MS Chapter 34

The cleaner collapsed to the ground, desperately clutching her wound.

But it was already too late. Lu Qingjia had struck with precision, severing her windpipe and carotid artery.

Blood gushed out, accompanied by a gurgling sound like air escaping from a bellows. Her eyes turned towards the doctors, pleading for them to save her.

However, the doctors were now on edge, fearing that Lu Qingjia intended to eliminate those with differing stances right there.

The ruthless efficiency of his strike, a single fatal blow, made the doctor grit his teeth.

How dare this deranged murderer claim to run a farmstay and speak so eloquently about it?

He already had a weapon ready for retaliation but dared not act rashly, keeping a wary eye on Lu Qingjia. “Brother Lu, what are you doing? Need I remind you, you just killed a player, didn’t you?”

“Just moments ago, you spoke of us being cooperative companions after we leave, and now you’ve taken out one of our own. It’s hard to see your sincerity in this.”

Lu Qingjia shook the blood off his hand, not answering immediately. Instead, his gaze lingered on the cleaner.

He stepped on her face with his foot: “Stop struggling and begging for help. It’s as ugly as a maggot. If you’re about to die, can’t you at least maintain some dignity?”

“Drop that pitiful look. I’m sure those who showed you such eyes didn’t receive any mercy from you either.”

The cleaner’s consciousness was fading, but upon hearing Lu Qingjia’s words, she momentarily regained clarity, her face filled with shock.

It was the panic of having something she thought no one could possibly know being stated with such certainty.

Lu Qingjia chuckled: “Don’t think too much. I don’t know you in real life.”

“But you’ve certainly expanded your ‘business’ and reduced your risks by leveraging the abilities or items you gained in the game, haven’t you?”

“Twenty-five? Twenty-five what? Using everything obtained in the game to benefit yourself and enhance your competitiveness is within the rules, but severely disrupting real-world order, even using it as capital for crime, is absolutely intolerable to the game.”

“Being so feared that they couldn’t even wait for you to reach the intermediate level to have hunter players eliminate you—it must be a heinous crime of the worst kind.”

“If it were drug trafficking, the scale would be too small. Gambling or murder wouldn’t elicit a reaction to terms like ‘shipment.’ That leaves human trafficking, organ trade, or sexual exploitation, selling women as commodities. Forgive my limited imagination, but that’s as far as I can speculate.”

“Given your kind appearance and your knack for small talk, soothing and enticing speech, I doubt you’re a major figure in any criminal organization. The crimes typically committed by middle-aged or elderly women are probably along those lines.”

He glanced at the cleaner’s expression: “Oh? Seems I hit the mark? Or are you involved in all of it? Auntie, you really lived up to your claim of having a good year in business.”

“But it’s a pity.” Lu Qingjia twisted his foot on her face. “Your burgeoning enterprise has just collapsed. You mentioned having a husband and son, didn’t you? You might not know this, but when a malicious player is precisely targeted and eliminated in the game, the repercussions of their real-world crimes facilitated by the game will also come back to haunt them.”

“In other words, after your death, the police, who were previously struggling to solve the case due to your interference, would coincidentally obtain clues through various methods and eventually arrest your gang. Given the severity of your crimes—”

Lu Qingjia flashed a malicious smile. “Dying in the game might actually be a better outcome for you.”

The janitor breathed his last in extreme resentment and fear. However, the doctor and the others, having come this far, were no fools.

Hearing Lu Qingjia’s words, they were completely dumbfounded. It sounded as though he wasn’t the deranged killer, but rather the seemingly unassuming and kind Auntie Wang, who had always been low-key among them, was the malevolent player.

The doctor even suspected that this guy had deliberately targeted Auntie Wang first to use her as a scapegoat, pushing the antagonism of the malevolent player onto a dead person.

But his frantic thoughts told him that wasn’t the case.

As they replayed their previous actions in light of Lu Qingjia’s seemingly disjointed remarks, many things began to align, though their minds were still too chaotic to clearly piece it all together.

At that moment, the game’s notification sound further shattered their understanding—

[Congratulations to player Lu Qingjia for completing the hidden task: eliminating the malevolent player and maintaining the order of the real world. Reward: 5,000 points.]

[Congratulations to player Yang Qian for assisting player Lu Qingjia in completing the hidden task. Reward: 1,000 points.]

Yang Qian smiled and said to Lu Qingjia, “Pleasure working with you!”

Lu Qingjia also nodded with a smile.

The doctor suddenly blurted out, “How did you know? The game clearly placed him against us, but told me the real malevolent player was within our team?”

Lu Qingjia looked at him strangely. “The game has set enough traps for me. This test was for you.”

The doctor choked, and then heard Lu Qingjia’s amused laughter. “Did you really think that simply being on opposing tasks would reveal a player’s stance? If so, I’d have to compliment you on your naivety. Those malevolent players love people like you.”

“You should know that this one, though guilty of heinous crimes in reality, is ultimately just a small-time player.”

“Once you enter the intermediate level, you’ll encounter countless ruthless, cunning, and deceitful individuals. Some have even repeatedly escaped the game’s traps. And you thought you could judge their stance just by their task alignment? Be careful, or one of them might stab you in the back when you least expect it.”

The doctor was on the verge of tears, wanting to say, “Damn it, if you weren’t so brutal and twisted, I wouldn’t have been so certain.” But he feared further humiliation.

After all, ordinary players can act, but those malevolent players are even better at it.

He could only hang his head in defeat. “I still haven’t figured out the key point. How did you discover it was Auntie Wang? Judging by the reward ratio, Yang Qian also contributed, which means you knew all along?”

Yang Qian said, “I didn’t know. I only found out after Qingjia made his move.”

The doctor: “…”

Yang Qian: “All I knew was that Qingjia told me last night we’d be breaking into the restricted zone today, to set a trap for you all and confirm who the malevolent player was. Otherwise, why would he tell me such a secret?”

“The purpose of telling me was to let you know, wasn’t it?”

Lu Qingjia nodded: “You were able to deduce from the opposing tasks that there must be malicious players in the game who need to be eliminated. However, you were too focused on me and underestimated the middle-aged women around you who seemed to only know how to hide behind men and reap benefits, or curry favor by being friendly and cling to the strong.”

“I bet you even suspected Yang Qian but never doubted them, or subconsciously excluded them from the list of people who needed extra attention.”

“The fact that opposing tasks imply the existence of malicious players isn’t something ordinary low-level players would know, and you didn’t need to tell others about it.”

“Last night, I deliberately played the villain to pressure you, making you appear flustered so that others would dig deeper into this rule. For the sake of fairness, the game would likely give the malicious players some hints, such as emphasizing the need to survive among the players.”

“Then, the malicious players would notice something off from the tasks and investigate further.”

“Next, I made you suspect that I was the malicious player, shattering your confidence in judging the situation. With Yang Qian adding fuel to the fire, you had no choice but to reveal the rules for dealing with malicious players.”

“Now that you’re convinced I’m the malicious player, the real malicious player, for the sake of safety and concealment, would naturally go along with this conclusion.”

“So, when they found out I was planning to enter the restricted area, they would definitely use your hostility toward me as cover to provide clues to the hospital staff, ensuring that I would be controlled—or at least excluded from openly entering the hospital.”

“But I knew that you, who truly understood this rule, wouldn’t act rashly because you deeply understood what malicious players are like and wouldn’t easily break the facade. The situation hasn’t reached a point of no return yet.”

“I trust Yang Qian, so that leaves Nurse Xiao Ting and Ms. Wang. Unfortunately, Nurse Xiao Ting showed signs of being controlled by a ghost during our confrontation, so she wouldn’t do anything unnecessary. After eliminating her, only one option remains.”

“Although Ms. Wang isn’t a big shot, she has the cunning and wisdom of a small-time player. When I was probing her earlier, she avoided directly answering several traps I set, only giving vague responses, likely because she guessed I was testing her.”

“However, she was too focused on navigating the traps in my questions and neglected to guard against the simplest and most direct ones. Coincidentally, I have the ability to amplify her focus, creating even bigger gaps. As a result, she slipped up with just one question.”

He then asked the game, “Am I right? What does she actually do in real life?”

The game didn’t hold back. For the real-life information of eliminated malicious players, the eliminator had the right to access it—

[Wang Guifen, born in 1968, native of XXXX, began engaging in human trafficking at the age of 43. After entering the game, she used the abilities and tools she gained to increase the efficiency of her crimes, expand the scale of her operations, and cover her tracks, indirectly enabling the game to aid her in her crimes. This month, she committed 25 offenses, making her a key target for elimination.]

Lu Qingjia said, “I knew it was almost certain because the human traffickers or organ dealers I’ve encountered before never refer to people as people—they call them goods.”

“So, asking about ‘goods’ was bound to yield a surprise.”

The doctor had no choice but to concede, though he reluctantly asked, “So, what do you actually do in real life? With your efficiency, I doubt you’re a law-abiding citizen, are you?”

“Have you ever doubted yourself? Was the game designed to eliminate you? After all, the initial mission was against everyone. Most people would think that way, right?”

Lu Qingjia naturally shrugged, “Of course not. I’m a law-abiding citizen, a five-time consecutive winner of the ‘Outstanding Youth’ award in our county. The taxes I pay and the contributions I make to society are far above average.”

The doctor: “…”

The horror game: “…”

This shamelessness—it’s clear the couple is cut from the same cloth.

After explaining everything and ensuring that the risks within the team were eliminated, regardless of their feelings, cooperation indeed became much smoother.

The chaos upstairs had fully erupted. Lu Qingjia took out a power drill from his backpack, stood on a table, and drilled several holes into the ceiling, disrupting its structural integrity. Then, wielding a sledgehammer, he struck the area between the holes a few times.

His strength now was incomparable to before, and even back then, he was among the strongest of his peers. So, it wasn’t as difficult as one might imagine, and the ceiling soon collapsed.

The four of them climbed out one by one, leaving only the janitor’s corpse in that dim little room.

After climbing up, they found themselves in a storage room on the first floor, a place rarely visited.

Pushing the door open, they saw the entire hospital in utter chaos.

Countless black worms, the size of eels or loaches, were crawling out of the well, making their way from the courtyard into the lobby. These creatures were already disgusting to look at, and their sheer numbers made it even worse.

The guests in the lobby screamed immediately, triggering a panic. By the time Lu Qingjia and his group emerged, the once pristine and smooth floor of the lobby was now crawling with countless worms, writhing frantically on the white reflective marble. The scene was even more revolting than what they had seen in the well.

However, the lobby was now empty. Naturally, anyone with eyes would have fled at the sight.

Some had locked themselves in consultation rooms, others had run upstairs, and some had exited the lobby, capturing the scene on their phones.

Adding to the chaos, the hydrochloric acid Lu Qingjia had mixed into the beauty solution earlier should have started causing accidents by now. The vvip guests needed to be pacified, the black worms were spreading in the general area, and the hospital’s security guards were overwhelmed, struggling to keep up. It was the perfect opportunity.

Lu Qingjia pulled out a few walkie-talkies and handed them to the three, “Split up. Yang Qian and Xiao Ting, sweep the offices of the senior doctors, especially any files related to the vvip clients. Don’t bother checking them, just remove the hard drives and take them in your backpacks.”

“Regular security shouldn’t be a problem for you, but don’t push your luck if you encounter tougher opponents. Be extra careful—they already have experience dealing with players, especially when it comes to hair.”

“Doctor, come with me to the sixth floor. You’re more likely to see ghosts than Yang Qian or me. I need to confirm what’s up there.”

The doctor, knowing better, didn’t argue and followed Lu Qingjia’s instructions without a word.

Lu Qingjia took out a soul-binding rope and swiftly lashed out at the black worms near their room, temporarily clearing a path toward the elevator.

They boarded the elevator, with Yang Qian and Xiao Ting getting off at the fourth floor’s executive office area, while Lu Qingjia and the doctor headed straight to the sixth floor.

The sixth floor was dedicated to hair transplant procedures, with fewer clients and a quieter atmosphere compared to the other floors.

However, it was clear that chaos had ensued at this moment, likely due to the sight of the black insects swarming from the well toward the hospital, either through walkie-talkies or from outside the windows. Every room was tightly shut, and even screams could be heard—

“What on earth did you raise in that well? Are those snakes? That’s disgusting.”

A clueless hospital staff member replied, “I have no idea. We only raised a few catfish in the well.”

“Does that look like catfish to you? Are you guys running a snake farm here?”

Lu Qingjia and his team ignored the commotion and directly headed to the room they had deduced, kicking the door open and entering.

The room was empty, with nothing inside. It had been left unused, the door locked, and it was rarely entered by anyone.

It was currently afternoon, and the room was well-lit by sunlight. Even so, there was no trace of any ghostly presence.

Lu Qingjia gestured for the doctor to close the curtains on both sides. The high-quality blackout curtains instantly plunged the room into darkness.

Lu Qingjia took out a flashlight, but the room remained still.

After a moment of thought, he retrieved the small bottle of fat containing insect eggs, opened it, and placed it in the center of the room.

The doctor asked, “What are you doing?”

Lu Qingjia replied, “This room overlaps so closely with the well. I’m testing whether the things in the well have any effect here.”

Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the room became oppressive, though there was still nothing visible around them.

Lu Qingjia’s heart stirred, and he took out an ultraviolet lamp. At that moment, the scene in the room changed.

On the originally clean, white wall, a human shadow appeared. The shadow seemed alive, writhing continuously, its form menacing and aggressive.

It appeared to loathe the bottle of insect eggs on the ground.

Then, the two of them noticed that the black shadow’s head began to grow hair. The shadow’s hair grew longer and longer, stretching toward Lu Qingjia and the doctor.

Both of them were quick on their feet and swiftly dodged to the side.

Lu Qingjia pulled out a Soul-Binding Rope, switching it to whip mode, and lashed at the attacking hair-like shadow. The shadow flinched when struck by the rope, as if it could feel pain, and its form twisted even more.

However, it did not stop its attack. It seemed this ghost was powerful enough that the Soul-Binding Rope’s effect was limited, at least not enough to overpower it.

Seeing this, Lu Qingjia didn’t hesitate any longer. He pulled open the curtains, and sunlight poured in, dispelling the cold, eerie atmosphere in the room.

The two of them picked up the bottle from the floor and, without hesitation, ran out of the room.

“That’s it?” the doctor gasped, catching his breath. “Was your deduction wrong? Why was there only a shadow?”

Lu Qingjia thought for a moment and said, “I actually think the general direction was correct. But instead of a ghost, there was a shadow, and where there should have been a projection, there was something physical—”

“Don’t worry, we’ll find another chance tonight to explore both sides separately.”

As he spoke, he picked up the walkie-talkie and asked, “Yang Qian, how’s it going on your end?”

The sound of violent dismantling came through, and Xiao Ting’s voice responded, “Qian-jie is busy smashing hard drives. She’s knocked out a few hospital executives who seemed panicked when we started dismantling their computers. We should have some leads.”

Lu Qingjia nodded and said to the doctor, “Let’s go. We’ll head to the VVIP area now.”

They definitely couldn’t go directly to the VVIP area, but the access card Lu Qingjia had obtained during his earlier infiltration was still in his backpack.

Since he had been caught shortly after causing the commotion, it was likely that the card’s permissions hadn’t been revoked yet. Even if they had, they could always climb over the outer wall. With their physical abilities, it wouldn’t be difficult.

The chaos in the VVIP area was no less intense than in the lobby. Several customers undergoing treatments had suffered hydrochloric acid burns. As the hospital’s primary source of profit and a protected group, these customers weren’t as easy to placate as ordinary ones.

The entire floor was bustling with doctors and nurses—some busy cleaning wounds, others administering painkillers, and a few standing in front of customers, too afraid to breathe, serving as punching bags.

As soon as the two entered, they were met with sharp, hysterical screams. Other customers, now aware of the situation, demanded explanations from the hospital while feeling relieved to have survived.

Blending into the crowd, the two took advantage of the distraction to knock out a customer on the periphery and quickly carried her to the nearest treatment room.

The room was empty. After locking the door and placing the woman on the bed, Lu Qingjia produced a scalpel.

The doctor asked, “What are you doing? Didn’t you claim to be a good guy? Isn’t she just an ordinary NPC? Why do you look like you’re about to dissect her?”

Lu Qingjia smiled. “It’s not that serious. I’m just going to cut open her skin and take a look. The depth of the incision will depend on what I find.”

The doctor: “…”

So, it really wasn’t his fault. Who would believe this guy wasn’t a sociopathic player?

Lu Qingjia used the sharp blade to slice open the woman’s skin. After the initial flow of blood, what followed nearly made the doctor vomit on the spot.

Beneath the skin, embedded in the fat layer and muscle tissue, were countless larvae, slightly larger than insect eggs, wriggling and squirming. Where the skin had been cut and exposed to air, the larvae seemed startled, frantically burrowing deeper.

Unable to resist, the doctor took out his own scalpel and made another cut elsewhere on the woman’s body. The same scene unfolded.

In other words, this person’s flesh and blood were almost entirely infested with those larvae. The thought alone was nauseating.

The doctor turned to Lu Qingjia, who was recording the scene, and asked, “How did you know?”

Lu Qingjia smiled. “You didn’t think that a few insect eggs mixed with fat fluid, left on the skin for a while, could have such a miraculous effect, did you?”

“While horror movie logic can’t be judged by real-world standards, I examined the skincare residue scraped off Mrs. Lan after her treatment last night. It had lost its activity, leaving only a few dead insect eggs. So, where did the rest of the eggs go?”

“They… just burrowed inside?” The doctor’s scalp tingled. “Didn’t these people feel anything?”

“You must have grown up in the city, right?” Lu Qingjia said. “When leeches burrow into a person’s leg to suck blood, they don’t feel much either.”