A bizarre and terrifying experience; I messed up the dungeon world.

The rooftop terrace (is now closed off).

He noticed a dean's office on the fifth floor. The dean—the man killed by his apprentice in the background of the story.

"Is the dean here now?" Zhou Lang asked casually.

Sister Sun stopped writing.

"The hospital director is very busy," she said. "He doesn't see patients."

Xiao Wang added from the side, "The dean hasn't been feeling well lately either."

Sister Sun glared at Xiao Wang, and Xiao Wang immediately shut up.

Zhou Lang folded the floor plan, put it in his pocket, and turned to leave.

"Oh, right," Sister Sun called after him, "be back in your ward before five o'clock. If you're still wandering around outside after your appointment time, you'll get points deducted."

Points deduction? The rulebook doesn't mention points deduction.

Zhou Lang didn't ask any more questions and walked up the stairs to the fourth floor.

The stairwell was darker than the hallway, and some of the white paint on the walls had peeled off, revealing the gray cement underneath. A poster was pasted on the corner, which read—

"Renxin Hospital's special medicine cures all ailments and restores your health!"

The poster depicts a bottle of blue medicine, with a line of small print below: Developed by Dr. Chen Zhiyuan's team, the vice dean.

Vice Dean Chen Zhiyuan. That name appeared.

Zhou Lang took out his phone and took a picture—the phone in the game could only be used for communication between players, but the camera function was still usable.

He went up to the fourth floor, where the layout was basically the same as the third floor. He found room 402 and knocked on the door.

Han Yingying opened the door. She had changed into a blue and white striped hospital gown, and her hair was tied in a low ponytail, making her look more... well-behaved than usual.

"Why did you come up here?" She stepped aside to let him in.

"Let's check on things." Zhou Lang walked in and glanced around the ward. There were two beds; the one near the door was empty, and a short-haired girl was sitting by the window, engrossed in reading a rulebook.

"This is Su Xiaoxiao, her second time entering the dungeon," Han Yingying introduced.

Su Xiaoxiao looked up and nodded at Zhou Lang, but didn't say anything, and continued to look down at the manual.

Zhou Lang admired people who didn't waste words. He sat down on the empty bed and showed Han Yingying the floor plan and poster photos.

"Vice Dean Chen Zhiyuan," Han Yingying read the name aloud. "This person wasn't mentioned in the rules."

"He mentioned Liu Deming, my attending physician. During rounds, he said something to me—don't go to the welcoming ceremony tonight."

Han Yingying frowned: "My attending physician's surname is Wang, and he didn't say much during rounds."

"Perhaps only Liu Deming is a special case."

Zhou Lang reviewed the information he had gathered: the background of the instance was that the Dean was murdered by his disciple, who colluded with a wealthy businessman to conduct human experiments. The Dean was an S-rank supernatural being who occasionally regained his senses. The wealthy businessman was also an S-rank being who desperately wanted to resurrect himself.

So here's the question—who is the dean? And who are the apprentices?

The dean's office is on the fifth floor.

Vice President Chen Zhiyuan is developing a special drug.

The apprentice made a deal with a wealthy businessman behind the hospital director's back—the word "apprentice" itself implies a master-disciple relationship. In the context of a hospital, the most reasonable explanation is that the vice director was the director's student.

Chen Zhiyuan, the vice dean, is most likely that "apprentice".

"What about the wealthy businessman?" Han Yingying asked.

"There are no leads yet, but the poster claims it's a miracle drug that can cure the disease. What kind of patient would invest in a hospital developing such a drug?"

"I'm sick."

"That's right." Zhou Lang put his phone away. "So this wealthy businessman is very likely also in the hospital, in some kind of capacity. Maybe he's a VIP in one of the wards."

At this moment, Su Xiaoxiao spoke up: "The welcoming ceremony you mentioned, some of the nurses here have also mentioned it. But I've looked through the manual twice, and there really aren't any relevant rules."

"So this is a trap," Han Yingying said.

"Not necessarily." Zhou Lang shook his head. "It could also be an opportunity. The requirement for the instance is to find out the truth; you won't find anything by just staying in the hospital room. The welcoming ceremony will gather everyone together, and we can see more NPCs and observe their reactions."

"But Liu Deming told you not to go."

"There are two possibilities for why he told me not to go. First, I might really die if I go. Second, he doesn't want me to see something."

The ward was quiet for a few seconds.

"So, what's your choice?" Han Yingying asked.

Zhou Lang didn't answer directly, but instead asked, "Aren't you afraid?"

Han Yingying was taken aback: "Does that matter?"

"It's not important, I was just asking."

Han Yingying rolled her eyes.

At 5:55 PM, Zhou Lang returned to ward 305. Zhao Qiang was sitting on the bed in a daze. When he saw Zhou Lang return, he immediately came over.

"I went to the restroom just now, and on my way back I ran into that bald guy Pang Hu. He said he took his medicine and is feeling a little dizzy now."

"And you? What was your reaction?"

Zhao Qiang thought for a moment: "It seems not... Wait, I feel a little hungry."

"That's because you haven't eaten anything."

"...That's true."

Dinner was delivered promptly at six o'clock. Each person received a boxed meal consisting of white rice, a stir-fried vegetable dish, and a piece of braised pork. The taste was neither good nor bad, typical of a cafeteria.

Zhou Lang ate everything. The rules said no waste, and he didn't even leave any soup.

Zhao Qiang and Lin Chuan obediently finished their meal, put their bowls and chopsticks back on the tray, and waited for the nurse to collect them.

The person collecting the dishes wasn't Xiao Wang; it was a male nurse with a square face and a name tag that read "Old Li." He glanced at Zhou Lang as he collected the dishes.

"Have you finished your medication, patient in bed number three?"

"I ate it." Zhou Lang said without changing his expression.

Old Li nodded and took the tray away.

At 8 p.m., the loudspeaker came on again.

"Attention all patients, a welcome ceremony will be held tonight at 9 PM in the outpatient lobby on the first floor to welcome our new patients. Please dress neatly and be guided there by the nurses on your respective floors."

The broadcast was repeated twice.

After the second time, the almost inaudible sobbing sound reappeared. This time Zhou Lang heard it clearly—it wasn't sobbing, it was laughter. A kind of laughter that was suppressed to the extreme, squeezed out from the throat.

Zhao Qiang's hair stood on end: "Did you hear that?"

Lin Chuan nodded as well.

Zhou Lang stood up and walked to the door, pressing his ear against it. Footsteps echoed in the corridor; it wasn't just one person. Someone was knocking on each door.

dong dong dong.

Room 306.

dong dong dong.

Room 304.

dong dong dong.

It's 305's turn.

Zhou Lang took two steps back. The door was pushed open, and standing in the doorway was Nurse Wang, who was wearing a new nurse's uniform today.

pink.

It's not white, nor red, it's pink.

The rules didn't mention pink.

"Dear patients, the welcome ceremony is about to begin. Please follow me." Xiao Wang smiled sweetly.

Zhou Lang asked, "Do we really have to go?"

"Of course, it's an activity arranged by the hospital." Xiao Wang tilted his head. "Don't you want to go?"

"I have a headache and don't want to move."

Xiao Wang's smile lasted for three seconds, then he said, "Alright then, you can rest if you're not feeling well. But—"

She looked at Zhao Qiang and Lin Chuan.

"Where are you two?"

Zhao Qiang looked at Zhou Lang, who shook his head slightly at him.

"I have a headache too," Zhao Qiang said.

"My stomach isn't feeling well," Lin Chuan followed.