Miraculous Healing (4): A dazzling entrance

"My name is Chen Mo. The taller one over there is Gong Yao. The other one is Yan Ming."

The director's office.

Across from Yuan Shiyan, a short-haired woman sat in a chair with her arms folded. Her plain but somewhat sharp features radiated a coldness that warned strangers to keep their distance.

A thin man stood beside her, his gaze shifting uneasily between Chen Mo and Yuan Shiyan.

A minor player with a dim glow. Probably D-Rank.

But the man farther back instantly captured Yuan Shiyan's full attention.

He was very tall, dressed casually yet smartly in black, and as handsome as the movie stars in the world Yuan Shiyan had come to.

Unlike those pretty faces with nothing behind them, however, this man resembled a black panther lying in wait. He exuded an unmistakable sense of danger that involuntarily put Yuan Shiyan on high alert.

He activated X-Ray Vision on the man named Gong Yao.

The result puzzled him: inside Gong Yao's brain, where his system resided, there was only a tiny, almost imperceptible speck of light.

There's less energy in there than an F-Rank player has!

Could he be another pretty face with nothing behind it?

The glow of both men's systems was actually dimmer than that of the seated woman.

Thoughts raced through Yuan Shiyan's mind before he turned his gaze back to Chen Mo, who was speaking.

Chen Mo's voice was as emotionless as her demeanor. She looked Yuan Shiyan up and down critically.

"We're the doctors sent from the city to provide support. Do we report to you?"

Yuan Shiyan had spent over a month in this Dungeon Instance and had met several groups of players, including plenty who thought highly of themselves, like Chen Mo.

He sneered inwardly, pushed up his glasses to conceal the cold glint in his eyes, and smiled.

"Yes, you report to me. In fact, I'm also technically your superior-"

He pointed to his name badge, which read "Director."

Chen Mo raised one sharply drawn eyebrow to indicate that she already knew.

"Ahem."

The man named Gong Yao suddenly cleared his throat behind her.

Only then did Chen Mo shift in her chair and ask "patiently," "Then what exactly are you in charge of, and what do we do next, boss?"

Chen Mo's questions left Yuan Shiyan floundering.

He suddenly realized that, as "director," he really had no authority that placed him directly above these players.

...Hmph. We'll see about that. Yuan Shiyan suppressed his irritation, put on an amiable expression, and opened his computer.

"Once you've checked in, head to the dorms. The afternoon schedule has already been finalized, so you may start work tonight.

"After that, come here every morning to check the schedule."

Chen Mo asked, "Do you make the schedule?"

Yuan Shiyan pushed up his glasses. "No, the hospital system generates it automatically."

"Oh," Chen Mo said.

The other two men came over as well to check their respective schedules.

"I... I haven't been assigned anything..." Yan Ming breathed a sigh of relief.

Chen Mo looked at Gong Yao-she had no shifts either, but Gong Yao had been assigned the night shift in Room 201.

Gong Yao stared at the screen without speaking.

Yuan Shiyan thought Gong Yao was scared, but then he suddenly pointed to one corner of the screen and asked:

"This 'Li Qing' on the day shift in Room 202..."

"Oh, he's a new hire from the same group as you, though he arrived a few hours earlier. He's already working."

"Oh..."

A smile slowly spread across Gong Yao's face.

He showed no trace of anxiety about being assigned the night shift.

The man straightened up cheerfully. "Is there anything else? Are you assigning us dorm rooms next?"

Yuan Shiyan said, "...If you have no questions, go find the security guard."

"Sure thing. Bye, Director!"

Gong Yao strolled out, his steps a little lighter.

Chen Mo and Yan Ming followed him. Neither managed even a polite goodbye.

Yuan Shiyan imagined their eventual fates once more, finally improving his mood a little. He prepared to open his livestream and see whether these strange players had brought him any extra attention.

To his surprise, the chat that had been buzzing earlier because of Li Qing was now so deserted that not a single comment remained.

Yuan Shiyan: "???"

Where did everyone go???

At that moment, in the staff dormitory corridor on the hospital's first floor.

Gong Yao politely asked the corpse-like security guard, "I'd like to share a room with your new doctor, Li Qing. Would that be possible?"

The guard said, "Yes. You. Can."

Yan Ming could only look to Chen Mo for help.

Chen Mo glanced at him and said coldly, "Men and women don't share dorm rooms. You're on your own."

Yan Ming said, "I'm scared..."

"This is only a D-Rank Dungeon Instance. What's there to be scared of?"

Chen Mo nearly rolled her eyes. "Judging by the rules displayed by the system, the only danger in this Dungeon Instance is giving patients the wrong medicine during your shift and having ghosts take revenge. The dorms are safe."

"Oh," Yan Ming said, reluctantly following the instructions and returning to his room.

Only after Yan Ming's door closed did Chen Mo mutter, "Useless."

"Momo," Gong Yao said with a helpless smile, "you can't expect every player to be like our people. Do you know why, out of the Nine Luminaries' A-Rank players, you're the only one I worry about?"

Chen Mo said, "How would I know? This is just a D-Rank Dungeon Instance. I could carry ten people through it with my eyes closed!"

Gong Yao closed his eyes, unable to bear looking at her. "I'm afraid you'll get impatient and cut down your teammates."

Chen Mo: "..."

"All right, go have fun on your own." Gong Yao waved a hand, turned, and headed toward the second floor again.

"You're not investigating with me..." Chen Mo's words suddenly caught in her throat.

Then a somewhat scornful expression appeared on her face. "Oh, I get it. You're going to see that lover of yours."

"Tsk. How can a young lady say something so nasty? He's clearly a good friend I hit it off with right away!"

Meanwhile.

His "good friend," Li Qing, watched Gong Yao's beaming face on the system screen, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily dropped another millimeter.

A moment later, a polite knock came at the door.

That face appeared right before Li Qing's eyes.

"Hi! Dr. Li, we meet again~"

"..." Li Qing also observed the formalities, giving him a slight nod. "Hello."

Gong Yao's waving hand paused. "Huh? That's not the reaction I wanted."

He reached Li Qing's side in two strides, pulled over a chair, and sat down. "Hmm... You don't look surprised at all."

"I saw your car."

Li Qing tapped the desk lightly. "That chair is for patients. What's wrong with you?"

Gong Yao said, "...I know you definitely didn't mean it that way, but that was pretty vicious, Dr. Li."

He quickly returned to his cheerful demeanor.

"So, do you have any information we can trade?"

Li Qing gave him a puzzled look.

"You've cleared this Dungeon Instance before. What information could you need?"

Had Gong Yao also noticed something wrong with this Dungeon Instance?

Yes, that had to be it. That A-Rank girl was one of his people too. Otherwise, there was no reason for two high-level players to repeat a D-Rank Dungeon Instance that offered almost no rewards.

But contrary to Li Qing's expectations, Gong Yao looked at him in utter bewilderment.

"Cleared it before? Me?"

The question in his eyes was so genuine that it did not seem feigned.

Then he laughed. "It may only be a D-Rank Dungeon Instance, but this is my first time here. Qing, are you remembering wrong?"