Chapter 233: Frog Hospital (25) Electroshock Therapy

“Cheng Ping’an… Cheng Ping… Cheng An…”

A soul-calling whisper came from above, indistinguishable, like a mix of male, female, old, and young voices, all calling out the same name.

At first listen, it sounded like “Cheng Ping’an,” but a closer listen revealed it to be a reverberation of the two names, “Cheng Ping” and “Cheng An.” Yet, due to the similar intonation and tone, it forcefully gave the illusion of calling the same person.

“Drip, drop…”

Amidst the human voices, there was a continuous sound of dripping water, sometimes soft, sometimes heavy, sometimes near, sometimes far.

The familiar scene triggered synesthesia from the depths of his memory; a faint, thread-like scent of blood stirred at his nostrils, coyly invading his nasal cavity.

Qi Si opened his eyes to find himself seated in a chair, wearing a straitjacket, his neck and limbs tightly bound by leather straps and buckles, allowing only slight movement.

His head was fixed to the back of the chair, and his eyelids were taped to his eyelashes, forcing him to keep his eyes wide open, staring straight ahead.

His gaze fell upon a bare iron bed, its four legs firmly welded to the concrete floor.

On the bed lay a naked female corpse, large quantities of fresh blood flowing from her abdomen, seeping into the cracks of the bed frame, and dripping down the edges of the iron like a curtain of water.

A beam of cold white light from the incandescent lamp on the ceiling fell directly onto the female corpse, the stark contrast between light and shadow giving it the texture of an oil painting.

The blood beneath her, like an inexhaustible paint, invaded every corner of the canvas, spreading outwards after hitting the ground, like a giant silk tablecloth with the iron bed as the dining table.

“Is it a dream? Or… a hallucination?”

Qi Si remembered the dream he had the night before last after falling asleep; the setting felt quite familiar.

The only difference was that in the dream, the original Cheng An was sitting opposite the bed, but he wasn’t in this scene.

As for the details of the restraints being tighter… let’s not mention them for now.

“Cheng An, you’re sick,” a voice above him said in an exaggerated tone. “Every day you fall into various false hallucinations, believing them to be true, and instead doubt those of us who care about you—you are too seriously ill.”

The tone of the remark was condescending. Qi Si slightly raised an eyebrow and tentatively asked, “Director Cheng, what brings you here to see me?”

The voice didn’t answer but continued on its own: “However, we will not give up on you. Next, I will begin your treatment, and I hope you recover soon.”

The moment the voice fell, Qi Si felt a needle-like sting rush from his extremities into his blood vessels, coursing through his entire body like a slender snake in a second.

This sensation was not unfamiliar, but it was certainly long-forgotten; the last time he was treated this way was ten years ago… The current transmitted through the chair stimulated his body repeatedly, and the entire world seemed to instantly split into black and white.

Time and space twisted into a single strand, rationality and consciousness transformed into snowflake-like fragments, flashing before his eyes.

The veins on Qi Si’s forehead throbbed physiologically, and in the last second of his sinking thoughts, only one idea flashed through his mind: “Is electroshock therapy for Hemophobia really a professional match?”

…Outside Ward 404, Sun Dekuan had run all the way, and upon seeing the familiar ward number, he finally relaxed, collapsing to the ground and panting heavily.

Half an hour ago, he and Qi Si were searching the Directors Office when they stumbled upon a secret door, revealing a dense mass of corpses.

The corpses began to move, wriggling and crawling towards the doorway, as if to drag the living into the abyss of death.

At that moment, Sun Dekuan didn’t have time to think; he took off running, and after rushing out the door, Cheng Xiaoyu was nowhere to be seen.

Surging blood chased him from behind, the viscous sound like a monster swallowing food. He couldn’t spare a thought for Qi Si, shaking his plump body, running as fast as he ever had in his life.

Facts proved that human potential is infinite; Sun Dekuan was not slow, nimbly dodging left and right, and ultimately avoided being touched by the blood behind him.

Though his memory wasn’t great, he still relied on his impression, inadvertently running back to the ward.

At this moment, he looked left and right, but didn’t see Qi Si.

He belatedly remembered that Qi Si hadn’t left with him; instead, he had peered into the hole.

Now that he was gone, it was highly likely he hadn’t escaped and was in grave danger.

“This, ah, is called curiosity killed the cat,” Sun Dekuan patted his chubby face, feeling a bit gleeful.

Ultimately, he was an ordinary person with normal values. Although he was accustomed to going with the flow, he had no intention of sinking to the same level.

These past few days, following Qi Si, he had witnessed the latter’s various methods, and his heart was already filled with doubts and fear. The only reason he maintained a facade of peace was that he lacked the courage to break ties.

Now that Qi Si was in trouble, it was a heaven-sent opportunity.

Huang Xiaofei was dead, Lu Zimo was tied up, and he was the only player who could move freely, holding all the initiative.

He no longer had to live in fear; no matter how the instance changed, he would definitely survive!

Sun Dekuan mentally prepared himself, straightened up, and theatrically adjusted his clothes, making himself appear a bit calmer.

He pushed open the door, strode confidently to his bed, and sat down heavily.

On the adjacent bed, Lu Zimo’s face was haggard and pale from being bound, but his eyes were fixed intently on Sun Dekuan.

After waiting a moment and not seeing Qi Si enter, he visibly froze, then, as if realizing something, his eyes lit up.

The next second, he immediately began to wriggle on the bed like a maggot, hitting the bed board with a “slap, slap” sound.

Sun Dekuan was startled by the sudden noise, scratched his head in confusion, and got out of bed to walk towards Lu Zimo.

Lu Zimo stretched his neck and made a muffled “mm-mm” sound at him.

He understood, pulled out the towel stuffed in Lu Zimo’s mouth, and then heard the latter eagerly ask, “Sun Dekuan, something happened to Cheng An, didn’t it?”

Although it was highly probable, Sun Dekuan still shook his head: “I don’t know, we just got separated on the way. Maybe he’ll be back in a bit?”

Lu Zimo observed Sun Dekuan’s attitude and pretty much confirmed his suspicions.

—Qi Si was trapped for some reason. Although as a Veteran Player, he wouldn’t be finished directly, he wouldn’t be back anytime soon.

—Sun Dekuan and Qi Si were outwardly friendly but inwardly distant, with no intention of rescuing Qi Si, making him easy to turn.

Opportunity was at hand, and Lu Zimo gave a pale, bitter smile: “Regardless of whether Cheng An comes back or not, while he’s not here, I’ll make a long story short with you…”

Sun Dekuan’s eyes showed vigilance: “Little brother, don’t try to sow discord. Brother Cheng has helped me earn a lot of performance points along the way!”

He distrusted Qi Si, but he distrusted Lu Zimo even more.

Someone who would betray his own sister, and with whom he had a past disagreement, how much good will could he have for him?

Lu Zimo seemed to read his thoughts, tilting his head back, his gaze fixed intently on his eyes: “You don’t need to worry about me harming you. They all say I’m emotionally detached, holding neither grudges nor gratitude. I never cared about you colluding with Cheng An against me and my sister from beginning to end.”

What do you mean ‘against you and your sister’? You were the one who wanted Huang Xiaofei dead first, right?

Sun Dekuan grumbled inwardly, but he also believed Lu Zimo’s words a bit.

Someone who could be cold to their own family might genuinely not care about the grievances and enmities that ordinary people hold onto.

Anyway, the other person was still tied up, so listening to him for a few sentences wouldn’t hurt.

Seeing Sun Dekuan quiet down, Lu Zimo enunciated clearly: “I want to team up with you to deal with Cheng An.

“He’s an intelligence-type player; no matter how strong his combat prowess, it’s limited. With our combined strength, killing him would be as easy as flipping a hand.”

Sun Dekuan opened his mouth and let out an “Ah.”

He was wary of Qi Si, but he had never, from beginning to end, considered brutally killing a fellow human companion.

If he were to kill simply to eliminate dissenters, what would be the difference between him and Slaughter-path players?

“I’m just saying, little brother, he only tied you up once. If we just beat him up and tie him up, that should be enough, right?” Sun Dekuan habitually tried to mediate. “And about your sister, although it was sudden, didn’t you start it?”

Lu Zimo adjusted his angle, sitting up straighter in his bound posture, and quietly asked, “You’ve agreed to cooperate with me, haven’t you?”

Sun Dekuan clapped his hands: “Oh, my goodness, nothing’s even set in stone yet…”

Lu Zimo seemed not to hear, speaking rapidly: “You must have seen it too, Cheng An is a thorough egoist, with no morals or trustworthiness. To gain the greatest benefit, he can do anything, kill anyone.

“Becoming the sole survivor grants a large number of points; he has no reason to give that up. You and I are as good as dead in his eyes. If we want to survive him, we must strike first.”

Sun Dekuan mumbled, as if remembering something: “But he’s the only one who saw the documents in the office, and we don’t have any candy, so we probably can’t get into the office again… If we kill him, won’t we always be missing a piece of the clue?”

Lu Zimo gently shook his head: “If key clues are missing, we’ll clear the instance via the NE route. If we encounter danger, you can kill me at any time to trigger the minimum death count mechanism. Anyway, I have nothing to my name, and I definitely can’t beat you in a direct confrontation.”

These words were not without reason.

Sun Dekuan weighed his options, calculated, and a hint of determination gradually appeared in his eyes.

Ultimately, his aversion to Qi Si wasn’t entirely due to pangs of conscience; it was more because Qi Si was in control, and he couldn’t defy or resist him.

As an equally immoral egoist, he accepted Lu Zimo’s presence well, simply because the latter was easier to control.

In other words, the danger warning Qi Si brought him triggered his instinctive resistance, while Lu Zimo made him feel much safer.

“First, unlock my chains; we’ll talk about the rest later,” Lu Zimo urged softly.

Sun Dekuan nodded: “No problem!”

…”If there’s no problem, then let’s go.”

At Green Frog Hospital, the Female Teacher turned her head to look at Lin Chen and said indifferently.

Lin Chen stood by the pond, looking down at the noisy frog group in the pond, a little hesitant: “But the task of taking care of the frogs and breeding tadpoles for today hasn’t been completed yet…”

“It’s almost over, don’t worry about these things.” The Female Teacher adjusted her gold-rimmed glasses and turned to walk towards the hospital entrance.

Lin Chen hesitated for two seconds, but ultimately followed.

The Female Teacher visibly had issues; rather than letting her act alone, tinkering with who-knows-what behind his back, it was better to keep an eye on her at all times to ensure an equal amount of information.

—Information quantity was a concept Lin Chen had focused on while cramming all subjects over the past month.

Information is the basis of a game; with equal intelligence, the more information one obtains, the easier it is to win.

And the amount of information players knew seemed to be a standard for the Eerie Game to judge exploration progress, sometimes even determining who lived and who died… “Yesterday during the day, I explored the entire hospital,” the Female Teacher’s words interrupted Lin Chen’s thoughts.

Her voice was as calm as a precise machine: “It is known that at six in the morning and six in the evening, the instance refreshes once, restoring all people and objects. Theoretically, deceased players will also return to the human world in some form.

“The operation of the Ghost Domain must have a purpose. If all things were to return to their original state in cycles of twelve or twenty-four hours, the progress towards that ‘purpose’ could not be guaranteed.

“There must be a way to circumvent the refresh, or a place that is unaffected by the refresh.”

Lin Chen barely kept up with the rhythm of the deduction, subconsciously following the analysis: “If there really is such a place, the passage is very likely there… But how do you explain the pond and the frogs?

“I think the mixed habitation of Blue Frog and Green Frog near the pond is a very direct clue. If there’s a special place, it should be there, right?”

He wholeheartedly preferred to believe the information provided by Qi Si.

The Female Teacher had already reached the entrance of the Staff Dormitory. She stopped now and turned back, saying, “I also believe the probability is highest for the pond. Not finding the passage last night might have been an issue of timing and method.”

She reached out and pushed open the door, taking a few steps into the room, her eyes cast down at the floor.

After Yu Kun died yesterday, his corpse and flesh remnants lay in a pile on the ground, deterring people. Lin Chen had stayed outside the dormitory except for the time he spent on the phone.

But now, for some unknown reason, all the unpleasant things on the floor had vanished, not even a trace of blood remained, gleaming as if no one had ever been there.

“It seems they’ve cleaned up the scene,” the Female Teacher narrowed her eyes, her light gray pupils tinged with a darker shade.

“Cleaned up?”

Lin Chen thought to himself, “The NPCs in this instance are quite fond of cleanliness.”

He replayed the known clues in his mind and said, “I suspect that, just like how the Blue Frog Hospital feeds tadpoles dead infants, this side probably also uses corpses to do certain things…”

“Indeed,” the Female Teacher praised indifferently, then looked up towards the end of the corridor, “Let’s go to the Directors Office together to take a look.”