Players, Please Board the Train

Unlike the previous darkness, the interior of this circular tower was brilliantly illuminated. The seemingly endless tower body wasn’t connected to the spiral staircase but rather formed concentric circles around it, completely separate.

Xu Huo glanced back at the spiral staircase behind him, and the staircase immediately retreated several meters. A large round table appeared on the shrinking floor. No one sat at the table, but three items were placed on it: a playing card face down, a blood-stained knife, and a thin black circular disc.

A chair appeared beside the table. He walked over and sat down, placing both hands on the table surface. A white-covered book two fingers thick appeared in the center. At this moment, he and the other three items formed a square shape together, but after waiting for quite some time, no second chair appeared at the table.

Xu Huo stood up and stepped back onto the spiral staircase. The round table disappeared, and both the circular tower and spiral staircase returned to darkness. He retraced his original path, walking for over ten more hours before finally reaching the exit.

The office and Tang Guangbo that had disappeared when he entered had returned to their original states. Xu Huo closed the small door and turned to bid farewell to Tang Guangbo.

Tang Guangbo adjusted his glasses and said with a smile, ”You can come find me anytime you want to talk.”

Xu Huo nodded and had just stepped out when Sima Xiao Er stopped him, pulling him into a patient room. ”You were in the doctor’s office the entire time during meal hours? Was he brainwashing you? Don’t you dare fall for it.”

As he spoke, a hint of fear appeared in his eyes. ”I just saw the other two players on the third floor. They came in with me, but now they’re acting all weird—one moment saying they’re players, the next begging nurses to let them call their families, saying they don’t want to stay in the hospital... Have they gone crazy?”

”Don’t be so scared,” Xu Huo said. ”Just maintain your current state and focus on finding the dungeon. You’ll be fine.”

”Is there really a dungeon here?” Sima Xiao Er clenched his fists. ”Earlier, a nurse said my family is coming to visit me this afternoon and wants me to meet with them...””You don’t even trust yourself?” Xu Huo smiled. ”Don’t overthink it.”

Sima Xiao Er was somewhat convinced for now. He added, ”You haven’t eaten yet, right? I said I’d get you an apple earlier, but the nurse sister said she saved you a meal.”

Xu Huo nodded and went out to find Yu Qingqing.

Zhou Ning had specifically saved him a meal in a thermal container. Yu Qingqing brought it out along with his medicine and said, ”You haven’t been taking your medicine properly these past few days, have you? I’ll make sure you finish your medicine today.”

Xu Huo didn’t say much. He put the medicine in his mouth in front of her, drank water to swallow it, then opened his mouth for her to check.

Yu Qingqing confirmed he hadn’t hidden any medicine under his tongue before smiling satisfactorily and leaving.

Xu Huo flushed both the medicine and food down the toilet.

After afternoon nap time passed, he went out for a walk, deliberately sitting by the visiting room window.

”...You need to focus on getting treatment at the hospital and not cause trouble. You’re an adult now. We have no obligation to take care of you. We only pooled money for your treatment out of respect for your deceased parents. If you know gratitude, you should get proper treatment and become a decent person after you get out.” A rough female voice spoke nonstop in the visiting room. ”Look at these accounts—all money you promised to pay back. Not dragging us down for life would be a blessing!”

”Alright, alright,” the accompanying doctor quickly interrupted the woman. ”Mr. Sima’s condition has actually improved. He’s staying on the third floor now, and his mental state is quite stable. If he maintains this, he can be discharged soon.”

The woman sighed. ”Xiao Er, it’s not that Auntie is criticizing you, but you’re grown up now. Don’t get so obsessed with the game world. I’m really afraid you might kill someone someday, mistaking real people for game characters...”

Xu Huo, who had been lounging lazily, stood up upon hearing this, suddenly pushed open the window, and motioned with his chin toward Sima Xiao Er. ”Want to play ball?”

Sima Xiao Er, who had been hunched over with his head down being scolded like a grandson, turned around with an awkward smile. ”I’m talking with my aunt. Find someone else.”

”Aren’t you an orphan? Where did these relatives come from?” Xu Huo retorted.

Sima Xiao Er gradually came to his senses, abruptly stood up straight, and leaped out the window as if fleeing for his life. ”Holy shit! I knew something was off!”

Sima Xiao Er ran off. After futile shouting, the people in the visiting room left in anger.

Xu Huo looked at the doctor in the visiting room and made a wiping motion in the air. The person remained.

”Seems interfering with others’ mental worlds isn’t that easy...”

After pausing briefly, he turned to find Sima Xiao Er.

Sima Xiao Er had already run to the activity area and kept waving when he saw him.

Xu Huo walked over. This fool didn’t sense anything wrong at all. Instead, he excitedly emphasized, ”I knew they were definitely frauds! Don’t misunderstand—I was just playing along to see what tricks they were pulling. I never actually believed them!”

”As long as you’re happy,” Xu Huo felt this state suited him fine.

Sima Xiao Er rubbed his hands together eagerly. ”Now I understand why the others are being driven crazy. Damn, this hospital puts on a full performance! Those who escaped yesterday definitely weren’t seeing their real families. How could dead people come back to life? It must be the hospital’s method to completely confuse people!”

”Are you still looking for the dungeon entrance?” Xu Huo asked.

”Of course I am,” Sima Xiao Er said. ”The hospital is only this big—we’ll find it eventually. There’s no danger before the dungeon starts anyway.”

Xu Huo reminded him, ”At least find it before the end of the month. Some players haven’t completed this month’s dungeon yet. If trapped here, they’ll eventually get sent to high-difficulty random dungeons.”

Sima Xiao Er nodded repeatedly. ”I’ll go tell them right now!”

With those words, he rushed off in a whirlwind.

Xu Huo watched his figure disappear through the building entrance before withdrawing his gaze. He looked up at the steel characters ”Seventeenth Hospital” on the building’s rooftop, squinting slightly. After a moment, these characters gradually became blurry and transparent, soon completely invisible.

The building showed no changes.

He raised an eyebrow, then returned to the building. Along the way, he continuously saw doctors leading different people inside. Some patients burst into tears before even speaking when they saw visitors, while others begged their families to let them leave, promising they wouldn’t relapse.

”Xu Huo!” Yu Qingqing walked over with a beaming smile. ”Your parents and your older brother are coming to see you tonight.”

Xu Huo abruptly halted, his expression turning icy cold as he looked at her.

Yu Qingqing was startled and immediately hid her hands behind her back while calling for other nurses.

Several male nurses on the same floor noticed her gesture and simultaneously moved closer.

Xu Huo relaxed his expression. ”Everyone else gets daytime visits. Why am I at night?”

”So that’s what bothered you,” Yu Qingqing breathed a sigh of relief. ”Your brother just returned from abroad and seems quite busy. He could only squeeze in time tonight.”