Just as Asuna's words fell, the Special Infected wearing a hoodie suddenly let out a piercing scream, then its body tensed, and it sprang up from the ground like an arrow from a bowstring, directly pouncing towards Asuna.
Clang!
Asuna swung the blade in her hand and collided with the Special Infected's sharp-nailed hand, making a sound like metal colliding. While forcing the opponent back, her body also slid back nearly half a meter. "This guy is not only fast and agile, but also very strong…" After one blow, Asuna looked at the Special Infected's hands, which were stained with blood and covered with a layer of black and red dirt, and had sharp, dirty nails. She thought that compared to the bloated Bile Zombie, this guy in front of her was obviously more difficult to deal with.
"Necro."
"Understood." Hearing Asuna call out her code name, Kotoko understood. She covered her right prosthetic eye with one hand, and a strange light shone from her dark purple left eye, looking directly into the eyes of the Special Infected and activating her skill, "Curse Gaze."
Roar!
The Special Infected's body swayed, and it couldn't help but raise its hands to cover its head, seemingly enduring some kind of pain. Asuna didn't miss this gap. She tightened her grip on the Exorcist Longsword and quickly rushed in front of the Special Infected. As a cold light flashed, she directly pierced its brow with a sword, and before its body could fall, she swung horizontally again, directly cutting off the Special Infected's hands and neck together.
"Thump, thump thump…" Seeing the headless body of the Special Infected and its lone head rolling onto the ground, Asuna finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"They are both Special Infected, but compared to that Bile Zombie, this guy is significantly more threatening. The mutated hand area is actually as hard as metal. If it were an ordinary Player, it would be impossible to eliminate it."
Kotoko nodded. "My Curse Gaze can instantly kill ordinary zombies, but it can only cause mental interference with it. It seems that the mental resistance of Special Infected is also much stronger than that of ordinary zombies."
"Um… I'm sorry…" Megumi pursed her lips and said with lowered eyelids. "Because my presence is low, Kot… Necro became the target of that guy's attack. I'm very sorry…"
Asuna chuckled, shaking her head. "What is there to apologize for?"
Kotoko followed up with a smile: "Exactly. You didn't activate your talent yourself, deliberately lower your presence, and lead that guy to attack me. It's just because your presence was already low, and mine was very high. It's not your fault."
"You don't need to constantly belittle yourself," Asagiri comforted her, his tone laced with a smile. "Members of a team naturally have their own roles, strengths, and weaknesses. That's normal. Besides…" Speaking of this, Asagiri suddenly changed the subject. "You were chosen by the great Leader, Violet, and Necro simultaneously, joining the strongest strategy group as a high-level Player codenamed Phantom. Don't say these things anymore in the future; otherwise, aren't you questioning the judgment of us three in choosing teammates?"
Hearing Asagiri's words, Megumi couldn't help but lift the corners of her lips, her eyes regaining their sparkle, and she nodded vigorously. "Okay, I won't say things like that anymore."
Seeing Megumi's expression, Asuna and Kotoko's hearts couldn't help but skip a beat again. This seemed like… It was still the first time Megumi had shown a smile of genuine joy in front of them. The way this is going… Is it right?
"What should we do now?" Asuna temporarily suppressed those inappropriate thoughts in her heart and looked at Asagiri. "From the map, there are no facilities like scientific research labs in this hospital. It's unclear where the so-called antibody reagent is stored. Which building should we explore first?"
Asagiri didn't answer directly but first asked for Kotoko's opinion. "Our top priority is to find the wandering spirit mentioned in the special hint that is lingering in the hospital. Where do you think is the most likely place?"
"Since it's a wandering spirit…" Kotoko stared at the hospital map, extended her fair index finger, and lightly tapped a certain spot on it.
"If we're talking about where confused wandering spirits are most likely to appear in a hospital, it must be the morgue, right? Both Inpatient Building One and Two have morgues on Floor B1. Let's go to Building One first, as it's closer."
"Okay, let's go." Seeing Kotoko and Asagiri immediately agree and walk towards the building without hesitation or delay, both even appearing eager, as if they weren't going to a gloomy morgue but on a spring outing for vacation, Megumi couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, and a strange thought arose in her heart.
Could it be… that these two are actually the normal ones, and it's abnormal for her to feel hesitant and scared about going to the morgue?
Asuna seemed to see through Megumi's thoughts, reached out and patted her shoulder, sighing slightly. "It's okay, we're the normal ones. The way those two think isn't something ordinary people can understand." To be honest, Asuna welcomed and even felt fortunate that Megumi had joined this team. Finally, a normal person had arrived. Who could understand Asuna's feelings? In the last instance dungeon, when it was just her, Kotoko, and Asagiri, she, like Megumi at this moment, also began to doubt herself.
Could it be that Asagiri and Kotoko's attitude of showing no fear, and even eagerness, when facing Banshees was correct, and she felt scared because she was too timid? Now seeing Megumi's reaction, Asuna felt relieved and was finally able to confirm it. It's actually normal to be scared.
The abnormal ones are Asagiri and Kotoko. Asagiri is purely here to play the game, a true "Player." Kotoko is no less so. It's unclear if it's because in the real world, she's the God of Wisdom who helps strange beings solve various problems, but in any case, whenever she encounters mysterious events, she feels an inexplicable excitement, eager to uncover the truth. In short, two divine beings.
---------------------------
A few minutes later, the group arrived at the stairwell of Inpatient Building One, leading to Floor B1. It was unclear if it was an illusion or because it led underground, but a faint, cold breeze blew through the stairwell, and from time to time, strange, faint sounds came from below.
Asuna, walking at the front, tightly gripped the long sword in her hand and walked down the stairwell step by step, her movements very cautious, ensuring she could react immediately if any sudden danger appeared. Kotoko followed behind Asuna; if enemies like Special Infected suddenly appeared, she would activate her skill through eye contact to assist Asuna. Megumi, who currently had no direct combat ability, walked in third place, while Asagiri was responsible for covering the rear.
Step by step, they arrived at the entrance of Floor B1, where they saw a closed, heavy fire door. Asuna finally let out a sigh of relief, but before she could proceed, she suddenly heard a faint, strange sound coming from behind that fire door.
"Wuwuwu…"
"This is… crying?" Asuna heard this sound, which was like a woman crying. Her first reaction wasn't fear or panic, but she immediately turned her head to look at Asagiri and said in a low voice, "Calm down first, don't rush up again." This moment was just like that moment. Recalling the last Hotel instance dungeon, Asagiri, upon hearing the crying of the seventh-floor earthbound spirit, that Red-Clothed Female Banshee, immediately summoned his Persona and took down the opponent with lightning speed—so fast that even Asuna had just gone down one floor when the Banshee was already subdued. This time, they couldn't be so reckless.
"Is it another Player… No, impossible." Kotoko stared at the tightly closed fire door, moved a little closer, and then shook her head.
"Other Players couldn't have arrived here at this time. Also, there's no strange aura behind the door, so it doesn't seem like ghosts or anything similar. That leaves only the Special Infected."
"The problem is…" Megumi looked at the tightly closed fire door and said with a slight frown. "This door seems to open inwards. If we try to pull it open, we might be suddenly attacked by the owner of the crying. Colliding with a Special Infected, whose body has undergone who knows what kind of mutation, at such close range isn't a safe choice…"
"Then it seems we can only…" Asuna looked at Asagiri, her words stopping halfway before she changed them. "No, that won't do. Your talent consumes a lot. Unless it's a special situation where it must be used, it's better to conserve your physical and mental strength. Hmm… What should we do then…"
"I'll do it." Megumi volunteered. "I can activate my talent effect and then go open that door. As long as the door is opened and the condition of making eye contact with the Special Infected behind the door is met, Necro can activate that mental curse skill, right? Then, while the opponent is vulnerable, Violet, you can deliver the fatal blow. How about that?"
"That's true, but…" Seeing the slight worry on Asuna's face, Megumi shook her head and said in a gentle but firm tone. "To clear the instance dungeon, we naturally have to take risks. I'm also a member of this team, so of course, I need to contribute. Don't worry, while using my talent, even if the Special Infected at the door has sharper senses than ordinary zombies, it won't be able to immediately detect me. Having me open the door is the safest choice, isn't it?"