Lick it?
…Was this some kind of joke?
What the hell were these viewers thinking? Who could actually do something like that?
Absolutely… no way.
The little nurse’s nails were neatly manicured with a light pink polish, the kind someone who took good care of himself would have. His snowy instep flushed faintly red, pristine as a work of art—every inch flawless.
By contrast, the hand gripping his ankle was rough and broad, scarred and callused. Even without doing anything, it felt like a defilement just to hold it.
He could almost picture it: if the owner of those hands deliberately pinned that ankle to the bed, he wouldn’t be able to crawl away, much less escape.
The barrage kept egging him on.
【No one’s around anyway, what are you scared of?】
【Yeah, yeah! This little NPC is so cute—this village is gone once you pass it!】
【Aargh, I’m dying over here. Can you do it or not? If not, step aside, I’ll handle it myself—mwah mwah smooch slurp slurp yum yum!】
【If it were me, I’d have charged right in (picks nose).】
This instance was completely sealed off. No one except the viewers would ever know what a player did inside.
Likewise, there were no such things as morals or bottom lines in a survival instance—especially not toward NPCs.
Players could do anything to NPCs, no matter how depraved or vile…
So what if he went a bit overboard with Luo Li?
“Can you let go now…?”
Luo Li uncomfortably tugged his leg back. “Your hand is so hot.”
Kang Xun jolted all over.
No, no—that wasn’t right. Why was he even thinking like this? Even if Luo Li was just an NPC, “she” was innocent.
How could he think about violating “her”?
Kang Xun’s arm tensed as he slowly released his grip.
“There’s so much blood on your sock… Don’t you know to change it?”
With that, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a plastic bag. Inside was the pair of stockings he’d swiped, which he handed to Luo Li.
“Change into these yourself, then come find me when you’re done.”
Of course, he wasn’t about to admit he’d stolen them. As long as Luo Li didn’t ask, he’d play dumb.
But Luo Li wasn’t familiar with the stuff in his own room and didn’t recognize them at all.
He just wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Why do you have a girl’s stockings?”
Kang Xun said on purpose, “What, do you have some kind of special fetish or something?”
“What the hell are you thinking?” Kang Xun was utterly speechless. “I just happened to have them. Only this one pair.”
He added irritably, “I don’t have any gross cross-dressing fetish.”
The currently cross-dressing Luo Li: …
It felt like a boomerang had hit him right back.
He stepped out of the room. “Come out when you’re changed.”
After he left, Luo Li suddenly remembered something and asked 007, “What are those monsters in the hospital?”
“Those monsters are tied to the main storyline—I can’t tell you. But you have 500 points now, enough to unlock an advanced skill that could help you find some answers.”
“Oh, what skill?”
With a chime, the skill menu updated.
Below “Drum of Retreat” appeared “Wall-Head Grass.”
【Advanced Skill: Wall-Head Grass (Makes certain high-level bosses in the instance defect to you, putting them at your service.)】
【Usage: Costs 100 points per use.】
Whoa!
This skill seemed seriously powerful!
But it cost a ton of points…
Looks like he’d have to figure out a way to crank up the player’s Illness Value even more.
…
Outside the room, Kang Xun aimlessly swung his flashlight around, his mind a chaotic mess.
His thoughts were a jumbled stew, but they kept circling back to Luo Li. Those pale, soft feet cradled in his arms had felt as light as a puff of cloud, and after Ling Yu’s forceful kiss, that swollen, slick tongue dripping with strands of saliva.
Plus the slap mark on Ling Yu’s face.
“Feels good,” he’d said.
How good, exactly?
Kang Xun yanked at his collar with effort. The rising Illness Value amplified his restlessness, making it impossible to ignore.
A bizarre craving welled up inside him. He couldn’t quite name it, but seeing Ling Yu get hit somehow gripped him harder than even the sight of Ling Yu kissing Luo Li…
Kang Xun shook his head hard, forcing his focus onto the surroundings.
This looked like the Cardiology Department, with several doctors’ photos posted by the door, all crossed out in blood-red.
He searched a few rooms but found nothing useful. As he emerged from the last consultation room, his gaze was drawn, almost magnetically, to one photo.
Beside it was a bio: Fu Shiyue, male, 32, Chief Physician.
The face was covered by a red cross, impossible to make out.
A chief physician this young? That was rare.
Kang Xun raised his flashlight. Dim blue light tubes lined the corridor, while the electronic screen outside flickered with static snow. The whole place was eerily silent, not even a whiff of monsters.
As he pondered, Luo Li pushed the door open and came out.
The little nurse’s gaze toward him was odd, like he was probing for something.
Kang Xun looked away and rapped the wall. It glowed faintly with Lu Yanyan’s escape marker.
“This way.”
He didn’t explain why he insisted on keeping Luo Li with him—just ordered him to follow. Luo Li was full of questions, his almond eyes staring for a long moment. He couldn’t even spot Kang Xun’s Illness Value bar. That was downright weird.
Why hadn’t Kang Xun’s condition triggered yet?
Luo Li hesitated before speaking up. “I… why do I have to go with you?”
This guy was so dangerous—he didn’t want to stick around any longer than necessary.
Kang Xun halted. “Oh? You’re a nurse, aren’t you? You planning to ditch your patient?”
Luo Li was speechless.
This guy was fit as a fiddle—did he look sick at all?
Kang Xun curled his lip in a cold smirk.
“If you’re not scared of getting eaten by monsters, go off on your own.
“Or… would you rather go back to Ling Yu?”
Ling Yu wasn’t any saint either.
But his condition had already triggered—and it was worsening fast.
If he wanted to farm Illness Value for points, Ling Yu was a better target than Kang Xun.
Luo Li tested the waters. “I can’t help with anything anyway. Wouldn’t I just be a burden if I stay with you…?”
Before he finished, he saw the young man’s fists clench tight. The flashlight beam hit his boot, the hobnails crunching cracks into the aged tile floor.
Oh no—he actually seemed pissed.
Kang Xun’s expression darkened. At the corner, he whipped around.
“Are you worried you’ll slow me down, or do you just want to go back to Ling Yu that bad?”
“Is he that good a kisser or what? You’ve kissed plenty of people—why’s Ling Yu so special?”
“You like kissing guys that much?”
He was practically growling.
He didn’t even know why he was doing this. The nurse in front of him was so young, nothing standout except the looks.
And so fickle, too.
He must have lost his mind to waste so much time on “her.”
“It’s not…”
Luo Li’s voice came out soft and denying.
“Not what?”
Kang Xun advanced another step, but Luo Li suddenly raised a trembling hand, pointing behind him.
“I mean, this isn’t the way out…”
Looking back, after all their circling, the Outpatient Clinic sign loomed ahead again.
The exact same photo stared back, the bloody red cross glaring.
Lu Yanyan’s fluorescent mark was still there too.
They’d looped right back to the start.
…
What the hell?
Luo Li circled around once more, and sure enough, he ended up back at the entrance.
He’d never dealt with anything like this. A chill wind made him shiver uncontrollably, and he instinctively tried to huddle into himself.
“We can’t get out—what do we do, Kang Xun…?”
He called out softly a few times, but no one answered.
“Kang Xun?”
No one beside him. Just the dim blue lights casting ghostly shadows over the department—Kang Xun was gone.
Luo Li froze in terror. In an instant, his eyes heated up, and with a thin sob, he called out to 007. “Little Seven, Little Seven!”
007 spoke in his ear. “I’m here. Don’t panic—you’ve hit a Ghost Hitting Wall.”
Ghost Hitting Walls were common in games. Looping back to the same spot meant a key hidden node hadn’t been cleared. Break through it, and the loop ended.
“Look around. There might be clues.”
The screen, once full of static, now flickered. Then blood-red text scrolled across it, accompanied by a mechanical female voice announcement.
【”Luo Li,” please proceed to the Second Consultation Room for your appointment.】
…What?
Luo Li’s face drained white. He wasn’t a player—shouldn’t this target players?
But the announcement droned on relentlessly, the static screech splitting his head.
Nearby, the door to the Second Consultation Room—Room 201—cracked open just a sliver, like an invitation into a trap.
“Where the hell did Kang Xun go…?”
Luo Li sniffled repeatedly. Had he said something wrong and pissed the guy off?
But he couldn’t just abandon him like that!
Wahhh, he wasn’t leaving, and he wasn’t going to find Ling Yu either…
Who could come help him?
Afraid as he was, Luo Li knew full well that there was no thigh he could hug onto right now. He had to rely on himself.
Not scared. Not scared.
After reassuring himself who knew how many times, Luo Li bit his lip, mustered his courage, and slowly shuffled toward the Second Consultation Room.
The room held a single bed, a blue curtain draped around it, with various monitoring devices nearby.
The familiar equipment eased his nerves a little. He’d just closed the door when a low, cold, magnetic male voice rang out.
“Have a seat on the bed.”
That voice…
Why did it sound so familiar?
Shaking with fear, Luo Li lay down. Moments later, a tall figure slowly stepped out from behind the curtain.
The man’s bangs shadowed his brow, a mask concealing all but his dark, brooding eyes. His white coat strained against his broad shoulders, and standing there backlit, he radiated such an overwhelming presence that it was hard to catch one’s breath.
He slipped on a pair of milky-white medical gloves. The taut rubber stretched taut over his prominent knuckles with a sharp snap, molding to the sharp angles of his fingers. The veins bulging on the back of his hand stood out starkly, hinting at a controlled, effortless strength.
He picked up the stethoscope, fiddling with it as he said to Luo Li, “Take off your outer shirt.”
T-take off his clothes?
“What’s wrong? Scared?”
“It’s just to listen to your heartbeat. Won’t hurt a bit.”
Fair enough. Luo Li tugged awkwardly at his hem. “I’m only wearing the one shirt…”
The man paused. “Then just undo the top two buttons.”
The buttons on his pale pink nurse uniform were stiff. After fumbling them open, a broad swath of soft white skin gleamed under the lights, tender enough to dazzle the eyes.
The doctor gripped the collar over Luo Li’s left chest, tugged it further aside, and pressed the stethoscope against him.
Luo Li had been poked and prodded through every kind of exam since he was a kid—he knew stethoscopes inside out. By rights, there shouldn’t have been anything weird about it.
But this doctor… he was too close.
The chill of the diaphragm pressed firm against his chest, gripped in that bony, unyielding hand. It pressed gently, once, twice.
No, not just pressing…
The pad of the man’s thumb seemed to brush Luo Li’s chest—deliberately, or maybe not.
In his peripheral vision, Luo Li caught sight of those eyes: dark and unnerving. The doctor’s prominent Adam’s apple bobbed now and then.
He still looked the picture of professional composure, but there was a sense that he was holding something back.
Then Luo Li heard him speak.
“Little miss.”
“You don’t usually wear a bra?”
