The white curtain shielded the person on the hospital bed but couldn’t mask the scent of disinfectant in the air.
Xu Dengming lay peacefully on the bed, eyes closed, resting.
After a while, feeling utterly bored, she picked up the morning newspaper she had borrowed from the head nurse to pass the time.
Nest Park wasn’t an ideal place for job hunting.
Although Xu Dengming had only stayed there for less than two days, it had already plunged her into an indefinite sick leave.
Her physical injuries weren’t severe, but the mental erosion she had suffered wouldn’t heal quickly.
Ordinary medical facilities weren’t equipped to handle the effects of abnormal forces.
Fortunately, Xu Dengming was currently staying at the Seventh Hospital, directly under the Administration Bureau.
The Bureau’s staff had brought her here immediately after discovering her and generously assured her that all subsequent expenses would be covered by the Bureau.
Not having to spend extra money on treatment was a relief for Xu Dengming’s finances.
However, as a native who was deeply familiar with the welfare system of Triangle Banyan City, she had a gut feeling that the “Administration Bureau” responsible for the Seventh Hospital was different from what she knew, more akin to the polished image portrayed in the media.
For instance, the newspaper in her hands featured a front-page report on Lou Qiuyue, the Bureau’s director, discussing how to enhance the city’s competitiveness and improve residents’ well-being.
The photo showed Mr. Lou in a sharp suit, young and handsome, with an elegant smile that was instantly likable.
Xu Dengming flipped to the section on livelihood and economy, intending to check the recent changes in the city’s prices.
During her two days in the hospital, apart from the medical staff, Xu Dengming hadn’t interacted with anyone else, including the “Bureau employee” who had discovered them.
She understood why they hadn’t come to question her immediately after she had taken the “dead flesh” out of the instance, Nest Park had rapidly collapsed due to the lack of energy, ejecting a large number of surviving prospective employees.
Xu Dengming and Wang Yanxing had blended in among them, naturally not standing out.
She calculated that they would likely wait until the preliminary investigation into Nest Park was complete and the survivors were mostly settled before coming to ask for details.
The sunlight in the ward was particularly pleasant today.
As Xu Dengming read the newspaper, a nurse came in to take her temperature.
Nurse: “Your temperature is normal. Someone from the Administration Bureau will visit at 3:30 PM today. You can adjust your free activity time by an hour, either earlier or later.”
Xu Dengming nodded: “Let’s make it later.”
The nurse noted her request and wheeled the cart out of the room.
At 3:25 PM, a knock came five minutes before the scheduled time.
Without waiting for the patient to respond, the door opened from the outside.
The Bureau employee assigned to visit Xu Dengming was a young man under thirty, wearing gold-rimmed glasses.
Xu Dengming had seen him two days ago.
His name was Zhao Bainiao, and he had introduced himself as an ordinary clerical worker in the Bureau.
He had immediately contacted his colleagues to send Xu Dengming and Wang Yanxing to the Seventh Hospital after discovering them.
Xu Dengming’s intuition told her that, among all his self-introductions, only the word “human” was somewhat believable.
Today, Zhao Bainiao was also wearing a uniform, but in a more casual manner.
His jacket was left open, and the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows.
There were some ink stains on the edges of his palms, as if he had just come from his office.
Zhao Bainiao nodded slightly, “Hello, how’s your mental state now…”
Before officially starting today’s inquiry, Zhao Bainiao, as usual, wanted to further confirm the survivor’s mental condition.
However, his words faltered slightly when he noticed Xu Dengming’s actions.
When Zhao Bainiao entered, Xu Dengming was reading a newspaper, which was spread out on the snow-white blanket.
The headlines on the page were “How to Actively Guide Enterprises in Innovation” and “Boosting Employment Rates is Urgent, All Departments Must Do Their Part in Guidance.”
At the bottom, there were some marked job postings.
The probability of an ordinary person not developing mental issues after being trapped in a dungeon for over a day was zero.
Zhao Bainiao had just heard from the medical department that one survivor had almost fully recovered, but he hadn’t believed it until now, witnessing firsthand the resilience of this individual’s mental strength.
Moreover, Zhao Bainiao remembered that this group of students had accidentally entered the dungeon while job hunting.
Unexpectedly, even after experiencing life-threatening danger, Xu Dengming remained so focused on the employment situation, as if the experience in Nest Park had left no psychological scars on her.
Zhao Bainiao changed his greeting, “Looking for a job?”
Xu Dengming put the newspaper aside, “My phone’s dead, the signal in the ward is often nonexistent, and it seems this place doesn’t provide novels for patients. There aren’t many options to pass the time here.”
Zhao Bainiao knew very well that the hospital, ostensibly under the Public Security Administration, actually belonged to the Special Affairs Bureau.
In theory, not only novels but even newspapers shouldn’t be provided.
He wasn’t sure where Xu Dengming had found the newspaper, but it was likely a personal favor from the medical staff.
He glanced at Xu Dengming, thinking her condition had indeed recovered well, fully meeting the standard for questioning.
Before coming here, Zhao Bainiao had learned something from his colleagues in the secretariat-
This student named Xu Dengming wasn’t entering the dungeon for the first time, and her performance during her last entry had been quite impressive, making a significant contribution to increasing the number of survivors.
Human mental resilience is like muscle strength; it can be improved through training.
This explains why Xu Dengming appeared calmer than others after leaving the dungeon.
Although she also needed bed rest, she didn’t show any signs of violence or loss of control.
Zhao Bainiao thought, although as an employee of the Special Affairs Bureau, he shouldn’t wish for ordinary citizens to frequently encounter unexpected situations, with Xu Dengming’s potential, if she could enter the dungeon a few more times, she might become the rising star the bureau was eager to recruit.
Today, besides observing her condition, Zhao Bainiao wanted to record Xu Dengming’s experience in Nest Park.
Without waiting for an invitation, Zhao Bainiao pulled up a chair and sat down by Xu Dengming’s bed, crossing his legs and said,
“You seem to be recovering well.”
Xu Dengming replied, “Actually, I think I’m ready to be discharged, but unfortunately, the doctors here have a different opinion.”
Zhao Bainiao: “Observing for a couple more days will give us more peace of mind.”
He then added, “Actually, the reason I came here is to ask how you entered the Nest Industrial Park, what you experienced inside, and how you eventually got out.”
His intentions were completely within expectations.
Xu Dengming first took a sip of water, then began recounting her experience starting from the promotional seminar all the way to her visit to the No. 1 Clean Room.
As for the incident in the No. 17 abandoned factory area, she only briefly mentioned it, attributing it to the sudden chaos that occurred in the park that afternoon.
She wasn’t too worried about Wang Yanxing giving anything away.
This instance had consistently been at the forefront of eroding the participants’ logical abilities, causing significant damage to the survivors’ rationality.
Even Xu Dengming, after coming out, felt that her memories had become somewhat blurred and chaotic.
It was even harder for the other students whose cognitive abilities had been severely compromised to recall the entire experience clearly.
Moreover, Xu Dengming had visited Wang Yanxing, who was also recuperating at the Seventh Hospital, the day before.
Wang’s condition was pretty much as she had expected many things were now just vague impressions.
This was probably a form of psychological self-protection.
After they had talked for a while, Xu Dengming added some personal insights to the objective events:
“Looking back now, we felt extremely tired even during the promotional seminar. This might have been a tactic to lower the participants’ guard.”
Early in the conversation, Zhao Bainiao had turned on a recording device while also taking notes himself.
His demeanor was somewhat casual, but his expression was very serious.
Xu Dengming then shifted her tone and added a caveat to her account: “However, after leaving, my headache hasn’t gone away, and my memories of many experiences aren’t clear enough. I can’t be sure if there are any inaccuracies in what I’ve just described. It would be best for you to compare my account with others’ later.”
The other party was very considerate and straightforward, unafraid of being compared with others.
Zhao Bainiao casually responded, “Don’t worry, actually, what you remember is already exceptionally clear and detailed.”
Xu Dengming immediately picked up on the underlying meaning in Zhao Bainiao’s words-under normal circumstances, survivors of similar instances wouldn’t have such vivid memories of their experiences.
Since they had touched on this topic, Xu Dengming took the opportunity to inquire about her former colleagues:
“I wonder how the other students are doing now?”
Perhaps because Nest Corporation, despite not caring much about the safety of its employees, was indeed as large as they had claimed during the promotional seminar, this instance involved too many people.
Many survivors had been dispersed across different hospital wards, and Xu Dengming rarely saw anyone, making it difficult for her to gather the information she needed.
Zhao Bainiao pondered for a moment, thinking it best not to worry ordinary residents too much, and finally shared what he could:
“Many survivors have suffered psychological trauma, though the severity varies. Those with milder cases are already recovering, and the overall progress is good. The more severe cases will need to be observed for a while longer.”
He didn’t specify how long the severe cases would need to be observed, and Xu Dengming didn’t ask.
Xu Dengming adjusted the angle of her pillow: “While recuperating, I’ve been wondering why it was me who encountered such abnormal events.”
Zhao Bainiao: “According to statistics, people who have encountered similar situations in the past are more likely to experience the same circumstances again in the future.”
Upon hearing this, Xu Dengming slightly raised an eyebrow.
Zhao Bainiao added, “Of course, the higher probability is only relative to ordinary people. Generally speaking, even if someone has entered a dungeon before, the frequency of entering dungeons again won’t be too outrageous.”
Xu Dengming pressed her temple: “…After I’m discharged, I’ll remember to find a website to offer incense.”
In this era, few buildings related to metaphysics have been preserved.
However, some websites like to provide psychological comfort to visitors under the banner of “sincerity leads to miracles,” offering ways to turn misfortune into fortune.
After the conversation ended, Zhao Bainiao stood up and opened his briefcase, carefully attaching something resembling tape to the four walls.
“Next, I have some tests to conduct,” Zhao Bainiao said.
“The tests are harmless, so don’t be nervous.”
Xu Dengming’s gaze lingered on Zhao Bainiao’s face for a moment longer before she nodded: “Alright.”
After finishing with the tape, Zhao Bainiao took out something similar to a test strip.
Zhao Bainiao: “Next, you just need to place your hand on it and wait quietly. There’s no need to do anything extra during this time. If the color of the paper changes later, don’t be surprised.”
Xu Dengming possessed special abilities and a game system.
She stared at the test strip in front of her, curious whether this item could uncover her secrets.
She followed Zhao Bainiao’s instructions and placed her finger on the device.
The test strip appeared very smooth, but upon contact, it felt slightly prickly and itchy.
Xu Dengming couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t her finger that had been placed on the test strip, but rather the test strip that had attached itself to her finger.
The discomfort lasted only a brief moment before disappearing entirely.
A thought inexplicably flashed through Xu Dengming’s mind—that this paper-like device might have been designed with reference to the feeding mechanism of leeches, except instead of drawing blood, it absorbed special abilities.
She stared at her fingers very carefully and slowly a mist like a thread of fate flashed across her fingertips.
The mist was in contact with the test paper for a long time, but the color of the back didn’t change and Zhao Bainiao did not react at all.
Tftc!