Warning: This chapter contains scenes of violence that may be disturbing to some readers. Reader discretion is advised.

[Let Go of the Hero Complex, Respect the Destiny of Believers]

At this moment, the footsteps outside suddenly became more frequent.

The group quickly turned off their lighting devices, and the archive room returned to silence. After a short while, voices could be heard from outside, discussing.

“Did you see anyone?”

“No, but the leader said they might have come this way.”

“Tch, those mobs…”

“Do you think they’re already in the archive room?”

The players inside the archive room and Ranen exchanged looks, then, almost instinctively, they hid.

The sound of a lock turning came from the door.

The door opened from the outside, and a figure poked their head inside, the flashlight beam sweeping over the archive room: “It seems there’s no one here.”

“Be cautious, go in and check.”

Two more people followed the first one into the archive room and began searching carefully.

At this rate, Ranen and the others hiding in the corners would eventually be discovered.

What should they do?

By coincidence, Archie and Ranen, who were hiding together, exchanged glances. Then, they suddenly saw someone standing motionless next to a row of bookshelves.

That place seems to be…

A jolt ran through Ranen’s heart. It was the spot Druid and the others had searched earlier—could it be?

“You see here, someone has tampered with the files!”

Sure enough, the searchers noticed something, pointing at the area that was clearly disturbed: “They’ve been here!”

“They might have left, or they might…”

The person didn’t finish their sentence when Archie, who had moved into the shadows, made his move first. Without hesitation, he raised his gun and fired a silenced bullet, piercing the person’s hands and feet. Archie then lunged forward, punching the person to the ground.

This seemed to serve as a signal. Druid and Black Cat, who had been hiding near the other two, immediately pounced, engaging in a fierce brawl. Fortunately, after completing numerous tasks over time, the players had reached level 20. With their combat skills trained in fighting, the highest-skilled player was nearing 45 points in brawling proficiency.

The further they went, the harder it became to level up skills. Druid’s brawling points were stuck at around 40, while Black Cat, a bit weaker, had around 32 points. However, it was still enough!

With a surprise attack and the bonus from their ability to see in the dark, Druid quickly knocked out his target. Black Cat did the same, but he was a second too slow. His target pressed the alarm button, and a loud sound instantly filled the archive room.

Black Cat knocked the person out, but it was too late. They heard the heavy footsteps of pursuers coming closer.

“Run,” Ranen said. As soon as he finished speaking, the group quickly ran toward the corridor.

The pursuers were right behind them. The security guard holding a flashlight shouted angrily, and his clothes tore open, revealing bat-like wings that extended from his back. His eyes turned blood-red, and horns sprouted from his forehead.

Black Cat glanced behind him, nearly tripping from fear. “Oh my god!”

[Intelligence check: success]

“Don’t stop, don’t look back! There’s more than one pursuer!” 

As if to confirm what Druid said, multiple footsteps could be heard coming from behind. Black Cat dared not look back, afraid a failed intelligence check would lead to disaster.

“But where do we run to?!”

“To the inpatient building,” Ranen said briefly, “One of the rules of this hospital is that they cannot ignore a patient’s wishes to forcibly enter.”

So Druid and the others immediately ran toward the inpatient building. Fortunately, it wasn’t far from the administration building—just a quick turn and a flight of stairs, with no security to block them.

Because the security was chasing them!

The group rushed into the inpatient building. Just then, the wind from behind picked up, and it was too late. Archie decisively stopped, turned around, and fired several shots at the creature behind them.

The creature’s bat wings were instantly riddled with blood holes, but by then, several more security guards had arrived. Black Cat and Druid had run a short distance and just crossed the stairs when they realized Ranen and the others hadn’t followed them. Druid cursed under his breath and was about to run back when he heard urgent footsteps coming from the inpatient building stairs. He looked up and met the gaze of a nurse with a long scar on his face.

Player: …Run!

The nurse let out an angry roar and chased after Black Cat and Druid.

Thus, Black Cat and Druid were chased by the scar-faced nurse, splitting off from Ranen and the others.

Meanwhile, Archie, after momentarily fending off the security guards with gunfire, saw more security guards rush forward. Compared to their massive bodies, the young doctor seemed so small. The sharp claws of the creatures left bloody scratches on Archie’s arm, and one of the guards’ mouths had transformed into a dog-like maw, which it opened wide, trying to bite Archie’s shoulder.

Archie felt a sharp pain in his shoulder, and the monstrous face before him seemed to enlarge infinitely…

Is this it? Is this the end?

Suddenly, a strong pull came from behind. Archie saw Ranen’s elbow strike the creature’s face hard. The creature, in pain, released its bite, and taking advantage of this opening, Ranen yanked Archie to the side and into an open hospital room.

*Bang!*

The door slammed shut in front of them, and Archie and Ranen leaned against the wall, gasping for breath.

Especially Archie—he looked in terrible condition, with claw marks on his arm down to the bone. His shoulder was even worse. While the creature had released its bite, it hadn’t completely let go, and a large chunk of flesh had been torn off. Half of Archie’s shirt was soaked in blood.

The creature outside hadn’t given up and was relentlessly pounding on the door.

Ranen wasn’t sure about the exact workings of the rule that prevented the creature from entering the hospital room. This room was a temporary, empty one, so who knew whether the rule would still be effective here.

Fortunately, though the pounding outside was intense, the thin door held firm, though they weren’t sure how long it could withstand.

After a moment of rest, Ranen checked on Archie’s condition and found his face pale as paper, even his lips faintly tinged with purple.

Is this a sign of poisoning?

Ranen quickly examined the claw marks on Archie’s body and saw that the wounds had started to darken.

The creatures’ attacks carried poison?!

“Lord Ranen…”

“Don’t speak yet.” Ranen silently observed Archie’s wounds, thinking about how to treat them. This was a hospital, so there should be specialized medications and bandages available.

But the monster guarded the door, and they couldn’t get out.

“Lord Ranen… please listen to me.”

Archie weakly lifted his hand and grasped Ranen’s fingers.

No one knew his own physical condition better than he did, and because of that, he knew he might not last much longer.

At first, he thought he would die at the hands of those monsters, but he hadn’t expected Ranen to stay.

At this moment, regardless of whether Ranen was sealed or whether the monsters posed a threat to him, Archie didn’t really care anymore.

The balance in his heart had already shifted.

“Lord Ranen, please listen to me. I will enter the second level of the Dream Rift here.”

Ranen was taken aback, looking at Archie with a strange expression. “You should know better than anyone the price of entering the second level.”

“I know,” Archie replied, “Once I enter the second level, if I can’t wake up in time, I’ll fall into permanent madness.”

“I didn’t enter the second level because the probability of getting lost is high. Whether I can wake up depends entirely on luck, and I never entrust my future to so-called fate.”

Archie’s voice grew weaker, but his eyes grew sharper. When speaking about his field of expertise, the sharp gleam in his eyes never dulled.

“The breakthrough in the Dream Rift is related to a person’s mental state, and this happens to be my domain.”

Ranen looked stunned, already guessing what Archie was about to say.

He said, “I have a preliminary idea. It’s possible to return to rationality even when completely immersed in madness. Before entering the second level, I will find an ‘anchor point’ for myself—a point where my last shred of rationality remains, an anchor that will allow my mind to return to reality. However, I’ve been hesitating about who should be the one to serve as my anchor.”

“But now, it seems I don’t have much of a choice.”

Ranen stared at Archie, whose eyes were half-closed. In that moment, a paper he had seen on a professional forum flashed through his mind. He blurted out, “That paper, did you write it?”

Ranen still remembered the shock he felt when he read the paper on that website. Although he had worked as a psychologist, his talent in the field of psychology was average at best, and he would have never been able to write such an impressive article.

He had been curious about the author of that paper but never expected that the person behind it was so close—right before him.

Hearing that Ranen had seen the forum, Archie’s lips curled into a slight smile. “To be precise, it was based on the notes left by my father. He also considered this aspect… but the theoretical foundation wasn’t enough, and he didn’t have time to perfect it.”

His voice grew weaker, and he was gasping for breath after every sentence.

The monsters outside were pounding on the door, leaving Ranen little time to think. Without much hesitation, he asked, “What should I do?”

“You can… keep holding my hand?”

Just that simple? Ranen didn’t hesitate and took Archie’s hand.

The vision in front of Archie was growing so blurry that he could barely make out Ranen’s face, but he knew Ranen was right in front of him.

In fact, there was an important point that Archie hadn’t mentioned.

The real reason for his hesitation was that once he chose this anchor point, he would inevitably develop a psychological dependency in the short term. 

Although he was confident in his ability to gradually overcome this dependency in future treatment, no matter how he looked at it, that uncontrollable feeling was something Archie, with his cold and distant nature, could not accept.

Given the current circumstances, it seemed like he had no choice.

Archie closed his eyes and stepped into the Dream Rift. As he walked forward on the stairs, the flame of the candle he was holding flickered, and finally, upon entering the second level, the flame went out completely.

Everyone who enters the Dream Rift knows the warning: once the light source used for illumination goes out in the mist, they must exit the Dream Rift.

Otherwise, something terrifying will happen.

But the trial of the second level begins with the extinguishing of the light that preserves one’s sanity.

The eerie mist gradually enveloped the young doctor’s figure.

Then, he opened his eyes.

—-

The security guards were still slamming against the door, their forms resembling the legendary gargoyles. Horns grew from their foreheads, bat wings sprouted from their backs, and their faces were grotesque and terrifying as they relentlessly hurled their bodies at the door.

At this moment, the door suddenly swung open from the inside.

The gargoyles froze, caught off guard. Before they could react, a hand suddenly reached out from inside the room, grabbing hold of the gargoyle’s wings and body.

With a roar of agony from the gargoyle, the hand tore it in half!

The gargoyle’s blood sprayed like a fountain, splattering across the door and the security guards flooding in behind it. The frenzied gargoyles were momentarily stunned, only to see the prey they had been chasing just moments before reveal a devilish grin, eyes filled with endless madness.

The roles of hunter and prey were instantly reversed. Archie charged into the pack like a ferocious tiger among sheep. The gargoyles, who had been chasing them, were now lambs for the slaughter. They didn’t even manage to run, as Archie grabbed them, violently slamming them to the ground before slowly tearing them apart with his hands.

The scene was too gruesome to behold.

Ranen’s eyes widened as he watched the scene unfold, unable to suppress a gasp of amazement.

Although he had heard that the combat abilities of NPCs would experience a surge during the “madness” period in the second level, directly tearing apart several D-level anomalies was an unimaginable level of power.

According to the combat system of his previous life, five or more D-level anomalies would pose a threat to C-level anomalies. Based on this, Archie’s current combat strength was more than enough to defeat weaker C-level anomalies and could even hold his own against stronger ones.

Was the increase in power this great upon entering the second level of the Dream Rift, or was this just a temporary boost from the madness period?

While Ranen was lost in thought, Archie had already taken care of all the gargoyles, transforming the once quiet corridor into a scene resembling hell.

The corridor was nearly soaked in blood, and Archie stood amidst the pile of gargoyle corpses. After standing there dazed for a few seconds, he suddenly spun around, glaring intensely at Ranen.

Blood was splattered across his body, and the wound on his shoulder had grown writhing flesh, making him appear like a demon from hell.

Ranen’s breath caught in his chest, and for a moment, he felt an instinctive urge to run.

But he fought it back, recalling Archie’s earlier words. With Archie’s gaze fixed on him, Ranen took a step forward.

Step by step, he walked toward the demon in the heart of hell.

Archie’s eyes were filled with nothing but madness, his entire body tense as he growled threateningly like a pure beast. His fingers trembled as if he would tear Ranen to shreds without hesitation if he got any closer.

Ranen’s steps faltered for a moment. In that split second, he moved again, covering the distance in quick strides until he was beside Archie, grabbing his hand.

At that moment, Archie’s previously agitated demeanor suddenly calmed, like a wild beast seeing its handler. He obediently retracted his claws and fangs, letting Ranen lead him away.

Ranen quietly let out a sigh of relief, unable to suppress his admiration for Archie’s ability.

He had really succeeded.

Although Archie hadn’t woken up yet, being able to control his entry into madness had already placed him ahead of the Inspection Bureau and all the investigators throughout history.

What remained now was for Archie to regain his sanity, though it was unclear how long that would take.

Wait a minute.

Ranen suddenly realized something. Based on information from his previous life, the boss wasn’t here, and the strongest anomaly in this hospital was at most C-level.

So now, with Archie’s combat strength skyrocketing due to entering the second level of the Dream Rift, wouldn’t he easily suppress the anomalies here?

Thinking about this, Ranen couldn’t help but ponder:

Why not give it a try?

—-

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Black Cat and Druid had originally intended to support Archie but were forced to split from Ranen and the others due to the pursuing nurse. Following Ranen’s advice, they found an unlocked patient room to hide in.

Good news, the nurse outside really couldn’t get in.

Bad news, they couldn’t get out either.

The nurse, being quite clever, had alerted the patrolling security outside to guard the window as soon as the two of them had hidden inside. Now, the monsters outside couldn’t get in, and the players couldn’t get out.

During their escape, both of them had inevitably sustained injuries. Exhausted, Druid and Black Cat used their limited first-aid supplies to stop the bleeding, their faces grim. “What do we do now?”

“You’re asking me? How should I know?” Black Cat sighed. “We can’t stay here forever. The main quest has a time limit. If we exceed it, the mission might fail, just like the bonus pool task before.”

Druid said, “It can’t be that serious, right? This is still just the beta test. They wouldn’t scrap the whole map if the main quest fails, would they? The programmers would lose it.”

[Exactly, there’s no way they’d dump such a big map during beta testing, right? Hahaha]

[Developers: Fail the main quest, and the entire map gets sacrificed.]

[Programmers/Artists/Modelers: Say that again, and we’ll sacrifice you.]

[Lol]

However, Black Cat said, “Did you forget this is an extremely capricious game? All its publicity relies on word of mouth from players. The NPCs are scarily intelligent, and they don’t even openly market the Lovecraftian elements. Most of the game’s features go against the grain of traditional tabletop RPGs.”

“Do you think such a ‘capricious’ game developer wouldn’t have the guts to trigger an Arkham Doomsday event if the main quest fails?”

Druid opened his mouth, at a loss for words.

Even the livestream comments wavered.

[Hiss, considering this game’s nature, it makes a weird kind of sense.]

[Please, no! QwQ Will Arkham, the holy land of Lovecraftian lore, be gone from the game when I join?]

[Who knows? This game already got rid of Miskatonic University early on.]

[I’m starting to get scared. Time to log in and save the world!]

“So, what do we do next…” 

Black Cat hesitated but gritted his teeth. “We charge out. If we get surrounded, so be it. We’ll split up and run in different directions. If one of us makes it, there’s hope! Whoever gets left behind will try to stall for time.”

Druid looked deeply at Black Cat. “Alright.”

They both moved to the patient room door, listening to the commotion outside.

Both of them passed their perception check but heard nothing. Black Cat doubted, “Could they have left?”

Druid, with his wealth of experience, quickly shook his head. “No, no, it’s not that easy. The monsters in this dungeon are smart. They must be waiting right outside the door.”

As soon as he finished speaking, they heard noises from the doorway. Druid said, “See, I told you they’re right outside.”

“Wait, that sound…” Black Cat sensed something was off. The noises outside weren’t usual; it seemed like a fight was happening. Black Cat caught the sounds of bodies hitting the ground or slamming into walls and monsters groaning in pain.

“It sounds like there’s a fight going on out there!”

“It’s definitely a trap!” Druid declared without hesitation, remembering the torment the last hospital dungeon had caused him.

“No, it really sounds like they’re fighting,” Black Cat said. He crouched down, trying to see outside through the gap under the door but couldn’t get a clear view. Gritting his teeth, he stood up and, under Druid’s shocked gaze, twisted the door handle.

“What are you doing—”

Druid hurriedly rushed forward but was a step too late. Black Cat stared out through the slightly opened door, stunned.

Seeing Black Cat’s reaction, Druid sensed something was wrong. After a brief hesitation, he moved behind Black Cat and looked out as well.

At this moment, there were indeed no nurses or guards lying in wait outside.

Because they were being attacked by a stronger monster.

But… why did that monster look so familiar???

From their perspective, the creature, now fully revealed, wore a wolf pelt, had a canine-like mouth, stood nearly three meters tall, with red eyes, fangs, and sharp claws capable of tearing human bodies apart with ease.

Yet, this creature was being overpowered by a human who was noticeably shorter. That person’s fighting style was like that of a savage—no, a beast—lacking any human technique, relying solely on monstrous strength, speed, reflexes, and a fierce determination to trade injuries for victory.

He seemed to feel no pain or fear, crazily attacking despite the massive size difference between him and the werewolf nurse, grabbing its wolfish muzzle and ripping its mouth apart!

“Ar-Archie?!”

Druid and Black Cat were shocked as they stared at the face, now filled with madness, unable to reconcile it with the normally cold and sharp-tongued Doctor Archie.

What happened in such a short time? Weren’t they all just fleeing in panic together before? How did Archie become so formidable all of a sudden???

[What the heck did I miss?!]

[Archie, that’s Archie? Isn’t he a psychiatrist, a mental support specialist? When did he switch classes to berserker?!]

The werewolf nurse was clearly no match for the berserk Archie. After its limbs were torn apart, it whimpered and fell silent.

Archie, panting heavily, with eyes full of bloodlust and murderous intent, locked onto the only two living beings in his sight—Black Cat and Druid.

The two players sensed danger, watching as Archie prepared to attack them.

“It’s enough.”

A sigh came from behind Archie, and his lowered hand was gently held by another.

In the astonished gazes of the two players, Archie visibly calmed down, his once feral and frenzied face returning to tranquility, like a beast tamed and caged.

The only one who could pacify him was naturally none other than Ranen.

Ranen, holding Archie’s hand, stepped out from behind him. Among everyone present, only Ranen appeared unscathed. Druid and Black Cat bore visible injuries, and Archie was nearly a blood-soaked mess, yet Ranen’s clothes remained pristine. Walking through the hospital, he seemed as if he were strolling in his backyard, taking a pet for a walk.

His gaze swept over Black Cat and Druid, and he smiled faintly. “It’s good to see you’re okay. Looks like we arrived just in time.”

Druid and Black Cat mumbled, unable to form coherent sentences. Finally, Druid regained his composure first, asking somewhat dazedly, “What’s with Archie…?”

“He’s advanced to the second level of the Dream Rift. Now he’s experiencing… hmm, a minor side effect,” Ranen explained. “Nothing serious.”

Side effect?

Black Cat and Druid looked at Archie, seeing the sanity seemingly drained from his eyes, replaced entirely by sheer madness. He was drenched in blood, with visible wounds sprouting grotesque, squirming growths—flesh-colored, maggot-like nodules that were revolting to look at.

“Ugh.” Black Cat was about to vomit, but Druid swiftly covered his mouth.

Druid forced out a smile that was disturbingly close to crying. “Ah, y-yeah, nothing serious.”

[Mad, I’ve never been so sure that Ranen is an evil god as I am right now.]

[Sorry, Ranen, I doubted your gentleness and kindness before. That was my mistake.]

[So brutal… Did he turn Archie into something like a vassal?]

[To the one above, do you even need to ask? Think about it—Archie was fine before, and as soon as he left the main group, he became like this.]

[I don’t even dare to imagine what happened before.]

[I was so naive before, thinking Ranen truly had no power here. I was wrong. He may be like that, but the methods of an evil god go beyond just that…]

[Cat’s ultimate evolution! Evil god cat-worm!]

[No, my Archie, sob sob sob sob sob sob.]

Hmm? Ranen noticed the fear and horror in the two players’ eyes, and his smile slowly faded. “Wait a minute, have you misunderstood something? This was Archie’s own choice.”

Druid nodded vigorously. “We know, we know. Respect others’ fates, let go of the savior complex.”

Black Cat, struggling free from Druid’s hand, forced a smile even more miserable than crying. “Exactly, we won’t feel any unnecessary sympathy.”

Ranen: ???

Ranen opened his mouth, wanting to explain something, but based on his past experience, he knew that saying more would only lead to more mistakes, so he shut his mouth.

At this moment, he thought, Just smile.jpg

Seeing the meaningful smile on Ranen’s face, Druid and Black Cat trembled, terrified they might end up like Archie.

Ranen turned around, no longer wanting to look at the two of them cowering. “Let’s head back.”

“Oh, okay.”

Black Cat and Druid hurried to follow.

Along the way, they no longer tried to be sneaky, striding boldly back to the psychiatric area. Of course, they encountered guards and patrolling orderlies, but each time, Ranen calmly let go of Archie’s hand.

Then the players saw it: every time Ranen released Archie’s hand, Archie would go wild, chasing and slaughtering the monsters like a mad dog. After the monsters were dealt with, Ranen would step forward, take Archie’s hand again, and Archie would become docile once more, like a beast returning to its cage.

The live stream chat never stopped during this journey.

[It feels like the cat turned into a tiger, but it’s still awesome.]

[I remember Archie struggling to fight just one before. Now his combat power has skyrocketed, it’s insane.]

[I wonder what kind of modifications Ranen did to Archie. It feels a bit pitiful, but also kind of touching. Every time Ranen holds his hand, he becomes so obedient, ah ah ah.]

[You can ship this? You should get your brain checked.]

Although the chat said that, the steadily rising popularity of the live stream clearly showed how much the audience enjoyed this. Archie’s bloody, primal violence in battle was the kind that ignited a burning passion.

And after the fight, Ranen casually walked over to Archie, took his hand, as if putting a leash on a beast that had lost its mind.

In short, it was a very extraordinary scene.

None of the guards or orderlies could match Archie, and with Ranen leading, Druid and Black Cat marched along with the confidence of a fox borrowing a tiger’s might.

They were cautious on the way in, but on the way back, they swaggered openly, walking right through the main entrance into the psychiatric area.

Then, they were dumbfounded.

Black Cat and the others finally understood why they made such a commotion in the hospital building but weren’t surrounded by the orderlies.

The reason was simple.

Because the commotion on this side was even bigger.

As soon as they approached, they saw the entire psychiatric area plunged into chaos.

The monsters they had seen in the rooms on the third floor had been released and were now fighting with the doctors and nurses. Druid took one glance, and the system prompt appeared.

[Sanity Check: Success]

Druid: …

However, Druid finally got a full view of the monsters. He had originally thought that psychiatric patients in this world should look like normal people, just like the patients on the second floor.

But he was proven wrong. The monsters ^[1] The ones who got captured, like Ranen were quite unique in appearance. Some seemed to be made entirely of blood, their unsettling dark red plasma bodies covered with countless eyes, exuding a stench of decay. Others had hollow stomachs yet kept stuffing things into their bellies. There were even some with a single large eye, bigger than a normal person’s head, emitting a sharp, childlike cry while attacking doctors and nurses.

It was like a scene of demons dancing wildly.

Meanwhile, the real psychiatric patients on the sidelines were clapping and cheering, as if they were watching a rare performance. Some even brought small stools, just missing a bag of sunflower seeds in their hands.

Eating popcorn.jpg

Ranen scanned the onlookers, unsurprisingly not finding the figure of a certain “director.” He took a deep breath. “Let’s go stop them.”

“Huh? Shouldn’t we wait until they’ve worn each other down?” Druid asked curiously.

“Judging by this situation, the ones who will be killed in the end are definitely the doctors,” Ranen replied.

He had been observing the situation for a while and noticed something strange. The doctors in the psychiatric treatment area, especially the head doctor who resembled a mad scientist, were mostly defending and dodging without fighting back. The nurses in the inpatient department were less restrained but still no match for the united abnormalities.

This behavior explained everything.

Ranen’s vague suspicion began to crystallize.

The appearance of Archie and Ranen on this chaotic battlefield was like wolves entering a flock of sheep. Unlike the doctors, Archie had no concept of holding back. Once Ranen let go of his hand, it was as if the final restraint on a wild beast was lifted—he attacked anyone he could!

The battlefield, originally split into two factions, instantly descended into chaos. The nurses and orderlies glared at the disruptor but were powerless against him.

Ranen had been worried that Archie’s presence might unite the opposing sides, but he quickly realized he need not worry.

The patients from the third floor seemed to fear him.

To confirm it wasn’t just his imagination, Ranen took a step toward them.

The grotesque monsters, who looked terrifying, collectively took a step back.

Ranen: ?

Realizing something, Ranen walked toward the third-floor monsters, signaling them with his eyes to stay put.

‘Try leaving, and see what happens.’

The third-floor monsters obediently stayed put, not daring to move. Ranen approached them, while Archie turned around and fiercely attacked the doctors and nurses on the other side.

With the help of the abnormalities, Archie, already stronger than the other monsters present, became even more formidable. Just as he was about to finish off the head doctor, Ranen grabbed his hand in time. “That’s enough. Let’s end it here.”

There was no longer any fight left; both sides were now a bunch of wounded stragglers, especially the doctors, who were in a pitiful state. However, Ranen only wanted to stop them and hear them out, not to actually kill them.

Moreover, with the appearance of the red-haired head nurse earlier, Ranen speculated that, in this hospital on this night, the doctors and nurses might not die at all. Even if they experienced “death,” they would resurrect. Otherwise, the hospital during the day would have been in chaos, which is why the director allowed the patients to attack.

Because of guilt.

After Ranen held his hand, although Archie was still somewhat restless, he obediently stopped. The doctors and nurses, who had been beaten half to death, naturally had no intention of continuing the fight. They only looked at Ranen and the others with confused and uncertain gazes.

Seeing that there was no more excitement to watch, the mental patients on the second floor let out disappointed boos, and some even shouted for a refund.

Ranen asked, “What happened? Why did they start fighting?”

Before the chief doctor could answer, a nearby caregiver impatiently responded, “It wasn’t our intention to start the fight. The patients on the third floor were suddenly released, causing chaos, and that’s when we had to act against them.”

The chief doctor shot a glare at the caregiver: “Stop talking so much.”

The caregiver shrank his neck, trying to be brave, and secretly glanced at Ranen.

Who could blame him, the guy was just so handsome.

Upon hearing this, Ranen had a hunch. To confirm, he asked, “Where are Old Luke and the ‘director’?”

Neither of these two was in the crowd of observing patients. Ranen was still puzzled when suddenly a noise came from behind.

He turned around and was surprised to see Black Cat being knocked to the ground by an old man. Of course, Black Cat fought back, but his fighting ability, which was under 40 points, was no match for the old man, who was over fifty. He was quickly subdued.

“Don’t move!” Old Luke shouted. “Or else something of his is going to be missing.”

He pressed a sharp piece of glass against Black Cat’s neck, moving with clean, precise motions that were completely out of sync with his messy appearance.

Ranen looked at Old Luke deeply. He hadn’t forgotten the mysterious investigator from the original plot who provided hints and assistance to the players. After Old Luke unexpectedly helped them earlier, he had connected him to the person mentioned in Archie’s father’s notes.

As expected, Old Luke should also be the one who had hypnotized Archie.