[Fourth Day, Late Night, County Hospital Newborn Reception Room]
A golden light lifted the withered golden chrysanthemum into mid-air. The pans of the scale began to swing rhythmically, emitting a delicate humming sound.
Looking at the scale suspended in the air, Chen Kong's eyes were inexplicably dazed.
He instinctively reached out, wanting to touch the golden chrysanthemum floating on the scale.
"Hiss!"
The moment Chen Kong's fingertip neared the light, it was suddenly repelled by an invisible force.
Following this was a burning sting in his palm.
This sudden pain instantly brought Chen Kong back to his senses.
Strange, why did I do that just now?
Chen Kong frowned, staring at the golden chrysanthemum within arm's reach.
For a moment, Chen Kong felt as if he had been influenced by something, causing his body to move uncontrollably.
Something's not right. The situation just now... was very wrong.
"Kong, that thing cannot be touched casually."
Just as Chen Kong was contemplating why he had suddenly 'lost control,' Vivian spoke up.
Her eyes swept over the golden chrysanthemum and the scale, and then a line of ancient Star Script appeared in her vision.
"Equivalent exchange... Life as the catalyst."
Vivian murmured unconsciously.
"Life as the catalyst?"
Mi Yao repeated the phrase, then seemed to understand something and said, "Does this mean we need to sacrifice enough life as an exchange to restore the withered chrysanthemum's vitality?"
Vivian turned to look at him, nodded after a moment's thought, and said, "It should be. Because it's just like when we were at the bank, and the staff used small bills for the equivalent exchange of the Life Cores we held."
"If I'm not mistaken, when the golden chrysanthemum's vitality is restored to a certain extent, this unbalanced scale will return to its original equilibrium, and we'll be able to take it down."
"Then where are we going to find the vitality this chrysanthemum needs?"
Faced with Chen Kong's question, Mi Yao replied without hesitation, "Where else? Listen outside..."
Prompted by Mi Yao, Chen Kong immediately began to pay attention to the sounds outside the newborn reception room.
The silent county hospital corridor was now replaced by dense footsteps and low growls.
Although Chen Kong didn't go outside to check, he immediately guessed what was outside the door.
If things proceeded as expected, the vitality the golden chrysanthemum needed... was right outside.
"Since we have a direction, let's act quickly to avoid complications."
Mi Yao stood up, immediately stating his decision.
Chen Kong and Vivian exchanged glances but chose not to object.
The only thing that surprised them was that after saying this, Mi Yao didn't rush out but fiddled with his game console.
With some curiosity, Chen Kong looked down at his game console.
He saw that a so-called 'Mission Progress Bar' had appeared on the screen.
"What are you doing?"
Seeing Chen Kong's curious expression, Mi Yao calmly said, "Sense of ceremony."
With that, Mi Yao tightly gripped the pixel longsword in his hand and walked toward the reception room door.
Chen Kong looked at his retreating back, then turned to Vivian, who was still deep in thought, and said, "Let's go. This hospital is a bit strange; the sooner we leave, the better."
Vivian nodded, then turned to look at the golden chrysanthemum suspended in the air and the scale holding it, lost in thought about something.
Bang!
Just as the three of them stepped out of the reception room, the doors of the patient rooms on both sides of the corridor slammed shut simultaneously.
In the dimly lit hospital hallway, only the emergency exit sign at the end glowed red, strongly resembling a classic horror movie scene.
The trio stood by the reception room door, their expressions grave.
The battle ahead... would not be easy.
Giving them no chance to catch their breath, countless vines descended from the cracks in the ceiling, completely blocking the passage.
Immediately afterward, the growls of numerous Corrupted Vine Corpses came from all directions.
They seemed attracted by the golden chrysanthemum's light and were gathering toward the third floor.
"I'll handle the frontal breakthrough; you and Vivian cover the flanks."
As the strongest of the three, Mi Yao resolutely took on the most difficult and arduous task.
Right now, the three of them were in the same boat; there was no need for internal struggle.
Although this county hospital was dangerous, their real crisis was the constantly looping spacetime of Longevity Island.
If they couldn't break this spacetime loop, they couldn't leave Longevity County.
Naturally, they wouldn't be able to board the New Federation vessel scheduled to pick them up soon, nor could they leave this dangerous occupied area.
Bang, bang, bang!
In the dim corridor, Chen Kong switched the Void Weaver to burst-fire mode. Star Energy bullets formed a barrage in the passage, temporarily repelling the pouncing Corrupted Vine Corpses.
These monsters were more bizarre than the construction workers outside the hospital. Corroded parts of their bodies could spray corrosive fluid that would instantly burn and blister the skin upon contact.
Mi Yao's pixel longsword swept horizontally, the blade cleaving the incoming vines, only to be tangled by the core petals of a Corrupted Vine Corpse.
"These guys' petals can absorb Star Energy. We must end this quickly; my Star Energy won't last long."
He sharply pulled back the sword, the diamond sheen on the blade slightly dimmed.
Vivian's minute hand rapier transformed into a stream of light, precisely flying off the head of a Corrupted Vine Corpse, where the second energy core was hidden.
Driven by the high-speed operation of her intelligent joints, her figure turned into a silver afterimage, constantly moving through the vines.
With every movement and every strike, she took the life of a Corrupted Vine Corpse, maximizing efficiency.
However, although they killed many Corrupted Vine Corpses, even more kept coming.
Moreover, they couldn't determine exactly how many they needed to kill to satisfy the golden chrysanthemum's revival condition.
It would be quite ridiculous if the golden chrysanthemum didn't revive before they ran out of Star Energy.
After fighting for a full three minutes.
Vivian looked at the 'sea of corpses' whose numbers hadn't decreased at all and shouted, "There's an operating room on the east side of the corridor. It has a spacious area, suitable for kiting. Let's go there first!"
"Good!" (In unison)
The trio fought while retreating, luring the Corrupted Vine Corpses toward the operating room.
Mi Yao set up a pixel trap at the doorway. The moment a Corrupted Vine Corpse stepped on it, pixel spikes suddenly shot up from the floor, pinning three monsters to the ground.
Chen Kong seized the opportunity, and the Void Weaver's bullets accurately struck their core petals, splattering green fluid all over the operating table.
Once inside the operating room, Chen Kong quickly found himself embroiled in a fierce battle against the tide of corpses.
During this process, they quickly noticed the golden chrysanthemum pattern that had suddenly appeared on the back of their hands.
About one-fifth of the pattern was now filled with gold, with the remaining four-fifths still blank.
If they weren't mistaken, once the chrysanthemum pattern was completely covered in gold, they would have met the condition for the chrysanthemum's revival.
However...
"This is too slow, and their numbers are increasing. We might not last until the end."
Mi Yao looked at the Corrupted Vine Corpses continuously pouring in through the door cracks and pulled a pixel grenade from his backpack.
"I'll blast open the ventilation shaft, and we'll retreat to the top floor!"
"The view is open on the top floor. I have a way to gather and clear them out there."
With his words, Mi Yao decisively threw the Star Energy grenade in his hand.
The huge explosion of the grenade shattered the ventilation pipe. Mi Yao used a pixel light shield to block the falling rubble, and the three of them climbed the pipes to the top floor.
Moonlight pierced through the clouds, illuminating the construction debris piled on the rooftop platform.
The area was already covered in vines, and a dozen Corrupted Vine Corpses were clinging to the edges, seemingly guarding something.
At the same time, numerous Corrupted Vine Corpses continued to pursue them through the pipes.
Other Corrupted Vine Corpses were frantically rushing to the rooftop from the hospital stairwell.
The trio fought and retreated, leaving a trail of Corrupted Vine Corpse bodies on the ground.
A closer look revealed that after death, fine golden light spots emanated from these bodies, penetrating the walls of the county hospital and converging toward a certain location.
However, as their Star Energy and stamina were depleted, coupled with the vigorous vitality and fearless nature of these Corrupted Vine Corpses, Chen Kong and Vivian gradually began to tire.
"Mi Yao, are you done yet!"
Chen Kong repelled the few Corrupted Vine Corpses in front of him and shouted at Mi Yao behind him.
And the next second after Chen Kong said this, Mi Yao suddenly raised his game console above his head, releasing the Star Energy within his body without reservation.
Game Materialization · Pixel World · Turret Matrix!
Countless pixel blocks reassembled in the air, forming three green turrets that aimed at the constantly surging Corrupted Vine Corpses and fired relentlessly.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Under the bombardment of the Pixel Matrix Turrets, a vacuum suddenly appeared in the tide of corpses on the rooftop.
This was only possible on the rooftop. If they were indoors, they would also have to worry about the turrets damaging the county hospital building and burying them inside.
Although the turrets were powerful, they required a certain cooldown time and would stop after firing for a while.
Fortunately, Mi Yao was not alone.
Whenever the turrets entered cooldown, Chen Kong and Vivian would decisively step forward, blocking the remaining tide of corpses to buy time for the turrets.
As the corpses of the Corrupted Vine Corpses piled up on the platform below, their vitality was continuously absorbed by the golden chrysanthemum's light. The golden light emanating from the reception room grew stronger and stronger.
Finally, accompanied by a sudden burst of golden light on the back of the trio's hands.
The Corrupted Vine Corpses illuminated by the golden light disintegrated and vanished before Chen Kong and the others, like ice and snow meeting the sun.
Soon, the tide of corpses on the rooftop and the large number of Corrupted Vine Corpse bodies completely disappeared under the illumination of the golden light.
"Finally done."
Mi Yao collapsed onto the ground, his face pale from Star Energy exhaustion.
"Yes, indeed."
Chen Kong wiped the sweat from his forehead and agreed with a bitter smile.
If it weren't for Mi Yao's effective turret matrix, it was uncertain if they could have lasted until now.
He had to admit that Mi Yao's Star Source, 'Arcade Master,' was indeed quite ingenious, with excellent versatility.
After a brief rest, the trio followed their way back to the door of the newborn reception room.
Click!
Before Chen Kong and the others could reach out, the large door slowly opened automatically before them.
What appeared before the trio was a faint but warm golden light, radiating warmth.
Inside the newborn reception room, the withered golden chrysanthemum had fully bloomed. Its petals were a warm golden yellow, and the center stamen emitted a rich vital essence, floating below the scale.
Chen Kong walked forward. This time, there was no invisible force to block him.
He easily grasped the golden chrysanthemum.
The next second, a warm current surged into his body through his palm, and the fatigue from the previous battle instantly dissipated.
"This should be enough, right?"
Looking at the golden chrysanthemum in his hand, Chen Kong said subconsciously.
Mi Yao stepped forward and said seriously, "Things shouldn't be that simple. After all, we still don't know the purpose of this golden chrysanthemum."
"Then where do we go next?"
According to the original plan, after completing the exploration of the county hospital, they would attempt to explore the county bank's underground vault.
After all, these were the only two places in Longevity County they couldn't enter.
They had thoroughly explored all the remaining areas.
If there was a path to leave the area within Longevity County, it would definitely be in one of these two places.
"No rush. Let's finish exploring this county hospital first. Maybe we can find the passage to leave the county right here."
"Then this golden chrysanthemum..."
"You keep it for now. After all, its origin is unknown, and I dare not touch it casually."
Chen Kong: "..."
No wonder you deliberately came in last. So that was your plan.
Once again, Chen Kong felt Mi Yao's 'cautiousness.'
But he had to admit that perhaps it was precisely this cautiousness that allowed Mi Yao to reach his current position.
After leaving the newborn reception room, Chen Kong's trio began a meticulous search of the county hospital.
Thanks to the presence of the golden chrysanthemum, no more Corrupted Vine Corpses appeared in the entire county hospital, and even the worker monsters outside the hospital were frightened away by the light emanating from the chrysanthemum, hiding somewhere unknown.
After a period of exploration, the time unknowingly reached dawn.
Then, a shocking sight appeared before Chen Kong and the others.
As the first rays of morning sunlight shone on the county hospital, the formerly dilapidated and old county hospital slowly shed its decay and became normal.
The tidy hospital lobby, the smooth hospital walls, the brand-new calendar...
At this moment, the county hospital seemed to have been renovated by the 'sunlight,' quickly turning into what a normal hospital should look like.
"It seems that the day and night here are far more than just a simple shift change. There are other special effects at play."
Having witnessed the change in the county hospital firsthand, Chen Kong couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
"Don't state the obvious. Tell us something we don't know."
Mi Yao didn't give Chen Kong face and immediately scoffed.
Chen Kong couldn't be bothered to argue with him.
After all, without Mi Yao last night, it was unknown whether he and Vivian could have survived, let alone obtained the golden chrysanthemum.
"Alright, since we didn't find the passage we wanted here, let's head back."
"If I'm not mistaken, the crucial passage is in the county bank."
With these words, Mi Yao was the first to step out of the county hospital door, walking into the morning sunlight.
Chen Kong and Vivian exchanged a look, then immediately followed suit.