Chapter 39: Madhouse (6)
Approximately two hours after Ji Ning entered the room, someone knocked on the door from outside.
"Mr. Jiang, your time is up."
Jiang Ting let the person in.
The same female worker who had escorted Ji Ning there entered and led her away from the room.
Dressed in a striped patient uniform, Ji Ning was sent back to the dormitory building alongside the other female players.
On the return route, Ji Ning secretly memorized the structure of the guest reception building, observing everywhere she passed for any vulnerabilities in the madhouse walls that might allow escape.
She wasn't the only one; the other five female players were doing the same.
Just as they were approaching the dormitory building, a large tree growing between a tall building and the outer wall caught everyone's attention.
The tree was very close to the outer wall, and its branches extended near the third-floor balcony.
If one had a rope, they could toss it from the third floor onto the tree's thick branches, securing a line between the two points. A person could then use the rope, leveraging the tree as a springboard, to climb over the wall.
This was an obvious escape method.
Unfortunately, the building close to the tree was the staff dormitory, and figuring out how to even get inside would be another problem entirely.
Back in her cell-like dormitory, Ji Ning's mind was still fixated on that conspicuously large tree. She imagined a person using the tree to scale over the high perimeter wall and flee. That must be what the mission meant by "escape the madhouse."
This method seemed incredibly difficult to pull off, yet it was so easily conceived. Ji Ning couldn't shake the feeling that it was like bait hanging on a hook.
Inspiration struck, and she recalled the hint provided from winning Werewolf—"The fish that falls outside the bucket meets no good end."
Weren't people climbing over the wall exactly like fish falling outside the bucket?
Realizing the large tree was actually a trap, her body instantly felt as if submerged in an ancient well—ice-cold to the bone.
Just as Ji Ning was once again grasping the game's sinister nature and her heart was sinking in desolation, a noisy clamor suddenly erupted outside. A group of orderlies, bearing ferocious and menacing looks, threw open the iron-barred doors of their dormitories and began searching.
Ji Ning's room was among them.
Two orderlies barged into her dormitory, roughly frisked her, and ransacked every corner inside and out.
Ji Ning hadn't done anything, so naturally, nothing was found. The two orderlies hurried off to the next dormitory.
Shortly after, a shout rang out from outside: "The key has been found!"
Ji Ning pressed against the iron bars and peered out. Female players No. 5 and No. 7 were dragged from their dormitories. After a brutal beating, they were hauled by their hair toward the stairwell.
The orderlies cursed profusely, beating the two players until they screamed and wailed without pause. Each jarring sound pounded heavily on the nerves of the remaining players.
No one knew what had happened. While the players were still bewildered, the system sent out three notifications.
【Female player No. 7 stole the key of a paired NPC, arousing NPC vigilance and triggering a room inspection. Key discovered. Punishment: Elimination.】
【Male player No. 2 falsely claimed his key was lost and was struck from the madhouse registry. Punishment: Elimination.】
【Female player No. 5 was discovered with a key. Punishment: Elimination.】
Although these three notifications came without context, everyone could piece them together and deduce what had transpired.
Because male player No. 11 had died in the Werewolf game, the missing male player slot was filled by an NPC, who became the client of female player No. 7.
No. 7 stole the key in the NPC's possession, triggering the inspection.
Male player No. 2 and female player No. 5 were paired partners. No. 2 gave the key to No. 5 and falsely reported it lost.
Losing a key was not sufficient to bluff their way through. No. 2 was removed from the madhouse's guest list and could no longer maintain a connection with the instance, resulting in his elimination.
As for No. 5's elimination, it might have been a consequence linked to No. 2, or a consequence linked to No. 7, leading to her key being discovered during the same inspection and her subsequent elimination.
Three players had been lost in an instant. Those still alive felt a sense of relief, yet a profound desolation also sprouted in their hearts.
The system lit up again very quickly.
The players opened the interface with trepidation. Upon seeing the new prompt, they felt as if they had been plunged into an abyss of ice.
【Due to insufficient player count, instance difficulty has been increased. A time limit has been activated. Mission completion time limit: 72 hours.】
【Countdown: 71:59:49】
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