[The time is up. Quarantine ensues now. Don't let the plague doctors catch you breaking quarantine.]
[Kindly pay attention to the tasks assigned for scenario 1. Completing all tasks is mandatory.]
[Scenario 1: 2 days remaining.]
[Task 1: identify patient 0 by the end of the scenario. All who fail the task will be demoted by one rank at the next evaluation.]
[Task 2: protect the villagers. Failing this task will result in immediate elimination.]
[Extra task: identify the players with special identity cards.]
[Special prop alert! A-rank prop hidden within this scenario. Finders keepers.]
Deathly silence hung long after the cold, mechanical voice ceased.
This scenario had too many tasks. Usually, the first scenarios only had one mission. But this scenario demanded them to protect the villagers and even identify patient 0. How could they investigate the situation when breaking the quarantine would end in severe punishment or even death?
The players shivered as the icy wind curled in from the ocean, their wet clothes clinging to their clammy skins. Only ten players remained on this damn island. The first day had not even fully ended, and more than half of them were dead.
Thanh Van felt the weight ease from his chest. Kim Jihun had rolled over, retching with nothing but a little spittle and stomach acid to show for it.
A strong arm pulled Thanh Van up to his feet. Thanh Van offered the sergeant a faint smile. Kruger merely nodded as he crouched down next to Kim Jihun. "Kim…"
Kim Jihun let out a long, suffering breath, waiting to see if he would black out. Slowly, he raised his gaze to meet Kruger's piercing eyes. "I'm good… Okay."
"Good," Thanh Van said, brows deeply knitted in thought as his gaze washed over the shore. "Cause we got company."
At the edge of the port, four humanoid figures stood cloaked in darkness. Hollow eyes of the bird beast skulls watched over them coldly.
The ocean behind them held the bloodthirsty monster, the path ahead blocked by the NPCs.
There was nowhere for them to go.
Thanh Van helped Kruger pull Kim Jihun up to his feet, taking this chance to hide behind the two men. His gaze gleamed as it fell upon the plague doctors.
But none of them stood out to Thanh Van. The unnerving amount of killing intent from before was nowhere to be found. To his surprise, even his skin didn't prickle in their presence.
Thanh Van's frown only deepened. Something was off. The plague doctor that had chased after him through the dark alleys was not among these NPCs.
***
The players were herded back towards the inn at a cane's length, like lambs lining up for slaughter.
"Fuck- slow down!" Christof Kunze moaned, wincing as the sergeant was half dragging him along the crowded alleys and streets. He limped like a beaten dog, cold sweat peppering his pale visage. "It hurts."
"Try to keep up," Kruger grunted as they walked last in line. "Almost there."
"Good for you to say, your leg was not almost ripped off!" Christof spat, then quickly quieted. The two plague doctors keeping watch behind them had stepped closer, the void eyes peering down into their souls.
Clang. Clang.
The sound of their cane hitting the stone pavement echoed in the silence, sending shivers down the players' spines. Ahead, the faint flicker of the plague doctor's oil lamp bounced off the grimy stone walls.
Thanh Van stayed in the middle of the line, head hung in thought.
Surviving the scenario and evading the plague doctors was straightforward enough. Protect the villagers - not a problem as long as at least one villager remained alive at the end of the scenario.
But the second task bothered Thanh Van.
How were they supposed to identify patient 0? Based on the story snippets, mayor Jean had a wife and a baby boy. The baby died around the same time they were stranded out in the ocean. In the end, the body of the baby was burned by the shore near the port.
Ten days later, mayor Jean died. The timeline was solid.
Based on this info, the baby boy, Tom, should be their patient 0.
But then… was it that simple? Thanh Van's frown deepened.
Kim Jihun had taken this moment to trail after the beauty, walking side by side in silence. When the beauty didn't acknowledge his presence, Kim Jihun finally cleared his throat.
"Thank you."
Thanh Van peered up at the battered CEO Kim, hiding the annoyance of being disturbed in his heart.
Grime and dried blood covered Kim Jihun from head to toe, the usually slicked-back hair drooping pitifully now, partly covering his amber eyes. Despite the tattered state, he still offered Thanh Van a charming smile. "For helping me."
Thanh Van forced a faint blush on his cheeks as he looked away. "It's nothing."
"You saved my life." Kim Jihun seemed to ponder more than state the facts, and Thanh Van smiled in his heart. He only saved Kim Jihun out of sheer curiosity.
Why was the man given the role of a bishop of all things? How could Thanh Van let the guy die without answering this curious question?
"Wouldn't you have done the same to me?" Thanh Van cooed, his fawn eyes staring innocently at the CEO.
CEO Kim's slanted eyes thinned, an almost vicious smile on his plump lips. "Of course."
Thanh Van beamed at the CEO despite knowing full well the coldhearted businessman was certainly not as kind hearted as he had appeared so far. Something was up, it was just up to Thanh Van to find it out.
The group halted abruptly.
They had finally reached the doors to the inn. The plague doctors stood in line on both sides of the door, waiting for the players to enter.
When none of the players wanted to step into the moist, dark slaughterhouse that reeked of death and suffering, the plague doctors used their canes to push and shove the players in one at a time.
When it was time for Kim Jihun to enter the inn, the plague doctor raised his cane to block his path.
"Bishop Kim," the plague doctor nearest to him spoke, its voice deep and airy, echoing inside the mask. "As part of the church policy, you don't need to dwell with the infected."