Chapter 1206: People Cannot Escape the Clutches of Economic Laws
Since Hei Zeji had just returned from the brink of death, aside from his combat ability, his stamina recovered only about seventy percent. Bohemia, choosy and wary, lacked a genuine spirit of teamwork. Consequently, Lin Sanjiu was responsible for transporting the bloodied and cumbersome NPC.
"If you want to work with him, you should carry him," Bohemia muttered by the door. "He looks gross."
The NPC smirked. "I apologize for my appearance."
Bohemia turned away, leaving Lin Sanjiu with a view of her golden-brown, fluffy nape. While Bohemia seemed to disdain the NPC, her attitude also betrayed a hint of wariness, reluctant to engage with him.
Hei Zeji, insistent on not being assisted, approached with unsteady steps. His lips were firmly sealed, determined not to reveal even a whisper of breath. Lin Sanjiu was somewhat concerned. Upon noticing her gaze, he furrowed his brow, saying, "What are you staring at?"
His impatience was a positive sign.
Lin Sanjiu wrapped her arm around the NPC's substantial arm, nodding towards the door, where Bohemia carefully pressed her ear. After a moment, she turned to the others and said, "I don't hear anything."
The utility room door was cautiously opened a sliver, allowing several figures to slip out one by one. Lin Sanjiu, the last to exit, stood in the corridor. The NPC turned his head to survey their surroundings, weakly instructing, "Turn left and go straight."
Despite their injuries and diminished capabilities, their exceptional posthuman abilities allowed them to move with remarkable agility at just fifty percent capacity. The disturbances caused by Hei Zeji's constant release of tiny whirlwinds were effectively neutralized. Closing your eyes, you might only notice their presence if you inadvertently bumped into Bohemia.
As they approached the next corridor, Hei Zeji placed a hand on Lin Sanjiu's shoulder. The group instinctively halted.
The dim corridor fell silent. Bohemia tilted her head, puzzled, then caught Lin Sanjiu's cue. She glanced at Lin Sanjiu, hesitating for a few seconds, then crouched to retrieve a small mirror. She extended the mirror outward at a low angle, carefully swaying it.
After a few seconds, Bohemia looked up, her face ashen.
'Guards,' she mouthed, 'many of them, and they're standing there.' She pointed behind the wall.
Standing there?
'No movement?' Lin Sanjiu mouthed back.
Bohemia shook her head.
Lin Sanjiu's glimpse into the mirror sent chills down her spine. A densely packed array of faces, some with eyes reduced to black voids, stared in their direction, immobile in the corridor. Among the intact eyes, several seemed to be fixated on their position, as if by chance, directly meeting their gaze.
No wonder the alarm had ceased prematurely, and the guards had vanished. They likely anticipated the fugitives' appearance in this corridor. But why this specific section?
Were it not for the risk of noise, Lin Sanjiu would have been tempted to hurl the NPC to the ground and crush his windpipe under her boot. The NPC likely knew of the heightened security and deliberately led them here.
"I had no idea, honestly," the NPC said upon their return to the utility room. Lin Sanjiu released him, and he collapsed to the floor with a thud. Despite the pain contorting his face, he managed to stifle any sound.
"Listen," he said, gasping after regaining breath. "I didn't intentionally lead you there. My guidance and their guard presence were for the same reason. You can only be discharged by passing through there."
He looked up, uncertain which of their expressions prompted his shiver. The NPC hurriedly added, "Didn't I explain? First, we need to confuse the hospital about your identities to stand a chance at deception and discharge. You've already visited the Information Department," he turned to Lin Sanjiu, "and accessed most of the patient records. That simplifies matters. You agreed we should return the altered records, but not to the Information Department, as it's destroyed; plus, new records appearing there would raise suspicions. I've already explained this, but why won't you trust me?"
"How did they anticipate our plan to return the records?" Lin Sanjiu asked, skeptical. "And arrange such a heavy guard presence in advance?"
The NPC's explanation of the plan was, at best, vague. It appeared he regarded the pocket dimension as his own, reluctant to share more information with the players than necessary.
"They didn't know," the NPC sighed. "But that location is crucial. For various reasons, it was likely you'd end up there."
"What do you mean? What is that place?"
The NPC hesitated before saying, "Have you heard of the engine room?"
"The engine room?"
"Or... the engine?" He glanced at their faces. Hei Zeji had already seated himself to rest, seizing every chance to recuperate like any cautious wild animal.
"What are you trying to say?" Bohemia asked, standing behind Lin Sanjiu.
"Just as a car and an airplane have an engine and a computer has a motherboard, there's also a power source here," the NPC explained slowly. "The engine room holds everything about the hospital; all its operations are stored and managed there. But don't get too excited. It's not straightforward to discern its capabilities. The engine room spans a large area, with one room leading to another. The outermost room stores the points of deceased players."
Lin Sanjiu and Bohemia were stunned by the revelation, while Hei Zeji seemed oblivious to its significance.
"The room stores the points of all the players who died in this hospital, provided they had points at the time of death. Otherwise... have you considered? Points are exchanged for organs, so if a person's points disappear upon their death..." the NPC paused, seeking an analogy, "wouldn't the hospital constantly be in a state of deflation?"
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