Chapter 123: Dragon and Tiger Hunt the Goat, Nowhere to Hide

Chapter 123: Dragon and Tiger Hunt the Goat, Nowhere to Hide

Blood splattered across the floor.

"Warning! You have sustained fatal injuries. Life Value is rapidly depleting. You will be eliminated from this Instance shortly..."

A red Warning Panel popped up, announcing the Horse Player's final moments of Survival Time.

The Horse Player coughed up blood, instinctively attempting to activate his Zodiac Horse's Wish Privilege—[Substitute Death].

But the next second, he realized something, his face twisting with despair and resentment.

"The [Substitute Death] Wish Privilege requires you to designate a target in advance—someone who would deal you a fatal blow."

"From start to finish, you believed the Dragon would be the one to kill you. So you always designated him as the target..."

The Supernatural Hospital Director's Eyeball stared at the Horse Player, but the voice belonged to the Tiger Player.

"After all this time together, Old Horse, I’ve long since figured out every card in your hand."

The Horse Player glared at the Supernatural Hospital Director, now under the Tiger Player's [Soul Substitution], his words forced through clenched teeth: "When... did you start siding with the Dragon Player?"

"Siding?"

"That’s the wrong word."

"We’re equal partners."

The Tiger Player shook his head, speaking calmly. "From the very beginning—even before you entered this Instance—the Dragon and I were on the same side."

"Don’t want to be a caged bird? Yearning to return to the real world?"

"Heh. I’ve never cared about any of that. Rather than being controlled by the Supernatural Game, tormented by one unknown Instance after another, why not stay here and rule?"

Veins bulged on the Horse Player’s forehead. He tried to speak, but blood flooded his throat, leaving only a gurgle as he opened his mouth...

"Next time you drop into an Instance, be smarter. Don’t let others play you for a fool again!"

With that, the Tiger Player crushed the bloody Heart in his grip.

"Ding! Player 'Fang Ye's' Life Value has reached zero. You have been eliminated. This Instance has ended..."

Flicking blood from his hand, the Tiger Player, still controlling the Supernatural Hospital Director, rasped, "Tsk. Pouring my heart out to an old comrade gives me an inexplicable sense of guilt."

Kicking the Horse Player’s corpse with his foot, the Dragon Player retorted coldly, "You? Guilt? Does that word even exist in your dictionary?"

The Tiger Player cracked his neck and stretched his joints. "To play along with your little performance, I had to act like some washed-up side character, stuck in [Mao Die Paradise] for months with a bunch of Eccentric Old Men and women."

"Meanwhile, you got to enjoy your role as the 'big villain' to the fullest!"

The Dragon Player’s expression remained icy, uninterested in further banter.

"The Horse is dead."

"Now, it’s time for the last little lamb..."

As the words fell, the Dragon and Tiger’s gazes shifted simultaneously, locking onto Ji Yan.

Ji Yan: "..."

"So, Goat Doctor, will you struggle a bit? Or will you climb onto the 'chopping block' yourself?"

The Dragon Player smiled amiably, as if politely making a request.

Tucking away the [Precognitive Drawing Paper], Ji Yan shook his head and sighed. "Before this goat gets devoured, I’d like to ask a couple of questions."

"You set up such an elaborate scheme—even playing the roles of hero and villain in tandem."

"All just to get your hands on the two Sheepskin Scrolls in my possession. Why?"

The Dragon Player chuckled softly.

"You seem to be mistaken. This isn't some TV drama."

"We don't have the patience to answer your endless questions, Goat Doctor. I know how formidable you are."

"If I'm not wrong, your Talent must be the ability to analyze a target's detailed information, or perhaps something like mind-reading."

"As for the activation condition, it's likely through touch. But just now, when I locked eyes with you, I realized you might also trigger it through gaze."

The Dragon Player's icy gaze fixed on Ji Yan. "The longer we wait, the greater the variables."

"My chess pieces have set traps before and suffered losses multiple times. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. I understand that principle well."

"Attack!!"

Having roughly guessed the terrifying nature of Ji Yan's [Omniscient Understanding], the Dragon Player didn't waste time like some TV villain, spouting nonsense and giving the protagonist a chance to counterattack.

He struck directly, leaving Ji Yan no opportunity for a reversal!

As the command rang out, the Tiger Player's [Soul Substitution]-controlled Supernatural Hospital Director opened its mouth.

The next second, something seemed to wriggle out from the gaping, torn maw...

Ji Yan didn't know what was coming, but his sixth sense screamed at him: Run, or you'll die!

At this critical moment, a Blood-Stained Paper Figure darted out from nowhere, silently attaching itself to the back of the Supernatural Hospital Director's head.

The words "Greed, Anger, Obsession" rapidly cycled across the paper before finally settling on "Obsession."

In an instant, the Tiger Player's mind was thrown into chaos, his targeting scrambled.

The gaping mouth abruptly turned toward the Dragon Player instead.

Dragon Player: "???"

Before he could react, a black, beetle-like Supernatural Creature forcibly crawled out from the Supernatural Hospital Director's throat and bit off the Dragon Player's upper body in one gulp!

Squelch!

A spray of Blood Mist erupted as the Dragon Player's bisected corpse collapsed to the ground.

But the Supernatural Hospital Director was, after all, the Instance Boss. The Blood-Stained Paper Figure was soon shaken off.

Regaining clarity, the Tiger Player ignored the Dragon Player's corpse and barked in the Supernatural Hospital Director's voice: "All Overseers, seize the Goat Doctor!"

"Severely damaging the [Tree of Creation], slaughtering fellow doctors—his crimes are unforgivable!"

Ji Yan nearly choked hearing this.

Seriously?

Those Overseers aren't blind. How can they spout such blatant lies?

Bizarrely, the moment the Supernatural Hospital Director's authority issued the order, all the Supernatural Overseers locked onto Ji Yan like programmed robots, their hatred instantly focused on him.

Simultaneously, a Warning Panel popped up:

"Warning! Due to unknown reasons, you have drawn the hatred of all Supernatural Overseers. Escape immediately to break aggro."

Before Ji Yan could even think of fleeing, a chill ran down his spine.

Without warning, a figure was already pressed against his back—the Ghostly Nurse, the one originally tasked with transporting patients.

Her ghastly pale face stared at Ji Yan, her lips stretching wider and wider into a horrifying grin.

Then, with a sudden snap, she swallowed him whole!

The Tiger Player roared in fury: "Capture!! I wanted him alive! Who told you to eat him? Spit him out!"

If Ji Yan died now, both Sheepskin Scrolls would be erased and transferred to the next Zodiac [Goat] Intern player. All their efforts would be wasted!

Who knew when the next Goat Player would even get promoted to [Chief Doctor]?

The Ghostly Nurse didn't spit him out.

She didn't even take the Supernatural Hospital Director's orders seriously, turning around and fleeing immediately...

The Tiger Player was stunned.

At that moment, the half-rotted corpse on the ground suddenly began decomposing rapidly. Flesh and blood melted into a coarse snakeskin, and then a new Dragon Player emerged from within, his entire body covered in mucus.

"You'd better explain to me—what the hell is going on?"

Wiping the mucus from his face, the Dragon Player spoke coldly. His most powerful Wish Privilege, [Plunder], allowed him to seize the Wish Privileges of all Zodiac Players.

The one he was currently using was the Snake Player's [Molting].

"Explain what? The Goat ran away."

The Tiger Player spoke word by word, his mind filled with confusion.

As the highest-ranking Supernatural Entity in the [Undead Hospital], every word spoken by the Supernatural Hospital Director was an absolute command—so why would a Ghostly Nurse disobey?

The Dragon Player's gaze was icy. "This is your mess to clean up!"

The Tiger Player frowned, then snorted coldly.

"Relax. The Goat won't escape."

"As long as they're inside the [Undead Hospital], I can use the [Supernatural Hospital Director]'s identity privileges to catch them."

"Every single Supernatural Entity in this Instance obeys me unconditionally—they have nowhere to hide!"