The tense tiptoes drew closer, slow and deliberate. The smooth curve of the foot’s arch trembled faintly with reluctance and hesitation as it pressed against Kang Xun’s calf.
The young man stared fixedly at those thin white silk stockings. Through the sheer fabric, he could just make out the nurse’s pink, glossy toenails.
Luo Li had a petite frame, but his proportions were excellent. Up close like this, nothing else filled Kang Xun’s vision but those long, straight legs—the soft, plump curve at the thighs was especially alluring.
The toes slid up along Kang Xun’s calf, then softly nudged the back of his knee.
Before he could react, Luo Li quickly lowered his leg.
“There. All done. That work for you?”
Kang Xun’s brows furrowed tightly.
“Come a bit closer,” he said.
Perplexed, Luo Li took a step forward—only for Kang Xun to seize his ankle in one swift grip.
Kang Xun steadied him by the slim waist, guiding Luo Li’s small foot onto his own knee.
The nurse’s pink skirt was already short to begin with, and now with his leg lifted so high, it was on the verge of riding up completely. Mortified, Luo Li clutched at the hem and tugged it down as best he could.
The young man was a regular at the gym, his body corded with lean muscle. His thighs were especially solid, and now they tensed, bearing the weight of Luo Li’s sole.
Luo Li tested it with a kick against Kang Xun’s thigh muscle.
“Is this it?” Kang Xun let out a low, satisfied hum. “Keep going.”
He—he looked like he was enjoying getting kicked!
Luo Li balled his small fists. Kang Xun might be getting off on this, but he certainly wasn’t.
His sole planted on the young man’s thigh, the more he thought about it, the worse it felt.
How could he let this stupid dog lead him around by the nose?
“Keep going? Keep going with what?” Luo Li mustered his courage. “Go back right now, tell those guys the medical record book’s gone missing, and maybe—maybe—I’ll think about continuing.”
Kang Xun cracked open his dark eyes a sliver, fixating on Luo Li’s full, rosy lips. A smirk tugged at his mouth.
Then he unzipped his jacket and pulled out the medical record book from inside.
“I can’t do that.”
“I’ve had the medical record book on me the whole time.”
Luo Li’s beautiful eyes flew wide.
This guy had tricked him! So sneaky!
“Give it here!”
Luo Li puffed out his cheeks in fury and thrust out his hand. “That’s an order!”
“You just rewarded me for not fetching the medical record book—and I did exactly that. If handing it over is a new command, then I need a new reward.”
This dog really was cunning. Of course he hadn’t needed to fetch it; he’d never let it go in the first place.
Cheapskate! Nitpicker! Pushing his luck!
Luo Li pressed his lips into a thin line and glared daggers at him. Then he stepped forward.
He bent his dainty knee, lifted his leg, and slammed it hard into the young man’s crotch!
Kang Xun grunted in pain, but instead of doubling over, he wrapped his arms around Luo Li and yanked him into his embrace.
His canine teeth grazed his lower lip as his thighs clamped down on the nurse’s knee.
Hot breath scorched Luo Li’s tender pink earlobe, and that invisible dog tail of his seemed to whirl like a propeller once more.
A glimpse of damp, scorching tongue darted out, lapping at the soft, snowy cheek.
“That vicious? You trying to neuter me or something?”
Luo Li turned his face away in disgust and snatched the medical record book in the same motion.
“Get off me!”
Footsteps echoed from outside—apparently, the other players were closing in.
Luo Li figured that with the book in hand, he might as well ditch Kang Xun and make a break for it.
He turned to leave, but something slipped from between the pages of the medical record book.
Kang Xun bent down and picked it up.
It was the other half of the photo.
The one showing the boy locked in an embrace with Agamemnon, lips pressed together.
And that face—it was unmistakably Luo Li’s.
Under Luo Li’s gaze of utter disbelief, Kang Xun pocketed the photo and strode out.
“The photo you all wanted? It’s right here.”
~~~
A dim bedside lamp glowed in the pitch-black ward.
Ling Yu stood off to the side, watching Andrei loop the rope under the boy’s armpits and cinch it tight behind his back.
Luo Li’s nose was red at the tip. He’d been crying nonstop.
He inwardly berated himself for being such an idiot, completely taken in by misdirection.
The medical record book hadn’t mattered at all. What counted was the photo tucked inside it.
Now the evidence was ironclad. The adopted son in the photo was him—no way to talk his way out of it.
A despairing system prompt chimed in his ear.
[Host’s identity as adopted son Lori has been exposed]
[Current identity exploration progress: 60%]
Andrei had never bound such a tricky “prisoner” before. The boy was small, not particularly strong, but so delicate that he couldn’t be touched anywhere without complaint.
He finally couldn’t hold back. “Sweetheart, stop squirming.”
Luo Li’s eyes were red-rimmed, his soft sobs filling the air.
Even when crying, he looked unbearably sweet—lips parted in a glossy curve, his limpid eyes brimming with tears, half his small face shrouded in misty dampness.
Tied to the chair, his feet dangled helplessly off the ground, so he vented his anger by swinging them wildly.
“There. All set.”
Andrei finished with the ropes and sighed, turning to Ling Yu. “Does it have to be like this? He doesn’t strike me as the harmful type.”
Ling Yu replied, “Our next task is critical. You want him running around causing trouble?”
It was a fair point. Andrei shrugged and ran his fingers through Luo Li’s tousled hair ends.
The big guy was earnest and kind, even shrugging off his jacket to drape it over Luo Li’s shoulders.
“Sorry, kid. You’ll have to tough it out here for a bit. Be good, and we’ll let you go once we’re done.”
But Luo Li wasn’t having it. He sank his little teeth into the jacket’s collar in petty revenge, chewing the fabric until it was soaked.
What a feisty little sweetheart.
Andrei tugged lightly on the rope’s end.
The cord around the pretty boy’s slim waist tightened a fraction, and Luo Li let out an instinctive whimper—his thighs stung from the friction.
He looked up with wide, aggrieved eyes. For a split second, Andrei’s blue gaze darkened, then returned to normal.
In the next moment, Luo Li spotted Kang Xun leaning against the wall in the distance.
Remembering how this mess was all that guy’s fault, Luo Li seethed.
He flicked his tongue against his teeth and spat what he thought was a vicious curse.
“Stinky dog.”
“What?” Kang Xun licked his canines. “Didn’t catch that.”
Luo Li opened his mouth to repeat it, but Ling Yu stepped in front of him.
With a scoff, Ling Yu said, “How many rewards are you gonna squeeze out of him?”
This naive little nurse might not see it, but he did.
When Kang Xun had emerged from the ward earlier, he’d been thrilled—tongue practically lolling like a dog’s.
He’d clearly gotten his “reward” from Luo Li already.
And still, he wanted more.
Dogs like that got their kicks from defying their masters.
Ling Yu wasn’t about to let it happen again.
“If you’re mad, curse at me instead. Blow off some steam.”
Kang Xun’s face darkened by several shades.
He shoved the door open with a bang and herded everyone out by force.
“Quit stalling—let’s do the damn task!”
~~~
Luo Li alone had been locked in the Little Black Room.
Lu Yanyan stayed behind to guard him, right outside the door—no chance of escape.
The ropes weren’t tied all that tightly, but they still chafed his skin painfully.
Feeling utterly dejected, Luo Li murmured in his mind, “Little Seven, if only I’d been a little smarter.”
“It’s not your fault,” 007 replied, uncharacteristically free of sarcasm this time. “You gathered the clues perfectly—they were bound to figure it out.”
“But getting exposed in front of everyone like that… so embarrassing.”
And thinking of Kang Xun made him stew even more. “They must think it’s gross, a guy dressed up like this.”
“Actually, this worked out fine. At least no one forced a cavity search. In some instances, the adopted son boss gets it way worse.”
Truth be told, Luo Li had gotten off lightly. Among ruthless player groups, cornering the little adopted son in a bathroom for an “inspection” or strong-arming him to strip in public wasn’t uncommon.
As for whether cross-dressing was gross…
Luo Li was probably overthinking it.
“What are they up to now?”
“The players are heading to the lobby to take down the high-rank boss Wado. Success means big clues and the key to the dean’s residence on the Top Floor.”
As 007 spoke, a new task popped up in front of Luo Li.
[Task Four: Find Wado before players, obtain key first]
A task at last, but…
He was trapped! No way out!
“Little Seven, can I spend points on a tool? Like a little knife to cut the ropes…”
He shot down his own idea. “Nah, it’s too dark in here. One slip and I’m done for.”
If only that lamp were brighter…
Luo Li strained toward the light, lifting his bound arms as far as he could to fumble for the desk lamp.
Got it!
With a “click,” the lamp winked out completely.
Luo Li: …
Could his luck get any worse?!
The room plunged into total darkness, silent save for footsteps outside the door.
Growing nearer, step by step, approaching his position.
Then Lu Yanyan’s voice rang out: “You really can’t go in! Not right now!”
[Player current identity is “Nurse”; comply with nurse rules, do not defy doctor’s orders or risk losing identity]
Damn it!
The doctor standing before her had motives that felt off somehow. Lu Yanyan’s instincts screamed that something was wrong, but no matter how she tried to explain, the man showed no interest in hearing her out.
In the blink of an eye, the Top Floor Gate Key tucked at her waist ended up in his hand.
“You—you, why…”
Her words of protest hadn’t even finished leaving her lips when a wave of dizziness hit her. Lu Yanyan blacked out.
He pushed open the door. The room inside was pitch black. The doctor switched on his flashlight and headed toward the chair in the corner.
The beam illuminated shoe prints on the floor, along with half a bundle of unused hemp rope. He had still arrived too late by one step.
Would those people interrogate him? Or had they already done so?
If they dared lay a hand on Lili…
The doctor’s fingers clenched instantly, nearly crushing the flashlight in his grip.
“Whimper… Who—who is it…”
He had heard faint breathing and called out tentatively.
Shining the flashlight over, he caught sight of two slender legs dangling in the air, their heels braced against the chair’s legs and trembling visibly to the naked eye.
Higher up was an oversized olive-green jacket that shrouded the upper body entirely.
As the light traveled upward, a tear-streaked face came into view.
Several lashes were clumped together, their upward curl disheveled. Strands of damp hair clung to the forehead, and the cheeks bore a pallor born of sheer fright.
In a trembling voice, he said, “Save me…”
Luo Li couldn’t make out the features of the person before him and was simply pleading on instinct.
That man grabbed the jacket draped over him and yanked it down.
The man’s breath hitched sharply.
Beneath the jacket, the youth’s body was bound with hemp rope. The ropes ran beneath his waist and thighs, securing him to the chair while locking his arms behind his back.
Likely from his struggles, the skirt of his nurse uniform had ridden up more than halfway. What had started as ropes wound around his thighs had now dug deep into the tender flesh at their roots.
The hem lay in disarray, flipped up haphazardly. Beneath one crumpled fold, a glimpse of white was faintly visible.
Pure white cotton, soft against the skin—the sort of underwear an innocent high school girl might wear.
Right now, utterly defenseless, it lay exposed in the harsh glow of the flashlight.
