Ling Yu closed his eyes and steadied his emotions. Fortunately, the hallway was pitch black now, and the crowd’s clamor created a barrier between them, giving him a brief moment to catch his breath.
Though Luo Li had seen the illness prompt on Ling Yu’s body, he was still utterly confused about what he should do.
Hesitantly, he asked, “What happened on the second floor?”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than several people from upstairs carried a stretcher out of Ward 201, bearing a corpse.
The body was hastily covered with a white sheet, obscuring the deceased’s features. A thick stench of decay wafted over, churning the stomach with waves of nausea.
The stretcher passed right by Ling Yu and Luo Li. He heard the little nurse beside him draw a shaky breath.
After a moment of silence, Ling Yu said, “Meng Hu is dead.”
“He died in the bathroom of Ward 201. When Kang Xun opened the door, there was a file knife plunged into his neck. He’d already stopped breathing.”
The man’s voice was cold and low, devoid of any emotion, as if he were recounting the most mundane event.
As the noisy crowd gradually receded, a chill seeped into the empty hallway, crawling up Luo Li’s spine.
It made him shiver uncontrollably.
Though that man had harassed him, Luo Li had never wished for him to die.
Just moments ago, Meng Hu had been alive and well, and now he was a corpse. Luo Li felt a pang in his heart. He clutched the hem of his clothes, unable to say a word.
Ling Yu waited a long time but heard nothing from him. In the darkness, he could vaguely make out the silhouette of the little nurse.
He wasn’t wearing a mask now, and he seemed to have only his pajamas on.
“How did he die so suddenly…”
Luo Li’s voice was heavy with dejection.
Ling Yu sneered inwardly.
This guy had nearly sexually harassed him, and now he was putting on this act upon hearing of the death.
The thirst from his earlier flare-up surged again, filling him with irritation.
“It’s a hospital. What’s so strange about someone dying?”
Ling Yu forced down the agitation in his chest and turned to melt into the crowd. “I’m leaving.”
True to his word, the man walked away without another glance. It took Luo Li a good while to snap out of it.
He pressed a hand to his chest until the commotion fully died down, then returned to the Employee Dormitory.
Only then did it hit him: Meng Hu hadn’t died of illness.
So, who had killed him?
…
The next day, someone knocked on Luo Li’s door.
The nurse outside appeared to be in her early twenties, of medium build, with her face dotted in freckles.
Her name tag read: Lu Yanyan.
And hovering above her head was a star marker, marking her as a Player.
Luo Li thought to himself that not all Players were patients, after all.
Lu Yanyan informed him that with Meng Hu dead, Ward 201 had only Kang Xun left. Since Ward 202 had previously held just one person, they’d transferred him over to share Ward 201 with Kang Xun.
She cautioned, “Kang Xun and Ling Yu might be reluctant to stay in that room after Meng Hu’s sudden death. Keep an eye on their moods and make sure they don’t leave the ward.”
As soon as she finished speaking, a new task popped up in front of Luo Li.
【Task Two: Prevent the patients in Ward 201 from leaving tonight.】
Despite the unpleasantness with Ling Yu earlier, he still had to head to Ward 201 now.
As he pushed open the door, a lingering metallic tang of blood assaulted him before quickly fading.
Luo Li steeled himself against the fear and approached Kang Xun’s bed. Before he could turn on the light, his foot stepped on something else.
It was the restraint straps.
They lay in tatters on the floor.
With a clatter, the bite inhibitor rolled into view and shattered into pieces.
Kang Xun leaned against the headboard, idly spinning a file knife in his hand.
“What a pain.”
The young man radiated hostility. Beneath his black short-sleeved shirt, his powerful muscles rippled with barely contained strength, as if he might drive the blade into Luo Li’s body at any second.
Kang Xun twirled his wrist and stood. “If you don’t want to die, get out of my way.”
Unlike that Ling Yu, he had no use for props or NPCs—pointless nonsense. Want to get out? Just fight his way free.
The knife gleamed menacingly, and Luo Li couldn’t stop his whole body from trembling. He was too short, only reaching Kang Xun’s chest, and up close, the sight of those bulging muscles made his legs go weak.
He braced his back against the door and stammered, “You… you can’t go out yet. Y-your illness hasn’t gotten better.”
Kang Xun scoffed dismissively. His hand snaked past Luo Li’s waist to grasp the door handle. “Do I look sick to you?”
This arrogant, unruly youth had never wasted so much time on the starting stage. His patience was wearing thin.
“And why won’t you let me leave the ward?”
“Don’t tell me you want me to end up dead here like Meng Hu?”
“No!” Luo Li denied it at once, his pink lips pressed tight. “You… tell me where you want to go, and I’ll consider it.”
Kang Xun narrowed his eyes.
“My leg’s injured. I need treatment.”
He extended his left calf. Below the pant leg, an ugly wound marked where the straps had dug in—likely from when he’d torn them off.
Luo Li’s heart skipped. His mind raced.
This excuse seemed legitimate. He couldn’t think of a reason to refuse.
“Then I can fetch a doctor. You don’t need to go out yourself…”
“Fetch a doctor? So everyone finds out I cut the straps with this knife and they isolate me alone again?”
Kang Xun bent down, patience exhausted. “I told you—let me out or not?”
He pressed closer with the file knife. “You know damn well you can’t stop me.”
Luo Li knew all too well.
He had always been frail. Boys his age towered over him, and he feared nothing more than these tall, burly types.
In his panic, his peripheral vision caught the knife handle again. Etched into it was a character—Meng.
Meng Hu?
It looked like a tool scavenged from a worksite, likely his. But how had it ended up with Kang Xun?
That night when it happened… Kang Xun had been there too.
Could Meng Hu’s death be connected to him?
A fresh mark from the bite inhibitor scarred the young man’s sharp jawline, with visible wounds crisscrossing his neck—trophies from countless fights, no doubt.
Killing probably came as easily to him as eating.
“If you keep blocking me, I’ll start thinking you’re in on the hospital murdering patients.”
Kang Xun’s eyes narrowed as he turned the door handle halfway.
His voice was low and icy, laced with threat.
They stood locked in deadlock. After what felt like ages, a faint, pleading whimper broke the tension.
The little nurse in front of him pressed his knees together. His curled lashes glistened with mist, his small nose twitching as his fingers clutched at Kang Xun’s sleeve.
“I didn’t…”
He looked up timidly, his voice soft. “I’m just worried your illness isn’t better yet. I don’t want you running around everywhere.”
Something exploded in Kang Xun’s mind, the words “worried about you” echoing relentlessly.
His breath hitched. “I don’t need your worry.”
He raised a hand to shove the door open, but Luo Li suddenly clutched his own head.
Trembling in fear, he whimpered, “D-don’t hit me.”
Kang Xun was speechless. As if he’d ever hit a girl?
Then came a sharp rebuke: “Have you made enough of a scene?”
Ling Yu inserted himself between them, yanking Kang Xun’s sleeve free from Luo Li’s grasp. “I don’t like the smell of blood in the room. If you’re going to fight, do it out of my sight.”
Kang Xun: “?”
What the hell? Just like that, a huge accusation?
He hadn’t even touched a single hair on the little nurse!
Kang Xun rolled his eyes, raised his hands in mock surrender, and sank back onto the bed.
Seeing that he’d given up on forcing his way out, Luo Li edged closer to the bed in small steps.
Ling Yu glanced up, meeting his gaze. The little nurse quickly dropped his eyes and turned slightly away.
He seemed highly wary.
Luo Li cautiously inspected Kang Xun’s wound. The injury was real enough. Though he couldn’t let him leave the ward, surely bandaging it was fine?
He gathered some medicines and gauze, intending to tend to it.
But as he turned, Kang Xun was already trying to get out of bed again.
“You’re injured—why are you moving around?”
Kang Xun ignored the little nurse’s reproach and drawled lazily, “I need the toilet.”
He adopted an untouchable posture, taking in Luo Li’s furrowed, delicate brows and growing even bolder. “What? You won’t let me out, and now the toilet’s off-limits too?”
Luo Li hesitated, then stepped aside. “…Fine, go ahead.”
Kang Xun tied his shoelaces and started to rise—then paused.
A wicked smirk curled his lips. “Help me up.”
Luo Li took a deep breath.
He wouldn’t stoop to bickering with a childish brute. No, he wouldn’t.
The outstretched arm was pale and slender, so delicate he could circle it with two fingers. It looked utterly incapable of supporting any weight.
Kang Xun clicked his tongue and instead slung his arm around the little nurse’s shoulders.
Only then did he realize just how petite he was. Narrow shoulders easily enveloped in his arm’s curve.
Looking down from this angle, he caught a glimpse through the mask’s gap: a hint of fleshy pink at the nose tip, and plump, snowy cheeks.
Kang Xun’s arm across Luo Li’s shoulders tensed involuntarily.
All emotions seemed to amplify the moment the distance between the two men closed. Kang Xun’s mind was a whirlwind of confusion. As he lowered his head, he caught sight of the little nurse’s body trembling faintly.
It was as if Luo Li were being forced to carry out a task—clearly afraid and repulsed, yet compelled to continue. From start to finish, he wouldn’t even lift his eyes to glance at Kang Xun.
Was he really that terrified of him?
Damn it, Kang Xun hadn’t actually done anything to “him,” had he?
As if possessed—or perhaps out of sheer spite—Kang Xun let his hand slide from Luo Li’s shoulder. Instead, he wrapped it around the little nurse’s waist.
With a slight bend of his arm, he drew the entire man into his embrace.
It was a thoroughly wicked move, but in the instant his arm made contact with that slender waist, Kang Xun’s mind blanked out.
How could it be… so slim.
So slim and soft.
Kang Xun’s palm had been hovering awkwardly in midair when Luo Li, startled by the sudden pull, stumbled half a step forward. His soft belly collided right against the young man’s hand.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Kang Xun tightened his hold, drawing Luo Li completely into his arms.
Skin met skin as Luo Li’s pliant body was enveloped tightly. What had begun as a simple, unremarkable act of support had now taken on an entirely different tone.
Luo Li had no idea what was happening. The closer he got to Kang Xun, however, the more desperately he wanted to flee.
But where could he go? This room offered no escape…
As he lifted his gaze, a piercing stare met his eyes.
Ling Yu sat across from them—he had no idea how long the man had been watching.
The small, sweet, and soft young nurse was trapped in the crook of the tall, muscular youth’s arm.
Luo Li’s supple waist pressed flush against Kang Xun’s chiseled abs. He looked utterly compliant, showing no resistance even in his fear—just yielding to the man’s excessive intimacy.
…Kang Xun’s wound was so minor that delaying the bandage a bit longer would let it heal on its own. What need was there for such close support?
He didn’t have to hold Luo Li that tightly.
The one who craved embraces, kisses, and far more intimate contact wasn’t Kang Xun.
It was the soft, flat little belly; the knees pressed shyly together; the gentle, sweetly timid voice; the little nurse who would feel so incredibly comforting to hold in one’s arms…
Right now, it should have been Ling Yu holding “him” like this—breath ragged, eyes burning red at the edges. Not Kang Xun.
Unbeknownst to himself, Ling Yu’s nails had dug deep into his palm.
Luo Li still hadn’t pieced together what was going on when a system prompt chimed in his ear.
【Player Ling Yu’s Skin Hunger Syndrome is worsening】
【Illness Value: 20, 25, 30…】
Panic surged through him even stronger. Subconsciously, he shrank deeper into Kang Xun’s embrace.
Yet the Illness Value climbed even faster.
