Chapter 128: The Apartment Key, Truly Dead

Chapter 128: The Apartment Key, Truly Dead

Of course, that remark was just a lighthearted tease.

After learning the specific plans of the Tiger and Dragon Players, Ji Yan returned to the main topic. He knew full well that every Supernatural Entity in the Instance was probably frantically searching for him right now.

"So, how do you plan to solve your current predicament?" Xu Xin tilted her head slightly and asked calmly.

Ji Yan shook his head. "As long as we're in the Undead Hospital, there's nowhere to hide. Unless... I can leave this Instance."

Xu Xin: "With the Main Plot blocked by them, how will you leave?"

Ji Yan smiled. "Miss Xu, I actually have one last treasure. I thought I wouldn’t need it, but now it seems to be my final lifeline."

As he spoke, a worn-out key appeared in his hand.

"The Apartment Key?" Xu Xin recognized it immediately. She quickly deduced Ji Yan’s plan. "You want to return to the Crimson Apartment, but you’ll only have 30 minutes before the Landlord forcibly kicks you out. That’s not enough time to reach the Order’s review period. You’ll still be hunted down when you return—though it might buy you some time..."

Tenants who leave the Crimson Apartment aren’t allowed to return. Even with a key, they can only stay for 30 minutes before being forcibly expelled. This was part of the Instance’s design.

The Instance’s key represented the Archive function. Archiving allowed a Player to return to the previous Instance but only for half an hour before being thrown back into the next one—a measure to prevent Players from exploiting loopholes.

"I’m not counting on the Instance Order to turn things around for me," Ji Yan said. "In fact, I’ll help their plan along by giving them the Lies Parchment! But before I hand it over, I’ll tell one last lie—a final bluff."

A cryptic smile played on his lips as he spoke.

Xu Xin crossed her arms, eyeing that smile. "That grin of yours makes my hands itch. It’s just too smug."

"..."

Ji Yan coughed lightly. "Anyway, Miss Xu, I’ll need your help one last time."

Xu Xin frowned. "Your audacity knows no bounds. If it’s too difficult, I won’t—"

"I need you to kill me once."

"Right now?"

Xu Xin’s hand shot up instantly, her reluctance replaced by eager anticipation. It was clear she’d been waiting for this!

"Wait, hold on—" Ji Yan quickly raised his hands, retrieving the Lies Parchment. His fingers brushed against the rough surface as he wrote his final lie. Instead of putting it away, he left it on the table.

Then he turned to the dead ewe and stuffed the key into its mouth.

To activate the Archive, the key had to be taken to the Instance’s Birthplace. For the Undead Hospital, that meant the ewe’s stomach.

Gulp.

The dead ewe, as if briefly revived, swallowed the Apartment Key.

"Ding! Congratulations, Player, for using the Instance Key. Your Archive has taken effect. You will return to the Instance [Crimson Apartment] in one minute."

"Note! The Archive time limit is 30 minutes. After the time expires, you will be forcibly sent back to the current instance."

Confirming the Archive had taken effect, Ji Yan turned to Xu Xin, who had long been eager: "Sorry for the trouble, Miss Xu."

"I’ve used the fake-death trick once before. The Dragon Player will definitely be suspicious."

"So, I’ll need you to play along."

Xu Xin had no interest in anything else, only asking impatiently: "Too much talk."

"Can I send you off now?"

"Sure..."

The moment Ji Yan uttered those two words, his vision spun wildly.

Then, his head hit the ground.

A headless corpse gushed a fountain of blood before collapsing.

Xu Xin flicked the blood off her wrist, blinking: "The feel was pretty good."

...

"Director... Director! We’ve found the Goat Doctor!!"

In the dim corridor, a world-famous painting suddenly emitted an excited voice. The Mona Lisa inside the frame crawled out and shouted at the Tiger Player.

The Tiger Player grabbed her with one hand: "Where?"

"Obstetrics and... Gynecology Department..."

"Took you long enough!" The Tiger Player’s eyes gleamed as he immediately rushed toward the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department.

Two minutes later, he arrived.

Only to see a blood-soaked Ghostly Nurse emerge from inside. The Tiger Player instantly recognized her as the unruly Ghostly Nurse.

Just as the Tiger Player grew cautious, she dragged a corpse toward him.

Half her face stained with blood, she spoke woodenly: "Director, the target has been dealt with."

The Tiger Player saw Ji Yan’s head and his pupils contracted, snarling: "You... you killed him?!"

"Yes, killed him."

"But I waited until he used the Sheepskin Scroll first."

In her other hand, the Ghostly Nurse clutched an aged Sheepskin Scroll.

The Tiger Player froze slightly, his fury fading somewhat.

Without taking the scroll, he stared at the corpse and the head, growling: "You saved him, and now you killed him."

"What exactly are you trying to do?"

The Ghostly Nurse tilted her head, answering matter-of-factly: "I saved the Goat Doctor to gain his trust."

"Then, after he used the Sheepskin Scroll, I killed him when he was off guard."

"I did this to prove my worth—and to satisfy some personal spite, so no one else could steal the credit."

The Tiger Player narrowed his eyes: "A mere intern nurse, yet so cunning?"

The Ghostly Nurse nodded stiffly: "I know that to stay in this hospital, I must demonstrate my value."

"To get a Promotion, I must show even greater value."

"Opportunities are seized, not given."

Hearing this, the Tiger Player laughed.

"You’ve got a sharp mind."

"You’ve saved me a lot of trouble. For this performance, I’ll grant you a Promotion and transfer you to the [Emergency Building] as Head Nurse."

The Ghostly Nurse handed over the Sheepskin Scroll.

The Tiger Player took it, carefully inspecting it before confirming its authenticity.

"Good. This is indeed an unexpected surprise." Satisfied, he smiled and patted the Ghostly Nurse on the shoulder.

The seemingly approving gesture turned sinister the moment his palm landed on her shoulder. A series of eerie crackling sounds erupted from the Ghostly Nurse's body, and in the next second, her entire form collapsed like a toy made of building blocks.

Flesh peeled away layer by layer, bones snapped segment by segment, leaving behind nothing but a mangled, bloody corpse.

"Too bad. I don’t like disobedient nurses."

The Tiger Player grabbed Ji Yan’s corpse and turned to leave. At the same time, he coldly ordered the caregivers cowering in the corner, "Come out and clean up this hallway!"

...

A few minutes later.

The corpse was laid out on a stretcher bed.

The Dragon Player arrived swiftly.

"You’re saying the Ghostly Nurse killed the Goat and handed the Sheepskin Scroll to you?"

The Tiger Player, clutching the Sheepskin Scroll, snapped irritably, "The corpse and the scroll are right in front of you. Why bother asking?"

"There must be a trick."

"That Goat is a sly old fox. I’ve seen him fake his death once before!"

The Dragon Player refused to believe it. He had personally witnessed Ji Yan using a "fake death" to deceive the Snake Player and the others.

The Tiger Player: "I didn’t believe it either."

"But the corpse is real. The Sheepskin Scroll is real."

"Believe it or not, it’s the truth."

The Dragon Player fell silent. He examined the corpse—no substitute, no illusion. It was indeed the Goat Doctor’s body. The black wool infection covering its skin couldn’t be faked, nor could it lie.

Moreover, the Sheepskin Scroll was genuine!

At this, the Dragon Player couldn’t help but take a deep breath.

Had that Goat truly died?