Chapter 1648: Chapter 1648: Dr. Xu’s Psychological Therapy
In the past, there have been players who imagined different species after entering instances, but the average player’s knowledge of these species is superficial. The lucky ones might have only heard about their cannibalism, while the unlucky ones might have been trapped among them and witnessed the eating firsthand. However, these aren’t deep understandings, as human imagination about the unknown is limited, so what they mostly envision are being chased by the species or scenes of them devouring others.
The cannibal players who arrived today are different. Not only do they consume people, they seem to have added their own twist to it. Almost one-third of the locked wards upstairs have become dining places for these “medical staff.” The fake patients in these rooms would suffer various dreadful tortures. For example, to ensure the “freshness” of the “ingredients,” they might use special potions to prolong life, or inject muscle relaxants to make the “ingredients” tender, or worse, drain the blood from them in a state of half-awake oblivion.
There are the cooked and, naturally, the raw; the scenes are brutal and gory, making it hard to watch.
Ironically, seeing these scenes, the players’ first reaction was excitement, which quickly turned to horror, as they soon realized that they weren’t the ones holding the knife, but the ones tied to the hospital beds.
“Fake… it’s all fake…” some players refused to believe their eyes, constantly adjusting their anti-mental interference helmets to maximum power, trying to wake up from the hallucination.
Those who had helmets wore them, and those without couldn’t find suitable ones on short notice, so they could only shout to their companions to stop imagining things.
Unfortunately, human brains are peculiar; when someone tells you not to think about something, you think of it first. So, in the next moment, a ward door opened, and a nurse with blood on her chest came out, wiping her mouth, and sternly looked at them, “Who let you out of the ward? Security! Where’s the security? These patients are trying to escape, tie them all up!”
The players wanted to run, but where could they run to? The bars and railings, which didn’t seem very secure, now looked like high-priced, hard-to-acquire advanced metals in a game, impervious to their props and tools. And even if they could escape this floor, they’d still be in a hospital, with potentially deadly germs sealed in other areas…
Rather than becoming targets for attack in this instance now, it was better to conserve energy by playing along.
So immediately, four players voluntarily entered a ward and closed the door.
The security guards who stormed in ignored those who had already entered the wards, focusing on the ones still in the corridor. Seeing this, the other players followed suit and rushed into the wards, but one unlucky person was too slow and got caught.
Those two were dragged by security into a nearby empty ward, and the nurse who had just come out returned to the room, carrying a blood-stained large box, and went in as well.
Now it was time for everyone to use their imagination. Some constantly heard screams, while others suddenly heard nothing as if they had gone deaf. In either case, it only heightened their mental pressure, with some beginning to suspect that the nurse was the instance’s boss.
Although imagined people and things can also attack, Xu Huo didn’t really let the nurse slice those two into pieces; instead, he gave them a chance to end it themselves.
One of them couldn’t handle the psychological pressure and didn’t hold out long before begging for a quick death, while the other bled out after having his leg sawed off.
Liao Jie stayed obediently in his ward, waiting for the chance for psychological treatment. The other patients also behaved and didn’t dare to wander, so the hospital remained relatively calm for those few hours until dawn. It stayed that way until 8 AM the next morning, when the nurse woke up the patients, telling them it was time for their medication.
The drugs could be real or fake. Some players pretended to take them but secretly hid them, while others genuinely took them. Regardless of the medicine’s authenticity, those who took it were more inclined to accept that they were patients, even though they gathered with their companions to discuss how to clear the instance. Some had already begun to pay attention to the looks of the nurses and guards, starting to imagine the content of the medical staff’s conversations.
Oh, and a Level D player who had been peeking around had already fallen into the “Well No One Can Look Into Alone” earlier that morning.
Ignoring this person, Xu Huo had the charge nurse schedule psychological treatment times.
There were three doctors in the hospital, but they only conducted psychological treatments in the mornings, seeing two patients every morning. On the one hand, it was for treatment, and on the other, to assess the patients’ psychological states and adjust treatment plans accordingly.
The hospital had specially posted a schedule and informed those who were to receive psychological treatment that day. Of course, the first to undergo treatment were the Level E and D players; Rank-C players and Liao Jie would have to wait.
Liao Jie remained locked in and hadn’t emerged yet. Some Rank-C players, disgruntled, argued with the medical staff. However, no matter how they beat or killed the nurses and security, it couldn’t change their situation. In fact, such aggressive resistance would sooner lead to punishment, such as sedatives or electric shocks. One leading Rank-C player even killed the nurse from the previous night and got caught, only to be dragged upstairs directly.
Rank-C players weren’t that easy to control; on the way, not only did he kill two more security guards, but he also jumped from the upper floor and headed straight for the hospital’s exterior.
Xu Huo stood by the window watching his retreating figure, thinking it was a good sign. At least they were considering that outside the hospital might be safe.
With the leader downed, the others became much more compliant, and three Level E players began undergoing psychological treatment.
There were no real doctors in the hospital, so Xu Huo had to do it himself. He first went to the first ward, disregarded the vigilant look from the patient, took out a notebook, and instructed the person across from him to sit down.
“How have you been feeling these past few days?” Xu Huo looked at him and asked.
“Take a guess. Aren’t you the doctor? Can’t you tell?” The other retorted challengingly.
Xu Huo stared at him quietly for two seconds, then drew an “X” on the page full of words, making sure the other could see it clearly.
“I think you’re in a pretty good mood today,” Xu Huo smiled again, “Did you have a dream last night?”
“What dream? I never dream!” The player said with a stern expression.
“Looks like the new medication is working well,” Xu Huo continued to write and sketch on the page. “Do you remember why you were admitted to the hospital?”
“Got unlucky, what other reason could there be?” The player said deliberately.
Xu Huo’s hand didn’t stop, and he continued, “You seem a bit resistant to treatment. Our session today didn’t go as smoothly as last time, but don’t worry. Your parents contacted the hospital this morning. They said not to rush home, and to stay for another month until you’re completely better, then reunite.”