Chapter 55: Spiritual Communion, The Ward of the Flesh Mountain

"Among the twelve zodiac players, sheep players have the highest mortality rate. That weird doctor with the sheep's head of yours loves eating his own interns."

"I've only been in this instance for twenty-two days, and I've already seen four sheep-headed players eliminated. You're the fifth."

"The ram represents purity."

"The sheep-headed eccentric doctor does not allow his interns to have even a speck of filth. Filth represents infection. If you don't take the psychiatric medicine in his hands, the infection will overflow onto the surface of your body."

"If he sees any traces of infection on you, he considers you a defective product. As for what your fate will be... Hehe!"

Facing the ox-headed player's lengthy speech, Ji Yan didn't believe a single word entirely.

In this instance, the twelve players were all in a competitive relationship.

Killing the intern of any zodiac sign would yield generous rewards.

Why would any kind-hearted person waste their breath on him?

As Ji Yan thought this, a voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

"You need to be careful of the ox-headed player. He will most likely try to trip you up in the ward."

Ji Yan was momentarily startled, then looked over at the chicken-headed player.

This girl could communicate with players via telepathy?

The chicken-headed player kept her hands in her pockets and gazed quietly at Ji Yan.

"My talent is [Telepathic Link]. It allows me to designate one player for a five-minute telepathic conversation."

"Among the zodiac, the ox and the sheep are in opposition. If he kills you, he will receive generous rewards from the ox-headed eccentric doctor."

"Violence is prohibited in the hospital during the day, but the treatment process in the wards has no restrictions. Watch out for yourself."

Ji Yan looked at her, attempting to reply using his own inner voice: "You specifically wasted a [Talent] just to kindly warn me?"

The chicken-headed player caught the sarcasm in his tone: "I know you don't believe me."

"I'm warning you for my own benefit as well."

"My zodiac trait [Wish] is rooted in kindness. As long as I help other players through actions or words, I earn progress points with my medical mentor."

"My current rank is [Attending Physician], and I am 15% short of the progress needed to be promoted to [Chief Physician]."

"Otherwise, did you really think I was some kind of living saint?"

In the hospital instance, player professional ranks were divided into three tiers: Intern, Attending, and Chief.

To get promoted, one had to earn progress points from their respective zodiac medical mentor.

Seeing the chicken-headed player pout slightly,

Ji Yan offered no further response, unsure whether he believed her or not.

He pointed at the door of room A22: "The ward is open."

With a click, the door cracked open a sliver.

"Alright, enough idle chatter."

"Time to get to work. I hear the player in A22 has always been a tough nut to crack. Let's go in and see how deep the water is."

The ox-headed and chicken-headed players picked up their medical kits and walked in.

Ji Yan followed closely behind.

The moment he stepped into the ward, his vision went pitch black before the interior environment materialized.

Upon seeing the layout of the ward, Ji Yan's expression instantly froze.

It was nothing like what he had imagined—not a room with a hospital bed and various medical instruments scattered around.

Two-thirds of the entire room was dominated by a massive mountain of flesh!

Viscous, disgusting brown liquid, resembling fat, filled every corner of the room.

It wasn't just a visual shock; the sticky sensation underfoot alone was enough to make one's scalp tingle.

"Is this a ward?"

Ji Yan was somewhat dumbfounded.

The fluid fat had swallowed the hospital bed and desk, and a strange stench filled the nasal cavity.

Even the ox and chicken players were shocked by the sight before them.

The chicken-headed player almost vomited.

"Damn it! Everyone said A22 was disgusting, but I didn't expect it to be this..."

The ox-headed player's words stopped abruptly.

Because that giant mountain of flesh suddenly stirred.

Then, a frantic, shrieking cry echoed through the ward.

"My eyeshadow brush... my eyeshadow brush is gone!"

"Doctor, can you help me find it?"

As a woman, the chicken-headed player twitched her eyebrows sensitively.

"Yes! I woke up early and spent three hours doing my makeup, only to find my eyeshadow brush missing!"

"How am I supposed to face people like this? I have a date coming up, and he cares the most about my appearance and figure."

"When going out, a woman dressing gorgeously and stunningly boosts a man's sense of superiority. I can't make him lose face!"

"Doctor, hurry up and help me find it, hurry!"

The voice was filled with anxiety, painting a mental picture of a woman with half a heavy face of makeup, scratching her face in a breakdown.

However, as the three of them looked around the room at the corners submerged in brown-yellow fatty tissue, the corners of their mouths twitched.

In an environment like this, finding an eyeshadow brush was like finding a needle in a haystack?

With no other choice, the three could only bite the bullet, roll up their sleeves, and plunge their hands into the moving, jelly-like fat to rummage around...

As Ji Yan grabbed at these things, he was certain that this was simply adipose tissue accumulated between skin folds.

He stared at that loose, flabby mountain of flesh, its surface covered in lymph-like bumps and black hair, with gurgling sounds echoing from within.

Clearly, this was the patient's body.

While searching, Ji Yan pulled several white coats, shoes, watches, and even an empty medical kit out from beneath the fatty layer.

This indicated that quite a few players had met their demise in this very room previously!

Why were only clothes left?

Where had everyone gone?

It wasn't just Ji Yan who found these items; the ox and chicken players had dug them up as well, and their complexions looked rather grim.

Just how many players had been buried here?

And this was only a patient with a [Moderate] affliction.

Just how abstract and dangerous would a [Severe] one be?

Perhaps driven by feminine intuition, the chicken player eventually located the cosmetic case and retrieved the eyeshadow brush from inside.

Joy surfaced on her face.

"The eyeshadow brush, I found it!"

The ox player's expression darkened, and he spat, "Tsk, that damn chicken's luck is really good!"

"We can only wait for her to finish applying the patient's eyeshadow and soothe their mood before trying to figure out the specific illness and administer effective treatment."

After all, this task had three tiers of clearing methods, and soothing the mood was the lowest-tier method of completion.

"Really? Bring it here quickly."

"Doctor sister, my hands are inconvenient. Can you help me put on my eyeshadow?"

The giant mountain of flesh shook violently, squeezing the fatty masses all over the floor into the corners, as the patient made another request.

To better soothe the other party's emotions, the chicken player forced herself to agree. For a woman who loved exquisite grooming, applying eyeshadow was normally not a difficult task.

Yet, looking at that mountain of flesh, the chicken player felt a lingering sense of foreboding. She hesitated and asked, "Um... where is your face, exactly?"

As soon as she finished speaking, the layers of folded flab shivered. Then, a flap of skin reaching all the way to the ceiling rolled down, revealing a face as large as a soccer goal that drooped right in front of Ji Yan and the other two.

The moment the three saw it, they held their breath in unison.

What kind of face was that?

The entire facial skin was severely deformed, covered in bumps, and caked with a thick layer of white foundation. The facial features resembled melting cheese, constantly sagging and threatening to detach from the face at any moment, dropping to the ground to turn into pus.

Looking at this face, the chicken player held the eyeshadow brush, momentarily at a loss for how to apply it.

"Sister, you must be very careful applying it."

"My eyes have been under the knife, sculpted by the finest plastic surgeon and costing me a lot of money. You can do it, right?"

The drooping eyelids lifted, and within the sunken eye sockets, pitch-black eyes stared right at the chicken player.

Immediately afterward, the patient caught sight of the chicken player's face.

That fair, rosy, and flawless face.

In an instant, the patient's gaze turned vicious: "What kind of look is that?"

"You're mocking me. You did it on purpose—you deliberately took on my treatment just to humiliate me in front of all the men."

"Why are you all so malicious? Is it just because heaven gave you a good appearance and an innate sense of superiority?"

"Don't even think about humiliating me like this again!"

Mere seconds after seeing the chicken player's face, the patient's emotions flared into agitation, showing signs of corruption and turning dark.

"Wait, I didn't..." Sensing the patient's malice toward her, the chicken player's heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly explained.

Yet, halfway through her words, she felt a terrible discomfort throughout her body.

Looking down, she saw her own delicate skin losing its moisture, turning withered and ugly.

When she touched her face with her hands, they were covered in rough wrinkles.

"How ugly! Look at you, as hideous as a terminally ill old witch."

"You have no right to laugh at me! At least the flaws on my face can be concealed with makeup! Hehehe..."

Having replaced the chicken player's appearance, the patient's emotions shifted back to benevolence, and the signs of corruption vanished.

"Ding! Congratulations to the zodiac [Chicken] player for successfully soothing the patient's emotions. You have standardly completed the [A22] ward task."

Although the task was completed,

the chicken player clutched her face, despair spreading across her features as she desperately concealed the murderous intent in her eyes...