Chapter 223

Chapter 223: Chapter 220: "Doctor, are you crazy?At six o’clock in the evening, dinner time.

In White Sand Paradise, a strict time management system was enforced. After reviewing Locker’s file, Su Ming’an arrived on the third floor.

The third floor was vast, with not only a large classroom but also other enclosed doors and windows. Walking all the way to the end, he saw the dining hall.

In the dining hall, there were many players with gray faces and vacant eyes, sitting as though they had lost all reaction to the outside world, simply pushing the food around on their plates. The strange man in the white lab coat wasn’t here. Without his surveillance, some players who were grouped together were now sitting down to discuss things.

Su Ming’an took some food from the self-service area and sat down in a corner without eating.

Resting or eating chocolate could replenish one’s physical strength. He had slept all day and didn’t feel weak, so not eating was fine.

As long as he spent enough time in the dining hall, even if he didn’t eat, he wouldn’t be punished.

Drumming his fingers on the tabletop, Su Ming’an saw Lin Jiang also sitting in a corner, head down, in a self-secluded state.

...He didn’t know who the other doctor was.

There were no conflicts of interest between doctors. If he could identify the other doctor, it might aid his actions.

Doctors didn’t know their own numbers, so in the previous classroom, the one who took the penultimate seat might be his partner.

...But he couldn’t remember who that penultimate seated person was.

If his doctor partner was Lin Jiang...

Staring at Lin Jiang, his thoughts wandered, when suddenly he saw Lin Jiang walking towards him.

Blood-red pattern marks appeared on her body, and dark threads began to spread from around her.

Swiftly, she raised her head and her timid look was swept away, revealing a sinister smile.

The blood-red marks lit up in an instant, surging toward him like boiling magma.

...Lin Jiang had suddenly launched an attack on him.

Su Ming’an quickly extended his hand.

Against the Number One Player, he didn’t hold back, instantly releasing a Spatial Vibration infused with a full thousand Mana Points. Interweaving ripples emanated from his fingertips, completely enveloping that direction!

"Boom—!"

Tables and chairs tumbled, bowls and plates carrying food flew into the air, and the sound of shattering was ceaseless.

Like a surging wave, the air boiled instantaneously, and Lin Jiang stood in place, her body torn apart by the fluctuations!

Blood splattered before his eyes, as if a knife had completely bisected the young girl’s body, blood filaments intertwined and then pulled apart by gravity.

Su Ming’an’s hand froze in place.

He blinked and saw the overturned tables and chairs... and the people screaming and scattering in all directions.

The corpse of Lin Jiang had disappeared into thin air.

There were no traces of blood left behind – as though nothing had ever happened.

He lifted his eyelids.

The girl who had not moved, sitting in the corner, was still hunched over, as still as if sheltering within a tortoise shell.

...As if she had never approached him.

"Big brother..." Mo Yan slowly walked over.

Su Ming’an moved his arm, aiming at him.

"Big brother! Don’t hit me! It’s me!" Mo Yan, frightened, raised both hands.

Su Ming’an took a moment to steady his breath.

He closed his eyes, stabilizing the shaking, blood-red vista before him, and lowered his hand.

By now, in the dining hall, the players had gathered by the walls.

The power of that earlier attack was simply too terrifying; the air roiled, and almost the entire area vibrated. The ripples tore apart nearly everything in their path, and had there been anyone in the midst, they’d likely be reduced to shattered chunks of flesh.

The players were terrified by his sudden action, scared that he might send another vibration their way, and they ran from their original seats to a place far from him.

"Big brother, you..."

Mo Yan spoke up; he seemed both worried and afraid.

"You need to get some good rest tonight. You might have had a hallucination just now..."

...A hallucination?

He glanced at Lin Jiang, who remained still in the corner, having not moved from his spot.

So, the Lin Jiang who had just walked toward him and suddenly attacked... was really just a scene he had imagined.

So, he had merely reached out, aimlessly unleashing a Spatial Vibration at a spot in space.

His behavior resembled that of a person with sudden onset of destructive psychosis.

Su Ming’an looked at his hand and closed his eyes.

"I see," he said.

He stood up and headed straight for the cafeteria door without bothering about the shattered tables and chairs.

Dinner time had passed, and it was now time to sleep.

As he walked by, the Players stepped back, making way for him to pass through an empty path.

The faux "Number One Player" watched him with a look of surprise, apparently puzzled as to how someone could unleash a skill like Spatial Vibration.

...Isn’t that Number One Player’s skill?

Was the person just another one like him who wanted to mimic the Number One Player, or...?

Su Ming’an didn’t pay attention to these gazes.

He continued straight to the door, his vision flickering between light and dark.

As he passed through the doorway, he saw a spot of light turn on in the corridor.

The odd person clad in a white lab coat and wearing a heavy mask was looking at him in the hallway.

"Number Thirty," the stranger glanced into the cafeteria, "You’ve destroyed public property and triggered White Sand Paradise’s regulations."

"..." Su Ming’an lifted his eyelids to look at him, his gaze calm and untroubled.

"You are a naughty child... You must be punished," said the stranger.

It was as if the air suddenly condensed, pressure surging upon him. Su Ming’an stood rooted to the spot, feeling as if a heavy hammer was pressing down on him, seemingly ready to crush his head into the floor.

The live stream chat was panicking:

"Let’s go," said the stranger, his voice brooking no doubt.

Su Ming’an did not speak, following him down the corridor.

"...Big bro."

From behind, Mo Yan’s worried voice reached him, but he did not turn back.

"I am very dangerous," Su Ming’an said.

Ahead, the white coat glistened with a golden edge in the shimmering light, as the strange figure waited for him.

He squinted his eyes and, without a hint of hesitation, followed.

The floor creaked and groaned as he left the cafeteria behind, step by step following the person ahead, and then he saw a staircase.

It was an ascending staircase, leading to the fourth floor.

The strange figure ascended, holding a lantern that emitted a flickering light.

Su Ming’an followed him up to the fourth floor and then walked into an office.

To his surprise, the office was quite ordinary, nowhere near as terrible as he had imagined, and there were no torture devices. Quiet green potted plants sat in the corner, with wooden bookshelves on either side, holding books with regular text.

On the walls, there were posted rules and regulations. When Su Ming’an looked over, he realized he could now understand all of the text.

The rules were commonplace, listing standard hours for daily routines.

The strange figure extended his hand, indicating for him to sit across the table.

Ming’an carefully checked the chair for any iron hoops, and looked for buttons on the back, only sitting down after confirming it was a normal chair.

...What would come next?

An interrogation, "healing," execution, or punishment?

The person in front of him stretched out his hand and slowly removed his sunglasses.

Having learned from experience, Su Ming’an quickly averted his gaze, but then he heard a laugh from across the table.

This time, the laughter seemed more normal, not as harsh and grating.

"You need not worry, now you can look at me directly, Doctor," said the strange man with a laugh, his voice softer than ever before.

...Doctor?

Ming’an slowly shifted his gaze back.

He saw a pair of normal eyes.

The person continued to remove his mask, revealing a delicate face.

There were no horrific scars, nor anything else of the bizarre kind Ming’an had imagined; the strange figure’s appearance seemed quite normal, leaving Ming’an puzzled as to why he had worn sunglasses and a mask.

"Doctor, how have you been feeling lately?" the strange man... no, rather the young man now asked him gently, as if addressing a long-lost friend.

"Feeling?"

Ming’an paused for a moment: "Not too good."

"Hmm...not too good? Strange..." The young man’s pen spun in his hand: "The surgery should have been successful by all accounts. I also performed mental suggestions on you during the day, so logically, you shouldn’t be disturbed by the abnormal sights here anymore."

It suddenly dawned on Su Ming’an that this man’s glance during the day had made him faint, causing his mind to be somewhat unstable even now.

According to the other party, was that what they called "mental suggestion"...?

And furthermore...

Ming’an recalled the "surgery was very successful" from the beginning of the game.

That voice seemed somewhat similar to the young man’s voice now...

Was it this person who had performed that surgery on him?

"My tenure here lasts only for today; every following day, new teachers will come to instruct you all," the young man said. "So, if you want to heal Dong Xue, you’ll need to be careful afterward. Those teachers won’t be as easy to talk to as I am."

"Dong Xue?" Ming’an asked, puzzled.

The young man stared at him for a while.

The pen spun on the young man’s fingertips, then slowly came to a halt.

"Doctor, your mental state really isn’t too good," the young man said. "You’ve forgotten the most important thing."

"..." Ming’an felt a bit of a headache coming on.

"You must remember, Doctor," the young man said. "You entered White Sand Paradise to heal a student named Dong Xue."

"Dong Xue is... somewhat mentally unstable, but she greatly desires to become an ."

"If you want to save her, you must help her until she successfully becomes an ."

"I know this place isn’t normal, so to help you, I performed surgery on you right from the start so that you could blend into White Sand Paradise; otherwise, those teachers would easily see through you."

"I gave you hints during the day as well, so you could fully integrate without being disturbed by some abnormal phenomena."

"Doctor, you must remember your duties, to heal every student who has become isolated from society."

"You must make them... becomes obedient good children, just as I did during the day."

"Especially Dong Xue."

"Doctor, I care about our relationship, that’s why I took the initiative to perform surgery on you, to give you hints," the young man said as his gaze gradually darkened, "If it were another doctor, I wouldn’t take such care of them."

Su Ming’an nodded.

He certainly knew they were close.

... With a favorability of 100 points and a rating of "Eternal Dependence," how could they not be close?

What he was more concerned about now was where the "hint" benefits of full favorability would manifest.

Besides making his mind go haywire and seeing hallucinations, could there be some positive benefits?

"Doctor, that’s all I have to say," the young man spoke, "I know you have many questions, but I won’t answer any of them—to prevent her from noticing, you’ll need to uncover all this on your own without relying on too much external power."

"Who is she?"

"As I said," the young man tapped the tip of a pen, "I won’t answer any of your questions, Doctor."

Su Ming’an fell silent for a moment.

The young man stood up, his white coat fluttering slightly:

"My tenure here ends today, and tomorrow you will face a new teacher.

Carry out your duties and find students suitable for treatment.

Doctor, I know you’ve forgotten a lot, but that’s the price of coming here.

Besides discovering information on your own here, you have no other paths to take.

— Personally, I also hope that you can successfully help Dong Xue, Doctor, and you will definitely not regret it yourself."

With that said, the young man put his dark sunglasses back on, put on a thick mask, as if he was just about to leave.

"What is my real name?" Su Ming’an asked suddenly.

"I won’t answer any of your questions, Doctor," the young man said with a smile.

"And you?" Su Ming’an continued, "Your name is Xia Luoyang, are you Number One Player?"

He remembered, his Ruler’s Quest was related to Number One Player.

"Doctor, sometimes you really need to learn to listen. I’ve said it, I won’t answer any more of your questions."

The young man shook his head and turned to push the door.

But the very next moment, a hand clamped tightly around the back of his neck.

"Bang!"

The hand, with immense strength, pushed his body forward, smashing him against the door, causing the entire fourth floor to quake.

Su Ming’an, now in Bright State, gripped the young man’s neck, with his skill ready to strike.

"Are you Number One Player?" Su Ming’an asked.

The young man’s voice was muffled, yet he still sounded amused: "Doctor, do you really dare to make a move on me here?"

The young man barely turned his head, seemingly trying to smile at Su Ming’an.

But in the next moment, the young man couldn’t smile anymore.

The gripping hand around his neck tightened, making it incredibly hard for him to breathe.

And the eyes of the person opposite him were as cold as ice.

... The Doctor really would strike to kill.

"— Doctor, have you gone mad?" The young man glared at him.

"I’ll ask you once more, Teacher, I hope for a candid answer," Su Ming’an said, his grip tightening, "... and no matter what your answer may be, I probably won’t regret it."