Chapter 59: Wishes of Sincerity, Lies in Sheep's Clothing

Chapter 59: Wishes of Sincerity, Lies in Sheep's Clothing

"You flatter me, Teacher."

"This is my report."

Ignoring the horrifying goat-headed figure, Ji Yan handed over the report form.

The Supernatural Doctor took it and briefly scanned the patient information:

"Patient: Zhang Yan."

"Condition: Stockholm Syndrome, special case."

"Current Treatment Plan: Psychotherapy, emotional stabilization, further steps pending evaluation..."

"The report is good, but the treatment plan is completely wrong."

The Supernatural Doctor skimmed through it and gave a simple evaluation.

Completely wrong?

Ji Yan was puzzled. 'Completely wrong' meant total rejection.

Shouldn’t psychotherapy and emotional support come first?

The Supernatural Doctor didn’t explain. Instead, he handed over a key: "This is all your reward for today."

Ji Yan took the key, rubbing the rust off it with his fingertips: "Just... a key? Nothing else?"

What about the promised mental drugs, lavish dinner, and so on?

"Everything is already prepared in your room."

The Supernatural Doctor seemed to read Ji Yan’s thoughts: "The hospital lights go out at 9 PM, and curfew is at midnight."

"According to hospital rules, if you stay quiet and sleep after midnight, nothing will happen. But don’t sleep too deeply. Be especially wary of two of the Zodiac Players."

"Because of their respective [Wishes], they love working at night—particularly targeting us [Goats]. Three of your senior colleagues were 'eaten' late at night."

The usually taciturn Supernatural Doctor surprisingly shared so much nighttime information with Ji Yan.

Through the Rabbit Player, Ji Yan knew that [Wishes] were the symbolic traits represented by each Zodiac sign.

[Wishes] granted players certain privileges, gameplay progression, special rewards, and more.

Which two Zodiac signs could move freely at night?

Ji Yan’s mind flashed through several possibilities.

At that moment, the Supernatural Doctor, who had been staring at Ji Yan, suddenly raised a hand covered in white fur.

In the next instant, a scalpel appeared in its palm, swiftly slashing toward Ji Yan’s throat!

Ji Yan couldn’t even react.

He thought his throat would be slit, but the precise blade merely pricked a tiny opening below his Adam’s apple.

With a light flick, it pulled out a thin, shrimp-like strand of black thread...

"You’ve been in too much contact with Patient A22. An Unclean Thing has parasitized you."

"This worm will slowly devour your flesh and reproduce."

Ji Yan was horrified.

Clutching the small wound on his neck, which felt no more painful than a Silver Needle prick, he marveled at the precision required for such a delicate cut.

Putting away the scalpel, the Supernatural Doctor left one final warning before departing:

"Don’t leave your room at night—even though it’s not forbidden."

"But the hospital at Nighttime has too many Unclean Things. And I absolutely cannot tolerate my Interns being contaminated."

"If the contamination is too severe, no matter how outstanding or promising you are, I will abandon you."

Watching the Supernatural Doctor’s retreating figure, Ji Yan repeatedly clenched the key in his hand.

Then, his Talent Information Panel popped up.

"Ding! Through touch, you’ve consumed 30 points of Mental State and triggered [Omniscient Understanding]."

"You have obtained lodging rights for Room 444, which comes equipped with dinner and mental drugs. The seemingly empty ward appears faintly shadowy yet oddly bustling?"

"You must rest promptly to absorb the 'mental drugs' as soon as possible. Otherwise, once infection symptoms appear, you’ll be in for a rough time!"

"Touching can still trigger your Talent, and the mental state consumed is less than half of what staring consumes."

Ji Yan thought to himself that this Talent was quite user-friendly.

Due to the continuous drain on his mental state, he was growing increasingly hungry, fatigued, and mentally foggy.

He needed to eat something soon!

"Checking the hidden information... that Supernatural Goat-Headed Doctor didn’t assign me a Supernatural Room, did he?"

Just hearing the number 444 felt ominous!

Though he had obtained the mental drugs, Ji Yan couldn’t help but wonder—what would he look like if his infection symptoms manifested?

Of course, such a reckless thought was just a mischievous flicker in his mind...

Without lingering, Ji Yan followed the ward number and headed to his assigned lodging.

The Undead Hospital had four main buildings: Ward A (Inpatient Building), Ward B (Outpatient Building), Ward C (Emergency Building), and Ward D (Dormitory Building).

The dormitory was where Players stayed. As an Intern, Ji Yan was currently restricted to the Inpatient and Dormitory Buildings.

The Outpatient and Emergency Buildings were off-limits—unlocked Instance zones requiring promotion to Attending Physician and Chief Physician positions.

Undoubtedly, the map was far larger than the Crimson Apartment.

Thinking back, survival in the apartment had felt like a grand stage play of labyrinthine intrigue.

Ignoring the gloomy atmosphere, Ji Yan quickly located Room 444.

Inside, the room was spartan and bare.

A simple dinner sat on the table.

But there were no so-called mental drugs.

"Where’s the medicine? Did they forget to leave it?"

Ji Yan froze, searching thoroughly but finding only the meal.

Could the drugs already be mixed into the dinner? Or was the dinner itself the treatment?

With no answers, Ji Yan could only speculate.

Having triggered his Talent repeatedly, he was ravenous. He tore open the meal box and devoured the food without restraint—no pretense of civilized dining, just pure hunger and respect for sustenance!

Though it was vegetarian and barely greasy, the harsh environment made it taste exceptionally delicious.

Just then, the belated game mission prompt finally echoed in his mind:

"Ding! Congratulations, Player, for successfully calming and effectively treating Patient A22, completing the mission excellently and advancing the Instance’s first-phase plot."

"The Supernatural Guide Doctor is moderately satisfied with your performance, granting 15% progress. Due to your honest report, you’ve fulfilled the [Wish]—'Honesty,' adding 5% progress for a total of 20%."

"You’ve received the mission reward—[Fine Medical Kit] (Rare quality)."

"You’ve achieved progress with the Medical Guide, earning rewards—[Lies Parchment] (special reward, no quality) and [Other Shore Scalpel] (Collector’s Grade)."

"You’ve completed 78% progress with Patient A22, raising their affection to 'Adoration,' and received their heartfelt gift—[Grease Perfume] (Rare quality)."

There were three rewards, but the special supernatural artifact, the Lies Parchment, undoubtedly caught Ji Yan's attention the most. After all, he had already witnessed the domineering nature of special supernatural artifacts through the Blood-Stained Paper Figure. He immediately opened the analysis of this artifact.

"Lies Parchment Artifact Introduction: In ancient legends, primitive tribes would cut strips from the hides of sacrificial sheep. They believed sheep carried the parables of the true gods, and the parchment could make prophecies come true."

"Artifact Details: Within permitted limits, the Player can write lies on the parchment and make the target believe them. The lies will then transform into reality through privileged means."

Lies turning into truth?! Ji Yan took a deep breath. Damn! As expected of a special supernatural artifact—it could even play like this, directly leveraging game privileges. Compared to the abstract nature of the Blood-Stained Paper Figure, this parchment was far more practical!

As if hearing Ji Yan's muttered complaints, a sharp pain shot through his scalp as the Blood-Stained Paper Figure nestled in his hair yanked out a clump, forcing him to shut his mouth quickly.

But soon, Ji Yan spotted a glaring inconsistency.

"My Wish is [Sincerity]."

"So why was I rewarded with a parchment that makes me lie?"

"If I use this artifact, I’ll have to lie—but lying goes against the [Wish], which would definitely anger the Ghostly Doctor."

"The contradiction here is too big. Is this a hidden Easter Egg, or just a bug?"

Ji Yan ate his meal while muttering to himself, though he certainly didn’t believe it was a bug. Clearly, the hospital instance held many secrets...