My organs are too abstract.

"Do you think it's too late if I close my eyes now?"

The middle-aged man looked at Li Da with a half-smile: "What do you think?"

"I think..." Li Daqian chuckled, "...we could probably discuss it?"

The middle-aged man glanced at him and smiled without saying a word.

"Sigh, alright," Li Da looked at him, sighed dejectedly, and asked, "You just mentioned 'script setting,' so you're also an NPC in this haunted house?"

"I guess so." The man nodded, then shook his head. "But the term 'NPC' isn't quite accurate. How should I put it? Perhaps I'm just some kind of character suit?"

"A leather suit?"

Li Da was completely bewildered by this answer.

"And what about the other NPCs? Are they also... in costume, like you?"

"Not quite the same," the uncle shook his head. "They were just ordinary NPCs at first, but then something happened and they turned into costumes."

Li Da didn't dwell on the topic, but instead asked the question that lingered in his mind: "Then why did you kill them?"

The middle-aged man said meaningfully, "Since there is a suit, there must be an owner. We are just carrying out the owner's will and acting in accordance with some kind of setting."

If Xu Yuan were here, he might be able to discern a hint of meaning, but Li Da couldn't understand it at all.

Upon hearing the word "setting," he frowned slightly: "So, physical contact is required before killing, is that really your setting?"

"That's right," the uncle nodded, "To be precise, the execution procedure will only be carried out after the target has been touched for seven seconds."

"That's not right," Li Da suddenly realized something, pointing to the couple lying on the ground, "If that's the case, why did you kill them? When did they contact you just now?"

"You forgot?" The middle-aged man chuckled. "I met them a long time ago. I even shook your hand."

"A long time ago?"

Li Da recalled the scene in his mind where the uncle had enthusiastically sought opportunities to shake hands with every tourist, and his expression froze for a moment: "So that's how it is... No wonder you were so enthusiastic, it turns out you had planned this all along."

"You can't say that. My enthusiasm is real. I've been holding back for too long, and I really want to make some new friends." The uncle shook his head with a regretful expression.

Seeing that his expression didn't seem fake, Li Da couldn't help but ask, "Why do I feel... that you're different from the other NPCs?"

"You mean why they seem more rigid and mechanical, while I seem more free?" The middle-aged man seemed to see through his thoughts and said knowingly, "Because they were just ordinary people before, but I'm different. I'm special."

He seemed lost in thought, his tone tinged with melancholy: "Although this 'special' situation isn't what I wanted, it does give me more freedom here."

"But freedom has its limits; once it reaches a certain point, I still have to work."

Li Da listened to the other person's words, feeling completely bewildered: "I don't quite understand what you're saying."

The middle-aged man shook his head: "It's okay if you don't understand. You'll understand when you meet him again. Now, let's get down to business."

"Let's get down to business?"

Upon hearing this, Li Da felt a chill run down his spine.

"The owner of the suit has his own set of rules, which I can temporarily counteract," the man said slowly as he stepped forward. "But I myself have another set of rules—whoever sees my face will be killed by me. When these two sets of rules are triggered at the same time, it is very difficult for me to control myself."

Li Da was taken aback: "Why would there be such a strange setting?"

"Because I used to be a patient, I hate all normal people who are healthier than me... Of course, if it were other patients, I might let them off the hook." The uncle's tone seemed to carry a hint of reminder, and his gaze seemed to be looking in a certain direction.

"Um?"

Li Da noticed his gaze, turned his head to look to the side, and immediately noticed a pile of hospital gowns stacked together.

"Could it be...?"

A thought struck him, and he quickly grabbed a garment, draped it over his shoulders in a flash, and exclaimed, "You're right, I am a patient!"

"Oh?" A hint of interest flickered in the middle-aged man's eyes as he pulled out a small notebook and pen from somewhere. "What's wrong with you?"

Li Da thought for a moment, and was about to fill his medical record with information when the uncle said with a half-smile, "I advise you not to talk nonsense. I hate insincerity."

Li Da immediately said honestly, "Look at my figure, I'm so fat, I don't look healthy at all."

The middle-aged man glanced at him, casually wrote "bloated" in his notebook, and then asked, "But our patients here all have their own certificates. Where's yours?"

"Proof?" Li Da frowned and pondered for a moment, then suddenly remembered the rules he had seen at the entrance before entering the haunted house, which included a clause—

"All patients in this hospital have their own identification cards. Please identify them promptly."

"So the exclusive proof is an ID card? But where the hell am I supposed to get one?"

Li Da's heart tightened, but he quickly remembered something and a thought flashed through his mind, "No... I think I have one."

He quickly pulled a card from his pocket, on which was printed a blurry photo and the name "Ji Dasheng" was written.

This is what they found when they first explored the haunted house and encountered the patient blocking their way. He took the initiative to explore the path and found it on the patient's body.

The middle-aged man looked at Li Da with surprise, his expression carrying a hint of danger: "I don't remember you having this name. Are you sure this is your card?"

"It's mine, it's definitely mine." Li Da nodded quickly.

He bit his finger, used the blood to erase the character "生" (life) on the ID card, and then erased the top stroke of the character "季" (season), before carefully holding it in his hand to show it off.

He pointed to the only two characters remaining on the ID card, "Li Da," and said with an embarrassed smile, "You see, that's my name, isn't it?"

The middle-aged man sized him up for a few seconds, put away the medical record, and couldn't help but laugh, "You're quite the talent, kid."

Li Da breathed a sigh of relief, knowing he had probably passed the test, and asked with a curious look, "Why did you help me?"

He could naturally tell that the other party was intentionally reminding him, wanting to let him off the hook, but he didn't know why.

"You're quite an interesting kid. It would be a shame if you died." The uncle said slowly, as if he had just remembered something. "Besides, you helped me once. Doing good deeds can bring good luck. I think that's true."

Li Da nodded, seemingly understanding, and a brief silence fell. After a moment, he couldn't help but ask, "Uncle, are you the owner of the haunted house?"

"No, but I was personally recruited by him."

Li Da was taken aback: "Dug it up?"

"That's right, my feelings for him are complicated. I don't know whether I should thank him or hate him." The middle-aged man's expression was somewhat complicated. "But overall, I think I hate him more."

Li Da couldn't help but ask, "If you hate him, why did you help him kill people in the haunted house?"

"It's not that I want to kill," the uncle shook his head. "I am me, but I am not me. When I am myself, I have a certain degree of freedom. When I am not myself, I can only follow the rules. I can suppress it for a while, but I can't suppress it for too long."

Li Da scratched his head, looking bewildered: "I didn't quite understand."

"You don't need to understand. Hurry up and leave. You've dragged this out for so long. I need to get to work." The man's voice lowered, his expression gradually turned painful, and his eyes became bloodshot.

Li Da glanced at him, hesitated for a moment, then turned around and pushed open the door, only to be suddenly stunned.

The corridor outside the door was densely packed with people in hospital gowns, their expressions numb and their eyes vacant, blocking the doorway like wooden stakes.

Before Li Da could react, a "patient" suddenly raised his stiff arm and grabbed straight at his arm.

"Bang!"

A figure suddenly rushed forward, and the uncle grabbed the cold arm, exerted force, and slammed the person against the wall, dust falling everywhere.

He spread his arms and stood in front of Li Da, forcefully pushing all the patients who were blocking his way to the sides, creating a gap that only allowed one person to pass through.

"Let's go."

Li Da didn't dare delay and immediately squeezed through the gap. He'd only run a few steps when the older man's voice suddenly came from behind him: "What do you think about us being friends if I don't kill anyone?"

Li Da paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "It's fine."

A strange emotion flickered in the middle-aged man's eyes: "Is that so...?"

The next second, his expression suddenly changed, a suppressed cruelty appeared in his eyes, and he said in a hoarse voice, "Hurry up and leave, I'll look... terrible later."

Without further hesitation, Li Da turned and ran deeper into the corridor.

The middle-aged man looked back until his figure disappeared from sight before slowly lowering his arm.

He looked at the patient in front of him and warmly shook his hand: "Hello, can we be friends?"

The patient stood there blankly, unresponsive.

One second, two seconds... seven seconds.

The patient, who had been lifeless, was suddenly activated. His eyes instantly turned fierce and crazed. He opened his arms and pounced on the uncle.

"It seems you're afraid of me and don't want to be friends with me." The middle-aged man touched the lower half of his disfigured face and sighed.

He raised his hand and pressed down on the other person's head, applying slight pressure with his fingertips. With a crisp "snap," the head, which was covered by human skin, was easily twisted off and rolled to the ground with a dull thud.

He turned to another patient beside him, extended his hand again, and smiled, "And you? Would you like to be my friend?"

The seven-second countdown ended, and what awaited him was still an attack that received no response.

The man's smile faded slightly, and he raised his hand, sending another head crashing to the ground.

After a while, the heads were lined up in a row on the cold ground.

Why...?

Looking at the numb-faced patient before him, the middle-aged man suddenly felt a pang of confusion and pain: "Why...why don't you all want to be my friends, or listen to me?"

In the silent corridor, only his painful voice echoed.

After a long while, he suddenly smiled.

"Since that's the case..."

Although he was smiling, his face was devoid of warmth, and his tone was filled with hysterical madness, "Then... I'll kill you all!"

"hey-hey……"

"I'll kill you all... Hahahaha!"

……