Chapter 642: Enemies Meet on a Narrow Road

Looking at the yellowed slip of paper in my hand, I couldn't find a single flaw in either the craftsmanship or the handwriting.

'Central Operating Room and Third Ward. These locations are completely correct. The live show streamer who forged the Death Invitation has definitely been here before.' A sudden realization struck me. Live Show Missions were normally issued at eight o'clock every night. With only four hours before the start of a mission, it was completely impossible to set up such a complex scheme.

'Unless that streamer knew the mission details in advance!'

My eyes narrowed as I pondered this. In truth, I still hadn't fully grasped the various rewards offered by the Live Show. After completing specific tasks, for example, the Live Show would reward Live Broadcast Immunity, along with the right to choose future missions. I had never completed one of those tasks, so naturally, I hadn't had the chance to test out such privileges.

'This is a multi-person joint broadcast. That streamer probably wasn't confident either, so they used a broadcast privilege to learn the mission in advance and set up this scheme. Who could it be?'

If my guess was correct, this live show streamer would definitely be holding a Death Note.

Was it Zhang Heng? Or Chen Mo?

Zhang Heng said he obtained the slip of paper after sneaking into a private hospital at night. The timeline matched.

Chen Mo, on the other hand, claimed he saw his slip of paper the day before. He said he had no choice but to come to the Jianghu Cancer Research Hospital after his professor and roommates died one after another. That presented a timeline problem, but no matter how I looked at him, he seemed like a genuine newcomer. More importantly, his leg was broken.

I had set the bone myself, so I was certain the injury was real.

Breaking his own leg just to hide his identity would be taking things a bit too far, wouldn't it?

The more I thought about it, the more confused I became. I reined in my thoughts and looked at Wang Wu. "Go on. After you discovered that outsider, did you kill him?"

"Of course. That was Mr. Chen's order." Wang Wu's gaze revealed a trace of twisted excitement. On the surface, he looked no different from a living person, but in reality, his mind had long since become diseased.

It was impossible for a normal person to live in this place for twenty years.

I had plenty of experience dealing with psychopathic killers, so I understood one thing: asking about the details of their murders would only stimulate them. I ignored the topic and pressed on. "And then what?"

Wang Wu's gaze lingered on me for a moment. "Using the white fiends, I killed two outsiders. And then I met you."

A hint of amusement appeared on his face. "You acted differently from those other outsiders. You were calm—seemingly long accustomed to darkness and fear—and gave off a very dangerous vibe. You successfully piqued my curiosity, so I decided to test you further. You know what happened after that. You ran into Zhang Heng and Chen Mo, and once you grouped up, you became a threat to me."

"So you decided to strike first and use the white fiends to hunt us down?"

"That was Mr. Chen's order," Wang Wu said with a grin. "Besides, I was only putting on a show. My true goal was to release the Uncorrupted Bone. After I drove you out of the Diagnostic and Treatment Building, I thought you would just leave. Who knew you'd run right into the Third Ward?"

Wang Wu repeatedly emphasized that it was Chen Jiuge's order, but I could hear the excitement in his tone. This sick bastard had a devil living deep in his heart. He definitely relished torturing and killing people.

"Are the two people who came in with me still alive?"

"There's a path to heaven, yet you refuse to take it; there's no door to hell, yet you insist on barging in. Your companions do have some skills, but this place has been managed by Mr. Paper for many years. They're already trapped in a dead end, and their deaths are only a matter of time." Wang Wu thought for a moment before adding, "Did you see the White Fur on the walls? Mr. Chen manipulates the grand array to sense everyone's location through that White Fur. On your own, you can't possibly escape."

"Not necessarily." I raised the Jade Bone in my hand. "The white fiends and Earth Corpses fear the aura of the Uncorrupted Bone. As long as I hold this bone, my path will be completely unobstructed."

Wang Wu stared at the bone in my hand, a trace of greed flashing deep in his eyes. "You underestimate Mr. Paper. He anticipated this long ago. To prevent the Uncorrupted Bone from escaping, he transformed the entire hospital into a massive feng shui grand formation. Using the earth veins, he harnessed the human vitality of Jiangcheng and Xinhu City. The array consumes a staggering amount of energy, but once activated, it can suppress even the Uncorrupted Bone for twelve shichen—let alone you lot."

"Are you saying we can't get out of here for now?" I didn't know if he was lying, but my resolve wavered a bit.

"If you don't believe me, I can take you upstairs to see for yourself," Wang Wu said, shifting his tone. "It's completely impossible for an ordinary person to find the way out. It took me twenty years of fumbling around to finally figure out how it works. This grand array contains a life gate and a death gate. If you want to get out, you can only leave through the life gate, and aside from Mr. Paper, I'm the only one who knows the correct path."

"You'd be kind enough to take me out? What if you lead me straight into the death gate?"

"I can go out with you, but before I do, you have to give me that bone."

"Impossible," I firmly refused. "This is my only bargaining chip. If you really want it, I'll naturally hand it over after I'm out. But if you dare try to snatch it, I guarantee you'll regret it."

"I have no reason to lie to you, but I should remind you of two things. First, Mr. Paper will arrive very soon. If he presides over this feng shui grand formation, not a single person will leave alive. Second, the girl in your arms has been infected with corpse poison. If she isn't treated and this drags on any longer, she'll undoubtedly die." Wang Wu was a successful 'businessman.' He had a venomous eye for detail, hitting my weak spot the moment he opened his mouth.

Those two points he mentioned were exactly what I was worried about.

Noticing my expression turn gloomy, his mood vastly improved. "Take your time. You still have one minute to think."

"If I give you the Jade Bone, you can cure Gu Tongtong's poison?"

"Naturally." A deeply repulsive expression surfaced on Wang Wu's ugly face. "I live here. I've dealt with corpses for twenty years; what is a mere corpse poison to me? If you promise to hand over the Jade Bone, I can go get the antidote right now."

"Go get the antidote? You don't have it on you?" I voiced my doubts, my mind immediately flashing to the three Injections he had hidden inside the silicone doll.

Could those be the antidote?

I had already secretly pocketed the Injections. Thinking of this, my attitude grew even more resolute. "Take me out of here first, or there's no deal."

I stroked Gu Tongtong's head, keeping my face completely expressionless so I wouldn't reveal a single flaw. "You're the one who kidnapped this girl. She has nothing to do with me, and I honestly don't care whether she lives or dies. You're using her to threaten me? Are you out of your mind?"

"You..." Wang Wu frowned at those words, not knowing what he had said wrong.

"This bone is useless to me; I just want to leave this place alive! Don't push me too far. Do you really want to force a situation where the fish dies and the net breaks?" I sneered, feeling the initiative slowly returning to my hands.

The storeroom fell into a brief silence. A few seconds later, an ugly smile bloomed on Wang Wu's face. "Tonight is the liveliest night I've had in the more than twenty years I've been here. In the past, the only things staying here to keep me company were corpses and silicone dolls. I've long since grown tired of all that. Honestly, I really don't want to send you away. I despise people like you who can freely dictate your own lives."

By the time he finished speaking, Wang Wu's voice had grown weak. "Follow me. I'll take you out."

Holding Chen Jiuge's Fate Manipulator Token, he turned and walked out of the storeroom. I breathed a sigh of relief and followed behind, holding Gu Tongtong tightly.

Tonight's broadcast had been somewhat convoluted. Passionate about solving puzzles, I had grabbed onto a hidden thread and followed it to the very end. Meanwhile, the other live show streamer wanted to break the deadlock with brute force, and by acting out in the open, he helped me pin down the Two-Faced Buddha's faction.

'Rescuing Gu Tongtong rewards ten points. The points for this broadcast shouldn't be low. It's just a pity that I didn't kill Chen Jiuge.'

Wang Wu led the way in front, and we passed through a secret passage, climbing from the Underground Ninth Level to the sixth underground level.

Everything went smoothly at first. It wasn't until we reached the exit of the sixth underground level that a sudden crisis occurred.

Wang Wu was the first to sense that something was wrong. Seeing him stop in his tracks, I finally realized the situation had taken a bad turn.

Sweeping my Judging Eye across the surroundings, I saw fine White Fur bulging out from the pale walls, surging after us from below like a wave.

"Crap! That guy surnamed Chen found us! Run!" Wang Wu shouted, taking the lead as he dashed toward the emergency stairwell.