Zhu Xiaoke stuttered as he recounted the events, and everyone’s attention finally shifted to the murder weapon, just as Glasses Man had hoped.

“Where is the gun?”

The doctor who came in with Liu Yixun asked, and Glasses Man unconsciously lowered his head. Song Qingxiao held the gun in her hand, torn between conflicting thoughts.

In this moment, having more guns meant more security for her, and the importance was self-evident. However, she also knew that it would be difficult for her to keep the gun.

“After securing the area, subdue the newcomer and I was holding onto the gun…” Zhu Xiaoke was a bit flustered when asked, and then her gaze wandered around the office. Clearly in a state of confusion, she couldn’t remember who ended up with the gun.

The people who entered the office had not yet left. Although the armed man had been subdued, he had not been taken to the ward. Glasses Man was about to speak when Song Qingxiao didn’t give him a chance to seize the initiative and quickly said, “It’s with me.”

She raised her wrist, and a gun lay in her palm. At the moment Glasses Man saw the gun, a hint of excitement flashed in his eyes. But upon hearing Song Qingxiao’s words, his gaze became gloomy.

If he had spoken first and suggested searching for the gun, Song Qingxiao would have been put at a disadvantage. She couldn’t hide the gun, and when it was eventually discovered on her, it would undoubtedly raise suspicions.

But now that she voluntarily handed over the gun, no one would think of looking elsewhere.

Glasses Man’s plan fell through, and he quickly regained his calm composure. Song Qingxiao continued, “Miss Zhu was too scared earlier, so she temporarily entrusted it to me.”

This explanation didn’t raise any suspicions. Everyone knew how Zhu Xiaoke had reacted when the gun was mentioned.

Two doctors nodded. After ‘finding’ the murder weapon, one of them suggested, “Miss Zhu, please put away the gun and lock it up. After the road leading down the mountain is repaired in five days, we will report to the police and hand it over together.”

After the doctor finished speaking, Liu Yixun took out her phone and checked the time. This action reminded Song Qingxiao of the first trial, when Number Four discovered that there was no signal on her phone. It made her grip her sweaty hand tightly.

The atmosphere in the hospital became even more oppressive and eerie after the incident. The large man was being escorted by two security guards towards the ward, and the deceased Dr. Zhou was lifted and placed into a body bag.

There were still traces of blood in the office, and sunlight streamed through the windows, illuminating the room. Visible dust particles floated in the air, and everyone subconsciously held their breath, working carefully and cautiously. The atmosphere became even quieter and more eerie.

The zipper of the body bag was slowly pulled up by a nurse, emitting an uncomfortable sound. Song Qingxiao was still regretting that the duck had flown away. Fortunately, although she didn’t get the gun, and Glasses Man didn’t take advantage either.

Moreover, she still had a chance. As long as she paid attention to who had the gun during the remaining time of the mission, she might still find a way to get it.

Disordered footsteps approached, and before the person arrived, a woman’s voice sounded, “Dr. Zhou had an accident?”

While speaking, a female doctor in a white coat hurriedly arrived, followed closely by Number Four, who was also dressed as a doctor. Song Qingxiao breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her.

All six participants were finally present.

Number Four also noticed Glasses Man and Song Qingxiao, who were dressed as medical staff in the office. The gaze of the group of people met simultaneously, and then they all looked away as if they didn’t know each other.

The doctor who arrived last had been in the ward area before and rushed over after hearing about the incident. Number Four was one of the new doctors and was interning with her.

After the situation here was settled, Glasses Man followed the doctor who arrived later and left, while Liu Yixun went with two nurses to take care of Dr. Zhou’s body.

Song Qingxiao and Nurse Zhang were responsible for cleaning up the office. When they came out, it was already late in the day. The sun had already slanted westward, and it was time for dinner. The cafeteria was filled with shouting.

With someone dying in the hospital, everyone’s mood was heavy. Nurse Zhang and the others were saddened by Dr. Zhou’s death, while Song Qingxiao was increasingly aware of the countdown in her field of vision: 114:53:21. There were still four days and nineteen hours left in the mission time.

As a newcomer, she didn’t have to work the night shift tonight. After dinner, she followed Nurse Zhang to inspect the ward and then returned to the dormitory.

After washing up and lying in bed, Song Qingxiao’s tense mind didn’t relax.

Nurse Zhang had already turned off the lights, and the hospital had an indescribable eerie feeling at night. Perhaps because she was in the trial scene, she always felt surrounded by danger.

During the day, she couldn’t hear any sounds from the ward, but at night, the silence made the sounds louder. She heard someone singing loudly, and she closed her eyes. The sound of ticking in her mind followed her.

When she opened her eyes, even in the darkness, the numbers 109:47:35 were still clear.

“Qingxiao, are you asleep?”

Nurse Zhang on the bunk above looked down, and her face was pale in the darkness. Her long hair, which had been tucked in her hat during the day, fell down and spread on both sides of her cheeks. The moonlight shining through the curtains made the shadow of her hair long, and the reflection on the wall looked like a group of tentacles trying to grab Song Qingxiao.

“Not yet.”

After Song Qingxiao spoke, she realized how dry her voice was. Nurse Zhang thought it was because of the injury during the day and didn’t pay much attention to her strange voice. She comforted her, “Are you still thinking about what happened during the day? Don’t worry too much, sleep. Everything will be resolved in five days.”

“Yeah.”

Five days later, the problem wouldn’t be resolved for Song Qingxiao.

The mission prompt in her mind remained the same as in the afternoon: Protect the public, failure will be eliminated.

Task completion: 950 points.

Countdown time: 109:45:55.

Nurse Zhang comforted her a few more times and lay back on her bunk, falling into a deep sleep. Song Qingxiao slept through the night without making a sound. The quietness in the room contrasted sharply with the loud singing outside.

The ticking sound of the old clock in her mind became even heavier, impossible to ignore.

Since she couldn’t sleep for the time being, Song Qingxiao began to carefully recall the events of the day.

This trial took place in a mental hospital with a total of six participants, including medical staff and patients to choose from.

She remembered when she first arrived, Nurse Zhang had introduced the situation of the hospital to her.

The hospital had a total of 27 patients and six doctors, including Nurse Zhang, making a total of 12 people.

Among the 27 patients, it should include Number Five and Number Six, and Nurse Zhang was currently the only nurse.

According to what Zhu Xiaoke, who was in Dr. Zhou’s office, said, one Dr. Li had left the hospital, and Dr. Guo was on vacation. In other words, out of the six doctors, two were currently absent.

However, the newly arrived participants, Glasses Man and Number Four, filled these two vacancies. The armed man who killed Dr. Zhou lost his eligibility to choose and became a patient.

In other words, due to Dr. Zhou’s death, there was now a vacancy among the six doctors, resulting in Song Qingxiao losing 50 points.

In comparison, the number of patients increased by one compared to the original 27 mentioned by Nurse Zhang.

She vaguely felt that she had grasped an important clue but was missing something to connect the dots.

The mission prompt in her mind remained unchanged, and she paid close attention to the “Task Completion: 950 points” prompt, feeling that something was off.

What was wrong? 

Under the night sky, she opened her eyes and immersed herself in deep thoughts.

A faint and distant singing voice came through, and the numbers in her line of sight were counting backwards: 109:41:27…

109:41:26…

109:41:25…

…

109:37:31…

Song Qingxiao suddenly sat up with a “whoosh” sound, causing the bed to make a squeaking noise. She was covered in cold sweat and realized a serious problem that she had previously overlooked.

She had been misled by the mission prompts, thinking that the only important aspect of this trial was to protect the civilians and that failure would result in elimination. The mission was only five days long.

After Dr. Zhou was killed today, she lost 50 points. She thought it was just triggering a mission prompt.

The time in her line of sight was constantly counting down. The five-day time limit was like a string in her mind, constantly reminding her of the importance of time. However, she almost forgot that after completing the mission, although she would receive 1000 points, every time someone died, 50 points would be deducted. So when her points were depleted, what would she have left to be deducted?

Assuming that the civilians she needed to protect were medical personnel, there were a total of eighteen doctors and nurses. Calculating fifty points per person, one thousand points would be enough.

However, based on the scenes of the previous trial, which required everyone to kill each other, Song Qingxiao vaguely felt that things wouldn’t be so simple.

And if the civilians required by the mission included doctors, nurses, and patients, then the total number of people would be considerable.

When these people were added together, there were a total of forty-five people. Once more than half of them died, her points would be deducted to zero. She might not even wait for the designated five days of the mission and would die within it!

Under what circumstances would so many people die in a hospital within five days?

She finally remembered a serious question that she had forgotten after being startled by Tu Xiaoyun’s pat on the shoulder in the ward area today. When she entered the trial scene, there were two options: medical staff or patients. So in this trial, could there also be two options for those who received the mission?

Are there trial participants who are supposed to protect the civilians and others who are supposed to kill them?