If he buys sulfuric acid, he'll corrode himself along with it!]

The nauseating stench of blood filled the air. None of the popular items at the top of the System Shop's rankings would help.

Thinking Yu Qing was getting intimate with his so-called "BOSS husband," Qian Lai lay fast asleep in the ward.

The bloody figure was already right in front of him!

Yet Yu Qing remained perfectly calm, not even raising his head. His slender fingers kept scrolling across the screen, tapping something. The next second-

"Aaaah!"

"Aaaaaaaaaah!"

The piercing screams grew more agonized with each cry, but they didn't come from the bloody figure.

Nor... did they come from Yu Qing.