Chapter 110 Bright Sanatorium "According to system detection, the two players..."
"007, it's time to take your medicine."
Her voice stopped right at the doorway.
On the tray held in both hands, a blue pill lay quietly in the center.
Like a piece of... shards of glass...
"Thanks."
I sat on the edge of the bed, thanked the person, pinched the pill between my thumb and forefinger, and drank it all down with the water that had been sitting by my bedside all day.
A faint bitterness spread in my mouth, and I swallowed with great difficulty.
Seeing the plate reflecting a cold light in her hand, I suddenly wanted to tell her that there was no need to use a plate for a single pill; she could just take it from me next time.
No, let's not have a next time. I hate taking medicine.
...
6:30
Two short, forceful knocks sounded on the door, and 007 reflexively opened his eyes.
Lifting the blanket, I saw several messy wrinkles on the hospital gown that had been worn overnight.
He pressed down hard, thinking that when the others came in, at least he would look neater on the surface.
After managing to calm most of the situation, he cleared his throat and then sat up straight and began to speak:
"Enter."
The doorknob was pressed down from the outside, and when it opened, she was revealed, patiently waiting.
The electronic blood pressure monitor she carried was preheated, and she would carefully pad the inside of the cuff with a soft cloth when taking the measurement.
Without any further exchange, 007 simply finished the morning check as usual and said something polite but distant:
"Thanks."
Like a precise and flawless program.
She shook her head, her pursed lips seeming to speak but unable to.
"What...did I say...?"
007's Adam's apple bobbed, and a hint of embarrassment appeared on his face.
Speaking is tiring for him; even when he's thinking "thank you," completely unrelated words come out of his mouth.
Sometimes they even speak in unfamiliar tones.
After each such incident, he would receive curious yet wary stares from those around him, making him feel uneasy.
However, it was only at this moment that 007 truly felt his own existence.
"It's nothing, you're welcome."
He could also truly feel that the other person was a "human being" just like him.
She would say an extra word to him.
"This morning's breakfast was vegetable and fish congee, which tasted pretty good."
She left.
007 put his hands on either side of his body, put on his slippers, got up, and walked straight to the bathroom.
He closed the door and, without even turning on the lights in the cramped space, turned on the shower and started running hot water.
Until the mirror in front of the sink was covered with a thick layer of water vapor.
Click.
He raised his hand and turned on the bathroom light.
The hot water was still flowing, and 007 blankly picked up the toothpaste and toothbrush to wash his face.
Upon closer inspection, his gaze never lingered on the mirror, even though the mirror was fogged up and there was no place where a person's image could be seen.
Water splashed on my face, and the water droplets landed on the mirror, gathering together with the condensation to form droplets that slid down.
007 unconsciously sped up.
In the mirror, which was divided into pieces by water droplets, a face, blurry as if covered by a mosaic, gradually emerged behind the water droplets.
007 has almost forgotten when he last looked in the mirror.
It seems to have started when I realized I couldn't see the face clearly.
At one point, he even thought he was a monster.
It turned out that the sanatorium was full of monsters.
For example, 7:03.
007 opened the door the instant the second hand of his watch clicked.
The man in room 304, diagonally opposite, and the woman in room 301, to the left, will collide in five seconds.
5
4
3
2
"Can't you at least keep your eyes open when you walk?!"
The woman walked away grumbling.
For example, 7:07.
In the restaurant on the fourth floor, the young man serving food at the window always managed to flick the food out of his spoon and land it precisely on the tip of the left shoe just before the man stepped out of the window.
Even at this moment, his heels never touched the ground. Apart from the different things he threw out, all other details, including the parabola, were exactly the same.
What I'm throwing out today is a piece of poached chicken.
...
Similar things have been happening every single day in the past.
The director of the sanatorium, Munashe, said:
"You're just sick."
Yes, he is sick.
He didn't know who he was, what his name was, where he came from, or why he was staying there.
He was just a patient codenamed 007 at the Brightness Sanatorium.
"Everyone here is sick."
Yes, the people here are just like him.
It seems that each person has only one number belonging to them.
...
Forget it, 007 swallowed the words he was going to tell Munashe like a pill.
He knew he had hysteria, but he couldn't see himself clearly, nor could he see the other patients.
As for Munashe.
The face before me always wore an expression of divine compassion.
His eyes suddenly became dim and flickering.
Perhaps Munashe is also ill.
007 felt as if he had awakened.
...
This afternoon I took 003 to the yard to sunbathe.
003 sat next to me and sang.
The sound fluctuated in pitch, and as I listened, my shoulders started to go numb.
It felt like rows of ants were crawling up my spine.
I couldn't help but curl up into a ball, and accidentally dropped the orange that the dean had given me.
My legs are so heavy! The orange was eventually retrieved by 003.
...
I didn't sleep well again last night.
I keep feeling like some kind of sound is coming from under the pillow.
It sounds like someone is biting cotton, making a rustling sound.
It also sounds like someone is crying.
I took out the pillow insert, shook the pillowcase, and there was nothing there.
But after I lay down, the sound started again.
After thinking about it, I didn't go back to sleep, but stood by the window and looked outside.
Why does the sanatorium feel so eerie at night?
...
While eating breakfast today.
008, as always, took a steamed bun.
He was so fair and chubby that I suddenly wanted to ask him for half.
008 generously gave it to me.
I took two bites and suddenly couldn't remember why I was eating it in the first place.
The feeling of steamed buns sticking to your hands is really unpleasant.
...
Group therapy sessions.
The caregiver asked us to sculpt animals using modeling clay.
Sigh, I really don't want to pinch it.
Every time I try to sculpt a dog, I end up with something that looks like a strange, misshapen creature.
It has no eyes, and its mouth is crooked, as if it had been stepped on.
However, I secretly brought the modeling clay back to the ward this time.
As I squeezed it, the lump of something wriggled under the light.
It's a bit like me being trapped here.
...
...
...
...
This is the 6571st day that 007 has spent in the sanatorium since his "awakening".
Time has left no mark on him.
Days continued as usual.
Only occasionally, on a morning when I wake up, I feel a sense of disorientation and realize that my life shouldn't be like this.
So, he tried to make a change for the first time.
But the day spent trapped in the nursing home did not change at all because of his unexpected arrival.
003 will not take the initiative to sunbathe with him.
008 wouldn't proactively break the steamed bun in half for him.
Even when the porridge is piping hot, 011 eats it with a blank expression.
...
There are also sanatoriums, activity rooms, treatment rooms, outdoor facilities... but they are never empty.
He was trapped in the same routine day after day in the sanatorium.
He felt frustrated and powerless.
The poached chicken was still at his feet, its neat cuts resembling those made by a hero's longsword.
etc!
What is a hero?
007 inexplicably changed direction and went to the dean's office to find Mu Nashe.
Munashe asked, "Do you want to be a hero?"
007 remembered the dream he had the night before.
There was a giant stone monster in my dream.
Lava churned within the gaps in the stone monster's body, which was pieced together from stones.
The smell of sulfur hit him as he drew his longsword and prepared for a desperate battle.
He felt like a great hero at that moment.
007 countered, "Will a hero ever be lonely?"
He has always been lonely.
"Perhaps it is because of loneliness that you became a hero."
"All right."
"So, do you still want to?"
007 clenched his fist, his bright eyes filled with determination.
"think!"
...
Later on, 007 truly became a hero.
The blade of good versus evil cleaved the world he saw in two.
Half of it is chaos that needs to be saved, and the other half is the order that he must uphold.
He could neither sink into chaos nor return to order.
He stood beside the boundary marker that separated light and shadow.
Quietly awaiting his heroic destiny.
The sanatorium was entering its second day.
007's face was still unclear; he only drew a circle around the number 6571 in the diary.
When I wrote it again later, the recorded number became the date February 28th.
In March, the weather in Tainan is characterized by frequent clashes between cold and warm air masses, resulting in fluctuating temperatures.
Munashe bought several pieces of clothing for 007, and after delivering them, he didn't say anything, only that he should remember to try them on.
007 couldn't understand human actions, but after trying them out, he found that the clothes Munashe chose were all quite the right size.
On a rainy day, 007 stood by the window on the third floor.
His hard, angular features were wrapped in soft fabric, and a hazy light enveloped his entire body.
Downstairs, in the distance, Munashe held up a black umbrella and looked up.
The face that was completely pixelated in 007's eyes was exceptionally clear in Munashe's eyes.
It seems to apply to both the past and the future.
007 has never looked so good.
March 17
Munashe took 007 out of the sanatorium.
The clothes were given to 007 when he left the sanatorium.
Munashe didn't tell him where they were going, nor did he speak to him; only their breathing filled the carriage.
The rain grew heavier, and the raindrops pounded against the window, creating quite a commotion.
Unaware of anything amiss, 007 pressed his forehead against the car window, his eyes peering through the glass at the buildings rapidly passing behind the car.
The car rolled over gravel, then bounced up and down slightly.
The road was bumpy, and 007's body swayed back and forth inside the car.
Fortunately, Munashe quickly applied the brakes.
The area outside the car resembled an abandoned factory. The factory gate was empty and dark, appearing particularly eerie in the gloomy weather.
Are there any other people?
007 noticed two sports cars parked inside the entrance; they looked much more expensive than Munasha's.
"There were six people inside, and they were doing something bad to a little boy."
Munashe's hand rested on the handlebars, and his deep voice made 007 feel inexplicably depressed.
007 rolled down the car window, letting the raindrops fall in. A gust of cold wind blew in, and he asked:
"If the hero were here, wouldn't he rush in to save them?"
Munashe let out a heavy breath.
"Even heroes would have to pay a heavy price to rescue those inside. Can you bear the unpredictable consequences?"
Munashe's unspoken words went beyond just the upcoming 1v6 situation.
007 turned sideways, opened the car door with his left hand, and held a folding umbrella in his right hand. The moment the door opened, his thumb pressed the button on the umbrella handle.
With a soft "click," the umbrella ribs suddenly sprang open, like a blooming black flower.
He flipped his wrist, and the umbrella steadily covered his head, causing the rain to roll down the arc of the umbrella to the ground.
007 glanced back at Munashe, lightly biting the corner of his mouth with his teeth, and smiled.
"As long as there are heroes, we will charge in."
007 picked up a brick from the ground and weighed it in his hand.
Unfortunately, it still lacks a hero's longsword.
[Connected to the Judge's Signal]
No trial information was detected.
[WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!]
[Judge 007's materials have been uploaded; expedited review requested.]
...
[Judge 007 has been detected to be seriously injured]
[Enable repair mode?]
On the hospital bed, the man's eyes were tightly closed, and his lips were pale.
He moved his fingers weakly, but the inescapable control of the nematodes within his body prevented him from taking the next step.
The yes or no word hovered in the center of the panel, making the observers in the observation room particularly anxious.
"How is he?"
Jiang Yang pushed open the door and walked in.
As soon as Ji Yang collapsed, they quickly worked together to carry him back to his ward downstairs.
Feeling the man's warm palm gradually cool between her fingers, Jiang Yang, unusually emotional, anxiously paced around Ji Yang's side.
Suddenly, Hoshino reached out and pressed him down.
He glanced at the two who had come down from the fourth floor with him, and unusually, he started to analyze the situation verbally:
"The garden is outside this building, and for most people, the garden is definitely their first choice."
“If we want to get to the water room near the restaurant, we must win people over now.”
"When you go out, whatever method you use, whether it's coercion or bribery, try to recruit as many people as possible."
In his last sentence, Hoshino said:
"Leave this to me."
Jiang Yang thought of 008's talent.
"good."
The two people standing at the door naturally heard it.
The moment Jiang Yang approached, they simultaneously raised their hands and nodded vigorously.
"We've made our choice: the water room!"
There are 14 players, and they currently have 5 water rooms, which means that if they want to win, they need to recruit at least three more people.
wrong!
Jiang Yang closed the door with such force that the entire building seemed to tremble.
Hoshino said that there were 14 players when the trial began.
Eleven people participated in the evening activities, and the two player volunteers were Li Sheng and Yue Jiang, meaning that only Huang Si did not actually go downstairs.
Now there are two more people, Hoshino and Jiyang. Are they considered "all" players in the system notification?
Jiang Yang remembered the trial assistant he had forgotten for a long time.
"Mr. Jiang Yang, I'm here."
The trial assistant's voice was as usual.
Jiang Yang asked himself:
"Were Hoshino and Ji Yang considered players during the trial at the Bright Sanatorium?"
Trial Assistant: "System detection shows that neither of you has had your player status revoked."
"However, Ji Yang's vital signs are about to drop below the critical value, and the player will immediately lose his player status after death."
Jiang Yang gripped the doorknob so tightly that her fingertips deformed.
"You don't need to tell him, he won't die."
Jiang Yang took a deep breath; he had to trust Hoshino.
What he needs to do now is to find four more people to finalize the water room deal!
"that..."
Jiang Yang turned around. "What are your names?"
"My name is Ma Liang."
"My name is Chang Chuang."
The two spoke in unison.
Ma Liang was the one who was saved by Ji Yang feeding him medicine, while Chang Chuang was the one who was kicked away by Jiang Yang.
In my memory, the two people were number seven and number eight, respectively, for the evening activities.
Jiang Yang's gaze slowly moved across their faces. Ma Liang took a step forward and cupped his hands in a gesture of chivalry.
“I was saved by Ji Yang. Now that he’s like this, you can speak your mind.”
Chang Chuang echoed the sentiment.
"That's right, we trust the character of the leader of the Mouguang Mercenary Group."
"Then thank you both in advance."
"I'm mainly looking for two people right now. Do we have any usable equipment?"
...
Hoshino's side.
[Whether to intervene in player permissions as a judge]
[008's remaining intervention count during the trial at Guangming Sanatorium: 1]
[Observation Room at Guangming Sanatorium - Stargazing Perspective]
"My god, Hoshino is really 008."
"Let the horse fall off."
"The problem is, how did Hoshino manage to play the Priestess 008 with just one Devil card?"
No observer can answer, and no observer knows.
They could only watch helplessly as the demon's chains climbed onto the priestess's bones and blood.
Then, watching the priestess in the moonlight, he began to gnaw on the demon's fangs.
Will enlightenment pierce the heart of desire first, or will greed chew up the bones of wisdom first?
The outcome of this battle between gods within the same soul remains to be seen.
However, the priestess's efforts to save Ji Yang failed first.
[This talent is currently on cooldown and cannot be used at this time.]
Hoshino clicked on 008's talent card again, and a prompt popped up on the panel.
His eyes widened. The talent was on cooldown, which meant it had been used.
"Since you used your talent! Why didn't you use it?!" Hoshino stomped his foot in anger.
"Deadly assistant! What does that mean?!"
"Honey~ It means you've already used up your talent~"
Hoshino's trial assistants were clearly different from Jiang Yang and Nan Ke.
He lacked Jiang Yang's indifference and Nan Ke's malice, and was more like a naive little boy.
The little boy clashed with the hot-tempered teenager.
Teenagers hate kids the most!
"I don't know how I used it! Why didn't it work?!"
"Why didn't it work? Well, it just didn't work!"
"roll!"
Okay, I look forward to serving you next time.
Hoshino sat down on the edge of the bed, her gaze lingering on Ji Yang for a moment.
Suddenly terrified, he quickly shut down the observation room.
On the bed, Ji Yang's appearance kept changing.
Holy crap!
Hoshino rubbed his eyes hard.
He seems to have...seen...0...0...7...
-----------------------
Author's note: Changed the layout a bit, hehe~
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