Xiaobai took the lead, slowly pulling Moxiaoi and me along the wall to bypass that horrifying "artwork."

"Gross, gross, gross..." Moxiaoi pressed her face against the wall, refusing to look back.

I silently followed Xiaobai, dragging Moxiaoi forward. We stopped at the stairwell entrance, hit by a wave of血腥 stench.

"Are there more of these things? I’m gonna puke," Moxiaoi cried.

"I’ll check first," Xiaobai said, turning the corner. This time, his expression was calm—no trace of earlier shock.

"Ah... it’s fine. You can come over," he sighed. He seemed under heavy pressure.

I walked to his side. Moxiaoi peeked in cautiously.

The entire stairwell was soaked in blood. Stairs upward and downward were slick with it. But only blood—no disgusting "artwork" like before, not even a corpse.

"So much blood," I said, covering my nose.

"Phew... that last thing was way worse. Guess there’s someone crazier than you here," Moxiaoi muttered, leaning against the wall toward Xiaobai.

Li Xiaobai shot her a glare. "Wait here," he said, then turned back.

"Huh?" I wondered what he was doing.

"You didn’t—?!" Moxiaoi gasped but didn’t dare look.

I watched him approach the grisly "artwork," grab the corpse’s wrist, and press his wristband against its wristband. He tossed the arm aside.

I gained a thirty-minute reward.

The wristband showed 3 hours 30 minutes left. Game time remaining: 23 hours.

"Figures! You sick freak," Moxiaoi hissed, realizing what he’d done.

He returned. "Let’s go. Unless you want to see heads explode... up or down stairs?"

"Are you stupid? Down, obviously! Up means jumping to your death!" Moxiaoi snapped.

"I agree."

"You two... gentlemen don’t fight ladies," he said. We stepped into the bloody stairs downward.

We reached the fifth floor. No stairs down to the fourth—all blocked by junk: cabinets, tables, chairs.

"What kind of messed-up hospital is this?" Moxiaoi whispered.

"Probably to slow us from reaching the ground floor," Xiaobai chuckled softly.

"Xiaobai, don’t shine your flashlight too far. Just light our feet. We might get spotted," I whispered.

"Oh..." he replied, surprised. *People change fast,* he thought. *That cute little cross-dresser seems like a different person now!*

But I had no right to judge. Days ago, I was a normal otaku. Now I felt cold-blooded—not in personality, but physically. Like a snake. Humans hadn’t changed much, yet I felt farther from our species.

Becoming a true monster.

"Corpses... lots of them," Xiaobai said, sweeping his flashlight at the fifth-floor stairwell.

I’d already seen it. This floor was hell—headless bodies everywhere. I could imagine the brutal fight.

I was used to it. No matter how many corpses, none matched that "artwork’s" horror.

Xiaobai stepped out, crouched, and checked a random body.

"Ew... aren’t you disgusted?" Moxiaoi grimaced.

Xiaobai ignored her, flipped another corpse, and stood. "Many arrow wounds. Likely one person’s work."

"Arrow wounds?" I glanced at Moxiaoi, puzzled.

"Why look at me? You think I did it?" she gasped.

"No. You’ve been with us the whole time," I smiled.

"...You seem like a different person."

"I’m still me."

"...Enough. This place isn’t safe," Li Xiaobai said quietly, standing and signaling us forward.

"Let’s go," I said, pulling Moxiaoi’s hand as we exited the stairwell.

"What the hell’s wrong with you?" she snapped, yanking her hand away. Her face had been off since earlier—was she plotting revenge? Scary.

"Heh..." I didn’t get mad, joining Xiaobai instead.

The moment we stepped out—

"Watch out! Someone’s there!" Li Xiaobai spun and yelled.

I turned. At the dark corridor’s end stood a hooded man in black. His face was shadowed, but his compound bow gleamed clearly.

"Duck!" Xiaobai shouted.

Before we reacted, a black arrow shot toward us like a gust of wind!

Moxiaoi had already crouched at Xiaobai’s shout. I could only watch the arrow fly straight at my face!

A sudden impact slammed me aside! The arrow barely grazed my ear!

I crashed onto the bloody stairwell floor!

"Thanks, Xiaobai," I said, soaked in blood—uncomfortable.

"No problem. I’ll chase him. Guard Moxiaoi!" He grabbed his machete, dashed forward in a flash, and vanished around the corner.

I slowly stood, half-covered in blood.

"Will Xiaobai be okay?"

"Heh... worry about his opponent instead," Moxiaoi sneered.

"Huh?! Wait—someone else!" I spotted movement.

From another corner behind Moxiaoi, a hooded woman in black appeared. She nocked an arrow on her compound bow and fired at Moxiaoi’s back!

"Ah! What?" Moxiaoi hadn’t reacted.

I tackled her down! She barely dodged.

"[Beep]!" she cursed, face red from the fall. "Get up, girly-face!" She raised her crossbow and fired at the woman.

The hooded woman retreated before a second shot, vanishing into darkness.

"Damn it!" Moxiaoi shoved me off, leaping up to chase her.

She sprinted toward the corner, then crouched mid-run to snatch the man’s discarded arrow. She loaded it into her crossbow while moving.

At the corner, she spun—crossbow aimed inside.

Empty!

"..." Moxiaoi fell silent, face grim.

"Wait for me," I said, slowly joining her. Alone, I was terrified. The corridor held more headless corpses.

"Don’t wander. Stay here and watch. I’ll check the rooms," she said, pulling out her fired arrow and tucking it away before advancing.

I hid by the wall, peering in, scissors gripped tight.

Moxiaoi moved cautiously, stepping silently around corpse obstacles.

Logically, the woman couldn’t have run straight to the end—I’d have seen her. She must be hiding in a room. An ambush could be deadly!

Moxiaoi pressed against the first room’s wall. She signaled she was entering and gave me a sharp look: *Watch the other doors.*

I nodded firmly.

She instantly crouched and slipped inside.

Silence followed. Only my heartbeat echoed. I stayed tense, scanning the corridor.

Scissors clenched tight.

The wristband showed 3 hours left. Game time remaining: 22 hours 30 minutes.