The faceless ghost that emerged from the glowing circle in mid-air was none other than the long-lost Faceless Ghost.

Gu Rong’s eyes lit up: “Faceless Brother!”

[Aww, Little Rong Zaizai!]

[Speak of the devil, and he appears! Here he is!]

[So the Hypnotist, who hasn’t appeared all this time, is Faceless Ghost, Long-Tongued Ghost, and Skeleton Ghost? All three NPCs are personalities split from the Hypnotist? No wonder they didn’t die when they turned to dust, 6]

[The cub calls people so enthusiastically as soon as he sees them, he’s a master of emotional value. Who wouldn’t like Zaizai [Gifts points]]

–

The title “Little Rong Zaizai” made Lin Xuezhu raise an eyebrow, and made Jessie widen his beady eyes.

Faceless Ghost crossed his arms and clicked his tongue: “After being trapped in the Black Forest by the devil for two days and two nights, I’m finally out.”

He looked at the cub sitting in Jessie’s hand, “You little radish head, you weren’t swallowed by the devil as an afternoon snack. Your luck isn’t bad.”

Gu Rong patted his little tummy: “Rongrong is the devil’s little lackey. He won’t eat Rongrong!”

At this moment, Zhuang Yu, Shen Hanxiao, and a group of other players came over.

Including Lin Xuezhu, there were only six players left, and seven had been eliminated.

But up until this moment, the players still didn’t know that Gu Rong was an NPC cub, and Lin Xuezhu was a player.

Seeing that the instance time was almost up, they had to take a risk and come over to find the only cub who had obtained a key.

Now that the mental hospital was in chaos, they escaped from their rooms without much effort.

Seeing Lin Xuezhu, everyone paused in their tracks, stopping a few meters away, not daring to approach.

They hadn’t forgotten that last night they had kidnapped Lin Xuezhu as a hostage, and as a result, Lin Xuezhu had disappeared, and they had all been captured.

Lin Xuezhu didn’t deliberately remind the players that he was also a player. He stood to the side, casual and unconcerned.

Yang Chunsheng pointed at Faceless Ghost and shouted, “Damn, ghost, a ghost!”

Faceless Ghost, with no facial features, looked at the players. He recognized Yang Chunsheng as the player Gu Rong had tried to scare by hanging himself on his bedpost: “Hmm? This guy didn’t get scared to death? Little Rong Zaizai, it seems your acting skills still need some practice.”

Gu Rong obediently accepted the criticism. He rolled his eyes back, stuck out his little tongue, and his little hand pinched his chubby face, practicing on the spot: “Rawr—”

Faceless Ghost patiently instructed: “Just rawr-ing isn’t enough. You have to learn other things too, like a dinosaur’s roar, ‘Roar~’, a demon’s whisper, ‘Hehehe’, oh, and, ‘Yamete~~ Gagaga~’ Little Rong Zaizai, try it!”

Gu Rong was young and actually imitated it. His baby voice: “Roar~~ Hehehe~~~ Yamete~~~ Gagaga!”

Faceless Ghost didn’t have a face, so it was impossible to tell if he was smiling, but he paused for a moment, then praised, “Not bad!”

Hearing the praise, Gu Rong swung his little feet, his little face full of joy.

Everyone: “…………”

006: […………]

Livestream Chat: […………]

Damn, you’re really here to be a comedian. Get out of here!

Everyone was confused. Was this little cub really so good at blending in with the NPCs?

It seemed like he had joined the NPC camp.

Zhuang Yu called out, “Rongrong!”

Shen Hanxiao: “Little imp, come to Hanxiao-gege!”

Gu Rong waved his little hand at the two of them: “Big Brother, Little Brother!”

He patted Jessie, his voice soft, “Hairy Uncle, Zaizai go down!”

Jessie placed Gu Rong safely on the ground.

Gu Rong didn’t run toward Zhuang Yu and Shen Hanxiao. The immediate priority was to get the key and complete the task; otherwise, he would become a little slave.

Gu Rong stretched out his little hand to Faceless Ghost: “Faceless Brother, can you give Rongrong a key?”

Faceless Ghost: “Oh? What key?”

Gu Rong’s little face was thoughtful. He couldn’t remember what the Hypnotist’s key was called. He took out the other four keys from the system backpack: “A key like this!”

Everyone: “…………”

Damn, four keys!! Four!!!

This little cub had actually obtained four keys?!

The players were all stunned. Since entering the instance, they hadn’t seen so many keys.

Except for the keys that Jessie and the priest had openly displayed, they hadn’t even seen the Key of Wisdom and the Key of Power for the first time!

Jessie’s eyes widened even further. He had to admit that this little cub, he had underestimated him.

[Hahaha, the players’ expressions of never having seen the world. So many people are inferior to a two-year-old child, tsk tsk]

[The players look at Zaizai as if he’s their little savior. LOL]

[I’m telling you, I feel like they can only clear the instance by clinging to Zaizai’s little leg! [Gifts points]]

[Jessie is also being ignored. On Jessie’s Life of Being Ignored. He looks like he’s about to shatter.]

–

Everyone’s eyes were shining as they looked at Gu Rong. They had placed all their hopes of clearing the instance on this little cub.

But, just by asking him directly like this, would he give it to them?

Faceless Ghost scratched his chin thoughtfully: “Sorry, Little Rong Zaizai. I hid the key in one of my personalities. But it’s been so long, even Big Brother can’t remember which personality I hid the key on.”

When Gu Rong heard this, he was so anxious that he spun around in place.

006 said: [Little host, the task time has only one hour left. We have to hurry!]

Gu Rong still had to find Daddy, Mommy, and Grandpa Ming. Hearing this, he cried out in distress, looking aggrieved, and wiped his tears with his little hands: “Zaizai is going to become the devil’s little slave!”

When Faceless Ghost saw Gu Rong cry, he was startled and quickly said, “Little Rong Zaizai, don’t be anxious. Big Brother can’t remember, but maybe your Uncle Long Tongue remembers.”

In an instant, Faceless Ghost transformed into the appearance of Long-Tongued Ghost, switching to Long-Tongued Ghost’s personality.

Everyone, seeing this amazing scene, exclaimed.

Gu Rong wiped his tears with the back of his hand and called out in a babyish voice, “Uncle Long Tongue.”

Long-Tongued Ghost cackled, his tongue getting tangled in his laughter. But after thinking for a long time, he also couldn’t remember which dream he had hidden the key in. Seeing Gu Rong so anxious that he was about to cry again, he quickly said, “Little Rong Zaizai, it’s okay. Uncle Long Tongue can’t remember, but your Grandpa Skeleton definitely remembers! He has the best memory!”

Skeleton Ghost appeared, one hand holding his cowboy hat, the other hand clicking his finger bones in mid-air: “Little Rong Zaizai, let your Grandpa Skeleton think carefully.”

Skeleton Ghost began to think hard, and everyone held their breath, afraid that he wouldn’t be able to remember.

After ten long minutes, Skeleton Ghost snapped his fingers.

Everyone looked at him with anticipation.

Skeleton Ghost said three words: “I don’t know.”

Everyone: … Takes a deep breath.jpg

If you don’t know, why did you snap your fingers and act so confidently?

This was purely a misunderstanding. Skeleton Ghost, because his whole body was just a skeleton, originally intended to clench his fist in annoyance, but his fingers were just bones, so he slipped and snapped his fingers.

Gu Rong was still sad. Seeing Grandpa Skeleton snap his fingers, he also curled up his right thumb and index finger, but instead of snapping his fingers, it looked like he was making an “OK” sign, or maybe even forming a little heart.

At this moment, Lin Xuezhu suddenly spoke: “I think the Key of Hope should be with the Hypnotist.”

Everyone was stunned for a moment, then turned their gazes to him.

Wasn’t that stating the obvious? The key was of course with the Hypnotist… Wait, this wasn’t actually stating the obvious!

Seeing everyone react, Lin Xuezhu smiled and continued, “Faceless Ghost, Skeleton Ghost, and Long-Tongued Ghost, are just split personalities. Multiple personalities are all separate individuals, with their own consciousness, different people or ghosts.”

“Strictly speaking, the three NPCs are not equivalent to the Hypnotist.”

Lin Xuezhu’s tone was calm and casual: “The game task stated from the beginning that the five administrators were each equipped with a key. This is literal; the key is on the five administrators.”

The other four administrators all had their keys on their person.

Jessie’s was on his bristle brush, and the bristle brush was carried with him.

The priest’s key was hung around his neck.

Prometheus’s key was hidden in the Eye of Wisdom in his palm.

The nun’s key was on the stillborn fetus, and the stillborn fetus was parasitic in her head.

The keys had never truly left the administrators’ bodies.

Therefore, the Key of Hope could only be in the hands of the “Hypnotist” personality.

After hearing Lin Xuezhu’s analysis, everyone suddenly understood.

No!

Everyone looked at Lin Xuezhu.

Why did Dr. Lin know the game’s task?

Not only did he know it, but he also helped analyze the task.

Unless…

Zhuang Yu voiced everyone’s thoughts: “You’re a player.”

Lin Xuezhu didn’t deny it, still maintaining that casual and carefree demeanor.

Gu Rong nodded his little head: “Yes, Doctor Uncle is a player!”

Everyone: “…………”

Even this little cub knew?

Everyone was in shock, and then they fell silent.

Lin Xuezhu was a player? A player disguised as an NPC?!

Surprisingly, besides this cub, no one had discovered it all along. How absurd!

No wonder they felt like they were being led by the nose when they kidnapped Lin Xuezhu. Was it intentional on his part?

Yang Chunsheng quickly realized something: “No, that’s not right. The game said there were only 13 players, but if you add him, there are 14!”

Everyone carefully counted the number of players. They counted several times. That’s right, including Lin Xuezhu, there were indeed 14.

Soon, they realized, and their eyes widened.

There was a player disguised as an NPC, but the numbers still added up. Then, conversely, what did that mean?

It meant that there must be an NPC disguised as a player, making up the numbers!

Damn, so there had been an NPC hiding among them all along?

And they hadn’t even known?!

Compared to a player disguising themselves as an NPC and infiltrating the NPC ranks, having an NPC infiltrate them was even more unsettling!

Seven players had already been eliminated, but since it was an NPC, it must still be among the remaining players!

Among the players present right now, one of them was an NPC!

Everyone couldn’t help but feel a chill.

[Oh ho, they finally know? It took the truth being shoved in their faces for them to realize it, tsk tsk tsk]

[But they still haven’t discovered that Zaizai is an NPC. They’ve started to suspect each other. LOL.]

[Yang Chunsheng had a chance to learn that Zaizai was an NPC, but after Zaizai took the key, he seemed to unconditionally believe that Zaizai is a player. It’s also quite confusing.]

Yang Chunsheng’s thought process was simple. First, he was a new player, lacking experience and judgment. Second, he subconsciously believed that since NPCs were NPCs, how could they possibly do the same tasks as players?

Lin Xuezhu glanced at Gu Rong and chuckled softly, not intending to expose the cub’s identity at all.

Faceless Ghost began to think again. Player? Game task?

Oh, interesting.

Jessie was also confused, but he was still immersed in his own world of being upset, and not caring about these things.

Everyone recovered from the shock of the NPC and player identities being swapped. Now wasn’t the time to dwell on these things; the most important thing was to complete the task.

Shen Hanxiao said, “So, now we just need to find the ‘Hypnotist’ personality to find the key.”

Yang Chunsheng weakly raised his hand again: “N-no, that’s not right. There’s only a little over an hour left before the instance ends. We don’t necessarily need to find the key…”

As long as they survived this last hour and were still alive, they could also clear the instance.

Gu Rong’s task deadline was one hour earlier than the players’, and there were currently only forty-eight minutes left.

A female player said, “You’re being too optimistic. Look behind you!”

Everyone looked in the direction she indicated. The castle building behind them had been engulfed in a sea of fire. The raging flames had already swallowed the entire mental hospital, and the fire was still approaching the Black Forest.

In less than half an hour, the entire instance map would become a sea of fire.

No, perhaps it wouldn’t even take half an hour.

In the sea of fire, the priest with silver hair and cracks all over his face was walking towards them.

The players were all startled.

The female player: “Is that Father Noah? Why did he become like that, so, so…”

She couldn’t find the right words, but everyone got her meaning.

Father Noah, at this moment, no longer had any divinity, like an evil demon.

“Damn, we still have to find the Hypnotist and get the key. There are almost two hours left. I don’t think we can even last half an hour!”

“But we haven’t even seen the Hypnotist until now. We just saw his three split personalities. Where would the Hypnotist himself be?”

“These three personalities don’t even know. The mental hospital is only so big. Where could a living person hide? He’s not that stillborn fetus, who could hide in the nun’s hair!”

–

006 said: [Little host, we have the Eye of Wisdom. After wearing it, you can have near-omniscience. Why don’t we use the Eye of Wisdom to see if we can find the Hypnotist’s main personality?]

Gu Rong immediately took out the Eye of Wisdom and stuck it on his little forehead, instantly becoming Little Erlang Shen baby.

Everyone looked at this vaguely familiar eye. Uh, could this be the eye from Prometheus’s palm?

How did it end up on this little cub’s forehead?

No wonder Prometheus looked like he was blind. It wasn’t that he looked blind, he was blind.

The Eye of Wisdom rolled around. Finally, it was taken out to get some air. Like a dog running wild, its eye narrowed slightly, as if it was extremely pleased.

Seeing this overly humanized eye, and remembering that anyone who met its gaze would be petrified, everyone was surprised and immediately closed their eyes tightly.

At this time, a soft chuckle broke the silence.

Lin Xuezhu chuckled, “I think the administrator we first contacted should be the Hypnotist. Perhaps we were hypnotized from the very beginning…”

“We’ve been in a dream created by the Hypnotist from the very beginning.”

“…”

If the Hypnotist couldn’t be found throughout the entire mental hospital, then this was the only possibility.

Combined with the Hypnotist’s abilities, this had to be the answer.

Through the Eye of Wisdom, Gu Rong learned that Lin Xuezhu’s guess was correct.

From the moment they got on the bus to the mental hospital, they had been in a dream created by the Hypnotist.

–

The next moment, time and space froze, and the scene before them changed, shattering into thousands of fragments like a dream.

When the picture stabilized again, Gu Rong discovered that the scene before him had changed. He was no longer in front of the cabin in the woods, but lying on a hospital bed.

Gu Rong blinked his big eyes, sat up from the bed, and found that there were several hospital beds in the room. Besides him, the other players were also lying on beds with their eyes closed, as if they were trapped in a dream they couldn’t wake up from.

This place looked vaguely familiar; it was the treatment room.

The air was filled with the smell of formalin.

Lin Xuezhu was lying on the hospital bed next to him. As soon as Gu Rong woke up, Lin Xuezhu also frowned and woke up.

The other players were still asleep, showing no signs of waking up.

“Only by seeing through the dream can one awaken. The other patients haven’t realized they’re in a dream and will continue to lose themselves in the dream.”

A tall man in a white robe pushed open the door and walked in, smiling as he explained to the two of them.

He was holding two glasses of water, one of which he placed on the table next to Lin Xuezhu, and the other he handed to Gu Rong.

The man in front of him was dressed like the Long-Tongued Ghost, but his face was half Faceless Ghost’s and half Skeleton Ghost’s.

He was clearly composed of three split personalities.

Gu Rong looked at the white-robed man in front of him, his little face confused.

It wasn’t just Gu Rong who was confused; anyone who saw this hodgepodge appearance that had clearly merged three NPCs would be confused.

Seeing that Gu Rong didn’t take the water, the Hypnotist placed the glass on the table next to him and said, “I have hundreds of faces and hundreds of different personalities. I just wanted to appear in a form that Little Rong Zaizai would be more familiar with.”

He scratched his chin, “Does this look more approachable?”

Lin Xuezhu: “.”

006: […]

Livestream Chat: […]

Help, where is it approachable?

Do you think this looks good!

Gu Rong looked the Hypnotist up and down and said, “Then should Zaizai call you Faceless Brother, or Uncle Long Tongue, or Grandpa Skeleton now?”

The Hypnotist pondered for half a second: “Call me Brother.”

After a pause, he added, “It sounds younger.”

“…”

Gu Rong was very accommodating and called out, “Faceless Brother.”

It was obviously not a good time to reminisce. 006 frantically reminded him: [Little host, task, task!]

Gu Rong said, “Faceless Brother, Grandpa Skeleton said that if I find the main personality, I can find the key. Can you give Zaizai the key?”

The Hypnotist smiled slightly, and a chain dangled from his hand. At the end of the chain was a green, vintage key, the Key of Hope.

He handed the key to Gu Rong.

Gu Rong looked at the Hypnotist’s face. He really couldn’t tell anything from the half-faceless, half-skeleton face. He took the key with his little hand.

Lin Xuezhu remained silent the whole time, leaning against the edge of the bed, slowly drinking water.

Gu Rong took out the other four keys from the system backpack. All five keys were now in his possession. However, the five keys were still five unrelated keys; they hadn’t merged into the master key.

Gu Rong held the keys, putting them together, even arranging them in several patterns: “Huh? Why isn’t it turning into the master key?”

The Hypnotist smiled: “Naturally. To synthesize the master key, you must enter the dream. At the top of the five crucifixes that seal the devil, there are key-shaped slots. You must put the keys into the slots to synthesize the master key.”

“I sealed the devil in a dream. To enter the dream, you need the Key of Hope. But to get the Key of Hope, you can’t enter the dream. I call it…”

“The Hope Paradox.”

Gu Rong seemed to understand, but he grasped the key point: “Then Zaizai can’t get the master key?”

The Hypnotist nodded slightly with a smile.

Lin Xuezhu remembered that the nun had said that even if you got the last key, it would be useless. This was what she meant.

Gu Rong’s little voice was anxious: “Zaizai doesn’t want to be the devil’s little slave!”

The Hypnotist comforted him, “Little Rong Zaizai, why don’t you stay here? You’re outside the dream, and the devil is inside the dream. He can’t find you, so naturally, he can’t make you his little slave.”

“I can imprison him in one of the billions of dreams. He will eventually lose himself in the illusory dream.”