Seeing that Xiao Cheng was awake, the person in bed number 3 stopped banging on the window, grinned with a mechanical smile, and then mouthed an exaggerated "You, come, here."

Xiao Cheng hesitated for a moment, then didn't approach any further. It only now dawned on her that the sounds from different hospital rooms weren't transmitted between them, so why could she hear the other patient banging on the glass?

The patient in bed number 3 waited a long time for her to come, and once again became anxious and pounded on the glass. The banging echoed in the ward, sending chills down the spine.

"Come here!" The eyes of the patient in bed number 3 were bloodshot. "I'm hungry!"

His voice pierced through the glass and reached Xiao Cheng's ears; it was hoarse and fierce.

"No, you didn't eat enough tonight?" Xiao Cheng looked confused. For a guy's appetite, one fruit really didn't seem like enough.

But the problem is that she doesn't have any food on her.

The person in bed number 3 made two more noises, and when Xiao Cheng didn't react, they chuckled.

He stepped back a little, away from the glass wall, and began to bite his nails.

Xiao Cheng: "..." You can bite your nails if you want, but why do you have to stare at me while I'm biting mine?!

Her legs ached from standing, and her wound started bleeding again. She wanted to go back to bed, but before she could even lift her foot, bed number 3 let out an unhappy roar and slammed its head against the wall in a fit of rage.

Xiao Cheng was afraid that he would bump into her and get seriously injured, so she simply stopped moving, sat down on the spot, and watched him continue his performance with her chin in her hand.

Click, click...

Click, click...

The sound of nail-biting was particularly loud.

Bed number 3 quickly finished gnawing on all ten of his fingers. He spread his hands out and sighed somewhat dejectedly, "I'm so hungry."

Xiao Cheng: "..." How can I not be hungry? You can't eat fingernails!

Then the person in bed number 3 put their fingers back into their mouth.

creak, creak...

creak, creak...

Blood flowed from his mouth as he chewed his fingers, oblivious to the fact that he was doing so.

Xiao Cheng: "?!" This guy must be possessed!

She scrambled to her feet, unaware of her injured ankle, and stumbled, crashing into the glass wall. The impact left her dazed, but thankfully it was quite forceful, the dull thud drawing the attention of the man in bed number 3, causing him to pause his chewing.

He tilted his head in confusion, pondered for a few seconds, then let go and took his hand out, showing Xiao Cheng his missing, bloody fingertip.

"Want some?" he asked with a smile, blood and flesh dripping from the corner of his mouth.

"Hey! Stop!" Xiao Cheng pounded on the glass. "Wake up! Can you hear me?!"

Obviously, they can't hear it.

The patient in bed number 3 waited for a while but didn't receive a positive response. Somewhat disappointed, he put his finger back in his mouth.

The grating chewing sound rang out again, making Xiao Cheng feel nauseous. Helplessly, she turned to look at the others and found Fang He among them, all lying there motionless, fast asleep.

In the next ward, the patient in bed number 3 finished eating half of his left hand in no time. Because he swallowed it too quickly, he choked on a bone fragment and coughed violently while covering his throat.

“Hungry…” He stared blankly, muttering to himself while holding half of his hand.

Bloodstains and bits of flesh littered the floor, but he continued on as if oblivious, muttering indistinctly, "So hungry..."

His stomach rumbled at just the right moment.

Xiao Cheng watched in almost despair as he finished gnawing on both of her arms.

The bones in his arm were too hard; he gave up after only a couple of bites and instead savored the tendons and flesh. The stark white bones dangled there, and Bed Number 3 chuckled, his face mostly covered in blood.

Then, shaking his sharp, bony hand, he cleanly and decisively ripped open his own chest.

He ripped out his heart, skewered it like a meat skewer, and stuck it into the bone of his arm, grinning as he showed it to Xiao Cheng.

"Do you want some?"

Her heart was still pounding, blood seeping into her bones, and Xiao Cheng could almost smell the nauseating, fishy odor.

It took her a long time to realize that her wound was still bleeding, and the bandage was already soaked through.

She covered her mouth and gagged violently, and physiological tears welled up in her eyes.

“Stop…” She pounded on the glass wall in vain. The fluorescent light reflected on the numb face of bed number 3, making it look like a ghostly face.

"I'm so hungry, Xiao Cheng." Bed number 3 rubbed his stomach and then put the sticky heart into his mouth.

He began to chew, once, twice, a look of satisfaction and ecstasy on his face.

The sky was just beginning to lighten, the sun was not visible, but the clouds were tinged with a rich variety of colors.

Daylight broke.

The chewing motion of the patient in bed number 3 stopped abruptly, and he collapsed heavily to the ground, his eyes wide open, giving Xiao Cheng a relieved smile.

In the blink of an eye, the patient in bed number 3 was back in their original position, as if everything that had just happened was an illusion.

Bed number 4 was still asleep, and even turned over. Apart from Xiao Cheng herself, no one knew what had happened.

She looked blankly toward bed number 3, but his body lay on the floor, blocked by the bed next to it, so she couldn't see anything.

Her ankle was so painful it was numb. Xiao Cheng stared blankly down at the small pool of blood beside her feet, blinking in confusion.

The wound needs to be re-bandaged, otherwise it will get infected. Infection in a dungeon means... death.

Bed number 3 is dead.

Xiao Cheng belatedly realized that this was the first time she had ever directly faced the death of one of her kind.

Unlike the digital character in the first instance, he is a player; he is a real person.

His death reminded Xiao Cheng of the truly bloody nature of the game world he was in.

So why am I here? Is this the kind of world I've always longed for?

Her head began to throb, and her mind felt shrouded in a fog. Trapped in that fog, she recklessly charged forward.

Deep within the mist, a small, blurry image appeared: two dark figures, devoid of any distinguishing features, conversing.

The voice was very soft and unclear; Xiao Cheng could only barely make out the last two sentences.

"...Do you know what you're about to face, yet you're still willing?"

"Yes, I do."

The conversation felt strangely familiar, and Xiao Cheng instinctively continued forward, wanting to see the faces of those two people.

But the fog grew thicker and thicker, eventually turning into a vast, white void. Darkness began to creep in from the edges, rapidly encroaching on the center, from which countless dark, skeletal hands reached out, inviting her towards them.

"Come closer." A seductive voice surged from the depths of darkness.

Xiao Cheng was momentarily dazed. She stared at the expanding darkness as the man in the top hat walked over with elegant, unhurried steps.

Tap tap, tap tap.

My footsteps are in sync with my heartbeat.

Darkness almost completely enveloped her, and as she looked at the slender, white-gloved hand extended in front of her, she suddenly felt an urge to grasp it.

She raised her hand as if possessed.

A familiar voice suddenly rang in my ears: "Wake up! Xiao Cheng!"