Finding Teammates

Finding Teammates

This feeling was really both exhilarating and sour, with a side of anxiety like he had borrowed money from a shady online lender.

The stronger Qin Zhou was, the more uneasy Mu Sichen became.

He would not simply believe Qin Zhou was a god-class monster as selfless as Pangu or Nuwa just because of a title like "Guardian God of Humanity."

What he had seen and heard in the Town of the Eye made it very clear to Mu Sichen that dealing with these "gods" always came at a price.

Admittedly, in his transaction with Qin Zhou, Qin Zhou had also gained some Followers. But as Mu Sichen looked at these Self Stickers flickering with silver light, he felt the Followers he had converted did not seem like enough to pay the interest on the Self Stickers.

Uneasy or not, Mu Sichen did not hold back. He converted ten volunteers in one breath before stopping.

After all, compared with whatever unknown price Qin Zhou might collect in the future, resolving the present crisis as soon as possible was more important.

With ten Self Stickers in hand, Mu Sichen let out a slight breath of relief.

With these Self Stickers, they could at least keep their minds from collapsing.

These were Self Stickers he had obtained by borrowing power directly from Qin Zhou, and they were stronger than the Self Stickers he had previously gained by using the radio to brainwash Followers. Calculated by level, if the Self Sticker Mu Sichen obtained with his own Energy Value was Level 1, then the Self Sticker produced by the radio's brainwashing was Level 10, and the Self Sticker obtained by using Qin Zhou's Totem was at least Level 30.

With these Self Stickers, even if he went and looked straight at Big Eye, he could last at least ten seconds.

But that was only ten seconds.

Wasn't the gap in strength a little too huge? Mu Sichen could not help smiling wryly.

"Is that enough?" Chi Lian opened the office door and poked her head in. "Do we need to trick more people inside?"

"No need," Mu Sichen said.

In truth, he had a vague feeling that these Self Stickers were still not enough. But he had yet to find the "Pillar," the timing was not right, and it was not time for the final battle. They still needed to keep a low profile.

Converting ten volunteers was the limit. Any more, and someone would discover what they were doing.

Mu Sichen put away the pickaxe.

After the pickaxe returned to the weapon slot, the number on Mu Sichen's blue energy bar returned to normal. The number became "4."

Mu Sichen stuck a silver Self Sticker onto the back of his neck. Silver light flashed, and the tattoo sank into the nape of his neck. His blue energy bar filled all at once, and the number also became "300."

[Congratulations to the player for finally finding the method to level up. You have used one Cornerstone-tier Self Sticker. The player's level has been promoted from Level 1 to Level 2, unlocking Self Sticker tiers.]

[Self Sticker tiers: Cornerstone tier, Pillar-tier, Hidden Star tier, Sun-Eclipsing tier, Sky-Shrouding tier. All Self Stickers below Cornerstone tier are Scrap-Paper tier and have no level-promotion effect.]

[Below Level 10, Cornerstone-tier Self Stickers may be used to level up.]

In ordinary games, players leveled up by fighting mobs and completing missions to gain experience points. But when Mu Sichen fought mobs with the pickaxe, only the pickaxe leveled up. He could not gain experience points; he could only obtain Self Stickers.

Mu Sichen had been thinking about how to level up and raise his energy cap, but he had never found a clue.

He could only analyze it according to his abundant gaming experience and assume that the method of leveling up still had to be found through fighting monsters and completing missions.

However, the novice mission issued by the System was too difficult. It was simply not something a Level 1 novice player could complete. He had to level up first before he would have the ability to complete the mission.

After ruling out leveling up through missions, the only path left was fighting monsters.

Unlike the traditional version where fighting monsters directly dropped experience points, fighting monsters only produced Self Stickers for him. So Mu Sichen felt that whether it was the method of leveling up or the method of quickly restoring Energy Value, it would probably still come down to Self Stickers.

This was also why, before taking action, he had borrowed Qin Zhou's power to attack the volunteers.

After obtaining the Self Stickers, Mu Sichen tried using them to level up, and this time, he succeeded.

The experiment was very successful, but it also made Mu Sichen feel that the road ahead was bleak.

Self Stickers containing such immense power were actually only the lowest tier, while the Self Stickers he could create himself were only Scrap-Paper tier.

This meant that, for the moment, if he wanted to level up, he could only borrow Qin Zhou's power.

This feeling of having his life held in someone else's palm was truly awful.

Mu Sichen suppressed the anxiety in his heart and looked toward the ten converted volunteers.

"You are General Qin's envoy. Please give us your orders," the ten converted volunteers said to Mu Sichen, wearing name badges that read "patient."

"Wow, Captain, you're way too amazing. We suddenly gained so many companions. Our odds of winning have gone way up!" Chi Lian closed the office door and said happily.

But after she carefully looked over the converts' name badges, her originally beaming face instantly turned bitter. Depressed, she said, "Why are they all patients? Aren't we short on volunteer companions? Did we just do all that work for nothing?"

Mu Sichen said, "No. The conditions for our next move have already been met."

He called Chi Lian and the ten patients over, then asked Chi Lian, "Do you know how to register patient information? Put one patient under Ke Yi's name."

A doctor only needed to bring in nine patients to be discharged. Ke Yi had already tricked eight people here. As long as Chi Lian was registered, the discharge requirements would be met.

Now that Chi Lian had replaced Ke Yi, once the conditions were satisfied, she could be discharged in Ke Yi's place.

She could register her own patient information, but Mu Sichen was worried that once her real personal information was registered, her Cut-and-Paste skill would fail. Chi Lian's ability was very important, so to be safe, it would be better to register another patient's information.

"I know. You register it on Ke Yi's exclusive form, press a fingerprint, and then have Ke Yi sign at the end," Chi Lian said.

The ten converts were exceptionally obedient and cooperative. At a casual beckon from Mu Sichen, one convert walked out and filled in his information on the registration form Chi Lian had taken out.

That action made Mu Sichen feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Shen Jiyue had voluntarily been contaminated in order to destroy the "Pillar." That had been his own will. He had been willing to sacrifice himself for his own aspirations. Mu Sichen felt pain over Shen Jiyue's sacrifice, respected his choice, and wanted to save him, but he did not feel uncomfortable about it.

Because Shen Jiyue had done it voluntarily. He clearly knew what he was doing and understood the consequences of doing so. He was willing to bear those consequences.

But these converts had lacked autonomy from beginning to end.

It was as if they had been hypnotized into becoming Qin Zhou's Followers, and then obeyed his orders like the walking dead. Whatever he told them to do, they did not ask whether it was dangerous. They simply executed it at once, mechanically.

They had become extremely convenient "tools," and Mu Sichen was the person using those "tools."

Mu Sichen was not some "bleeding heart" who disregarded the bigger picture. With his side's lives in danger, and with several teammates willing to entrust their lives to him, Mu Sichen would not stop acting because of that inner discomfort.

He carried the trust and lives of two people on his shoulders. He had no right to be willful.

But Mu Sichen had to remember this discomfort.

He could not treat these volunteers as "tools" just because they had once been brainwashed by Big Eye and turned into monsters. The moment he thought that way, it would mean he had accepted the underlying logic of this world, and he would only sink deeper and deeper.

The guilt was heavy, but he had to carry it.

Only then would he still be Mu Sichen, an ordinary student from the real world, and not a Cold-Blooded One in this bizarre world.

After the convert finished filling in his information, Chi Lian hesitated over the signature.

"Captain Mu, my handwriting is different from Ke Yi's. It might not take effect. Maybe she has to write it herself," Chi Lian said.

"You can use your Cut ability to paste the name from this diary onto it." Mu Sichen pointed at the handwritten name in Ke Yi's diary.

"But my Energy Value has hit zero. It takes 120 Energy Value to use the skill once," Chi Lian said awkwardly.

"You don't have to worry about that. I can lend it to you," Mu Sichen said. "You just have to sincerely ask me for help in your heart, and you will be able to use my Energy Value. But don't use it now. Wait until I say 'signature,' then activate the skill. Keep this diary and registration form on you, so it will be convenient to sign at any time."

Once the name was signed, Ke Yi would meet the discharge requirements, and changes might immediately appear on Chi Lian. Mu Sichen had not made all preparations yet, so it would be better to wait until everything was ready before writing this signature.

"So those 20 points of Energy Value before were borrowed from you!" Chi Lian's eyes were full of trust. "You saved me again without me even knowing!"

Mu Sichen: "..."

Being looked at with such trust by Chi Lian did not give him any sense of accomplishment or vanity. Instead, he felt as if the already meager money in his wallet had flown away.

"I can lend it to you, but you can't borrow it whenever you want," Mu Sichen said. "I need to use skills too, and this isn't exactly enough. Borrow it only when I tell you to, all right?"

"Understood!" Chi Lian said.

Then a thought occurred to her, and she asked, "Captain Mu, how much energy do you have? Is it enough for me to use the skill one more time? I can make us a volunteer companion!"

Mu Sichen had 300 Energy Value, exactly enough for Chi Lian to use the skill twice: once to switch name badges, and once to write the signature.

This level-up of his seemed to have happened specifically so he could provide Chi Lian with Energy Value.

"It can be used twice, yes, but we need to choose a suitable teammate to become a volunteer. These people don't meet the conditions," Mu Sichen said.

The converts were trustworthy. One order, one action. They were extremely obedient, and Mu Sichen had even asked them for some information about volunteers.

Volunteers had no so-called discharge. They had to assist doctors in curing patients. For every patient discharged, a volunteer would receive a pair of eyes. When the number of eyes reached ten pairs or more, they could be promoted, become Followers, and rotate to work in other posts. This was also a kind of alternative discharge.

These converts were very obedient and answered every question, but Mu Sichen wanted a teammate with the ability to think independently, even if that teammate was not quite so obedient.

"If only we hadn't gotten separated from Cheng Xubo. He'd be the perfect teammate," Chi Lian said.

Cheng Xubo was the Pushcart Player Mu Sichen had saved.

"Maybe he came here too," Mu Sichen said.

He was not clinging to a lucky hope that Cheng Xubo had come to the sanatorium. He was making a deduction based on reality.

Yao Wangping, he, and Chi Lian had all set out in the same direction, but because the fog was too thick, each of them had gotten lost along the way. Yet somehow, one after another, they had all arrived at the sanatorium, and no one had actually gone missing on the road.

This made Mu Sichen develop a suspicion. Perhaps it was not that their sense of direction was good enough for them to avoid getting lost. Perhaps the sanatorium was drawing them toward it.

For the "Pillar" to keep operating, it needed a continuous stream of people. Perhaps the "Pillar" itself had a power that attracted people.

"Really?" Chi Lian did not doubt Mu Sichen's words. "That would be great. I wonder what identity he'd have?"

"Probably family member," Mu Sichen said.

After he awakened Cheng Xubo, Mu Sichen had not given Cheng Xubo the Self Sticker he obtained. Instead, he had used it on himself to stabilize his SAN, which had been dropping nonstop at the time.

Cheng Xubo had no Self Sticker and did not meet the conditions to become his Follower. He was neither a Fallen nor Big-Eye's follower, so the sanatorium would naturally default him to family member.

"Too bad there are no phones here, and the System doesn't have an add friends function either. Otherwise, we could send him a message and ask," Chi Lian sighed. "This place is way too backward."

"It's fine even if we can't find him. We still have time. We can search inside the sanatorium for someone trustworthy," Mu Sichen said.

Aside from that, he also needed to find a way to add a supplemental rule.

It was time to continue exploring the sanatorium.

He instructed the ten converts, "After we leave, lock the door from the inside and try not to let anyone other than us enter."

The converts all nodded.

"Also, keep an eye on this patient on the floor. Don't let her escape." Mu Sichen pointed at the real Doctor Ke Yi on the floor.

The converts obediently agreed.

Mu Sichen left the office with peace of mind. As soon as he stepped out, he heard the door lock behind him.

Having obedient subordinates really felt far too good. It was exactly the kind of thing that made people swell with self-importance.

Mu Sichen pressed a hand to his chest, constantly reminding himself to keep an ordinary person's heart, guard against arrogance and impatience, and not let this world disturb his state of mind.

With an attending physician as a companion, exploring the sanatorium became much easier for Mu Sichen.

Chi Lian held Ke Yi's medical records, found the patients she was responsible for, and swaggered around with Mu Sichen to inspect the wards.

Since Mu Sichen could only move around the first, fourth, and seventh floors, Chi Lian first took him to check on the three patients on the fourth floor.

The condition of these three patients and their family members was quite bad.

When they saw Chi Lian, they froze for a moment at first. Then, after seeing the name on Chi Lian's badge, their attitude immediately changed.

The patients showed a certain degree of mania. Even though they were bound in chains, they still smashed everything within reach at Chi Lian. One patient even lifted his hospital bed to attack her.

Fortunately, Mu Sichen and the family members were there.

The family members were very obedient. They cooperatively found rope and, together with Mu Sichen, tied the patients firmly to the beds. They even promised Chi Lian that they would keep a close watch on the patients and treat them as soon as possible.

These family members all carried varying degrees of contamination. Their attitudes were submissive, but their eyes were full of anxiety. They desperately hoped the doctor could think of a way to treat the patients. They wanted to shed their identity as family members and become doctors as soon as possible.

As soon as Chi Lian walked out of the ward, she was so frightened that she sat down hard on the floor. Still shaken, she said, "No wonder this hospital needs so many volunteers. With patients this manic, without volunteers, family members alone can't subdue them."

"Yes," Mu Sichen said thoughtfully. "I understand now too. Patient, family member, volunteer, doctor - the four identities all keep one another in check. One really can't be missing."

"We won't find a reliable volunteer teammate on the fourth floor. Let's go to the first floor," Chi Lian suggested.

The two took the elevator to the first floor together. They had just reached the first-floor lobby when they saw someone standing in front of the Sanatorium Management Regulations, pen in hand, writing a supplemental rule.

That person was none other than Cheng Xubo.

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Author's Note:

Mu Sichen, heavily: I owe so much debt. I have no idea how I'm going to pay it back.

Qin Zhou, happily: You can use Chenchen to settle the debt!