Chapter 1: Becoming a Special Player

As the patient from bed number two in room 103 burst out and began to behave wildly in the corridor hall, the once quiet hospital suddenly became lively and chaotic. The sparrows outside, grooming their feathers, were startled by the commotion echoing from the hall, and after fluttering their wings twice, they left without a second thought.

News spread quickly, and a young nurse, flustered and hurried, rushed up to the third floor. She pushed open Dr. Xie Yunjian’s office door with force, barely pausing to catch her breath before rushing in. “Dr. Xie, it’s bad. The patient in bed two of room 103 is having another episode. He’s already run out, and several people can’t control him. Dr. Xie, maybe you should come take a look?”

“Is that so?” Xie Yunjian responded calmly, unmoved by the news of the patient’s outbreak, and began searching for the diagnostic file of bed two, room 103. Ever since she had taken up residence at Chongzhou Psychiatric Hospital, such incidents happened almost daily, and she had grown accustomed to them.

Seeing Xie Yunjian merely sitting in her chair and calmly reviewing the files, the already panicked intern nurse grew even more uncertain. Unable to wait, she asked timidly, “Dr. Xie, maybe you should go out and see? The patient is causing a serious disturbance this time—he’s charged out of 103 and is attacking people everywhere, and even several security guards can’t restrain him.”

She tried to exaggerate the severity, hoping Xie Yunjian would accompany her. “And this hospital is different from others. I’m afraid if it goes on, the other patients will be affected...” Her voice trembled with tears by the end.

Seeing the young nurse so anxious she was about to cry, Xie Yunjian finally closed the file in her hands. “Alright, let’s go.” Descending to the first floor, she was met with chaos: doctors and nurses in disarray, security guards struggling to maintain order, and other psychiatric patients taking advantage of the commotion.

As Xie Yunjian approached a colleague, before she could inquire about the situation, a patient wielding a bed leg as a weapon suddenly broke free and rushed toward her. Cries of alarm erupted around her, and then she felt a stabbing pain at the back of her head. Instinctively touching the spot, she felt warm liquid seeping through her hair.

The screams of patients, shouts of colleagues, and worried voices became distorted noise in her mind, like static from a dying old radio. Darkness clouded her vision, the world spun wildly, and then her consciousness faded away.

The young nurse, who had rushed upstairs, saw Xie Yunjian lying on the floor, her head drenched in blood. By the time Xie Yunjian was sent to the emergency room, her body was cold. The nurse stood outside the makeshift operating room, her eyes swollen and red, gazing through the window at the white sheet covering Xie Yunjian, filled with guilt and remorse.

“Dr. Xie, I’m sorry…”

Xie Yunjian woke again, chilled to the bone. As soon as she regained consciousness, a sound like faulty electrical static echoed in her mind, followed by a synthesized mechanical voice: “Ding, congratulations to player… Xie Yunjian for entering the horror scenario—Chongshan Psychiatric Hospital.”

When the voice pronounced “Xie Yunjian,” the static grew louder, stuttering before continuing. Then it fell silent.

She heard everything that had just happened, though her awareness lagged behind. She assumed it was an auditory hallucination following shock.

The scenario game was already halfway through. Most surviving players had gathered in the first-floor hall to exchange information. At that moment, one of the female players noticed a “corpse” in the hall moving. Instinctively, she screamed, “Ah! It moved! Something’s wrong!”

Following her pointing finger, the other players saw the “corpse” in the hall attempting to sit up. Before Xie Yunjian could clearly see her surroundings, several screams and hurried footsteps erupted in the hall. After a brief chaos, the hall returned to its usual calm.

Xie Yunjian slowly sat up, holding her head. She found no bandages on her wound—it was obvious no one had treated it. At least the injury had already scabbed over.

Her colleagues were truly lacking in compassion—not only did they leave her untreated, but upon seeing her awaken, they fled. Xie Yunjian sighed inwardly, sitting on the floor to recover.

She still couldn’t make out her surroundings clearly, suspecting she had a concussion. Once her mind cleared, she realized something was wrong. The hall’s layout was still that of her workplace hospital, but the atmosphere was dim and the furnishings appeared old.

Old? She narrowed her eyes, puzzled—she remembered the hospital being semi-new, with daily cleaning. There shouldn’t have been dust.

She recalled being knocked out with a blow. Judging by her surroundings, much time must have passed. Yet no one had tended to her. Had her colleagues assumed she was dead and dumped her in an abandoned building? Now, seeing her awaken, did they think she was a “zombie” and fled in fear? Or was this simply a warped memory of the hospital after her death?

Once calm, Xie Yunjian began a mental storm of thoughts. She touched her face—no warmth, the sensation stiff and cold, but still elastic. This feeling… was she truly dead? If so, why could she move?

Then she remembered the voice that had appeared in her mind upon awakening. Horror game… She recalled a patient in the hospital who always muttered those words. If all this was real, she was most likely dead.

Even knowing she was dead, Xie Yunjian felt no upheaval. She repeatedly called for the so-called system, but nothing happened.

She glanced at the wall clock: five in the afternoon. By then, except for those on duty, all doctors and nurses should have gone home, yet there was no one at the front desk in the hall. Everything seemed off—her surroundings exuded an eerie atmosphere.

Truly worthy of a horror game—the ambience was impressively immersive.

Xie Yunjian lowered her head, lips curling in a faint smile. Guided by memory, she headed toward her office.

“Ding, system reloading…”

“Reload complete…”

As she reached the corridor entrance, two mechanical voices sounded in her mind.

“Ding, congratulations to player Xie Yunjian for entering the horror scenario—Chongshan Hospital, system 1008962368 is pleased to serve you.”

“Congratulations, player Xie Yunjian, for unlocking a special identity and becoming a special player in the horror game.”

“Due to your unique status, you may now choose between two factions: the player faction or the anomaly faction. Which do you choose?”

Xie Yunjian paused briefly, then continued up the stairs as though nothing had happened. If there were special players, perhaps there was a third option besides the two offered.

Testing her theory, she mentally asked, “Is there a third option? I choose the third.”

Horror System 1008962368: Oh no, I’ve encountered someone who knows the ropes…

After a moment of silence, the system finally continued.

“Ding, congratulations, player, for unlocking a special option: the third faction—double agent, turning black into white.”

“Since this is a game, do I have an identity panel?” Xie Yunjian wanted to know what she was now.

“In answer to the player, yes. Simply recite ‘personal info panel’ in your mind.”

She acknowledged silently, deciding to check her profile once she reached her office.

Those fleeing players, seeing Xie Yunjian posed no threat, began observing her from their hiding spots. Yet none dared approach her.

Arriving at her office door, she glanced at the posted introduction—Xie Yunjian. The photo resembled her quite closely. She mused inwardly, opened the door, and found the office unchanged from before she entered the horror game, except for a layer of dust on the supplies, as though no one had been there for a long time.

“1008962368, open my personal info panel.”

Horror System 1008962368: …

Xie Yunjian, of course, knew she could open it herself, but she wanted to test the system’s obedience and intelligence—to see if she could manipulate it later.

Seeing the system ignore her, she resorted to provocation. “1008962368, are you really that low-grade? Seems pretty useless, doesn’t it?”

Horror System 1008962368: “Impossible! Don’t underestimate the system!” It finished with a proud little snort.

Having successfully baited the system, Xie Yunjian felt amused and teased it inwardly—this system had quite a personality.

The system continued to boast, “Our horror game ranks in the top ten across the universe! As the intelligent system of the horror game, I’ve spent points to upgrade myself many times! I’m nothing like those primitive, useless first-generation systems!”

The system’s tone was smug as it bragged to Xie Yunjian.

Sitting in her office chair, Xie Yunjian smiled soundlessly. Her hand tapped the desk twice in delight. She then followed up with praise, knowing that a system with childish tendencies would be easy to coax.

“Then 368, you really are impressive! So can you pull up my personal info panel for me?”