Chapter 162: Good Luck
The urgent panting of several people echoed in the dark corridor.
Although the chase had temporarily come to a halt, no one relaxed their guard—according to their previous experience, the sound of the bell meant the transition between the real and inner worlds and signaled the arrival of danger.
Wen Jianyan was even more vigilant, his muscles instinctively tensing.
After all, he knew well that within the instance, “alienation” was definitely not a good sign.
The group cautiously gathered together, waiting in the darkness.
However, nothing happened.
The walls and corridor remained unchanged; everything was no different from when the bell rang, and there were no dangerous figures emerging from the darkness.
“Perhaps… because there aren’t many patients on this floor?”
One of them speculated.
After all, the sixth floor mainly consisted of treatment rooms, the dean’s office, and the data room. Clearly, the patient density here should be the lowest within the entire Ping An Asylum.
Maybe it was because of this that they weren’t pulled into anyone’s mental world.
“What about that doctor?”
“He’s not a patient; he probably doesn’t have a mental world, right?”
Wen Jianyan shook his head. Despite his unstable breath, he spoke decisively:
“He does.”
If he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have known so clearly what had happened in Edward’s mental world. Although the guy wore a seemingly gentle exterior, he was not much different from other high-risk patients on the inside.
“Then… it’s also possible that he happened to be on rounds when we entered the lab?”
Blond speculated.
Wen Jianyan: “…”
He lowered his eyes, not answering.
This possibility exists, but…
For some reason, Wen Jianyan always felt that things were not so simple.
Most importantly, he couldn’t expose the fact that he knew about the instance’s alienation. Only the anchors directly related to increasing plot deviation would receive the countdown to alienation.
Revealing this information would make him a target, and worse, he wasn’t entirely sure how he generated the plot deviation.
In this situation, exposing himself would be extremely unwise.
The best course of action now was to stay vigilant and wait until the anomalies became apparent. Then, he could naturally bring up his speculations.
Wen Jianyan took a deep breath, lifted his gaze, and said:
“Do you all remember the attendant at the stairwell just now?”
Everyone was momentarily surprised, their faces showing a serious expression: “Of course.”
This was the first time after the bell rang that they encountered an NPC other than the hunters within the instance.
“Anyway, I feel that this time’s bell is different from before,” Wen Jianyan said calmly.
“The difficulty of the instance increases with time. Whether we are currently in a patient’s mental world or not, it’s better to stay vigilant.”
Luce and the others nodded solemnly.
“…Hmm.”
Just then, a muffled sob came from the ground.
Everyone turned to look in the direction of the sound.
Su Cheng seemed to be showing signs of awakening.
On his pale face, his eyelids twitched, slowly opening with a bewildered expression, as if not knowing where he was.
He tried to speak, but then he painfully clutched his throat and coughed violently.
Clearly, Wen Jianyan’s rough actions of dragging him by the collar moments ago had strained his throat.
Apart from that, Su Cheng felt pain all over, as if he had been run over by a truck; his bones disassembled, and the wounds on his palms pulsated with heat.
He stared at the irregular wound on his palm caused by shards of glass, looking astonished, as if he couldn’t recall how it was created.
Luce and the others watched Su Cheng on the ground with vigilance.
Clearly, the sudden betrayal had left deep psychological shadows in their hearts.
Wen Jianyan exchanged a bottle of painkillers and tossed it to Su Cheng.
Su Cheng unscrewed the bottle and gulped it down in one go. After finishing the bottle, he seemed to look much better, hoarsely saying, “Thank you.”
Wen Jianyan subtly glanced at Luce beside him, then squatted down and asked:
“Do you remember anything?”
A bewildered expression appeared on Su Cheng’s face. “We… weren’t we heading to the lab? I remember Luce taking out a bottle to corrode the lock, and then…”
“And then?” Wen Jianyan pressed.
Su Cheng remained silent for a while, shaking his head. “I don’t remember.”
Sure enough, it was just like before.
When they found Su Cheng inside the isolation room, he gave a similar answer.
He had no memory of being manipulated to enter the instance and violently attack the attendant.
Wen Jianyan patted his shoulder and said, “You were probably controlled by something in that lab. Don’t worry; I injected you with an antidote, so you should be fine.”
He effortlessly bypassed the topic related to the Oracle.
Bringing up the hostile guild within the instance, especially as it was the top guild in Nightmare, would be suicidal. Their temporary teammates might harbor ill intentions and consider them stepping stones to please the Oracle.
It was better to attribute this incident to the instance’s mechanics.
Su Cheng paused, immediately grasping Wen Jianyan’s intention.
He nodded, his voice hoarse. “…Okay, thanks.”
He looked at Luce and the others, hesitating before asking, “Did I do anything during the time I lost my memory?”
Wen Jianyan averted his gaze.
It was nothing, just nearly causing their entire team to be wiped out.
“…”
Luce scrutinized him for a few seconds, seemingly weighing something.
Shao Yao tugged at his sleeve.
After a long sigh, Luce seemed to accept this explanation: “It’s nothing; it’s in the past.”
After all, no one could guarantee that they wouldn’t be affected within the instance. Although it wasn’t Su Cheng’s fault, Luce was not a saint. Almost being killed by a temporary teammate who wasn’t even part of their squad was not something one could easily forgive.
However, Wen Jianyan’s solo effort to pull the nearly doomed team back from the brink of disaster was enough to offset the losses caused by Su Cheng.
Considering the information Shao Yao had shared with him earlier…
After weighing the pros and cons, Luce ultimately decided not to blame the past and to continue the current cooperative relationship with Wen Jianyan.
Wen Jianyan subtly curled his lips in satisfaction.
He reached out and pulled Su Cheng up from the ground. “Get up; I really don’t want to drag you for another escape.”
“Right.”
Blond nodded vigorously, his face showing a lingering sense of fear. “You’re really heavy, you know?”
Su Cheng: “…”
A shy expression appeared on his face, and he said softly, “Sorry, the desserts made by Ji Guan are just too delicious, and I accidentally…”
Although the instance was filled with danger and a life-and-death situation, Su Cheng, with Ji Guan as a team member, not only didn’t lose weight after entering Nightmare but actually gained a couple of pounds.
The atmosphere unexpectedly lightened a bit.
Wen Jianyan quietly let this relaxed atmosphere diffuse for a few seconds, then his expression became serious, and he said:
“Let’s go. Since we’re already here, why not take the opportunity to explore? Maybe we’ll find something useful.”
After all, they were in front of the dean’s office and the data room. According to common sense, these places should contain crucial information closely related to the instance.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Luce: “We’d better move together.”
After the disastrous consequences of their last separated actions, no one wanted to experience that again.
Wen Jianyan had no objections.
“Let’s go and check the data room first.”
Wen Jianyan suggested.
The uroboros marked on the sign outside the lab had caught his attention, but due to the circumstances, Wen Jianyan had to leave at that time.
Maybe in the data room, they could find clues related to that abandoned laboratory.
Perhaps because the data room’s door was blocked by an external card reader, it wasn’t locked, and it could be easily pushed open.
An odor of old books and dust greeted them.
Wen Jianyan found the light switch.
With a click, the lights came on.
The data room was quite large, filled with rows of iron shelves stacked with thick folders and documents. In the gradually brightening light, the room seemed endless.
“Let’s search separately,” Wen Jianyan said.
After all, in a single room, if someone found a clue or encountered an unexpected situation, raising their voice would allow others to quickly come to their aid.
The group dispersed, entering different aisles between the shelves and searching through the piles of old papers.
Wen Jianyan lifted his eyes and scanned the shelf in front of him.
Neat rows of documents were neatly arranged. He pulled out one and began to flip through it.
On it were patient records. Although the paper looked very old, the text on it was still clearly discernible—photos, personal details, diseases, symptoms, and all the necessary information for admission were present.
Wen Jianyan glanced at the dates.
Strangely, there were no dates.
He frowned, raised his hand, and pulled out another medical record.
Still no date.
The third, the fourth, the fifth…
Wen Jianyan randomly selected medical records from different positions on the shelves. In each one, there was no sign of any dates.
Strange…
Wen Jianyan furrowed his brow, a pensive expression on his face.
At that moment, Blond’s voice came from nearby, “Ah! I found some experimental records!”
“!”
Wen Jianyan’s spirits lifted, pushing the medical record back onto the shelf, and he quickly walked toward the source of the voice.
“Creak…”
The door to the treatment room was pushed open from the inside.
A meticulously dressed doctor stood inside, slender fingers resting on the doorknob. Behind the glasses, a pair of light green eyes squinted slightly, expressionless, as they stared at the chaotic corridor in front of them.
Most of the corridor had been covered by a crimson membrane, pulsating with life-like movements on the walls and floor, tentacle-like extensions probing as if searching for something.
“Tsk.”
Dr. Reese wrinkled his brow as if he had seen something dirty, a trace of disgust crossing his face. He turned his head in the direction of the laboratory, making an impatient clicking sound with his tongue.
“This guy has actually been let out.”
Dr. Reese turned back, glancing at the tightly closed iron door not far away and raising an eyebrow in surprise.
Could it be…
He seemed to suddenly realize something, hesitated for a moment, then reached for the pocket of his coat—
It was empty.
“…”
After a brief silence, Dr. Reese suddenly burst into laughter. A hint of almost sigh-like expression flashed through his green eyes.
“Well then, good luck to you.”
If it was him, perhaps he could really find something.
Chapter 162: Good Luck
The urgent panting of several people echoed in the dark corridor.
Although the chase had temporarily come to a halt, no one relaxed their guard—according to their previous experience, the sound of the bell meant the transition between the real and inner worlds and signaled the arrival of danger.
Wen Jianyan was even more vigilant, his muscles instinctively tensing.
After all, he knew well that within the instance, “alienation” was definitely not a good sign.
The group cautiously gathered together, waiting in the darkness.
However, nothing happened.
The walls and corridor remained unchanged; everything was no different from when the bell rang, and there were no dangerous figures emerging from the darkness.
“Perhaps… because there aren’t many patients on this floor?”
One of them speculated.
After all, the sixth floor mainly consisted of treatment rooms, the dean’s office, and the data room. Clearly, the patient density here should be the lowest within the entire Ping An Asylum.
Maybe it was because of this that they weren’t pulled into anyone’s mental world.
“What about that doctor?”
“He’s not a patient; he probably doesn’t have a mental world, right?”
Wen Jianyan shook his head. Despite his unstable breath, he spoke decisively:
“He does.”
If he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have known so clearly what had happened in Edward’s mental world. Although the guy wore a seemingly gentle exterior, he was not much different from other high-risk patients on the inside.
“Then… it’s also possible that he happened to be on rounds when we entered the lab?”
Blond speculated.
Wen Jianyan: “…”
He lowered his eyes, not answering.
This possibility exists, but…
For some reason, Wen Jianyan always felt that things were not so simple.
Most importantly, he couldn’t expose the fact that he knew about the instance’s alienation. Only the anchors directly related to increasing plot deviation would receive the countdown to alienation.
Revealing this information would make him a target, and worse, he wasn’t entirely sure how he generated the plot deviation.
In this situation, exposing himself would be extremely unwise.
The best course of action now was to stay vigilant and wait until the anomalies became apparent. Then, he could naturally bring up his speculations.
Wen Jianyan took a deep breath, lifted his gaze, and said:
“Do you all remember the attendant at the stairwell just now?”
Everyone was momentarily surprised, their faces showing a serious expression: “Of course.”
This was the first time after the bell rang that they encountered an NPC other than the hunters within the instance.
“Anyway, I feel that this time’s bell is different from before,” Wen Jianyan said calmly.
“The difficulty of the instance increases with time. Whether we are currently in a patient’s mental world or not, it’s better to stay vigilant.”
Luce and the others nodded solemnly.
“…Hmm.”
Just then, a muffled sob came from the ground.
Everyone turned to look in the direction of the sound.
Su Cheng seemed to be showing signs of awakening.
On his pale face, his eyelids twitched, slowly opening with a bewildered expression, as if not knowing where he was.
He tried to speak, but then he painfully clutched his throat and coughed violently.
Clearly, Wen Jianyan’s rough actions of dragging him by the collar moments ago had strained his throat.
Apart from that, Su Cheng felt pain all over, as if he had been run over by a truck; his bones disassembled, and the wounds on his palms pulsated with heat.
He stared at the irregular wound on his palm caused by shards of glass, looking astonished, as if he couldn’t recall how it was created.
Luce and the others watched Su Cheng on the ground with vigilance.
Clearly, the sudden betrayal had left deep psychological shadows in their hearts.
Wen Jianyan exchanged a bottle of painkillers and tossed it to Su Cheng.
Su Cheng unscrewed the bottle and gulped it down in one go. After finishing the bottle, he seemed to look much better, hoarsely saying, “Thank you.”
Wen Jianyan subtly glanced at Luce beside him, then squatted down and asked:
“Do you remember anything?”
A bewildered expression appeared on Su Cheng’s face. “We… weren’t we heading to the lab? I remember Luce taking out a bottle to corrode the lock, and then…”
“And then?” Wen Jianyan pressed.
Su Cheng remained silent for a while, shaking his head. “I don’t remember.”
Sure enough, it was just like before.
When they found Su Cheng inside the isolation room, he gave a similar answer.
He had no memory of being manipulated to enter the instance and violently attack the attendant.
Wen Jianyan patted his shoulder and said, “You were probably controlled by something in that lab. Don’t worry; I injected you with an antidote, so you should be fine.”
He effortlessly bypassed the topic related to the Oracle.
Bringing up the hostile guild within the instance, especially as it was the top guild in Nightmare, would be suicidal. Their temporary teammates might harbor ill intentions and consider them stepping stones to please the Oracle.
It was better to attribute this incident to the instance’s mechanics.
Su Cheng paused, immediately grasping Wen Jianyan’s intention.
He nodded, his voice hoarse. “…Okay, thanks.”
He looked at Luce and the others, hesitating before asking, “Did I do anything during the time I lost my memory?”
Wen Jianyan averted his gaze.
It was nothing, just nearly causing their entire team to be wiped out.
“…”
Luce scrutinized him for a few seconds, seemingly weighing something.
Shao Yao tugged at his sleeve.
After a long sigh, Luce seemed to accept this explanation: “It’s nothing; it’s in the past.”
After all, no one could guarantee that they wouldn’t be affected within the instance. Although it wasn’t Su Cheng’s fault, Luce was not a saint. Almost being killed by a temporary teammate who wasn’t even part of their squad was not something one could easily forgive.
However, Wen Jianyan’s solo effort to pull the nearly doomed team back from the brink of disaster was enough to offset the losses caused by Su Cheng.
Considering the information Shao Yao had shared with him earlier…
After weighing the pros and cons, Luce ultimately decided not to blame the past and to continue the current cooperative relationship with Wen Jianyan.
Wen Jianyan subtly curled his lips in satisfaction.
He reached out and pulled Su Cheng up from the ground. “Get up; I really don’t want to drag you for another escape.”
“Right.”
Blond nodded vigorously, his face showing a lingering sense of fear. “You’re really heavy, you know?”
Su Cheng: “…”
A shy expression appeared on his face, and he said softly, “Sorry, the desserts made by Ji Guan are just too delicious, and I accidentally…”
Although the instance was filled with danger and a life-and-death situation, Su Cheng, with Ji Guan as a team member, not only didn’t lose weight after entering Nightmare but actually gained a couple of pounds.
The atmosphere unexpectedly lightened a bit.
Wen Jianyan quietly let this relaxed atmosphere diffuse for a few seconds, then his expression became serious, and he said:
“Let’s go. Since we’re already here, why not take the opportunity to explore? Maybe we’ll find something useful.”
After all, they were in front of the dean’s office and the data room. According to common sense, these places should contain crucial information closely related to the instance.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Luce: “We’d better move together.”
After the disastrous consequences of their last separated actions, no one wanted to experience that again.
Wen Jianyan had no objections.
“Let’s go and check the data room first.”
Wen Jianyan suggested.
The uroboros marked on the sign outside the lab had caught his attention, but due to the circumstances, Wen Jianyan had to leave at that time.
Maybe in the data room, they could find clues related to that abandoned laboratory.
Perhaps because the data room’s door was blocked by an external card reader, it wasn’t locked, and it could be easily pushed open.
An odor of old books and dust greeted them.
Wen Jianyan found the light switch.
With a click, the lights came on.
The data room was quite large, filled with rows of iron shelves stacked with thick folders and documents. In the gradually brightening light, the room seemed endless.
“Let’s search separately,” Wen Jianyan said.
After all, in a single room, if someone found a clue or encountered an unexpected situation, raising their voice would allow others to quickly come to their aid.
The group dispersed, entering different aisles between the shelves and searching through the piles of old papers.
Wen Jianyan lifted his eyes and scanned the shelf in front of him.
Neat rows of documents were neatly arranged. He pulled out one and began to flip through it.
On it were patient records. Although the paper looked very old, the text on it was still clearly discernible—photos, personal details, diseases, symptoms, and all the necessary information for admission were present.
Wen Jianyan glanced at the dates.
Strangely, there were no dates.
He frowned, raised his hand, and pulled out another medical record.
Still no date.
The third, the fourth, the fifth…
Wen Jianyan randomly selected medical records from different positions on the shelves. In each one, there was no sign of any dates.
Strange…
Wen Jianyan furrowed his brow, a pensive expression on his face.
At that moment, Blond’s voice came from nearby, “Ah! I found some experimental records!”
“!”
Wen Jianyan’s spirits lifted, pushing the medical record back onto the shelf, and he quickly walked toward the source of the voice.
“Creak…”
The door to the treatment room was pushed open from the inside.
A meticulously dressed doctor stood inside, slender fingers resting on the doorknob. Behind the glasses, a pair of light green eyes squinted slightly, expressionless, as they stared at the chaotic corridor in front of them.
Most of the corridor had been covered by a crimson membrane, pulsating with life-like movements on the walls and floor, tentacle-like extensions probing as if searching for something.
“Tsk.”
Dr. Reese wrinkled his brow as if he had seen something dirty, a trace of disgust crossing his face. He turned his head in the direction of the laboratory, making an impatient clicking sound with his tongue.
“This guy has actually been let out.”
Dr. Reese turned back, glancing at the tightly closed iron door not far away and raising an eyebrow in surprise.
Could it be…
He seemed to suddenly realize something, hesitated for a moment, then reached for the pocket of his coat—
It was empty.
“…”
After a brief silence, Dr. Reese suddenly burst into laughter. A hint of almost sigh-like expression flashed through his green eyes.
“Well then, good luck to you.”
If it was him, perhaps he could really find something.
