Chapter 63: Death Level, Infection Serum

Chapter 63: Death Level, Infection Serum

Ji Yan recognized the other's attire and realized that the supernatural entity guarding the elevator earlier had mistaken him for this very figure...

"Why are you still in the morgue? Today's surgeries are over," the Black Goat Intern rasped, its bloodshot black eyeballs fixed unsettlingly on Ji Yan.

Ji Yan coughed twice and replied calmly, "Came back to retrieve something."

"Let's go."

"Everyone's already returned to rest. We should leave too. The Medical Instructor will conduct night inspections on schedule."

The Black Goat Intern turned, seemingly intending to lead Ji Yan somewhere.

With his mind solely focused on escaping the morgue, Ji Yan followed behind until they reached the end of the corridor and entered the elevator lobby.

Inside the cramped elevator, Ji Yan and the Black Goat Intern stood one behind the other. Ji Yan observed the intern uniform the creature wore.

This was a Player-exclusive outfit!

In other words, this Black Goat supernatural entity was once a Goat Zodiac Player who had been eliminated.

After their elimination, their bodies were turned into puppets, serving as NPCs in the underground morgue, tasked with handling the corpses of patients and medical staff sent down.

Ji Yan recalled the black fur that had sprouted on his arm and face when he was infected. Realizing this might also be his eventual fate sent a chill down his spine.

As he pondered this, a stinging pain flared on his face.

He touched it with his fingers—only to find them smeared with blood.

Ji Yan froze for a moment before immediately realizing: [Edward's Human Skin Mask] was about to expire!

A faint yet unmistakable metallic scent of blood permeated the elevator...

Cold sweat broke out on Ji Yan's forehead as he watched the elevator's slow ascent and the Black Goat supernatural entity standing with its back to him.

"Something's off..."

The Black Goat suddenly spoke. Before Ji Yan could react, it whirled around and violently slammed him against the elevator wall. "You're not one of us."

"You're... a White Goat! How did you find this place?!"

"You can't leave... You must be infected and become one of us!"

The Black Goat's face twisted grotesquely. The moment its voice fell, a sharp scalpel stabbed toward Ji Yan's chest.

But Ji Yan was faster. The silver needle he had been gripping in his palm slashed out first.

At this moment, the [Legendary] quality of the silver needle manifested.

A flash of silver light severed the scalpel as if it were plastic, and a gash split open the Black Goat's chest.

The wound rapidly expanded, the creature's body splitting apart like fabric. Its internal organs spilled out in a grotesque heap onto the blood-soaked floor, resembling butchered livestock on a chopping block...

Thick, foul-smelling blood pooled like sewage from a rotten drain.

Ji Yan took a deep breath. He hadn't expected the Black Goat to attack the moment it sensed something amiss, but fortunately, he had anticipated it.

Ding!

At that moment, the elevator doors opened.

The Stitched Supernatural Entity guarding the elevator froze momentarily at the sight of the bloody scene inside.

Ji Yan tightened his grip on the silver needle hidden in his sleeve...

"Goat Doctor, performing surgery in the elevator now?"

"You've made such a mess. The janitors won't appreciate cleaning this up."

The elevator entity showed no surprise, as if this were routine, though it voiced mild complaint.

Ji Yan paused briefly before feigning cold indifference. "That's their problem."

With that, he swiftly exited the morgue's designated area.

No sooner had he stepped out, his heart still pounding violently, than a notification from the game panel popped up:

"Ding! Congratulations, Player, for successfully unlocking the [Morgue] map section and obtaining [Zodiac Main Plot] information—since the instance began, all 18 players assigned the Goat Zodiac have met their demise without exception. Care to guess why?"

"It seems like a dead end. No matter how hard Goat players struggle, they all inevitably succumb to infection upon reaching the position of [Attending Doctor], only to be disposed of in the morgue."

"Not a single player has ever cleared the second stage of the instance. They all seem to hit an insurmountable death checkpoint, with no hope of progression."

"Goats symbolize purity and kindness? That was a lie from the very beginning!"

"Will you become the 19th unlucky victim to die from infection? If not, how will you save yourself?"

"Ding! Player has entered the [Morgue], successfully slain a Black Goat Abomination, and obtained a Nighttime reward—Infected Plasma x1."

"Main Plot?"

Ji Yan hadn’t expected a hidden map to contain such crucial Main Plot information.

But after skimming through it, his expression darkened.

The information revealed that after being promoted to [Attending Doctor] and entering the second stage of the instance, there was a death checkpoint that had wiped out every single player.

According to the instance’s design:

- Reaching 30% progress in the Supernatural Doctor’s strategy completes the first stage, promoting the player from [Intern Doctor] to [Attending Doctor].

- Reaching 70% completes the second stage, advancing from [Attending Doctor] to [Chief Doctor].

But between 30% and 70%, what kind of death trap had the Supernatural Doctor triggered to result in a 100% fatality rate?!

Ji Yan couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat.

It felt like being diagnosed with terminal cancer—nothing left but chemotherapy while waiting for death.

Tonight’s excursion with the Blood-Stained Paper Figure hadn’t yielded any tangible rewards, but this piece of Main Plot information was more valuable than anything else.

Ji Yan retrieved the bottle of Infected Plasma he’d been rewarded.

A quick glance at its description revealed only a cryptic line: "This is a bottle of Infected Plasma. It can kill you—or it can save your life."

The message was baffling.

Even his [Omniscient Understanding] Talent couldn’t uncover any additional Hidden Information.

With no other options, Ji Yan gave up.

Either way, the death checkpoint was a problem for after his promotion.

Right now, his priority was surviving the internship.

Rubbing his temples, he realized it was getting late and decided to head back to his room.

But the moment he turned, a sharp pain stabbed through his chest.

Looking down, he saw his shirt soaked in blood.

Pulling it aside, he discovered a bloody hole right in the center of his chest!

"Was I stabbed by that Black Goat Abomination’s scalpel in the elevator?" In the heat of the moment, adrenaline had masked the pain.

"Warning! You have been wounded by a [Contaminated Scalpel], resulting in infection. Locate and inject [Serum] within 30 minutes, or the infection will spread throughout your body, requiring surgical intervention by a [Medical Instructor]."

(Note: This is a physical infection and cannot be cured through mental treatment.)

"This is the risk of venturing out at night. Even a minor wound comes with a lethal infection."

Ji Yan’s frown deepened.

The wound had missed his vitals—it wasn’t fatal.

The infection alone wouldn’t kill him.

But the Supernatural Doctor would.

It had warned Ji Yan during the day, admonishing him not to leave his room at night. If he got infected, he wouldn’t be treated—instead, it would be considered a failure in the internship assessment, and the next intern would be cultivated.

So, Ji Yan could only rely on himself to solve the infection problem.

"Talent Trait [Omniscient Understanding] successfully triggered—the Dormitory Supervisor in room 104 on the first floor has the Instance’s hidden reward, 'Serum.' However, aside from the Serum, there are other surprises there."

"Other surprises?"

Ji Yan raised an eyebrow. Did that mean there were other hidden rewards?

Talk aside, the Talent Trait was reliable—it always managed to find him a way out in critical moments.

The wound on his chest had stopped bleeding, but it was visibly worsening, the surrounding flesh gradually turning black and necrotic…

Without hesitation, Ji Yan headed straight down the hallway to the first floor of the dormitory.

Room 104 looked like a storage room, its doorway covered in dust. Just as Ji Yan was about to push the door open, an eye peered out from behind it—vertical pupils staring back, sending a chill down his spine.

"What do you want?"

Ji Yan paused, then replied, "I’ve come to borrow something."

The other’s gaze fell on Ji Yan’s infected wound, understanding immediately. "Serum?"

"Yes, you—" Before Ji Yan could finish, the door slammed shut in his face, leaving him with nothing but a cold dismissal: "Not lending. Get lost."

Baffled, Ji Yan still sensed the malice behind the words. "There must be a reason, right?"

"You Goats reek of foul smell. Just looking at you makes me sick."

"So, get lost!"

"……"