There is always a gap between how Wen Shi sees himself and how others see him.
When Song Yan was shaping him into a myth, Wen Shi was carefully studying the scarecrow. The straw was reddish in color, a skin color he had never seen before.
Wen Shi tried to talk: "My soul is not with me at the moment."
Doesn't meet Scarecrow's prey criteria.
Without any transition, the demon walked directly in front of him. The straw was obviously dry, but when they met face to face, the rough and messy body suddenly felt sticky.
The last time the straw demon spat on his face, he was covered in wood ash. When the distance got closer, Wen Shi subconsciously turned his face away to prevent being sprayed again.
However, the next moment his body stiffened, as if it was frozen.
Wen Shi was stunned for a moment, and he was sure that only his eyeballs could move.
Through the shadow on the wall, Wen Shi watched helplessly as a straw sank into his head.
grass.
Very rough.
His lips were unable to move and his expression was dazed, as if he had been hastily thrown into the old times.
Please return to the hospital as soon as possible.
[Special note: the flow of time inside and outside this scene is consistent]
The more powerful the time travel is, the shorter the time difference between the two sides will be. However, Wen Shi always feels that something is wrong. He wants to take a closer look at this straw demon who can achieve a one-to-one speed.
Everything in front of him had disappeared, and Wen Shi's eyes went dark as he fell rapidly.
The teleportation time and landing height were much shorter than expected. In just a few seconds, Wen Shi stepped back onto the ground. He slowly opened his eyes, his mind a bit hazy, and habitually began by summarizing his current situation.
He was in a square, surrounded by people, and passersby were not surprised by the sudden appearance of a living person.
It was late at night, and the light from the projection behind him shone on half of his face. Wen Shi turned around and saw that the giant screen behind him was full of player numbers, which were generally much smaller than the current numbers.
"Virtual Plaza?"
He was unexpectedly transported to a square in the virtual world. The difference was that the square at this time was somewhat different from the one in his memory. There was a sculpture of a book in the middle of the square, giving people a solemn and dignified feeling.
The players coming and going were already accustomed to this layout and didn't pay much attention to the sculptures. However, Wen Shi immediately thought of the Bible. At this time, the virtual world should still be based on the Ten Commandments.
If I really go back to this time period, doesn't that mean...
"As the strongest newcomer, you can definitely use your influence to unite everyone. As fellow newcomers, why do you have to watch us get bullied by veteran players?"
Wen Shi looked in the direction of the voice, ignoring the person who had raised the question. The lighting in the virtual square was very good at night, and he saw a familiar handsome face. "Old..."
Wen Shi almost blurted out a cry, and although he quickly stopped shouting, the man still glanced over here, and Wen Shi hid behind the sculpture in time.
The most taboo thing in time travel is changing the past. Wen Shi can be sure that they had never met their father before he adopted him.
When he grew up, he often heard the latter mutter: "The old man downstairs said that children who are beautiful when they are young tend to be ugly when they grow up. Isn't that nonsense? My child is getting better and better as he grows up."
It is completely proportionally enlarged.
If Dad had any impression of this face, he would definitely mention it.
There was a constant stream of accusations from the new players.
Wen Shi hid behind the sculpture and curled his lips. The strongest newcomer would only be coveted by countless people for his wealth. The other party had a lot of troubles to solve, so how could he have the time to be a savior?
It's difficult to develop a mutual support model between new and old players in the game. If you want to get out of the predicament, there is only one way: complete the skill field mission. As long as you gain skills, you can improve the current situation.
Wen Shi later read the "Virtual World Guide" and found out that activating skill tasks would increase the difficulty, and players could also voluntarily choose to give up.
Only he had no option to refuse.
"You dare to come and complain? You must think I'm a good person and won't take it to heart, right?"
The man's voice was a little low, but deep and clear, giving people a very reassuring feeling.
The player's face turned grim upon hearing this, and he could only manage three words: "You've changed."
They were from the same group of players who entered the dungeon. The man was quite talkative at that time and even took the initiative to help several players including himself. Unexpectedly, he has become so cold-blooded and ruthless now.
"My character is okay," the man said, his eyes gleaming with a hint of coldness, "but my temper is bad."
The opposing player wanted to say a few words to save face, but he was stared at with such a cold gaze that he couldn't open his mouth until the other player walked past him.
Wen Shi hurriedly followed quietly behind.
The virtual world, usually filled with fog, was now blanketed in snow. Wen Shi shivered with cold, suspecting that every time the game changed its theme, the season in the virtual world also changed.
He took out his [small cloak]. Today's invisibility time had been used up when he killed Ao, and now it only had the functions of keeping warm and concealing breath.
Wen Shi heard the man mutter to himself as he walked, "Monsters are easier to deal with than people."
Wen Shi was silent for a moment. His father didn't have many friends and never took the initiative to make friends. In his words, when he thought that he might pass away at any time, he was too lazy to contact others, which would only increase his sadness.
Now it seems that the reason is that I have come into contact with so many different people in the game.
There are special rental offices in the virtual world, and the fees are not low.
The man rented a standard apartment with average security. Wen Shi didn't dare to follow too closely until he heard the door close, then he confirmed the room number through the slightly shaking wooden boards.
Wen Shi began to feel troubled. The backtracking node would not be set at this time for no reason. If he wanted to leave, he would have to make a breakthrough from his father, but he couldn't deal with him with his current face.
Disguise?
How can I approach someone after I've changed my appearance? I also have to find the right opportunity, create a fictitious identity, etc.
Finally, Wen Shi made a bold attempt.
He wasn't sure if he could transform normally in the virtual world, and his transformed body didn't have the ability to actively attack, but maybe it would work?
"I hope there are no players who have completely transformed their bodies..." Otherwise, the player's identity will be exposed in an instant.
Knock knock.
Claws knock on the door.
The man in the house who was about to pour water opened the door and his sight dropped from mid-air to his feet. A black cat in a cloak was looking up at him.
After its last evolution, the cloak gained a new attribute: it changed size according to the wearer's state. Now it was a perfect fit for the little black cat. There were no living creatures like cats and dogs in the virtual world, so the appearance of this thing was obviously abnormal.
The man closed the door indifferently.
Wen Shi lay calmly in the corridor.
Within three seconds, the door opened again. The man took out a detection instrument and scanned it to confirm that there were no explosives or eavesdropping devices. After looking around, he picked up the black cat and said, "It was stolen."
"…"
Wen Shi successfully entered the house.
"Whoever sent you here, you better stay like this," the man said as he poured water. "Looking cute will help you avoid being beaten to death by me."
Wen Shi knew why his father brought him in. Having an unknown source of danger right under his nose at least made it controllable.
The man turned around and looked at it. "A pet needs a name. Choose one yourself."
There were many items in the house, and the man let him choose any of them.
Wen Shicai would never fall for such a trick. When choosing something, he would subconsciously choose something related to himself. For example, he would definitely choose a watch. If he guided her step by step, it would not be surprising if her real name was revealed one day.
Pretty smart.
The man raised an eyebrow. "Battle pet?" If a player truly possessed a battle pet, they wouldn't be willing to send one to monitor them. Judging from its appearance and structure, it couldn't be a robot either. That last point could be confirmed.
"I heard that cats need to be sterilized."
There was no trace of tension in the clear cat eyes, and the black cat even yawned out of boredom.
Don't challenge it in the professional field.
The man narrowed his eyes upon seeing this. It was this kind of arrogant and lazy spirit that was just perfect for him.
The man never underestimated himself, but he was not arrogant either. He threw out something that looked like a collar, which turned into a circle with a diameter of about two meters after landing. As long as the latter ran out of the range, he would receive a prompt.
There are very few props that can play a role in the virtual world. Wen Shi was curious and wanted to touch it with his claws, but he finally held back.
After arranging everything, the man went to the inner room, turned off the lights and went to sleep. Before that, Wen Shi glanced at the time on the clock. It was 12:20 midnight, which was indeed not much different from the time in the copy.
The apartment fell into dead silence.
Wen Shi used the cloak as a small blanket and lay down in it. He remained alert for about an hour, but nothing happened.
Monsters, ghosts, thieves and killers... none of them existed. Everything seemed to be just as No. 51 said. His mission was not difficult, and he just had to enjoy the process.
"The last meal of a death row prisoner." The furry head was buried in the cloak, and the big eyes narrowed.
Eating wasn't dangerous; the real danger was the bullet on the execution ground. The ticking of the clock continued to ring in his ears, and the black cat's paws moved, wondering when the final shot would be fired at him.
Wen Shi has always been very obedient to others' advice.
He decided to listen to No. 51's advice, and when the sun rose again the next day, Wen Shi no longer deliberately looked for clues.
The man didn't plan to play games today, so he prepared two breakfasts. Meanwhile, Wen Shi continued to work on his body transformation. This journey back in time could be described as burning points.
The man was reading while the black cat was staring out the window. The man was washing dishes while the black cat was handing out dish towels. At dusk, the man suddenly lifted the black cat by the scruff of the neck, looked into its mandarin duck eyes, and said, "I suddenly have a suspicion that you were sent to assassinate me."
He paused for a moment and said, "The way you look at me seems a little sad."
The black cat looked a little listless when it lowered its head.
It's probably like a child who is out and about and doesn't mind getting beaten up, but when he returns home and sees his parents and elders, he inexplicably feels aggrieved.
Time flies and it is almost midnight.
Wen glanced at the wall clock from time to time. Jian Qingrong's delaying tactics were obviously very successful. He was fine until now, which meant that No. 51 was still playing a cat-and-mouse game in the hospital.
Squeak.
A short friction sound was heard.
A little fire appeared in the house. The man lit a cigarette and then put it out: "I almost forgot there was a cat."
"I'm going out to smoke a cigarette," he said to the black cat as he was about to get up from the sofa, "Don't run around."
Unexpectedly, the black cat's fur trembled, and it suddenly jumped onto the sofa and directly pressed the man's hand.
"What's the matter?" The man looked at me with a strange look of concern in his big eyes, and said with a half-smile: "You dumb cat, are you trying to say that smoking is harmful to health?"
He has a rare disease and his health is long gone.
…not backtracking.
When Wen Shi habitually stopped the other person from smoking, he was shocked to find that there was alcohol but no cigarettes in the virtual world.
When he heard it for the first time, he was a little surprised. Later he heard that it was because players were under a lot of pressure and many of them were addicted to smoking. If tobacco was launched, the game would also have to add an air purification program.
"Illusion." He suddenly realized a possibility.
On the fifth floor, the strange straw demon with unique abilities might not have existed from the beginning.
This explains why the Straw Demon placed the teleportation point in the virtual square so carelessly, without worrying about meeting his father at the beginning.
The flow rate of time inside and outside is one to one, which is not a level that the straw demon can reach.
Wen Shi had only experienced one time-lapse with almost no time difference, in the quality inspection area of a large factory. That time was when the game was released, but even so, there were still some deviations in the time, making it impossible to achieve consistency.
He immediately tried to activate the skill [A Wise Man Does Not Fall in Love]. According to the skill introduction, except for special maps, all obstacles can be broken in this state.
[Tip: Special map detected, skill usage failed.]
"…"
——As long as you want, the survival rate is almost 100%.
Number 51's words came to mind.
So the way to break the illusion is to eliminate the source?
Wen Shi subconsciously looked at the man.
Time seemed to stand still, and the man sat there motionless, maintaining the same expression and movements as before.
The hand that was held down by the cat's claws began to show red veins like a spider web. Not only on the hand, but similar red lines appeared all over the man's body. The lines gradually stretched out from the skin, extending like crisscrossing paths, shooting out in all directions.
The entire world visible to the naked eye glowed with a faint reddish light. From the ceiling to the sky outside, everything was covered in a membrane of flesh, covered with cocoon-like lumps of flesh.
This scene seemed familiar, very similar to the brain monster seen in the basement of the plastic surgery hospital.
The difference is that all the tendons and veins in the brain monster are connected to a mirror, with the mirror as the origin, and the red lines here are all centered on Dad.
Wen Shi's face darkened.
The monster stole Dad's brain, and what Ao desperately wants to find should be Dad's brain.
The system's cold prompt tone suddenly sounded, repeating a warm main quest:
[On the fifth day, you start looking for an important item in the hospital]
Congratulations, you have found it.
[Destroy it, and you will leave the illusion immediately]
The time for body transformation has passed, and the temperature has not been renewed.
He lowered his head slightly, and the hair on his forehead fell down, covering up the slight coldness in his eyes.
The monsters are respecting the wishes of the deceased and are also carrying out a kind of revenge.
When Dad was alive, he believed that everyone had the right to choose life or death. He chose to follow the principles of birth, aging, sickness and death. As the other party's only hope of survival, the monsters handed the butcher knife to him.
Destroy their brains, destroy the last bit of consciousness they had managed to preserve, and let Dad return to dust completely.
These monsters seemed to be determined to put themselves in their place, to make him experience that feeling of powerlessness firsthand.
Wen Shi chuckled, "Are you kidding me?"
Accepting the death of a loved one is not the same as removing the oxygen tube with one's own hands. Furthermore, if he actually did so, the doctor-patient relationship would likely remain one of rejection and confrontation.
The wall clock had already reached eleven fifty-five. In five minutes, even if he did nothing, as long as No. 51 did not destroy the item where the soul was stored, the game would be judged as his victory.
"Wen Shi," he raised his eyes again and looked at the man entangled in the red thread, "My name is Wen Shi. This is the name you gave me. You said that we are racing against death all our lives, and you hoped that time would favor me."
Listening to the swing of the pendulum, Wen Shi smiled and said, "This time, I can also win."
…
Hospital.
Jian Qingrong has no way to retreat.
Number 51 stood across from him, his smile cold: "You're very difficult."
He was one of the toughest opponents he had ever encountered.
Before yesterday, No. 51 had been almost asleep. After he came out, he took the time to collect clues and check the players one by one.
The game ensures relative fairness. The content of the last game of doctor-patient relationship was determined by them a long time ago. The patients in the ghost world have fallen into a deep sleep since then, waiting for this day to come.
However, they woke up briefly twice in the middle. One was the day Wen Shi entered the game, and the other was in Fengguan Village. After Wen Shi entered the Haunted Highway, they had a general understanding of the child through the images given by the true spirit.
For No. 51, it is not difficult to find out who has the soul carrier.
As long as he uses his own split soul to suppress the target for one minute, he can determine whether the other party has the soul aura of other people.
All patients in the ghost world have different reconnaissance methods and can also start this task.
Wen Shi chose No. 51, which was both the best and worst choice. No. 51 was relatively soft-hearted, but his soul detection skills were the most powerful among all the ghost patients.
"You are too gullible." Jian Qingrong said lightly.
For nearly twenty-four hours, Jian Qingrong first controlled patients in the same fourth-floor rift zone to hold No. 51 back. Then, during the chase, he used a small octopus as a cover, deceiving No. 51 into believing the true soul was carried by the small octopus. Finally, with the help of the host, Yu Xingzhou, and others, he slowed No. 51 down once more. During the chase, he even used Ao as a pollution source bomb, causing it to explode.
Although No. 51 is powerful, he is constrained by the rules. At least in this game, he cannot mobilize the surrounding forces to the maximum extent like Jian Qingrong.
The shadow of the soul was pressing towards Jian Qingrong at this moment.
No one could help him at this time.
Not far away, Yu Xingzhou and Li Nan were suppressed by No. 51's body and could not move. The high-risk patient was restricted to the same extent as Ao. At least on the fifth day, he could not directly kill the players like the patients on the first and second floors.
But trapping players isn't the problem.
Jian Qingrong's body turned into black gas, and he forcibly resisted the soul body that was pressing down on him.
No. 51 suddenly frowned, something seemed strange.
There are only three minutes left until midnight, and the strength disparity between the two sides is huge. This kind of resistance is completely ineffective.
His soul body could sense emotions during suppression... No. 51 was sure that he did not sense any fear or tension from Jian Qingrong.
Now the two of them are standing outside Wen Shi's office. From No. 51's perspective, they can see the hole in the secret room that was blown out.
"It's dark under the lamp."
No. 51 suddenly grasped the crux of the matter. The other party was able to control the patients on the fourth floor. Although he had examined those patients and confirmed that none of them had given their souls to Wen Shi for safekeeping, there was still a possibility that the soul carrier had been secretly placed in the patient's own ward.
No. 51 is leaving immediately.
Jian Qingrong tried to stop them, even if it was just to delay for a few seconds, but Yu Xingzhou and Li Nan broke free from control and blocked their way.
Unfortunately, they couldn't delay both No. 51s at the same time. The moment the main body was delayed, the soul body flashed and returned to the rift area at the speed of a gust of wind.
After the soul body arrived at the ward, it did not deliberately sense the breath, and its eyes were fixed on the bedside table.
The books placed there are a little crooked. No. 51 has obsessive-compulsive disorder and cannot tolerate books being placed in a crooked position.
"You'll have to pay the price, cunning boy."
The soul walked over and opened the book. Where the photo had been, there was another one. When he saw the picture on it, his cold smile suddenly froze.
This is a photo that Wen Shi asked the photographer to take. In the photo, Wen Shi is sitting in the middle, with Song Yan on one side, the host on the other side, and You Shi sitting in the middle.
The entire arrangement of the front row is exactly the same as the "family photo" he treasures.
When Song Yan was suppressed, No. 51 felt the same aura as the Mirror Spirit in his soul.
Back then, the True Spirit had casually mentioned that he would send an avatar to contact the child first. Perhaps the child would have been killed before the other party came to the hospital.
By analogy, it is not difficult to guess who took the photo with Wen Shi.
The two photos put together are both similar and different.
The dean and the two true spirits, the children raised by the dean himself and the clones of the two true spirits, the switching of subject and object seems like a cycle of life.
For a moment, the soul body couldn't bear to tear up the photo.
Inside the ward, only half of the curtains were hung on the windows. Jian Qingrong's brain had transformed into a shadow, hiding nearby to prevent the other party from taking action.
Shadow was watching the scene indifferently at this moment.
Wen Shi chose Patient No. 51 to start the mission because Patient No. 233 said he was the softest-hearted.
The monster's soft-heartedness was completely negligible, so even Patient No. 233, who was answering the question, thought Wen Shi's question was ridiculous.
In fact, it is not ridiculous at all.
Just find the point that can soften the other person's heart and stab them.
While the soul was in a trance, the shadow was concentrating on capturing every sound in the air.
One second, two seconds, three seconds... He seemed to finally hear it—
In the dark corridor, the clock hanging above the nurses' station made a crisp "tick" sound, and the hands intersected at the twelve o'clock mark, officially announcing the end of the day.