Blue Mountain Psychiatric Hospital 10

Qi Chanyang was about to die of anger.

And here he'd been happily thinking this batch of newcomers was so obedient.

Obedient?

He had cleared so many Infinite Game instances. Forget newcomers, even veteran players didn't order NPCs around like that.

"You were going to borrow the rag from her bucket???" Qi Chanyang was stunned.

Xie Fangcheng was even more stunned. "You believed me just because I said I was borrowing it? You're way too gullible, aren't you??"

Hearing that, Qi Chanyang breathed a sigh of relief.

The kid might look scatterbrained, but he must have known what he was doing. Maybe he'd spoken to the NPC just now to distract it.

Though that method was a little too thrilling, too.

Qi Chanyang said, "I didn't believe you. It's just... don't do that again next time."

Xie Fangcheng also breathed a sigh of relief.

Looks like the only veteran player here wasn't gullible to that extent.

What did he mean, "borrow"? Xie Fangcheng had planned to snatch it and never return it. He was just in the habit of being polite.

He'd made the politeness so obvious. Of course Qi Chanyang had caught on!

Whether they were players or NPCs, humanoids really were easier to communicate with.

But he really couldn't do it that way next time.

Just charge in! What was the point of being polite?

That was what Xie Fangcheng thought.

Qi Chanyang was considering where to put him next.

Room One already had Patient No. 1 and Gu Shanshan. Before telling them to take the medicine, the doctor had said there could only be two patients in a room.

Should he throw No. 1 out?

The thought made Qi Chanyang freeze.

Instances were full of deadly dangers, and numbered NPCs like these clearly had to be handled with extra caution.

When had he ever entertained such a bold notion before?

Sure enough, keep company with vermilion and you turn red; keep company with ink and you turn black.

Qi Chanyang glanced at the person beside him.

Xie Fangcheng was holding a bent stick between two fingers. He turned his head in a full circle, looking as though he were searching for something.

Then his eyes lit up.

"Wait here a second."

With that, he quickly walked to the security office door and pushed it open with practiced ease.

Qi Chanyang thought he'd found a clue and immediately followed.

Then he watched Xie Fangcheng pull down an honor banner hanging in the security office and use it as a rag to wipe the stick clean.

Qi Chanyang: "..."

Qi Chanyang finally snapped. "Hey! Can you take this a little more seriously?!"

"Hm?" Xie Fangcheng hesitated. He'd originally intended to toss the banner into the trash after using it, but after a moment's thought, he hung it back on the wall.

Damn it!

Was that what he meant by taking it seriously?!

Qi Chanyang growled under his breath, "Get your attitude straight!!! This instance is dangerous!! Stop staring at that stick all the time! Can you focus on finding clues and clearing the instance?!"

Mentioning the instance did remind Xie Fangcheng of something.

He rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a crumpled ball of paper, tossing it to Qi Chanyang.

"What's this?" Qi Chanyang asked furiously. As he spoke, he unfolded the paper ball, then froze.

"A clue," Xie Fangcheng answered.

By the ghastly white moonlight streaming through the window, Qi Chanyang skimmed it at a glance.

It was an experimental record.

Group 49, Day 226

Giant Pacific octopus surviving: 1

Tentacles - canine eyes successful: 7/22

Tentacles - rodent teeth successful: 11/41

...

Head - tuna head failed (survived 12 minutes)

Head - dolphin head failed (survived 1 day, 22 hours)

Head - Kaluga sturgeon head (survived 8 minutes)

...

Qi Chanyang flipped through it quickly. "Where did you get this?"

"Oh, the third floor."

Qi Chanyang frowned at him, but this wasn't the time to talk.

They should go back to the second floor first. He needed to check on Gu Shanshan.

With that thought, Qi Chanyang carefully smoothed out the paper in his hand, rolled it up, opened his mouth, and swallowed it.

When he turned after swallowing it, Xie Fangcheng, standing beside him, wore an oddly subtle expression that plainly said, So you have that kind of fetish.

Qi Chanyang: "... My personal skill, 'Cow Stomach,' lets me store things I swallow and spit them back out when I need them."

After he explained, the other man's expression grew even more subtle. "Can I ask a question?"

"What question?"

"When you spit them out, do they get covered in your saliva?"

"..." Qi Chanyang's face darkened. "Enough nonsense! I'll take you back to the second floor first."

Xie Fangcheng had no objection to that arrangement.

He couldn't stake out an NPC, so he might as well go back with them. Maybe he could wait by the stump for a rabbit.

Qi Chanyang took the lead, carefully sensing whether there was any danger around them.

Ge Juan had probably been tripped up by something on the third floor and did not appear again.

From the moment he had left the room that night, Qi Chanyang's nerves had been stretched taut. When they reached the door of Room One safely, he still found it a little unbelievable.

He had been prepared for a fierce fight, yet along the way, not only had no NPC like Ge Juan appeared, but nothing abnormal had happened at all.

Pretty lucky!

He knocked softly on the door and quietly announced himself to the people inside.

"It's Qi Chanyang."

Then Qi Chanyang took out the master key and unlocked the door.

Gu Shanshan was huddled in a corner, gripping the item Qi Chanyang had given her and staying on guard.

When the door opened and she saw it really was Qi Chanyang, she finally relaxed.

Then Gu Shanshan froze. "Mr. Xie?"

Before leaving, Qi Chanyang had said he would look for Xie Fangcheng in Room No. 9, but Gu Shanshan knew that Mr. Xie's odds of still being alive were slim.

She had only held out until Qi Chanyang came to rescue her by getting two NPCs to kill each other.

But Room No. 9 had been empty, without even a body. After all this time, running into any of the NPCs wandering outside would mean death in minutes.

Yet he'd really been rescued?

Qi Chanyang was curious too.

Now that they were back in the room, he asked first, "You didn't take the medicine?"

"No."

Qi Chanyang frowned. He first explained their current situation, then asked, "Logically, if you don't take the medicine, the patients will attack you. Didn't No. 9 attack you?"

Xie Fangcheng answered honestly, "I don't know. He couldn't catch me."

"What about the doctor?"

Xie Fangcheng said regretfully, "Couldn't catch me either."

Well, kid! He could really run!

Qi Chanyang was a little surprised.

But this game really was full of hidden talents. Qi Chanyang had heard that the player ranked sixth on the points leaderboard was a world champion distance runner, whose ability to flee was unmatched in the game.

Maybe this newcomer in front of him had that kind of ability too?

With that in mind, Qi Chanyang set the matter aside and opened his mouth, regurgitating the paper he had stuffed into his Cow Stomach.

The "Cow Stomach" skill took things in as they were and brought them back out as they were. Naturally, they wouldn't get covered in saliva.

After Qi Chanyang took out the paper, he heard an amazed "Wow" and applause from beside him, as though someone were watching a street performer breathe fire.

When he turned, Xie Fangcheng was enthusiastically applauding like a seal. "Amazing!!"

Qi Chanyang: ...

How did this guy manage to make people want to punch him every single moment???