[Go to Arkham Psychiatric Hospital.]

At this moment, Ranen was boredly scrolling through the player forum in the holding cell, checking what players were doing.

There was no doubt that the most important topic in the game right now was the main quest that Ranen had thrown out. Many players had started large-scale searches in Arkham, but unfortunately, after the initial wave of rewards, the efficiency of players finding the array nodes had noticeably declined.

Many players searched for a long time without finding anything and couldn’t help but complain by posting on the forum.

This was clearly a signal that the Outsider had begun to place the nodes in more hidden locations.

In Ranen’s plan, disrupting the Outsider’s scheme was divided into several steps, one of which was to destroy the array formations they had set up throughout the city. Although he couldn’t quite remember what those formations were for, whatever the enemy had prepared, he knew it was something they needed to destroy.

The second part involved the hospital. Ranen remembered what happened in the hospital quite clearly. In his past life, it was also Druid who entered the hospital at night and discovered the hidden conspiracy there, but they ultimately failed at the last moment.

The failure was most likely due to lack of time. As everyone knew, in a world like this, if you wanted to accomplish something, it often had to do with celestial events, special phenomena like eclipses, or nights with no stars or moons.

Ranen had checked the weather forecast earlier, and there indeed was a special lunar eclipse event coming up, just three days from now.

The timing was perfect. Unsurprisingly, three days later would be the moment that determined Arkham’s fate.

However, Ranen, who had initially felt anxious and restless, suddenly found himself calm.

At least he had done everything he could, and had achieved some results.

Although the current situation was quite frustrating, when he thought about it, the ability to directly teleport himself from the psychological therapy room to here meant that even if he escaped Arkham, there was no guarantee he would truly escape.

Ranen dispelled his last bit of hope, forcing himself to face reality. Now, it was time to think carefully about how to break the deadlock.

First of all, his biggest advantage right now was the intelligence and information he had. Thanks to Carmen’s memory potion, he was no longer completely clueless about the mysterious hospital. At the very least, he knew the information Druid had uncovered during their exploration.

So, what he needed to do now was actually very simple.

He needed to find a way to contact Druid and pass on this intelligence.

These pieces of information, which had cost players a lot of time to uncover, each represented their most precious moments.

He had to find a way to relay this to Druid.

Ranen lowered his eyes, thinking about what to do. He was trapped in this ward and immobile. If he wanted to send a message, the only option left was to bribe someone.

Who should he bribe?

Ranen patiently waited for an opportunity. There should usually be nurses on duty on the third floor, and not long after, a nurse indeed appeared.

Moreover, it was someone familiar.

When he saw the large figure at the end of the corridor, Ranen was genuinely startled.

It was Anita.

It had been a long time since he had seen her, and she was still as large as ever, even looking more overweight. Her skin stretched so much it was almost transparent, showing veins and fat beneath. As she walked, the corridor seemed to shake with every step.

Wasn’t she a nurse in the inpatient building? Why was she here?

Anita walked heavily onto the third floor, pushing a cart filled with medication and food. She then started entering each ward one by one.

Ranen’s confusion was quickly answered. As soon as the door to the first ward opened, blood-red tendrils stretched out, wrapping around Anita’s arm like vines. Anita shook her arm and stomped on the tendrils, shouting angrily. She then pulled out a hammer from the cart and swung it at the tendrils.

The hammer swung several times, smashing the tendrils to pieces. The creature inside the ward immediately became quieter, and only then did Anita curse under her breath and pull out a large serving of lasagna and medication from the cart. Instead of entering the room, she simply threw them inside.

Seeing this with his own eyes, Ranen thought that if he were a player right now, he would immediately perform a sanity check.

Anita continued pushing the cart to the next ward. Every time the door opened, it felt as if a seal or a gate to hell had been unlocked. Ranen even saw a creature that resembled the ‘Shugs’ from the kin, but no matter how noisy the “patients” inside were, they were violently suppressed by the massive butcher, opening Ranen’s eyes to a whole new world.

What kind of monsters are locked on the same floor as him?! Why is he here?! He shouldn’t be here!

Ranen was questioning his life, while Anita’s cart of food and medication gradually emptied, finally reaching the innermost ward.

“Mr. Ranen.”

Anita pushed the cart to the door of the ward, and her terrifying face immediately twisted into an obsessed smile.

Ranen gently inhaled. He knew his chance had come.

He opened his eyes, pretending to just notice Anita, and smiled. “Is it you, Anita? Long time no see.”

Ranen was still wearing the restraining suit, his back straight, the wide sleeves covering his slender wrists. Golden chains spiraled out from inside, clearly a prisoner, yet he exuded an elegance and composure like a king.

“Lo-long time no see, Mr. Ranen.”

“How did you end up here, Anita? I remember your station was over in the inpatient building, wasn’t it?”

“Because there aren’t enough people here, and many people have resigned recently, so I was temporarily transferred to patrol here.” Anita answered every question.

“Really?” Ranen raised an eyebrow in feigned surprise. “Why have so many people resigned recently?”

“Because the new director is a greedy fool!” Anita blurted out without thinking, but quickly realized her mistake. She nervously glanced around as if checking for any doctors or other staff who might have overheard.

“The new director…” Ranen subconsciously thought of the white-haired Soren, the man who had been targeting him. But soon, he realized Anita was referring to the real director who had been replaced by Soren.

Ranen understood the information about this instance. To summarize, in the past, Druid had entered the night hospital for an investigation and discovered a strange patient who continuously claimed to be the director of Arkham Hospital. Later, various signs confirmed that he indeed was the director of Arkham, while the current fake director was the leader of a cult pretending to be him. The goal was to use the hospital to open the “Gate of Hell.”

Of course, they now all knew that this Gate of Hell led to the Dream World.

During this process, Druid was aided by a mysterious investigator who had been lurking in the hospital. Together, they learned about the mysterious religious group, the Outsider, and did everything they could to find evidence to oust the fake director.

But when he found the evidence, he realized that even if they proved the current director was a fake, they still couldn’t overthrow him.

Because everyone in the hospital refused to acknowledge the original director.

It was because…

Ranen suddenly had a flash of insight: “He’s been quietly exploiting the conveniences of the medical system to profit from some shady dealings, using dirt on doctors to force them into silence, right?”

Anita’s mouth fell open in shock, and she stammered, “How… how did you know?!”

Of course, it was because he had the script. Well, that was something he couldn’t say.

Ranen smiled slightly, his gaze fixed on Anita with intent. “Because I’ve been keeping an eye on you all.”

“Is that true?” Anita murmured, her eyes glowing with eager joy.

“Of course. I’m very grateful for the care you gave me while I was hospitalized. Even after I was discharged, I never forgot this place for a moment…”

Yeah, he never forgot the shadow this hospital cast over him for a single moment.

Ranen knew the advantage his appearance and voice gave him, and he never hesitated to use them. He adjusted his tone. “Anita…”

Anita shuddered, her ears turning pink.

“Can you do me a favor?”

“No problem!” The blonde nurse almost immediately replied without thinking.

A glint of amusement flashed in Ranen’s eyes as he continued, “I need you to contact someone for me, and pass him a note. You’ve probably seen a face like his before.”

He thought this move would be fine, but the blonde nurse lowered her head, trembling all over.

“Are you planning to leave us again?”

Huh?

“Are you going to meet with that rat and leave here again?” The blonde nurse raised her head, her small eyes glinting with a vicious, cold light. “As expected, he was right. You should be locked up, no, you should be swallowed whole. That’s right, only by swallowing you whole can I ensure that you’ll belong to me alone.”

With that, she opened the door, and to his horror, the door to the psychiatric treatment area was different from the one in the inpatient building—nurses could open it at will!

The massive figure of the Butcher of Flesh Mountain squeezed into the confinement room. Ranen’s pupils contracted slightly; in that instant, he almost felt the thick scent of death at the tip of his nose, and uncontrollably, he recalled the scene from when he was still in the hospital, witnessing a neighboring patient being stripped and devoured.

His breath quickened, and being tied to the bed and unable to move, he watched as the blonde nurse approached step by step, her mouth wide open like the jaws of a crocodile.

He has to do something!

Ranen shut his eyes tightly, then opened them again, his gaze cold and indifferent. “Are you sure?”

“Are you going to defy the director’s orders?”

Anita stopped in her tracks, a flicker of caution flashing in her eyes.

Seeing this, Ranen let out a slight sigh of relief. It seemed he had guessed correctly.

If Soren Hogg wanted to kill him, given that he was in this hospital with his abilities sealed, there would be no need for all this trouble. The only explanation was that he still had some value to Hogg, at least for now.

This was the confidence that had allowed him to take the risk earlier. After all, it seemed that the director held the greatest authority in this hospital.

However, what Ranen did not expect was that Anita hesitated for just a moment before her expression turned vicious. “The director isn’t here, and he won’t be able to return in time. If I can have you all to myself, and ensure you never leave here, then the punishment will be worth it!”

With that, Anita stepped forward, her large hand, like a fan, grabbed Ranen. Her mouth opened wide enough to swallow him whole, her tiny eyes locked onto him with unyielding intensity.

Ranen instinctively wanted to avoid, but when he saw the look in Anita’s eyes, he froze.

Unlike her fierce appearance, Anita’s eyes were filled with fear and anxiety.

In a split second, Ranen took a gamble.

Because he saw the image of a frail blonde girl, hiding beneath this body.

“Bulimia must be very painful for you.”

Anita’s mouth didn’t close, and she visibly froze. Ranen spoke softly: “You can’t control your desire to eat, and you can’t stop hating yourself. Every bite makes you feel so sick that you want to vomit, but your body won’t listen, it keeps eating, and eating.”

Anita’s body trembled, her flesh piled up like layers of swimming rings, and her heavy breath let out white mist.

Ranen’s words hit the deepest secret and weakness inside her.

Her greatest fear, her greatest obsession.

Everything, all of it, would be infinitely magnified in this night-time hospital, and it would shape the very form of this night-time hospital.

“How… do you know…”

“I told you, Anita…” Ranen sighed, his gaze gentle and focused, “I’ve been watching you.”

“It’s okay, Anita, you’re beautiful.”

Ranen whispered, “I’m a psychologist, and I’ll help you with therapy. It’s okay, we’ll overcome it. I’ll help you overcome bulimia, and I’ll always be by your side.”

“You… you’re lying…”

Tears streamed down the blonde nurse’s face.

“You left.”

“But I came back, didn’t I? I’m not going anywhere.”

“No, you will leave. Every healed patient leaves.”

“But the doctor always stays,” Ranen said. “I’m a psychologist, Anita, and you can be my patient. Do doctors abandon their patients?”

Anita, confused, shook her head. Her eyes slowly lit up. “Can I?”

“Of course, my good girl,” Ranen spoke softly. “Trust me, everything will get better, as long as you follow my advice. Patients follow the doctor’s orders, don’t they?”

“Yes, yes.”

The patients in the other rooms on the third floor peered out, watching this scene with awe.

—-

Druid thought this comment made a lot of sense. No matter what, Ranen was the one who guided him into this instance, so there must be a deeper reason behind it.

Determined, Druid headed straight to the staircase to try to go up, only to slink back down less than a minute later.

The staircase leading to the third floor was guarded by an orderly, just like the head doctor had warned him before. It seemed that everyone in this hospital had their designated area to guard, and leaving their post without permission was not an option.

Seeing the bloodstained machete in the orderly’s hands, Druid didn’t hesitate to turn around and walk away.

“Well, that brings us back to square one,” Druid muttered, disheartened. “I don’t have access to the third floor where Ranen is. The orderlies guard it 24/7. What now?”

[Why not stake out the area? People have to use the bathroom eventually!]

[Terrible idea. Find the psychiatric ward’s pharmacy. They must have laxatives. Try adding some to their food.]

[Why would a psych ward pharmacy have laxatives?]

[Heh, clearly you’ve never seen them swallow random objects. Sometimes they even need their stomachs pumped right away!]

Druid looked at the chaotic suggestions flooding the chat, feeling utterly drained.

‘Sigh, if only the Black Cat could get in here too.’ Being alone was just too limiting. If there were two of them, at least someone could keep watch while he spiked the food.

Druid’s assigned area was the double-occupancy room where the “director” and Old Luke had stayed. However, since both were currently tied to their beds and sedated, there wasn’t much for him to do. He sat on a long bench in the hallway, contemplating whether to search the orderlies’ break room for clues.

Just then, heavy footsteps approached from afar. Druid turned to glance and bolted immediately.

Anita’s face twisted into a hideous snarl. “Stop right there, little rat!”

Without a backward glance, Druid sprinted straight toward the head doctor’s office. He’d rather face the Frankenstein-like head doctor than the mountain-of-meat butcher.

Reality granted his wish. As soon as he reached the office door, it opened from the inside. The Frankenstein doctor narrowed his eyes and, with a single motion, grabbed Druid’s head. The stitching on his face twisted in the air as he spoke in a cold voice:  

“Hospital regulations forbid running in the corridors. Violators will be…”

“Wait, wait, wait! She’s the one chasing me!” Druid protested, watching his health steadily tick down by “-1 -1.” He was once again reminded of how terrifying the combat power of the hospital’s monster-like doctors was. He pointed at Anita, who was charging toward him from behind.

The head doctor turned his eerie gaze toward Anita.

The blonde nurse, her expression dark, said coldly, “Someone who looks a lot like him stole my photo. I suspect they’re working as a group.”

The head doctor responded indifferently, “It’s just a photo. Don’t make a fuss over nothing.”

“It’s a photo of Ranen.”

The head doctor immediately turned to Druid with a deceptively gentle tone. “Now that’s a different matter. Hand it over. Let me take a look.”

Trembling, Druid reluctantly handed over the photo. The head doctor held it with obvious reluctance to part with it, staring at it for an uncomfortably long time. Under Anita’s impatient glare, he finally returned the photo to Anita.

The dispute resolved, the head doctor released Druid. Anita snorted coldly and, as she turned, deliberately slammed into Druid. The impact sent the player, whose strength stat was only 30, flying. Looking at his nearly halved health bar, the Druid was on the verge of tears.

‘What did I do to deserve this?’

Once Anita and the head doctor had left, Druid sighed and returned to the patient activity area. Suddenly, a message popped up in the chat.  

[Druid, check your pocket.]

[Just now, the meat-mountain butcher slipped something into your pocket.]

Druid froze. Reaching into his pocket, he felt a piece of paper. Pulling it out, he saw it was indeed a note:  

[Find the real director. Be cautious of prying eyes around you—they may not necessarily harbor malice. The director is the core of this hospital. Find a way to prove yourself to him.]

Signed, Ranen.

[Guys! It’s really a note from Ranen!]  

[I knew it! I told you Ranen wouldn’t just ignore Druid after leading him into this hospital!]  

[Exactly! Ranen must have had a reason for entering the hospital. Druid was destined to be a pawn in the eldritch god’s plan.]  

[I’ve been saying, Ranen is anything but passive.]  

[No one’s mentioning that the note was slipped to Druid by the meat-mountain butcher? That means Ranen turned someone in such a short time!]  

[LOL, did you even hear the head doctor and nurse’s conversation earlier? Honestly, if they switched sides to Ranen tomorrow, I wouldn’t be surprised.]

The barrage of comments ranged from praising the Black Cat for another accurate prediction to theorizing wildly about Ranen’s intentions and strategies. Some viewers even tried to convince Druid to discard the note so they could take his place in the story.  

Druid wasn’t about to be swayed. He carefully tucked the note away, his mind already spinning over its meaning.  

“‘Find the real director.’ So, the current director is fake?” Druid began analyzing aloud, pretending to be deep in thought. “From what Ranen said, the director’s role is incredibly important in the hospital. They can command the doctors and nurses. Just imagine how many staff members there are. Even if each is only a D-level anomaly, that’s still a considerable force.”

[Considering Ranen seems ‘sealed’ right now, there’s no way to overpower so many D-level anomalies head-on. Clearly, this instance requires strategy.]  

[That’s obvious. If the eldritch god could just steamroll through the instance, what’s the point? What kind of game developer would design a story that doesn’t let players feel like saviors?]  

[Let’s stay on track. Ranen just revealed the instance’s main storyline, didn’t he? In this hospital, the director can command all the anomalies. With the highest authority, they dictate the doctors’ and nurses’ actions according to hospital rules. To defeat the Outsider’s leader, we need to focus on the stolen identity of the ‘director.’]  

[And what about the ‘prying eyes’ mentioned in the note? Does that mean someone is spying on the players?]  

[Not necessarily. Ranen said the gaze might not be malicious. Could it be a third-party force?]

As the chat analyzed the note’s contents, Druid headed straight for the patient ward, his heartbeat quickening.  

Could the real director be the patient who keeps calling himself the “director”?  

Leveraging his current identity, Druid re-entered the ward. By now, the two patients who had been sedated earlier were awake. Druid eagerly approached the “director’s” bedside and asked, “Are you really the director of Arkham Hospital?”  

The “director” froze for a moment before promptly replying, “No.”  

Druid: …?

He glanced down at his ID badge and then at the empty medication packets on the bedside table, left behind by the so-called “director.” He couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. “Don’t worry, I’m not here on behalf of the doctors. You can tell me the truth—I’m just here to investigate and uncover the real story.”

[Persuasion: Failed.]

The “director” snorted coldly, replying firmly, “It’s not me. I’m clear-headed now—I am not the director of Arkham Hospital.”

Druid stared at the “director’s” face, which clearly said, ‘Don’t even think about tricking me,’ and couldn’t hold it in anymore.  

The chat erupted into a merciless flood of [HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!]

—-

Meanwhile, in Ranen’s therapy room:  

Ogre stood blankly, staring at the empty chair behind the desk.  

That was where Ranen had been sitting, but now he was gone.  

Ogre had been staring at the empty seat for about half an hour before finally concluding that Ranen probably wouldn’t be coming back anytime soon. His hand lifted and then fell again, and in the end, he remained motionless in front of the desk like a statue.  

Just then, a knock came from the door. At first, Ogre ignored it, but the knocking continued, persistent and unrelenting. Eventually, Ogre reluctantly moved to open the door.  

Standing outside was Archie, his face tense with urgency. “Albert is missing, and I—”  

As the door opened, Archie finally noticed that it wasn’t Ranen inside but a tall, broad-shouldered man with messy hair. Whatever he had been about to say got stuck in his throat. After a long pause, he managed to stammer out, “Excuse me, but… do you know where Dr. Ranen is?”  

Ogre lowered his gaze and stared at him for a long moment. The messy hair partially obscured his eyes, but the sharpness of his gaze seemed to penetrate deeply, as if scrutinizing something.  

Archie had dealt with countless hardened criminals in his time at the police station, but under this man’s gaze, he felt an inexplicable stiffness. Instinctively, he turned his head to avoid meeting Ogre’s eyes, unable to hold his ground.  

After what felt like a confirmation of something, Ogre finally spoke, his voice slow and deliberate.  

“Ranen is missing.”  

Archie froze for a moment before snapping his head back to face Ogre. Despite the immense discomfort, he forced himself to meet Ogre’s gaze directly. With great difficulty, he said, “Albert is also missing. The blond police officer who came looking for Ranen last time—I suspect him.”

Archie clenched his teeth. “He might have done something to Ranen.”

“It wasn’t him,” Ogre replied without a moment’s hesitation.

“…Why are you so sure?” Archie asked.

Ogre didn’t answer his question. Instead, he simply stated, “Ranen is in Arkham Hospital.”

Before Archie could ask further, Ogre took a step back and shut the door to the therapy room.

The door closed unceremoniously in his face, leaving Archie standing there with an unsettled expression. He couldn’t decipher what Ogre meant. Archie’s original purpose in coming here had been to ask Ranen for advice on how to locate Albert.

After returning from the apartment last time, Archie had tried to track him down but learned from the police station that Albert had been injured during an operation some time ago and had taken several days off.

Days of fruitless searching forced Archie to accept this reality. At the same time, he couldn’t help but worry that Albert might have encountered trouble—perhaps his undercover identity had been exposed, and he was now being hunted by the cult.

But now Ranen was missing as well, likely dragged into the Outsider’s schemes.

Now, two paths lay before Archie. One was to search for the missing Albert, but he had no idea where to start. The other was to look for Ranen. The man earlier had said Ranen was at the hospital, but Archie didn’t know where that information came from—or why the man had told him and not gone himself.

A voice in his head murmured, ‘Ranen is a god of chaos, his origins unfathomable. Even if he’s missing for now, he’ll be fine.’

Archie stood rooted to the spot for several minutes, trying to find a factor that could help him make a decision. The result? A shiver as the cold wind at the street corner bit into him.

The weather in Arkham had been perpetually gloomy lately, as though foreshadowing some impending disaster. Even the usual eccentrics hanging around the therapy room had become scarce… Wait. 

Archie suddenly realized something was off—it was the group of people who worshipped Ranen. Normally, they loitered near the therapy clinic disguised as regular customers. The moment anyone lingered nearby, they’d enthusiastically approach, offering assistance.

But today, he’d been standing by the door for so long, and not a single one of those fanatics had shown up.

Archie turned abruptly, his trench coat whipping in the cold wind. He strode to the street corner and flagged down a cab.

“To Arkham Hospital.”