After being poisoned by mushrooms, all the strange creatures became fascinated by me.

By the time Qiu Wanting and Jiang Hui came to their senses, Gu Xiaoying had already been dragged back to 807 by Tang Li.

The two looked at each other, wondering why the dungeon boss was acting this way, initially arrogant but then becoming obsequious.

"I think we don't need to worry about Tang Li being in danger anymore." Jiang Hui yawned. "It's so late, let's go back to sleep."

Ward 807.

Tang Li released Gu Xiaoying.

Only at this moment did worry finally creep into her feigned relaxed expression.

Tang Li sighed: "What's wrong with you now?"

Gu Xiaoying blinked: "I'm fine. If anything happened, it was a long time ago. I'm doing very well now."

Are you doing well?

She looked at Gu Xiaoying in front of her; he looked even worse.

If he used to look like a tattered rag doll, now he... looks more like a small animal that has been gutted, skinned, and dismembered.

From Tang Li's perspective, the skinned face appeared even more grotesque and terrifying, with strands of bright red flesh hanging from the stark white bones. Through his cheeks, one could vaguely see his teeth and mouth. Blood trickled down his jawline from his seven orifices.

His chest and abdomen were cut into four pieces by two grotesque but neat cross-shaped cuts. Through the cuts, one could see the writhing organs inside, as well as his small, beating heart.

Gu Xiaoying stared at his reflection in Tang Li's eyes: "Whatever you see, I'm not in pain."

Does it hurt?

Tang Li lowered her head. There was no pool of blood at Gu Xiaoying's feet; the continuous stream of blood droplets disappeared from mid-air.

Of course she knew that it was all a hallucination caused by her mushroom poisoning.

Because if this were a real situation, no one would survive such severe injuries, and no one would be able to run around after being ripped open and left unstitched. Jiang Hui and Qiu Wanting would certainly not stand idly by while Gu Xiaoying was covered in blood.

However, Tang Li had long realized that her hallucinations had a "synesthetic" effect on Gu Xiaoying. The emotions she perceived were transformed into the scene before her eyes. The more miserable and terrifying Gu Xiaoying appeared to her, the more sorrowful and painful he was.

The black mist, representing his dark emotions, was so thick it was almost tangible. Tang Li reached out to touch it; its texture was like silk. The black mist, like a docile yet sorrowful little animal, wrapped around her wrist and gently held her hand.

You're doing well, you're not in pain, so why don't you actually want me to leave?

"Gu Xiaoying," Tang Li suddenly asked, "Is Nannan still alive?"

Gu Xiaoying looked at her silently.

Tang Li had always believed that Nannan had died at Qi Cuiming's hands, but today, when she mentioned Nannan, she realized that Gu Xiaoying did not show any despair or grief at losing a loved one.

Tang Li couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope: Could this mean that the brave girl might still be alive?

Gu Xiaoying stopped looking at her and said in a cold tone, "You must not get involved in this matter anymore."

"You only need to wait two more days before you can be discharged. Nannan wouldn't want you to take risks for her."

Tang Li was not discouraged. She took out an old cell phone from her pocket and handed it to Gu Xiaoying.

"Do you recognize this phone?" she asked, watching Gu Xiaoying take the phone, not missing the trembling of his fingers.

He unconsciously stroked the yellowed casing of his phone, where a faded pink and white cat sticker was pasted. On the sticker, in blue ballpoint pen, was a line of blurry words: For my darling.

"Of course you can recognize it," Tang Li thought. "This is Nannan's phone, and now it's in my hands."

"Look, Gu Xiaoying, it's not like that," Tang Li said. "Nannan was the one who chose me."

"I received Nannan's plea for help, and I followed in her footsteps. I witnessed her pain, and I inherited her desires."

"But who exactly is she? What did the hospital do to you, Gu Xiaoying?" Tang Li asked softly. "I want to help you. I want to expose the hospital's cruel actions. I need to know the whole truth."

Gu Xiaoying lowered her head, her hands, raw and bleeding, carefully and tenderly holding the worn-out cell phone.

"Want to open it and take a look?" Tang Li gently encouraged, as if she didn't want to disturb Gu Xiaoying's dream. "Her picture is the phone wallpaper."

Gu Xiaoying silently turned on her phone and stared blankly at the smiling girl on the screen.

How alike they used to be...

Now, all that has happened is just a dream.

The bizarre private hospital is a meat grinder; it has already destroyed him, and Nannan is also deeply entangled in it. Will it drag in even more innocent people?

Tang Li...a vibrant and passionate life?

By a twist of fate, she could have easily passed through the gates and left amidst the eerie throng, without having to take any risks.

A bizarre live-streaming system chose her, forcing her to leave her home and family. Would he then become an accomplice, shattering her dreams, telling her the cruelest reality, and even dragging her into their hell?

Gu Xiaoying said, "No."

Tang Li wasn't annoyed by the refusal; her tone remained gentle: "How about checking your phone's apps?"

Gu Xiaoying hesitated and lowered his head, his fingers dancing lightly on the screen. He clicked into the game and saw the tiny pixelated girl in it.

The girl is standing in the eerie private hospital.

He was stunned. How could this be?

The game... has changed?

Nannan's little person should be at home in safety, so why is she in the hospital?

Tang Li said, "The game has changed, hasn't it?"

Just now, Gu Xiaoying personally resolved Tang Li's long-standing doubts.

When she first started playing the game, Nannan was in the safety of her home. That home was warm and peaceful, and no matter what difficulties Nannan encountered, she could resolve them unscathed.

The game's creator loved her so much that his blessing was inscribed at the end of the game: "I love you, Nannan, with boundless love."

However, after completing the first game, the second game became bloody. Nannan was repeatedly trapped in desperate situations, and she died in various ways, but the game's creators no longer showed her any pity.

I see, I see.

There were originally two developers of the game.

The second part, a fearless struggle in hell, was created by Nannan himself.

And the producer of the first game, who loved Nannan and hoped that Nannan could be free from all misfortune...

Tang Li slowly raised her eyes and gazed at the small child in front of her.

It was Gu Xiaoying right in front of me.