May 26, 2025 —

Another victim had fallen.

 

When Qi Leren regained his senses, he found himself standing in the corridor near the obstetrics and gynecology ward, drenched in a cold sweat.

 

“Qi Leren?” A figure cautiously peeked out from a nearby room, surprised to see him alive. “You’re still alive?”

 

“Is that how you curse people?” Seeing Dr. Lu unharmed, Qi Leren finally felt grounded in reality.

 

Dr. Lu rushed out of the room and scrutinized him from head to toe. “Are you alright?”

 

“I’m fine…” Qi Leren glanced down at himself. There was no blood on his clothes, and even the tear on his right sleeve—torn by the chainsaw before he reloaded his save—was intact. His SL skill had perfectly restored him to his saved state, leaving no trace of the horrific nightmare he had just endured.

 

Though only minutes had passed, it felt like a lifetime ago.

 

Dr. Lu stared at him in disbelief. “What about the killer? Did you take him down?”

 

“…No, I got lucky and escaped,” Qi Leren said, rubbing his forehead. After a moment’s hesitation, he revealed the truth about his Skill Card. “Actually, I have a Skill Card that lets me reload my save. It came in handy at the last moment.”

 

“Let’s go inside. It’s not safe standing in the corridor,” Dr. Lu said, pulling Qi Leren into the room. Xue Yingying was propped up in her hospital bed, looking pale but remarkably alert. Her eyes lit up when she saw Qi Leren return. “Brother Qi, are you alright? Dr. Lu said you ran into a killer—we were so worried!”

 

Qi Leren forced a wry smile and recounted his harrowing experience, explaining his Skill Card. After narrowly escaping death in such a dramatic way, he suddenly felt more open to trusting others. With only the three of them—all ordinary people—facing a ruthless madman, they would likely need unconventional methods to survive.

 

Xue Yingying listened intently, then paused thoughtfully. “Actually, I also got a Skill Card earlier.”

 

Dr. Lu glanced at her, looking slightly guilty. “To be honest, so did I…”

 

*So everyone got one?!* Qi Leren roared inwardly.

 

Xue Yingying generously showed her Skill Card to the others:

 

<i>**Bloodstained Youth** (Bound Skill Card): While suffering from blood loss and pain, the holder will unleash extraordinary strength, fighting like a berserker! After all, youth is all about reckless impulsiveness!</i>

 

“I got an achievement after my miscarriage, and this Skill Card was the reward. Thanks to it, I’ve regained some of my strength,” Xue Yingying said, slotting the card back into her belt.

 

Qi Leren couldn’t help but feel that the skill seemed to mock the melodramatic youth novels that endlessly featured miscarriages and abortions. Still, it was undeniably practical in this situation: a blood-fueled power boost? A godsend! It was infinitely more reliable than his own disastrous SL Great Art.

 

*But is it really okay to have a girl who just had a miscarriage as the tank?* he wondered.

 

“My skill is pretty basic—it just boosts my luck when equipped. I guess that’s because I’ve always been lucky,” Dr. Lu said.

 

Qi Leren grumbled jealously, “Do you win the lottery all the time? Pull super rare cards on your first gacha roll? Even find money on the street just by looking down?”

 

“…Not exactly. I believe in the conservation of luck, so I don’t buy lottery tickets often,” Dr. Lu replied. “But I do have ridiculously good luck with gacha games. I’ve been firmly in the ‘European’ tier the whole time.”

 

Qi Leren, perpetually cursed with bad luck and a dark complexion that earned him the self-deprecating nickname “Chief of the African Tribe,” fell silent.

 

After much deliberation, the trio decided to risk venturing out. Nightfall was approaching, and if they couldn’t find food or a way to deal with the ghosts, their situation would become far more perilous after dark.

 

“Even if he’s a killer, he’s still just one person, right? These two buildings are so huge, it’s unlikely we’ll run into him,” Xue Yingying said optimistically. The young woman seemed remarkably resilient and brave. Qi Leren’s impression of her had shifted from that of a jilted ex-girlfriend threatening her former boyfriend on the bus to a tough woman who dared to stay in a haunted room after witnessing a ghost firsthand.

 

But her words clearly struck a nerve with Qi Leren. His mouth twitched, and he didn’t reply.

 

“It should be fine,” Dr. Lu said. “I activated my Skill Card the moment Qi Leren encountered the Killer. With the luck boost, we should be safe for a while. The card’s effect lasts for 75 minutes, after which it will have a three-hour cooldown.”

 

Hearing this, Qi Leren and Xue Yingying both breathed a sigh of relief. With renewed confidence, the three of them boldly left the waiting room.

 

Xue Yingying was still a bit weak, but walking normally was no longer a problem. She suggested they find something to eat first. Qi Leren and Dr. Lu felt a pang of guilt; they had originally planned to search for weapons before looking for food, but the unexpected events had completely slipped their minds.

 

“What do you think that mist outside the window is?” Xue Yingying murmured.

 

“This kind of fog is a common trope in horror movies,” Dr. Lu replied matter-of-factly. “It’s used to build tension, and… well, sometimes there are monsters inside. Or it might be used to separate the real world from the ‘otherworld’—that’s pretty standard too.”

 

The trio swarmed through the nearby offices like locusts, finding a surprising amount of snacks. Xue Yingying even drank some brown sugar water, which finally brought some color back to her face. The clinic building was vast and eerily silent, filled with an unsettling atmosphere that made it feel like they might stumble upon something sinister at any moment.

 

“This way is no good. I have a terrible feeling. Quick, come with me,” Dr. Lu whispered at a fork in the corridor. A chill ran down his spine, and the hairs on his neck stood on end. He immediately lowered his voice and led the others down a different path. Almost as soon as they rounded the corner, heavy footsteps echoed from the path they had just abandoned.

 

Qi Leren recognized the footsteps instantly—it was the killer!

 

The three of them held their breath, not daring to exhale, and only emerged from their hiding place after the killer’s footsteps had faded into the distance.

 

A few barely noticeable drops of blood stained the floor, likely remnants of one of the victims.

 

“This is insane,” Dr. Lu muttered, his voice trembling slightly. “He’s like a randomly spawning ultimate boss.”

 

Qi Leren nodded frantically in agreement. This wasn’t just any NPC boss—it was another player! Utterly inhuman.

 

“Let’s go. He’s gone now. This area should be safe, right?” Xue Yingying said, pointing in the direction the killer had come from.

 

As they entered the corridor, they soon discovered a mangled corpse with the number six scrawled in blood beside it—the killer’s sixth victim.

 

Xue Yingying turned away in disgust, unable to bear the sight. Dr. Lu, grimacing at the overwhelming stench of blood, approached to examine the body. “Female, likely around thirty years old,” he said, frowning. “Cause of death: massive blood loss from a severed carotid artery. Brutal method. The body is still warm—she died just minutes ago. And look at the number he wrote on the wall—textbook serial killer behavior.”

 

“Are you a forensic pathologist?” Xue Yingying asked, trying to suppress her nausea.

 

“I’m just an internist who loves horror movies,” Dr. Lu corrected gravely.

 

Having examined the body and found no further clues, the group continued up to the upper floors of Building B, following the trail of splattered blood until they reached the rooftop.

 

Initially, Qi Leren had worried that the rooftop would be shrouded in dense fog, being an outdoor area. But when they opened the access door, they were astonished to find the fog remarkably thin, as if an invisible barrier was diluting its density.

 

Nearby, a corpse lay sprawled on the ground. A figure knelt beside it, their back to them. Hearing their approach, the person warily stood up, revealing a face that would make even another man gasp in admiration.

 

Qi Leren distinctly heard Xue Yingying involuntarily gasp, followed by a nervous swallow.