Chapter 88
Chapter 88
As a porphyria patient, Xiyu was dragged out into the sun and exposed to brutal sunlight on the fourth day of the game. The injuries he sustained were even worse than those caused by the daily "treatments." He was dragged to Doctor Fan, who could only click his tongue in pity for a while before reluctantly applying medicine and bandaging him up, leaving him looking like a miserable mummy.
“There’s no other way. You all know Kunshan isn’t a proper place for medical treatment,” said Doctor Fan, acting like a whistleblower and speaking frankly now. “During the healing process, the new flesh sticks to the gauze, which brings a whole new wave of pain.”
Xiyu didn’t care about any of that. Instead, he raised his arm wrapped up like a rice dumpling and asked, “If I cover myself in gauze, does that mean I won’t have to be afraid of sunlight anymore?”
Doctor Fan raised an eyebrow and replied, “To some extent, it offers a bit of protection, but your illness isn’t something that can be solved by just avoiding light...”
“I understand. Can I have more gauze?” Xiyu asked.
Doctor Fan didn’t mind. He opened the nearby cabinet and casually grabbed a handful for him.
Only then did Xiyu softly say thanks, opened the door, and left.
With Zhou Rong out, Ma Guanshan’s leg broken, and Ying Zhixing vanished without a trace, only Luo Xi and Sun Xiuya were still waiting outside the clinic.
The pain kept Xiyu unusually clear-headed. “Where’s Fu’er?”
Sun Xiuya pointed outside. “Dr. Yao just finished treating him. He got so scared he ran off immediately.”
“That guy can’t be trusted. If you see him, just get him out of the game. He should’ve given me the lipstick lure a long time ago,” Luo Xi said with a frown as he stood up and helped Xiyu. “Feeling any better?”
Xiyu nodded.
Doctor Fan walked out of the clinic. “Stop chatting. Luo Xi, get in here!”
Even with half his face wrapped in gauze, Xiyu still tried to smile. “I’ll wait for you.”
Luo Xi nodded and disappeared inside.
Sun Xiuya, covered in injuries, sat far away and said softly, “I just need one more bottle of nutrient solution to win, but I haven’t found it yet…”
Xiyu had already used up all his nutrient solution to exchange for the doll lure. Hearing this, he didn’t get angry. Instead, he smiled faintly. “Still want to team up with me?”
Sun Xiuya raised her pitch-black eyes. “Your identities are obvious now. I can also guess there’s still a lot with Ying Zhixing.”
Xiyu: “If he tried to lure you in, you’d say yes, right?”
“Yes. I want to survive. Doesn’t matter who I have to go against,” Sun Xiuya answered honestly. “Maybe only Luo Xi would make me hesitate a little, because if it weren’t for him, I would’ve been reset at the end of the first round.”Xiyu didn’t dislike this kind of cold honesty. He did indeed have one extra bottle of nutrient solution in his pocket, but he wasn’t sure what this frail girl could actually do for him. He believed the reason Ying Zhixing hadn’t tried to win over Sun Xiuya was because he had the same doubts. So he simply said, “I’ll be heading out with Luo Xi soon to search for nutrient solution. If we find any, I’ll give it to you.”
At the very least, by this point, Sun Xiuya had no reason to doubt Xiyu’s sincerity. She nodded. “Alright. If there’s anything I can do, just come find me. As long as we can win, I’m not afraid of physical pain.”
Xiyu didn’t respond further. In fact, he felt a twinge of sadness, managing only a faint smile.
In the corridor, old and stained with blood and grime, the terrifying silence returned.
Xiyu waited for Luo Xi to come out, then the two of them supported each other and began moving around.
After all, now that the hidden danger surrounding the nutrient solution was gone, there wasn’t anything particularly frightening for the moment.
Luo Xi suddenly laughed. “Don’t we look like two old men right now?”
Xiyu, leaning on the black umbrella he had taken from the infirmary, gave a helpless laugh. “Let’s hope we really do live long enough to grow old.”
“So quick to agree to grow old together with me, huh?” Luo Xi teased smoothly.
Xiyu shot him a glance but wasn’t in the mood to joke.
Luo Xi sighed. “Don’t worry. When you destroyed the sunlight lure, you already ensured Ying Zhixing wouldn’t be able to get a perfect clearance. But just as I guessed, no matter how many people die in this game, the storyline will still carry on. So unless someone completely fulfills the victory conditions, the fates of the remaining streamers will be decided by audience votes or big data analysis.”
Xiyu didn’t argue. “That’s exactly why Ying Zhixing is trying even harder to perform well.”
Luo Xi smiled. “Either way, let’s focus on finding the nutrient solution first. We’ll deal with the rest as it comes.”
Xiyu nodded. He had to admit, having Luo Xi around really did make him feel more at ease. His mood suddenly lifted, and for the first time, he asked, “I wonder how Rabbit and Bai Qi are doing?”
“No idea about A-Qi,” Luo Xi said, rubbing his stiff shoulder. “As for Rabbit, I bet she’s already sworn brotherhood with a few NPCs.”
Xiyu brought it up partly to remind himself: no matter how difficult the situation seemed, it was still just a game. No need to stay overly tense. The corner of his lips curled slightly, and he took the initiative to enter a storage room and search around. His mindset was completely different from the earlier desperate struggle.
The entire afternoon passed with hardly any of the streamers running into one another.
Luckily, Sun Xiuya pulled through and found the nutrient solution for the next day on her own. For once, she actually showed a trace of relief and even took the initiative to sit with Xiyu and Luo Xi during dinner.
As for Ma Guanshan, who was now walking with a cane and had been saved by Xiyu’s nutrient solution, he harbored deep resentment toward Ying Zhixing, sighing non-stop as he ate.
With everyone’s identities now fully exposed, the small group of four no longer tried to hide their alliance. They were simply waiting for the final battle of the story to begin.However, Ying Zhixing, who had clearly been isolated, showed no sign of panic and even ate calmly and contentedly alone in the corner.
Meanwhile, Fu’er—who had been mentally removed from the team by Xiyu—gave up the precious opportunity to eat and disappeared without a trace.
Outside the window, dusk gradually settled in. The sunset glowed crimson like blazing fire, casting an ominous blood-red hue over the vast cafeteria.
Just as dinner time was about to end, Head Nurse Lin suddenly appeared with the shadowy orderlies, frowning as she said, “Grab that little bitch Nurse Chun for me! How dare she gather intel on the sanatorium? Tired of living, are you?!”
Xiyu’s chopsticks froze in midair, and he looked toward Ying Zhixing.
Ying Zhixing’s expression didn’t change at all. His handsome face, just raised, remained completely calm.
Nurse Chun kept up her act, crying and wailing, “Head Nurse, please don’t wrongly accuse me! I work so hard every day… I haven’t done anything bad…”
“Hmph, someone’s already reported you! The evidence is solid!” Lin Fengyang’s originally squinted eyes widened in fury as she waved her hand mercilessly.
The large men shaped like shadows immediately restrained Nurse Chun and barreled out the door with her in tow.
Xiyu took a bite of his steamed bun.
He heard a system prompt only audible to himself.
[Informer Side Quest: Find the terminal illness cure for Nurse Chun]
Since Xiyu had already spoken frankly with Zhou Rong, he naturally understood what was going on.
The report had surely come from a spy player—most likely part of their usual tasks: to identify suspicious undercover agents among the NPCs.
As for Lin Fengyang, she clearly had no better tricks—most likely relying on threats of death to force confessions from NPCs. But these undercover NPCs were all tough as nails, choosing to grit their teeth and endure, only to be injected with gene agents that would accelerate their terminal conditions.
The informer’s duty was to figure out what illness the NPC had, and then sneak into the pharmacy to get the cure.
Sun Xiuya was clearly not as insignificant as she looked. While Ying Zhixing had his head lowered eating, she decisively dipped her spoon in soup and wrote on the table: 21:00, 411.
It was the agreed meeting time and place.
The other three men all nodded in understanding. Sun Xiuya then wiped the soup away and resumed eating.
Having his NPC captured by a spy’s report, there was no way Xiyu could even consider sleeping tonight.But the spies' missions and storyline were unclear. Acting rashly now would only expose more and might doom the undercover NPC completely.
So he forcefully suppressed his impulse and waited until the agreed time before heading there first.
The so-called 411 was a broken-down archive room on the fourth floor. Inside were only metal cabinets and bookshelves—indeed a suitable hiding place.
Once everyone had gathered, Luo Xi immediately analyzed the situation: “Since we’ve decided to form an alliance, the next steps are simple. First, make sure everyone gets nutrient fluid. Second, help Xiyu get the undercover NPC out of the hospital.”
Sun Xiuyá held the bottle in her hand: “Informants get two bottles as a mission reward, so after midnight, we only need to find one more among the four of us.”
“Give the found one to Ma Guanshan,” Xiyu agreed without hesitation.
Ma Guanshan nodded gratefully.
Luo Xi gave further instructions: “Right now, Xiyu has to go see Nurse Chun and then steal medicine for her. But Ying Zhixing and Fu’er will definitely be watching from the shadows. Our goal as the other three is to lure those two away. Xiyu can handle the rest.”
Sun Xiuyá nodded: “Then I’ll distract Fu’er. After all, Ying Zhixing is way too strong.”
“Then the two of us will deal with Ying Zhixing,” Ma Guanshan said with righteous fury, looking toward Luo Xi.
Luo Xi thought to herself: Let’s just hope you don’t lose your mind again—that alone would be a blessing.
Xiyu smiled lightly at them. “No, provoking direct conflict won’t help. I have another plan.”
Luo Xi raised her eyebrows.
“You didn’t forget what you can’t do during your darkest hour, right?” Xiyu shook his head. “But aside from you, everyone else still has a good amount of health left—it won’t be easy for them to get out…”
Sun Xiuyá instantly caught on: “Right! Luo Xi is left outside. Even if Ying Zhixing goes all out and tries to come out to stop us, he can’t do anything about it. Luo Xi can go meet Nurse Chun and—with the help of Nurse Xia and Dr. Fan—steal the medicine!”
Luo Xi couldn’t help but reach up, tiredly, to pat Xiyu’s head. “Smart.”
Xiyu said, “So being unlucky isn’t always bad.”
“I don’t think I’m unlucky. If I got to meet you, then I don’t mind a bit of bad luck elsewhere,” Luo Xi replied immediately.
Feeling a bit unnecessary now, Ma Guanshan and Sun Xiuyá: “……”
Xiyu cleared his throat and said, “Since that’s the case, there’s no need to act immediately. Ying Zhixing is dead set on going down with us. If he can break Ma Guanshan’s leg, he can just as easily make us all incapacitated. Better to let him waste his energy wandering around outside. As for the four of us, we’ll wait until midnight and then sneak out to find the nutrient fluid.”Sun Xiuyá fully agreed but couldn’t help sighing. “I’m just afraid the nutrient fluid on the last day will be hard to find.”
Xiyu, knowing Ma Guanshan was very worried about this, reassured him firmly, “It’s fine. Ying Zhixing has extra stock. We can use that to hold him off from stealing outright. As long as we don’t waver or make reckless moves, if we persist until the end, we definitely have a chance at winning.”
Ma Guanshan and Sun Xiuyá both nodded.
Luo Xi silently watched Xiyu, and couldn’t help but admit that even though he was covered in bandages and wounds, he was still such a dazzling person.