In the real world.
Another live broadcast from the Weird Space had begun.
The audience in the Dragon Nation was glued to their screens, the entire country watching Gu Yi's progress through the dungeon.
At this moment, Gu Yi was lying motionless on a hospital bed. He had a youthful face, looking like a recent college graduate. His expression was stiff, and he seemed a little nervous.
"Why isn't this guy moving yet?"
"The dungeon probably hasn't started, right? He'll be able to move once it begins."
"Ah, the Adventurer's file is here."
The experts in the Strategy Group reviewed Gu Yi's personal file, which contained all his detailed information.
Third-year, Information Engineering major.
Hobbies: long-distance running, detective novels, escape rooms.
Judging from his basic information, Gu Yi's hobbies might be somewhat helpful for clearing the Weird Space.
Meanwhile, the Adventurers from other nations had already started to move.
Gu Yi from the Dragon Nation, however, was still lying on the bed in a daze.
"What is this Dragon Nation guy doing?"
"Maybe he's scared stiff?"
"Look, our Lighthouse Nation's Adventurer is the best. He's already found the note under the bed."
"Is the Kimchi Nation's Adventurer an idiot? Why is he trying to pry open the window?"
At this moment, people all over the world were watching the Adventurers' progress. The fate of their entire nations was at stake.
The Lighthouse Nation's Adventurer was the first to find the note. After discovering it, he immediately took the medicine and tidied up the room.
After realizing he couldn't pry open the bars outside the window, the Kimchi Nation's Adventurer finally turned back to search the room for clues.
Knock, knock, knock—
A doctor began knocking on the door of the adjacent ward. All the Adventurers looked at their doors in surprise, at a loss for what to do.
Only then did Gu Yi finally get up from the bed.
"Damn, why is this kid only moving now?"
"Wait, what is he doing?"
The Dragon Nation's Expert Group stared intently at the screen. Gu Yi was rapidly gathering the clothes from the floor, folding them with lightning speed, and placing them in the second drawer of the nightstand.
He pulled open the top drawer, and without a second thought, took out a capsule and popped it into his mouth.
This series of actions was as smooth as flowing water, as if he had rehearsed it hundreds of times.
"What is he doing? Has he gone mad?"
"No, that's not it. The Lighthouse Nation's Adventurer found a note. The note said to keep the ward tidy and take the medicine on time... But Gu Yi never got the note. How did he know about these instructions?"
The experts were completely baffled.
They continued to watch the screen.
After a brief exchange with the doctor and nurse, Gu Yi sat on his bed and spat out the medicine he had just swallowed. Then, he took a fruit knife from the third drawer of the nightstand and slipped it into his pocket.
The Kimchi Nation's Adventurer didn't manage to tidy his ward in time and was stabbed to death by a nurse during the doctor's rounds, his body riddled with holes like a hornet's nest.
The Sakura Nation's Adventurer had tidied his ward, but before he could take his medicine, the doctor transformed into a monster and tore him to shreds.
The other Adventurers died in all sorts of bizarre ways.
They didn't even make it out of their wards before dropping dead on the spot.
"My God, why are all the Adventurers dead?"
"Why is this dungeon so difficult?"
"This is bad. This dungeon might be the hardest one in the last three years. I'd rather race against zombies than go through a puzzle-solving dungeon like this."
"Don't worry, aren't the Adventurers from the Dragon Nation and the Lighthouse Nation still alive?"
At this point, the only surviving Adventurers were Gu Yi and the one from the Lighthouse Nation.
After spitting out the medicine, Gu Yi lay back on the bed to rest with his eyes closed.
The Lighthouse Nation's Adventurer, however, was restless, clutching his head and screaming.
Before long, the Lighthouse Nation's Adventurer was on the floor, thrashing about. He kept clawing at his throat, as if trying to vomit the pill he had just taken, but it was too late.
The Lighthouse Nation's Adventurer's pupils dilated, as if he had seen something terrifying before he died.
At this, all the viewers fell silent.
This was likely the first dungeon since the beginning of the Weird World with a death rate approaching one hundred percent.
For the past few years, experts had been saying that the difficulty of the Weird Space dungeons was increasing annually. According to predictions, this year's dungeon death rate would be as high as ninety percent.
"Is no one left alive?"
"No... there's still one."
On the live broadcast feeds of every nation, only the Dragon Nation's Gu Yi remained.
—He was now humanity's last hope.
...
The Weird World.
A nurse came to Gu Yi's ward and knocked on his door.
"It's time for breakfast. You can go to the cafeteria now."
Gu Yi opened his eyes and got out of bed.
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While he was resting with his eyes closed, Gu Yi's Spirit Power had recovered. He now had 20/50 Spirit Power remaining.
"If I sleep, I can recover one point of Spirit Power per minute. I only have two deductions left, so I need to be careful."
Gu Yi thought for a moment.
At the moment, he hadn't found any contradictory clues, so there was no need to use his ability.
He had been too nervous at the beginning and had missed many details.
Of the four deductions he had made earlier, at least two had been unnecessary.
Gu Yi picked up the note in his hand and thought it over carefully.
The fifth rule.
【There are always two people living in the Special Care Ward. Please remember this.】
This was the rule that concerned Gu Yi the most. He had even suspected it might be fake.
If it was true...
—Why hadn't he seen his roommate at all? Even if his roommate had temporarily left the ward, why wasn't there a second bed?
Could the clothes scattered on the floor have belonged to that missing roommate?
Could it be that there were two souls in his one body?
He couldn't be sure of any of it.
Gu Yi walked down the corridor with the other patients. Just as in his deduction, he heard a dog barking halfway down the hall. He looked around but saw no sign of a dog.
—Was he really mentally ill? Or was he having hallucinations from long-term medication?
Again, he couldn't be sure.
Too many unsolved mysteries were already piling up.
The minimum requirement to clear the dungeon was to survive in Chongshan Hospital for one month. It sounded simple, but it was anything but. No one could guarantee they wouldn't just inexplicably disappear, as described in the background story.
Taking the initiative to uncover the hospital's truth—that was more in line with Gu Yi's character.
Gu Yi stopped at the entrance to the cafeteria. He looked around and finally found a second note on a trash can behind the main door.
【Cafeteria Dining Rules】
1. The cafeteria is open from 7:00-8:00 AM, 12:00-1:00 PM, and 6:00-7:00 PM. Do not enter the cafeteria at any other time.
2. Please do not be loud in the cafeteria. If you shout, you will be warned the first time and punished the second time.
3. Please do not consume food from outside the cafeteria. The hospital is not responsible for any adverse effects caused by eating or drinking unauthorized items.
4. When getting your meal, you must select one meat dish, one vegetable dish, and one staple food. The total cost must be exactly 12 yuan and 5 jiao.
5. Unless you are a doctor or staff member, you are forbidden from leaving your seat before finishing your meal. Otherwise, you will be punished.
6. If you see someone collapse or cry for help in the cafeteria, please ignore them and wait for the staff to handle it.
Similarly, on the back of this note, there was a line written in blood:
"If you stand by and do nothing, can you still call yourself human?"
Proofreader: Peter Pan