Chapter 257 - Flying Over the Madhouse (Part 4)

Chapter 257: Chapter 235: Flying Over the Madhouse (Part 4)Out of principle of recycling, Li Cheng tied together the two sleeves of the straitjacket, hung it in front of him, and used it as a makeshift backpack to store file folders, papers, and such props.

Additionally, he tied scraps of cloth around his fists, serving as makeshift knuckle protectors for his wrists.

He ascended the stairs to the first floor, his mind racing, "The mission brief mentioned that William entered Saint Elizabeth Mental Hospital with some unspeakable purpose, while his medical record indicated schizophrenia.

The question arises, is he really ill, or is it feigned?

In this worldview, do rat-men truly exist, or does Scaven only appear as a rat in William’s perspective—because he suffers from kleptomania?"

Unable to find the answer to this question in the short term, Li Cheng shook his head, stopped thinking about it, and proceeded to the second floor of the hospital.

Like the first floor, all the lights in the second-floor corridor were on, and no one was visible.

On the left wall, a map of the hospital’s second floor was hanging,

On the right, the door of the children’s clinic was slightly open, with the lights off and faint children’s crying echoing from inside.

Li Cheng stepped lightly and peered inside the door.

The children’s clinic was much more spacious than the record room and had newer decorations. It featured wooden floors and colorful floral and bird-themed wallpapers.

On the left side of the room, there were rows of plastic cartoon animal seats including lions, giraffes, reindeer, and snow leopards.

On the right side, there were six wooden beds arranged in three rows of two.

Five beds were empty, and the sobbing came from a bed at the corner of the room near the window.

It was a human boy with a pig nose, wearing blue pajamas and hospital clothes, shivering under the blankets. On the bedside table next to him, various snacks including chewing gum and sausages were placed.

"Brother William?"

The boy with the pig nose saw Li Cheng and asked with a crying voice, "Is it you?"

"It’s me, George."

Li Cheng recognized the boy’s name from his hospital gown label (wondering if he had a sister named Peggy), "Why aren’t you asleep yet at this late hour?"

Crying, George said, "There are monsters in the dark, staring at me, and I dare not move."

This statement revealed two pieces of information, one, there is danger in the dark, and two, George is unable to move and likely can’t just throw the chewing gum over.

"Alright."

Li Cheng said, slightly opening the door.

The light from the corridor shone into the children’s clinic, dispelling a small area of darkness, but other areas remained engulfed in shadows.

Li Cheng stretched out his arm and pressed the light switch next to the door.

Click.

The switch was flipped, but the light bulb did not respond, remaining dim.

"That switch is broken, you need to use this one."

The boy with the pig nose pointed a finger from under the blankets to the wall directly opposite him.

That location was right in the corner of the room, about nine meters away from Li Cheng. Given William’s physical condition, it seemed unlikely that he could remotely turn on the light by throwing something.

At the same time, Li Cheng seriously suspected that the system deliberately placed the children’s clinic next to the door as a hidden trap—

Having come up from the stairs, he was bound to pass by the clinic’s door and be immediately spotted by George, entering into the scenario.

If Li Cheng ran away at this moment to get a flashlight or oil lamp, leaving George here, by the time he returned, the latter might have already died.

No choice left, he had to engage.

He slightly bent his knees, stomped on the ground, and dashed towards the location of the light switch—under the light bulb, there was a stuffed rabbit with red eyes on the wooden bed.

One step, two steps, everything was normal, until Li Cheng took the third step, and suddenly, something unexpected happened.

From under the bed diagonally opposite to George, a transparent mass suddenly shot out, grabbed Li Cheng’s right ankle, stopping his forward momentum, and flung him backwards.

Fortunately, Li Cheng was prepared. He kicked against the left wall with his left foot, twisted his waist sharply, and relying on the rotational force, he supported himself on the bed to land smoothly, at the same time, pulling out the semi-transparent presence from under the bed.

"I freaking swear by Hayek’s invisible hand."

Li Cheng couldn’t help but blurt out as he stared wide-eyed at the object—a semi-transparent human left hand with a diameter of about half a meter, adorned with an excessively extravagant diamond ring on the ring finger.

"Watch out, above you!"

George urgently warned, and as he spoke, ripples like those on the surface of water stirred on the ceiling. A scarecrow with a pumpkin head dropped down, brandishing a giant scythe aiming at Li Cheng.

Li Cheng quickly dodged to the side, the scythe emitting a cold shimmer as it heavily dug into the ground, leaving the scarecrow struggling to pull it out.

"To your right!"

George warned again, as ripples appeared on the wall to Li Cheng’s right, and a werewolf leapt out, lunging at him with its gaping maw wide open.

Li Cheng threw a right hook, twisting the head of the werewolf, followed by a heartwarming foot, kicking it against the wall. But then he heard George shouting urgently, "Behind you!"

Give me a break! How come wherever you say, there’s a creature? I’m starting to suspect you’re the final boss here.

As Li Cheng turned around, he saw a figure slowly rising behind him.

It was a bizarre-looking human with all skin peeled off, its nose gouged out, half of the skull removed to reveal the gleaming brain, and both eyes removed and embedded in the palms of its hands.

Its strength was far beyond that of the werewolf or the scarecrow, with a single swipe, Li Cheng was sent flying, crashing heavily against the wall outside the door.

Bang!

The door of the children’s clinic slammed shut due to an unseen force. Li Cheng hurried forward, only to receive the prompt that the door wouldn’t budge, needing a children’s clinic key.

Faint sobbing sounds of George still emitted from inside the door, no matter how Li Cheng shouted, there was no response.

"What the hell."

Li Cheng’s mind raced, the monster’s basic stats were far too high compared to an ordinary person, definitely not something he could handle at this stage.

At the same time, George shouldn’t have died; his plot line hadn’t ended—else the system wouldn’t have indicated that the door still needed a key from the clinic.

"This plot is some kind of hint, suggesting that players need to find a crucial item elsewhere, then come back to rescue George and get the gum."

Realizing this, Li Cheng stopped futilely bashing the door and turned to sprint down the corridor.

The most likely place to find the children’s clinic key would naturally be the doctor’s lounge situated on the other side of the U-shaped building.

Li Cheng ran frantically, passing through the second-floor cafeteria.

The cafeteria, located in the center of the U-shaped main building, was spacious and well-lit. Under the bright lights, sat two figures in patient-gowns, engaged in casual conversation.

One was a kindly looking old lady with a sheep’s head, cradling a plastic baby toy, feeding it with a bottle as if it were a real human infant, completely ignoring the milk spilling all over the floor.

Her gown indicated her name was Martha.

The other, a wheat-skinned woman with obviously excessive cosmetic surgery.

Her lips were thick, her cheeks plump, and her nose unnaturally high. Her facial features combined to give an eerie, alien-like appearance reminiscent of ET.

Her gown indicated her name was Barbie.

"Hey, William."

Barbie seemed to also recognize William, saying friendly, "Slow down, don’t trip. Where are you heading?"

"To the doctor’s lounge for the children’s clinic key," Li Cheng, now accustomed to the NPCs’ way of speaking in this script task, responded quickly, "George is trapped."

"Oh, poor George."

The sheep-headed old lady, Martha, made the sign of the cross over her chest and sighed, "He’s been tormented badly by illusions."

Li Cheng raised an eyebrow, "Illusions?"

"Yes," Martha sighed, "Every time it gets dark, George starts seeing all sorts of terrifying illusions. That’s why his parents sent him here.

He tried to learn not to cry, thinking if he stopped crying, his parents would take him back, but he doesn’t know... his parents have had another child..."

Illusions? Li Cheng silently rotated his wrist, reflecting on the touch from earlier, it didn’t feel like any illusion at all.