Chapter 627: What Game Is He Playing
Mental-type instances are the most "interactive" among all instances, influenced not only by the instance holder but also by the players. So far, apart from the siblings A Yi and A Ying, no other players had entered Building Two. It was likely that some players had developed such fantasies.
He returned to Building One, where it was still morning. Nearly ten more players had lost themselves during the psychological treatment process, their mental states looking off as they walked out.
Two players mixed in the crowd were tackled by fully armed security guards, who bound their hands and feet before spraying them with a special disinfectant.
"These two are infected with a pathogen," one guard said, pulling open a player's clothes to reveal skin covered in black spots. "This pathogen is highly contagious. Anyone who has had close contact with them should get checked by a doctor as soon as possible."
The guards weren't acting out of goodwill, nor were they truly trying to save these patients. After delivering their routine spiel, they dragged the two players away, threatening to take them to Building Three.
Building Three was the quarantine building, the entire structure covered in electric grids—a place where anyone who entered would never get out.
However, the players weren't concerned about the fate of those who had been caught; they were worried about their own situation—they didn't know whether the infectious disease was real or not.
"Did anyone see anyone go to Building Two?" someone asked.
The other players looked at each other, scrambling for proof, but one person said, "Last night, most people were asleep in their rooms. No one knows if anyone went out. How could we know who went to Building Two? We wouldn't know anyway—there's already a clearance mission in Building Two."
With that said, everyone became uncertain. If someone really had gone, then all of them might now be infected with the disease!
"Don't even think that!" a player immediately interrupted, speaking sternly. "Haven't you figured out the characteristic of this instance yet? Things you imagine have a high chance of becoming real. Thinking like that will kill us all!"
The players fell silent. Meanwhile, at the nurse's station, a few young nurses gathered to chat. One of them said, "I love watching them put on a show together, like a TV series. Today, it's definitely a Biohazard scenario."
"Are you saying what they're talking about might be real? What if there really is a player world, and we just don't know about it?" another said.
"If you believe that, you're not far from being admitted yourself." The nurses laughed. "The dimensional rift is just a game. I played it before it was banned, but I found it too bloody and violent. I really don't understand why anyone would get addicted to a game like that."
"Of course, it's because they live such pathetic lives in reality," the nurse who spoke first added. "Players are like they have superpowers. If it were me, I'd want that too—doing whatever you want, how great is that? No need to work. But fantasy is fantasy; we still have to keep our feet on the ground."
"They're so pitiful, getting trapped in a game and unable to get out."
"What's so pitiful about them? They're all delusional people who don't see ordinary people as human. Haven't you heard they even attacked a police station? It's obvious they're not decent people in normal times."
The nurses chattered on, gradually making the surrounding players feel a creeping doubt: Could all of this really be their imagination?
Soon, the security guards returned, herding all the patients back to their rooms and starting a full disinfection of the building. The medical staff then announced that all family visits for the afternoon were canceled.
Most players had no objection to this, but what they didn't expect was that someone would cause a major disturbance in the hospital over it.
"This guy's crazy," Zheng Liang and the others said in disbelief. "This is an instance. They're actually treating it like a real hospital!"
Brother Liang's expression was grim. "The longer it goes on, the worse the symptoms might get. Looks like we'll have to take a risk tonight."
*
A full day had passed inside the instance, but outside, it was still night.
Only two hours had passed since the instance opened. When members of the Special Defense Department were sealing off random instances, they discovered this foggy area and determined it was a large, suddenly appearing random instance entrance. After notifying headquarters, they withdrew.
Usually, when encountering such instances, Special Defense Department members would actively test the range of the instance entrance. But given the current situation, with players running everywhere, there was no need to waste resources. So the Special Defense Department used thermal imaging to observe the area around the instance, tracking player disappearances to pinpoint the instance's boundaries.
"According to nearby surveillance, this instance has swallowed at least seventy or eighty people, including quite a few cannibal players. The group that just went in should be from the Twin Serpents clan," the secretary reported to Nie Xuan about the instance situation.
Nie Xuan had already finished dealing with matters at the prison. The winter night was long, and visibility was poor. During this time, some players had voluntarily withdrawn from the battlefield, greatly reducing the pressure on the Special Defense Department. As for whether any cannibal players or foreign players had slipped away in the chaos, they currently didn't have the energy to screen them.
"Have you seen Xu Huo?" he asked.
Xu Huo should have arrived long ago. Since he dared to openly provoke cannibal players, he couldn't have come without some preparation. At the very least, there should have been some commotion.
"That's also strange," the secretary said, pulling up several videos. "The figures captured in these images are all Xu Huo, appearing at almost the same time. But after comparison, they only look alike—they shouldn't be the same person."
Nie Xuan recognized Zheng Liang, Brother Liang, and the others, then asked, "Did any of them enter that foggy instance?"
The secretary nodded. "Several of them did."
Nie Xuan watched the video himself and said, "The first one to appear here should be the real one. The rest are all disguised."
He paused and then asked, "Have you found Li Chun?"
"She's not with Xu Huo. Five hours ago, she appeared alone near the commercial street, reportedly... looking for a job." The secretary's expression was hard to read.
Nie Xuan was stunned for a moment. "Looking for what?"
"A job?" the secretary said. "Special Defense Department personnel have already approached her, but she seems to dislike us and doesn't want to accept the job we offered. She wants to work in a restaurant kitchen as a helper."
"Why?" For a moment, Nie Xuan couldn't fathom her thought process. Looking for a job with such specificity?
"She didn't say, but Team Leader Wu pulled some strings to get her into a hotel," the secretary said. "Once she went in, she hasn't come out. She has nothing to do now, and I heard she's sleeping."
Nie Xuan's expression darkened. Xu Huo was clearly using himself as bait to lure players into the random instance. But with so many players going in, without Li Chun's help, he couldn't possibly handle them all. And now he had let Li Chun go—what game was he playing?