Chapter 100: Free Mission, Flesh and Bone Separation

Chapter 100: Free Mission, Flesh and Bone Separation

"Great love is selfless..."

Ji Yan couldn't help but smirk upon hearing these words.

As Liu Yan's Attending Doctor, he knew better than anyone that this patient wanted to live more than anyone else!

How could a patient merely suffering from Stockholm Syndrome be "running out of time"?

It seemed the information Li Ze had revealed was true.

These players, ostensibly doctors, were in reality nothing but bloodstained executioners.

"Discharge" had always been a lie from the very beginning!

Someone was using the players' hands to torture and kill the Supernatural Patients in this hospital instance!

But what was the ultimate goal?

Hearing the Horse Player's words, Ji Yan retorted, "Doctor Horse, do you even believe that yourself?"

The Horse Player responded with a smile, "We're doctors. Whatever the hospital says, we just follow orders as employees."

"Goat Doctor, anything else?"

"No, sorry to bother you."

Ji Yan turned and left the ward, followed by the Ghostly Nurse pushing the stretcher bed out of the room.

Outside the door.

Ji Yan glanced at the patient on the stretcher bed and was about to speak when he suddenly heard faint footsteps from one end of the corridor.

Turning his head, he saw two figures in protective suits standing beside him.

Behind the visors, their eyes resembled dead fish's eyeballs.

These must be the Overseers the Ghostly Nurse had mentioned.

The report in Ji Yan's hands was taken by them. After a brief glance, one of them rasped, "Goat Doctor, thank you for your hard work."

"You've successfully cured another patient, contributing to the hospital's cause."

"We'll take care of this patient from here."

With that, they brushed past Ji Yan, grabbed the unconscious Li Ze, and dragged him away...

Ji Yan watched their retreating figures and muttered, "Words sweeter than a song."

"But in reality, they're just using us as tools..."

The Supernatural Patients in this instance were shackled by their illnesses, and players could "cure" them by removing these shackles.

Once freed, these patients were immediately seized by the Overseers and left to their fate.

As for the mastermind behind this, it had to be the Boss of the Undead Hospital instance!

Ji Yan rubbed his temples, vaguely sensing that the Main Plot of this instance ran far deeper than it seemed.

"Teacher, the mission is complete. You can rest now."

Noticing Ji Yan's distraction, the Ghostly Nurse spoke up to pull him back to reality.

Ji Yan blinked, having nearly forgotten the presence of this pawn beside him. He asked the Ghostly Nurse, "Where do you think Li Ze will be taken next?"

"Discharge."

"That's what all patients dream of," the Ghostly Nurse replied mechanically.

Ji Yan shook his head and fell silent.

...

On the way back to Room 405.

Dawn had yet to fully break. Outside the hospital building, the hazy white of early morning mingled with the lingering darkness. As Ji Yan descended the stairs and passed the second floor, the game's mission panel suddenly popped up.

The day's tasks were already done—why was there another mission?

"Player Alert! A patient eligible for a Free Mission has been detected in Room 207. This patient may hold crucial Main Plot information and possess an Epic Supernatural Artifact."

"This mission is non-compulsory. Players may freely choose to treat or abandon it. During the Nighttime Task, if danger is encountered, you may flee and exit at any time without facing any Punishment!"

After checking the mission details, Ji Yan suddenly halted in his tracks.

He couldn’t help but widen his eyes and read it again.

An Epic-grade Supernatural Artifact?!

At the [Legendary] level, Ji Yan currently only possessed the "Blood-Stained Paper Figure" and the "Silver Needle." Anything above that was [Epic].

This was the highest-grade Supernatural Artifact available, and it was hidden on a "Free NPC"?

As for what a "Free Mission" was, to put it simply, it was a task triggered by a random NPC.

One could choose to accept or decline it freely.

Moreover, there was no time limit.

These were usually missions players took on during their free time for entertainment, as they weren’t mandatory.

Even if danger arose, players could immediately withdraw and shake off the hostility of the Supernatural Entity.

Containing crucial Main Plot information and an Epic Supernatural Artifact.

And the option to quit anytime.

Didn’t this essentially mean the mission was a free handout?

Ji Yan walked toward Room 207 and stopped at the door.

As his hand gripped the doorknob, the mission details panel popped up.

"Room 207 has urgently admitted a pregnant woman suffering endless torment due to carrying a Malevolent Fetus. As the doctor, please extract and kill the Malevolent Fetus to save the patient."

"Standard Completion: Kill the Malevolent Fetus."

"Perfect Completion: Kill the Malevolent Fetus and complete the surgery."

"Mission Rank: A+."

"Warning: The pregnant patient is emotionally unstable and poses a certain danger. Remember! Do not let her perceive your actions as malicious harm, or she will attack you."

Ji Yan’s eyes flickered a few times.

The description was this brief?

Seemed like the danger and difficulty mostly lay with that Malevolent Fetus.

He turned his head to look at the Ghostly Nurse behind him. "Are you coming in with me?"

The Ghostly Nurse smiled faintly. "If the Teacher is performing surgery, I can assist."

With that, she entered the ward.

The room was freezing, like an ice cellar.

The sparse interior held only a dried-blood-stained surgery bed, upon which lay a female patient. Her belly was swollen half a meter high, as if inflated with gas.

Dense, branching veins covered her stomach like tree roots, threatening to burst at any moment. Even more horrifying, faint mini handprints and footprints occasionally surfaced on the skin.

"Supernatural Pregnant Woman… Supernatural Fetus…"

"Straight to the point, huh."

Ji Yan set down his medical kit and asked the Ghostly Nurse, "How do you think we should extract that Supernatural Fetus?"

The Ghostly Nurse’s pallid face remained wooden. "Cesarean Section."

Ji Yan chuckled and handed her the scalpel. "Why don’t you do it?"

The Ghostly Nurse shook her head. "Only doctors may perform surgery. Students are not permitted."

"And yet you dare suggest I just cut her open? Trying to get me killed faster?"

Ignoring the Ghostly Nurse, Ji Yan stepped forward to examine the Supernatural Pregnant Woman.

His gaze moved past the cauldron-like belly to her face—sunken, skeletal, with eyeballs half-protruding from their sockets, as if all her nutrients had been completely drained by the fetus inside.

Ji Yan averted his eyes and lightly pressed his fingers against the blackish-blue belly, faintly hearing eerie movements from within.

"Truly a Malevolent Fetus. The Mother is nearly sucked dry, yet it keeps feeding, refusing to come out."

Ji Yan murmured.

"Madam, I am a doctor. I will perform a minor surgery to help you remove the Malevolent Fetus."

"Please understand, I mean no harm."

Ji Yan spoke to the Supernatural Pregnant Woman.

After all, the Mission had hinted that as long as the Supernatural Pregnant Woman sensed no malice, there would be no danger.

Immediately, Ji Yan took out the [Other Shore Scalpel], ensuring absolute safety with this blade that "only saves lives, never takes them."

Ji Yan dared not be careless.

He roughly guessed that once he cut open her belly, the Malevolent Fetus inside would certainly retaliate. He preemptively hung the Hammer at his waist.

The moment he saw the Malevolent Fetus, he would strike it on the head—a physical lullaby!

However, the moment the Other Shore Scalpel touched her belly, before he could make another move, Ji Yan clearly caught a whiff of an overwhelming sense of danger.

The next second, his pupils constricted.

The hand holding the scalpel had turned into something like overcooked chicken feet—his skin rotting, flesh separating from the bones...