There's definitely something wrong with this murder mystery game

The players for this Scripted Murder Game had almost been confirmed, with two already certain, but their tasks were still unknown.

Xu Shuo slid his hands into the pockets of his white coat and turned to walk toward Patient No. 8's ward.

The chaotic scene in Patient No. 8's ward had already been dealt with by the nurses, thankfully there were no dangerous items in the room, otherwise during Tao Tao's outburst earlier, there might have been an incident of harm.

To the nurses, the scene just now was almost entirely caused by Tao Tao's loss of control, and although the youth was also a dangerous individual, he had been becoming increasingly well-behaved recently.

Such a well-behaved child, how could he cause trouble?

A nurse brought over a piece of durian cake to pacify someone, watching the girl as she ate, all the while sitting next to her and speaking earnestly about life's great truths.

Listening to this, Tao Tao's irritation grew.

"Knock, knock."

The sound of knocking echoed, and the door to Patient No. 8's ward was not shut, allowing the nurse to turn and see the young man standing at the entrance.

She hurriedly stood up to greet him, "Doctor Chen."

While speaking, the nurse also cautiously glanced at the young man, noting his gentle demeanor and relaxed eyes and brows, with nothing amiss, she was somewhat reassured.

Xu Shuo smiled warmly, "I came to check on Tao, you can go ahead with your work."

The nurse nodded, not noticing the girl's pleading gaze, she confidently entrusted the patient to the doctor, after all, Patient No. 8 had just had a fit, so it made sense for the doctor to come and check.

Thus, when the nurse left the ward, Xu Shuo casually closed the door.

Tao Tao: "!!!"

She opened her mouth as if she was about to scream the next moment.

However, at that instant, the young man quickly turned to her and with a sly, sinister smile warned, "Keep quiet, or you can see which comes faster, someone coming or you dying."

Tao Tao was instantly silenced.

Due to Xu Shuo's sudden act of murder before, she was unsure whether the doctor before her was a player or a real case of mental instability.

After all, even if the characters they portrayed were mentally ill, as players, they could control their emotions, like how she felt irritable all the time, but her consciousness was able to suppress these emotions that weren't her own.

Yet the person before her, he was too strange.

Tao Tao watched him warily and snorted, "Doctor Chen, you don't seem to be my primary care physician."

"Doctor Zhang is doing rounds, I came over to check on you first." Seeing that she wouldn't cause trouble, the young man again dropped his gloomy facade, returning to his polite and gentle manner, asking with concern, "What did Little Kun come to see you for, did he hurt you?"

"..."

Did someone actually regard her as a victim?

Tao Tao gave him a strange look, and after a moment of thought, she sneered, saying, "It seems your patient is contemplating something, he asked if I wanted to leave here with him."

"So, what do you wish to do?" Xu Shuo took a step closer to her, alarming Tao Tao enough that she quietly shifted back.

"What are you talking about, Doctor Chen." Clutching the durian cake in her hand, her expression twisted slightly as she spoke sarcastically, "After all the trouble you've gone through to lock me up here, how could you let me leave?"

"No, if you want to leave, I can let you go."

As he spoke, Xu Shuo leaned in slightly, staring intensely into her eyes as he said, "So, do you really want to leave The Fifth Hospital or not?"

Who wouldn't want to leave!

The problem was that she had already run away twice, but each time the timeline reset, she'd be back here again, and the task would be marked as incomplete. The only solution Tao Tao could think of was to deal with the time loop issue first and foremost.

A player could only obtain a limited amount of information about their role, knowing nothing else, which was why she had previously gone to the archives to dig up data on the hospital, trying to figure out the real way to play this scripted game through the minor details.

Only by mastering the script could one be confident.

Especially in a hospital riddled with the mentally ill.

Tao Tao didn't understand why this doctor had suddenly come to discuss these issues with her, and considering his patient also had a past record, she hesitated before she was about to speak sarcastically.

"Alright, I understand."

The young man intently watching her suddenly spoke.

Tao Tao: "???"

What do you know when I haven't said anything?

Xu Shuo stood up straight, hands tucked into the pockets of his white coat, and said slowly, "There might be a disturbance at the hospital later, which you could use to escape. Remember, this is your last chance."

The last sentence was uttered by the young man in a languid, slow tone, carrying an obscure sense of weirdness.

In her heart, Tao Tao inexplicably felt that this might indeed be her last opportunity.

Complete the mission, escape The Fifth Hospital!

…

After the incident in Ward No. 8 was resolved, the hospital fell back into silence.

As evening approached, people grew drowsy, and the nurse's station was quiet, with only the janitors mopping the floors during the brief rest period.

The water stains reflected the white incandescent lights on the ceiling, the pale walls, the cold blue doors; the dim light created somewhat gloomy colors, casting the hospital in a layer of hazy mist.

Doctor Chen Chu's office.

Director Zhang leaned against the desk, contemplating, his gaze inadvertently scanning the items on the table.

He was waiting for Doctor Chen to come back.

What led him astray was that Doctor Chen Chu didn't seem like a player.

Could the frequent killing of Luo Kun be simply due to a split personality causing mischief after a bout of dissociation?

After all, the source of Doctor Chen Chu's illness was Luo Kun.

Being influenced by a patient's thoughts during treatment isn't uncommon in mental institutions; many psychologists have issues to some extent.

When he first entered the game, he had taken the opportunity to learn about everyone in The Fifth Hospital, and due to the old dean's situation, the hospital was facing the threat of being shut down.

However, the staff in the hospital didn't really have much of a fighting spirit regarding this matter, since The Fifth Hospital indeed couldn't hold on any longer.

It was an issue that nobody really cared about.

Director Zhang picked up a pen and twirled it absentmindedly. If this reason wasn't the core of the script, then it all came down to the patients.

The hospital, doctors, and patients were the three most crucial elements.

The abolition of the hospital wasn't the primary issue.

Director Zhang reached for a piece of paper and wrote "hospital" on it, then quickly drew a line through it.

Doctors; there were only three remaining in the hospital—him, Chen Chu, and another doctor who had gone with the old dean to seek medical treatment. The Fifth Hospital's medical capabilities had dwindled to so little.

Thirteen patients…

As he thought about the patients, Director Zhang's train of thought abruptly paused, his eyes landing on Chen Chu's name.

Chen Chu should have been categorized among the patients a long time ago, but after entering the game, Director Zhang quickly crossed his name off the list.

The reason was simple; he couldn't afford more targets in his mission!

Director Zhang sighed wearily. At that moment, his gaze, resting on the paper, suddenly stopped.

It seemed there was something else written on the back of the paper, as some traces were showing through.

Director Zhang flipped over the paper.

"1405".

A string of numbers that seemed to record a time.

…

Why would Doctor Chen record a time?!