Chapter 6

Luo Li’s clothes were all things he’d acquired after entering the instance. He’d never once considered that there might be anything special about them.

In the real world, he’d been living in hospitals since the age of four or five, always dressed in whatever welfare donation clothes came his way.

With resources so scarce—and him still so young—no one had ever bothered to explain to him that boys’ and girls’ underwear weren’t exactly the same.

It was only at this very moment that he realized the truth: ever since arriving in this instance, the panties he’d been wearing were the kind only girls wore.

Light and soft cotton fabric, adorned with tiny little bows. Colors galore, styles all cute as could be.

The stolen pair was different from the ones in his hands, though.

That one was expensive and exquisite: pearl lace thong panties.

Luo Li himself couldn’t recall it clearly, but 007 remembered.

The system rapidly analyzed the game’s current progress. “…Hmm. Looks like the player from Ward 203 managed to escape tonight. He’s come the farthest so far—found the changing room in the employee dormitory, just like the hints suggested.”

Luo Li felt like his CPU was about to overheat. “No one’s guarding Ward 203?”

“There is. Ward 203’s guardian is Lu Yanyan.”

007 walked him through the current situation.

There were three wards on the second floor: Room 201, Ward 202, and Ward 203. Each had two beds, but Room 201 was the only one known to have housed two players from start to finish.

Ward 202 had originally held only Ling Yu. After Meng Hu from Room 201 died, Ling Yu had moved over there. Ward 202 now stood empty.

Ward 203 had held that unidentified player, who had escaped tonight with Lu Yanyan’s help and made it into the employee dormitory.

But… something still felt off. Luo Li just couldn’t put his finger on it.

“So, the player from 203 took those panties?”

Luo Li found the words incredibly hard to get out. “What the hell does he want with something like that?”

007 paused. “It’s an important clue tied to your identity.”

No sooner had the words left than a new panel popped up right in front of him.

【Task Three: Muddle the players’ vision and stop them from cross-checking clues to uncover the dean’s secret】

The dean’s secret?

Luo Li hadn’t heard a whisper about the dean so far.

The entire hospital showed no trace of one existing—like there was no top administrator at all.

Luo Li forced himself to rally. He tidied up the changing room and headed back to the dormitory.

The player apparently hadn’t found the place. Everything inside was just as he’d left it. The pajamas still lay folded neatly on the headboard of the bed. A sniff now turned up no hint of that mature masculine scent anymore.

Just the faint fragrance that clung to Luo Li himself.

So who had been the man lurking in the changing room that day? Why claim Luo Li had cheated? Weren’t hospital staff forbidden from dating one another?

He’d figured being the boss would spare him all this brain-draining nonsense. No such luck.

Luo Li’s head throbbed. He yanked back the covers and grumbled under his breath. “Screw it. Sleep time!”

And with that, he lay down.

007 said nothing.

His gaze fixed on the collar of those pajamas. Golden embroidery. A luxury label.

The stolen lace panties had borne the exact same embroidery.

Dean Agamemnon’s custom mark—symbol of his possessions.

~~~

Kang Xun kicked open the obstructing iron door.

The tall, hulking tough guy kept his lips pressed thin, his face a mask betraying no emotion. It wasn’t until he reached the blond young man that a cold smirk tugged at his mouth.

Lu Yanyan poked the blond youth’s arm. “Andrei, they’ve come out.”

Andrei turned.

A mixed-race guy in his early twenties, with olive-toned skin and impressive height. Classic American heartthrob looks—sunny and charismatic.

He and Lu Yanyan had teamed up to escape Ward 203 the night before.

Game rules stated that if even one patient cleared a ward, the restrictions lifted for the rest. Kang Xun might’ve been pissed, but he couldn’t take it out on the guy.

Ling Yu, though, eyed Lu Yanyan.

“If I had to guess, you snagged that nurse identity on night one.”

Lu Yanyan froze for a beat, then hesitated before spilling the truth. “Yeah. I started out as a patient—Lu Yanyan isn’t my real name. It belongs to a nurse NPC.”

She paused. “Andrei took her out. I used an item to steal her identity and became ‘Lu Yanyan.'”

Now it all clicked.

So there really had been a nurse boss on the prowl for “special treatments” that first night—not in Room 201, but Ward 203.

Lu Yanyan had claimed the identity. On night two, she’d guarded the door but let him slip out, earning fresh clues.

Ling Yu asked, “So, what’d you find?”

All eyes turned to Andrei. The young man flashed a brilliant grin, but only shrugged. “Sorry, folks. Nothing useful.”

“Useful’s not your call.” Kang Xun snorted. “Keep it to yourself if you want. Just don’t expect luck to hold in the later stages.”

Andrei sighed. “What would I gain from lying?”

He fished a plastic bag from his pocket, opened it, and pulled out the contents.

Everyone gasped when they saw what it was.

“I didn’t make it inside the employee dormitory—just hit the changing room out front. That’s all I found.” Andrei pondered. “Looks like…”

Ling Yu cleared his throat. “Kinky lingerie.”

Kang Xun’s ears flushed pink. “And how do you know that?”

Ling Yu blew him off.

It was definitely fetish gear. A minuscule thong, gossamer thin, strung with pearls at the most devious spot. Slip it on, and the slightest shift would grind them deep.

Kang Xun caught himself acting too much like some innocent virgin. He jumped in first. “Whose is it?”

No one knew why the mission guide had steered them to the employee dormitory. Rifling through someone’s undies was hardly ethical. But only one stall had been open, so that’s the one Andrei had checked.

“A nameplate hung outside that changing room. Belonged to an NPC, I think. Luo Li?”

Dead silence crashed down.

Andrei blinked at the two men whose faces had drained of color. “What?”

Kang Xun swallowed hard. His sidelong glance mixed unease with something else. Unbidden images flooded his mind.

So sheer—you’d see everything it barely covered.

That little nurse’s arms and cheeks were so pale and rosy. Bet the spot down there matched.

His chubby little ass would rub raw against the lace. Red, puffy… so full the pearls could scarcely peek through.

Had to be mouthwatering.

Ling Yu looked lost in the same thoughts, eyes churning with heat.

Kang Xun shot him a glare. “Hey, you sicko. Bet you’re picturing all kinds of filth.”

Ling Yu smirked. “Says the guy doing the same.” He turned to Andrei. “So the real clues are still back in the employee dormitory?”

Andrei nodded and held out his palm.

“I used a skill to copy the dormitory key. Just the one, though. With the nurse shift change tonight, we can send someone to sneak in.”

Kang Xun led in stealth and brute strength, so he claimed the job without hesitation.

【Dorm raid? Means peeking at the loli’s love nest!】

【Little Princess’s bed’s gotta be all pink and perfumey. Can she model those lace panties for daddy on top?】

【Bet Kang bro crashes on the little bed for sure】

【You’re on, dude. Fuck, jealous AF】

Lie on Luo Li’s bed? As if. He wasn’t some freak like Ling Yu.

He stole a glance at Ling Yu anyway. The guy’s endurance and power matched his own. No clue why he’d handed over the key this time.

Better not be anything shady.

~~~

Late night. Nurse shift change.

The pitch-black corridor howled with wind. Iron doors creaked and rattled. The air reeked of harsh disinfectant everywhere.

Nurses and doctors with bottomless black pupils lurked in corners. They seemed to murmur secrets, but their necks wrenched at impossible angles, peering down the hall.

Faint footsteps echoed closer, picking up speed until they sounded like outright flight.

Like a thief, the intruder ducked into a ward.

Luo Li clutched his chest, struggling to steady his breath.

A pinpoint of light danced at his fingertips—the 【Tracking】 item he’d just redeemed.

It let him sync with the players’ discoveries, helping him plot counters.

Only… Luo Li wasn’t the sharpest tool. He knew some player had nicked his panties, but his big plan? Swipe them back during group treatment time.

Get them home, no proof left. Nothing to pin on him… right?

The player wasn’t in his ward. Ward 203 sat empty. Luo Li stalked to the bed and gave the frame a peeved little kick.

Steal my clothes, you creep!

Hmph. Just you wait. You’re not getting away with it.

Though anger simmered in his heart, Luo Li still didn’t dare make too much noise. He tiptoed around, rummaging carefully, but came up empty-handed.

That left only the cabinet over there.

The deeper he ventured into the ward, the darker it grew. He had no choice but to grope blindly for the cabinet. Luo Li was terrified, pressing himself tight against the wall, crouching low as he inched forward bit by bit, his heart pounding in his throat.

And right then, he heard a man’s muffled grunt.

Followed by strange, suppressed gasps of breath. It sounded like a hibernating beast lurking in the shadows, sniffing at its prey with flaring nostrils.

As if drawing in a deep, deep breath—then pressing close for another frantic inhale.

Someone was there.

Luo Li’s calves trembled uncontrollably. He never imagined anyone could have beaten him to it.

At the same time, a task prompt chimed in his ear.

【Player detected nearby】

【Player’s Illness Value rising: 55, 60, 65…】

【Please stay alert, Host. Excessive Illness Value may cause the Player to lose control and act irrationally】

A sliver of light leaked through the window, outlining the man’s lean, muscular frame beside the cabinet.

His suit jacket lay discarded, and his dark gray shirt was stretched taut over bulging back muscles, his shoulders rising and falling with each heavy breath.

Luo Li recognized him now.

It was Ling Yu—the abstinent CEO who had called him filthy, who had scrubbed his hand raw.

At this moment, Ling Yu seemed oblivious to his skyrocketing Illness Value, teetering on the brink of the red line. His fingers twisted tightly around a scrap of fabric, veins bulging on the back of his hand.

And Luo Li’s missing lace panties were clutched in that death grip, held right beneath his prominent nose bridge.

…Sniffing without restraint.