Chapter 84
Chapter 84
Sun Xiuyah's first throw turned out just as unlucky as Luo Xi’s — she rolled a four and landed on the 37th square, a damage tile, facing its punishment.
The merciless blade of air slashed the already bloodied girl once again.
As soon as she stepped onto the tile, Sun Xiuyah staggered in place and rolled the dice again.
Dr. Yao glanced at the result and couldn’t help but smile. “Not bad, the 38th square — a free tile. Since the original owner, Sun Xin, has already been eliminated, it now belongs to Sun Xiuyah. From now on, any player who lands on this tile must answer her question.”
Despite this, there wasn’t the slightest trace of joy on Sun Xiuyah’s face. Perhaps because her status as a patient was already sealed, as long as she could survive, she didn’t care about anyone else’s information.
— Xi Yu watched silently. Though he thought this way, he of course didn’t show any emotion.
Sun Xiuyah took a deep breath. Despite her face being covered in cold sweat from all the painful wounds, she made one final effort and threw the dice.
One point — the 39th square, a survival tile!
She couldn’t hide her fear toward the tile that had directly eliminated Luo Xi. After a moment’s hesitation, she stepped on it — and instantly vanished.
Probably didn’t end well...
The remaining five streamers exchanged glances; the scene was eerily quiet.
Zhou Rong couldn’t help but break the silence with a cold laugh. “I don’t know what illness Sun Xiuyah has, but it doesn’t seem to affect her physical strength. And she still has plenty of blood left. Whether she succeeds or fails doesn’t really matter — so what’s with all the pitiful act?”
Ma Guanshan frowned. “But injuries suffered during the Darkest Hour don’t heal when you leave. They completely interfere with recovery in the sanatorium. So it’s not strange if she’s scared, right?”
Before entering the game space, Zhou Rong had already been caught by him regarding her mission. Now, afraid this big lug might expose her in public, she immediately shut her mouth and stopped arguing.
About two minutes later, Sun Xiuyah came crashing down in a sorry state.
The bandages originally wrapped under her hospital gown were torn apart, her clothes ragged and soaked in blood. As if all her strength had been drained, she lay motionless in the narrow tile.
Dr. Yao shook his head, then suddenly produced a tablet and tossed it to her. “So pitiful. Here, a painkiller — take it and the pain will go away. Alright, next — Ma Guanshan!”
Ma Guanshan’s troublesome condition would ease significantly during the Darkest Hour. Taking advantage of the clarity in his head, he quickly picked up the dice and threw it.
Three points — the 33rd square, a blank tile.
Ma Guanshan let out a sigh of relief and threw the dice again.Three points — the 36th square, a blank tile.
…Was Fu’er possessing him or something?
Ma Guanshan, not sure whether to laugh or cry, rubbed his sore neck and rolled the dice for the third time.
With a flash of golden light, the dice very helpfully landed on a four — the 40th square, a guidance tile!
At this point, most of the streamers' illnesses and guidance agents had been revealed. Only three unknown agents remained, making them extremely critical, so naturally, all eyes turned toward him.
Ma Guanshan wasn’t someone who feared trouble — in fact, he looked excited. He jogged a few steps and caught the small bottle that fell from the sky.
The pattern on the bottle was of a soft-edged, round white orb.
Xi Yu blinked once and immediately understood: it wasn’t a white orb — it was the sun. The guidance agent was targeted at him!
Most of the other streamers likely realized the same thing, and their gazes shifted around subtly as they silently reevaluated their next moves.
Ma Guanshan was still quite afraid of the guidance agent Xi Yu held, but now he couldn’t hide his happiness. He stuffed the item into his pocket and cursed, “What are you all staring at? Can’t I be lucky just once?”
Dr. Yao made no comment, folded his arms, and walked over to Zhou Rong. “Your turn, girl.”
Zhou Rong puffed out her cute cheeks, caught the dice flying toward her, and threw it forward with force.
The dice drew a long arc and then landed with a thud.
Four points — the 38th square, a free tile.
Sun Xiuyah, who had just claimed that tile, looked around. After making eye contact with Xi Yu, she lowered her gaze and softly said, “There’s only a few of us left now. Who do you think would benefit you most if eliminated?”
Zhou Rong let out a grunt and stepped onto the tile. “Ying Zhixing.”
Xi Yu widened his eyes, expecting her to target him. Apparently, something must’ve happened between Zhou Rong and Ying Zhixing regarding their identities when no one else was watching. Otherwise, they originally had no guidance-agent conflicts — there’d be no reason to eliminate each other.
Named directly, Ying Zhixing smiled. His handsome, bloodless face looked vicious, like a devil, without the slightest trace of fear.
Zhou Rong turned her head away and rolled the dice again.
One point — once again, the 39th square, a survival tile!Zhou Rong glared angrily at Dr. Yao. “Big Sis, you’re being way too obvious! Why is everyone getting pushed into this square?!”
Dr. Yao blinked her beautiful eyes innocently. “Why would I target you? Unless… you’re planning to harm the hospital?”
“Bullshit! I think it’s more suspicious that you seduced the director!” Zhou Rong snapped back, a bit guilty, then immediately dashed into the square!
She had always been a streamer with exceptional speed and reflexes, so in a virtual survival challenge, she should’ve had a big advantage.
Unfortunately, Zhou Rong had already been identified as a patient with Alice in Wonderland syndrome, meaning she likely couldn’t accurately judge the size or distance of objects anymore — a severe disadvantage in survival challenges.
So when she vanished for three minutes and then tumbled back out in a mess, even fainting, it wasn’t completely unexpected.
Dr. Yao sighed, conjured a syringe, and injected it directly into Zhou Rong’s vein. Only after Zhou Rong coughed and painfully regained consciousness did she smile and announce, “You failed. Lose one health point. You now have three left.”
Zhou Rong struggled to breathe but didn’t complain. She stood up shakily and threw the dice again.
Four points — the 43rd square, a blank tile. Completely empty. Nothing gained.
Zhou Rong looked visibly disappointed, gave Ying Zhixing a hostile glance, then stared up at the sky.
Dr. Yao still smiled as she walked over to the handsome Ying Zhixing. “Finally your turn. Please roll the dice.”
Ying Zhixing pulled a card from his pocket. “I want to use a point card.”
Dr. Yao nodded. “Of course. How many points do you want to move?”
Ying Zhixing counted the nearest guidance square. “Five points.”
With a flick of Dr. Yao’s slender hand, the dice automatically rolled a five.
Ying Zhixing calmly walked forward and caught the guidance agent that fell in a glow of orange light. Seeing the rabbit symbol on the bottle, he smiled in satisfaction.
A rabbit. Alice.
This element was now so clear it left no room for doubt.
Zhou Rong furrowed her brows tightly, clenched her fists, and bit her lip in frustration.
Xi Yu observed the growing animosity between the two and started thinking: Looks like Zhou Rong’s earlier attack on me was just because she suspected the lipstick symbol might be linked to that Alice girl. But now that Ying Zhixing has gotten a guidance agent so clearly connected to Alice, that suspicion can be ruled out. So who is this lipstick spray in my hand really for? Ying Zhixing definitely has some disease like hemophilia — nothing to do with lipstick at all… could it be… for Fu’er?Thinking along those lines, Xi Yu couldn’t help glancing at that filthy little boy and blinked.
…Afraid of things encountered while bathing… lipstick… could it be…
A sudden flash of insight hit him—he instantly understood.
Fu'er glanced back at Xi Yu with a sinister look, nervously biting his lip.
By then, Ying Zhixing had already picked up the dice again and casually rolled a two.
Dr. Yao cheerfully announced, “Square 42 is a free square. From this moment, it belongs to Ying Zhixing. Any player who steps on it must truthfully answer his questions.”
Ying Zhixing gave a half-smile and rolled the dice one last time.
One point — square 43, a survival square.
His stamina had dropped significantly due to blood loss. Although his physical condition wasn’t the worst among the streamers, he was no longer as agile as before. Facing challenges would now be more difficult.
Everyone watched coldly as he vanished. After waiting about four minutes, Ying Zhixing finally reappeared.
Although he staggered slightly, he still stood firm and looked calm.
Dr. Yao’s eyes curved in a smile. “Very good. You succeeded — no health lost. Alright, Fu’er, it’s your turn.”
Fu’er seemed to be scheming something when she called his name, startling him. He hesitated for a moment before bending down to pick up the dice.
Like the other female NPCs, Dr. Yao didn’t particularly like this filthy little guy either. She pinched her nose and kept her distance.
Because Fu’er’s luck was always strange and his rolls typically landed on blank squares, no one paid much attention to him.
As expected, he rolled a three and landed on square 36, a blank square.
Xi Yu was already preoccupied with Luo Xi’s current condition. Seeing this, he lowered his eyes and let his thoughts drift elsewhere.
Dr. Yao clicked her high heels in annoyance. “So boring. Do you really have zero sense of participation?”
Fu’er didn’t even lift his eyelids and simply rolled the dice again.
To everyone’s surprise, this time he actually rolled a three — landing directly on the increasingly “popular” square 39, a survival square!Zhou Rong immediately let out a gloating laugh.
Fu’er’s wrist was as thin as a hemp stalk—no one believed he had much combat strength, so naturally, they just waited for his misfortune.
As expected, three minutes after disappearing, Fu’er tumbled back down, limping.
“You actually succeeded? I underestimated you,” Dr. Yao said, completely unsympathetic, even raising her hand to yawn. “Hurry up, I’m already very sleepy.”
Fu’er scrambled up in embarrassment, took a difficult step forward, and finally rolled the dice for the last time that night.
Four points—landing on square 43 again, another survival square?!
Frustrated, he bit his lip. He had no other choice but to hesitantly step forward and instantly vanish.
Dr. Yao glanced around. “Now everyone’s in a rough state. That’s fair, isn’t it? What happens in Kunshan Sanatorium depends on how hard you struggle from here on.”
Zhou Rong, tired, sat on the floor massaging her legs and chuckled. “Did the system plan this on purpose? Waiting until the last moment to bring everyone down to the same level?”
Dr. Yao smiled lightly without answering.
Just then, Fu’er suddenly crashed out, clutching his stomach, and bright red blood quickly pooled beneath him.
“Too bad, you failed this time. Lose one health point,” Dr. Yao said, tossing over a large roll of gauze, then gave a beautiful smile. “Tonight’s darkest hour ends here. Sweet dreams, everyone.”
As her words fell, the Monopoly board instantly swirled into a vortex, flinging all the players out.
Thanks to incredible luck, Xi Yu, who had taken no further damage, got up immediately after landing.
He realized that although he was still in the empty clinic room they had entered for the game, Luo Xi—who came in with him—was no longer there.
Did he go back to rest? Or was he still busy with something else?
After failing the final survival square, was Luo Xi’s body seriously injured?
That man with extraordinary endurance was never someone to give up easily.
He must be... in a very bad condition…
While Xi Yu was lost in thought, Nurse Xia, in charge of patching up players, pushed the door open: “Look at the state you’re in—what are you doing running around? Get back to your room and rest.”As she spoke, the shadow orderlies forcefully grabbed Xi Yu.
Xi Yu, deeply invested in the storyline and even more worried that something might have happened to the other undercover besides Nurse Chun, couldn’t help but ask, “In the evening, Attendant Dong was taken away by the head nurse—what happened to him?”
Nurse Xia raised an eyebrow and replied vaguely, “How would I know, and what’s it to you? Go to sleep!”
The shadow orderlies surrounded him without mercy, and Xi Yu could only be dragged away.
He relaxed his body, mind racing like a storm, analyzing everything that had happened in this round so far—
Out of the remaining seven people, there should still be another player with a special identity, likely a streamer. But aside from Yuan Wei, Xi Yu had no way of determining whether the other informants or spies had been eliminated. The status of the inducing agents was also delicate.
The Sun-type inducer, which suppresses his own condition, was in Ma Guanshan’s hands.
The reading glasses-type inducer, which counters Ma Guanshan, was in his own possession.
That meant there was a high chance of an exchange happening.
The bone-type inducer, which restrains Luo Xi, was unaccounted for.
The moonlight-type inducer, which restrains Sun Xiuya, had already been cleared—she was temporarily safe.
The rabbit-type inducer, which restrains Zhou Rong, was in Ying Zhixing’s hands. The two already didn’t get along, so a compromise or fierce battle was inevitable.
But the inducer that restrains Ying Zhixing hadn’t appeared yet. That was the final one still hidden during this darkest hour, which meant Ying Zhixing either had incredibly good luck—or received special help from an NPC.
As for the inducer that restrains Fu’er, it must be the lipstick bottle in Xi Yu’s possession.
Fu’er had stubbornly refused to bathe or wash his face—clearly avoiding contact with something that was always present in the bathroom. And lipstick, as a cosmetic item, can’t be used without a mirror!
If his guess was correct, Fu’er likely had a mental illness such as spectrophobia—fear of mirrors. He was afraid that coming into contact with a mirror would trigger a mental breakdown, which explained his current beggar-like appearance.
—So, does Fu’er have a special identity? Should he be eliminated, or used as leverage?
What kinds of challenges would the system set up to protect the undercover players? And what kinds of missions would it assign to the spies to oppose them?
There was no information to predict any of it.
Countless difficult choices swirled in Xi Yu’s mind. The only thing he was sure of was this: everything that would happen after dawn on Day Four would be the key to determining success or failure.