After choosing her identity, Song Qingxiao entered the trial scene as a nurse. According to Nurse Zhang, this place is fully enclosed and the medical staff rotate shifts every five days, which coincides with the countdown timer that appeared before her eyes.

However, the trial did not provide her with a place to stay or go after work. In other words, the trial only lasts for five days, and if she fails to complete the task within those five days, she will have nowhere to go.

She glanced at the task prompt in her consciousness again: Protect the people, failure will result in elimination.

Task completion: 1000 points.

Song Qingxiao took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. The countdown timer in front of her now showed: 119:41:18.

The ticking sound of the clock seemed like a death knell in this scene, where the sun was shining and the environment was peaceful, but it still sent shivers down Song Qingxiao’s spine.

Since she had already come here and had no other choice, panicking was useless. She could only calm down, understand the situation, and try to leave the trial as soon as possible.

“You see, last year, Xiaoyu planted some plants over there, and they grew very well.”

Nurse Zhang was still enthusiastically introducing a corner of the hospital to Song Qingxiao. Song Qingxiao focused her attention, ignoring the countdown numbers and the voice in her mind, afraid of missing a single word.

This isolated mental hospital was not big. It could be divided into two areas: a five-story building and a recreational area.

The main building was divided into two sections, with the offices and dormitories of the medical staff separated, while the other half consisted of the wards and treatment rooms.

There was no one in the recreational area downstairs. According to Nurse Zhang, there were twenty-seven patients in this hospital, all in the same building. However, Song Qingxiao felt that it was eerily quiet.

Looking out through the transparent French windows, she could see the high walls surrounding the recreational area, almost blocking all views outside, creating a separate space.

“This place is easy to remember, and the schedule is regular,” Nurse Zhang said, following Dr. Liu’s instructions. She had been entrusted to teach Song Qingxiao and was very dedicated. “The lights in the wards come on at 6 o’clock, and the patients get up to wash their faces and brush their teeth. We help them trim their nails and hair.”

She explained the duties of the nurses and mentioned that the work was divided into two shifts: the morning shift from 8 am to 6 pm, and the night shift, which was more demanding due to a shortage of staff.

As Nurse Zhang spoke, a complex expression flashed in her eyes, as if she felt a sense of guilt.

Song Qingxiao wasn’t here for work, her task only lasted for five days. If she couldn’t complete the task within those five days, her life would be in danger, so she didn’t care if it was hard or not.

In fact, she hoped to quickly familiarize herself with the work and understand the details of the trial as soon as possible.

“It’s okay.” She suppressed the sound of the ticking in her mind and smiled. “I actually hope to study and familiarize myself with the work as soon as possible. If possible, please assign me to the night shift.”

Her proactive volunteering gained Nurse Zhang’s favor. In that moment, Song Qingxiao clearly felt Nurse Zhang’s gaze become even gentler.

In this trial space, which could potentially cost her life at any moment, with its bloody and eerie atmosphere, the appearance of Nurse Zhang, a gentle and kind person, made Song Qingxiao feel a momentary spiritual trance. But soon, Nurse Zhang took her hand and urged her to suppress this uncomfortable feeling.

“Qingxiao, you’re really nice. But you just arrived today, so there’s no rush. Spend the afternoon getting familiar with the work and rest well tonight. We can talk about the night shift tomorrow.”

The staff dormitory in the mental hospital was not far away. Two people shared a room with bunk beds. After leading Song Qingxiao to collect her personal belongings, Nurse Zhang took her to the dormitory.

The lower bunk was originally hers, but after Song Qingxiao came, perhaps due to her previous enthusiasm for working overtime, this warm and gentle woman without hesitation packed up her things and moved to the upper bunk.

When changing clothes, Nurse Zhang considerately left space for Song Qingxiao. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Song Qingxiao finally had a brief moment alone.

The task prompt in her mind remained unchanged. After getting used to the sound of the ticking clock, she gradually learned to control herself and multitask.

But she still hadn’t figured out the doctor’s situation today. Song Qingxiao felt that it was not a coincidence.

At the same time as her, a group of people entered the trial space, but she didn’t know where they were or what roles they played in the trial.

She pushed aside her thoughts, changed into her uniform, and came out. Nurse Zhang was waiting outside and handed her a name tag with a smile. “While you were changing, I just went to get your name tag.”

As Nurse Zhang spoke, Song Qingxiao noticed that she also had a name tag on her chest with Nurse Zhang’s name: Zhang Xiaoyu.

The name tag had Song Qingxiao’s name handwritten on it. Nurse Zhang explained, “You just arrived, so we haven’t made your work badge yet. Once it’s done in a few days, you won’t need to wear this anymore, and it will be more convenient.”

Song Qingxiao nodded and hung the badge around her neck. She followed Nurse Zhang to the ward area.

“Originally, the hospital’s monitoring room was divided into two levels.” As they walked towards the patient area, Nurse Zhang’s voice became softer, as if afraid of waking something up. The surroundings became extremely quiet. She wore soft-soled shoes, walking silently like a ghost. “But since we don’t have many patients in our hospital, and their conditions are quite severe, we no longer have separate levels.”

They could see the door to the ward area in the distance. The huge iron door divided the ward area in half. The iron door had three layers, and looking through the gap, the long corridor inside seemed deep and terrifying, like a giant abyss ready to swallow people.

Nurse Zhang inserted the key into the lock. With a creak, the lock opened, and she pushed the door open, making an unpleasant sound that made Song Qingxiao furrow her brows.

A cold wind blew in, and faintly, Song Qingxiao seemed to hear someone crying, a sorrowful sound. She glanced at Nurse Zhang, who either didn’t hear it or had already become accustomed to it, as her expression remained unchanged.

Goosebumps spread on Song Qingxiao’s arms. After the three iron doors opened, she felt like she had entered a completely new scene.

Although they were in the same building, the office building and dormitory where the medical staff were located seemed to have been recently renovated. They were relatively new and painted white, with clean windows and modern facilities.

The ward area was mainly painted in light blue. The doors and windows were made of special materials. In the middle was a corridor, with wards on one side and the doctors’ offices and treatment rooms on the other. The nurse station was located next to the elevator, and at the other end of the corridor were windows that were covered with iron bars, as if sunlight couldn’t penetrate through.

Someone was crying with a whimpering sound. Nurse Zhang also heard it this time and turned to ask Song Qingxiao, “Are you scared?”

Song Qingxiao shook her head. The countdown numbers in her line of sight now showed: 119:21:36. At this moment, there was nothing scarier than that.

She forced herself to ignore the existence of the numbers and looked through the glass into the wards. In one of the rooms on the left, there were two beds, each with a patient sitting on them, their expressions vacant, staring straight at her without blinking.

Neither of these faces were familiar to her. She looked away, about to say something, when suddenly someone approached from behind and grabbed her with great force, grabbing the blue strap of the work badge she had just put on her neck and pulling her back. In an instant, her neck was being choked.

Her body tilted backward, and the person who grabbed her didn’t let go after she fell. Instead, they continued to pull her back, and in the blink of an eye, they had dragged her about a meter away from Nurse Zhang.

This was truly a fateful encounter with being choked!

Cough, cough… Song Qingxiao was gasping for breath, unable to breathe due to the choking. This trial was the second time she had been strangled, the first being when the doctor strangled her with a mouse line.