Chapter 44: Madhouse (11)
After the intense sexual encounter, it took a long time for both of them to recover from the blissful satisfaction of climax.
Ji Ning nestled in Jiang Ting's arms. Sated, she finally had the energy to think about serious matters.
All day yesterday, she had been calculating how to successfully exploit the staff canteen's vulnerability and escape the Madhouse.
Getting to the canteen meant waiting until night. But once back in the dormitory, there would be no way out again. If she could escape before being escorted back to the dormitory, hide first, and wait until night to act, the success rate would be much higher.
So today's reception time was her final opportunity.
"What's your plan?"
Just as Ji Ning was thinking, Jiang Ting's low voice of inquiry reached her ears.
Though she still felt rather distant from him, it was Jiang Ting's caution that had prevented her from getting into trouble during the search. For that reason, Ji Ning was willing to be candid with him. She told him about her mission changes and her plan.
After listening, Jiang Ting pondered for a moment, then said, "That works. I can also provide you with a hiding place where you won't be found."
Ji Ning's eyes widened with pleasant surprise. She had been hesitating between hiding in the ventilation ducts or a storage closet. If Jiang Ting could offer a better option, she was truly grateful.
Jiang Ting continued, "Because of my mission, I researched this Madhouse. Before it was converted into an asylum, it used to be a prison. Right in the flower bed behind this building, there's a hidden basement entrance. Probably not even the Madhouse staff know about it."
The two angled themselves in a blind spot the camera couldn't capture, speaking in absolute secrecy. The moment felt thrilling.
Hearing about a leftover basement from the past, Ji Ning's heart raced wildly.
She looked into Jiang Ting's cold, deep eyes and thanked him sincerely: "Mr. Jiang, the information you've provided is vital to me. Thank you."
Jiang Ting hadn't thought much of it, but seeing her eyes sparkling so brightly lifted his mood as well. His voice came out gentler than it had been in a very long time: "The key you need, I've prepared it."
Speaking of the key, Ji Ning admired Jiang Ting's cautiousness all the more. It was thanks to his thorough thinking that both of them had remained safe.
Her gratitude was still lodged in her chest, but in the next moment, her smile froze.
Jiang Ting's hand probed her lower body. He rubbed at the entrance, found it still slick and wet, inserted a finger to stretch the inner walls, and then pushed something he was holding—she didn't know when he'd picked it up—inside her.
His fingers were warm. Though he didn't deliberately tease her, merely circling to loosen the inner walls, it still stirred a wave of numbing pleasure that made Ji Ning tremble all over.
The thing inserted was a cylinder rounded at both ends; it wasn't uncomfortable.
Jiang Ting coaxed, "A custom container with the key inside. To avoid it being found during a search. There's a cotton string attached. Just pull the string when you need to remove it."
Jiang Ting's method was undeniably good, but it was also far too embarrassing.
Ji Ning felt her face grow hot. She gave a slight nod to show she understood.
That brief touch while inserting the container—the tight, soft sensation inside her little pussy—made Jiang Ting's heart quiver. His cock, which had gone dormant while they discussed serious matters, gradually stirred back to life.
He gazed at Ji Ning's gorgeous, alluring face, desire stirring within him. He wanted to taste those moist, crimson lips and know their flavor.
As he drew closer, Jiang Ting's breathing became slightly erratic. He felt like an inexperienced young man, actually nervous about a mere kiss.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Violent knocking interrupted the intimate atmosphere within the room. An anxious voice belonging to an Orderly came from outside: "Mr. Jiang, sorry to disturb, but we have an urgent matter to attend to."
Ji Ning and Jiang Ting exchanged a glance; both had a bad premonition.
But they could only adapt. Jiang Ting rose, threw on his coat, and told them to enter.
The door opened and three grim-faced Orderlies walked in. The lead one spoke bluntly: "Mr. Jiang, we received a report that the person serving you is suspicious. We now need to take her for questioning. Please understand. We will provide someone else to serve you shortly."
Ji Ning lay on the couch, feigning stupor and incomprehension, her heart pounding. Her first suspicion was that He Huihui had struck preemptively, making a move before she could report them.
Jiang Ting wore an expression of displeasure at the interruption and said coldly, "Your poor management is for me to pay for?"
It was a difficult attitude, perfectly in keeping with his identity.
The Orderlies apologized profusely.
Jiang Ting turned and waved a hand, appearing unwilling to say more. In truth, the turn allowed him to send a subtle glance to Ji Ning, telling her to be at ease.
So, when Ji Ning was taken away, she didn't struggle and refrained from any behavior that might alert the NPCs.
Subsequently, Ji Ning was brought to a room, searched, and then interrogated.
The key Jiang Ting had hidden was too well concealed; naturally, it wasn't found. Ji Ning's acting held up, and her mental fortitude was strong. No matter what they asked, she ignored them entirely—the very picture of a madwoman whose medication hadn't yet worn off.
The Orderlies exchanged glances, their guard gradually dropping.
Just then, the room's lights went dark. Because the sudden loss of brightness was complete, even though the curtains let in a sliver of light, it momentarily robbed everyone of sight.
Before the Orderlies could even cry out, they collapsed to the ground with muffled thuds.
Ji Ning was pulled into a familiar embrace. A sheet was draped over her, and she was led out of the room, through multiple twists and turns, exiting the reception building through a back stairway door.
She saw Jiang Ting was holding a high-voltage stun baton, wearing a black mask that revealed only his eyes, looking like a cold special agent from a movie.
Luckily, they hadn't made any noise earlier, so the two reached their destination without obstruction. The backyard was empty.
Jiang Ting brought Ji Ning to a tropical-style flower bed. It was filled with yellow sand mixed with many leaves and debris. The cacti and succulents planted inside had grown quite large; they looked to be many years old.
She knew this was the entrance to the basement he'd mentioned.
Jiang Ting bent down, using both arms to sweep away the yellow sand. After quickly digging a dozen or so times, a patch of iron plating was finally revealed.
Ji Ning dug alongside him, and soon they could see most of the iron door.
There was a rotary switch on the iron door. Jiang Ting twisted it ninety degrees, then pulled on the handle and yanked the door upward.
"Go in, quickly. This place should be safe. Our mission timings are different; you don't need to worry." Jiang Ting looked at Ji Ning, his eyes concealing emotions he couldn't articulate.
All this time, Ji Ning's heart had been pounding violently. This feeling of potentially being discovered at any moment was too nerve-wracking.
Even now, so close to her destination, as she looked at Jiang Ting, her heart still beat fiercely.
This was the first time Ji Ning had received such great help from someone—not only saving her but also providing the most critical clue.
But this was no time for being sentimental; every second of delay could mean mortal danger.
Ji Ning nimbly clamored down the basement steps. She looked at Jiang Ting one more time and said solemnly, "Thank you. I wish you success with your mission." Then she pulled the inner handle of the iron door, closing it herself.
Jiang Ting didn't hesitate either. He pushed all those indistinct, stirring emotions deep into his heart, quickly pushed the yellow sand back to restore the original appearance, and returned to his previous room.
The hasty glance the two exchanged became their last sight of each other in this instance.
Back to Ji Ning. After entering the basement, she passed through a long tunnel, advancing in darkness, and finally arrived at a room that wasn't small.
Once safe, Ji Ning's first action was to remove the container Jiang Ting had placed inside her—a small, silicone, screw-cap cylinder holding a key. She unlocked the long-chain handcuffs and ankle chains that bound her.
Using the faint light from a ventilation window, she searched for a long time before finally finding candles and matches to light them.
Looking around, all the food and drinks stored in the room were expired, though expired mineral water was still safe to drink. She couldn't very well die of thirst here.
Ji Ning waited anxiously for a long, long time. The light from the ventilation window completely disappeared; it was deep into the night.
The system panel showed 23 hours remaining on the mission countdown. It should be 11 PM outside.
Ji Ning thought she should wait longer. She had only just disappeared today; the Madhouse might be on lockdown. It was best to wait until tomorrow night to go out.
Just as she was thinking this, she heard distant, faint sounds of clamor coming from outside.
Chaos erupted everywhere, shouts rising and falling. There were scattered footsteps nearby, and from the voices, it sounded like they were searching for someone.
Ji Ning's heart hung in suspense, unsure what was happening outside. It sounded like they were looking for her, making her more worried that something had happened to Jiang Ting.
But soon, a system notification gave Ji Ning the answer.
【Female Player No. 3 has failed her mission. Elimination enforced.】
【Female Player No. 12 has failed her mission. Elimination enforced.】
It was No. 3 and No. 12, who had conspired to climb the wall!
The commotion outside was because they had chosen to act tonight. But they chose the wrong path, were discovered by NPCs, and faced fatal consequences.
Moreover, strangely, after the notifications for No. 3 and No. 12 were announced, the noise above Ji Ning abruptly ceased.
It was as if… the monster NPCs' threat levels had been refreshed…
Ji Ning finally understood why the difficulty increased when the player count dropped. It was because every time someone failed a mission, NPC behavior was reset.
Just like now. He Huihui and the others failed their missions, so the NPCs lost their memories concerning Ji Ning's disappearance.
Otherwise, logically, once someone tried to escape the Madhouse, the place should have remained on long-term lockdown.
Thus, the failure of earlier players' missions would infinitely escalate the difficulty for subsequent players.
Without this failure-triggered reset mechanic, the difficulty of this instance might have exceeded three stars.
Ji Ning's heart raced. Since the reset had occurred, the early hours of this morning were her best window for escape!
She opened the system panel and fixed her eyes on the mission countdown. When it had ticked down to 20 hours remaining, Ji Ning retraced her steps back to the steps leading up.
Using all her strength, she pushed open the iron door, only to be pelted in the head and face by an inrush of yellow sand.
She climbed out of the basement, shaking her head and patting herself down, cleaning up a bit.
It was now 2 AM outside. Aside from the floodlights at the entrance, darkness reigned everywhere.
Ji Ning crouched low, sticking as close as possible to cover as she moved away from the reception area, passing the dormitory and the exercise yard, and finally arriving at the fabled staff canteen.
The canteen was deserted. Under the moonlight, the manhole cover in the back kitchen area gleamed like a victory medal.
Ji Ning found an iron spade and used its handle to pry open the manhole cover. Summoning all her courage, she crawled inside.
She never wanted to recall the experience that followed for the rest of her life.
In short, by slipping through the broken filter in the sewer, Ji Ning crawled along the pipe to the sewage river and saw the moonlight beyond the Madhouse's perimeter wall.
The system lit up.
【Congratulations, Player No. 6, Ji Ning, for completing the mission. Mission Points earned: 280.】
Get instant access to all chapters now.
Post a Comment