Luo Li had finally been rescued—or at least, that’s what he thought. He pinned all his hopes on this man and pleaded anxiously, “Can you help me untie the rope? Someone tied a knot around my hands; I can’t move at all.”
The other man didn’t budge for a long moment. Luo Li was on the verge of tears.
He puffed out his chest a little, displaying his badge. “Look, I have a badge. I’m a nurse, not one of the bad guys!”
The man’s body stiffened noticeably. Then, slowly, he squatted down.
The light fell across his face as he pulled off his mask.
Seeing that wicked, brooding countenance again made Luo Li’s heart plummet.
“…Fu Shiyue?”
Of all people, it had to be him!
Luo Li wanted to cry but had no tears left. He shouldn’t have wondered just moments earlier if things could possibly get any worse.
At the sound of his own name, Fu Shiyue’s eyes lit up with obvious delight, as if being remembered was joy enough.
Even in a squat, his physique remained utterly intimidating. He placed a hand on the edge of the rope coiled around Luo Li’s thigh and tugged outward.
Luo Li’s throat went dry. “Don’t pull like that—it hurts…”
Seeing Fu Shiyue working at the ropes binding him sparked a flicker of hope in Luo Li’s heart.
What if he was willing to loosen them?
But…
Fu Shiyue simply remained crouched before the chair, craning his neck upward to stare fixedly at him.
Luo Li had no clue what held his attention, only that a mesmerized light gleamed in the man’s eyes. At the same time, Fu Shiyue inched closer, shifting from a half-squat toward a full kneel.
Still bewildered, Luo Li watched as Fu Shiyue suddenly reached out, pinched the hem of his skirt, and slid it upward bit by bit.
Only then did Luo Li realize something was wrong. “What are you doing? Hands off my skirt!”
“The skirt’s tangled up with the rope. Be good—I’ll have you free in a second.”
They were indeed entwined; the man wasn’t lying. Luo Li wasn’t thrilled but saw no alternative. “Fine, then hurry it up.”
As Fu Shiyue drew half the rope free, he spotted the twisted knot. Untying it should release Luo Li entirely.
The problem was, the boy had it pinned squarely beneath his backside. Fu Shiyue raised his flashlight. “Lili, can you lift up a little? I can’t see underneath.”
Luo Li huffed impatiently. “I told you, I can’t move an inch.”
No helping it, then. He’d have to manage by flashlight.
Fu Shiyue instructed, “Lili, spread your legs a bit wider.”
Luo Li blinked in shock, his cheeks flushing crimson. “What the hell!”
“Your thighs are squeezed too tight—I can’t get to the rope,” Fu Shiyue explained patiently. “It’ll be over quick. Just bear with it, alright?”
Luo Li grumbled under his breath, wrestling with himself for what felt like ages. Finally, he lowered his lashes and, under that intent gaze, parted his thighs ever so slightly.
Truth be told, he could only manage the barest separation—nothing dramatic. But with his skirt already hiked up, even that sliver felt excruciatingly humiliating.
One glance downward, and he could see the edge of his underwear.
Fu Shiyue clamped the flashlight between his teeth to free his hands, the beam illuminating the knot as he grasped it.
The boy perched on the chair, his pale, tender thighs plump and yielding. Two gentle curves dipped where the pristine white fabric pressed into his skin, the rope biting into soft flesh. Everywhere Fu Shiyue looked, a rosy flush bloomed.
That pink hue seeped from deep within, veiled by the cloth—all that showed was the faintest trace at the edge.
The light pierced the thin material, tracing a lovely, yielding outline.
Luo Li heard a distinct gulp.
Fu Shiyue was swallowing hard.
Fu Shiyue had never laid a harmful hand on him, but the man exuded a menace even greater than the bosses themselves—like the sort that would hunt him down relentlessly.
And now here he was, gulping audibly. His Adam’s apple bobbed with the motion, veins throbbing along his neck. Kneeling on the floor, his eyes burned hotter by the second.
What on earth…
Luo Li’s ear tips grew warm. “Can you please just hurry up?”
Fu Shiyue nodded and tugged the knot loose.
The back of his hand grazed that small expanse of skin, warmth radiating through the cotton fabric from the boy’s body.
Even this contact burned so hot—what must it be like deeper inside?
His thoughts spiraled out of control. At the instant the knot gave way, he flipped his hand palm-up.
Cupping it into a shallow curve, he gave a gentle squeeze.
Luo Li: “…!”
The ropes slackened abruptly. He wrenched himself free and leaped from the chair, flicking on the table lamp.
Face aflame, he yanked his skirt smooth. When he glanced up, Fu Shiyue had let the flashlight drop from his mouth as well.
The man’s thin lips pressed together; he seemed lost in some lingering aftertaste, breaths coming ragged, swallowing with parched urgency.
Luo Li’s unease mounted. He waved dismissively, eager to bolt.
Fu Shiyue stayed rooted, struggling for composure. “Lili, I helped you out. Don’t you think you should return the favor?”
Still naive, Luo Li tilted his head. “Favor how?”
He pondered, then lit up with realization. “Oh, you’re looking for Wado too, right?”
The guy was a player; this had to be his mission.
Yeah—he needed to beat the others to Wado. If he played his cards right with Fu Shiyue, no more worrying about monsters or Kang Xun snatching it first… Heh, two birds with one stone!
Fu Shiyue nearly let the truth slip but reined it in. “Right. Will you come with me?”
Luo Li couldn’t have been happier. “Sure! I’ll help you out, just this once.”
He shoved the door open. Stepping out, he spotted Lu Yanyan still sprawled unconscious on the floor.
After a moment’s hesitation, he hauled her up and settled her onto a nearby seat.
Sure, she’d badmouthed him, but that was just her player mission. Luo Li got it.
He turned back, beckoning Fu Shiyue with a playful wave, like summoning a puppy.
“Come on!”
…
The hospital’s “hall” unfolded as a bizarre map layout—a dense peripheral maze that players had to navigate before reaching the actual grand space.
Tailing Fu Shiyue proved a smart move. Only players equipped with the Mission Guide could pierce the labyrinth. Luo Li’s wits alone would’ve had him pitching a tent in there for good.
When he kept those tattooed arms hidden, Fu Shiyue cut a respectable figure in his crisp white coat—almost proper.
Of course, Luo Li knew better than to trust appearances.
“Um… so, what exactly is Wado?”
He pried awkwardly for intel. Fu Shiyue halted, gesturing to a poster plastered on the wall.
“The century’s greatest scientific breakthrough! On track to conquer medicine’s greatest enigmas and wipe out terminal diseases in humans!”
Beneath the blazing red headline sprawled a cascade of articles.
“…A government medical department spokesperson announced that trials for this unique viral injection are underway, with the first volunteers already enlisted. The initiative has been dubbed the ‘Wado Health Plan.’”
Fu Shiyue explained, “Wado was Agamemnon’s choice of name. The rollout began as a pilot right here in this hospital.”
At the mention of Agamemnon, his brow creased almost imperceptibly.
The poster featured Agamemnon’s photo too: a man in military garb, lips compressed, seated front and center amid a throng of dignitaries. Time had blurred the image, but his starkly handsome authority still leaped out, jarringly so amid the crowd.
He must have been about thirty back then.
Luo Li was staring at the picture too, his pretty eyes alight as he leaned in for a closer look, utterly absorbed.
No denying it—Agamemnon meant something different to him.
Did he go for those stern, no-nonsense older types?
No way. Agamemnon had spent his life at war; romance was alien territory for him. A man like that could never grasp Luo Li’s heart.
Fu Shiyue’s gaze shadowed over. He snaked an arm around Luo Li’s waist and scooped him up, marching onward by force.
Luo Li inwardly griped. Why the rush? He hadn’t finished the poster yet.
The corridors twisted endlessly, leaving him disoriented and his legs aching.
God, he wanted a break.
But he couldn’t afford one. Letting someone else snag Wado first would be a disaster!
No telling where the others were at this point…
“Lili, feeling worn out?”
Fu Shiyue clasped his small hand. “There’s a rest spot over there. Want to take a seat?”
The hall’s outskirts outshone the hospital’s dingier corners in luxury and comfort. Right around the bend lay the VIP Rest Room.
Luo Li’s eyes brightened. He nodded eagerly.
Fu Shiyue eased him onto the plush sofa, just in time to hear the boy’s stomach rumble noisily.
“I’ve got tons of points. What do you feel like eating? Name it—anything goes.”
Luo Li blinked, his mind flooding with tantalizing options. He was about to go for broke when 007 chimed in: “You’d better not eat anything a player hands you.”
Right—could be laced with who-knows-what.
He tamped down his raging hunger. “Nah, I’m good. Not hungry right now.”
Worry creased Fu Shiyue’s features. “You can’t let yourself go hungry; it’ll wreck you. Tell you what—there’s a vending machine over there. Energy drinks to tide you over?”
Luo Li eyed the direction he indicated. A hospital machine should be safe enough, right?
“Alright, then go grab me some.”
Fu Shiyue finally smiled. He urged Luo Li to stay put in the VIP Rest Room—he’d be back in a flash.
The door clicked shut. Luo Li flopped onto the sofa and rolled around gleefully.
Though the break room was luxurious, the entire hospital had fallen into disrepair, and its walls no longer offered much soundproofing. Luo Li could hear the dull thud of footsteps outside, mingled with snippets of conversation.
“…Are you sure the tracks lead this way? It’s a dead end up ahead.”
“Isn’t there a break room? Let’s go in and take a look.”
“I remember Wado has a massive build. No way one break room could fit It, right?”
Luo Li’s heart skipped a beat.
These voices…
It was Ling Yu and the others!
Were they heading this way?
Panic surged through Luo Li in an instant. The voices were drawing closer by the second, almost at the door already.
There was no time to flee the room. He needed to find a place to hide.
He glanced back and spotted a small door at the far end of the room, marked with a bathroom sign.
No time for second thoughts. Luo Li darted inside and locked the door behind him.
The break room’s bathroom was just as opulent, nearly the size of a full patient ward. Only the light near the entrance still worked, leaving the rest of the space shrouded in darkness.
Luo Li didn’t dare venture farther. He stopped in front of the sink.
A mirror loomed before him. Staring into it in such dim conditions sent a chill down his spine, so he quickly averted his gaze.
But in that fleeting moment, his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of a strange silhouette behind him.
Under the faint light, he could only make out the vague outline of the figure’s clothing.
It looked… worn and shabby, like something a construction worker might wear.
A nagging sense of familiarity tugged at him.
A single drop of water fell from the faucet, landing on the back of Luo Li’s hand.
He snapped to his senses.
Right.
Wasn’t that Meng Hu’s outfit?
