Chapter 1
[Editor: Sweetie, you'll need to change this part. It's too graphic and violent, and someone reported it. [Screenshot]]
When Lu Hui received the editor's message, he'd just finished washing his hands. There was some black grime under his fingernails. He opened his computer and typed a few lines.
He glanced at his phone screen, felt a little annoyed, and turned it off. He took his hands off the keyboard.
Outside, rain poured down like water from a tipped basin, accompanied by flashes of lightning and peals of thunder as it swept over the remote little city.
Lu Hui had been thinking that, for once, he'd finally have some free time today and could squeeze out a chapter. But the moment he opened his computer, he saw that someone had reported it, and all motivation vanished.
Why bother writing?
He'd only started writing to relax, but somehow he always ended up dealing with this kind of aggravation.
Lu Hui let go of the mouse and leaned back.
But his gaze remained fixed on the name of the protagonist in his story.
New content. An even more graphic and violent murder scene.
Lu Hui sighed softly. “What am I supposed to do to save you?”
...
With no desire to write, Lu Hui shut down his computer again and took a quick shower. He washed away the unpleasant, nauseating smell that he felt was still clinging to him, changed into comfortable clothes, and slumped into his gaming chair.
He pulled out a book with no cover and read for a while. Somehow, perhaps because he was too tired from the day, he drifted off to sleep without realizing it.
[Loading player information...]
In the darkness of his dream, Lu Hui heard a mechanical electronic voice whose gender he couldn't make out.
He thought he was imagining things, but then he heard it again—
[Player information error... static... bzz... @#¥%&...]
After that, Lu Hui heard a garbled audio clip that could have killed him on the spot.
It was so piercing that it instantly brought to mind a screen full of colorful gibberish. He instinctively tried to clutch his head, only to realize that he seemed to have no body.
Fortunately, this kind of mental attack lasted only a few seconds before someone abruptly hit the pause button.
[Player Lu Hui, welcome to the world of The Horror Game. Please listen carefully and remember everything I am about to tell you.]
[You are now in one of the beginner instances in the game world. This is the latest veteran-and-newbie instance. Since you have been identified as a new player, you have been paired with a veteran player for this game.]
[This instance is called Sanatorium Rules.]
[Your identity: a medical worker at Sanatorium 444, responsible for supervising a psychiatric patient.]
[Please listen carefully to the employee rules of Sanatorium 444—]
[1. All medical staff must wear white uniforms;
2. This is a comprehensive sanatorium, not a hospital. It only admits psychiatric patients, people with disabilities, patients and elderly people who require long-term care;
3. Make sure your patient takes their medication on time;
4. The medical staff and patients at this sanatorium are bound together in one-to-one pairs. In particular, the attending doctor and patient are absolutely bound to each other. Do not tell any other patients about this;
5. Do not allow patients to leave their rooms.
That is all. You must follow these rules.]
[The instance briefing is complete. Since you have been identified as a new player, the system has one more thing to say: You must have many questions and be confused about a lot of things. You may even be overcome with terror when you open your eyes. No matter what, please stay calm and play through the game. Once you survive the beginner instance, many of your questions will be answered. Of course, if you meet a kind veteran player, they can give you all the answers you need ^^]
[I am the system. I will accompany you for the rest of your life. Good luck.]
[Have fun ^^]
As the mechanical yet somewhat cheerful AI voice faded away, Lu Hui abruptly tore himself out of the darkness.
He opened his eyes at once and instinctively leaned forward. He stared at the unfamiliar floor and smelled the bitter scent of medicine in the air, his eyes widening in disbelief.
What was this?
The Horror Game?
A veteran-and-newbie instance?
Sanatorium 444?
Wasn't this—
something he'd only written the opening to?!
And that closing line that would appear after the briefing in every instance—
“I am the system. I will accompany you for the rest of your life. Good luck.”
And the extra line Lu Hui had added on a whim: “Have fun ^^”...
Lu Hui's heart stopped.
He was a part-time novelist who wrote stories in his spare time. He spent all day surfing the internet, so of course he knew about transmigration.
But of all the places he could transmigrate to, he had ended up inside his own infinite-flow novel—
Transmigration was one thing!
The problem was, he'd transmigrated into an instance whose story he hadn't even written yet!
As someone who never wrote outlines or character profiles, Lu Hui had no idea what came next.
He'd only written the beginning of a veteran-and-newbie instance, and even that had just been a few scribbles in a notebook. He only knew one setting. He hadn't even written the so-called employee rules; this world had fleshed them out on its own...
Lu Hui drew a breath.
Or was it just a coincidence?
Had he not transmigrated into his own novel?
Lu Hui raised his head.
Then, without warning, he met the gaze of the person lying on the hospital bed.
They were an exceptionally beautiful pair of sharp, peach-blossom eyes.
People usually associate peach-blossom eyes with flirtatious charm, but this man's eyes, though undeniably striking, were filled with violence, like a bloodstained blade. Even under the fluorescent lights, they gleamed with a cold edge that made people shudder and feel uneasy.
That was without even mentioning the full-body restraint suit he wore and the muzzle covering his face.
His outfit only made his already striking face stand out even more.
He was brimming with aggression, yet there was also a sensuality to him that made the heart race.
Lu Hui's heart gave a thump. His gaze shifted slightly, and he caught sight of three bright characters on the head of the bed—
[Ming Zhaolin]
The label before it read [Patient].
Lu Hui: “...”
He really had transmigrated into his own book.
What a nightmare.
With Ming Zhaolin's temperament, once someone had seen him in such a humiliating state, he'd definitely kill them to keep them quiet!
Lu Hui didn't even know whether he could be relieved that the unpredictable male lead, who killed without batting an eye, was currently strapped to the bed in a full-body restraint suit.
Given Ming Zhaolin's strength, he could easily break free by brute force.
Lu Hui felt him move.
In the blink of an eye, Lu Hui's heart went taut. But he simply leaned back, adopting an exceedingly relaxed posture in his chair, and murmured in a breathy voice, “Why does it have to be you...”
He spoke so softly and indistinctly that no one else would have heard him. But he knew Ming Zhaolin's hearing was good enough to catch every word.
Ming Zhaolin did, in fact, stop moving.
He lay on the hospital bed with his head turned to the side. Even his mouth was locked behind the muzzle—he could speak, but he couldn't bite anyone.
Ming Zhaolin's voice was low and cold. “You know who I am?”
He had heard the instance briefing. This was a veteran-and-newbie instance, and he was the veteran player, which meant this person could only be the new player.
Lu Hui idly rubbed his knuckles. “Sure. The number-one mad dog in the game world.”
He smiled, as if Ming Zhaolin didn't concern him in the least. “Didn't think I'd be unlucky enough to run into you.”
He let the hint speak for itself. Say too much and he'd overplay his hand.
Ming Zhaolin narrowed his eyes. “Are you a veteran player?”
Lu Hui didn't answer. He only said, “Want to work together? We can clear the instance sooner.”
Ming Zhaolin asked, “Why should I work with you?”
As the words left his mouth, there was a cracking sound. Before Lu Hui could react, Ming Zhaolin grabbed him and slammed him to the ground. The chair crashed down with him.
Pain shot up his back almost instantly. Lu Hui couldn't help scrunching up his face, his expression contorting with pain.
He had a low pain tolerance.
A very low one.
Ming Zhaolin gripped his throat and pinned him beneath him, tightening his hold. Some of his loose hair fell beside Lu Hui's head and neck, surrounding him like a dark spiderweb—or perhaps slime.
The oppressive feeling was suffocating, both physically and mentally.
Ming Zhaolin looked down at Lu Hui. Perhaps he found this amusing; the corner of his mouth lifted, but there was no warmth in his smile. “You're pretty good-looking, and you've got quite the imagination. I don't care if you're a veteran player or how you managed to get back to the beginner village. Running into me means you're out of luck—”
“...If you kill me, you'll die too.”
Lu Hui forced the words through his teeth. He paused, clenched his jaw, and steadied himself, then gave Ming Zhaolin a taunting smile. “I don't mind. I won't die, but you definitely will.”
His expression was even more malicious than Ming Zhaolin's. His phoenix eyes gleamed with anticipation as he released the wrist he'd instinctively grabbed and snapped his fingers in the air. “You'll die by your own cruelty... It really is a fitting ending for a tyrant.”
...The binding relationship in the rules.
Ming Zhaolin realized it almost at once.
Some of his reason returned, but his gaze grew even colder.
Ming Zhaolin knew there was something wrong with the frail-looking, pretty young man beneath him. So he tried to get more information out of him. “If you aren't afraid to die, why bother saying that?”
Lu Hui cursed himself inwardly.
Why had he written such a smart male lead? He should've made him a stupid dog. Then he'd be docilely wearing a collar and following Lu Hui around on a leash. Maybe Lu Hui could even coax him into parading through the streets for everyone to see.
Lu Hui maintained his smile. “I won't die, but starting over would be a hassle. Do you think it's that easy to fool the system?”
He even remarked haughtily, “Players who haven't been to the core area really don't know much.”
Ming Zhaolin gave a derisive laugh.
Lu Hui knew he didn't believe him. Ming Zhaolin wasn't easy to fool, so Lu Hui made no attempt to prove anything. He only said, “I know more than you think.”
He stared at Ming Zhaolin. “For instance, I know you don't know who you are or where you came from... Ugh!”
Before he could finish, Ming Zhaolin tightened his grip.
Lu Hui's vision even went black for a moment. Ming Zhaolin loosened his hold a little, but it still took Lu Hui several seconds to recover from the stars swimming before his eyes.
His vision was still somewhat blurry, but he could hear the change in Ming Zhaolin's voice. It had turned even colder and more vicious, and the killing intent was no joke. “You're asking to die.”
Lu Hui exhaled and let out a laugh, his emotions impossible to read. “Ming Zhaolin, smart people don't need to play so many games. You must've already figured out that ‘absolute binding’ means if I die, you die too, and if you die, I die too, right?”
Ming Zhaolin raised an eyebrow, his tone leisurely. “What if it just brings a monster, instead of causing an uncontrollable sudden death?”
Lu Hui gave a derisive snort. His vision cleared again. He studied Ming Zhaolin's expression and figured he'd probably escaped this time, so he replied lightly, “That's possible. So, want to take the risk?”
Ming Zhaolin lowered his eyes to the person beneath him.
This man whose name he didn't know was exceptionally beautiful, almost like an incubus. In particular, two faint little moles sat one above the other beneath the outer corner of his right eye.
...It was a distinctive feature, but he was certain he'd never heard of this person in the game world.
Was he really a veteran player wearing a different skin?
But the system was so strict. How could he have managed that?
Could it have something to do with this game?
Ming Zhaolin slowly loosened his grip.
Lu Hui's heart settled back down.
Ming Zhaolin stood up. His long wolf-tail hair fell across his shoulders, now somewhat disheveled from what had just happened. Lu Hui pushed himself up from the floor and even righted the chair.
He touched his back, hissed softly, then coughed a couple of times.
Ming Zhaolin glanced at him and gave a faint, inscrutable sneer. “A veteran player made of glass.”
Lu Hui knew he still didn't believe that Lu Hui was a veteran player. He didn't care. “Like I said, changing your identity when you reset comes at a cost.”
One of the mirrors in the hospital room was cracked, with a lightning-bolt-shaped fracture. It was also a little dirty, but it clearly reflected the marks on Lu Hui's neck.
Lu Hui only needed one look to know they'd turn into bruises before long.
His skin was thin and delicate. What a pain.
Lu Hui silently exhaled. He saw Ming Zhaolin rip off the muzzle, its clasp at the back breaking under his brute force.
...Well, there was no denying it: his male lead looked incredibly handsome doing that.
That face, and the perfect body Lu Hui had given him, hadn't gone to waste.
Ming Zhaolin casually tossed the muzzle to the floor. “How do we work together?”
He hadn't even asked Lu Hui's name.
Lu Hui felt a headache coming on.
So he was still planning to kill him.
If he couldn't make a move in this instance, maybe he'd do it in the next one.
...So why had he written a killer in the first place?
Lu Hui's heart sank, but his expression remained unchanged. “I'll explore first. You stay in your room and don't move. Follow the fifth rule I gave you: Don't let the patient leave the room.”
Ming Zhaolin raised an eyebrow. “That's your fifth rule?”
He smiled. “My fifth rule is: Don't let the attending doctor out of my sight.”
Lu Hui paused slightly. Ming Zhaolin had finally set aside his murderous intent, at least for the moment. He asked with interest, “Doctor, what are we going to do about that?”