[Intermediate Area: Saint Mary Hospital]
[Mission: Investigate and resolve the reason for the hospital's abandonment]
Gu Shanhai, clutching the Yunling Grass, felt that things were about to go south and desperately hoped it wouldn't be a puzzle-solving instance; that wasn't his forte.
After all, most of the time, thrills are tied to puzzle-solving, right? Otherwise, if you just barged through, could it still be called thrilling? That's just monster-slaying.
'I hope to find some good plants, otherwise...'
Otherwise, Gu Shanhai planned to burn down the hospital—resolution was the goal, right? What could be faster than a fire?
As for the "investigate" part at the beginning, he'd wholly ignored it.
"What does everyone think about this?" a player named Qingcheng White Fox spoke up.
There were also two other players named Qingcheng Ziyin and Qingcheng Red Colt.
Clearly, they were from a gaming studio or a professional club, teaming up for this instance.
The remaining two were Gu Shanhai and a female player named Luo Sheng Gate.
A five-player instance with a three-person team and two solo players.
As to why the other party didn't fill up their team to five, he guessed there was a three-person limit on invitation, so the two solo players were just squeezing in.
"Yes, I suggest we just burn the hospital down. Do you guys have something to start a fire?" Gu Shanhai said earnestly.
"????"×4
This comment left the other four players baffled; something seemed off.
"Bro, that's a good idea, but it probably won't work," Qingcheng White Fox diplomatically rejected the idea.
"Come on, why wouldn't it work? If we go in, according to the pattern, not only do we have to solve puzzles, we'll also have to fight monsters. You surely don't want to spend half a day looking for a fuse, right?"
"So, if there's no hospital, everything is resolved."
Gu Shanhai believed in being extra cautious; it was risky to go inside, and if it could be dealt with outside, then it should be.
"Um... we're here to play a game, not to simulate being outlaws," Luo Sheng Gate also couldn't help but criticize Gu Shanhai.
"Ah, why won't you listen to advice?" Gu Shanhai sighed, indicating that gamers these days were a timid bunch.
"Alright, let's go in and take a look. The brother's idea of burning the hospital can be tried later. It's not like we can only burn from outside, starting a fire from the inside works too," Qingcheng Ziyin, trying to smooth things over, saw some merit in Gu Shanhai's approach, but it would sacrifice their mission rewards and performance rating.
With such an action, they definitely wouldn't get an A-grade rating.
"Are you from a professional gaming club?" Gu Shanhai asked Qingcheng Ziyin as he followed them inside, trying to establish a connection.
"Third-tier, third-tier," Qingcheng Ziyin said somewhat disheartenedly.
He wasn't being modest; saying third-tier actually meant backup for the third team, which was just a fancy way of saying they spent most of their time warming the bench. Unless something happened to both the first and second teams, they would not have a turn, and more often, they were just guiding their boss through instances, though their treatment was better than ordinary gaming studios.
So, they were really just a minor team, and Gu Shanhai had never heard of them.
"Tsk, why not bring your boss? This is such a great opportunity," Gu Shanhai questioned.
"Usually, the boss issues his own invitations. This one we secured ourselves, so we definitely had to keep it within the team," Qingcheng Ziyin was candid, as this wasn't a big deal.
The group quickly entered the main building of the hospital, which was actually just one large structure that was built very big and all connected together.
"It's been abandoned for some time now, and honestly, I can't understand why they built a hospital in the middle of nowhere. Were they so bothered by too many patients that they wanted to slack off?" Gu Shanhai couldn't help but question the logic.
Located in neither village nor market, it didn't make sense why such an obviously problematic hospital hadn't been investigated and shut down.
"F*ck... You guys don't think the hospital was abandoned because it was disqualified, do you?"
Gu Shanhai's train of thought struck the three players speechless.
"Doesn't seem likely. Look at this newspaper; it seems the business was doing well before," Qingcheng Red Colt picked up a newspaper off the ground, dusting off dirt and grime to reveal a headline.
Saint Mary Hospital Treats Over a Thousand Civilians; Mayor Personally Visits to Offer Comfort!
Besides the headline, there was also a picture, with a group of blond-haired, blue-eyed people in suits. That's right, no one's wearing a lab coat.
Especially the hospital director, who looked like a businessman, smiling widely while shaking hands with the mayor.
"Don't you guys feel like something's off? For example, why use 'civilians' instead of 'patients'? Moreover, is treating a thousand people really worth celebrating? Any random hospital could squash them," Gu Shanhai pointed out the issues with the headline.
The others were taken aback as well. It seemed fine at first glance, but on closer thought, it felt chilling.
"Could it be..." Luo Sheng Gate was about to speak when suddenly, noises echoed from deep within the hospital, sounding like footsteps.
The group inadvertently tensed up, not so much feeling thrilled as wondering whether to take action.
Gu Shanhai furrowed his brows and took the newspaper to examine it. In the corner, there was another report.
[In the coming week, a solar particle storm will cause global magnetic field changes. This particle storm is because of the Mao Su Star Cluster...]
'Although I'm no scientist, you don't have to be so blatant when scamming me.' He read the article, which seemed okay in the first half but then soared to the so-called Mao Su Star Cluster light-years away.
Okay, it looked fake, but as unscientific as it might be, it could still be real, and if they were genuinely discussing science, he thought his own ability to respawn was unscientific enough.
"Chase!" Qingcheng White Fox suddenly shouted and, with a slap, pulled out a blood-stained firefighter's axe and charged forward.
The other two weren't simple either; one took out some kind of handgun, and the other a musket, following suit.
Luo Sheng Gate, seeing this, had no choice but to draw her Longsword.
And there was Gu Shanhai, with a face full of 'what the hell are you chasing for?'
Since he had been reading the newspaper, he naturally hadn't paid much attention.
"Wait for me!" Gu Shanhai really didn't dare to stay alone. When he had teammates around, at least someone would persuade him not to burn down the hospital, but without them, he might not be able to suppress his pyromania.
He had just gotten his hands on something new, and it felt pointless not to use it, like owning a treasure but not enjoying it.
So, to avoid this itching to act, he could only follow his teammates with tears in his eyes, not knowing what kind of monster they had spotted.
As for it not being a monster? Impossible—why else would they all be pulling out weapons?