Chapter 5

【Holy shit, bros, why do I feel like something’s off?】

【Kang Xun’s hugging way too tight, and it’s been forever—shouldn’t he let go already?】

【Not gonna lie, that little loli looks so huggable. I wanna plop her on my lap and squeeze…】

【Just squeeze? Get bold, man.】

【Feels like a total love triangle showdown. President Ling clearly needs a hug the most, but he can only watch that other guy wrap his arm around the little nurse’s waist and rub her belly.】

【666. Isn’t he the germaphobe? Hoisted by his own petard.】

Kang Xun was terrifying enough, but Ling Yu wasn’t any better.

Luo Li found himself shrouded under that gaze full of aggressive intent. He wanted nothing more than to curl up into a ball so no one could find him.

“It hurts…”

The little nurse in his arms spoke softly. His tender palm pressed against Kang Xun’s chest, pushing him away a little. “You’re holding too tight.”

He couldn’t even bring himself to say the words to refuse someone outright.

Ling Yu suddenly spoke up. “Kang Xun, you’ve got hands and feet, and you’re not sick. Why are you clinging to the nurse for help?”

Kang Xun’s brows furrowed, his expression darkening.

He’d never thought much of the guy to begin with—let alone after witnessing Ling Yu and Luo Li exchanging flirtatious glances just moments ago.

On top of that, wasn’t this guy always one to stay out of other people’s business? What was with the sudden gentleman act?

A nameless fire burned in Kang Xun’s chest. Instead of letting go, he gripped Luo Li’s hand even tighter.

Right under Ling Yu’s watchful eyes, he slid his fingers one by one into the spaces between the little nurse’s pale ones until their hands were fully interlaced.

His other arm tightened around Luo Li’s waist, and he flashed an easy smile. “It’s not me clinging to ‘her.’ ‘She’ was the one who just said she was worried about me.”

Luo Li’s almond-shaped eyes went wide. Seeing the shame and anger in them only filled Kang Xun with an indescribable sense of satisfaction.

“You wanna follow me into the bathroom?”

Luo Li immediately yanked his hand free. “No way!”

Kang Xun shrugged and headed into the bathroom on his own.

Finally free of that hulking presence, Luo Li let out a long breath of relief. When he turned back around, however, he found Ling Yu still staring at him.

He was scared of Kang Xun, of course, but he didn’t dare get close to Ling Yu either. As the awkwardness stretched on, the icy man suddenly spoke. “Were you pretty happy getting held by that guy?”

The “girl” in front of him tugged at his top. The fabric around his waist was all rumpled, and his almond eyes were filled with confusion.

Ling Yu couldn’t stop himself from continuing. “If he hadn’t handed over that sex service qualification to Meng Hu, you probably wouldn’t have made it out of this ward that night, huh?”

Ling Yu pressed a hand to his temple, his voice growing even more hoarse.

“Your tastes are pretty picky.”

“You think you’re a bit prettier than average, so you don’t want to waste your time on a broke guy like Meng Hu?”

【?? A bit prettier?】

【Can’t see her face with the mask, but I bet it’s drop-dead gorgeous.】

【Can’t see it, but it’s gotta be pretty—did that even make sense when you said it? Take off the mask and who knows if it’ll be some goblin.】

【Yeah, yeah, I don’t buy it either. So can we get a peek?】

【Wait, feels like sour grapes, bros. President Ling couldn’t get the hug and his defenses are crumbling.】

【Yeah, his Skin Hunger Syndrome is that bad. Shouldn’t he figure out how to treat it? Clearing the instance is more important than his germaphobia, right?】

…Of course, Ling Yu knew that logic all too well.

His Illness Value was climbing too fast. If it didn’t start dropping soon, his mind would collapse first.

If Luo Li threw himself into Ling Yu’s arms too…

It wasn’t out of the question to make use of “her” for a bit.

Yeah. Just using her.

But Luo Li had no such intentions. He just found Ling Yu’s words biting and decided he was an annoying jerk.

So Luo Li ignored Ling Yu’s gaze and planned to tidy up his things and leave.

Just then, a muffled thud came from the bathroom. Luo Li’s heart skipped a beat. Kang Xun still hadn’t come out, which struck him as odd.

Was that guy plotting another escape?

He hurried to the bathroom door. It was slightly ajar, with no sound from inside at all—eerie in its silence.

After a moment’s hesitation, Luo Li gave it a gentle push.

But in that instant, someone seized his wrist and yanked him inside with brute force.

The door locked behind him. No lights were on, plunging everything into darkness. The already cramped space felt even more suffocating as Luo Li was pinned into the corner. He felt the sharp edge of a blade pressing against his chin.

“Don’t move. I don’t hurt girls, but if you do… I can’t guarantee this knife will know where to look.”

Kang Xun kept his voice low. The tip of the file knife probed the string dangling from Luo Li’s ear, slowly slipping under the mask.

“You figured it out, didn’t you? This knife belongs to Meng Hu. He always kept it in the pouch on his waist, never let it out of his sight.”

“I knew what kind of scum he was and didn’t care what he was up to.”

“But then… he went in there, and he never came back out.”

Kang Xun had snapped awake from the metallic tang of blood. When he shoved open the bathroom door, Meng Hu was already sprawled in a pool of it, the file knife buried in his throat.

His pants weren’t even pulled up, which made it clear he’d been caught completely off guard—stabbed right through the neck.

“The knife went in from behind, but the sink where it was placed was right in front of Meng Hu. Who could sneak into this tight space undetected, slip past him to grab the knife from the sink, and do it all without him noticing a thing?”

Kang Xun clamped a hand on the back of Luo Li’s neck. “No one could. Which means the killer wasn’t human.”

It wasn’t surprising that a hospital like this hid inhuman monsters.

But why had it targeted Meng Hu, of all times?

Luo Li leaned back against the door, the scene replaying in his mind from Kang Xun’s description.

Right here, Meng Hu had been singled out by something unknown—a single slash through the throat.

Then it hit him. “Th-that… has nothing to do with me. I don’t know who killed him either.”

“Nothing to do with you?”

After a beat of silence, Kang Xun went on. “That night, after you left, he was standing in front of the toilet. He went to unzip his pants, but the file knife on his waist was in the way, so he took it off and set it on the sink.”

“Then he dropped his pants and… got up to some business.”

Luo Li was beyond tense now, his calves trembling.

The flat of the blade scraped across his soft cheek before pressing against his lips. He heard Kang Xun’s wicked low chuckle. “As for what kind of business… I reckon you don’t wanna know for the rest of your life.”

A little nurse who looked barely out of her teens probably had no clue about that side of men.

“She” certainly wouldn’t know how a crude construction worker of dubious morals had eagerly locked himself in this dim bathroom, fueled by the clumsy fantasies he’d picked up from porn, unleashing his filthiest urges.

In that pitch-black, narrow space thick with masculine stench…

Just like right now.

The mask’s strings were flicked loose. The smallest size medical mask was roughly tugged off by the young man and crushed in his palm.

His hand brushed something hot and damp. Then came the sound of stuttering sobs.

Without the mask’s cover, a dizzyingly sweet fragrance washed over him.

In that moment, Kang Xun actually forgot his original goal—he’d meant to strip away Luo Li’s disguise and see if the face under the mask belonged to some inhuman monster.

But it didn’t.

A sliver of light leaking through the door crack fell on “her” chin—pale and soft, with a gentle point.

Faint teardrops slid from the corner of “her” lips, dangling precariously from the tip of her chin.

The little nurse slumped against the door. His face hid in the shadows as a low whimper escaped his throat, laced with that intoxicating sweetness.

His reddened eyes brimmed with tears, his thin cries soft and wet.

“Give it back…”

He reached out with pale pink fingers to reclaim the mask. But before he could lift them far, the door behind him was violently yanked open.

With a sharp click, the harsh fluorescent light blazed on. Luo Li, his eyes ringed red, hurriedly ducked his head. He heard the fury Ling Yu couldn’t mask in his voice. “What the hell are you two doing?”

Kang Xun let go, his face stormy as he grabbed Ling Yu by the collar. “You got nothing better to do? Huh? How long you been eavesdropping out there?”

“Who needs to eavesdrop?” Ling Yu shot back. “Someone’s panting like a dog in heat. You could hear it clear as day through the door.”

The two men glared daggers at each other, tempers flaring. Luo Li was furious and desperate, his waist still caught in Kang Xun’s arm. In a panic, he drew back his knee and slammed it hard into Kang Xun’s rock-solid abs.

“You’re both awful!”

He swiped at his eyes and seized the opening to bolt out of Ward 201.

~~~

【Settlement in progress.】

【No one escaped Ward 201 tonight. Task Two complete. Player “Ling Yu” Illness Value increased by 50 points.】

Kang Xun had taken the old mask, so Luo Li had to put on a new one.

His heart still fluttered with unease. He wasn’t sure if they’d gotten a clear look at his face.

He’d always looked girlish growing up, but he wasn’t a real girl. If they’d looked closely, that difference probably wouldn’t escape the eyes of Players.

He couldn’t let them discover he was a guy in disguise. He reminded himself over and over.

On top of that, what Kang Xun had said about Meng Hu’s death gnawed at him. His limited brainpower hadn’t fully processed all the info Kang Xun had dumped on him, but he got the gist: the killer almost certainly wasn’t human.

There were other monsters in the hospital.

“You are the Junior Boss. Naturally, there are Senior Bosses as well—and the Dungeon Leader.”

After leaving the area where the players gathered, 007’s voice piped up again. “Otherwise, if we’re just counting on you, this instance might as well be a free experience farm handed straight to the players.”

His tongue was as sharp as ever. Luo Li flushed with a mix of embarrassment and irritation as he defended himself. “I-I’m not that weak, am I?”

“Is that so?”

For some reason, 007 sounded especially aloof today. “If Ling Yu hadn’t shown up just in time, Kang Xun would’ve probably figured out who you really are.”

Luo Li played dumb. “It’s not that easy! Besides, y-you said it yourself—I’m just a small fry. He wouldn’t strip off my pants just to check if I’m a guy or a girl, right?”

Wouldn’t he?

007 recalled that moment from before and let out a cold, internal chuckle.

Who knew.

Luo Li headed back to the changing room as usual. The bathroom incident still left him shaken to his core—this was the first time he’d truly grasped just how dangerous the players could be.

He was so fragile, with the wits of an average joe. If anyone ever discovered he was actually the boss, he’d be utterly defenseless.

His thoughts were a tangled mess.

He hoped they wouldn’t stumble onto his room while hunting for clues.

…But sadly, his wish went unanswered.

The moment he stepped through the door into the changing room, something felt off.

His locker—which he’d locked tight—was standing wide open.

The spare clothes he’d stashed inside had been tossed into disarray. Several pairs of clean, neatly folded underwear had been rifled through, each one kneaded and inspected as if by careful hands. The once-smooth fabric was now crumpled and wrinkled.

Luo Li panicked completely. He staggered forward and hurriedly gathered up his clothes.

Then 007 spoke up, his tone suddenly grim.

“One’s missing.”

Luo Li had never heard such a chilling edge in the other’s voice—it came out deliberate, almost syllable by syllable.

“One of your pairs of underwear… someone took it.”