Chapter 511
Chen Zi's method seemed absurd, but it couldn't be said that she was completely unreasonable. At least for now, they understood one thing: most of the chaotic things in this building likely came from their own imaginations, even though Lu Yun and the others had been reminding everyone not to think about those terrifying things.
"Even if you have to think about something, don't imagine yourself as a doctor," Xu Huo said. "One of the game tasks is to kill the doctor..."
Before he could finish, he paused and pointed ahead. "The doctor has appeared!"
The others turned to look back and saw several red bracelets in white coats being chased by monsters as they ran past the corridor.
"What are you standing around for? Chase them!" Chen Zi shouted and charged forward, slicing through the monsters crowding the corridor with one swing of her blade as she pursued the doctors.
"Let's go too!" Xu Huo called for Lu Yun and the others to follow, but as soon as the group exited that corridor, a swarm of flesh balls surged from behind, instantly scattering them!
Lu Yun and the others were swept into another illusory corridor. Two seconds later, the flesh ball encasing Xu Huo stopped writhing and slowly split open from the middle. He stepped out, lifted his leg, and a staircase appeared beneath his feet, leading straight up.
This was the real staircase.
Upon reaching the second floor, it was daytime here just like the first floor, though the first floor had just reached morning while the second floor was already at dusk.
The second floor was much cleaner. Aside from the increasing number of medical staff, there were no ghostly or monstrous fantasy objects for the time being.
Xu Huo stopped a passing nurse. "Are there any patients sent to the private treatment rooms?"
"Yes, Doctor Xu," the nurse said, leading the way ahead. She complained, "Two patients are very stubborn. We medical staff had to put in a huge effort to restrain them. You wouldn't believe what they did—they tried to set the hospital on fire and even injured Sister Zhang and the others. To calm them down, we doubled the dosage."
Xu Huo arrived at the treatment room and looked inside. The two players who had tried to blow up the building were already tied to the beds in specialized restraint suits, their mouths gagged. However, they were still conscious and glaring fiercely at him through the door.
Xu Huo opened the door and walked in. He picked up the medical records beside them and flipped through them. "These two patients not only suffer from severe persecutory delusions but also manic disorder. Keep them here for a few days. Increase the daily dosage by 15 times, and administer sedatives morning and evening."
"By the way, has the newly ordered brain shock therapy device arrived?"
"It has," the nurse said, lowering her voice as she glanced at the patients on the beds. "But the dean said that device is very damaging to the brain and doesn't align with the Seventeenth Hospital's treatment philosophy."
Xu Huo didn't look up. "As long as the frequency is adjusted properly, it won't cause permanent damage to brain tissue. It can also alleviate their suffering and make them cooperate with treatment. Patients who refuse to cooperate can never be cured. We're doing this for their health as well."
"I'll talk to the dean later. For now, bring the device here. I'll be back in twenty minutes."
The nurse nodded and followed him to the door. As she closed it, Xu Huo added, "If he still refuses to cooperate with treatment, there's no need to wait for my return."
Hearing this, the bound red bracelet player struggled even more violently. Xu Huo glanced at him without saying much, merely nodding to the nurse.
"Mm! Mmm!" The patient in the room continued to struggle, but Xu Huo had already moved on to the next room. He repeated the same words. Compared to the first female player, this male player showed significantly more fear and immediately calmed down.
Xu Huo left the "treatment room" just as a loud crash came from upstairs, shaking the entire hospital.
"The renovation upstairs isn't finished yet. Later, remind someone to tell them it's almost quitting time and not to disturb the patients' rest," he said to the startled nurse.
The nurse immediately accepted his explanation and assured him she would have security go upstairs to communicate with them.
In reality, only about four hours had passed since the instance began, barely reaching dawn. But for the group upstairs, the time had already felt long enough.
Although Xu Huo had used the instance to kill quite a few red and black bracelets, this E-rank instance couldn't truly trap A-rank players. He was merely finding a way out for himself while buying some time. It was very likely that before the instance ended, those high-level players would destroy it.
Of course, the instance authorization was on him, so he could also tear it up and leave.
But now wasn't the time to go.
Let the white bracelets and those red and black bracelets fight it out among themselves. He altered the hospital's structure, casually opened a door, and found Bai Kou.
The others were trapped on the first and second floors. Xu Huo had tried to avoid the upper floors as much as possible, and now they had been taken over by Bai Kou's spiritual realm. Although the hospital corridors and rooms still maintained their original layout, they were now filled with massive mechanical gears. The sound of interlocking cogs rose and fell, further dividing the small hospital instance into a vast world.
As for Bai Kou herself, she held a floating sphere resembling a globe in her hands, its map constantly shifting.
"Is this instance yours?" She turned to look at him.
"You're injured." Xu Huo glanced at the bloodstain on her chest.
"That whale was a bit troublesome to deal with," Bai Kou said dismissively. "His profession is a train conductor, and his trait leans toward controlling metallic objects. It clashes with mine."
"Can you handle all these players on your own?" Xu Huo asked. "How's the situation with the nobles from District 011?"
Mentioning this, Bai Kou's mood brightened. "They started fighting among themselves. That female player named Mona Douglas ambushed and injured Ashis Werner. The two sides are having a blast."
"What for? It can't be over weapons."
"Just a power struggle." Bai Kou wasn't particularly interested. She tapped the sphere with her finger, and small black fragments like metal particles surged up from the sphere before retracting, causing the pattern on it to change again.
"My target is only those two from the Eerie Sound Knights."
Xu Huo now confirmed that Bai Kou had a grudge against the Eerie Sound Knights. "You want to take back that batch of weapons?"
Bai Kou glanced at him without denying it. "I don't care much about those weapons, but I can't let them off without teaching them a lesson."
She paused and added, "If you can kill Hugo, the weapons he's carrying are yours. How about that?"
Xu Huo gave a faint smile. "You're overestimating me. I'm planning to make a run for it. I only came to say goodbye."
"Boring," Bai Kou said flatly. "Since you don't want to leave empty-handed, don't talk terms for now. The time-space items are suppressed, and I've already worn down quite a few of their items and traits. The opportunity is just right. But there's one thing to note—the pattern on Hugo's wrist, which looks like a tattoo, is actually an item. To prevent losing it, he sewed the item directly under his skin. As you've seen, it can endlessly destroy metallic objects and lower-grade items."