Chapter 227: Frog Hospital (XIX) Entry and Exit

The failure rate column displayed 【45%】, which was still within the acceptable range.

What Qi Si found troublesome was the prompt text saying the Dean would come to see him tomorrow.

According to his plan, tonight he and Lin Chen would search the bottom of the pond for the passage connecting the two hospitals, and if successful, they could try to advance the main quest tomorrow night.

As for tomorrow during the day, they needed to quickly complete the current tasks such as “Curing Illness” and “One Thousand Tadpoles.”

He wondered if the Dean’s intervention would affect the predetermined process.

After finishing her ominous words, the nurse returned to normal, her face and figure settling down, solidifying into clear contours.

“Dr. Cheng, a bed has been vacated, the same one as before. I’ll take you there.” She smiled and gestured for Qi Si to follow.

Qi Si nodded slightly, followed silently behind the nurse without showing any emotion, and was led through the familiar corridor until they stood outside Room 404.

Just like the previous two times, he was the last to enter the room. He sat down on his own bed, but his gaze skipped over Sun Dekuan and swept across Lu Zimo with interest.

The skinny young man in the patient gown hung his head, his face pale, his expression timid, looking exceptionally pitiful.

Noticing Qi Si’s gaze, he slightly shifted his face and returned a concealed look.

“Today, just like yesterday, everything reset at six in the evening. It seems six o’clock is the Refresh time for this instance,” Huang Xiaofei judged, joking with a smile, “This way, we can go much further in the future without worrying about not being able to return at night.”

Perhaps because there was hope for clearance, her tone was much more relaxed, lacking the solemnity she had when leaving.

Qi Si withdrew his gaze and smiled brightly, “Yes, no matter where we are, once the time comes, we can return to the original spot.”

Just now, he realized a problem.

Lu Zimo had been separated from the others for a full twelve hours. No one knew where he had been before the reset, where he had gone, or what he had done.

When information is spread, its value is correspondingly reduced; compared to similar information, the fewer people who know it, the higher its value.

If Lu Zimo hadn’t stayed in the ward as the players assumed, but instead used the daytime to explore other parts of the hospital like the players, then the clues he obtained would naturally give him an informational advantage over the other players due to their uniqueness.

Huang Xiaofei sat on Lu Zimo’s bedside cabinet and briefly summarized the players’ exploration progress to him, likely wanting to put him at ease.

Lu Zimo thanked her quietly, looking flattered.

Huang Xiaofei seemed quite pleased with this reaction and patted his cheek with a smile.

Sun Dekuan watched them making faces for a while, then leaned close to Qi Si and whispered, “Brother Cheng, I’m telling you, those two definitely have a problem…”

Qi Si rested his chin on his knees, listening to Sun Dekuan’s opinions with a look of utter despair, nodding occasionally to show he was paying attention.

He didn’t know if it was prejudice, but in his experience, every single fat person he encountered was annoying, and definitely not a good candidate to develop into a useful tool.

In fact, to prevent such people from spilling secrets later, it would be more convenient to deal with them quickly in the later stages of the instance.

After clearing the Red Maple Boarding School instance and entering the Ruins of the Sunset to see the various records and rankings, Qi Si had a faint realization: becoming the sole survivor easily attracts attention. Leaving one or two mediocre passersby as a cover might be a good choice.

Anyway, now that he possessed the Statue of the Joyous God and the Insomnia Syndrome Pathogen, he had plenty of reserves to harvest and certainly didn’t lack the reward points for the minimum death toll.

But someone like Sun Dekuan was simply too mediocre.

“Ding-a-ling… Ding-a-ling…”

The floating ring of an old-fashioned telephone sounded, interrupting the players’ private whispers.

Qi Si left Sun Dekuan, walked over, picked up the phone, and said with a smile, “Lin Chen, good evening.”

…Green Frog Hospital, Staff Dormitory.

Lin Chen sat in front of the desk where the phone rested, with a Female Teacher in a black suit standing beside him.

Without Yu Kun’s presence, the situation seemed much better; yet, under the gradually weaving web of suspicion, the situation seemed unchanged.

Lin Chen kept in mind the key points Qi Si had told him: to inform the other players of everything that happened from last night to today, without exposing their consciousness connection.

Holding the receiver, he stated as calmly as possible, “After we hung up last night, we encountered the Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts. Many female Ghosts rushed into the room, demanding their children from us. Their attack was too fierce, and another one of us died…”

Huang Xiaofei had walked up beside Qi Si at some point and asked coldly, “There are only two of you left on your side, is that right?”

“Yes.” Lin Chen glanced at the Female Teacher beside him and recalled, “We later climbed out the window and escaped to the side of the pond. Those female Ghosts chased us too, cornering us.

“Just when I thought I was going to die, a Red Frog suddenly jumped out from the bottom of the pond. For some unknown reason, all those female Ghosts changed direction and rushed toward that frog, claiming it was their child.

“They jumped into the pond one after another and wrestled with the frogs. In the end, both sides suffered heavy losses, and the entire pond was filled with blood and severed limbs.

“The strange thing is that after dawn, everything seemed to have refreshed. The pond became perfectly clear again. If it weren’t for the real injuries on my body, haha, I would probably think I just had a nightmare.”

This statement undoubtedly confirmed the “Refresh” mechanism that the players had already learned. Although there were several developments whose specific reasons couldn’t be explained, this perfectly aligned with the characteristics of the Eerie Game.

Even if they couldn’t figure out the underlying principle, players would only think it was their own fault—either they hadn’t collected enough clues or their deduction was flawed.

Huang Xiaofei looked at Qi Si and said flatly, “If we want to properly explore the pond tonight, we definitely have to clear out those biting frogs. We shouldn’t rush the job; we can first try to find a Red Frog and see if we can lure those troublesome Pregnant Ghosts to the pond.”

She held equally deep resentment toward both the frogs and the Pregnant Ghosts.

Frogs had attacked Lu Zimo on the first day, and Pregnant Ghosts had obstructed her exploration on the first night, causing her to be ridiculed. Getting rid of both at once would be perfect.

Moreover, the situation described by Lin Chen provided a viable path for quickly clearing the instance.

The Statue of the Holy Son and the Statue of the Holy Mother were located in the two separate hospitals. For players on both sides to complete the main quest, they were bound to find the passage between the hospitals.

The pond, where Green Frogs and Blue Frogs coexisted, was the most likely place for the passage to appear, making searching the bottom of the pond imperative.

And to safely and securely search the bottom of the pond, a field clearance was necessary.

Ghosts and frogs, two types of Eerie entities engaged in a match-three game, allowing players to complete the main quest—it was aesthetically pleasing, truly art.

Huang Xiaofei felt there was nothing wrong with this.

Although she didn’t know if Qi Si had dug a pit for her somewhere unknown, clearance was imminent, and no one needed to harm others for no reason.

This time, they might truly turn danger into opportunity and obtain a te clearance record.

Qi Si saw Huang Xiaofei’s expression, and without changing his tone, asked into the receiver, “Lin Chen, how is your mission progress? How many tadpoles have we eaten in total on our side?”

Lin Chen said, “Four hundred and six tadpoles.”

Fourteen less were added because Lu Zimo hadn’t eaten tadpoles last night.

The “Tadpole Candies” eaten by the Ghost NPC Cheng Xiaoyu were not counted. It seemed the mission wording was strictly defined: if it says for people to eat, then only people count.

“Okay, tonight you guys lead the female Ghosts to the pond. After they and the frogs suffer mutual losses, search the bottom of the pond for the passage. No problem?”

Qi Si slightly tilted his head, the corner of his mouth hooked, and repeated the plan he had already stated: “If the passage can be found smoothly, then tomorrow during the day, I will find a way to help you complete your current mission, and then resolve the main quest…”

A “beep beep beep” sound of a busy signal came from the other end of the phone. Time was up.

“Get into bed early. Lights out at half past nine. Early to bed and early to rise makes a person healthy!”

“Don’t open the door or the window after lights out. If you can’t sleep, just lie in bed and wait until the wake-up bell rings before getting up!”

The nurse’s knocking and shouting sounded as usual, moving from far to near.

The “clack clack” sound of lights being turned off came from the nearby wards, intensifying the sense of urgency.

“They only have two people left. Can they manage?” Huang Xiaofei looked at Qi Si, involuntarily speeding up her speech, “Although I don’t know the size of the pond, since the Eerie Game assigned four people to each side, the search certainly won’t be simple.”

“I believe he can do it.” Qi Si smiled and quickly handed out an Entry Permit to each player.

Since the call connected, Qi Si had kept the consciousness connection active to facilitate the upcoming actions.

Lin Chen listened to the conversation between Qi Si and Huang Xiaofei, secretly clenching his fists.

Even though he had failed once before, Big Boss still trusted him so much.

This time, he absolutely could not disappoint Big Boss again.

The Female Teacher stood beside Lin Chen like a specter from start to finish, her light gray eyes examining the latter’s face without blinking, as if trying to see through his thoughts.

At this moment, she asked in a cold tone, “Do you have any other means of communication with that Cheng An?”

Lin Chen’s heart pounded violently at the sudden question.

He stiffly turned his head and said in as natural a tone as possible, “No, I hadn’t expected to run into him again in this instance.”

The Female Teacher nodded, leaned against the doorframe, and gazed into the depths of the corridor… Blue Frog Hospital, Room 404.

Lu Zimo sat on the bed, holding the Entry Permit with his name written on it, slightly bowing his head, wondering what he was thinking.

Huang Xiaofei also got into her own bed, turned her head, and smiled at him, “Zimo, it’s not time to finish this instance yet tonight. Just stay in the room and don’t cause trouble.”

Lu Zimo pressed the Entry Permit under his pillow, but shook his head, “No, Sis, I want to contribute too.”

Huang Xiaofei was stunned for a moment, then let out a light tsk, “Temper! If you want to follow, then follow. You’re just one more trouble.”

“Clack, clack, clack…”

The sound of light switches rang out one after another, the ward lights gradually went out, and the world was completely swallowed by seamless darkness.

Voices and footsteps faded into the distance, but the players’ eyes twinkled like stars in the darkness.

In the frozen silence, everyone silently counted the time in their hearts.

The moment the hour hand of the Pocket Watch of Fate swept past ten o’clock, Huang Xiaofei stood up and turned on her flashlight.

Under the dazzling white light, Lu Zimo stood up, holding the bed rail. Head bowed and chest sunken, he stood beside the woman like a phantom.

The latter gave him a reassuring look, turned, walked toward the door, and pushed it open.

The three followed closely behind.

The corridor was not entirely dark. Dim yellow lights flickered, and vast amounts of water vapor surged, thick like the white shroud of a funeral home, causing an irrational fear.

In the mist, bloated figures in white clothing lined up like Ghosts, slowly approaching with stiff steps.

The leading Female Ghost in White dragged a black umbilical cord like a tail and walked gracefully in front of the players.

The players were prepared, taking out their respective Entry Permits and holding them in front of their chests.

On the female Ghost’s half-rotted face, her cloudy eyes rolled around, scanning each Entry Permit one by one.

After finishing, she turned back to the line, leading the long queue of Female Ghosts in White to continue along their previous route.

They passed.

The players still dared not relax, pressing against the wall as they passed the line of female Ghosts, only letting out a sigh of relief when they saw the end of the line vanish around the corner of the corridor.

Earlier, Sun Dekuan hadn’t dared to breathe, and his legs were so tense they barely kept him from shaking. Now he felt weak all over.

He subconsciously glanced at Qi Si beside him, only to see the young man looking with great interest in the direction the line had disappeared, an unusual light flickering in his eyes.

He shivered, “I’m telling you, Brother Cheng, what exactly do you do outside? How come you haven’t seemed scared since entering the instance?”

Qi Si had already replaced Huang Xiaofei and stood at the front of the group. He replied without turning his head, “Didn’t I say before? Just an ordinary university student, the kind with bad grades, coasting along waiting to die.

“However, my father was a Celestial Master. He used to tell me about supernatural knowledge. He was quite unreliable; once when I was little, he accidentally locked me in the attic with a pile of Magical Artifacts. That’s when I trained my courage.”

Sun Dekuan was impressed but didn’t quite understand, so he moved closer, “Then with our father’s cultivation level, could he tell that the Eerie Game existed?”

“I don’t know,” Qi Si said. “He died two years ago, killed by a Ghost.”

“My… my condolences.” Sun Dekuan swallowed hard, unable to contain his curiosity, “What kind of Ghost was it? One that could kill our father?”

Qi Si half-closed his eyes, his voice low and mysterious: “It was a female Ghost in a hospital, artificially raised. She saw too much life and death every day, and her resentment was sky-high. The Old Man went to see a doctor, intending to stay out of trouble, but he was recognized.”

What was all this?

Sun Dekuan was completely confused, and without realizing it, he had already followed Qi Si to the end of the corridor.

Huang Xiaofei stood behind the two, holding the flashlight high, shining it toward the misty doorway.

Qi Si walked straight to the Kitchen beside them, skillfully pulled out a wire from his Wristband, and picked the lock.

He strode through the door, holding an empty Candy Jar in one hand and grabbing a long-handled ladle with the other, reaching into the Iron Bucket full of tadpoles.

He scooped ladleful after ladle of tadpoles into the Candy Jar, and only tightened the lid when he couldn’t fit any more.

Afterward, he stirred the bottom with the ladle and scooped out a bloody, mutilated Dead Infant.

Qi Si wrapped the Dead Infant in a towel, stepped out of the Kitchen door, walked towards the main entrance, stopped, and waited sideways.

The churning white mist seemed substantial, trembling as it stretched thin white threads in all directions. The curling smoke twisted gracefully, outlining strange and bizarre shapes in the gloom.

Without warning, a woman’s crying voice sounded from the distance: “Child, our child…”