Bai Liu wasn't particularly fast, and the nurses behind them were quickly closing the distance. For some reason, these nurses could run across slippery floors in high heels faster than Bai Liu's group could in flat shoes—but there was no time to question it. They had no choice but to run harder.
Liu Huai gritted his teeth and forcibly activated a skill, dragging the two low-level players—Bai Liu and Mu Ke—into a dark corridor to hide.
[System prompt: Player Liu Huai has used the personal skill "Assassin's Concealment." This skill covers the player himself, player Bai Liu, and player Mu Ke.]
[Skill description: Assassin's Concealment is an A-grade personal skill that reduces the probability of being detected by humans or non-human entities while escaping or launching a sneak attack. The player blends into the surrounding environment like a chameleon. Since player Liu Huai is carrying player Mu Ke and player Bai Liu, the duration of this skill is reduced to one minute.]
In an instant, Liu Huai dissolved into the dim corridor like drifting mist. Bai Liu and Mu Ke faded with him. It was as if an invisible barrier had wrapped around them. The nurses rushed past, unable to detect where they had gone.
It felt as though a transparent film clung to their bodies, concealing them from sight. However, faint outlines could still be seen if someone came too close.
Pressing himself against the wall, Liu Huai began moving slowly, Bai Liu supporting Mu Ke as they followed behind. They headed toward the safety exit, passing nurses who hurried toward the elevator while whispering among themselves.
"There are patients outside at night."
"No rooms on the first floor are open. Which floor are they from?"
"I don't know. Let's check by elevator. It's already night. Inform the nurses stationed at the elevator entrance not to go near the safety exit. After nine o'clock… that's not a place we're allowed to enter."
The nurses avoided the safety exit entirely. Upon learning that a patient was roaming at night, they searched floor by floor—but always by elevator. They never used the emergency staircase.
It was as if the staircase existed solely for patients to sneak through. Liu Huai's expression darkened the moment they reached the safety exit. Now he understood why the nurses refused to take the stairs. Something else occupied them.
Inside the emergency stairwell stood a child holding an oversized mobile phone. Several syringes were embedded in the child's neck, and dried blood was visible in their tubes. It was clear that a large amount of blood had been drawn.
The child was skeletal—skin stretched thin over bones, pale to the point of translucence. He muttered into the phone, shaking his disproportionately large head before turning around.
His eyeballs were rolled upward, mostly whites showing. A foolish grin tugged at his lips, drool collecting at the corners of his mouth. He swayed his hands and feet, letting out a bizarre, cheerful giggle.
Then his tone shifted abruptly. "Mr. Investor, are you coming to see me? You're going to take me away, aren't you?"
Two lines of bloody tears slowly streamed down his face. "Not taking me away… taking my blood away… one tube, two tubes, three…" He counted in a trembling voice. "I have no more blood, Mr. Investor! None! It hurts! Please don't take any more!"
The child suddenly burst into tears. He crouched and smashed the silent phone violently against the ground. The syringes in his neck trembled with each movement.
Then he tilted his head. With a sickening motion, he pulled a syringe from his neck and held it up. A grin stretched across his face, wide enough to nearly reach his ears. "I need blood too, Mr. Investor."
[The Love Welfare Institute Monster Book has refreshed—Deformed Child (1/3)]
[Monster Name: Deformed Child (violent version after blood extraction)]
[Features: 1,500–2,000 movement speed. Attacks any investor with blood indiscriminately.]
[Weaknesses: ??? (Unexplored)]
[Attack Method: Blood Ejection (A+ skill. Inserts a syringe into the investor's neck and continuously extracts blood until the target dies from blood loss.)]
[Attack Mode: Phone Positioning (A+ tracking skill. For investors wandering at night, the children will call you. Whether you answer or not, they can track you through the ringing phone. If you answer, they will find you even faster.)]
[Whether you pick up or not, you will be found. Of course, if you answer, the children will find you sooner. They will jump on your back and call you together~]
"Damn it—my Assassin's Concealment is only A-rank!" Liu Huai's face changed drastically. "Their calls can break my concealment!"
The phones were system-bound; they couldn't be discarded. They existed specifically so the children could contact their "investors" at any time.
Liu Huai had always assumed the deformed children only existed in the welfare home. He hadn't expected them to appear in this private hospital, nor that they would be the ones calling.
In the next instant, all three of their phones rang simultaneously. Liu Huai hung up immediately—but the phone rang again. His expression turned grim as he slowly retreated. It was impossible for a single deformed child to call all three of them at once.
Their phones ringing together meant— "There's more than one deformed child here," Bai Liu said calmly.
The ringing multiplied in the darkness. From the stairwell, more deformed children emerged.
One had shriveled limbs. Another limped grotesquely. A third crouched low, clutching his chest. Each held an oversized phone, pressing their heads against it. Their ping-pong-ball-sized eyes were wide open—completely black, veined with streaks of dark red.
They screamed in sharp, childlike wails, mouths open wide enough to expose their bright red uvulas. "Investors! We want blood!"
The moment they finished shouting, they dropped to all fours and sprinted toward Bai Liu's group, following the sound of the ringing phones. Bai Liu narrowed his eyes and hung up—only for the phone to ring again instantly.
So that was why the children could only call investors between 9 p.m. and midnight, and 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. Outside those hours, the line was busy. Because during this time, these ghostlike deformed children were already occupying the line, using it to track their prey.
If they kept calling nonstop, the line would remain engaged, preventing ordinary children from getting through.
"Bai Liu!" Liu Huai shouted through gritted teeth. "If I carry both of you, my speed drops. Alone, I might be able to break through this swarm. But you won't abandon your teammate—I know that! So what's the plan? You came to save him, so think of something!"
Mu Ke struggled weakly, trying to pry Bai Liu's hand from his shoulder. But Bai Liu's grip was firm. Mu Ke's voice was hoarse but steady. "Bai Liu… let me go. There's still Little Mu Ke. Even if I die, you can take him to clear the instance…"
"Shut up." Bai Liu cast him a cold glance. "Your suicidal behavior ruined my plan. You wasted your health value and forced me to spend a large number of points to save you. You'd better earn that back. I haven't settled the account with you yet."
Mu Ke froze. He realized Bai Liu was genuinely angry about his reckless attempt to die. Bai Liu despised waste. Mu Ke pressed his lips together and fell silent. When Bai Liu was truly displeased, he didn't need to raise his voice. The pressure he exuded was suffocating. Even Liu Huai instinctively stopped talking.
Moments later, Bai Liu's expression returned to its usual calm blankness. "These deformed children are tracking us through the phones. It may be an A+ skill, but that doesn't mean it's unbeatable." He suddenly turned to Liu Huai. "It's been a long time, but do you remember how you coordinated with Mu Sicheng's theft?"
Liu Huai blinked, confused by the sudden question. Still dragging them along, he replied between breaths, "I remember. He'd steal something and draw hate value. Then I'd transfer the hate value and pull the monsters chasing him. When they were about to catch me, he'd attack again."
"By repeatedly switching hate value between us, we stayed alive." Liu Huai frowned. "But this is different! The phones keep ringing! They're not chasing based on hate—they're tracking sound. All three of us have ringing phones. That strategy won't work!"
Before he could finish, Bai Liu's eyes sharpened. He stepped forward and reached out.
[System prompt: Player Bai Liu has used player Mu Sicheng's personal skill "Thief's Monkey Hand" to steal the phone from a deformed child. The deformed child is enraged and has decided to retaliate.]
In one fluid motion, Bai Liu snatched the child's phone.
The child let out a piercing scream and lunged at Bai Liu. The entire exchange happened in seconds. Before Liu Huai could fully process what was happening, Bai Liu had already slipped behind him and ordered calmly, "Liu Huai, draw it away."
Years of tacit cooperation with Mu Sicheng had ingrained this response into Liu Huai's instincts. Whenever Mu Sicheng stole something, Liu Huai's role was to transfer hate and protect him. His body reacted before his mind did. He slashed forward with his dagger.
[System prompt: Player Liu Huai has used his personal skill weapon "Shadow Dagger" and stabbed the Deformed Child. The Deformed Child is enraged and has decided to call him!]
The child shrieked again and charged straight at Liu Huai. At the same time, Liu Huai's phone began ringing more frantically. The child's movement, combined with the piercing ringtone, drew more deformed children toward him, syringes raised.
Liu Huai silently cursed Bai Liu. This bastard was using him as bait. More children converged as the ringing intensified. Sweat slid down Liu Huai's face. Then his phone rang again—
"Liu Huai," Bai Liu said suddenly. "Answer it."
Liu Huai nearly exploded. "If I answer, they'll pinpoint me even faster! The 'Phone Positioning' skill will lock onto me directly! I'll die!"
"No." Bai Liu held up a large black phone, staring at him evenly. "I'm the one calling you."
"Investors can't call each other!" Liu Huai snapped. "These phones are one-way! Only the children can call investors. I'm not answering—"
"I said answer." Bai Liu's tone was mild, almost gentle, but his eyes were cold enough to freeze blood. "Don't make me say it a third time."
Something in that emotionless gaze made Liu Huai's throat tighten. Without another word, he pressed the answer button. Instantly, his ringtone stopped.
From the other end, Bai Liu's steady breathing filtered through. The deformed children that had been charging toward Liu Huai froze in confusion, syringes raised. Only one child without a phone continued toward him uncertainly.
Liu Huai stared at the phone in Bai Liu's hand in disbelief. It wasn't Bai Liu's phone.
It belonged to one of the deformed children. So Bai Liu had stolen the child's phone—and used it to call him. When did he even—?
And more importantly, how could he steal from monsters? Didn't he specialize in control-type skills? Before Liu Huai could untangle the confusion, Bai Liu moved again without hesitation. The Monkey Hand flashed. His expression was calm—so calm he looked nothing like an adult robbing children in the middle of a stairwell.
The robbed deformed child stared blankly at its empty hands. Then its eyes welled with tears. "Waaah… the investor took my phone… give it back!"
[System prompt: Player Bai Liu has used player Mu Sicheng's personal skill "Thief's Monkey Hand" to steal the Deformed Child's phone. Player Bai Liu's stamina is nearly depleted. Please rest and recover as soon as possible!]
Bai Liu's legs buckled. He nearly dropped to one knee, catching himself against the wall as he fought for breath.
He had already forced himself to use Mu Sicheng's stealth skill earlier in the ICU. As a result, he couldn't use stamina recovery items for at least a day and had to rely on natural rest.
The few hours he'd spent in Mu Ke's ward had barely restored enough strength to use Thief's Monkey Hand twice. For an F-grade player like him, repeatedly activating A+ skills was simply too costly.
"Liu Huai!" Bai Liu called hoarsely as the robbed child raised its syringe and rushed at him. Liu Huai snapped back to reality and stabbed again. The blade pierced the child's back. It screamed miserably, bloody tears streaming down as it turned and staggered toward Liu Huai instead.
[System prompt: Player Liu Huai has used his personal skill "Shadow Stabbing" on the Deformed Child. The Deformed Child feels wronged and has decided to injure the bad person who hurt him first.]
Meanwhile, Mu Ke's phone began ringing. Leaning against the wall, Bai Liu immediately dialed Mu Ke's number using the stolen phone. After several busy tones, it connected.
"Answer," Bai Liu instructed. Mu Ke complied at once.
His ringtone stopped. The children who had been swarming toward him faltered, wandering aimlessly. But soon their heads snapped toward Bai Liu instead.
Mu Ke's voice trembled. "Bai Liu… your phone is still ringing."
"Yes." Bai Liu exhaled steadily. "And I don't have the strength to steal a third one."
Mu Ke's face paled. He finally realized how terrible Bai Liu's condition was—and how much risk Bai Liu had taken to save him.
He rushed toward Bai Liu, trying to shield him from the encroaching children. "Then what will you do?! You should've called yourself earlier! Why call me?!"
Bai Liu stepped back coldly. "Stay away from me, Mu Ke. If you keep trying to throw your life away like this, I won't mind killing you myself."
Mu Ke froze. He understood clearly now—Bai Liu was still angry about his suicidal behavior. More than death, this was what he didn't know how to face.
Bai Liu steadied his breathing and gave concise instructions. "Run back to Room 501. That's Liu Huai's ward. Liu Huai and I will draw the children and nurses away. Move. Avoid the children."
Mu Ke bit his lip, eyes red, clearly unwilling to leave Bai Liu alone.
The look on his face was almost the same as the deformed children whose phones had been stolen—wronged, anxious, reluctant.
Bai Liu pressed a hand to his forehead in faint irritation and tossed the stolen phone to him.
"Once you reach the room, call me with that phone. Cancel out my ringtone. Then I'll be fine." Mu Ke nodded frantically.
His mental value had recovered, and physically, he was still in decent shape. Clutching the phone, he gritted his teeth and dashed up the staircase crowded with crawling children.
Bai Liu watched him go, exhaustion flickering in his eyes. This terminally ill body had been pushed to its limits over the past two days.
Mu Ke relied on him too much. He treated Bai Liu as his pillar, reinforcing Bai Liu's position while diminishing his own. That wasn't healthy.
Bai Liu's identity only had six health remaining. If Mu Ke continued thinking in terms of "die together" or "die for him," it would only lead to disaster. Mu Ke couldn't die.
In an instance that required massive information processing, Mu Ke's value exceeded his own. Mu Ke had already proven it. Even without Bai Liu, Mu Ke could align himself with the Miao father and son, leverage his exceptional memory to secure the life recovery medicine, and seize the initiative.
If Mu Ke cooperated with Little Bai Liu (6) to preserve that final sliver of health, clearing the instance was still possible.
But Bai Liu himself was the primary target of the Miao father and son, and his memory was merely average. By any objective evaluation, Mu Ke clearing the instance with Little Bai Liu (6) had a far higher probability than the reverse.
With Liu Huai's assistance, that probability more than doubled. Bai Liu lifted his eyes. His phone continued ringing at his waist. The deformed children crawled toward him in twisted, jerking motions, syringes gleaming.
He truly had no strength left to run. If he needed something, Bai Liu could say anything pleasing. He lazily opened his arms toward Liu Huai.
"Great assassin," he drawled lightly, "if it's just the two of us, you should be able to outrun this group of children, right?"
"Yes," Liu Huai replied without hesitation. In the next instant, a dagger flew past Bai Liu's ear and embedded into the wall above his head. Liu Huai leapt upward, planting his foot against the wall and using the dagger as a pivot point. Like a dragonfly skimming water, he arched gracefully, light and precise.
He crouched briefly, one arm cutting through the encroaching circle of deformed children. With his other hand, he grabbed the back of Bai Liu's collar. Just as a syringe was about to pierce Bai Liu's neck—
Liu Huai flicked his wrist and hurled him out of the encirclement. The one surrounded changed from Bai Liu to Liu Huai. But Liu Huai's phone was silent, connected to Bai Liu's line. Without a ringtone to guide them, the children hesitated in confusion. Then, Bai Liu's phone rang again.
Black-red eyes swiveled toward him. The children shifted direction, crawling toward Bai Liu in grotesque postures. Meanwhile, Liu Huai ripped his dagger from the wall and flung it into another surface. With a few impossibly light steps, he bounded across the walls and closed the distance to Bai Liu once more.
Bai Liu could only see the shadow of the hidden assassin on the wall. Liu Huai appeared behind him like a flash of light. Grabbing the back collar of Bai Liu's oversized hospital gown, he dragged him along the wall at high speed. Bai Liu's collar was yanked tight as Liu Huai slid across the ground, pulling him forward.
If being carried by Mu Sicheng was like riding an extreme roller coaster, then being carried by Liu Huai was like sitting on a swallow flying low over the water—light and silent, occasionally dipping its tail to the surface before lifting off again.
The alternation between these two completely different movement styles was one of the reasons Mu Sicheng and Liu Huai had cooperated so effectively before. Together, they could skillfully kite the monsters.
The deformed children chased after them eagerly. Whenever they were about to catch up, Liu Huai would throw out Bai Liu—whose phone was ringing—to draw their attention. This switching of positions was the same hate value-transfer tactic he had used with Mu Sicheng in the past. The familiarity of it briefly left Liu Huai dazed, reminding him of their old teamwork.
He quickly came back to his senses when he heard Bai Liu's soft voice.
"My phone has stopped ringing. Mu Ke ran very fast—he should have made it back and called me. Let's take the emergency staircase. There are no nurses there."
Bai Liu and Liu Huai had been stalling for time until Mu Ke safely returned to the ward and called him, disabling the children's "Phone Positioning" ability. There were only two ways upstairs in this private hospital: the emergency staircase and the elevator. The nurses were guarding the elevator, and the players were too disadvantaged against them. If they were caught, they wouldn't be able to participate in the next day's baptism. The stairs were their only option.
Given that he could only use his skill twice to seize two phones and silence them, Bai Liu chose what he considered the most cost-effective solution: have Liu Huai, the fastest among them, carry him, while ensuring Mu Ke—whom he needed alive—escaped first.
In doing so, Bai Liu placed himself in the most dangerous position, leaving only his own phone ringing. Still, he didn't mind. At present, he was indeed the least valuable among them. Even if Liu Huai failed and Bai Liu—who only had six health points left—was killed, he wouldn't consider it a loss.
However, Liu Huai protected him more tightly than expected. Bai Liu didn't lose a single health point. Though he was thrown out several times as bait, he safely made it back to Room 501.
Room 501—Liu Huai's ward.
Mu Ke was crouched on the floor, drenched in sweat. With his heart condition, he couldn't run too fast, let alone climb stairs. He had desperately sprinted back to the ward to call Bai Liu, and now the strain was catching up with him. He felt extremely uncomfortable, barely able to breathe. All he could do was curl into himself and try to steady his breathing.
Liu Huai sat on the bed, head tilted back, daggers still in both hands. He was gasping for air, his hospital clothes soaked through. Assassins like him weren't accustomed to dragging someone while moving at high speed. His stamina wasn't as strong as Mu Sicheng's—a thief with naturally superior physical endurance. The effort of hauling Bai Liu around had drained him severely.
Sweat dripped from Liu Huai's jaw. He wiped it away, then lifted a bottle of stamina potion and drank it.
On the surface, Bai Liu appeared to be in the best condition among the three—but that was only outwardly. His stamina was also depleted, and with only six health points remaining, his physical state had dropped to its lowest.
He sat on the edge of the straw mattress he had previously refused to touch. His fingers curled slightly, trembling. Lowering his head, he slowly adjusted his breathing, his chest rising and falling deeply. His face was frighteningly pale.
After Mu Ke gradually recovered, he noticed Bai Liu's condition and grew worried. He tried to approach him, but just as he took a step forward, Bai Liu raised his head.
Their eyes met. There was no emotion in Bai Liu's gaze.
He watched Mu Ke approach with quiet indifference. Those cold eyes—like someone looking at a disobedient tool—made Mu Ke's heart tremble. Instinctively, he stopped.
"Mu Ke." Bai Liu lifted his eyelids slightly. "Who gave you the right to disobey me and try to die?"
"Your soul belongs to me. Only I have the right to dispose of your health points. You may only die when I tell you to. Before I give the order—" Bai Liu stared at the trembling Mu Ke, his face devoid of emotion. "—you do not have the right to die. I hope that next time, I won't see you attempt to 'delete' yourself. Ours is a one-way relationship. Only I issue orders. I have the right to refuse yours. Do you understand?"
Mu Ke looked like a child who had done something wrong. Confused at first, he soon realized Bai Liu was serious. Flustered, he nodded immediately. "I understand."
"As punishment for your presumption," Bai Liu said lightly, "all the points rewarded for clearing this instance will belong to me. Any objections?"
Mu Ke lowered his head and clenched his fingers together. "No."
After a while, Mu Ke began to sob. He had been holding it in, but the surge of emotions from narrowly escaping death overwhelmed him. Now that he was safe, Bai Liu had scolded and punished him. Squatting on the floor, he hugged his knees and curled into a small ball. Large tears fell as he wiped at them roughly with his sleeve, trying to hold back.
His anger at his own weakness, his guilt for dragging Bai Liu down, the frustration of his attempted self-sacrifice being met with indifference, and the overwhelming relief of being saved again—all of it made him want to cry uncontrollably.
"What are you crying for?" Bai Liu sighed softly. "Look at me. Are you dissatisfied with my decision?"
Mu Ke's eyes and nose were red. As he lifted his head, tears fell from his lashes to the floor. He hiccupped through his sobs.
"No… hic… dissatisfied."
"Then why are you crying?" Bai Liu asked gently.
When Mu Ke stubbornly refused to answer, Bai Liu said directly, "I order you to tell me why you're crying."
"I just… I don't understand." Mu Ke cried miserably. "Why did you save me? I have no value. I only held you back. What if you had died? I wouldn't have been able to clear the instance alone anyway. I'm going to die sooner or later… it would've been better if I were Mu Sicheng. He would definitely be more helpful to you."
"Tonight—aside from the final mistake—you did everything well," Bai Liu said calmly. "From pretending to be an ordinary player to infiltrate Miao Feichi's team, to passing the lie detector, to successfully delivering the life-recovery medicine to me after reading all those books. Mu Sicheng couldn't have done those things. Even I couldn't. Only you could."
"You may see yourself as worthless." Bai Liu reached out and gently touched the top of Mu Ke's head, offering a relaxed, reassuring smile. "But in my eyes, your life is important and irreplaceable. That's why I came to save you."
The gentle Bai Liu reflected in Mu Ke's tear-blurred eyes.
If it were Mu Sicheng, he would've shouted at him to run. This was Bai Liu's soft, professional smile—the one he used to deceive people.
Mu Ke knew that. He could feel it. But he also knew Bai Liu's words were sincere. His vision blurred completely. He wiped at his tears, trying to endure it, but finally broke down into loud sobs.
"I was so scared! I really thought I was going to die!" Mu Ke cried, rubbing his face with his sleeves like a bullied child complaining to his parents. "I tried so hard! I did everything I could to survive! But that monster was too strong! It suddenly came back to life!"
"You didn't exhaust every option," Bai Liu interrupted calmly.
Mu Ke looked at him through tears, gathering the courage to argue. "I did!"
"You didn't ask me for help," Bai Liu replied evenly. "Remember that method next time. Overall, though, you did well tonight, Mu Ke."
He patted Mu Ke on the head like a kindergarten teacher rewarding a child with a small red flower.
Mu Ke completely collapsed into tears. "Waaah—!" he sobbed uncontrollably. "O-Okay! Next time, I'll remember! I definitely will!"