Chapter 229 [(*^▽^*)]
Of course, there was nothing wrong with the security guards doing this. At least Xue Rui didn't have to deal with them. Naturally, he didn't call out to them or say a word. Only after the two security guards had completely left and were out of sight did the female player slowly walk down.
She thanked him somewhat awkwardly, "Thank you. By the way, what's your name?"
Xue Rui remained calm. "Zheng Li, what about you?"
The female player said, "My name is Huajiao (Sichuan Pepper)."
Sichuan peppercorn?
Xue Rui wore a complicated expression, but Hua Jiao said, "Don't make that face, my name is really Hua Jiao!"
Xue Rui: "I don't have any expression, I just feel a little... strange."
He didn't even dare to say anything related to the name again, and quickly changed the subject, "By the way, why were you avoiding the security guards? Did something happen?"
Huajiao hesitated for a moment. This NPC had just helped him, so he shouldn't be in cahoots with the hospital. "I just had a little thing to do... who knew this hospital would be so sensitive and actually try to arrest me."
Xue Rui: "Did you go to the dean's office too?"
Huajiao paused slightly, unsure of what to say.
Xue Rui: "It's okay, it's okay. Anyway, I don't have a good impression of this hospital."
Sichuan peppercorns paused for a moment, "What do you mean?"
Xue Rui said, "I pretended to know nothing so that they would lower their guard and I would have a chance to escape."
Huajiao sensed something was wrong and quickly asked, "What's wrong? Why are you running away?"
Xue Rui, "I discovered some very strange things before..."
He stammered, looking like he wanted to say something but was also afraid of something. Huajiao was very anxious, but she also knew that the NPC in front of her must be very useful, so she didn't force him to speak.
"Don't worry, I'm an enemy of this hospital. You saw how I was dodging the security guards earlier, so you don't need to worry about me betraying you."
Xue Rui hesitated for a moment before nodding, "Actually, I don't think I'm sick."
Sichuan peppercorns paused for a moment, "What do you mean?"
Xue Rui said, “I was not sick, but the hospital said I was sick and wanted me to have surgery. There was a fellow patient in my ward who also said he felt very healthy and did not feel any pain, but the hospital said he was sick and needed to have surgery. As a result, the surgery failed and he died.”
Sichuan peppercorns: "You mean... this is just an isolated case?"
Xue Rui: "No, besides my fellow patients, there are also some patients in other wards who feel the same way. They all feel fine, but are told that they are sick and need to have surgery."
At this point, Xue Rui leaned closer to Hua Jiao and said, "And I also discovered another common point."
Sichuan peppercorns also asked in a low voice, "What do they have in common?"
Xue Rui said, "Patients like me can actually have their hospitalization and surgery fees reduced or waived, some even by half! And I don't need to take any medication. I just eat and sleep all day, and I eat very well!"
Sichuan peppercorns, "Why does this feel like raising pigs?"
After she finished speaking, she realized what she had just said. "Um? I didn't mean to say that, please don't mind!"
Xue Rui shook his head. "You're right. That's what I think too. That's why I feel there's a problem and I'm thinking about escaping. But I don't know how to escape, so I've been going for walks outside lately, trying to think of a way."
Sichuan pepper, "This..."
Xue Rui looked at Huajiao with hopeful eyes, "Can you help me?"
Huajiao thought for a moment. He was barely able to take care of himself. Could he really help the person in front of him? Wait a minute!
She remembered that the person in front of her was an NPC. If she protected him well, could she complete the hidden quest and get points as a reward?
When Xue Rui saw the look of surprise in Huajiao's eyes, he knew she must have misunderstood. But it was fine if she misunderstood, since no one knew him or his identity as a player anyway.
It would be great if players could identify themselves as NPCs, as they could use this identity to extract more information if they encountered other players.
Xue Rui, "Can you help me?"
Huajiao finally nodded. "Sure, of course, but I have other important things to do right now, so I can't take you away. I have to stay here myself. If you're not in a hurry, you can wait until I'm done with my work before I come and take you away."
Xue Rui smiled and said, "Of course I can wait, but I have surgery in five days, so you..."
Huajiao was taken aback. "Five days later?"
Although the player's task does not have a set deadline, if we think about it now, five days later, wouldn't that be exactly seven days?
Is it best to complete this dungeon within seven days? What will happen if you don't complete it within seven days?
Huajiao suddenly felt a sense of urgency; if she could, she would leave right now!
Xue Rui, "Sichuan peppercorns?"
Huajiao let out a long sigh of relief. "Where is your hospital room? Tell me now, and I'll come find you after I've finished what I need to do. I hope you can hold on until I get there..."
Xue Rui smiled and told her his ward number, "Huajiao, remember to come find me!"
Huajiao nodded, "I know, don't worry. I'll be going now. By the way, I might come to see you from time to time. It would be even better if you could help me find some clues, which would speed things up."
Xue Rui thought for a moment and said, "Actually, I've also made a discovery, but I don't know if it's true."
Sichuan peppercorns: "What discovery? Whether it's true or not, just tell me and I'll go check!"
Xue Rui: "It seems like there are underground floors in the inpatient building, but I've never been there and I don't know if they really exist. I just overheard a doctor and a nurse talking once, saying that if any more escapees, they'll all be thrown into the underground wards!"
Sichuan peppercorns: "Oh, I see. I understand now. I'll go check it out there. Thank you! Wait for my good news!"
Huajiao left quickly, since she needed to change her clothes. Xue Rui had suggested changing into a nurse's uniform, which was a good idea, since she had plenty of clothes and could just grab whatever she wanted.
Xue Rui had originally planned to explore other places, but now it seemed unnecessary. Hua Jiao had said he would come to see him often, so he would just wait.
Intelligence and other information would come to him on their own. Being an NPC was really awesome! He was starting to appreciate the benefits of being an NPC himself, and Lin Leyou was probably having a lot of fun too.
Xue Rui strolled around the lake for a while before slowly returning to his ward, greeting several nurses and doctors he knew along the way.
Although the nurses and doctors were very friendly when they saw him, the look in their eyes was filled with greed and excitement.
Xue Rui pretended to know nothing, constantly numbing their senses and making them think of him as an ignorant idiot.
This method is quite good. It would be great if Long Zhou didn't keep appearing in front of him. He wondered if Long Zhou had regained his senses. After strolling back from the lake, he was about to enter his ward when he saw Long Zhou lying in his room.
It's the same hospital bed he's sleeping in now, so what's he planning to do?
He thought for a moment, then observed the situation in the ward again, carefully searching every corner. He didn't find anything unusual before he went over to try to wake Long Zhou.
"Hey? Wake up!!"
Xue Rui patted him on the shoulder, but Long Zhou seemed not to feel anything, remaining motionless as if he were dead.
Xue Rui was startled. If Long Zhou died, wouldn't all the players' missions be ruined? After all, the mission's objective was to hand over the collected evidence to reporter Long Zhou and help him escape from the hospital!
He tried breathing, and thankfully, his breathing was normal; Long Zhou was still alive!
If that's the case, why is Long Zhou in my hospital room? And why does he seem unresponsive?
etc!
As if realizing something, Xue Rui quickly turned and left the ward, grabbing a nurse at random in the corridor and pretending to be very scared, "Wait a minute!"
The nurse looked puzzled. "What's wrong?"
Xue Rui, "There's someone in my hospital room..."
Nurse: "Who is it?"
Xue Rui said, "I don't know anyone. It seems to be that patient with mental problems. He's in my ward, lying on my bed! I called him but he wouldn't wake up."
The nurse nodded. "In that case, I'll have someone handle it. You..."
Xue Rui sighed, "I'll just wait here."
The nurse left quickly, then came back with two other nurses. The three of them together dragged the person out of the room and even changed Xue Rui's bedding.
Xue Rui said, "Thank you."
The nurse said, "You're welcome. We'll take this person with us, and we definitely won't let him bother you again."
Xue Rui waved his hand, "It's okay, he has a mental problem, right? We can't blame him for this, and I'm fine too, aren't I? Let's just let it go this time."
The nurse didn't seem too keen on doing this, but considering that someone was paying for this idiot's services outside and he wasn't someone who needed to be dealt with, she decided to do it this way.
"Alright then, Mr. Zheng, please get some rest."
The nurse dragged Long Zhou away like that, and Xue Rui knew they wouldn't do anything to Long Zhou.
When he returned to the ward and lay on the hospital bed, he pretended not to know anything and dozed off for a while. After waking up, he began to search around the ward again.
This time, he found a small, folded piece of paper pressed under the foot of the bed near the window.
He carefully unfolded the paper; there were only two words inside: "As soon as possible!"
Xue Rui took the paper to the toilet, soaked it in water, crumpled it up, and then flushed it away, leaving no evidence behind.
ASAP!
Long Zhou told them to hurry!
Although he didn't know what had happened, Xue Rui absolutely had to listen to the NPC Long Zhou. He took a deep breath. It seemed that the previous safe approach was no longer working, and he needed to be a little more aggressive.
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