The song “Yiyiya” annoyed people, and Song Qingxiao closed her eyes. She knew that this time the mission prompt was clear and the rewards were generous, so there must be a big problem.

If her guess was correct, when the trial participants entered the scene, they had two choices: medical staff or patients. Therefore, the mission was likely to have two opposing factions. 

One faction kills, the other protects, and the loser dies. 

This was also the same situation as the first trial. The trial was divided into two major camps that allowed mutual killing. 

Dr. Zhou’s death resulted in a deduction of fifty points for herself. Song Qingxiao grabbed a handful of hair with her hand and her gaze became slightly heavy. Did that mean that if her speculation was true, there really was a camp of trial participants whose mission was to kill civilians? If she exposed and killed one of them, would her points increase by fifty? 

These thoughts flooded her mind, stimulating her heart to beat faster. She bit her lip until now, when she finally touched the bottom of the mission. 

As long as she exposed the trial participant who focused on “killing” and eliminated the source of danger, maybe she wouldn’t need five days and could possibly complete the trial and leave this space scene. 

The mission of “protecting the people” did not mean she had to sit and wait for death. It might be another way of indirectly asking her to take the initiative. 

The trial rules allowed for mutual hunting. She was misled too deeply at the beginning and the target of “protecting the people” was too vague. When she saw the word “protect,” she initially assumed that this mission was not as straightforward as the previous trial, which required simple and brutal killing. Little did she know that this trial was still an elimination, but it was more cruel and intense than the first trial. 

Among the six trial participants, besides herself, the gun-wielding man had already been eliminated. Among the remaining four, Numbers 5 and 6 chose patients, while Number Four, the woman with the red whip, and the man with glasses chose doctors. Among these people, she didn’t know who was the protector and who received the mission prompt to kill. If she couldn’t distinguish, she could only find a way to eliminate them one by one. 

Under the night sky, the numbers in her line of sight continued to countdown with a “tickling” sound: 109:17:26. Nurse Zhang who slept on the upper bunk was sleeping deeply. When Song Qingxiao made a big commotion earlier, she didn’t even turn over. 

She felt cold all over and touched the dagger. Her expression gradually calmed down. 

When she slowly lay back on the bed, she was initially tense, worrying that something unexpected would happen tonight. She couldn’t sleep and kept her eyes open until she saw the faint light through the thin curtains outside. Nothing terrifying happened throughout the night, so she fell into a deep sleep. She was awakened by Nurse Zhang in the morning. 

“Qingxiao.” 

Nurse Zhang hadn’t reached out to push her, but Song Qingxiao had already opened her eyes instinctively and sat up. 

“You slept soundly,” the sky was already bright outside, and Nurse Zhang had obviously washed up and dressed neatly. “Today, you will work with me. Our working hours are from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and then we will be on duty again from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. tomorrow.” 

Song Qingxiao quickly woke up when she heard her speak. 

She bent down to put on her shoes and when she came out after washing up, it was already 7 o’clock. While having breakfast, Nurse Zhang looked worriedly at her bloodshot eyes. 

“Did you not sleep well because of Dr. Zhou’s incident? You look tired.” 

Song Qingxiao shook her head and looked around the cafeteria. This was the dining area for medical staff, separated by transparent glass. Outside, nurses were orderly arranging the meal for the patients wearing patient gowns. 

There were two serving windows inside the cafeteria, with two long tables. Nurse Zhang and Song Qingxiao arrived early, so there was no one inside when they came. As more people came in, they sat down one after another.  

It was evident that Nurse Zhang was well-liked, as the nurses who came in sat down one after another. Song Qingxiao divided her attention between talking to Nurse Zhang and observing the people coming in. 

Two doctors, a man and a woman, dressed in doctor’s attire, entered. They were the female doctor who led Number Four, the woman with the red whip, and a doctor surnamed Hu who was with her yesterday. Number Four and the man with glasses were nowhere to be seen. 

When Nurse Zhang was speaking, Song Qingxiao turned her head to look at the two of them and then replied after coming back to her senses. 

“I’m fine.” 

After hearing this, Nurse Zhang reassured Song Qingxiao, “It’s okay. After work this afternoon, you can take a nap in the dormitory. Maybe you’ll feel better.” 

Song Qingxiao nodded and glanced at the pale-faced Zhu Xiaoke next to her. 

“Did Xiaoke also not sleep well?” 

She poked her fork into the food on her plate. Zhu Xiaoke’s face was pale, and she seemed more tired than Song Qingxiao. Obviously, witnessing Dr. Zhou’s death yesterday had a great impact on her and caused her to not sleep well. 

When Song Qingxiao called her name, Zhu Xiaoke raised her head in a daze and took a while to react. 

“Yeah.” 

She seemed to remember what happened yesterday and her expression became even more unpleasant. “I’ve known Dr. Zhou for a long time. It’s a pity.” 

After saying that, she lowered her head again as if she was about to cry. 

Song Qingxiao paused for a moment, put down the fork in her hand, and patted Zhu Xiaoke’s shoulder to comfort her. She spoke up. 

“Speaking of which, it’s strange. How did the newcomer have a gun in his hand? Where did he get the gun?” 

As soon as this question was asked, several nurses started discussing. 

“Yeah, how did he suddenly start shooting?” 

“Where did he get the gun?” 

As Song Qingxiao wished, the topic shifted to the gun. She paused for a moment and let everyone discuss it quietly. Then, she lowered her voice and asked. 

“What happened to the gun in the end? Was it stored properly?” 

She was still considering using that gun. After the incident yesterday, the gun was finally handed over to Zhu Xiaoke for safekeeping and locked away. The hospital was so big, and if she wanted to know the whereabouts of the gun, she could only find out from Zhu Xiaoke. 

But she was new here and not familiar with Zhu Xiaoke, so she could only take advantage of the opportunity to chat and naturally ask about it. Zhu Xiaoke didn’t suspect anything and replied as soon as she asked. 

“It’s stored properly. Dr. Liu said that the gun would be locked away as evidence and Mr. Huang would be in charge of it. He has the key. When the road is repaired and there is a signal to call for help, the gun will be sent out.” 

Hearing this, Song Qingxiao felt both happy and worried. She was glad to know the whereabouts of the gun, but worried about how she could get the key from Liu Yixun and secretly take out the gun without anyone noticing. 

Someone checked the time and it was already late. The nurses quickly finished their meals, and Song Qingxiao followed Nurse Zhang into the ward area to officially start work. 

On her first day of work, Song Qingxiao specifically looked at the duty roster before work. The doctor on duty last night was Liu Yixun, and the doctor working during the day today was surnamed Hu, the male doctor she met at the cafeteria. Behind his name was an intern doctor named Jia Yue. 

Song Qingxiao speculated that based on the situation yesterday when the man with glasses followed Dr. Hu, he might be an intern with Dr. Hu. It was also very likely that he was interviewed by Dr. Hu to enter the hospital. 

In other words, if nothing unexpected happened, the man with glasses had also experienced a trial, and it was very likely that Dr. Hu was a trial participant who had died by his hands. 

The doctor on duty tonight was surnamed Ou, a woman. It was a coincidence that she was leading Number Four, the woman with the red whip, and they would meet tonight. 

One day had passed since the start of the mission, and the countdown numbers changed to: 99:56:31. There were still four days left in the trial, and it seemed that there would be even greater storms to come!