Just as Asuna Yuuki'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 Yuuki.
*Clang!!!*
Asuna Yuuki swung the blade in her hand and collided with the Special Infected's sharp claws, 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 Yuuki 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 Yuuki call out her code name, Kotoko Iwanaga understood. She covered her right prosthetic eye with one hand, and a strange light shone from her purple left eye, looking directly into the eyes of the Special Infected and activating her skill, Gaze of Curses.
"Rawrrr!!!" The Special Infected roared, itsbody swayed, and it couldn't help but raise its hands to cover its head, seemingly enduring some kind of pain.
Asuna Yuuki didn't miss this opportunity. She tightened her grip on the hande of the Exorcist Longsword and quickly rushed in front of the Special Infected. As a metallic glint flashed, she directly pierced its forehead with a sword, and before its body could fall, she swung horizontally again, directly cutting off the Special Infected's hands and neck together.
*Thud, thud, thud!*
Seeing the headless body of the Special Infected and its lone head rolling onto the ground, Asuna Yuuki finally breathed a sigh of relief and spoke with lingering tension and fear.
"They are both Special Infected, but compared to that Bile Zombie, this guy is significantly more threatening. The claws on its mutated hands are actually as hard as metal. If it were an ordinary Player, it would be impossible to eliminate it."
Kotoko Iwanaga nodded and said, "My Gaze of Curses can instantly kill ordinary zombies, but it can only cause mental interference to it. It seems that the mental resistance of Special Infected is also much stronger than that of ordinary zombies."
"Um... I'm sorry... Because my presence is low, Iwa... Necro became the target of that guy's attack. I'm very sorry..." Megumi Kato pursed her lips and said with an expression full of regret and guilt.
Asuna Yuuki chuckled, shook her head, and said, "What is there to apologize for?"
Kotoko Iwanaga also 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."
Asagiri Utsunomiya also comforted Megumi Kato in a relaxed tone: "You don't need to constantly belittle yourself. Members of a team naturally have their own roles, strengths, and weaknesses. That's normal. Besides..."
At this moment, Asagiri Utsunomiya paused, creating a suspense, then continued:
"You were chosen by the great Captain, Violet, and Necro simultaneously, joining the strongest team as a Player code named Phantom. Don't say these things anymore in the future, otherwise, aren't you questioning the judgments of the three of us?"
Hearing Asagiri Utsunomiya's words, Megumi Kato couldn't help but lift the corners of her lips, her eyes regaining their sparkle, and she nodded vigorously.
She said, "Okay, I won't say things like that anymore."
Seeing Megumi Kato's expression, Asuna Yuuki and Kotoko Iwanaga's hearts couldn't help but skip a beat again.
It looked like...
It was still the first time Megumi Kato had shown a smile of genuine joy in front of them.
The way this was going...
...was it right?
Asuna Yuuki temporarily suppressed those inappropriate thoughts in her heart and looked at Asagiri Utsunomiya, saying, "What should we do now? 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 Utsunomiya didn't answer directly but first asked for Kotoko Iwanaga's opinion: "Our top priority is to find the spirits mentioned in the Special Hint that are lingering in the hospital. Where do you think is the most likely place?"
"Since it's a spirit..." Kotoko Iwanaga stared at the hospital map, extended her index finger, and lightly tapped a certain spot on it. "If we're talking about where confused 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 Iwanaga and Asagiri Utsunomiya 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 Kato 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 Yuuki seemed to see through Megumi Kato's thoughts, reached out and patted her shoulder, speaking with a resigned sigh:
"It's okay, we're the normal ones. The way those two think isn't something ordinary people can understand."
To be honest, Asuna Yuuki welcomed, and even felt fortunate that Megumi Kato had joined this team.
Finally, a normal person arrived.
Who could understand Asuna Yuuki's feelings? In the last dungeon, when it was just her, Kotoko Iwanaga, and Asagiri Utsunomiya, she, like Megumi Kato at this moment, also began to doubt herself.
Could it be that Asagiri Utsunomiya and Kotoko Iwanaga's attitude of showing no fear, and even eagerness, when facing specters was correct, and she felt scared because she was too timid?
Now seeing Megumi Kato's reaction, Asuna Yuuki felt relieved and was finally able to confirm it.
It's actually normal to be scared. The abnormal ones were Asagiri Utsunomiya and Kotoko Iwanaga!
Asagiri Utsunomiya was purely there to play, treating the dangerous Survival Game as a real game, a true Player.
Kotoko Iwanaga was no less so. It was unclear if it was because in the real world she was the God of Wisdom who helps oddities 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 weirdos.
◆◇◈◇◆
A few minutes later, the group had 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 Yuuki, 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 Iwanaga followed behind Asuna Yuuki, as if enemies like Special Infected suddenly appeared, she would have to activate her skill through eye contact to assist Asuna Yuuki in defeating them.
Megumi Kato, who currently had no direct combat ability, walked in third place, while Asagiri Utsunomiya 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 Yuuki 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.
"Uuuuu... *Sob, sob!* ...uuuuu..."
"This is... crying?" Asuna Yuuki muttered after hearing that 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 Utsunomiya and spoke in a low voice.
"Calm down first, don't rush up again."
This moment was just like that moment.
Recalling the last Haunted Hotel dungeon, Asagiri Utsunomiya, upon hearing the crying of the seventh-floor Earth-bound Specter, that Female Specter in Bloody Dress, immediately summoned his Persona and took down the opponent with lightning speed, so fast that even Asuna Yuuki had just gone down one floor when the Female Specter in Bloody Dress was already subdued.
This time, they couldn't be so reckless.
"Is it another Player..." Kotoko Iwanaga muttered as she stared at the tightly closed fire door, moved a little closer, and then shook her head. "No, impossible. Other Players couldn't have arrived here at this time. Also, there's no presence of oddity behind the door, so it doesn't seem like specters or anything similar. That leaves only Special Infected."
"The problem is..." Megumi Kato began, then looked at the tightly closed fire door and spoke 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 Yuuki looked at Asagiri Utsunomiya, 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 energy. Hmm... What should we do then..."
"I'll do it," Megumi Kato said, volunteering herself. "I can activate my talent 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 Yuuki's face, Megumi Kato shook her head and spoke in a gentle but firm tone.
"To clear the 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?"